So I finished reading “The Magic Toyshop” by Angela Carter. While I read the book, I had often the feeling that this book was not the kind I usually read. The book is far from being bad, in fact I found the writing exquisite, and I finished the book in one go, so even though the plot is very slow, I felt quite attached to the main character and genuinely wanted to see what would happen. Still I can’t shake the feeling I missed some bit. The central theme of the book seems to be young women’s transition to puberty, but this is describe with such care, such carefully crafted metaphors that I ended paying more attention to the decoration than the core, more interested in the fanciful dress than in the woman contained therein.
Angela Carter.
Virago Press
ISBN 978-1-84408-523-1.
Somehow it reminded me of an old TV show from twenty years ago, “Dream On” the protagonist of the Show is a literary agent, and in one of the episode he has to review a book that all woman love, but he can’t figure out anything about it. I had a bit of this feeling while reading “The Magic Toyshop”. Reading a little bit about the author on the web confirmed this impression…