I thought The Diary of a Country Priest was one of those books that comes with a “guarantee.” But of course no book comes with a blanket guarantee. Still, I’d read only glowing reviews and boy was I ready for a “triumphant experience.” But on p. 26 I couldn’t make heads or tails of what I was really reading about. On p. 54 the voice of the innocent and well-meaning young priest began to irk the shit out of me. On p. 55 I skipped ahead to see if anything would ever actually happen to dilute all the fluffy introspection and it didn’t look promising. On p. 64 I took the kitty to the well and drowned it.
Ach! If only I lived near a (English) library I’d run so much less risk of wasting money on books. The back cover says $15.95! I checked my order though, and thanks to Amazon, I paid “just” $11.48 for The Diary of a Country Priest, so I feel a few dollars better already. Plus I ordered it along with The Shadow of Sirius and Blood Meridian, both of which paid off. Sirius cost $10.88 but was really worth about $17.89, and Blood Meridian cost $10.20 but was easily worth $13.86. So actually I only lost 81 cents in this deal, which I guess I could toss in without regret for shipping and handling, making this personal failure easier to swallow.
I’m returning to this century now. Nice to see you.
8 comments:
Laughing! Cringing.
The dust jacket picture is nice...
my sister and i trade books and we work for the same company but in different locations in the city. so the courier driver picks up courier envelopes from me and delivers them to her and vice versa. she sends books to me with notes that say "you'll probably like this" or "tell me what you think after you've read it." i've come to learn this is her way of saying she drown the kitty in the well on page 64. sometimes page 32.
your post made me laugh- not really at your expense, though.
I've never read a Merwin book. I want to put one on my reading list. Which is your favorite?
Kass - yes, the cover is lovely.
Valerie - Of the older books I'd go with "The Lice," or the "Second Four Volumes of Poems," which includes "The Lice" and "The Carrier of Ladders." Of the more recent books I'd go with "The Rain in the Trees."
Sherry - yes, I figured p. 64 was a respectable enough place to give up. I find it hard to recommend books I didn't like, but there's no accounting for taste, and just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that it's bad.
Are you ordering from Amazon in the US? I find Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk to be cheaper (esp. shipping and handling wise).
Andrew -
I usually do order from Amazon US and have the books sent to my mother. She comes twice a year, and I go there three times, so it works out. I have used Amazon.de, too, and that's fine, too, but seems to take just as long.
Hilarious!
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