BOOK 245: TWO SERIOUS LADIES: JANE BOWLES

Eccentric, adventurous Christina Goering meets the anxious but equally enterprising Mrs. Copperfield at a party.

Two serious ladies who want to live outside of themselves, they go in search of salvation: Mrs. Copperfield visits Panama with her husband, where she finds solace among the women who live and work in its brothels; while Miss Goering becomes involved with various men. At the end the two women meet again, each changed by her experience.

Mysterious, profound, anarchic and very funny, 'Two Serious Ladies' is a daring, original work that defies analysis.

(From Goodreads)

MY VERDICT: This book was on my to read list for a really long time before I got to it. I’m not entirely sure why but I’m glad I read it when I did. It was not what I was expecting in tone and story and it was pleasantly surprisingly modern for a book written in the 1940s. And in some ways bizarre. I enjoyed reading it but I couldn’t exactly tell you why which I feel is in keeping with the book itself.