Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Woman's World by Graham Rawle


I'm not usually a fan of "artsy" books. My thought tends to be "if they need an artsy gimmick the writing is probably lacking".
After reading Women's World by Graham Rawle I will not let that keep me away again!
Written entirely with clippings from vintage 1960's women's magazines, the "artsy gimmick" of this book is not only impressive, it is necessary to the voice of Norma (Fontaine) Little who narrates this incredibly original book.
Women's World starts as a humorous character study of Norma who lives with her maid/mother and her brother/...in 1960's Great Britain.
How would one know how to be a lady without the women's magazines guiding her through fashion, hairstyles, poise and etiquette?
Clearly eccentric, Norma rarely leaves the house. But when she ventures out on a long overdue job interview she meets up with a curious man, Mr. Hands, who not only stares at her beauty, as others are want to do, but is bold enough to approach her with a proposition too intriguing for her to pass up.
As Norma prepares for her rendezvous with Mr. Hands, her brother Roy is fresh on the heels of a romance like none he ever thought possible.
Mr Rawle's character study moves smoothly into a mystery that reveals one twist after another as Norma and her brother must come to terms with their relationship.
There is so much more to this story but to say any more would give away too much.
This is the most innovative book I have read and seen. Any aspiring artist or writer can only be inspired by this book. It inspired me to start this blog!

Author: Graham Rawle
Publisher: Counterpoint
ISBN: 159376183x/9781593761837



3 comments:

Nicole Maddock said...

I've been wondering if this book was worth a look as well. I've read Diary of an Amateur Photographer and liked the concept but found the story kind of dull. I do love the lost consonant cards though, they are hilarious!

Anonymous said...

This book sounds very interesting! I enjoyed your review.

Anonymous said...

Any book that can inspire a person to start a blog is worth having a look at! Thanks for the tip.

Great idea for a blog, btw. There are too many out there that review the same books over and over. I'm bookmarking yours for future viewing. Cheers!