Word: herchildhood
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...life ischoked with thousands of years’ worthof accrued ceremony: the 15 kilogramsof traditional clothing Haruko wears onher wedding day, the seven-day namingprocess for her first son. The monotonyand constriction of it push Haruko intoa nervous breakdown, forcing her toleave the royal palace to convalesce at herchildhood home.At this point, convention tells us, sheshould recover from her mental anguishand find the strength to carve out a placefor herself, even within the suffocatingenvironment of the court. Whether ornot Empress Michiko actually returnedfrom her convalescence with newfoundresolve, for the purposes of the novelHaruko should at least have returned achanged woman...
...unfounded arroganceand neurotic quirkiness: the problem Stuart facesin writing her essay--of defining herself based onher own merits and the merits of her first cousin(once removed) Robert Lowell-soon becomes thecentral focus of the book. The book is Stuart'sattempt to make some sort of order out of herchildhood among countless generations of twoprominent Boston Brahmin families, and to have ahell of a lot of fun while doing it. In thisprocess she latches on to the iconoclastic rebelfigure of her cousin, who tried to exorcise thesame Back Bay demons in his Life Studies asStuart is trying to confront...
Morgan added: "It's extraordinary what sheaccomplished [despite] the chaotic life" of herchildhood...
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