I finished a book this week, and I got my sewing machine back.
It's been a good week.
The book: Under the Net by Iris Murdoch. Before the Keen Reads project, I'd never heard of this author or the book. Now, I'd highly recommend both.
The narrator is Jack, a self-involved writer with lots of angst about his relationships with friends, women, even the lady who runs the local cafe. In the end, I didn't find him a sympathetic character at all, but much like The Sun Also Rises, his descriptions are supreme. The book is a gorgeous illustration of London and Paris, both places I love and dearly miss. His respect and passion for the cities ring clear.
He is so self-involved though that at times I wonder if Murdoch's narrator is a sociopath. There's no violence in this book; no foul play. But Jack is so consumed with what other people think of him, how it relates to his personal story, and he so direly believes in fate, that he risks his safety and freedom to fulfill what he believes is destiny. Sometimes, Jack can be a little much. He's definitely not someone I'd be friends with, and if he existed in my world, I'd wonder if he's a little looney.
So it's a quick read, with a beautiful sense of place and a intriguing narrator. I liked it enough that I'd want to read more Murdoch... though I must solider on through this list!
ON THE CRAFTY SIDE:
My sewing machine was in the shop for two painful weeks. Painful for me, not the machine. I got it back yesterday and spent the evening learning how to make bias tape. For the record, it isn't easy. Or, the instructions I'm following in this book are not entirely clear. The verdict is still out on that one.
I'll note there's nothing quite like a good novel to distract from a lack of sewing machine.
