Many people have made a comparison to Cormac McCarthy, one of my absolute favourite authors. This may drive some people crazy, I found it poetic and gripping at times, and at others, just too bleak and confronting. The book is filled with detail, everything Turtle does, sees and lives through is described in infinate detail. She takes a towel from the rack and wraps it around herself and walks past him, her gait lopsided and short. She stands up out of the tub and sees her figure reflected in the picture window, Martin behind her, leaning forward in the chair, squinting, scraping his thumb down the side of his jaw, and both of them looking at her, long legs barred black and green with bruises. He also physically, verbally and sexually abuses her and Turtle sees no worth in herself when the book begins, everything is her fault and her future is fixed and non-negotiable. Turtle’s mother died before she had a chance to remember her, and her father lives in survivalist mode in a run down filthy house, readying his 14 year old daughter for the end of the world. This debut novel by American Gabriel Tallent, centres around Turtle and her father. My Absolute Darling is an endearment from anyone else’s lips, but from Martin Alveston to his daughter Turtle (real name Julie, aka Kibble), it is a term of possession and ownership of the worst kind.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |