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The Long Take by Robin Robertson
By Maxwell · 23 posts · 167 views
By Maxwell · 23 posts · 167 views
last updated Jun 03, 2022 01:51PM
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Everything Under
The most captivating aspect of this book for me was that Gretel, the protagonist, worked as a lexicographer, a person who writes entries for dictionaries. Gretel grew up with a mother who invented language, using many terms only she and her daughter used. Gretel only became aware that many of the words she used with her mother were not in general use as she became a teen and then adult. Languages are constantly evolving, and one of the functions of lexicographers is to create dic ...more
The most captivating aspect of this book for me was that Gretel, the protagonist, worked as a lexicographer, a person who writes entries for dictionaries. Gretel grew up with a mother who invented language, using many terms only she and her daughter used. Gretel only became aware that many of the words she used with her mother were not in general use as she became a teen and then adult. Languages are constantly evolving, and one of the functions of lexicographers is to create dic ...more
Described as “an eerie, watery reimagining of the Oedipus myth,” Everything Under certainly holds up to its watery image. At times, everything was clear and I enjoyed the setting and the characters. Too often, the water became murky and I had no idea what was going on around me. Strings of lovely written sentences danced with overwrought similes and what the hell is going on in this story anyway? Perhaps this was my own ignorance. Perhaps an understanding of mythology (of which I basically have
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First Home Fire and now Everything Under - these creative reimaginings are so interesting to read. It surprises me that I like them because on the one hand - you know the story so it’s not like there are surprises. But on the other - classic literature is classic for a reason. A good, timeless plot can work just as well with a few name and situation tweaks that add a little present-day relevance.
That said, Everything Under isn’t as flawless of a retelling as Home Fire was. The writing here veer ...more
That said, Everything Under isn’t as flawless of a retelling as Home Fire was. The writing here veer ...more
British author Daisy Johnson is, at 27, the youngest author to have ever been shortlisted for the man Booker Prize.
Everything Under is a reimagining in a contemporary setting of the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus. (Such retellings seem to be having quite a moment – last year Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire, based on the story of Antigone, was also shortlisted.)
The novel examines a very difficult mother-daughter relationship. Gretel grew up on a houseboat moored on a remote stretch of river with her e ...more
Everything Under is a reimagining in a contemporary setting of the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus. (Such retellings seem to be having quite a moment – last year Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire, based on the story of Antigone, was also shortlisted.)
The novel examines a very difficult mother-daughter relationship. Gretel grew up on a houseboat moored on a remote stretch of river with her e ...more
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May 30, 2019
Nadine in California
added it
DNF at page 100. Johnson is an astonishingly good writer, but I can't bear the world she creates - everything and everybody is unrelentingly cold, lost, wet, lonely, moldy, rusted, and sad. I've also read her short story collection, Fen, which shared the same overall sensibility, but it was easier to take in short bursts.
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Jul 23, 2018
Christina Stind
marked it as own-but-not-read
Jul 23, 2018
SibylM
marked it as to-read
Jul 24, 2018
Feblub
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Aug 16, 2018
Literary Multitudes
marked it as want-to-read-or-to-have
Sep 17, 2018
Paige
marked it as to-read
Oct 16, 2018
Hannah
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Nov 25, 2018
Cory
marked it as to-read
Dec 02, 2018
Devin
marked it as to-read
Dec 03, 2018
A
marked it as shelved
Dec 28, 2018
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2019
Christine
marked it as to-read
Jan 12, 2020
Michael Faris
marked it as to-read
