Figes, Eva - D. M. Thomas
D. M. THOMAS
A work of fiction defines a world of its own by excluding almost all of the real world. The writer sets limits to what he will deal with, as a painter decides the size of his canvas. Tolstoy gives us the illusion that the world of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" is coextensive with the world we live in; in Jane Austen we are conscious of looking at a cameo, and much of our pleasure arises from our appreciation of her exquisite judgment in staking out the boundaries of her art. What a fictional work leaves out is as important as what it takes in.
In "Waking" Eva Figes has chosen to examine the life of a woman by revealing her thoughts in the quiet time between sleeping and waking, at different stages of her life….
The exclusions imposed by the structure of this novel are formidable. It is difficult, if not impossible, for the author to create any living, interesting characters other than the woman herself. Action, the dramatic...
[The entire page is 558 words long]
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