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What I've been reading: Books No. 31-32
Jun. 16th, 2020 02:04 pmBook No. 31 was " Just Kids" by Patti Smith. I really adored this memoir by Patti Smith about her youthful relationship and lifelong friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The two inspired each other as both artist and muse and helped propel the other to fame. The memoir includes lots of photos, drawings, and other memorabilia of the time. You can tell Patti is a poet first and foremost, and that comes through in the beautiful prose and imagery in the book. It made me want to dig deep into Patti Smith's work and learn more about her. Just a beautiful memoir. Highly recommended.
Book No. 32 was " The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen. This novel tells the story of the Lambert family. Both parents and all three adult children are going off the rails in different ways and need to make some "corrections." On the plus side, Franzen is a genius with plotting and setting up small scenes that pay off big later. His prose is excellent. I felt a little teary but also chuckled at the ends, and any writer who can inspire that sort of emotional reaction is doing something right.
On the down side, much like the character Chip's screenplay, you need to get over an obstacle in order to get into the novel, and that obstacle is that pretty much every family member is hard to like. I had some sympathy for mother Enid and daughter Denise, but even Enid has her faults, and Denise makes some pretty poor choices over the course of the novel. Overall, though, this is definitely worth a read, and I can see why it won awards and came in as a finalist for several more.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
Book No. 32 was " The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen. This novel tells the story of the Lambert family. Both parents and all three adult children are going off the rails in different ways and need to make some "corrections." On the plus side, Franzen is a genius with plotting and setting up small scenes that pay off big later. His prose is excellent. I felt a little teary but also chuckled at the ends, and any writer who can inspire that sort of emotional reaction is doing something right.
On the down side, much like the character Chip's screenplay, you need to get over an obstacle in order to get into the novel, and that obstacle is that pretty much every family member is hard to like. I had some sympathy for mother Enid and daughter Denise, but even Enid has her faults, and Denise makes some pretty poor choices over the course of the novel. Overall, though, this is definitely worth a read, and I can see why it won awards and came in as a finalist for several more.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
