Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Ten of the best (unconventional) ghosts in literature

Judith Claire Mitchell is the author of the novels The Last Day of the War and A Reunion of Ghosts. She teaches undergraduate and graduate fiction workshops at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is a professor of English and the director of the MFA program in creative writing. She has received grants and fellowships from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, the Wisconsin Arts Board, and Bread Loaf, among others. She lives in Madison with her husband, the artist Don Friedlich, and Josie the West Highland White Terrier.

At the Guardian Mitchell tagged ten of the best (unconventional) ghosts--"they may not necessarily scare, but they manage to haunt, long after the pages have been turned"--in literature, including:
Holiday in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

When murder victim Susie Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan in Peter Jackson’s film version, ascends to heaven, she spies a distant entity galloping towards her. The figure turns out to be Holiday, her long-deceased dog, joyfully greeting his newly deceased owner. Did I bawl like a baby on reading about this particular reunion of ghosts? You bet I did.
Read about another entry on the list.

The Lovely Bones is among Laura McHugh's ten favorite books about serial killers and Tamzin Outhwaite's six best books.

Coffee with a Canine: Judith Claire Mitchell & Josie.

The Page 69 Test: A Reunion of Ghosts.

--Marshal Zeringue