By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart. Pub 1945
I originally had somewhat positive hopes for this one, as I do usually enjoy a more lyrical/poetic narrative. This was not that. Lyrical and poetical yes, narrative not at all. There are only a few concrete incidents in the entire story (and I use the word “story” loosely). The rest reads like a lovesick teenager trying to sound grown-up. With all the laudatory info online, it did feel like a book one should read. My clue that this would be terrible should have been the effusive praise on the cover from Michael Ondaatje.
If I didn’t need this for my Banned category, this would have been in the running for drivel. Ugh.
Fate: it almost feels wrong to foist it on some other unsuspecting reader, nonetheless it will go to a friendly neighbourhood little library.
7 – debut
8 – female
12 – should
17 – new author
35 – banned
36 – DRIVEL
And with that, I complete the list!
rclr 