Guys, I'm so excited. You're going to get a Lit Corner! Okay, so it'll be much reduced from it's normal standards, but a lit corner is a lit corner, right?
So. For those of you who don't know/ don't remember/ don't care, a lit corner is pretty much me chatting about the books I'm reading and am planning to read.
This session of lit corner involves
In the High Valley, being the fifth and final book in the What Katy Did series by Susan Coolidge and
In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan.
So. First book first.
In the High Valley is the little known fifth book of the 'What Katy Did' series. The fourth book is
Clover: also little known. I had found it going free on iBooks, and had read it in a very short space of time sometime last year, and I had loved it. My review can be found
here. I had read a free sample of the fifth book as soon as I finished it, and finally got round to buying it the day before yesterday, or sometime thereabouts. (A version was going for £0.49: how could I resist?)
Well, I was kind of disappointed. The book was not as good as the previous ones. As said in my Goodreads review, it tied up a few loose ends that I hadn't realised were left undone, and it let Elsie's character really come into her own, which was very nice to see. But the story as well as its telling left much to be desired. Telling, being the operative word. Susan Coolidge has always been one to give a lot of information: in particular her naming of flowers was something that stood out to me. But before, I had always felt whatever the characters were feeling. I understood them, and their behaviour, I
liked them. The (ostensible) protagonist of this book was not someone I liked, and this was mainly because Susan Coolidge didn't seem to like her, either. She was a new character, not one of the Carr's, and she was underdeveloped and poorly thought out. The story didn't seem to focus much on her - another point of difference between this and the other books in the series. The view jumped from character to character, letting me see them without letting me feel them. I knew pretty early on what was going to happen, and I just didn't care. I read the book to the end - it is a short read - and it was enjoyable for me as a diehard
Katy fan, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't love the books as much as I do - there's not even that much Katy in it!
With these sad tidings, it's on to this weeks second book:
I want to say that
In Watermelon Sugar was a joy. I cannot say this. However, I cannot say that it was a disappointment, or that I disliked it. I don't really know how I feel about it, to be honest, but I will definitely be taking a second look in order to find out.
In Watermelon Sugar is a very easy book to read. In some ways, it reminds me of
Slaughterhouse 5. A short book with a simply-written, self-conscious narrative. Check. A prevailing sense of disconnection. Check. An element of fantasy. Check.
Not to say that
In Watermelon Sugar is unoriginal. It is very original indeed. And, I would certainly reccommend it. For all of its simplicity, the book and the world it describes is very complex and incredibly hard to understand. Every now and again you catch a glimpse of a possible truth, a possible reading. And then it hides itself again: not shy, but teasing.
Come and get me, the meaning says,
you know you want to. And I do. I do so want to understand this gem. It came to me highly recommended, and I enjoyed reading it - a page turner, if only because each chapter is so short. I want to know what iDEATH is. I want to understand its inhabitants, and their past. I want to know what inBOIL was talking about. In some ways I identify with the narrator. In other ways, I am alienated by him. This is okay. This is all how it is meant to be. This book is that feeling of comfort, of blindness, that allows you to settle in a situation even though you know it is wrong.
I look forward to returning to it, to understanding it more. But I think a break would be good.
What will I be attempting to read next week?
To the Lighthouse by - of course - Virginia Woolf.
La Légénde Arthurienne by various authors (which I have been reading for quite sometime. It is difficult.)
In other news, I really wish I had enough money to go and see
Eugene Onegin but even if I did, it's sold out. Ah well, next time, eh?
Also, maybe a film corner will be necessary? A couple of my courses require me to watch films, and I'd love to share them. My most recent favourite is
Little Otik (Otesanek), a Czech film of disturbing proportions. Other favourites from this academic year include
A Bout de souffle,
Une femme est une femme and
Jules et Jim.
Well, this is me, signing off.
Happy reading and
Happier blogging
Lots of Love
Little Newman
xxx
