This book slithered off the TBR pile and infected my thoughts. Infected is kind of a negative word, but all the alternatives I come up with have a negative connotation as well - invaded, infested, insinuated, infiltrated. This shouldn't suggest that I disliked the book; while parts of it were very difficult to read, the context in which the book takes place makes it all make more sense than it probably should. I guess what I mean by infected is that I find myself seeing things around me and comparing them to places and situations in the book, which is ridiculous considering my daily life is nothing like the world of this book. The voice of the narrator is one that is going to live in my mind in an active way for a while.
This is another book I wish I had read in a classroom setting, as it would be interesting to discuss so many aspects of this book. I suspect I could write hundreds of papers about this book, and I'm sure if I went Googling I could find quite a bit of analysis, as the world has had 50 years to digest it. A difficult book to be sure, but recommended.
I must note that this book is yet another I picked up for a song at the Borders Last Days sales. It has a new translation, and although I hadn't read the original translation and therefore can't compare them, I must say that the translation flowed smoothly and made for wonderful reading.
I saw the movie adaptation more than years ago, and there are scenes I've never forgotten. And I can't even tell you how many books I still have from the Borders liquidation!! And thanks for linking your post to the Back to the Classics Challenge!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, I too saw the movie ages ago, and there are some scenes I still recall with clarity, and obviously a lot of others I must have wiped from my memory. I had a moment at Borders, it was crazy, and to prove I need a bookaholic intervention, I sometimes think back on the last time I went there and wish I had somehow gotten MORE books - yeesh!! :S :D
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