Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Finished

  • Please Don't Eat the Daisies by Jean Kerr

    Rating: ***½

    Kerr's observant essays on children, the theatre, writing, and life as an almost sane woman sparkle with humor and intelligence. Her writing is astute, but so smooth, you almost miss the satiric or rueful spin that completes her sentences. My only reason for not giving it a higher rating was because I didn't feel the essays flowed well. They're excellent singly, but reading them together didn't enhance Kerr's brilliance.

    Reading her take on living in the modern age is refreshing and fascinating, particularly as this was written in the mid-1950's. JK didn't let motherhood and suburbia swallow her identity or personality. Her social life with her husband overlaps her professional life as a writer since they both worked in drama, but isn't overwhelmed by her role as a mother/citizen. Also, you get the distinct impression that she didn't have two personas - what you see is what you get. Her energy and perspective project a well-rounded image of a woman who manages to have it all. Not easily, but successfully all the same.

In Progress

  • A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

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