Monday, April 11, 2005
I couldn't really settle into anything last week. I tried Out by Natsuo Kirino, but gave up after it took me 4 days to read 100 pages. I just wasn't connecting with it but I'm not sure why. It seemed like one I would normally race through but it just wasn't doing anything for me. Then I tried Colors Insulting to Nature by Cintra Wilson but didn't even make it 25 pages before the same restlessness and impatience set in. I sat on my bed and pulled out different books from my library stack and my to be read bookcase, reading the first page of a couple, flipping through a few others, but nothing seemed to fit until I got to Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker.
Written in 1962, it's a rather simple story of a woman who drives home for her twin sister's wedding. Don't ask me why, but it was perfect for my mood. It's a short book, full of small observations and not a whole lot of action, but I loved it. In it Cassandra is struggling with her sister Judith's need to define herself away from Cassandra and the rest of the family. In her mind they've always tried different things and separated only so that coming back together again would make their relationship that much stronger. "I've tried to explain to my doctor that it's a question of working ceaselessly at being as different as possible because there must be a gap before it can be bridged. And the bridge is the real project." Because of this she views the wedding as a very real threat and wants to talk her sister out of it so they can resume their lives together. I think this is also why she rationalizes away her affairs with her "girl-buddies" (as the book puts it) instead of accepting her sexuality as an individual. Most of the book is written from Cassandra's point of view and, like her sister says at one point, it's hard not to like her (despite the emotional manipulation). The writing is beautiful and the relationships between the characters are finely drawn. I'd definitely recommend it.
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Written in 1962, it's a rather simple story of a woman who drives home for her twin sister's wedding. Don't ask me why, but it was perfect for my mood. It's a short book, full of small observations and not a whole lot of action, but I loved it. In it Cassandra is struggling with her sister Judith's need to define herself away from Cassandra and the rest of the family. In her mind they've always tried different things and separated only so that coming back together again would make their relationship that much stronger. "I've tried to explain to my doctor that it's a question of working ceaselessly at being as different as possible because there must be a gap before it can be bridged. And the bridge is the real project." Because of this she views the wedding as a very real threat and wants to talk her sister out of it so they can resume their lives together. I think this is also why she rationalizes away her affairs with her "girl-buddies" (as the book puts it) instead of accepting her sexuality as an individual. Most of the book is written from Cassandra's point of view and, like her sister says at one point, it's hard not to like her (despite the emotional manipulation). The writing is beautiful and the relationships between the characters are finely drawn. I'd definitely recommend it.
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