Banana Rose: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
From the author of Writing Down the Bones: This novel about a Brooklyn-born woman’s self-reinvention in Taos, New Mexico, “explodes with wit and vision” (Indianapolis News).
Nell Schwartz is a Brooklyn-born Jewish girl who reinvents herself in the communes of Taos, renaming herself Banana Rose—because she’s “bananas.” But Nell struggles with her inner fears and desires, the demands of the artist’s life, and the irrepressible call of home.
While living in New Mexico, Nell falls in love with and marries a free-spirited horn player named Gauguin. They travel east to experience city life, and then to the Midwest to be closer to family, but their tempestuous relationship cools as Nell’s free-spiritedness and Jewishness seem under constant scrutiny. For solace, Nell turns to her friend Anna, a writer who teaches Nell what it means to be an artist. Nell is slowly transformed by love, loss, and art, gaining a new sense of self.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Natalie Goldberg, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg is a poet, painter, teacher, and the author of over ten books, including her classic, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. She has been teaching seminars for over thirty-five years to people from around the world and lives in New Mexico.
Read more from Natalie Goldberg
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Reviews for Banana Rose
34 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Like, I suspect, most people who read this book, I picked it up out of a love for Goldberg's books on writing, most notably Writing Down the Bones. In those books she emphasizes freewriting and original detail far more than standard stuff like plot, character, and revision, and it is quite evident in this debut novel. Nell is a hippie living near Taos, New Mexico; this is the story of her journey to becoming an artist. The language is vibrant and the metaphors unforgettable, but the story and dialogue often fall flat. Nell is a total brat for about the first half of the book, which was long enough that I didn't really care much what happened to her by the end. That said, I cannot overemphasize the gorgeousness of the prose. Sure, the story is about Nell, but mostly it is a love letter to New Mexico. It made me long for the desert. Hopefully Goldberg's later novels have improved character and story without losing the fantastic imagery.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is Natalie Goldberg's first and only novel. It seems to be semi-autobiographical in nature if you've read any of her writing books or autobiographical books such as Long Quiet Highway. It was a beautifully written book in which she seems to employ all of her writing advice... show don't tell, etc. I read this years ago and eagerly awaited another novel, but none ever came. I think her writing books are top notch but if she dedicated more time to fiction I think she could write an even better novel than this.
Book preview
Banana Rose - Natalie Goldberg
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