December 21, 2010

Larry's Party, by Carol Shields


I read this book for the first time almost ten years ago. It got me fascinated with hedge mazes. While I'm still interested in mazes and the surreal feeling of being lost they can impart, this time around the book didn't get me so excited about them. They're still great, but I must have taken more interest in the real story and not the symbol this time. Larry's Party is the quite wonderful tale of the life of Larry, first a florist in Winnipeg, then a maze designer in Chicago. His life is interesting and lucky, I think, but not extraordinary.

Sometimes I worry that other people analyze books more and get more out of them than me. But if I enjoy the story, as I thoroughly did this one, does it really matter?

1 comment:

kickpleat said...

i liked this book a lot too. can't go wrong with carol shields.