So funny and astute! Makes me think of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook as well. A while since I read it, but I remember noticing there was a lot more give than take on the female protagonist’s part in the central love affair! Get rid, love, I kept thinking!
I mean, it's not that I find the relationships in these books badly described - e.g. in Raven Leilani's 'Luster', she skilfully depicts a character (Edie) who's almost self-harming through the affair, which she's partly driven towards by financial precarity. But there's more to it emotionally, and the emotional aspect is unsettling and partially explained - Edie doesn't yet fully know herself, and we share in her confusion. The story's more about that than any kind of romance.
So funny and astute! Makes me think of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook as well. A while since I read it, but I remember noticing there was a lot more give than take on the female protagonist’s part in the central love affair! Get rid, love, I kept thinking!
I mean, it's not that I find the relationships in these books badly described - e.g. in Raven Leilani's 'Luster', she skilfully depicts a character (Edie) who's almost self-harming through the affair, which she's partly driven towards by financial precarity. But there's more to it emotionally, and the emotional aspect is unsettling and partially explained - Edie doesn't yet fully know herself, and we share in her confusion. The story's more about that than any kind of romance.
Yes, the relationships in that book felt more like negotiated hostilities, quite cold