Okay, so this book got me interested very quickly, then I had to labor a bit to figure out exactly what was going on but then after I did, I was rewarded. I would say this book is not for everyone, you will either love it or hate it. The book is literally from the perspective of a guy who has realistically lost faith in this life, especially after his young daughter dies, who he says died BECAUSE she was so innocent. He is convinced that God and nature hunt the innocent and it is within the human mind (part of nature and/or God) to also hunt the innocent. What he writes is what he sees, which is a plethora of sad, cruel and beautiful visions. Then comes Maison, the main female character, who is as vicious and devilish to him as the world is to the innocent. She loves him, promises to meet him (they met on the internet) and then stands him up, over and over again. He then takes this philosophy that he sees (that God and nature hunt the innocent) and puts it into practice himself, being unnaturally cruel, but in his case it is caused from a deep and quite disturbing sadness. The end is heart-wrenching and written very well. From what I can tell, there are a lot of influences here, but I can definitely see some James Joyce, as far as perspective is concerned: The protagonist is the writer who is telling the story as it happens, and the story that is told at the last part of the book, after you realize in the end when the book's secrets are revealed, is something sublimely horrible and sweetly scary.
Gina ]]>
Lesfleurs Dumal
read and liked
Bedlam Grrrl's
review of An Affair of Concoctions:
"I just finished this book, like I just read the last words and I was really, really surprised at the ending. I was choking the tears back. It's crazy how people who have been through the craziest situations end up projecting that in their lives, so t...more "
"I just finished this book, like I just read the last words and I was really, really surprised at the ending. I was choking the tears back. It's crazy how people who have been through the craziest situations end up projecting that in their lives, so t...more "
Lesfleurs Dumal
read and liked
Sarah Millstein's
review of An Affair of Concoctions:
"Amazing, amazing, amazing! I was absolutely blown away by this book. Have you ever met anybody before that just blows your mind, like you can't take your mind off what they are thinking? This book has so many incredible layers to it and is the birth ...more "
"Amazing, amazing, amazing! I was absolutely blown away by this book. Have you ever met anybody before that just blows your mind, like you can't take your mind off what they are thinking? This book has so many incredible layers to it and is the birth ...more "
A little confused by this, but after a while I started being able to follow it. I heard the Tropic books are better, I'll have to check them out. Very New York poetic, grimy style full of diseases and kids playing a game downstairs in the cellar called "stink finger" kind of humor. ]]>
Oh yeah, lines like this make me feel like a kitten:
"When my leisurely fingers are stroking your head
And your body's elasticity
And my hand becomes drunk with the pleasure it finds
In the feel of electricity"
That feels good just thinking about it. Baudelaire is my fav!
Les F.
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Did anyone realize that Ginsberg was the youngest of the Beats and that he actually had a sexual relationship with Cassady? After reading this book, I couldn't believe that that is what really happened. Karl Marx and Dean Moriarty? What the?
Les F. ]]>
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