Mary Gaitskill.
I consider Gaitskill, Messud, Morrison et al kind of like patricians of literature. They have this aura I suppose of being up on a level entirely unreachable. I would have put Atwood too in the list but I sometimes find her a little goofy. But Gaitskill has this sort of coldness I think which for me reflects in her books too. I remember reading Veronica, again a book about two women and the relationship between them. Two Girls, Fat and Thin likewise is about, well, two girls- fat & thin.
The structure is what attracted me at first, the way you she has two parallel narratives and then at the end of each you pick up a strand from the previous. And this is hard to do because each narrative belongs to each girl. So she uses first person for Dorothy and third for Justine. And this works very well because the "I" is so vivid in its descriptions that there is never any crosstalk confusion.
Do you ever wish sometimes when you climb on a bus and find a decent seat for the journey to not end? That you could just sit for a long while on that bus and look outside? This is my favorite feeling while book reading and with a good book I always feel like "close the book, close it, save it for later!"
My other favorite comparison is in movies when the lady who lives alone finishes up her work and slowly walks home, opens door and nudges off shoes and finds her cat because dogs probably would be waiting anyway and then checks fridge, makes a sensible meal ( never junk food) and watches t.v and sleeps in a tidily made bed with flower printed sheets and comfortable pillows and a soft comforter while wearing socks and reads a while in bed and then turns off her light and sits for a minute before lying down and pulling the comforter up. Why on earth would I like this rather done and sad scene? I dont know. Maybe it relays some kind of self-sufficiency which I hugely lack now a days. I think the latest I saw of this kind is of Claire Danes in a meh movie and I do love her so much and I wanted her to find love etc but mostly I just wanted to see her come home. So this is other scenario that I link with a good book. A slowness to everything.
This book in all its terrifying sadness makes me feel blessed. What is the point of reading a book? Emotionally that is. Sometimes for me it is to relate, sometimes to gloat, to feel better, to take comfort in ugliness but most often it is to make sense of humans and any time I come across some kind of human kindess it both upsets and relieves me. Which is why this book is so perfect. They are all so deformed and incapable and so familiar. I have been reading it for a whole week now and that is a long time for a book.
The other interesting thing and this is quite awesome- it parodies Ayn Rand! Thank you! Its not objectivism here but she calls it "Definitism" but you can tell. The name is Anna Granite! And how Dorothy joins her cult. I have often thought about how it is possible to wind up completely alone in life. Where does everyone you know go? Toward the middle of this book, I felt more convinced about isolation. Its such a natural progression for these characters that you don't even question it.
Yes, it's also about family screwing your life but it would be too pat to describe it as a dysfunctional family story.
You know how they tell you this bullshit rule in school? Make likeable characters? What does that even mean? If you do know what it means, good but Gaitskill does such a good job of immensely sorry characters but never vitcim-ish but strong in-spite of it all and still likeable! Quite amazing! You want these two to march on and live and thrive etc although its probably never going to be that bright. I have fifty pages to go but I dont want it to end.
I consider Gaitskill, Messud, Morrison et al kind of like patricians of literature. They have this aura I suppose of being up on a level entirely unreachable. I would have put Atwood too in the list but I sometimes find her a little goofy. But Gaitskill has this sort of coldness I think which for me reflects in her books too. I remember reading Veronica, again a book about two women and the relationship between them. Two Girls, Fat and Thin likewise is about, well, two girls- fat & thin.
The structure is what attracted me at first, the way you she has two parallel narratives and then at the end of each you pick up a strand from the previous. And this is hard to do because each narrative belongs to each girl. So she uses first person for Dorothy and third for Justine. And this works very well because the "I" is so vivid in its descriptions that there is never any crosstalk confusion.
Do you ever wish sometimes when you climb on a bus and find a decent seat for the journey to not end? That you could just sit for a long while on that bus and look outside? This is my favorite feeling while book reading and with a good book I always feel like "close the book, close it, save it for later!"
My other favorite comparison is in movies when the lady who lives alone finishes up her work and slowly walks home, opens door and nudges off shoes and finds her cat because dogs probably would be waiting anyway and then checks fridge, makes a sensible meal ( never junk food) and watches t.v and sleeps in a tidily made bed with flower printed sheets and comfortable pillows and a soft comforter while wearing socks and reads a while in bed and then turns off her light and sits for a minute before lying down and pulling the comforter up. Why on earth would I like this rather done and sad scene? I dont know. Maybe it relays some kind of self-sufficiency which I hugely lack now a days. I think the latest I saw of this kind is of Claire Danes in a meh movie and I do love her so much and I wanted her to find love etc but mostly I just wanted to see her come home. So this is other scenario that I link with a good book. A slowness to everything.
This book in all its terrifying sadness makes me feel blessed. What is the point of reading a book? Emotionally that is. Sometimes for me it is to relate, sometimes to gloat, to feel better, to take comfort in ugliness but most often it is to make sense of humans and any time I come across some kind of human kindess it both upsets and relieves me. Which is why this book is so perfect. They are all so deformed and incapable and so familiar. I have been reading it for a whole week now and that is a long time for a book.
The other interesting thing and this is quite awesome- it parodies Ayn Rand! Thank you! Its not objectivism here but she calls it "Definitism" but you can tell. The name is Anna Granite! And how Dorothy joins her cult. I have often thought about how it is possible to wind up completely alone in life. Where does everyone you know go? Toward the middle of this book, I felt more convinced about isolation. Its such a natural progression for these characters that you don't even question it.
Yes, it's also about family screwing your life but it would be too pat to describe it as a dysfunctional family story.
You know how they tell you this bullshit rule in school? Make likeable characters? What does that even mean? If you do know what it means, good but Gaitskill does such a good job of immensely sorry characters but never vitcim-ish but strong in-spite of it all and still likeable! Quite amazing! You want these two to march on and live and thrive etc although its probably never going to be that bright. I have fifty pages to go but I dont want it to end.
3 comments:
wow you really make me want to read this book.
I have 40 pages left! :) If you read, would you let me know what you think.
i want to read it too now
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