So, my only excuse is that the last three months have literally whizzed by. I realised only last week that yesterday was Father's Day, and I thought, 'ahh the perfect opportunity to finish Elegance and post my review - this way I could still dedicate the post to a parents day' (it would've still been dedicated to my mum)... So I apologise Ma, here's your post.I usually tell you when/where/why I brought the book I'm writing about - in all honestly I cannot remember at what point in my life I came to have this book in my possession - so instead I'll tell you about what the book has sparked in me in this particular point in time. I've been reflecting on my writing in relation to my Ma... I started writing creatively when I was 16 with the hope that one day I'd be a published writer with the book I had started to write (I won't give the title away) - Ma wrote in my birthday card for my 17th birthday that she couldn't wait for it to be published and (I quote) 'to get a move on with writing it' - 5 years later, I'm yet to finish it. After a lapse in all creative writing, I started write again last year, and felt that I was a completely different person to my 16year old self and to continue writing 'that story' didn't feel right, I had a 'Dear Me' moment (see below). Too much has happened in the past five years for me not to be a different writer, with different motives, intentions, beliefs and experiences I want to share. So Ma, one day I will have a published novel - that is still absolutely one of my goals in life.
As well as this post having significance to the person I wanted to dedicate it to, it's quite significant to the book itself and the main character - Louise Canova.
Louise is a native American, living in London, who we see grow and develop (as we do with all well written characters) - we see a number of life changes and painful decisions that she makes. Her goals and motives for doing things changed. She re-evaluates her life and she gets on with it. Her aid throughout the novel, is a book called Elegance by Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux which she found lying around in a dusty bookshop. This book is effectively a self help guide (or at least that's how Louise treats it) and an A to Z as to what constitutes as being elegant in both appearances and in life.
From the extracts Tessaro uses from Dariaux's Elegance she's cleverly woven Louise's life around them, created some real laugh out loud moments as well as some absolute tear jerking moments. Does this constitute as an intertextual text? I'm not sure. It is really unique in this relatively tired genre (it was published in 2004, Dariaux's book was published in 1964- its stood the test of time in the 21st Century context), so I really love that aspect of it. Similarly to the way Tessaro uses the extracts in the book and the way Louise uses the book, I dipped in and out of reading this text because it allowed me too. Just like an old friend you may not have spoken to in ages, if the chemistry and foundations are there - whenever you meet up for a chat it should feel seamless. That exactly how I felt with this book, I was able to pick up exactly where I left off 'seamlessly'.
Louise crafts a new identity, which I and I'm sure Madame Dariaux, believe for any healthy person, is a perpetual part of life. You shouldn't live an unhappy life and if you've the power to change it and be brave enough to change it then by all means you should. Louise proves this, Madam Dariaux proves this and so does my Ma.
I really recommend it as a reserved pick me up, it's effortless throughout, I love both Tessaro's and Madame Dariaux's style of writing - Elegance book with a lot of beauty and style (just like the lady on the cover). The quote at the top is the first thing you read when you open the book, it set the tone perfectly - and I completely agree with it. xxx
 Tessaro.K, 'Elegance' (2004) HarperCollins; London Galliano, J., (2009) 'Dear Me, A Letter To My Sixteen-Year-Old self'. Simon & Schuster: London |
