I haven't read too much of Emily Dickinson's work but this book makes me want to do just that. The poet recluse in white as portrayed by Charyn is infinitely complex, bound by her station in life but existing outside of those boundaries.
Brother was the first to have a Lexicon, and we perused the book under the fickle tyranny of a candle that obscured one word and lit another."...fickle tyranny of a candle..." - I love that!
Favorite passage 2:
A couple of years ago I had gathered up the courage to leave one small booklet of Verses under his door. Lord, I wasn't looking for praise, but the privilege of having a tiny anthill of my own. Months later I found the booklet shoved back under my door like a misused missile. And never a sound from Pa-pa, never a syllable. I couldn't become a sergeant in any war. It wouldn't even have pleasured Pa-pa had he known that half my songs were to him.Favorite passage 3:
Lord, I had merciless expectations of a man. With all my feebleness, I was finicky as a porcupine.
Annoying contraction:
I talk to Carlo [her dog], and he don't have to talk back.
I understand certain devices and "tricks" authors use but it only serves to annoy me when something is done that I can't figure out, which is the case for the use of the word "don't" when "doesn't" is the correct word choice for the sentence. Charyn uses the word "don't" in ways that are certainly not standard, if not just plain wrong, throughout the book. I hate that. 23 down, 3 to go.
6 comments:
I love that first passage too -from fickle to the end of the line. What a great visual. I am putting that book on my list. I bought some books at a thrift store to take to Mexico to read and will just leave them there.
Awesome!
Enjoyed your blog and comments. This turned out to be one of my favorite novels - I couldn't believe Emily Dickinson could seem so alive.
Having thought about it, I decided to add to my comment, just to say, that the quaint use of language found in this book rings true when you read her letters. She used "don't" and "ain't" in many of her more personal notes.
Lenore, This makes me want to read even more about her. I know she was a bit of an odd figure but my interest is definitely peaked since finishing this book.
Christie - I have created a facebook community for Emily Dickinson (not just The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson) that is thriving, with 250+ book & Emily lovers. Please have a look or better yet join us over there - we are starting to invite guest bloggers on literary themes - http://bit.ly/SecretEmilyDickinson
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