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A review by expendablemudge
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
5.0
This CBC Radio interview recorded before she didn't win the Booker, and is tremendously interesting.
Real Rating: 4.75* of five
Can't do this justice. I don't know that I fully *got* the book; the story isn't much, but then again neither is [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428891345l/338798._SY75_.jpg|2368224]. The unfolding awareness, the blossoming consciousness, the sheer bravura attack on lesser lights of literary mediocrity that this long sentence represents is enough in and of itself to command your eyeblinks.
I'll pass on an important tip for those whose literary tastes quail before sentences sesquipedalian: Whenever "the fact that" appears, mentally insert a period. You will be amazed at how big a difference this makes to your sense of control over the material.
If you're not averse to experiments with form, though, I recommend submerging into the current of words. It is the reading equivalent of leaving the sauna and leaping naked into the icy water of a Swedish wintertime lake. It is the experience of spending a long, wearing hike of the gorgeous Appalachian trail unshowered, then coming to a long, hot shower with soft, warm towels to soothe your weary muscles.
Yes. It is that good.
Real Rating: 4.75* of five
Can't do this justice. I don't know that I fully *got* the book; the story isn't much, but then again neither is [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428891345l/338798._SY75_.jpg|2368224]. The unfolding awareness, the blossoming consciousness, the sheer bravura attack on lesser lights of literary mediocrity that this long sentence represents is enough in and of itself to command your eyeblinks.
I'll pass on an important tip for those whose literary tastes quail before sentences sesquipedalian: Whenever "the fact that" appears, mentally insert a period. You will be amazed at how big a difference this makes to your sense of control over the material.
If you're not averse to experiments with form, though, I recommend submerging into the current of words. It is the reading equivalent of leaving the sauna and leaping naked into the icy water of a Swedish wintertime lake. It is the experience of spending a long, wearing hike of the gorgeous Appalachian trail unshowered, then coming to a long, hot shower with soft, warm towels to soothe your weary muscles.
Yes. It is that good.