just finished a book titled the vanishing act of esme lennox and found it such a coincidence, although i don't really believe in coincidences, that i had chose one of my favorite short stories from college to read aloud at my "friday night art group" and that very story is sited in the reading guide to the vanishing act of esme lennox. i didn't know that they were connected on paper but it my mind, they were because i had chose to share the short story "the yellow wallpaper" by charlotte perkins gilman before i picked the book up. what attracted me to the book was the similar theme of the mistreatment of women. how if they didn't comply with the current social mores, they were put away, into an asylum or worse burned at the stake. this is a scary theme to me as i was brought up by a strong, independent artist mother that would have been burned had she been born back then. she was often called "joan of ark of the 60s" by her friends due to her rebelliosness and independent thinking. the book was a nice read, the pace was quick and i was anxious to find out what happened next. the characters were deep. it sometimes confused me because they went back and forth in time and between charactes without really explaining who was thinking or talking etc. but i figured it out eventually. i found esme's character interesting but iris, the young woman discovering her families history, was a little weak in regards to her behavior and relationships. she seemed to be floating along without any real intent as to where she wanted to go. kind of shame considering she came from such a strong lineage of women. i would recommend it for the sake of learning about how things were back then for women. it will make one appreciate our freedom today, to read what we want, write what we want, live with whom we want....
About Me
- Carla Nikol
- Fort Worth, Texas, United States
- I chose the name of my blog based on the word Buddha, which means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". I don't claim to come from or be a buddhist, and I certainly don't claim to be "awakened" or "enlightened," yet I do feel I'm in a constant state of awakening and awareness and hope to live with an attitude that respects and practices compassion, mindfulness, and intention in my speech and in my actions. I come from a family of artists and feel lost without a connection to my creativity. I express myself best through talking and writing. I most want to feel connected to others and find that books give me that sense of connection. I work at a bookstore, go figure. I'm easily misunderstood because I live in my head a lot. Being an only child, I require my space and time alone to ponder why I am here on earth and how I can make things better. I am at a point in my life where I am consciously creating my "Authentic Self" as opposed to acting out the roles we adopt to meet other's needs. Today is the first day of the rest of my life!
1 comment:
What's your mother doing now? Or what did she do after the 1960s? I was born in 1940, so she may be around my age (67). I wish you would write more often on your blog, and then I would visit more often. I wonder if we might not have a lot in common, especially when I read things like this:
"feeling a little lost this morning. sad. lonely. so much inside but nowhere to put it. no one i want to share it with. no one i feel truly wants to listen, to share in return, to take this feeling to the next level. so i'll sit with it. i'll feel it myself. i'll cry. i'll dream. i'll fantasize. i'll regret. i'll wish. i'll create a space i can survive in for now. until it comes back again."
I have already checked with my library, which does NOT have Esme Lennox or Seven Stairs. Frustrating feeling, when I don't have the money to buy more books right now.
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