book list: surfacing

I finished Surfacing by Margaret Atwood on Monday. It was a bizarre read -- not that I should be surprised at all any more by Atwood. It took me a while to adjust to the way the short novel (just over 200 pages) was written; I kept putting it down because Surfacing definitely requires a careful reader to slip into the style and understand the nuances of the text. It's the type of book that should be read in chunks, not snippets, or all at once; unfortunately I started it before going back to Sun Prairie, so I kept having to put it down and pick it up again.

Surfacing is the story of an unnamed female protagonist who accompanies her boyfriend and their friends, a married couple, to her childhood home in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. The protagonist is looking for her father, who has gone missing, though if she discovers that he is there she plans on leaving without saying anything to him. She alludes to the fact that her father and her late mother didn't understand her recent choices, including a marriage, divorce and abandoned child.The reader picks up on the fact that the protagonist lives a life of emotional isolation by choice.

The four friends originally plan to remain on the island home for two days, though that turns to a week. Through the protagonist's eyes the reader observes the shifting, ugly, complex relationship between David and Anna, the married couple. We are there for David's taunting sexism, his coolheaded cruelty to Anna -- I thought throughout the book that he was a quietly sinister character, like a public charmer who is abusive behind closed doors. Anna in return reacts to his behavior with promiscuity; she isn't an entirely sympathetic character because she is catty to the protagonist, and, given the chance, turns on her when David opts to do so.The relationships between the four people on the island are the most important part of this book.

As the book progresses, the protagonist's way of thinking about her life begins shifting steadily. She was always detached emotionally, but with each page she also seems less lucid, so the reader is transmitted her perspective, where mystical events combine with reality. The reader then has to sift through and decide: what is real and what is the protagonist's imagination?

There was a fixation in Surfacing on Americans representing all things exploitative, boorish and manipulative. In one section, the narrator mistakes two annoying fishermen for Americans, only to find that the fishermen had mistaken their party for Americans as well -- they were all, in fact, Canadian. I've noticed that Atwood does this a lot: she flips the easy analysis of her work and intentions on its head and opens up new avenues for critical analysis... I LOVE IT.

Overall, I liked this book. I think it was a very good decision to read the whole Atwood oeuvre book by book because a patchwork of the themes is emerging.

madison thrifting adventures

As I mentioned in a previous post, I did some serious thrifting while I was back in the Madison area. My family lives in Sun Prairie, which is only a 5-minute drive from the east side. I hit the Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, and HospiceCare Thrift Store with my friend Bill last Tuesday. I discovered that Bill, who I've known since high school, is an avid thrifter. This is huge: I found someone who doesn't think I'm crazy or brave or lowering my standards or some other bizarre judgment for treasuring old things that have had previous lives of love and use. Someone who just understood, and enjoyed the hunt as I do. It was really enjoyable to not feel like I was dragging someone along with me against their will (ahem.... Neil).

I also did some thrifting on the west side of Madison with my mom. She was able to hit her crafty stores and I was able to stop by the Odana Antique Mall, the Salvation Army, and another Goodwill.

framed 1890 magazine art: $29, Odana Antique Mall
yellow chair: $10, Savers



Nancy Drew: two from Half Price Books ($3 apiece), one from Salvation Army ($2)
Golden books: 50ish cents apiece, Savers
Gardening/miscellaneous books: 50ish cents apiece, Salvation Army

these vintage sheets are even pretty crumpled up straight from the dryer

As you can probably intuit from these photos, I started a new collection:VINTAGE SHEETS! I'm kind of ecstatic...

I've seen plenty of bloggers posting photos of their gorgeous, soft, dreamy-looking patchwork quilts created from pretty vintage sheets, so when I kept spotting the same sheets for $1.99-2.99 at the thrift stores, I was inspired to take action. I'm sure the last thing I need is a new collection (other collections include buttons, handkerchiefs, old quilts...and I'm adding things all the time) but I couldn't resist: I love eclectic, unmatchy, easy patchwork quilts above all else. Oh, and floral print. Did I mention that I go wild for floral print?!



organizing my button stash

I love colorful things, I love tactile things I can sift my hands through and play with, I love objects I can create with. It naturally follows that I should love buttons.

The vibrant colors were striking against my recently bought $19.99 Urban Outfitters duvet cover (clearance!). I own three large glass jars from Hobby Lobby that I rediscovered in my Sun Prairie bedroom while I was home, so I decided to sort my buttons by color and give them new homes in the roomy jars. I love the simplicity of sorting the buttons by color. It's soothing.

I've since combined the yellows, reds and pinks and the greens and blues. I'll need to buy one last big jar, so for now the blues and greens are living in a significantly smaller jar. I love the way they look just as decor; I doubt I'll ever find uses for all these buttons. Possible button-related crafts that I do see in my future are a button-embellished cardigan and/or button bouquets. Maybe a lampshade with lots of buttons stitched on, or perhaps cards like these.

during my blogging absence...

My little sister graduated from high school! 

My dad spray painted the yard with a giant University of Wisconsin symbol for Whitney's graduation party.

My family posed for plenty of group pictures.

Neil played guitar for my grandpa.

We had a roaring bonfire in the backyard.

My brother Conner won a skateboarding competition. He beat more than 30 skateboarders and is now sponsored by Focus Skate Shop in Madison! I couldn't be prouder.

I did a lot of thrifting in the Madison area. More on that coming later this week!

When I wasn't thrifting, I was cleaning out old boxes. I found these library receipts from up to five years ago. (Pretty sure I was destined to become an archivist...)

 I returned to La Crosse two days ago and Neil and I went on a long, meandering bike ride on a nearby trail. I dusted this pretty thing off after about a year of non-use.

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Yesterday I went to the Rendezvous/flea market in Prairie du Chien with my grandparents. I have a lot of photos to share from that adventure, plus pictures of last week's thrifting finds!   

poetry sunday: what's that smell in the kitchen?

Written by Marge Piercy from her book Stone, Paper, Knife (1983).

All over America women are burning dinners.
It's lambchops in Peoria; it's haddock
in Providence; it's steak in Chicago;
tofu delight in Big Sur; red
rice and beans in Dallas.
All over America women are burning
food they're supposed to bring with calico
smiles on platters glittering like wax.
Anger sputters in her brainpan, confined
but spewing out missiles of hot fat.
Carbonized despair presses like a clinker
from a barbecue against the back of her eyes.
If she wants to grill anything, it's
her husband spitted over a slow fire.
If she wants to serve him anything
it's a dead rat with a bomb in its belly
ticking like the heart of an insomniac.
Her life is cooked and digested,
nothing left but leftovers in Tupperware.
Look, she says, once I was roast duck
on your platter with parsley but now I am Spam.
Burning dinner is not incompetence but war.