A review by tommooney
The Abortion by Richard Brautigan
4.0
Well it's great, obviously. Brautigan was such a strange, unique genius. I have become a little obsessed with him in recent months.
The Abortion is a tender novel, tackling a heavy subject with a light, poetic touch. It starts with the narrator, a 31-year-old librarian of sorts. This, however, is a very different kind of library - it is open to unpublished manuscripts from anyone who wants to write one. Just rock up with your book and pop it on the shelf.
One day a girl named Vida shows up with her book and ends up staying and starting a relationship with the librarian. Vida is an oddity too - her beauty is so extreme it has ruined her life. It causes car crashes, turns men into dribbling wrecks, makes women hate her on sight.
Vida soon becomes pregnant and the story follows the pair to Tijuana for an abortion.
Brautigan uses this set-up to explore lots of issues, including gender, personal satisfaction and the weight of everyday life. It's Brautigan, so it's odd and whimsical and full of just incredible turns of phrase and wonderful descriptions. His books are celebrations of the written word, no less so than right here.
The Abortion is a tender novel, tackling a heavy subject with a light, poetic touch. It starts with the narrator, a 31-year-old librarian of sorts. This, however, is a very different kind of library - it is open to unpublished manuscripts from anyone who wants to write one. Just rock up with your book and pop it on the shelf.
One day a girl named Vida shows up with her book and ends up staying and starting a relationship with the librarian. Vida is an oddity too - her beauty is so extreme it has ruined her life. It causes car crashes, turns men into dribbling wrecks, makes women hate her on sight.
Vida soon becomes pregnant and the story follows the pair to Tijuana for an abortion.
Brautigan uses this set-up to explore lots of issues, including gender, personal satisfaction and the weight of everyday life. It's Brautigan, so it's odd and whimsical and full of just incredible turns of phrase and wonderful descriptions. His books are celebrations of the written word, no less so than right here.