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Ladataan... Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional CityTekijä: Anna Quindlen
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Kirjaudu LibraryThingiin nähdäksesi, pidätkö tästä kirjasta vai et. Ei tämänhetkisiä Keskustelu-viestiketjuja tästä kirjasta. Quindlen’s memoir pays homage to a city she loved for decades before she ever visited in person. For most of her life, she knew London only through its rich literary heritage and the description of authors like Dickens and Doyle. London is the city I called home for several years in my early twenties, so it’s a city I knew well once upon a time. I enjoyed revisiting it through Quindlen’s memoir, but, sadly, Quindlen’s memoir didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. ei arvosteluja | lisää arvostelu
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Biography & Autobiography.
Travel.
Nonfiction.
HTML:Anna Quindlen first visited London from a chair in her suburban Philadelphia home--in one of her beloved childhood mystery novels. She has been back to London countless times since, through the pages of books and in person, and now, in Imagined London, she takes her own readers on a tour of this greatest of literary cities. While New York, Paris, and Dublin are also vividly portrayed in fiction, it is London, Quindlen argues, that has always been the star, both because of the primacy of English literature and the specificity of city descriptions. She bases her view of the city on her own detailed literary map, tracking the footsteps of her favorite characters: the places where Evelyn Waugh's bright young things danced until dawn, or where Lydia Bennett eloped with the dastardly Wickham. In Imagined London, Quindlen walks through the city, moving within blocks from the great books of the 19th century to the detective novels of the 20th to the new modernist tradition of the 21st. With wit and charm, Imagined London gives this splendid city its full due in the landscape of the literary imagination. Praise for Imagined London: "Shows just how much a reading experience can enrich a physical journey." --New York Times Book Review "An elegant new work of nonfiction... People will be inspired by this book." --Ann Curry, Today "An affectionate, richly allusive tribute to the city." --Kirkus Reviews. Kirjastojen kuvailuja ei löytynyt. |
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Google Books — Ladataan... LajityypitMelvil Decimal System (DDC)820.99421Literature English & Old English literatures English literature in more than one form History, description, critical appraisal of works in more than one formKongressin kirjaston luokitusArvio (tähdet)Keskiarvo:
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"Hyde Park, Green Park, Soho, and Kensington: I had been to them all in my imagination before ever setting foot in England. So that by the time I actually visited London in 1995 for the first time, it felt less like an introduction and more like a homecoming."
That's exactly how I felt when first visiting England in 2013. It was brand new yet very familiar and my feeling of homesickness has led me back three more times since. In fact, one of the most difficult things for me about the COVID restrictions the last 18 months is the fact that I can't freely travel back to this place that occupies such an enormous part of my emotions.
I appreciated how the author had avoided visiting London until her mid 40s, lest she find it disappointing and not what her mind had painted it up to be. She, of course, was pleasantly relieved to find that it was all she thought it would be and more. "When I turn the corner into a small, quiet, leafy square, am I really seeing it fresh, or am I both looking and remembering?" Yes. Exactly. This is one of the few "American in England" memoirs I've read in which the author seems to appreciate the realness of the experience and to separate out the fantasy to see England in its truth.
Additionally, I loved the analogy of all the "Londons" throughout history being piled atop one another like layers of earth. The history doesn't ever really disappear from this ancient city upon an ancient island---it just builds and morphs and adds to itself with each new era.
If I find any fault with the book, it's with the negligence of the editor. Quindlen overuses words like "chockablock" and "chuffed"---after discussing how she can't help but use British English in her writing. Their overuse, coupled with the fact that she doesn't start this until the second half of the book, shows that she probably doesn't actually use these words as often as she claims. She definitely adopts a different voice about half way, as well, leading me to believe she wrote part of the book and then put it away for quite awhile before pulling it out to finish. Oh, and I did get a little weirded out when she began talking about Freud in the context of her relationship with her teenage son... All this can be forgiven, however; it's truly an enjoyable read. ( )