Cheri's Reviews > Indelicacy

’In books I found even more strongly my desire to write, to write back to them and their jagged, perfect words. I found life that ran close to my own.’

A relatively short rags-to-riches tale of a woman who works as a cleaning woman at an art museum, spending her free time writing about her feelings about the art on the walls in between scrubbing walls and floors and toilets.

’While I dusted, I listened to the music and afterward wanted to describe it in my notebook. I was thinking things that I was afraid I would forget. Also, I had become interested in my handwriting. I wanted to see it there, in its own way, alive.’

And then one day when she meets a man, a fairly wealthy man who becomes her husband. Her lifestyle changes drastically as she moves from a tiny flat to a rather grand house, with her own room to write in, and a maid to handle the chores. And yet, she feels less fulfilled than before, and begins to yearn for her former freedom, the simple friendships, acceptance and understanding that she had among her former friends.

While I don’t think this is a story that will appeal to all, for those who appreciate lovely, spare prose, with thought-provoking themes, this was a story shared through deceptively simple prose that touches on a range of topics about women’s roles vs. men’s roles, society’s influence, and the pursuit of one’s own idea of personal happiness.

Many thanks to my goodreads friend Betsy, whose review brought this book to my attention.

Betsy’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...