For fans of Emily Dickinson poetry comes a mysterious tale of Emily’s life, fictionalized by author Jerome Charyn (New York Times Bestselling author of The Dark Lady from Belorusse and The Black Swan).
Quick witted Dickinson’s story begins as she is young, with a love of words and using words for clever and sometimes nearly harsh as she explores within her own world. Emily clearly has a few issues with being a female in her world, with the limitations she tries stretching. Her father supports her companionship as she’s clearly an intellectual conversationalist, but Emily struggles to understand why her father thinks her education is a waste of time.
As she grows up, writing poetry seems to come naturally. Fierce in her passion and slow turned a recluse, this story is full of the same lovable wit and charm that her poetry is well loved for. It was only going to be a while before someone wrote a great fictionalized tale of Emily Dickinson. Thank goodness it was Jerome Charyn. His clear understanding of Emily and her voice in poetry helped make the book all that more enjoyable. A true page turner.
Fans and those not familiar with Emily Dickinson and her poetry would enjoy this sweet and fearsome tale. Thanks to Jerome’s publicist for sending it along. A fabulous read.
As much as I’d love to keep this book, I want to give a chance for another reader to read this. So I’ll be selecting a random commenter/friend/follower/subscriber and asking them if they’d like my copy.
Because really good books need to be passed along.
The Secret Life of Emily Dickenson
By Jerome Charyn
Hardcover
February 2010
ISBN 978-0-393-06856-6
6.7 × 9.6 in / 348 pages
W. W. Norton & Company
Read it. This is a good one.
I read this book and thought your review nailed it! Especially the tricky relationship between Emily and her father. The novel also gives a clear picture of the repressive times for women in which she lived – it makes her work even more astoundng. I hope your copy finds a good home and travels on, as the book quotes: to shut our eyes is travel
What a great resource!
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