Literary criticism is hard for me so here is a list of the recently read:
- The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. Stef came in for a hard time because she has never been to Canada and yet wrote a book about the place. I guess she has never been to 1867 either. Stupid, stupid criticism of a moody book which has maybe too many fascinating characters with their all too brief stories. Recommended and I am looking forward to her second book already.
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Ah, speculative fiction or sf as it is usually known. Despite Atwood’s lack of commitment to the genre, this is science fiction and very well written too, unlike:
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy which I could not get into due to the liberal chucking around of obscure words. I don’t know how it ends, I returned it to the library.
- Carol (aka The Price of Salt) by Patrica Highsmith. Apparently first published as pulp fiction. What a treat to read pulp this good. Trademark unsympathetic characters but entirely gripping.
- As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. Slash fiction. Jacob is a pig of a man but I loved reading his story and his love for Ferris. Impeccable Civil War detail. Someone else whose next novel I am looking forward to.
- 1984 by George Orwell. First read at school, I read this every few years and never tire of it. It always seems particularly revelant. He was a genius.
- Observations by Jane Harris. Written in Scots and Northern Irish dialect, this was really easy to get into. However, despite the thrilling feeling that it was going to all Fingersmith on us, it didn’t and just ended poorly. Nice try though.
Have you read any other novels by Margaret Atwood? A Handmaid’s Tale is one of my favorite novels, and I also really enjoyed The Edible Woman and Bodily Harm. I haven’t read Oryx and Crake as yet.
I’ve read A Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace. Alias Grace was absorbing but didn’t answer the central question (not that I think it ever intended to do so but I like a conclusion). A Handmaid’s Tale seems more pertinent in a world of increasing religious extremism than it did when first published.