I finished The Rotter's Club Saturday, and I think Coe did a great job writing a story that is concerned about issues both big and small. The protagonists are high school boys in 1970s Birmingham, and their lives are necessarily small and selfish, but they begin to see that the world is bigger than their heads or their homes or their school.
There's tragedy and sadness, maudlin teen angst, and some scenes that made me laugh out loud.
It's a good read, and I can't wait for the sequel, The Closed Circle, to come in at B&N.
I also read Judith Moore's memoir, Fat Girl. Christ, what a downer. This is reviewed on the June issue of Bookslut, and I was curious to see if maybe the reviewer disliked the book because she couldn't identify. I can tell you that I identified with much of Moore's thoughts and feelings, and even some of her history. I can tell you that Moore is a very talented writer. And I can tell you that I wish I hadn't read the book. It's depressing and ugly and lacking much in the way of happiness or hope. I acknowledge Moore's right to tell her story and work out her past and her feelings, but this is one memoir I could have lived without.
Next up, Nekropolis. This is the author of that short story you gave me, Val, about the chips that monitor peoples' whereabouts . . .
2 comments:
what did you think about that short story? Did you agree that she has promise, is a good writer, but the story itself was too abrupt and truncated? or was i totally off the mark?
You know my troubles with short stories--I almost always think they're too abrupt and truncated--but I did like the feel of it. One of the reasons I checked out Nekropolis is that I realized the inly sci-fi I've read by women is The Lathe of Heaven and the MLE books that couldbe considered sci-fi. So I thought maybe I should give a girl a chance . . .
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