“Books are safe.”
Contrary to Whovian—Fahrenheit lore, when turning a page is one of the few activities least likely to exacerbate a shouty shoulder, books do turn somewhat benign.
California Dreamers | Norman Bogner
Being as old than myself, some of Bogner’s attitudes here are certainly contemporaneous (rape games? Mm. Gross.)
But on the whole, I found I could easily root the most for protagonist Claire, “the jilted small-town beauty who followed [Bobby] West”.
Her determination to pick herself up, dust herself off & stand her ground in matters of business, romance & love.
I’m still not entirely convinced of the logical leap from seeing someone sporting camouflage trousers to setting up an entire equivalent Army-&-Navy Store but hey ho, plot must.
I did appreciate the turn of phrase here,
These were the faces she encountered each day on Rodeo Drive, tough and finicky in stores, but at night their real faces crawled out of the sunlight…” [203-204]
Bogner, Norman. California Dreamers.
Sphere Books: London, 1982.
Next up:
Night Side Of The River | Jeanette Winterson
Appropriately enough:
What did Albert Camus say? It’s not one thing or the other which leads to madness; it’s the space in between them.I’m living in a space between lives — my past and my future. I’m living in a space between worlds. How could I not feel like a crazy woman. [102]
— Mm. Not so much crazed as caught.
This was a slow burn read for me. Short story collections aren’t my usual go-to. I’m not sure I’ve actually read a collection since my undergrad years with its Granta broad strokes C.20th (somewhat underwhelming) American anthology (1998 ed.?)
— All I remember from then is a woman, a girdle & some … turkey fat perhaps? Delightful.
Give me Uncle Tom’s Cabin over that any day. Although perhaps I should actually be following up on Bill Nighy’s ill advised secondary Percival Everett recommendation of James (second to The Trees); anyway —
I’ve not picked up any Winterson for a while, crammed as the Ws of my bookcase may be. The book was loaned by a former colleague; they’d never quite clicked with her before & yet - this time - the ghost stories paid off. Triumph!
Favourite chapters include
• Ghost In The Machine:
an awkward love triangle between the living, the dead & the avatar.
• The Spare Room:
its nod to Spitalfields, of rooms occupied & not, of bad endings, seeking closure & forging resolution.
Winterson, Jeanette. Night Side Of The River.
Vintage: Great Britain, 2023.
Vintage: Great Britain, 2023.