A Shining | Litsy

pick

A man goes into the woods on a cold day. Things are strange. Is it a dream or a nightmare? Is it a spiritual awakening or a kind of religious allegory? It's a novella that's easy to mock, & I did roll my eyes at one point, but it also exerts a kind of force. I wanted to laugh it off, but couldn't. It's a tad hackneyed, but also unnerving & mystical. Something compels you to want to linger in these woods, but you also want to get away from it.

BarbaraBB Intrigued by your review! 2mo

sarahbarnes Wow, very intriguing review! 2mo

Tamra I‘ve wanted to try Fosse, but haven‘t taken the plunge yet. 2mo

See All 14 Comments

KathyWheeler What an interesting review! 2mo

lil1inblue Interesting.... 2mo

Ruthiella But a novella length, which is wise IMO. I‘m thinking of DNFing Dhalgren because that kind of fever dream narrative should not go on for 800 pages. 2mo

batsy @Tamra I've only read this prior to A Shining, and I'm keen to read the whole sequence (Septology) but it's the kind of writing that needs minimal interruptions 😬

A New Name: Septology VI-VII

2mo

batsy @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @KathyWheeler @lil1inblue It's a tough book to review so I tried my best to sum up the experience of reading it 😅 2mo

Billypar Great review! I can sympathize with your ambivalence - sometimes I think I enjoy novels that are ambitious yet flawed more than the safe and 'perfect' variety. 2mo

batsy @Ruthiella Oh yes, this one couldn't have gone on any longer, in the sense that it has no plot. Dhalgren is something I would like to read... I want to try Delany but I'm so intimidated. And if you're struggling with it I'll put it on the back burner for a few more years 😆 2mo

batsy @Billypar Thank you! I think I do, too 2mo

batsy @Billypar (whoops, hit send too soon). There's something admirable about writers trying to achieve some sort of transcendence in their writing, even if I might not get it at the time. 2mo

vivastory I ALMOST checked this out recently & your review is making me wish I had, I completely understand what you mean though about somewhat hackneyed religious allegory bc that is exactly how I felt reading Coetzee's “Childhood of Jesus“ last yr. Still going to check this one out 2mo

batsy @vivastory That's a Coetzee I haven't read but the only one I did read, Disgrace, I found fully unnerving and can still remember bits of how fearful it made me years later. I think Fosse is an interesting writer and I found the first two books of the Septology very compelling. I need to read the rest! 2mo

80 likes6 stack adds14 comments

Welcome to Litsy!

Trending Hashtags

Trending Books