I've just finished reading Penelope Fitzgerald's 'Offshore' - and, I don't get it. I'm sure there are lots of people who think it's a work of pure genius, but it's not for me.
I found the story structure rambled, and I was often guessing at who the speaker was. For a very short novel, there were a lot of characters with a lot going on. It read rather like a mid-season episode of a soap opera you've never seen. The conclusion of the novel resolved nothing. In fact, there isn't a single story line that was satisfactorily wrapped up, and that bugs the heck out of me. I have no idea what happened to any of these characters, so really what was the purpose of asking me to care for them over the past 181 pages? I see no point.
I'm rambling. Suffice to say I did not enjoy this book.
Next book is William Golding's "Rites of Passage" - third nautical related book in a row! I'm starting to feel a bit queasy...
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
It Is Possible To Like Something You Do Not Understand
I finished reading Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea" at midnight last night, only took me twenty-freaking-days! I'm now approximately three books behind schedule, with two rather intense books looming on the reading list: Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" and Thomas Keneally's "Schindler's Ark" are currently sitting at positions 3 & 4 in my queue. I'm actually rather looking forward to "Midnight's Children" but I'm slightly intimidated by it as well. I may adjust my reading schedule slightly by going back to read some of the titles I was unable to locate earlier, mainly because I don't want to be struggling with my reading during the holiday season. I will be busy and emotional as is.
Ok, back to "The Sea, The Sea". I actually really enjoyed this book, although I'm not sure I really 'got' it. There are a lot of philosophical passages where characters are just talking heads espousing their particular theories on life, love, and the cosmos - it's all relatively simple to understand, but it does slow down the plot progression quite a bit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the atmosphere (sea and buildings mostly) and also the food related passages as they continued to be very poetic and very amusing, respectively.
The purpose of the story itself remains a bit of a mystery to me, but given it's style as a diary/memoir that almost suits it. I'm sure subsequent readings will show the plot structure more clearly, in those 'aha' moments where you can see what the author is doing because you already know what comes next. It's so easy to seem bright on the second or third reading of a book! Maybe I'm just not intelligent enough to understand it the first time through.
I did enjoy Murdoch's use of mystery and paranormal elements, and also the enigma of the spiritual mysticism - quiet frankly I loved Cousin James, and I rather think he should have had his own novel! Charles was... Well, I'm left thinking he's a fairly horrible person, but I suppose he's really no different than any of us. Even if he does use terrorist tactics on his friends and family. It's really just an extreme example of what most people do.
Anyway, as I said, I did enjoy the novel, and I'm glad I purchased a copy so I'll be able to re-read it in the not-so-near future. If you haven't read it, I do recommend it. It's a very interesting read.
My next book is Penelope Fitzgerald's "Offshore" - the jacket reviews sound promising, so I'm looking forward to this one. Plus, it's only 181 pages!
Happy Reading!
Ok, back to "The Sea, The Sea". I actually really enjoyed this book, although I'm not sure I really 'got' it. There are a lot of philosophical passages where characters are just talking heads espousing their particular theories on life, love, and the cosmos - it's all relatively simple to understand, but it does slow down the plot progression quite a bit. I enjoyed the descriptions of the atmosphere (sea and buildings mostly) and also the food related passages as they continued to be very poetic and very amusing, respectively.
The purpose of the story itself remains a bit of a mystery to me, but given it's style as a diary/memoir that almost suits it. I'm sure subsequent readings will show the plot structure more clearly, in those 'aha' moments where you can see what the author is doing because you already know what comes next. It's so easy to seem bright on the second or third reading of a book! Maybe I'm just not intelligent enough to understand it the first time through.
I did enjoy Murdoch's use of mystery and paranormal elements, and also the enigma of the spiritual mysticism - quiet frankly I loved Cousin James, and I rather think he should have had his own novel! Charles was... Well, I'm left thinking he's a fairly horrible person, but I suppose he's really no different than any of us. Even if he does use terrorist tactics on his friends and family. It's really just an extreme example of what most people do.
Anyway, as I said, I did enjoy the novel, and I'm glad I purchased a copy so I'll be able to re-read it in the not-so-near future. If you haven't read it, I do recommend it. It's a very interesting read.
My next book is Penelope Fitzgerald's "Offshore" - the jacket reviews sound promising, so I'm looking forward to this one. Plus, it's only 181 pages!
Happy Reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)