Monday, July 31, 2017

2 comments:

Beth said...

Natalie, I went back and started at part 21 and read to the end -- it's utterly fascinating, and very well written. Honest, self-aware, compelling, and utterly human. You must continue this exploration into personal identity. Lately I've been reading Knausgaard's huge series "My Struggle" and some of the same themes are there too: how does the artist manage the struggle between the creative forces -- the burning desire to make art, to express, to do something significant -- and the life forces - sex, the desire to be paired and to reproduce, family responsibility, awareness of death and mortality? Each of our lives plays out this story in a different way...

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Many thanks Beth, I've emailed you. It means a lot to me to have your response to this. The autobio project has had such a long gestation and is still more or less an experiment. I wish I could feel that it matters enough for me to focus all my attention on it and just keep going until it comes to The End. It helps to hear that you feel I should carry on.

I read reviews of Knausgaard's series and wasn't tempted to dip into it. Maybe I should.