Cambridge; Susanna Kaysen
Knopf - 2014
Cambridge, by Susanna Kaysen was a novel which seemed to be somewhat
autobiographical. The story began in 1955 and followed a lonely young
girl named Susanna from the second to the sixth grade. Her well-off,
academia parents were from Cambridge, Massachusetts, but they moved her
and her younger sibling around frequently during childhood. In a short
period of time Susanna lived in several different countries.
The book began with a chapter called AWAY when
Susanna lived in London and traveled to Italy, but longed to be back in
Cambridge, MA.
In
the summer before our October departure for England, the screen door to
the backyard broke and had to be replaced. The new door had a
hydraulic canister that hissed when it opened or closed instead of
smacking, thump, thump, the way the old door had. I didn't like
this. Neither did my cat Pinch. Cats and children are conservative.
Pinch would use the new door to go out of the house, but she refused to
come in through it, and she'd sit by the front door waiting for someone
to notice that she'd decided it was time to come home. After three
weeks in England, I felt the same way: Okay, let's go home now. It's
time to go home. But my parents, looking out their new, hydraulic door
to England, didn't notice me, and, like Pinch, I had to sit there hoping
and hoping."
Susanna,
although intelligent, was miserable in school, she only wanted to do the
things that she enjoyed. She was more interested in adults than she was in
other children and she often came across as a spoiled, unlikeable
child. Despite this, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. To me it felt
liked she lacked the feeling of security that is so important for
children.
I
enjoyed Susanna's take on the people she met while visiting London,
Greece and Italy. On the other hand, I felt the lack of plot and structure was
difficult at times, but in the end, I was still happy I read this one. I do
think this novel might have worked better as a coming of age story
instead of the travelogue narrative that it felt like from time to
time. Not for everyone, but worth a try.
3.5/5 stars
(review copy)
Glad it was worth a try. The lack of plot and structure concerns me though.
ReplyDeleteProbably not for me. I usually have a problem with 'travel' fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe intro sounds good. Thanks for your review.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this one is an easy read and that you shouldn't have too high expectations of it.
ReplyDeleteI've been curious about this one because I really liked Girl, Interrupted when I was in college. I won't rush out to get this one, but maybe when I'm in the mood.
ReplyDelete