Sunday 7 September 2008

Reminded of Edna

The mother of one of my friends (who had severe ME for many years) emailed me to say how much she had enjoyed TSoM. She particularly liked the characterisation, and Jana and Helen reminded her of Edna O'Brien's The Country Girls, forty years on. I love when people are not just commenting on the portrayal of the illness but other aspects of the book too. (From some of the feedback - though very positive - I am wondering if those with ME tune so much into the illness that they perhaps miss other parts of the novel just cos they are so happy/relieved to see themselves reflected in Helen.) And I am thrilled to see the book in the Invest in ME newsletter today. I have just called this post 'Reminded of Edna', and again I am reminded of a TSoM incident, when Helen thinks of lines from an Edna St Vincent Millay poem. I wonder for how long I will associate random thoughts with the book! When will I forget?

7 comments:

trousers said...

I haven't picked the book up (TSoM, obviously) in days, maybe a week.

Why?

Because I've got about 100 pages left, and I don't want to finish it yet.

nmj said...

Hey Trews, I love when people tell me they want to savour & are reading it slowly. And, hell, it took so many years to write, you should take as long as you bloody want to read it!

darren said...

"From some of the feedback - though very positive - I am wondering if those with ME tune so much into the illness that they perhaps miss other parts of the novel just cos they are so happy/relieved to see themselves reflected in Helen."

-Come on, NMJ, give us readers some credit! Most of us can do two things at once, still!

nmj said...

hey darren, you have made my comment sound condescending, that is not how it was meant at all!!!... my point is that the feedback from those with ME focuses mainly on my portrayal of the illness, doesn't tend to mention language or characterisation or pace... my feeling is that people are so involved with the illness in the narrative that they are understandably perhaps playing less attention to the other things... it's like when you watch a film you love for a second time, you see things you missed first time... i imagine it's the same with books.

nmj said...

ps. i had one young woman send me a list of bullet points of what i had got 'spot on' about the illness and she also mentioned one aspect she thought i had missed... i had to remind her this is a novel and not a textbook about ME!

darren said...

I know what you mean, NMJ. And I too plan on reading it again. I'm looking forward to it, but want to give it some space before going back.

nmj said...

Truth is I rarely read books twice (unless for exams, years ago) - sometimes i will dip in again to a chapter or a section that i loved...