Olivia: A Novel by Dorothy StracheyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"Olivia" is the story of a teenage girl away at boarding school, and her intense feelings for one of the two women who run it. In some (good) ways, this reminds me of Nevada Barr's "Bittersweet" and Sylvia Brownrigg's "Pages For You", which are both favorites of mine, and both concern girls whose first loves are (somewhat) older women.
First love is gorgeous and awful and all-consuming and unforgettable; Olivia finds all that out first hand. Don't be misled...there is no sex and very little physical contact in this story, but the emotions burn red hot. It has the feel of a classic tragedy, and also of a really good YA novel of today.
The story is loosely based on Marie Souvestre's Allenswood Academy, attended by both the author and Eleanor Roosevelt, among many other notables of the first half of the 20th century. But this is not about anyone, really, except Olivia and Mlle. Julie. There were times when I had to set it down and just let a scene wash over me. It's very smoothly written, full of heart, joy and sadness; it simply blew me away. Highly recommended.
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Five out of five? Wow! It must be an incredible read.
ReplyDeleteso YOU
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3
Sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good!
ReplyDelete"There were times when I had to set it down and just let a scene wash over me." Now that is the mark of a good book. I will look for it.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a book for ages that I've wanted to mention to you. The writing is exquisite, and I think you would enjoy it immensely. It's called The Forgetting Tree.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgetting-Tree-A-Novel/dp/1250001048
In addition to the writing style, I think you would like the character called Minna. Her complexity is quite compelling.