The Birds Fall Down
I'm reading The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West. At first it was very annoying as all the foreigners' books about Russia are - I couldn't believe what they were speaking about was Russia. But after a while it stopped mattering and the book became about people. But it's still strange in a way I can't quite define. I don't think I ever read a book like this; it feels not like a story but like a thought process.
Laura's feelings remind me of what I felt reading Crime and Punishment. I could barely stand that book and its aura of all-pervading insanity. The same kind of insanity that Laura encounters, but since she's also a character in this book and exists on the same plane that all the insane people, her thinking this is insane feels more valid than mine.
I'm not quite sure about differences between men and women as Laura feels them, though. I felt like this many times, it's easy and understandable but I often feel I am unfair and try to stop myself from such thoughts...
It's also very relieving to have a heroine who's absolutely not in love with anybody.
Laura's feelings remind me of what I felt reading Crime and Punishment. I could barely stand that book and its aura of all-pervading insanity. The same kind of insanity that Laura encounters, but since she's also a character in this book and exists on the same plane that all the insane people, her thinking this is insane feels more valid than mine.
I'm not quite sure about differences between men and women as Laura feels them, though. I felt like this many times, it's easy and understandable but I often feel I am unfair and try to stop myself from such thoughts...
It's also very relieving to have a heroine who's absolutely not in love with anybody.