July 13, 2009
Fiction inspired by fiction
How one book leads to another is something I’ve always found fascinating. I’m now reading A Passage to India, as inspired by Kate Christensen’s Trouble and its Marabar Caves reference. Kate Sutherland asked about this recently (on FB, I think): fiction reading inspired by fiction reading, and she cited reading The Epic of Gilgamesh because of The Girls Who Saw Everything. I know that I watched Vertigo after reading Francine Prose’s Goldengrove, but can’t think of any other fiction I’ve read directly inspired by fiction off the top of my head. I’ve been meaning to get around to reading Great Expectations as inspired by Mister Pip, but as I haven’t yet, I don’t think it counts.
I just reread A Prayer for Owen Meany (nursing is good for rereading long books to see if they stand the test of time!) & remembered that it inspired me to read Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I'm not going to reread that as well though – I'm going to read February!
I re-read The Great Gatsby after Netherland and Howards End after On Beauty.
Norah