The forward by editor Robert Spoo is interesting. In it, he says that H.D.'s transcript, which he used as a basis for this published version, was full of misspellings and errors that made it unclear as to whether the words written were unintentional misses or creative choices. It's a tough job, I think, to be in those shoes—to be on the hook for representing an author's true intent but only being able to use educated guesses and when it comes down to it, your own gut judgment. I enjoyed having this insight, and it made me respect the work (both his and H.D.'s) and the history behind it in a deeper and more humanized way.
As Asphodel is based on the author's own life (though still considered to be fiction), I leaned quite heavily on the appendix to teach me how the characters related to those in H.D.'s life. Layering "Hermione"'s emotions onto the author's real life experiences felt quite intimate, and made me feel very close to this author that I so looked up to in college.
At times, the stream of conscious style of writing was hard to follow, but there was always a poetic aspect to it that always had me thinking in the back of my head about a writer's intentionality. This work is more than just a one-note story of a woman's life. There's something else there, full of pain and relief, struggle and nostalgia, all of it wrapped in a bare honesty that sways back and forth between the meaningful and meaningless.
"There are no fields of asphodel this side of the grave."
