As though tickling a small animal…

Reading time: Less than 1 minute

I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a metaphor from Emily Gould…

I read Emily Gould’s novel, Friendship, under false pretences. Somehow I thought she was the daughter of Stephen Jay Gould, author of Ever Since Darwin and many other fine books with a biological theme.

But as I started to read — a rather lightweight novel that some might dismiss as “chick-lit,” I knew I must have been mistaken. Indeed. Wikipedia tells me that Stephen Jay Gould had two sons — no daughters. And Emily Gould is a former a former co-editor at Gawker. Yikes! How did I make such an error?

Reading the book, however, was not a mistake. While it lacks the sophistication of say, anything written by Charlotte Bronte, it’s a funny and engaging read. A great book for the beach. Here is a metaphor Emily Gould used that I particularly enjoyed:

She absently stroked her iPhone’s bedazzled case with one finger, as though tickling a small animal under its chin.

Somehow, my mind’s eye could visualize this scene perfectly. Terrific picture-painting from the distaff — if distant — side of the Gould family…

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