In which I read two more books with #NovNov in mind, hosted by Rebecca and Cathy: one gentle epistolary immersion into an artist’s rediscovery of light, and the other a back-and-forth contemplation of past-and-present through eighteen short chapters about a surprisingly-Clark-Blais-ish writer. Dorothy Livesay (1909-1996) began writing The Husband
Through the first quarter of the novel, I was thinking of this as the story of two lovers. My take would’ve failed the Bechdel test, and I think, now, it’s really a tale of two sisters: Iris and Laura Chase. The girls would have passed, I think: even when
I’ve been wanting to read a Robert Louis Stevenson novel since I noticed Kaggsy @ Bookish Ramblings marking Robert Louis Stevenson Day several years ago. (If you’ve missed her writing, here’s a recent glimpse of her 2023 post and 2024’s.) It’s actually celebrated on November 13th, but I’m posting
“Surfacing changed a lot. Bodily Harm was a pretty fast write. Handmaid’s Tale was a fast write. Lady Oracle took me a long time because there are so many people and it’s complex. I think Surfacing changed the most from beginning to end.” “Freeforall” leaves me craving an in-a-nutshell
Through the summer, I read the 1966 classic novel Jubilee by Mississippi writer Margaret Walker (1915-1998). I chose it because I love the idea of having one novel in my stacks that stretches out for the whole summer. Inspired by the life of her great-grandmother, Walker takes readers across
