Amen, John Waters.
I have been laid up in my bed for a day and a half, after throwing my back out STANDING ABSOLUTELY STILL DOING NOTHING. Ain’t life grand? So, this is an affliction that has been chasing me for 5 years – every once and a while my femoral head dislocates (essentially – my hip bone) and I am in screaming pain any time I try to move until I get to see God (aka the chiropractor) and they fix it. Then I have about 24 hours of laying around doing nothing except ice bags every other 15 minutes and rubbing biofreeze EVERYWHERE. What this diatribe is meant to express is, I had a lot of extra time on my hands today.
So What did I do With That Extra Time?
Watched a Law and Order Marathon on the USA network, of course. And read. I actually re-read and entire novel today that took me 3 weeks to read the first time through. Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann. I absolutely love this novel, and I am now considering it my bible. I recommend that every girl read this book at age 15, again at 18, 23, 25, 31, and so on. I am a firm believer in the idea represent in Catcher in the Rye that every time you view something, read something, experience something, etc – you see it through a different lens than the last time you did whatever it was, depending on the roads you have taken and events that have happened in your life – and this books is a prime example. Women will always have a very strong reaction to this book, however depending on what stage of your life you are in you are going to take different things from it.
“This ambitious work explores the sexual and intellectual awakening of a young American woman struggling to remain true to herelf as she encounters love, passion, and death amid the challenges and heartbreaks of growing up.”
This is how the books website itself describes it. This is all very accurate, however AOAAG is so much more than that. It is coming-of-age novel that explores not only the trials and tribulations of growing up, but the effect your life choices have on everyone else around you – or the non-effect that is simply heartbreaking. It looks at the relationships between generations, as well as the difference between a school age friendship//adult friendship, and what it takes for a young girls crush to develop into mature love. Also the weights and measures put on ones soul when deciding whether to do the right thing, the smart thing, the easy thing, or to follow the path your heartstrings lead you down – and neither of these things follow the same guidelines.
Evie has to constantly reinvent herself and her outlook on the world just so simply exist and also to not make a huge hypocrite out of herself and her life. It truly examines the coming of age process on a whole new level.
SO! Buy it, read it. Re read it. Make sure you have some tissues, and a highlighter. Maybe some post-it bookmarks. And then comment below and tell me what you think. I enjoy other peoples opinions – why would we all have differing opinions if not to share them?
Angry Owls 