When I’m busy writing, my reading speeds up too–searches for inspiration have me casting far and wide, looking for characters, voice, structure. This week, I read three books that all contain that rare ability to take the reader’s breath away, giving the writer glimpses of how to do the same.
Amy Bloom is a new discovery for me, and frankly I am now obsessed. I read Where the God of Love Hangs Out in two sittings, then raced to the library for more, coming home with Away. The former is a collection of stories structured like a Greek temple (if you read the book, write to me and I’ll explain what that means), the latter a novel founded on a stunning conceit but so breakneck in its narrative that the conceit, however brilliant, quickly takes a back seat to character, setting and story.
All The Living, by C.E. Morgan is one of those books that disappears too fast: a slim, 200 pages; half a dozen characters; a singular place and time with plenty of ghosts and memories to keep the story going. I found myself in a fog for days after finishing the book and what made that fog last and last for me was the dream state created by the voice and the writing.
Writers, agents and editors often bemoan the sorry state of publishing in this country, to which I sometimes concur. Too many books, too little time. Many great books get lost and many bad books get a lot of attention. Writers have to work hard to get noticed, after doing the already hard work of writing a good book. But in the end, the true beauty of writing lies in a sublime experience of reading. It’s what made me want to be a writer in the first place, and it’s what these books did for me this week.
What’s the last book you read that took your breath away?
Comments 16
The last book I read that took my breath away was Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin. I, too, adore Amy Bloom –
Posted 30 May 2010 at 2:19 pm ¶“But in the end, the true beauty of writing lies in a sublime experience of reading. ” I agree. Love when I’m so engrossed in a book I miss it when I’m not reading it!
Posted 30 May 2010 at 3:00 pm ¶I’m just finishing a re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird. And I’m slowing to a snail’s pace as I near the end – because I don’t want to give it up.
Posted 31 May 2010 at 12:32 am ¶“the true beauty of writing lies in a sublime experience of reading” – so true! I read Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind a few years ago, and it still qualifies as one of the most sublime experiences of reading I’ve ever had.
Posted 31 May 2010 at 11:20 pm ¶I also loved Away… it stayed with me for days. Recent books that have really stayed with me:
The Help – Kathryn Stockett
Posted 01 Jun 2010 at 4:49 am ¶The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
Skeletons at the Feast – Chris Bohjalian
Love this question! I’ve found myself really into humorous essays lately and can’t get enough David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs. I think I’ve read most everything of theirs, and considering going around again!
Posted 01 Jun 2010 at 8:20 am ¶I’ve been reading, or rereading, older books lately. To my absolute delight, I loved Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth” even more than I had as a teenager. Written in an almost fable-like voice, through the pov of Wang Lung, a simple farmer in rural China (of an undetermined time, but no later than early twentieth century), it covers a huge sweep of a life and cultural expectations, and how the latter propel – and constrain – the former. It was also the first book I ever read where the family just happens to include a child with a disability. She’s not the focus of the story, but her presence, and Wang Lung’s undying love for and devotion to her, help create sympathy for his character, even when he’s made terrible choices or has thought ill of others. This is a book that really touched me emotionally at the same time as it taught me a log.
Posted 02 Jun 2010 at 4:43 am ¶Two all time “take my breath away” favorites: Mr. Summer’s Story by Patrick Suskind and The Pharmacist’s Mate by Amy Fusselman.
Posted 03 Jun 2010 at 5:54 pm ¶Both are slim, genre defying gems that can be read in a day.
P.S. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead–yum!
Posted 03 Jun 2010 at 5:59 pm ¶i’ve been reading a lot and many are books i like. but the last book that i fell in love with was McCracken’s An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination. Gorgeous.
Posted 04 Jun 2010 at 8:47 am ¶The Heart is A Lonely Hunter = an absolute JOY for me. I fell in literary love this year with that book.
Posted 04 Jun 2010 at 10:06 pm ¶Tinkers!
Posted 06 Jun 2010 at 5:55 pm ¶I recently read Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” as part of 1 Book, 1 Twitter (#1b1t). I would have read it eventually, but the worldwide book club aspect was intriguing. As it turned out, I loved the novel, but barely participated in the Twitter.
Posted 09 Jun 2010 at 2:04 pm ¶Would you ask this question about twice a year or so? The last two-three books that have taken my breath away are:
The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang– a young Hmong writer with an extraordinary story and great gifts of language, perspective, love; and poetry– Blood Dazzler and Teahouse of the Almighty– both by Patricia Smith.
Posted 10 Jun 2010 at 8:40 pm ¶I read Where the God of Loves Out in one day and then immediately requested all of Bloom’s collections and Away from the library. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to discover her as I remembered seeing Away a few years back. As someone said, Away stayed with me for a few days. Check out my blog for more reviews…
Posted 20 Jul 2010 at 3:07 am ¶I second The Late Homecomer–and Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Not new, got through grad school without reading it somehow, but then, I’m grateful to have read it at this moment in my life now.
Posted 21 Aug 2010 at 6:27 pm ¶Post a Comment