of its 100 favorite books of the 20th century: http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html
I wandered there because while trying to figure out what I wanted to talk to William Gibson about in a phone interview on Wednesday, my wind wandered to Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, which for some reason I developed an urge to re-read this very afternoon while trying to figure out Gibson’s bio, which the publicist said included a stint in Lexington but apparently only goes as far as Virginia. Anyway, having just finished Gibson’s Spook Country, I seemed to have been primed for the Lessing novel appearing like a shimmering oasis of even more Complicated Literature to re-read ASAP, leading me to Google — the great refuge of those having a trying afternoon at work — and finally to Time’s 1962 review of Lessing’s book, which includes this gem:
“She succeeds in creating a remarkable heroine (possibly her alter ego) who somehow manages believably to combine the qualities of Kitty Foyle, Arthur Koestler and Simone de Beauvoir.”
Got all those cultural touchstone references down, folks? Go ahead, look them up: We’ll wait. Today I guess we’d pony up Bridget Jones, James Frey and Oprah for an equally awkward mental picture, one that’s pretty much guaranteed to send you running away from your keyboard and refusing to even visit amazon.com for an entire week. In future, when I have a need to keep a straight face and slightly puzzled expression, I will revisit that sentence: Kitty Foyle! Arthur Koestler!
And if you liked that review, try the original review of The Great Gatsby, which reads like somebody’s gin-encrusted night terror.
