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    Tag: Betrayal

    The salvage of memory

    Dear Dorothy, Can one violate a memory by trying too hard to remain loyal to it? At the beginning of your novella Olivia (1949), you offer us…… Read more “The salvage of memory”

    4 de March de 2020 by juliana

    Appearances, she knew now, had a way sometimes of not fitting facts

    Dear Nella, Passing (1929) is a book about being labelled, being defined by other people based on what they see (and on the prejudices they carry). It…… Read more “Appearances, she knew now, had a way sometimes of not fitting facts”

    28 de February de 2020 by juliana

    The tough game of unspeakable interests

    Dear Carmen, In A Luta (‘The Struggle’, 1909), we have the unfolding of multiple struggles: Celina’s existential dilemma, as she is torn between her need for social…… Read more “The tough game of unspeakable interests”

    23 de February de 202023 de February de 2020 by juliana

    Fame and glory, insatiable libertines,

    Dear Délia, I spent the past couple of weeks immersed in three of your recently rediscovered novels: Aurélia (1883), Lésbia (1890), and Celeste (1893). In all of…… Read more “Fame and glory, insatiable libertines,”

    15 de February de 202015 de February de 2020 by juliana

    A confused consciousness of untouched treasures

    Dear André, The Immoralist, tr. Dorothy Bussy (1930. Original: L’Immoraliste ,1902) is framed as your protagonist’s confession, as he tells the tale of his moral downfall to…… Read more “A confused consciousness of untouched treasures”

    28 de January de 202028 de January de 2020 by juliana

    Like an image made of snow

    Dear Edith, In The Age of Innocence (1920), you manage to do, on the level of writing, the same thing you set out to do on the…… Read more “Like an image made of snow”

    11 de January de 202025 de May de 2020 by juliana

    Harp of wild and dream-like strain,

    Dear Emily, Gondal – an imaginary island in the North Pacific, created by you and Anne and peopled with flawed, implacable characters often driven into epic battles…… Read more “Harp of wild and dream-like strain,”

    24 de October de 2019 by juliana

    There might be nothing there

    Dear Brigid, Very much like identities are fluid in your The King of a Rainy Country (1956), so the book itself refuses a label. Divided into three…… Read more “There might be nothing there”

    20 de August de 2019 by juliana

    I do not know how women do it,

    Dear Júlia, In A falência (1901, “The bankruptcy”, not translated yet), I could not help but feel you were constantly hiding something in plain sight, in-between the…… Read more “I do not know how women do it,”

    17 de July de 201922 de November de 2019 by juliana

    These women, who step out of their sphere,

    Dear Margaret, Hester (1883) seems to be a deceptive title: we may be under the impression that what we have in our hands is the coming of…… Read more “These women, who step out of their sphere,”

    11 de July de 201930 de July de 2019 by juliana

    You cannot live in armour all your life

    Dear Maria, In Belinda (first published in 1801, revised in 1810), we can almost feel the double-edged sword you are playing with: while championing the idea that…… Read more “You cannot live in armour all your life”

    14 de March de 201914 de March de 2019 by juliana

    Kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths

    Dear Henry, The Heart of the Matter (1948) is a book about a man caught in the vortex of a moral crisis – and, ultimately, torn apart and…… Read more “Kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths”

    17 de January de 201917 de January de 2019 by juliana

    Notes heard by no one reverberating against nothing

    Dear Robert, Intimate Ties, tr. Peter Wortsman (2019. Original: Vereinigungen, 1911) comprises two novellas centred on repressed sexuality, taboo, and female desire. Both content and narrative style…… Read more “Notes heard by no one reverberating against nothing”

    11 de January de 201912 de January de 2019 by juliana

    The all-seeing eye

    Dear Claire, In Bitter Orange (2018), we are made accomplices of the main character’s voyeurism, caught in a claustrophobic atmosphere that grows ever more disturbing as we…… Read more “The all-seeing eye”

    4 de January de 20194 de January de 2019 by juliana

    One’s prime is elusive

    Dear Muriel, In The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), there is something in the eponymous protagonist that repels us, but there is also something that strongly…… Read more “One’s prime is elusive”

    12 de December de 201813 de December de 2018 by juliana

    Perhaps freedom has no meaning

    Dear Iris, The Unicorn (1963) is a tale of imprisonment in a shared fantasy, where the cages, rotating on a blank axle, are full of longing. When…… Read more “Perhaps freedom has no meaning”

    10 de December de 2018 by juliana

    Hardness was probably his most distinctive quality

    Dear Laura, Reading your novel Breathing into Marble, tr. Marija Marcinkute (2016. Original: Kvėpavimas į marmurą, 2006) feels like being trapped in a room of glass: it’s…… Read more “Hardness was probably his most distinctive quality”

    10 de September de 201812 de September de 2018 by juliana

    What two people can make of the same view

    Dear Elizabeth, In your novel A View from the Harbour (1947), we are sea watchers, guided by a faint beam. It feels very much as if we…… Read more “What two people can make of the same view”

    10 de August de 2018 by juliana

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    Copyright © The Blank Garden (2007-2020). All Rights Reserved. Authors and artists hold the rights to their individual work. Any works posted against the wishes of the copyright owner will be removed asap upon request. This is a personal and non-commercial blog. The posts and videos published here are not sponsored, and the material published here is in conformation with Fair Use: criticism and comment, research and scholarship, and other educational uses. To know more about the blog policies, visit this page. Please do not use my words, videos or personal photos without attribution. Thank you.

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