Frontiers
I've just finished reading The Surgeon by Kate Bridges.
Calgary, 1889. Her vivid historical detail and setting avoid every cliche and are made real by sense-provoking detail, such as unusual sounds and smells. I want to go there myself and meet her characters. Absolute escapism.
And after all that gun rustling, and a recent discussion about whether Westerns as a genre were dead on an e-mail list last week, I now want to read a Western. I'm pretty sure I have never read a Western. Which means I should read one.
I read my first Marvel type graphic novel before Christmas - because it seemed to be a whole world I havd never stepped into - and really enjoyed it.
Frontiers marked out only by habit should be pushed back.
Calgary, 1889. Her vivid historical detail and setting avoid every cliche and are made real by sense-provoking detail, such as unusual sounds and smells. I want to go there myself and meet her characters. Absolute escapism.
And after all that gun rustling, and a recent discussion about whether Westerns as a genre were dead on an e-mail list last week, I now want to read a Western. I'm pretty sure I have never read a Western. Which means I should read one.
I read my first Marvel type graphic novel before Christmas - because it seemed to be a whole world I havd never stepped into - and really enjoyed it.
Frontiers marked out only by habit should be pushed back.
posted by Kate Allan @ 11:18 pm
4 Comments:
At 9:02 am,
Anonymous said…
Kate, a western I think you would enjoy is Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty.
Pam
At 9:05 pm,
Anonymous said…
Absolutely, give Lonesome Dove a try. It was my introductory read when I decided to try Westerns. I loved it.
easywriter
At 10:00 pm,
Kate Allan said…
Lonesome Dove it is then... :) except it appears to be out of print according to amazon.co.uk. I shall have to try the library...
At 1:28 pm,
Julie Cohen said…
Graphic novels are great! I am a total addict. The one that started everything is called Watchmen: a bleak commentary on the superhero idea. Also try The Dark Knight Returns and the Sandman books, or any of Neil Gaiman's work. You might enjoy The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, too--lots of literary in-jokes there.
But the best ones, for me, are the non-hero books...the ones with serious, human subjects. The best being Art Speigelman's MAUS. Or Ghost World by Daniel Clowes. Or Jimmy Corrigan, or The Smartest Kid On Earth. Really extraordinary narratives.
Sorry to blather on on your blog...just excitable I guess! Glad you had a good holiday.
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