On the reading table
Not the End of the World is a collection of stories ("tales" is truly the right word in this case) by Scots writer Kate Atkinson. Her voice is so strong that anything she says is credible, although the characters and situations she draws are not. Rarely a name and maybe even a character from one story shows up in another, making one wonder if one should have truly studied the words rather than merely savor them.
The Thief of Happiness by Bonnie Friedman is a wickedly writerly account of a seven year course of psychotherapy that helped her get out of writer's block among other things. The transference and dilemmas of working-through are keenly described from the analysand's point of view. She knows what she knows, and wonders about the rest. To good advantage in the long run. Of course, working through also means she is sometimes frustrated and angry with the therapist... which she doesn't realize is probably the way it should be. Very interesting and a little bit challenging for therapists, analysands and those considering therapy.
The Rising Tide by John Barry (which I've only just started!!) is an amazingly thorough history of the taming (?) of the Mississippi River. Published before the drowning of New Orleans after its levees failed, the legacy of politics, political short cuts, hubris, corruption and insufficient science is all too clear. Whether that legacy can be re-shaped remains to be seen.
Not the End of the World is a collection of stories ("tales" is truly the right word in this case) by Scots writer Kate Atkinson. Her voice is so strong that anything she says is credible, although the characters and situations she draws are not. Rarely a name and maybe even a character from one story shows up in another, making one wonder if one should have truly studied the words rather than merely savor them.
The Thief of Happiness by Bonnie Friedman is a wickedly writerly account of a seven year course of psychotherapy that helped her get out of writer's block among other things. The transference and dilemmas of working-through are keenly described from the analysand's point of view. She knows what she knows, and wonders about the rest. To good advantage in the long run. Of course, working through also means she is sometimes frustrated and angry with the therapist... which she doesn't realize is probably the way it should be. Very interesting and a little bit challenging for therapists, analysands and those considering therapy.
The Rising Tide by John Barry (which I've only just started!!) is an amazingly thorough history of the taming (?) of the Mississippi River. Published before the drowning of New Orleans after its levees failed, the legacy of politics, political short cuts, hubris, corruption and insufficient science is all too clear. Whether that legacy can be re-shaped remains to be seen.
1 comment:
Hey, will you send me the other Kate Atkison book? I forgot to take it with me over turkey day...
HUGS!
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