This book. Well, it wasn't love at first sight I admit. I picked up from a recommendation from one of my fellow librarians during a galley chat #ewgc. I picked it up, read a bit and it seemed like it would be about a young, doomed couple à la Ian McEwan's "On Chesil Beach" which I liked but wasn't in the mood for. Reading fiction for me is hard when I'm on the go doing errands or taking a break from work. It has to be a truly quiet moment: no music playing, no TV blaring or kids running around etc. I finally found a quiet time, meaning 9 p.m. when the kids are in bed. And boom.
It was like literary fiction on steroids! How can a young author like Groff deliver something so profound and wise? If I highlighted my books (which I don't), my print copy would be soggy and neon-colored. Her insights are so...deadly. They pierce and well, kill. I've heard from my librarian peers that they preferred the second half of the book (Furies), but I actually liked them both, and if pressed, the first one more actually (Fates). Lotto started out okay, good-looking with some mother issues, but he's a harmless flirt to me and a bit endearing at times. So he was the main focus of Fates. Then came Mathilde's turn to dominate and bam! She is a heroine and if I was in my twenties, would be my hero whom I can look up to or aspire to. This book is so intelligent and crafty with so many layers of mythology and etymology woven in--I feel smarter just reading it. I love it and it's very affecting, the characters are like ghosts living with me.
My actual #fridayreads is IN OTHER WORDS by Jhumpa Lahiri
What's yours? Share in the comments below or tweet #fridayreads to @deienara
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