My Absolute Darling – Gabriel Tallent
I’m a fan of Stephen King and have been since I was a teenager. I follow him on Facebook, where he often posts about books he’s enjoyed. This is how I discovered this book.
‘My Absolute Darling’ is about Turtle, a 14 year old girl who lives with her father. Turtle is no ordinary girl – she cracks raw eggs into her mouth for breakfast and know a hell of a lot about guns. The book is about the relationship with her father. He’s a big man, highly intelligent and dangerous. He loves her – but its not the pure, unconditional love of a father – he’s obsessed with her, hates her and physically and sexually abuses her in horrific ways. The sexual abuse in particular is difficult to read because its like they are in a passionate love affair – the way she thinks about him just feels wrong.
In places the book is well written, but sometimes it just feels over done, and there are scenes, words and phrases that are repeated.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner – Alan Stillitoe
This collection of short stories was published in the mid 1950’s. They were set around the time of the second world war or shortly after. This was a book club choice for February, and chosen because the person was attracted to the title. The stories follow the lives of young working class men from the North of England, all of them ‘bad lads’, petty criminals.
The first story in the collection was my favourite. Smith is in Borstal and he’s getting through his detention by long distance running. As he runs he recalls his life and what happened that led to his imprisonment.
I found the language and the attitude around race and women very dated, but in a way it was a good way to get a feel for that time period.
Pixie Places for Reading
Foxes Café on Abbey Street, Carlisle is a lovely little cafe. Its quite quirky, with tables set on two different layers. Its opposite the Castle and close enough to shopping centre to walk, but far enough out of the way to have a bit of peace and quiet. I chose a little table on the upper level and enjoyed coffee and cake, while reading. Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Pixie Chronicles 