I don't think I've read other Eugenides novels, and am probably unlikely to do so after this example. I kept going onward thinking that there would be some extraordinary turning point which would justify the hype, but that never happened.
As for an introduction to Carter, I would recommend either _The Bloody Chamber_, which is her collection of dark feminist fairy tales, or _Wise Children_, which is a riotous mash-up of Shakespeare and twenty-century media as told through the lives of two elderly British actresses. I would actually highly recommend the latter as my personal favorite, since it satisfies my English lit-media studies-Shakespeare narrative fetishes, plus it's probably Carter's most upbeat novel. There's a character in it who is referred to as "Wheelchair," which might initially seem a bit offensive, but ultimately there is more explanation of the character which makes things a bit more understandable.
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Date: 2012-01-26 11:54 pm (UTC)As for an introduction to Carter, I would recommend either _The Bloody Chamber_, which is her collection of dark feminist fairy tales, or _Wise Children_, which is a riotous mash-up of Shakespeare and twenty-century media as told through the lives of two elderly British actresses. I would actually highly recommend the latter as my personal favorite, since it satisfies my English lit-media studies-Shakespeare narrative fetishes, plus it's probably Carter's most upbeat novel. There's a character in it who is referred to as "Wheelchair," which might initially seem a bit offensive, but ultimately there is more explanation of the character which makes things a bit more understandable.