Am currently engrossed in the philosophical and picaresque (as wikipedia describes it) 'Under the Net' by Iris Murdoch. Off late, unintentionally I have been reading works primarily by female writers. Started off with Harry Potter series, and then more complex writings by Doris Lessing (The Grass is singing), Alice Munro (short stories) and now IM. Through their words they successfully reveal a whole new level of human characterization and uncover layers of often unexplored complexities.
I thought it usual that female writers better describe female protagonists in the first person just as their male counterparts would be comfortable depicting the male perspective. Thus was I surprised to read IM's novel written in first person as Jake Donaghue, a struggling writer based in London. It was impressive that she could accurately capture the goings-on in a male brain without sprinkling in 'female sentimentality' (or the contrary). Would have made me misjudge the gender of the author had the name been any less feminine!
Have been circulating around this question to other fellow readers to alert me when they come across an example of cross-gender writing (only the brilliant variety :) and first person accounts).
Meanwhile looking forward to discover more in this engrossing read.
I thought it usual that female writers better describe female protagonists in the first person just as their male counterparts would be comfortable depicting the male perspective. Thus was I surprised to read IM's novel written in first person as Jake Donaghue, a struggling writer based in London. It was impressive that she could accurately capture the goings-on in a male brain without sprinkling in 'female sentimentality' (or the contrary). Would have made me misjudge the gender of the author had the name been any less feminine!
Have been circulating around this question to other fellow readers to alert me when they come across an example of cross-gender writing (only the brilliant variety :) and first person accounts).
Meanwhile looking forward to discover more in this engrossing read.
