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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Bethany's Book Club


My sister bemoans the fact that I love sad books. What can I say? I love putting a book down after reading the last page and thinking "How tragic!". (If I was a Backstreet Boy I would say "How tragical!") So with great sadness (remember, that's a good thing) I recommend Possession by A. S. Byatt. You might remember that this was made into a movie a few years ago with Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart. Please do not let the movie (good but not great)deter you from reading the book. I will warn you ahead of time that it is not easy to read, but this is one of the things I found so fascinating about it. The story is of two modern day academics who are studying the secret lives of two Victorian poets. Not only does Ms. Byatt write the prose of the story, but she also writes poetry in the voices of the poets. Now some of these poems are long and flowery in their language, but the way they give insights into the history of their authors is really quite amazing. I have spent the last week reading way too late into the night and then waking up to read some more early in the morning. As I said, this is not an easy read so don't take it on vacation with you but if you have a yen for something that requires some investment give it a go. As my pile of books next to my bed is diminishing, I would love any suggestion on a good book to read. I am planning on starting Atonement by Ian Mcewan tonight and my goal is to not picture Kiera Knightly's razor sharp clavicles once. Wish me luck!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitly will read it. I have been searching for a good book, and I myself love a good tradgedy!
If you haven't read them, I recommend Kite Runner and A Thousand Spendid Suns. They are beautifully written and the character development leads you to believe the the author truly "knew" these people.

Anonymous said...

You are a better woman than I. I think I got about 50 - 75 pages into Possession before giving up... I was thrilled there was a movie version I could fall back on! I do completely understand your love of tragic novels - they're the best!! So romantic somehow. (how sick are we?) Lynn's Good reads from 2007: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (why did it take me so long to discover this book?), Wild Swans (a memoir of life in Mau's China), Freedom Writers Diary... Happy Reading!

The Johnson's said...

I have some suggestions for you..."Alone, and Unloved-a woman's tragic tail of betrayal and loss and alot of sadness" and of course, "The Unsweetened Cookies-A sad sad memoire of a woman suffering from diabetes and divorce". Just try to be happy reading these...