Wise Children by Angela Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing style of this book really through me off. Stream of consciousness combined with a slew of characters all who also have nicknames... it was hard to keep up. Separate from that, I did find that there were aspects of the book that I really liked. It makes an interesting commentary on the true meaning of family, and it is a fantastical view of a very interesting period of time from WWI through the 80's between London and Hollywood.

These are my two favorite quotes:
"I've done many a quick change, in the wings, in panto, in revue, but never one as quick as this. And so it came to pass that it was as Bottom the Weaver in plus-fours and an ass's head, that I went to my own wedding. I was beginning to see the funny side. It isn't every day you see yourself get married." - p. 157

""'D'you know, I sometimes wonder if we haven't been making him up all along,' she said. 'If he isn't just a collection of our hopes and dreams and wishful thinking in the afternoons. Something to set our lives by, like the old clock in the hall, which is real enough, in itself, but which we have to wind up to make it go.'" - p. 230

So, there were some enjoyable points. The bottom line is the story is a good one. I just found the chosen narrative style in combination with the wide variety of characters to be confusing and sometimes distracting. But, I did like the book.

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