I've never met this woman, but I know I could spend hours talking about life with her.
Let me explain myself. Have you ever felt connected to a writer who happens to enjoy the same writers that you enjoy? Soon after I finished reading Joyce's book, I wanted to read a writer I had encountered in a couple of short stories from two different anthologies. When I read her short stories I experienced some kind of kinship of spirits, a chemistry of thoughts. For this reason, I felt compelled to explore more of her work. I went to the local library and, after browsing her books, I borrowed her short story collection Saints and Sinners.
Before I started her stories I flipped through the pages and found an interview to her; the first sentence I read from it was, " I would love to have met Joyce, preferably in the evening hours when bottles were opened ". The first book she bought was about James Joyce. I am talking about Edna O'Brien. Yes, she raved about Joyce, and then explained he had a rival in her affections: Anton Chekhov. About Chekhov, she said, "Like Shakespeare, Chekhov knew everything there is to know about the heart's vagaries and he rendered the passion and conflict of men and women flawlessly."
I cannot agree more with her when she said, "I would be much lonelier on this earth without literature, and I might even have gone mad." She ended up the interview by saying that literature is the big bonanza, and writing is getting down on one's knees each day and searching for the exact words.
I am engrossed in her story collection "Saints and Sinners" now, and I will be writing an essay about it once I am done. Here is another fabulous interview to Edna O'Brien, done by The Paris Review, about the art of fiction.
By the way, this is my view from the kitchen window, a wonderful sight I cherish every morning while having breakfast...
Good post, Julia. I read some writer advice once that a short story writer should study the stories of Edna O'Brien to learn the art and craft of the short story. I've read a couple of her books, and her turn of phrase is just marvelous.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. I also think she has an amazing ability to unravel the inner workings of the mind and to dwell on the human experiences with a realistic interesting approach.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Julia! I don't know Edna O'Brien, so I'll look forward to your review. But I fully understand the feelings. I was at a writer's conference earlier this fall and a French publisher told us that in France, surveys show that when readers like a book and want to know more about an author, the biggest curiousity they have is what it must be like to sit down with the author over a glass of wine (it is France, after all!) to discuss life and literature, to become friends with that writer.
ReplyDeleteSurely this is a positive thing, that sense of connection with someone we've never met, who lives in another culture or even in another time, and perhaps writes in a language different from ours. And yet, through reading his or her words we feel a sense of connection with this stranger.
BTW, love your view! How idyllic!
Thanks, Kimberly. Yes, through literature we cross the oceans, the generation gaps, the cultural boundaries... Literature is a bridge of connection, reflection and understanding.
DeleteThe view from your kitchen is super. Do you go for long walks in that path? Great post Julia.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachna. Oh, yes! I love to go for walks around here.
DeleteHow peaceful is your view? Love it xx
ReplyDeleteVery peaceful, yes!
DeleteShe is a wonderful writer, and Saints and Sinners is worth reading several times. Your breakfast view, by the way, is second-to-none.
ReplyDeleteThanks JJ. It's good to know that you enjoyed the same book I'm enjoying!
DeleteYou have a beautiful view! I would say my kindred spirit is AS Byatt, for her love of Terry Pratchett! Take care
ReplyDeletex
Interesting comment, Old Kitty. I looked her up. Here's an interview to AS Byatt done by the Paris Review
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/481/the-art-of-fiction-no-168-a-s-byatt