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A review by kasisak
The Water Statues by Fleur Jaeggy
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I've got so much to say about this book and yet I can never seem to put it into words.
Once, I tried to write a paper on the imagery of this book. It was an extra credit paper; while I didn't need the extra credit, I had some time to spare and wanted to express how I felt about this book. But after slogging through the first paragraph I realized I had no idea what I wanted to say-- there was so much I wanted to write about that I couldn't write at all.
What would I say? That the imagery reflected the alienated, melancholic but peaceful tone of the book? That the water of which the main character watched seemed to me to represent his approaching death, being a tranquil, eventually suffocating presence?
Or would I talk about the Biblical imagery-- fruit trees, snakes (if I recall correctly), gardens?
After a few days I gave up on the paper. I liked the book too much to pick it apart so soon.
And I think that's a good way to process this book: read it, let it linger and collect into a single, comprehensive form in your mind, and only some time after reading and thinking about it will you understand.
Someone I know who read this book told me that he read it quickly and thought it was all right, but didn't understand it very well. I felt similarly once I finished this book.
Now I wonder if, like me, that person kept reminiscing on lines and motifs from the book, and once they finally slotted together there was a larger appreciation for the book.
Maybe I'm digging too deep on it. Maybe this book is just that-- all right, though not very comprehensive.
But as one of my favorite books, I'd like to at least imagine that The Water Statues has meaning lurking beneath its graceful, eccentric prose.
Once, I tried to write a paper on the imagery of this book. It was an extra credit paper; while I didn't need the extra credit, I had some time to spare and wanted to express how I felt about this book. But after slogging through the first paragraph I realized I had no idea what I wanted to say-- there was so much I wanted to write about that I couldn't write at all.
What would I say? That the imagery reflected the alienated, melancholic but peaceful tone of the book? That the water of which the main character watched seemed to me to represent his approaching death, being a tranquil, eventually suffocating presence?
Or would I talk about the Biblical imagery-- fruit trees, snakes (if I recall correctly), gardens?
After a few days I gave up on the paper. I liked the book too much to pick it apart so soon.
And I think that's a good way to process this book: read it, let it linger and collect into a single, comprehensive form in your mind, and only some time after reading and thinking about it will you understand.
Someone I know who read this book told me that he read it quickly and thought it was all right, but didn't understand it very well. I felt similarly once I finished this book.
Now I wonder if, like me, that person kept reminiscing on lines and motifs from the book, and once they finally slotted together there was a larger appreciation for the book.
Maybe I'm digging too deep on it. Maybe this book is just that-- all right, though not very comprehensive.
But as one of my favorite books, I'd like to at least imagine that The Water Statues has meaning lurking beneath its graceful, eccentric prose.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent