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A review by michelempls
The Needle's Eye: Passing Through Youth by Fanny Howe
1.0
I didn’t like this book – [b:The Needle's Eye: Passing through Youth|28015098|The Needle's Eye Passing through Youth|Fanny Howe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453061014s/28015098.jpg|48025515]. [a:Fanny Howe|128742|Fanny Howe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1203806465p2/128742.jpg]seemed, to me, to be hinting at a greater depth in her writing than she ultimately reveals. Perhaps this is a poetic form she’s using? I was left with the impression that this is more blog, than book.
The writing, apparently previously published essays and poems for the most part, comes off stylistically choppy. The innocence of childhood, perverted by the world; the visions of St. Francis and St. Clare; the author’s relationship with a celibate Russian translator; the cinema in general and Bergman films, especially – all her expositions on these left me ultimately cold, and not really caring about the subject of her writing.
There were some interesting moments, when Howe reveals some surprising tidbit, only to abandon it in the very next sentence. Others may appreciate this stylistic choice, but I found it distracting in the extreme. In my opinion, non-sequiturs do not make a memoir experimental, they confuse and ultimately irritate the reader.
The writing, apparently previously published essays and poems for the most part, comes off stylistically choppy. The innocence of childhood, perverted by the world; the visions of St. Francis and St. Clare; the author’s relationship with a celibate Russian translator; the cinema in general and Bergman films, especially – all her expositions on these left me ultimately cold, and not really caring about the subject of her writing.
There were some interesting moments, when Howe reveals some surprising tidbit, only to abandon it in the very next sentence. Others may appreciate this stylistic choice, but I found it distracting in the extreme. In my opinion, non-sequiturs do not make a memoir experimental, they confuse and ultimately irritate the reader.