Similes

I’ve just finished reading Geraldine Brooks New York Time’s bestseller, Caleb’s Crossing. Her People of the Book is also an excellent read.

There are many reasons I enjoy her writing, but one that I’d like to mention is her use of figures of speech. Her similes, which likens one thing to a dissimilar thing, are wonderful.

Bethia, the protagonist, says of her mother:

“She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them.”

“Her modesty was like a cloak that she put on. . .”

Bethia describes her father:

“Father picked up the thread of his thought as if it were a tangled skein that he worried at.”

Bethia, who is forbidden further lessons in schooling, says of herself when she can answer the questions better than her older brother:

“At first when I gave out a Latin declension, father was amused and laughed. . . . [but] Father’s pleasures were of a fleeting kind—the reactions one might have if a cat were to walk about upon its hind legs. You smile at the oddity but find the gait ungainly and not especially attractive.”

What a gift she has. I do enjoy her books. Read and enjoy.

I’ve just finished reading Geraldine Brooks New York Time’s bestseller, Caleb’s Crossing. Her People of the Book is also an excellent read.

There are many reasons I enjoy her writing, but one that I’d like to mention is her use of figures of speech. Her similes, which likens one thing to a dissimilar thing, are wonderful.

Bethia, the protagonist, says of her mother:

“She was like a butterfly, full of color and vibrancy when she chose to open her wings, yet hardly visible when she closed them.”

“Her modesty was like a cloak that she put on. . .”

Bethia describes her father:

“Father picked up the thread of his thought as if it were a tangled skein that he worried at.”

Bethia, who is forbidden further lessons in schooling, says of herself when she can answer the questions better than her older brother:

“At first when I gave out a Latin declension, father was amused and laughed. . . . [but] Father’s pleasures were of a fleeting kind—the reactions one might have if a cat were to walk about upon its hind legs. You smile at the oddity but find the gait ungainly and not especially attractive.”

What a gift she has. I do enjoy her books. Read and enjoy.