Thursday, March 18, 2004
The Resurrectionists - Kim Wilkins
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
This was good. Really good.
Really impressive writing. I often find that some 'literary' writers read like they are trying too hard. It takes a special author to write simple, flowing prose that is at once easy to read and inspiring in its beauty.
I knew from the first sentence that I was reading something special.
"On the first Thursday in November, Maisie Fielding watched as her boyfriend murdered a woman in a fit of jealous passion, but her mind was elsewhere."
It's only an opera, but that's a first sentence big on the impact.
I think I will leave a plot description out, this is a book that you should just go out and read, and an author that I will definitely be chasing up. To give you an idea of genre, it is probably best classified as horror, although when I heard her talk at a writer's festival I think she classified her writing as gothic, bodice rippers, which also comes close.
I think that my only major complaint was the main characters name. Throughout the entire book I could just never bring the character that formed in my head to fit the name Maisie. At times when I was tired (I pulled a couple of late nights to finish this) I actually read it as malaise.
At times it was almost Lovecraftesque, but I dont think she quite lives up to his prose. Although I have only ever read his short stories and it is probably easier to impress in that format than in a novel.
I have a number of notes that I am having trouble fiting into paragraphs so I might drop in to point form, a number of these are as much for my benefit as for yours, sorry.
Quote - "Circumstances and opportunity are all that are required, and then any man can find himself a million miles from his heart's desire, though it seems he walked but a few feet to get there."
Quote - "I am to die on a Wednesday. Strange. I have never held a particular prejudice against Wednesdays."
There was a scene on a Yorkshire beach, where the beach is covered with snow. For some reason this seemed like a very powerful image. I liked it.
She manages to use some quite brilliant hooks at the end of chapters that made the book hard to put down. The second night I was reading it I remember at 2.30am trying to figure out whether I could finish it before going to work in the morning. I figured I would still be slightly short at 7, so went to bed.
The conclusion seemed to be petering out at one stage, but then Kim adds another delicious twist and concocts what is perhaps the saddest ending that I have ever read. Very deep.
Turn off you computer.
Find this book.
Read it.
Or Else.
This was good. Really good.
Really impressive writing. I often find that some 'literary' writers read like they are trying too hard. It takes a special author to write simple, flowing prose that is at once easy to read and inspiring in its beauty.
I knew from the first sentence that I was reading something special.
"On the first Thursday in November, Maisie Fielding watched as her boyfriend murdered a woman in a fit of jealous passion, but her mind was elsewhere."
It's only an opera, but that's a first sentence big on the impact.
I think I will leave a plot description out, this is a book that you should just go out and read, and an author that I will definitely be chasing up. To give you an idea of genre, it is probably best classified as horror, although when I heard her talk at a writer's festival I think she classified her writing as gothic, bodice rippers, which also comes close.
I think that my only major complaint was the main characters name. Throughout the entire book I could just never bring the character that formed in my head to fit the name Maisie. At times when I was tired (I pulled a couple of late nights to finish this) I actually read it as malaise.
At times it was almost Lovecraftesque, but I dont think she quite lives up to his prose. Although I have only ever read his short stories and it is probably easier to impress in that format than in a novel.
I have a number of notes that I am having trouble fiting into paragraphs so I might drop in to point form, a number of these are as much for my benefit as for yours, sorry.
Quote - "Circumstances and opportunity are all that are required, and then any man can find himself a million miles from his heart's desire, though it seems he walked but a few feet to get there."
Quote - "I am to die on a Wednesday. Strange. I have never held a particular prejudice against Wednesdays."
There was a scene on a Yorkshire beach, where the beach is covered with snow. For some reason this seemed like a very powerful image. I liked it.
She manages to use some quite brilliant hooks at the end of chapters that made the book hard to put down. The second night I was reading it I remember at 2.30am trying to figure out whether I could finish it before going to work in the morning. I figured I would still be slightly short at 7, so went to bed.
The conclusion seemed to be petering out at one stage, but then Kim adds another delicious twist and concocts what is perhaps the saddest ending that I have ever read. Very deep.
Turn off you computer.
Find this book.
Read it.
Or Else.
