Summer Reading 5.23
Iāll update with a full/planned list but Iāve already read two of them and I wanted to make some notes.Ā
So, Wide Sargasso Sea has been on myĀ āmust readā list since probably I read Madwoman in the Attic? Maybe before. I find literary theory always adds a ton to my tbrĀ pile. Anyway, it was exactly what I wanted to be and yet had nothing to do with what I had expected it to? To start with: the majority of the novel takes place before the events of Jane Eyre so we donāt have to deal so much with a they say/I say thing. I think probably this was a great choice? I was struck by how powerful the racism in WSS is. Everyoneās racism. The text has a great courage to not explain or tie up things, something that the Bronteās canāt avoid/resist. I think what is striking in this book is how much of the narrative is not plot, but the book still covers a lot of ground very rapidly?Ā
Icarus Girl, Helen Oyeyemiās first book, is a great novel. I am tempted to call it a post-colonial ghost story? Iām not sure. Oyeyemiās story moves between England and Nigeria rather well. Nothing seems trite or expected but it doesnāt ignore its past. She commits to events and actions. Maybe in this book even more than her others. The writing is beautiful. Thereās a degree of surprise and intimacy in this book that I donāt want to over discuss. The characters discuss representation multiple times and childhood anger and anxiety. Thereās a really well handled telling of a scared parent, Oyeyemi is able to show the adult emotion while still remaining committed to the trauma and fear of the child.Ā
