"It can be sad, the sun in the afternoon" - the afternoon of a
woman of forty-odd who is one of those perpetual transients,
living, or really half-living, in London or Paris, shifting from
the uneasy retreat to the uncertain possibility, moving from shabby
hotel rooms to second class cafes - a Cinzano here, a fine there.
Memories (of a scruffy cat she chased to its death; of the too
quiet baby she had alone who died) collect like fluffs of dust
under the bed; but there are alternatives - she might dye her hair
or kill herself, next month. Now, returning to the Paris she once
had known under no really happier circumstances, she has random
encounters - with one or two Russian emigres, with the man with the
lustful eyes she avoids in the hotel, with her "gigolo," a young
man escaped from the Foreign Legion who gives her a night of love -
hardly - and takes her for a thousand francs. . . . Miss Rhys has
always attracted a certain minor cult in England; this
mono-montage, originally written in 1939, is to a degree
reminiscent of Voyage in the Dark (republished here in 1968) hut it
is a much stronger book. Not a word seems out of place although
transposed to a time which has seen so many other changes. Perhaps
because Jean Rhys is both a supple and fastidious writer who can
thread momentary but timeless recognitions through the eye of a
needle, however dim the margins of experience with which she deals.
Flawlessly. (Kirkus Reviews)
In 1930s Paris, where one cheap hotel room is very like another, a young woman is teaching herself indifference. She has escaped personal tragedy and has come to France to find courage and seek independence. She tells herself to expect nothing, especially not kindness, least of all from men. Tomorrow, she resolves, she will dye her hair blonde.
Jean Rhys was a talent before her time with an impressive ability to express the anguish of young, single women. In Good Morning, Midnight, Rhys created the powerfully modern portrait of Sophia Jansen, whose emancipation is far more painful and complicated than she could expect, but whose confession is flecked with triumph and elation.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
