The 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner was a bit of a mystery to me as I was reading it. In fact, at first I wasn't even sure why Lynn Coady chose the name 'Hellgoing' for her collection of short stories. As I read on, however, I realized that each story had characters who were going through their own personal hell - the horrors of high school, the self-loathing of anorexia, alcoholism and obesity, the shame of teenage pregnancy, a honeymoon that is disappointing – perhaps a situation that would seem trivial to anyone except the character going through it - perhaps a situation that lasts only a day or two and is then forgotten. Often the characters are nothing short of unsympathetic. Frequently their stories are unresolved.
Still, in the end I found the book compelling and find myself still thinking about it. Definitely worth re-reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment