Tuesday, October 31, 2006

the last book I read

A Natural Curiosity by Margaret Drabble.

I read The Radiant Way (to which this is a sort of sequel) a couple of years ago and I remember thinking: this is all beautifully written, but what's it actually about? Funny, then, or perhaps not, that I ended up thinking exactly the same thing about this one. It's wonderfully observed, has lots of sharply perceptive things to say about the way modern lives & society operate, but still.....and it's not like I demand explosions, cars chasing motorcycles off cliffs, people having sex with goats that are on fire, etc. etc., although these are obviously not bad things, necessarily......and it's not about a lack of excitement or interest, because I was kept interested throughout, it's more that I was unclear as to the purpose of the narrative. And it's not that narrative has to have a purpose, necessarily, beyond entertaining the reader......maybe I was just led to expect something life-changing by the author's formidable reputation. So maybe my slight feeling of underwhelm-ment is down to my own unreasonable preconceptions. Yes, so it's all my fault, as usual. Typical.

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