There’s a book on my desk that I finished but can’t quite put away. I want to blog about it but have not had time to be thoughtful, and the tapestry of its pages is still sinking into my soul. It’s Heroes & Villains by Angela Carter. My husband recommended it–he thought it would inspire me as I work on my new novel, because it’s also about a young woman who loses (and maybe finds) herself in a world very different from the one she’s known. (In my case, the protagonist has amnesia, so she doesn’t know what she’s known.) And both lost/found young women get pregnant. Reading this novel confirmed what I knew: I need to read much more Angela Carter.
As I read, I saw that my husband’s recommendation was eerily right on. I am not comparing my work to Carter’s writing, but there are some similarities between my book and hers. How could I have known that the novel I’m working on has this kind of root source essence to dig into? I read this novel too quickly; I didn’t give it the time and attention it deserved. Now it sits prettily on my desk, wanting more of me, and me of it, but there’s no time right now.
All I can say is that it deserves more of me, and we will both have to wait. But it will be worth the time, at least for me.
Rebecca Kuder 