Addition - Toni Jordan
A bit of a departure for me, reading something contemporary - this novel only came out last month! I read the blurb for it in the Waterstones magazine (it was part of their “new voices” promotion) and thought it sounded brilliant. I wasn’t remotely disappointed - it IS brilliant.
The main character, Grace, is obsessed with counting things. What this book does is show you the world through Grace’s eyes – through which her obsession makes perfect sense. And it works; everything is well enough described that you get into the character. What also makes Grace such a great character is that she has no pretensions; she has the courage to see the world as it is, not as everyone else says we should. The book’s matter-of-fact style fits Grace’s character very well.
On the whole, it’s a happy story – while Grace understands the restrictions her condition places on her life. I did find the two chapters where she’s on antipsychotic drugs really disturbing, but that’s kind of the point. For me they contained a strong parallel with the strong feelings I have on the ADHD / Ritalin debate.
I guess I responded particularly to Grace, the quirky protagonist, because I’m a bit weird myself - weird, I think, being a word that’s used for people who see no value in conforming to other people’s expectations just for the sake of it. The story is about embracing who you are, accepting being different.
It’s a fairly simple story – by the nature of it, Grace’s world doesn’t have room for many other people, but the people she knows are all convincing characters, as she is. The boyfriend she meets is sympathetic, but in a believable way. Grace’s psychiatrist sees medication as a way of making Grace’s world a happier place – within her own narrow perception of happiness; very believable. Most of the story is about Grace, her world, her life. Everyday things seen through Grace’s particular viewpoint. But that is also part of the charm of the book. Like A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, this book is a hymn to the everyday.
The main character, Grace, is obsessed with counting things. What this book does is show you the world through Grace’s eyes – through which her obsession makes perfect sense. And it works; everything is well enough described that you get into the character. What also makes Grace such a great character is that she has no pretensions; she has the courage to see the world as it is, not as everyone else says we should. The book’s matter-of-fact style fits Grace’s character very well.
On the whole, it’s a happy story – while Grace understands the restrictions her condition places on her life. I did find the two chapters where she’s on antipsychotic drugs really disturbing, but that’s kind of the point. For me they contained a strong parallel with the strong feelings I have on the ADHD / Ritalin debate.
I guess I responded particularly to Grace, the quirky protagonist, because I’m a bit weird myself - weird, I think, being a word that’s used for people who see no value in conforming to other people’s expectations just for the sake of it. The story is about embracing who you are, accepting being different.
It’s a fairly simple story – by the nature of it, Grace’s world doesn’t have room for many other people, but the people she knows are all convincing characters, as she is. The boyfriend she meets is sympathetic, but in a believable way. Grace’s psychiatrist sees medication as a way of making Grace’s world a happier place – within her own narrow perception of happiness; very believable. Most of the story is about Grace, her world, her life. Everyday things seen through Grace’s particular viewpoint. But that is also part of the charm of the book. Like A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, this book is a hymn to the everyday.
Labels: Reading
posted by tomdg at 10:52 AM
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