my fav book… not novel or story?
honestly… the thesaurus.
so much entertainment.
It occurs to me that the most helpful posts are those which provide a little bit of description of the books rather than just a list. Anyone agree? Anyway, putting my money where my mouth is, here are my favourites again with a bit of description:
The Republic of Love by Carol Shields: a gentle whimsical look at two people who fall in love, the joy it brings, but also the disruption to their lives.
Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee: a georgeous description of Lee’s childhood in abject poverty in a village in the Cotswolds. Written from the point of view of the child he was; but Lee is a poet, and this shines through in his prose:
The day Rosie Burdock decided to take me in hand was a motionless day of summer, creamy, hazy, and amber-coloured, with the beech trees standing in heavy sunlight as though clogged with wild wet honey. Or:
And that day indeed Granny Trill died, whose bones were too old to mend. Like a delicate pale bubble, blown a little higher and further than the other girls of her generation, she had floated just long enough for us to catch sight of her, had hovered an instant before our eyes; and then had popped suddenly, and disappeared forever, leaving nothing on the air but a faint-drying image and the tiniest cloud of snuff
Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robbins: well, this is about a girl called Sissy who is born with enormous thumbs and who grows up to be a champion hitchhiker. But that impoverished description doesn’t describe the book at all. Again, its all about the style, the meandering, off-at-a-tangent way Robbins writes. and its hard to describe. Even a quote doesn’t do him justice: it’s a cumulative effect. Here’s the end of Part I:
*… Or is the author trying to ease you into something here, trying to manipulate you a little bit when he ought to be just telling his story the way a good author should? Maybe that’s the case. Lets drop it for now.
But look here a minute. Over here. Here’s a girl. She’s a nice girl. And she’s a pretty girl. She looks a bit like the young Princess Grace, had the young Princess Grace been left out in the rain for a year.
What’s that you say? Her thumbs? Yes, aren’t they magnificent? The word for her thumbs has got to be rococo- rocococototo tutti! by God.
Ladies. Gentlemen. Shhh. This is the way truth is. You’ve got to let those strange hands touch you.*
You see, you’re not into straightforward story-telling territory here. (Can any Robbins fans come up with a quote which gives a better snapshot of his prose. I had a quick flick through, but I don’t have time just now to do it properly. Or is that a hijack? I’m a newbie at this posting business!)