Published as A Transatlantic Love Affair in the US
it was bound to happen, and it was likely to be during the summer, that i would find many distractions from reading. it didn’t help to be in the midst of a 600-page book that at times doesn’t have a steady plot to pull itself along. maybe now my reading pace seems less horrifyingly fast than before.
i’ve never read a collection of letters before, and this is a good collection to read because there is somewhat of a narrative—the evolution of Simone and Nelson’s relationship. she also just writes beautiful letters, and i especially love the way she writes about Paris. the situation between Simone and Nelson is heartbreaking, tragic even. it’s clear that they love each other, but neither could move to be with the other because of their work. there are sad misunderstandings between them and eventually they cease all contact. it’s a shame that Nelson’s letters can’t be published along with these (it’s half-explained in the preface that the “project did not prove possible”); there are enough notes to get a good sense of what is going on with him and his statements and reactions.
i also tried to read The Mandarins by Simone, but i was just not in the mood for the density of her prose. a small part of the story is based on Nelson and her first meeting in Chicago.
anyway, please send suggestions of other collections of letters that i should get around to reading someday.
i was missing you, lady! welcome back. i just read a very short (less than 90 pages) book by the Mexican writer / journalist Elena Poniatowska, titled “Dear Diego.” It’s a series of unanswered letters to Diego Rivera from one of his lovers, a Russian artist named Angelina Beloff. I guess because of her background in journalism, Poniatowska’s books always combine fiction with actual people and events. I’m not sure how much of the “story line” is based on things that really happened, but it’s a good (though depressing) read.
oh oh oh oh oh! i swear one day they will publish us my dear.
i haven’t read it yet, but i hear that “a literate passion” is an amazing book. it’s letters written between henry miller and anais nin. everything else she writes is so amazing, i’m sure her letters would be as well.
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not letters, but in the same vein: “sonnets to the portuguese,” by elizabeth barrett browning (written to her husband, robert browning, during their years in italy)