“We had been living together for about a week when my roommate told me she had asked specifically to be paired up with a girl from a world as different as possible from her own.” That’s the opening line to Sigrid Nunez’s remarkable novel, The Last of Her Kind. Dooley Ann Drayton comes from the moneyed class, yet she devotes her life to the poor and oppressed. Her college roommate is Georgette George, born into hard-scrabble life with a violent mother and troubled siblings. One of these women will commit a murder. The Last of Her Kind is a social history. The two college students attend Barnard in the Sixties just as civil rights and the Vietnam War ignite student movements. Woodstock, Altamont, marijuana, LSD, speed, all become part of the story. Sigrid Nunez brings startling narrative effects to her story. Most of the book is narrated by Georgette, but when Georgette has an affair, she finds she can only relate it to us in the third person. And then there’s the shocking prison journal. I cannot praise this tour de force too much. It’s amazing! The Last of Her Kind is the best book I’ve read in 2010 so far. GRADE: A
(Thanks to the North Tonawanda Public Library for providing this book.)
Wow – can’t believe I haven’t heard of this before.
Sounds right up my alley.
THE LAST OF HER KIND flew under my radar, too, Jeff. I picked up a copy after I read an interview with Sigrid Nunez. This is a terrific book!
Wow. I am putting that on my library list immediately.
I was blown away by THE LAST OF HER KIND, Patti. It was a complete revelation. This might make a great book club book.
I see the BPL has a bunch of copies so I’m putting it on reserve today.
I read the LARGE PRINT edition of THE LAST OF HER KIND, Jeff. It had a different cover from the trade paperback.
The cover photo hints at lesbianism as well, is that part of the mix? The book certainly does sound interesting, though I’m a little surprised that Drayton doesn’t do the narration.
No lesbian action, Rick. And, yes, you’re quite right. Logically, you’d think the rich, talented woman would narrate this story, but Sigrid Nunez constantly makes surprising choices in her writing. That’s the reason THE LAST OF HER KIND is such a great book.
OK – reserved it. I’m #1 on the list so I should have it shortly. Of course, I have 8 other library books already including the new Carl Hiaasen and Colin Cotterill books.
So many books, so little time, Jeff.
Don’t you hate it when seven of the twelve books you have on reserve, show up in two days? What to read?
I read library books in order by due date, Patti.
How disciplined of you, George. I usually try and do that, unless there’s something I really want to read immediately. Most books are renewable, so if it starts to get close to the due date I’ll go online and try to renew it. If I can’t, I’ll read that book next.
I pretty much do the same thing, Jeff. But I hate to pay Library fines.