Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New "Review" of The Road From La Cueva by Jane Brunton - Thanks, Jane!

I had an uninterrupted read of your book.... right through from first page to last (no peeking).

The details you include, (about the potter's art, laboratory procedures inside a hospital, caring for a terminally ill person and folk lore) if not garnered by having lived in these other worlds, then they speak to your incredible powers of observation. This plays out in your descriptions of the characters you so clearly drew. My favorite character was Margaret. Earthy and warm as the Mother.

And the way that our early familial relationships form the unseen scars that twist and warp all future relationships. When our lives are ruled by a controlling parent, we are ripe and ready for the plucking by a controlling partner. And how the controlee, almost feeling she deserves this treatment, becomes subversive rather than rearing up and fighting it out or simply scuttling away in the night...
Lovely words (shibui), lyrical phrasing, (It was as if he reached in, searching for her heart, only to find the rock he'd built his house upon) and a good story.

Love the way you steer away from the hackneyed and create great descriptions of your own ....eyes darting like animals in a fire.

Being a fairly skilled sculptor in clay but a lousy potter I appreciated learning that my problem stemmed from having too definite an idea of what the outcome must be. I will keep in mind that the clay has ideas of its own and its best to heed what it shows you.

Anyway those are my thoughts. Thanks for a great read today! And a couple of good cries!

And many more to come we hope?