admin reviewed Fair play by Tove Jansson (New York Review Books classics)
Review of 'Fair play' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It's been a long time since I'd read a book and paused to jot down some thoughts. It took me until the second half of the book but I think this is significant anyway.
Here's what I wrote:
> I'm astounded at how honest these two are with each other. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they don't get along. Is fighting a form of intimacy?
> I think I found what kind of books I like. I like books that reveal something about a person. I much prefer understanding a character.
Fragmented and incomplete thoughts but thoughts nevertheless.
There is something very touching about this book of vignettes. Nothing really happens in this book. It's just a series of small moments in people's lives. But they are precious moments, no matter how small. In a way, it reminds me of Woolf's stream of consciousness. There's no plot, …
It's been a long time since I'd read a book and paused to jot down some thoughts. It took me until the second half of the book but I think this is significant anyway.
Here's what I wrote:
> I'm astounded at how honest these two are with each other. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they don't get along. Is fighting a form of intimacy?
> I think I found what kind of books I like. I like books that reveal something about a person. I much prefer understanding a character.
Fragmented and incomplete thoughts but thoughts nevertheless.
There is something very touching about this book of vignettes. Nothing really happens in this book. It's just a series of small moments in people's lives. But they are precious moments, no matter how small. In a way, it reminds me of Woolf's stream of consciousness. There's no plot, just the characters living out their lives.
Mari and Joanna seemed like unlikely lovers to me at first when I realized just how different they are at times. Mari doesn't like Joanna's Westerns and is a little avoidant. Joanna is a bit pushy and stubborn. But somehow they just work. They critique each others work, share stories about their parents, travel together. They know each other very well and they love each other too.
Overall, I think this is the book that has intrigued me the most this year so far.
Quotes:
We're busy with work. And falling in love and that takes a lot of time.
She began to anticipate a solitude of her own, peaceful and full of possibility. She felt something close to exhilaration, of a kind that people can permit themselves when they are blessed with love.
You can't repeat. It's the wrong ending.
She fell asleep instantly before she had any time to realize how unhappy she was.