Seasonal Plume

Today’s Booking Through Thursday:

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

I’d always liked to live in either Narnia or Prydain. Those were the two fantasy worlds of my relative childhood, and they weigh roughly the same in my estimation. For Narnia particularly, I’m more interested in the first days, after the creation of Narnia, than the time of the Pevensies as kings and queens of the land. And for Prydain, certainly the time before the end of the series ;)

I would certainly not want to live in some of the worlds/places in Stephen King’s Dark Tower; End-World would be the worst *shudder*.

As for authors I’d trust to write about my life…that’s a tough one. I initially thought that I would trust all my favorite authors to write about myself but I realized that Jane Austen would find my horrible flaws and might give up on writing about me; Charlotte Bronte might turn off some readers with a long chapter about my feelings as a child; C.S. Lewis would turn everything into symbolism; Janet Fitch would add more grit and grime and un-beauty into my life than I’m prepared for!

I’m kidding, I would be honored if any of them would write about me; unfortunately, I have no idea who would be a good “fit”: one who have written something along the lines of my life, and the kind of style that I like.

I finished Janet Fitch’s Paint It Black just a few minutes ago: a darkly beautiful, haunting tale about model/actress Josie Tyrell and living through the tragedy that is her boyfriend’s suicide. Dealing with questions such as, do we really kill that which we love? and whose fault is it, really?, Paint It Black is a glimpse into the soul of one who has gone through love and loss and is struggling to find the way back.

I had my misgivings about the book: I loved Fitch’s White Oleander and while I had high hopes for this book, I was worried about expecting too much. I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint, but I did approach with caution. Fitch’s lyrical style works best with the first person perspective of her first novel, but it still lent a haunting, heavy tone to Paint It Black which suited the book. It both drew you closer than a run-of-the-mill third person perspective could, but also kept you at a distance, the same distance that Josie wraps around herself and fuels the mysterious air around her (like her movie character Elena, “mysterious and haunted”).

The book delves into the mind and emotions of not just Josie, but the grief-stricken mother, Meredith, domineering and always striving for perfection before her son’s death tears apart her quasi-perfect world. It explores into the emotions going through Michael, when he was alive and seemingly destroying the very thing he stormed the Bastille for.

“To be or not to be… It’s the only question, really. Zero or one. Accept or reject.”

But that was the thing about zero. Its weakness. Even if zero had taken over the entire universe, the biggest fascist of all, one tiny gesture could deny it. One footprint, one atom. You didn’t have to be a genius. You didn’t even have to know that was what you were doing. You made a mark. You changed something. And changed zero to one.

It’s a depressing tale (I cried I don’t know how many times), hanging heavy and clawing right at your heart. Fitch has a way with words, a way of making you think without throwing everything at you, of creating both a bridge and a wall between you and grieving Josie, grasping Meredith, and troubled Michael. The book is like a black painting, seemingly dark and heavy, but if you look closer, let yourself see, there’s this silvery white paint shining from underneath: the True World, its beauty never entirely gone, if we only know where and how to look.

I brought two new books this week, both of which I have high hopes for:

• Janet Fitch’s Paint it Black has been on my to-read list for some time, because I loved her White Oleander. I love her prose and writing style.
• Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is intriguing (some hate it, some love it) and I had once leafed through his Son of a Witch and was suitably intrigued (I didn’t let myself get very far into the latter since I’d probably be lost, having never read Wicked).

Meng at Booklisters told me that the third person perspective doesn’t work for Janet Fitch’s style. I haven’t started reading it yet, but I’m hoping it doesn’t disappoint too badly.

When I browse books, though, I always write down in a list the books that sound interesting, that I want to read reviews of before I decide to get. Some of these I’ve written down quite some time ago and I’m almost positive I won’t see these books again, but never mind that. I wanted to share the list I have, just in case anyone had read it and can offer a personal recommendation (or warning!). For some of them, I don’t even remember anymore what the book is about!

1. The Brontë Project, Jennifer Vandever
2. Memoirs of a Muse, Lara Vapnyar
3. The Truth About Ruby Valentine, Alison Bond
4. Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller
5. Windflower, Nick Bantock
6. The Republic of Trees, Sam Taylor
7. Pemberley, Emma Tennant
8. The Sultan’s Seal, Jenny White

I’ve also posted about this in Booklisters, which might possibly also yield a few recommendations/warnings. :)