Scan barcode
A review by kristinana
The Changeling by Joy Williams
4.0
You know how sometimes you wake up after an intense dream, and you want to tell someone about it, but as soon as you try to put it into words, you flatten it out by trying to impose some type of order or logic or even just description to it, because what you experienced is not easily put into words? Well, even though this book is obviously all words (!), it still feels the same way when I try to tell someone about it. I recently described it to someone, and what I said totally sounded like a novel with a linear plot that made sense--but even though what I explained DID take place in the novel, it was not told in that way. What I could say about it just diminished what the experience of reading the novel was like.
In a way, all novel-reading is like a dream. You're in a different world, you're imagining things, you are in a deeply experiential and interpretive state, there are a lot of symbols -- some that feel personal and others that feel like they're coming from something ancient and unknowable -- and you're kind of alone. But The Changeling enhances that feeling. And of course, since the closest genre it has is the fairy tale, you're in for a lot of weird sex, intense images, and unfair punishment.
I also thought about genre while reading it. I would say it's in the realm of fairy tale, but it's not just one character's story, so it's hard to leave it at that. I personally don't know that I would call it a novel -- sometimes I think books are called novels solely due to the length and the fact they're written in prose and not divided into different stories. Maybe you could call it a long prose poem? I'm not sure.
In any case, Joy Williams doesn't care about character arcs or narrative arcs or anything you're taught a novel should have. She cares about imagery and immersion and beauty and fear. Don't expect a plot. But if you're ok with reading many pages of strange and unexpected mini-stories and digressions and ideas, you might like it. I don't always like that kind of thing, but this book was fascinating and I will think about it often.
In a way, all novel-reading is like a dream. You're in a different world, you're imagining things, you are in a deeply experiential and interpretive state, there are a lot of symbols -- some that feel personal and others that feel like they're coming from something ancient and unknowable -- and you're kind of alone. But The Changeling enhances that feeling. And of course, since the closest genre it has is the fairy tale, you're in for a lot of weird sex, intense images, and unfair punishment.
I also thought about genre while reading it. I would say it's in the realm of fairy tale, but it's not just one character's story, so it's hard to leave it at that. I personally don't know that I would call it a novel -- sometimes I think books are called novels solely due to the length and the fact they're written in prose and not divided into different stories. Maybe you could call it a long prose poem? I'm not sure.
In any case, Joy Williams doesn't care about character arcs or narrative arcs or anything you're taught a novel should have. She cares about imagery and immersion and beauty and fear. Don't expect a plot. But if you're ok with reading many pages of strange and unexpected mini-stories and digressions and ideas, you might like it. I don't always like that kind of thing, but this book was fascinating and I will think about it often.