Nothing in particular makes these books a "pair" other than that they appear together in this post. Well, they're both written by women, but that's where any similarity between Elise Blackwell's Grub and Anne Peile's Repeat It Today with Tears ends.
Why pair them, then? Easy. They're both library books, which are due, and I enjoyed them both, but (here we go again) for very different reasons.
Grub by Elise Blackwell
"A long overdue retelling of New Grub Street--George Gissing's classic satire of Victorian the literary market place--Grub chronicles the triumphs and humiliations of a group of young novelists living in and around New York City." (book jacket)
I haven't read the original New Grub Street, but I am a sucker for books about writers, professors, editors...you name it. Wordy nerdy types are my people. And, as it turns out, it doesn't matter that I haven't read Gissing's book because I was immensely entertained by Blackwell's take on the literary life of her characters. Some are purists: they write for the sake of creating high literary art, to push the envelope of language and story. Others are made blood-thirsty by ambition, artsy-fartsy experimentation be damned. Then there are the writers who are trying to bridge the line: secretly write pop lit. that the masses want while claiming to subscribe to the purist camp. And, naturally, their lives as messy as any of the plots they try to get on paper.
Will high art win over the ambition to be the next hot shot on the talk-show book club circuit?
No spoilers here, but let's just say that Elise Blackwell's satire of the publishing world is a good reality check for those of us who mythologize the NYC literary life. A very funny book all around.
Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile
Speaking of spoilers, this short review of Ann Peile's novel will be a little on the vague side because I don't want to reveal too much. It's a short novel about a controversial subject, so it doesn't take long for readers to get right to the heart of the matter, but I'll still try to keep from saying more than I should.
To be honest, when I got Repeat it Today with Tears at the library I took it home with the assumption that I'd be returning it unread. The blurb on the back was a little sensational for my taste:
"Susanna is a secretive child, obsessed with the father she has never known. When she finally discovers his address, she goes to find him. What happens next is almost unthinkable. You might not condone what Susanna does, but after reading Repeat it Today with Tears, you might just understand it."
The first sentence alone was enough to make me think that Peile had a job ahead of her if her writing was going to keep my interest for more than a few pages. But this novel had been long listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction for a reason, and I was curious.
It is clear to me now why Repeat it Today with Tears was on that long list for the Orange. This brief, 186-page novel is fascinating, beautifully written, and full of empathy for a girl who is desperate for love and belonging. Though Susanna does a terrible thing, you come to see where Susanna's impulses come from--despite what you think is your better judgment as a reader. Excuse them? No. But as the 'sensational' blurb on the jackets says, "you might just understand it."
I hope readers won't shy away from the subject matter before giving this novel a chance. I almost missed my opportunity to read Repeat it Today with Tears because I was literally judging this book by its cover. I'm glad I gave Peile the opportunity to convince me of her gifts as a storyteller. Formidable gifts.
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