The Still Point - General No Spoilers

[LindaJ^]

Welcome to The Still Point! Switching between a muggy London to a freezing Northern Sea/Land, this was a dream-like read for me. Below are links to some reviews. No spoilers in this thread. I'll set up a spoiler thread in a couple of days. We can however discuss Sackville's style here. Who all expects to participate?

Reviews
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/bo...
https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-a...
http://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/point...
https://www.list.co.uk/article/23667-...
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2010/12/08...

[Hugh]

I will participate, and plan to start re-reading in the next few days. I liked the book a lot the first time so it will be interesting to see how well it stands up.

[LindaJ^]

Glad you are in Hugh!

[Pamela]

Yes I’ll be in. I really enjoyed Painter to the King so have high hopes. I plan to start reading at the weekend.

[Mark]

Yes I'm in Linda. Started this book last night - I immediately love the prose. This is going to be good!

[LindaJ^]

Pamela and Mark, glad to have you with us. I think Sackville’s style and prose is distinctive, being similar here to the later book, Painter to the King, which I loved a bit more than this one.

[Bretnie]

I'll be here too!

[LindaJ^]

That's great Bretnie.

[Hugh]

I first discovered Amy Sackville through her second novel Orkney, which I picked up when it came out in paperback purely on the strength of the title and enjoyed. Her three novels are all very different. I read this one shortly afterwards and will be interested to see where she goes next.

[LindaJ^]

And I discovered Amy Sackville through Hugh's excellent reviews of her books! I've not read Orkney yet but Painter to the King caused me to include a Velasquez tour - museums and sites around Madrid - on my last international trip in January 2020. The Still Point, however, is not causing me to try a trek to the North Pole!

[Mark]

Am about 20% through this story and I really like the way the author invites us to proceed into a room with her or take a closer look at something. It’s like we're exploring things with her, together.....

[LindaJ^]

Mark, I agree that she can pull the reader into the scene but, for me, always as an observer watching what goes on but a non-participant. Not suggesting that's bad, as I like that feeling of being there but at a distance, truly an observer, never a participant.

[Mark]

I'm in too. Through Part 1. Sackville is generous with the reader, with none of the "reader's puzzles" to bedevil the reader (looking at you Ali Smith) and a clear narrative line. Linda, yes the reader feels like an observer, but that's not such a bad thing.

[Mark]

Almost finished and really enjoying the two threads of this story and the house being the common thread between the two. Full of surprises!!

[Pamela]

I’m just about to start Part V so about two thirds through. I’ve really enjoyed it so far, I find the writing style strangely calming and I’m fascinated by the two timelines. I’ll finish up in the next couple of days and head for the spoiler thread.

[Tamara]

I just started it. I'm finding it very strange--almost as if I'm watching a movie in slow motion. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. A bit disconcerting, but I will keep going in the hopes of getting more comfortable with her style.

[LindaJ^]

Welcome Pamela and Tamara. Spoiler thread is ready whenever anyone feels ready to dive in.

Interesting comments on style. To me the author's style is distinctive. The way she maintains distance from the characters but makes you feel the setting a character is in or so it seemed to me.

[Tamara]

I know this will sound strange but her style reminds me of a short story called The Secret Room by Alain Robbe-Grillet. The story begins with a murder and goes back in time as if a film is being played in reverse. Obviously, the content is very different, but I get the same sense of observing something while it is happening--as a sort of detached bystander.

I've attached a link to the short story in case any of you are interested.
http://www.101bananas.com/library2/se...

[LindaJ^]

Thanks for the link Tamara. That is an interesting story. I agree with the feeling it conveys - that of a detached bystander describing a scene. It has a similar distance to that which Sackville creates in the book. Also the detailed description of the space reminds me of Sackville's descriptions of places.

[Tamara]

Well, I've just finished Part 3 and she has completely won me over. It is amazing writing. She has an incredible way with words. So much talent. I love the way she invites the reader in by addressing him/her directly. And I love the way she zooms in on certain scenes and then zooms back out like a camera moving backwards and forwards. And I love the way she shifts narratives. Did I mention i'm loving this?
My favorite character so far is Aunt Helen.
Sackville looks so young from her photo at the back of the book. How can someone so young have so much talent?

[LindaJ^]

From Wikipedia --

Amy Sackville FRSL (born 1981) is a British writer whose debut novel The Still Point was the winner of the 2010 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.

Sackville studied English and theatre studies at Leeds University, followed by an MPhil at Oxford's Exeter College before taking a job in the publishing industry. She also studied an MA in creative writing at London's Goldsmiths College.

Her first novel, The Still Point, was published in 2010 and nominated for that year's Orange Prize for Fiction. Her second novel, Orkney, won a Somerset Maugham Award in 2014. Her third novel, Painter to the King, about Diego Velázquez and the court of Philip IV of Spain was published in 2018.

In June 2018 Sackville was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.

As Hugh notes, what will she do next? So far, it has been a book every four years, which means we have a couple of years to wait. She is young, 40 in 2020, which means The Still Point was published when she was only 30.

[Tamara]

Thanks for the information.
I finished the novel and will post my thoughts on the other thread.