Nightwood

fascinating. on every page there is a string of words and sentences that felt almost magical in it's abstract, elegant nature. the whole novel has this sort of spacey, ethereal yet dark atmosphere to it that clutches you in and refuses to let go. i'm early into my journey with reading but never before have i seen descriptions of people and places be so deliberate to a novel's thematic elements; casting a light on the significance of going beyond just words. Barnes' prose is exceptional on all fronts, no doubts about it. all of it flows beautifully. a lot of really interesting ideas in this but i felt most drawn to it's diving into the concept of absence (in connection to relationships) and how Barnes' descriptions of characters almost make them feel like they're abstract entities above (probably below) humans. people's faces, movements, thoughts, and dialogue shifting like their essence is in a plane of existence separate from this reality. i feel a sort of shame saying this but i saw myself a lot in Nora's character; all the hopeless love and desperate attempts at trying to understand Robin really struck a chord in me. don't even know how i could begin to try reviewing something like this (especially since i've never written anything on a novel before) but holy shit. will definitely be thinking about this for a long time. thematically rich, beautiful, profound, etc. really wish i could write something meaningful on this but man am i at a loss for words