Strangeness

Although I'm sure that there are obvious links in the types of books I choose to read, sometimes I'm really surprised by the subtle details which seem to be echoed from one book to the next.

I just finished reading this book , which I found really interesting. I'm not sure how I would have read it if I hadn't taken Diana's class on rhetoric and writing this semester. The premise is very complex: the "literary world is an alternate universe to our very own, in which the people who play the characters in books live normal lives until someone reads their book, which is when they have to perform their roles". There are lots of clever, complex details based on principles of spelling, grammar, and writing (including the notion of the "litera-sea", which is where all the letters float, just waiting for fishermen to pluck them out to spell words). The main character, Thursday Next, goes into the literary world to hide. Of the several cross-over literary details, there is a sub-plot involving Wuthering Heights.

I picked up this book from the bargain books pile from Chapters, and was intrigued by the premise, and I have to say that I really enjoyed the cleverness and inventiveness of the story. It's surreal and smart.

My next book, by a reliable, favourite author, also is about the literary world. In this story, the main character has the ability to "lift" literary characters from their books into the real world. At the beginning, she accidentally releases Kurtz from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". I've only just begun reading this book, but I have already encountered a significant Wuthering Heights reference.

Isn't that weird?