Read it alone, somewhere beautiful, with a pile of hankies.
For while this book is hailed by many as exquisite, a true classic, who really remembers poet George Barker otherwise? Out of the ashes, this book was born and that is her ultimate revenge on the man who treated her so poorly, with whom she had her doomed love affair. Smart’s language is just on point and lyrical to the point where one wants to weep.Īnd one has to note, particularly in this #metoo world, that Smart’s pain seems worth it. Despite taking place during the war, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept has surprisingly little to do with the political spheres of the world at large, giving it a timelessness when read outside of its linear context, but arguably a tone-deafness when read within. It still rates as one of my top books about love – devastating, over-powering, painful, joyous, obsessional, dark love, but love none the less – and perhaps as an adult, I appreciate it’s brutal honesty that much more.
It resonated then, the language so beautiful, the emotion so raw. I recently reread Elizabeth Smart’s classic By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, which I first devoured as an eager teen and have come back to many times since. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept Elizabeth Smarts passionate fictional account of her intense love-affair with the poet George Barker, described by Angela Carter as Like Madame Bovary blasted.
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