Friday, April 8, 2011

Rosalind Brackenbury

Rosalind Brackenbury is the author of twelve novels, a collection of short stories, and five books of poetry.

Her new novel is Becoming George Sand.

Last month I asked Brackenbury what she was reading.  Her reply:
I'm reading David Grossman's To The End Of The Land and can hardly put it down. It's so delicately and accurately observant of people's lives and thoughts, as well as bringing in the outside world and its threats and dangers. It's about an Israeli woman, Ora, whose son is in the IDF, in action, and about her relationships with the two men who are fathers to her two sons. I was particularly moved by the account of her going with her Arab driver, Sami, to take her son back to the army base, and her belated realization of how terrifying this journey must be for Sami, as he is the only Arab for miles around. Ora is emotional, irrational, insensitive, self-obsessed, flawed - a real human being. She gets everything too late and is always trying to make amends. I admire David Grossman's ability to get under her skin so thoroughly. There's a just-controlled agony in reading this book, I must admit, but I trust Grossman's ability to bring the reader through it, while not giving any easy answers - quite the reverse. Next, I plan to read Richard Yates' short stories in a collection, because I so admired Revolutionary Road.
Learn more about the book and author at Rosalind Brackenbury's website.

The Page 69 Test: Becoming George Sand.

--Marshal Zeringue