Kathleen Ford, Writer
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Three Novels

8/29/2016

2 Comments

 
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Of course my first love is short stories. Still, I used to read lots of novels. I mean, up until the past two years, I FINISHED novels. But then this new thing happened where I’d get about three-quarters of the way through and lose interest. It wasn’t that I hated the book - I’d read far enough to know I liked it - just not enough. So you can see why I’m excited by finishing three great novels in the past two weeks:

 THE GIRLS by Emma Cline was the first. It’s a great fast read about the Manson girls and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. It’s also a literary jewel with pitch perfect details that create a time and place.

WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler was the second. The great writing forced me to put up with my confusion. Then BAM! Along comes the big surprise that answers one question but poses dozens more. I kept reading and learning.

AN UNNECESSARY WOMAN by Rabih Alameddine is the ultimate literary novel. The old woman narrator has given her life to literature - as a translator. She’s a quirky hermit who keeps her work to herself - in tied up boxes in her Beirut apartment - while her mind is totally unbound. I wondered how this brilliantly meandering book could possibly stop - and there it was - the perfect ending. 
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2 Comments
Martha Ballenger
9/6/2016 02:29:59 pm

Thanks for these recommendations! The books sound intriguing, and I know from experience that your recommendations are reliably good ones. Thanks also for your own great stories!

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Jane Barnes link
9/12/2016 09:02:35 pm

You've completely awakened my sleeping love of novels! Some time has passed since I was reminded of their power to bring a compelling historic subject alive. But I've always wondered how those Manson girls got into such a grizzly mess. And then there's nothing so invigorating as a fiction with an answer that leads to a million questions. Well, nothing except an interesting character with "an unbound mind." What a beautiful phrase for a salvation we all long for. I'm assuming that Emma Cline, Karen Joy Fowler and Rabih Alameddine have called to ask you out for dinner!

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