587. August is a Wicked Month

August is a Wicked Month
Edna O'Brien

1965

Around 170 pages

I hadn't yet clicked with an Edna O'Brien, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I greatly enjoyed this novel. Sees, sometimes you have to go on a few dates before you get that spark. 

Ellen is estranged from her husband, but finds joy in her seven-year-old son Mark. She decides to travel to Paris to have some sexual adventures. The reality of having sexual experiences with actual men though isn't quite as romantic as the fantasy. Apparently, Ellen's hair and eye color keeps changing...which is not great. I didn't notice that though during my read. Oh well. Flaubert couldn't get it straight either.

This is an odd book. I enjoyed the descriptions, even if the sex scenes were cloaked in strange metaphors. There's a really strange plot twist that comes out of nowhere, which I think is probably linked to O'Brien's own Catholic guilt. But I actually cared about where the story was going, and I wanted it to keep going after the end. How often does that happen?

Getting this one in under the August buzzer.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banned in several jurisdictions in Ireland.

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