At the Bottom of the River
I cannot stand winter in the Northeast US. I don’t mind the cold (rather like it, actually), don’t mind the snow (love, it actually), it’s not like I have seasonal affective disorder and need to move to Florida (no) or get a special lamp. Rather, I just really, really dislike the grey-ness and I really, really, *really* dislike the barren trees that all look dead. “Look at that marsh over there,” says Matt with an admiring tone on our drive. “You mean the one with what looks like toothpicks sticking out of it?” I think. Pass! Sorry to offend any diehard NE’ers here, but well...
I have now read through At the Bottom of the River, the first story collection by Jamaica Kincaid, twice this month. Oh, the prose she molds and twists and builds! (In fact, this collection is often referred to as “poetry prose.”) There is nothing grey or barren about this collection — the language is lush and emotional and reads like very controlled free writing. (Is that an oxymoron?) It’s not particularly obvious what Kincaid is writing about, but if you read carefully you’ll understand that the Antinguan-born writer is exploring her relationship with her mother as well as what it means to be a woman.
This little book (fewer than 100 pages!) has been a gift to me this month. Good news: If you want to read Jamaica Kincaid too, @ifthisisparadise is hosting a #JamaicaKincaidReadalong this year. I just subscribed to the related Substack, and it’s so informative. (Great work, Kiki!)
Just before I composed this post, I saw the NYT Books post about “Reading Your Way Through Boston” with book recommendations by Paul Theroux. Many of the comments lean the way of one Instagram commenter: “How…old fashioned.” And all I can think about is barren trees and grey skies and a tendency to get bogged down in the 19th century…and then how happy I am to be immersing myself in the work of an esteemed Caribbean-born writer who made her mark writing for an array of well-known publications (including The New Yorker and The Paris Review) and continues to look forward.
Excited to dive in! #WeReadJamaicaKincaid
originally published on instagram