A good beginning to our literary year, and we’ll see much more of the internal character thoughts in Mrs. Dalloway—I’m hoping Ben will also chime in with his excellent readings of that novel (dropping it in the mail to you this week).

*I decided I would talk to my father after dinner; I planned to tell him that I had no Hebrew aptitude and also to convey the message of Bob Dylan’s song “It Ain’t Me, Babe.”

The book was a reminder of the East Coast, specifically the New York I sometimes know, but often don’t at all. It conjured up images of old friends, of working at a desk, of desperation. Sophie ponders why so few are called, why so few people know exactly how they will spend their lives:

*I was like everyone else; I fell into a job, and I worked at it. It didn’t seem wrong to want more, but it was wrong to expect it to be delivered.

The Wonder Spot played on my recollections of past relationships, if only for a day. Not to mention the insecurities that tag along. At a party Sophie sees an ex, while with a new boyfriend Vincent:

*Phew! Seth will think another man loved me; he will think I am the lovable kind of woman, the kind a man better love right or somebody else will.

I liked following Sophie around while she practiced typing all day. I enjoyed ease dropping on relationships, remembering moments I’ve tried to forget. I thoroughly enjoyed finding someone so frustrated, disillusioned, and pessimistic willing to let me in.

Good first book of the year Kristen.
Rating- 4 stars