The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Errol Flynn, his mistress, his illegitimate daughter and Jamaica.

It's gotten a lot of great reviews, but I didn't care much for it. It seems to be the synopsis for a novel, the outline, the summary. A good first draft. There is much missing that is needed to make it enjoyable to read. The prose stumbles, the omniscient viewpoint confuses. And it is overly long at almost 400 pages.

NaNoWriMo 2007

I've haven't posted much about NaNoWriMo this year, but yes, I have been plugging away at my new novel, Life Portraits (code name LP), under the disguise of a NaNo novel. And it has gone very well. Unlike past years, I have not been way out ahead of the word count, spewing less-than-stellar prose that is destined to be abandoned or rewritten. Instead I have been taking my time, doing plenty of thinking, trying to write a better product the first time through. What a concept. Maybe it will save me time in the long run.

And I think I have come up with a much better draft. I have reached the NaNo goal of 50k words in under a month. The novel is far from over. Actually, I am just getting into the complications in the middle section. Final word count might be as much as 120k, I think.

So I am still plugging away at it, and will be for another couple of months. But if you have never done NaNoWriMo, I highly recommend it.

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

Not a biography, but a fictional treatment of the life of Marilyn Monroe, from birth to death. Of course, Oates picks and chooses what to include and what to leave out, in order to make the point that she wants. It's a powerful novel, and somewhat difficult to read. Monroe, as portrayed by Oates, is one of those actors that is subsumed by the character she is playing. Dangerous psychologically for the actor, and in this case, dangerous for the reader. The author does such an excellent job that I found myself affected by Marilyn's story. So, yes, I've been very blue while reading this, although, thankfully, not suicidal!

Much of the novel is told in the stream-of-consciousness style also, which is another powerful technique to pull the reader into the life of the character.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Not quite as satisfying as, for instance, David Copperfield, although this is also a coming of age novel. I think the difference lies in the different view of class differences that Dicken's England held. Pip seems such a snob for most of the book, and that damages the readers feelings of sympathy for him.

The ending? I have read the alternate, sad ending, and find neither of them very satisfying. I wanted Pip to go back to the forge, alongside Joe, or even better, renounce all that class foolishness, and go off with Magwich.

But it's a great story, and don't let modern notions or my silly opinions get in your way of reading it.

Seek the Living by Ashley Warlick

Woman tries to cope with her dysfunctional family, her baby hunger, and her struggling marriage. The quintessential literary novel. Excellent writing, vivid and beautifully rendered. Strange characters that ring true. The weirdest Christmas and New Year's I have ever heard of, in life or fiction. Little to no plot, and minimal resolution. But that is what I have come to expect from a literary novel.

I also read her The Summer After June and I actually liked this novel better. The more I think about the protagonist of "June" the less I like her. Of course, there are some characters in this novel that are not very likable either, but I was more moved by this novel.

Jane Smiley at the Savannah School of Art and Design

Went to hear her talk last night. She is one of my favorite authors. In person she is smart, insightful, and inspiring. Also very tall, yet very feminine. She read from Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel and took questions. I was impressed.

The Summer After June by Ashley Warlick

When Lindy's sister June is murdered, she takes June's baby and leaves - without telling anyone where she is going or why. This novel is about the summer that she is gone. We know that Lindy goes back, since the novel actually begins with the ending, in the form of a five page prologue where the reader learns that Lindy is going home. In the rest of the novel she comes to terms with what she has done and learns about herself and others.

Definitely a literary novel - Warlick is more concerned with Lindy and the other characters and the choices that they make than with any plot - and that's OK. I actually went to a workshop on POV choices taught by the author at the South Carolina Writer's Workshop which was great. She's a wonderful writer with some great insight.