February 3, 2005
The Girl in a Swing
Richard Adams. Signet: 1981.
The New York Times quote on the front cover declares it to be of "beautiful, haunting, erotic love and an absolutely terrifying ghost story." Although these are certainly elements of the novel, this quote seems to be cheap American sensationalism on a story that truly deals with some of the larger issues in life - the extents to which we go for love, the ability of religion to express true spirituality, and forgiveness of our own and others' sins.
There is definitely a New Agey, humanistic approach to some of these ideas. There were several instances where Kathe is described in very similar terms as Rima of "Green Mansions" and one can't help but wonder if the "Green Mansions" era was similar to "Girl in a Swing"'s era.
Richard Adams. Signet: 1981.
The New York Times quote on the front cover declares it to be of "beautiful, haunting, erotic love and an absolutely terrifying ghost story." Although these are certainly elements of the novel, this quote seems to be cheap American sensationalism on a story that truly deals with some of the larger issues in life - the extents to which we go for love, the ability of religion to express true spirituality, and forgiveness of our own and others' sins.
There is definitely a New Agey, humanistic approach to some of these ideas. There were several instances where Kathe is described in very similar terms as Rima of "Green Mansions" and one can't help but wonder if the "Green Mansions" era was similar to "Girl in a Swing"'s era.
Labels: literature
posted by Scott Givens at 10:06 AM
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