The bloody chamber by Angela Carter.
One of the best thing to come out of this 48 years of books experiment has been the discovery of new writers thanks to a bit of gambling on my behalf and people’s recommendations. It goes without saying that occasionally this approach can backfire.
Case in point my latest read.
What was that all about???
I had heard of Angela Carter but only vaguely, and I had picked this up mainly because it was short stories and I like reading short stories occasionally. Well… what can I say? This collection is about fairy tales re-told in a gothic novel style… she seems to be quite focussed on the sexual element of the fairy tales, characters seem to be quite stereotyped – beautiful, little, innocent girls, big masculine, scary men etc. – but then the stories are reversed and the heroines are the women not the male characters…
I don’t know… I didn’t enjoy them, mainly for the writing style rather than the themes, I love how she place the new liberated female characters against the traditional fairy tales backdrops…yes, great, clever and probably ground breaking at the time… but the there are SO MANY WORDS!! Too many words for my liking… too many descriptions, repetitions, metaphors, figures of speech… just too many.
It was exhausting reading. And I must confess that I often found myself drifting off…
Interesting, glad I read it, I can see its value and cleverness… but not for me thank you.
My next two books are fab though so stay tuned.
THE LIST
2018 Mr Hanckock and the mermaid
2017 – Magari domain resto (Lorenzo Maroni)
2016 – Upstream (Mary Oliver)
2015
2014 – Annihilation (Jeff VanderMeer)
2013 – Careless people (Sarah Churchwell)
2012 – Wonder
2011 – The Paris Wife (Paula McLain)
2010
2009 – Let the great world spin (Colum McCann)
2008 – The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)
2007
2006
2005 – Never let me go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
2004
2003
2002 – Everything is illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer)
2001 – American Gods (Nail Gainman)
2000 – Coram Boy (Jamila Gavin)
1999
1998
1997 – Paradise (Toni Morrison)
1996 – Wilfred and Eileen (Jonathan Smith)
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991- Regeneration (Pat Barker)
1990
1989 – Like water to chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
1988
1987 – Norwegian Wood (Haruki Murakami)
1986
1985 – Oranges are not the only fruit (Jeanette Winterson)
1984
1983 – Heartburn (Nora Ephron)
1982 – The colour purple (Alice Walker)
1981
1980
1979– The bloody chamber (Angela Carter)
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
1972
1971
1970
while you're ahead... 