Basically, the CAMERA part tells the story of George, a young woman who is dealing with the loss of her mother with flashbacks to a trip they had taken to Italy to see frescoes in Ferrara. In the EYES part, we find ourselves in the role of the artist who had painted the frescos.
The CAMERA section is a pretty standard meditation on grief. But the EYES section is incomprehensible at parts and is a bit of a struggle to get through. But when you figure out what's going on, it's relatively interesting. Weird, but interesting.
Eh. This seems like experimental fiction that will resonate with some people, but will seem like a gimmick to others. I'm somewhere in the middle. I admire the attempt and ambition, but I'm not sure it hit the mark for me. I think the most interesting thing about this book is its structure and framing device, but I don't have a lot to say about its actual content or themes.
Overall, it was fine, but I wish it had more to say to me. 3/5 stars
Lines of note:
Is her other really dead? Is it an elaborate hoax? (All hoaxes, on TV and the radio and in the papers and online, are described as elaborate or not.) (page 66)
I like this observational humor. It's true, right? No one just does a hoax, it's always an elaborate hoax.
It is a feeling thing, to be a painter of things : cause every thing, even an imagined or gone thing or creature or person has essence : paint a rose or a coin or a duck or a brick and you'll feel it as sure as if a coin had a mouth and told what it was like to be a coin, as if a rose had told you first-hand what petals are, their softness and wetness held in a pellicle of colour thinner and more feeling than an eyelid, as if a duck told you about the combined wet and underdry of its feathers, a brick about the rough kiss of its skin. (page 228)
I wish I were a creative type. I really do. Doesn't this sound wonderful?
Word I looked up:
Her father was maundering on...(page 162) - talk in a rambling manner
Well... this sounds interesting. But in a way that probably won't make me read it. It sounds like it's well-written, but when I read a book I really love to get totally immersed in the story. Having to appreciate the fact that it's "experimental fiction" distracts me. I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot of fascinating books, but there are only so many hours in a day.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. This sounds like an interesting concept but probably not for me.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a hard concept to pull off - especially since the book could be read in either order. I haven't read it but have considered reading her seasons series as I've heard it's really good.
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