So I Am Glad

(A review I wrote in January 2006) Miss Kennedy is a Scottish writer who lives with her cats. That's the description I always find whenever I do any research on her. So there you have it. Lonely writer with cats. That always makes me feel a bit sad for her. "So I Am Glad" is a special novel in the sense that there is a touch of magic realism in it. Namely, a famous historical person suddenly appears in her bedroom one day (or night, I don't remember). It's Cyrano de Bergerac, the one with the long nose as some of you may know. And the narrator/main character sort of falls in love with him and him with her. The narrator writes the book after his disparition, so it's a novel that deals highly with the loss of a loved one, at least that's how I felt it and at the time I read it I had myself lost a loved one so it made too much sense for my own mental health. It's a beautiful story, though so incredibly sad at times. The thing is that Kennedy has read extensively the real works of the real Cyrano, and thus she felt a strong connection with that person (who really existed) and so she brought him into her novel and I must say I quite like that idea. I don't even remember the name of the narrator... But I remember she works as a "voice"; she is a voice, she dubs commercials and record radio advertisings and so on and so forth. There are some sexual elements in the book; the main character has a past of abusive parents (though that's not very explicit in the novel, you won't find much on that) and as a result, she has become a dominant person in bed. She needs to dominate her partner to feel a sense of security in intimacy. So there are magical events and other more "realistic" things in the novel (notice I hate to use the word "realistic", it's all real to me). This is a very moving novel. I personally would say it is an ode to a lost loved one (and in this case a loved one the author has only been able to imagine, and never ever met in real life, which makes it even sadder) and for that reason it was very touching to me, and also very hurtful. There's a letter in that book for the lost one, and Jesus that is heart-wrenching material. It's the sort of thing that makes you go "Oh my God, that SO is it." I recommend you give this book a try if you think you're interested, and PLEASE don't believe what's written on the cover of the book; the marketing made for it is just plain dumb and the description of the book, which focuses on the dark sex, is completely stupid and totally misses the point of the book. It is not an acurate description and I find it very sad that they did that to the novel, it is not a dark tale of subversive sex and all that stuff; they don't even mention the magical apparition! Anyway, don't trust the cover. [That remark is about a different cover than the edition I post to review for; it's the cover which features a close-up of a mouth with fleshy lips, and so I have no idea what is written on the blurb of the edition pres

This is one of those times where words just fail. To say So I Am Glad is a beautiful book doesn't begin to address the complexities, the nuances, the sound of the language this book possesses. It is one I will read again and again.

It would be far too easy to merely state that this book is about a lonely woman, who meets a man, who claims to be the reincarnation of Cyrano de Bergerac. This is an emotionally complex story with some of the most beautiful language put to paper that I've read in years. There are paragraphs I want to cut out and put on the wall as keepsakes. This is certainly not your everyday romantic fantasy. So I Am Glad is just as much about pain as it is about love.

This books is a must! Highly recommended!

This book is one of the finest novels I've ever read. A wonderful premise with characters I believed in and cared deeply about. With funny, insightful, courageous writing as well. So I am Glad is a somewhat gritty Magical Realist story set in modern day Glasgow. It is about an emotionally damaged woman named Jennifer whose life begins to change when a man with amnesia unexpectedly appears in her apartment one day. That in and of itself would make for a decent premise. The beauty of Kennedy's premise is that the man is Savinien Cyrano De Bergerac. Most readers will only know Savinien from the play about him or the movies based on the play. But he is indeed a real historical figure, a romantic whose life revolved around duelling and writing and love. One of the more interesting things about this book is how such a man, mysteriously brought back to life 300 years after his death, would deal with modern laws against violence and the apathy of modern people. Indeed, a sub-theme running throghout the book is a commentary about political apathy: Jennifer stops occasionally to rant about events from the news that she announces for a living which anger her but which she feels powerless to do anything about. The core of the book, however, is about the relationship between Jennifer and Savinien. Even though they fall in love with one another, their relationship is slow to develop (very slow in the beginning) and suffers horribly along the way. There is a kind of dreadful symmetry about the two characters which hinders their relationship. Both of them have personalities which help them cope with their fear of being hurt by other people. Jennifer because she was abused as a child. Savinien because his appearance led people to mock him. Jennifer isolates herself from others emotionally, refusing to feel love among other things, while Savinien needs other people to show their love or respect for him. This is, of course, a recipe for disaster. Jenifer inflicts pain during sex with someone (not Savinien) in order to assert her invulnarability to and control over those people she allows closest to her. Savinien used to duel to assert his invularability to and control over those who would belittle himthese actions also gets in the way of their relationship to some extent. Watching Jennifer and Savinien try to love one another when their own neuroses and fears drive them apart is an intense, at times agonizing experience. But ultimately it is an important and rewarding one. Which is probablly something close to the author's intent, to show us why loving others is so difficult and why it's so important to suceed.