The Accidental Stepford

Stepford - n. a married person who submits to their partner's will and is preoccupied by domestic concerns.

What I have been reading recently

image

In December I finished Saturday by Ian McEwan, and was at a lost as to what I should follow it with. After reading such a great book, I struggled to settle on my next read. I tried reading Flush by Virginia Woolf (having already read all her other novels with the exception of Night and Day as part of my degree), but I failed to get into it… one for another day I think.

I went through a week without reading anything, then it was Christmas time and I went home to my parents’ house. My salvation came in the form of five great books that I really wanted to read amongst my presents on Christmas morning. I started Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis on Boxing Day and had devoured it by the following day. I wrote my dissertation on Ellis in the Autumn of 2009, and when Imperial Bedrooms came out last summer I knew I wanted to read it (it had originally been scheduled for release whilst I was writing my diss. which had concerned me a lot) but having spent so much time with his works, I need time away from him… I have to say I was mildly disappointed by Imperial Bedrooms. It was amusing and surprisingly streamlined given the sizes of Glamorama and Lunar Park, but I felt like Clay no longer sounded like Clay… he sounded like the fictitious version of Bret himself from Lunar Park. A minor quibble about was a great and challenging piece of literature, but I’m still concerned that Ellis is starting to become unable to create a voice that does not sound like his own.

When I returned to Wolverhampton (and to work), I started to read Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood and loved it to pieces. I read A Single Man last year and was impressed, but I almost feel that Mr Norris… is a stronger piece. Well maybe not, but I loved it all the same. Arthur Norris is a wonderful creation, and Isherwood presents a vivid image of 1930s Berlin. I thoroughly encourage all to READ READ READ.

What next? I’m not sure. Maybe I should return to my fiance’s list of political theory books (yay… *cough*), or maybe I should read another of Joseph Hanson’s great detective books… hmm…

  1. theaccidentalstepford posted this