There is nothing surprising in the story of this book. What is surprising is that this novel is written as a sort of free-form journal and that the format enhances the story rather than detracts from it. I've read several novels written in journal form, both structured and unstructured, and liked very few of them. For the ones I didn't like it seemed to me that the story had been forced into the format like a pair of uncomfortably small shoes. In the good ones, like Ms. Listfield's, the story seems to be organic to the format, in this case reinforced by the lack of quotation marks.
Throughout the book we maintain the impression that this isn't a book that was “written” but was jotted down over a period of time. However, when reflecting back you see the well-plotted story structure. Three acts. Character development. The whole deal.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. The story wasn't great, but they way it was presented was.
IT WAS GONNA BE LIKE PARIS
Emily Listfield
Published: 1984
Cost: $1
Bought at: SF Public Library big book sale
Wow. It is so great (and amazing) to me to have stumbled on tihs. I wrote it Was Gonna Be Like Paris when I was very young, just out of college - and everything felt so immediate then. That's what I guess I was trying to get across (either that or I hadn't learned to sustain a narrative yet!) It was such a long time ago but that book has always had a special place in my heart - maybe it's the kind of thing you can only write when you are 21. Anyway, I'm so glad it has found you - and you it. Emily
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