A Miscellany

[lunabee34]

1. Fiona, indignant at the sexist nomenclature of manholes, coins a new term: themholes.

2. I randomly thought of the time as a toddler when I made a plan to get rid of my dreaded courdoroy pants. I despised courdoroy as a child. In what seemed impeccable logic, I decided that if I just pooped in those pants, they would surely be thrown away, and I would never have to wear them again. I have an incredibly vivid memory of standing in the hallway and triumphantly soiling those pants. Spoiler alert, Gentle Readers: my clever act of rebellion did not elicit the response I was hoping for.

3.

Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The words are beautiful as always, but with the exception of Elizabeth, I don't really like any of the characters. Lesje is washed out and ineffectual, and Nate is a man-baby. I don't think I'm supposed to like Elizabeth, but she's interesting and complicated and ruthless. This is an early book, and I think Atwood's writing has improved since early days.



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Comments

[minoanmiss]

I am really impressed that you remember that cunning toddler plan.

I used to deliberately run my pantyhose faster than my mother could buy more.

[lunabee34]

Oooh nice one! *high five*

[spikedluv]

LOL at both 'themholes' and your early act of rebellion against courdoroy!

[lunabee34]

Sadly, my plans ended up more like Spike's. LOL

[anagrrl]

Personholes is de rigueur around these parts. Although this is very exclusive, because what about non-persons who might fall down them? (i.e. raccoons??).

Toddler you clearly learned an important life lesson: Rarely does pooping in one's pants lead to the anticipated outcome.

[lunabee34]

Toddler you clearly learned an important life lesson: Rarely does pooping in one's pants lead to the anticipated outcome.

INORITE?

[anagrrl]

It's a harsh, but necessary, lesson.

[lyr]

1) As much as I support Fiona's logic, I still get a childish snicker out of "manholes" that I enjoy.

2) Wow. That strategy never occurred to me to get rid of my much-loathed footie pajamas. I just stole a pair of scissors and hacked the feet off.

[lunabee34]

Your rebellions? Effective.

I am imagining wee you wielding those scissors in triumph. Glorious!

[corvidology]

I approve! But manholes do make me snigger!

When a cunning plan goes wrong...

[lunabee34]

I mean, my brother's poopy diapers got thrown away. It should have worked, damn it!

[kore]

This is the basest gossip, but SUPPOSEDLY Life Before Man is a total roman a clef based on life at the House of Anansi Press in the 1970s, and the triangle is based on Atwood (Lesje), her husband at the time (Jim Polk) and her future husband, Graeme Gibson. Elizabeth is supposedly Shirley Gibson, Graeme's first wife, and Chris is her lover who did commit suicide. IIRC Nate (based on Graeme) was the first time Atwood attempted a male narrator ever in her work. Atwood isn't exactly Lesje, she tends to transmogrify herself in her work (Joan in Cat's Eye is clearly an alternate Atwood as a child but also very diff circumstances, &c &c). If Elizabeth is more compelling and vivid than all the other characters, I think it's because Atwood was really interested in her. There! That is your dubious juicy literary gossip for the day.

[lunabee34]

Oh, now this is fascinating because Nate comes off terribly in this book (to me anyway), and Graeme Gibson was clearly the love of her life. Nate is so wishy-washy and non-committal and unable to assert himself and cowed by Elizabeth. But maybe the point is that Elizabeth is a cow and Atwood wasn't able to see how badly that paints Nate because of her laser focus on Elizabeth. IDK

I always love me some dubious juicy literary gossip. LOL

Cat's Eye is next on the list!

[kore]

Nate was SO annoying, and Atwood tends to write men as either dull or wishy-washy good guys and sexy macho assholes, lol. There's always this combative element. I think she deeply resented being stuffed back into "civilization" and sent to conformist city schools in the fifties (who wouldn't).

I LOVE Cat's Eye, it's one of my fave Atwood novels, altho I don't think it got a lot of love. One of the few times she writes about a successful female artist IIRC (there's Joan in Lady Oracle, but the romance writing is a bit of a joke). Then again just woke up, need more coffee. Or wait, isn't there a novelist in Blind Assassin?

[lunabee34]

I actually know nothing about her life; I've never read a biography of her. I should rectify that.

I haven't read Lady Oracle either.

Yes, there's a lady novelist in The Blind Assassin!

[torachan]

LOL re the pants.

I had quite a few corduroy pants over the years, as it was a pretty popular fabric. I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them, either. The way the ribbing rubs against itself bugs me.

[lunabee34]

I don't have them anymore, but when I was very small, I had some sensory issues. I hated the way certain fabrics felt on my fingertips and fingernails and corduroy was one of them. Also velvet.

[china_shop]

LOL! I feel like "creates an incentive for the wearer to poop their pants" is a good reason to jettison said clothing item!!!

*hearts you, and Fiona too*

[lunabee34]

I never could explain to my mom why I hated those pants or a litle later this velvet dress. I don't think sensory processing issues were a widely understood thing. And I don't have them anymore. I grew out of them. I doesn't bother me to touch things anymore. IDK why I would have that as a kid and not anymore.

[executrix]

In Jersey City, the themholes are stamped Teleport but actually you can't.

When I see a "Speed Hump" sign I always wonder, are you boasting or complaining?

[lunabee34]

Ahahahahhahaha. Teleport? That's so random and weird. I wonder what it's supposed to mean.

And speed hump instead of bump definitely sounds like a municipal worker decided to play a prank. I love it.

[amejisuto]

Personholes sounds wrong so themholes it is!

See, I liked corduroy but it always chaffed me. You don't see much corduroy nowadays though, I wonder why?

[lunabee34]

You don't, and when you do, it's always that's really thin striped rather than the thick striped fluffy kind they had when we were kids. I don't know why. It's a mystery!

[nyctanthes]

But do you like Corduroy? (Please say yes. :P)

[lunabee34]

Are you referring to the children's book or the acid jazz band?

[nyctanthes]

I had no idea there was a band. Definitely the book.

[lunabee34]

I googled because I wasn't sure what you were talking about, and I haven't read the book, but it looks adorable. I wasn't aware of the band, but I listend to a couple of the songs ("Saturday" was one), and liked them alright, too.

[nyctanthes]

😂

I was worried this Who's on First would happen with my Corduroy joke, but I said, "Self! Don't overthink it!"

(and oh lord there's another dated reference. :P)

[lunabee34]

Now that one, I know! LOL

[duskpeterson]

"Fiona, indignant at the sexist nomenclature of manholes, coins a new term: themholes."

What a wonderful name. :)

[lunabee34]

She cracks me up. <3