2007-09-24 learning to read

Hard to believe this hasn't been reviewed here before. A set of linked short stories about quiet lives and ordinary enough people. It's the manner of telling which is astonishing: tiny material details (objects and scenes) interlaced with the most subtle movements of the characters' minds and feelings. If you've read William Trevor's stories, you'll know the kind of thing. It's more intricate than Trevor, though, more dense. And fuller than the pared-down style of Chekhov and Joyce, two of the great originals. The Beggar Maid is a slow, very still read, since each paragraph is subtly freighted, and you have to get so close in to the sentences, the effect is almost hallucinatory. When 'events' occur, they register in a shocking way. An amazing experience in reading.