What I've been reading
Jun. 4th, 2015 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarahmichigan"Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father" by John Matteson. This is really a group biography of the whole Alcott family, focusing on Louisa and her father. Her father is an interesting intellectual, writer and speaker in his own right, though less famous today than his daughter. He tried many utopian experiments throughout his life, and Louisa was guided and taught by transcendental greats Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. There are other Alcott biographies out there with good reviews, but I really, really liked the context that was provided by examining her father's life as well. I liked it so well I'm giving a copy to a friend who is also a devoted reader.
and
"The Wasp Factory" by Iaian Banks. I had this recommended as a twisted book with lots of gender-bendy themes, and it doesn't disappoint on those points. It's told from the viewpoint of a teenage boy who lives on a remote island with his father in Scotland. There are many mysteries surrounding his upbringing and why his older brother, Eric, went mad. The book starts with the announcement that Eric has escaped from the insane asylum and is on his way back home. This prompts Frank, the main character, too look back on his life and past crimes. While I found a lot of the subject matter off-putting (this book will really bother animal lovers as it contains a LOT of animal cruelty), the voice and the construction of the book were magnificent and I certainly felt compelled to keep reading this slim volume. It's very different than the only other book I've ever read by Banks, "The Algebraist," but I see some similarities in theme between the two. I'm definitely impressed enough with both books to seek out more by the author.
My full comments on both books here.
and
"The Wasp Factory" by Iaian Banks. I had this recommended as a twisted book with lots of gender-bendy themes, and it doesn't disappoint on those points. It's told from the viewpoint of a teenage boy who lives on a remote island with his father in Scotland. There are many mysteries surrounding his upbringing and why his older brother, Eric, went mad. The book starts with the announcement that Eric has escaped from the insane asylum and is on his way back home. This prompts Frank, the main character, too look back on his life and past crimes. While I found a lot of the subject matter off-putting (this book will really bother animal lovers as it contains a LOT of animal cruelty), the voice and the construction of the book were magnificent and I certainly felt compelled to keep reading this slim volume. It's very different than the only other book I've ever read by Banks, "The Algebraist," but I see some similarities in theme between the two. I'm definitely impressed enough with both books to seek out more by the author.
My full comments on both books here.
