La Rousse

It's been a couple months since I was so emotionally connected to a novel.

I love getting attached to a character. Not just finding something familiar in them and putting yourself somewhat in their place but actually feeling the way the character does. Getting scared when they do, being anxious, elated, distraught, uncomfortable. It's amazing how well some authors can pull you into the lives of their characters.

It took me a day and a half to read Tracy Chevalier's The Virgin Blue and now that I have finally finished the book I feel a little lighter. It was by no means meant to be a light-hearted book but I feel satisfied to have gone through the journey.

Never before have I cried while reading a book, never, but this book reduced me to tears and if I had the chance I would thank Ms. Chevalier for allowing me such an experience. To be brought to a solid emotion, not some weak fear or slight sympathy, by a novel is something that I think every person should be able to experience. Sure, a movie can give you the visuals and it might even make you cry more, but if you are connected enough to a book to create your own landscape, your own view of the characters then your emotions will be tied to the book whether you like it or not.

Sometimes I marvel at my own imagination. How I can turn someone's words into a world in my mind, how I can almost act out the plot like a play. In the back of my mind there are so many worlds I cannot even begin to remember where they've come from but I'm glad to have them stored away for moments when I need them most.

I highly recommend this book. I'm now off to read her second novel The Girl With The Pearl Earring, made into a movie starring a young Scarlett Johansson. I haven't decided whether being able to put a real face to the main character will help me to visualize, but I'm sure it will prove a wonderful read.