Seriously Catching Up?!

It’s been WAY too long since I last posted a book review! One reason is that I got started with a lengthy Pulitzer Prize winner, The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, which I’m still not done with. But I’ve read several others during that time. SO, here’s my serious attempt to catch you up!

I first heard about this book almost 5 years ago. I had my first dog, a beagle, and was always on the look out for books about this fun-loving breed. Although it took me years to find a copy, which I finally did at Goodwill — go figure! For Bea by Kristin Von Kreisler is an amazing story about a beagle who steals the heart of the author. Kreisler stumbles upon a weak, scared beagle while out walking her other dog with her husband. Bea is not ready to come into a human’s arms, but Kreisler is not detered. She gets Bea and takes her home. That begins a journey of learning all about research beagles and how to rehabilitate them into loving pets. This is a must read for any dog lover, and of course any beagle lover!!

 

 

 

 

Another Goodwill find was James Patterson’s Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas. I started this book as an easy break from The Executioner’s Song which is kind of grim — to say the least. But Patterson’s novel took a lot of emotional energy out of me! Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas is a heart-wrenching tale of a woman, Katie, trying to understand the heart of the man she loves. What she doesn’t know, but soon finds out, is the depth of love and tragedy that weighs at Matt’s soul. This is an amazing book that I already put on my mom’s bedside table for her to read!

Now back to The Executioner’s Song …

The Interpreter of Maladies

The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. It’s a collection of 9 short stories shedding light on what it is like to be an outsider. Several of the stories feature newly immigrated people from India trying to adapt to American life. Before I read this book, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to go to a new country, where everything is different, and try to assimilate with the culture. Lahiri offers a glimpse into the emotional upheaval and confusion that accompanies individuals in this situation.

Of the 9 stories, my favorites are two contrasting stories that share the overall theme of being an outsider. The story titled “Sexy” cuts into the life of a single woman involved with a married man and her day of babysitting a child who opens her mind and her heart to other possibilities. “Mrs. Sen’s” features a woman who followed her husband to America for a job and ends up babysitting a young boy for a neighbor. The story is told from the young boy’s perspective and how he gradually sees how unhappy Mrs. Sen is in her new circumstances.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like a collection of short stories instead of an actual novel. There were stories that left me wishing for more, but overall each story offered a different sense of enlightenment.

Book Rating: * * *

The Long Loneliness

I first heard about Dorothy Day when I added a book to my Wishlist on Amazon. Her works came up in one of those “Other people who bought this were also interested in …” lists. I did some research and learned that she was a Catholic social activist during some of the most difficult times in US history, including the Depression and the World Wars. Her story is an amazing one in which a young woman who came from some priviledge turns away from it all and voluntarily takes on a life of poverty. The Long Loneliness is her autobiography but I have to admit it isn’t much of a read. I enjoyed the first half that talks about her life as a social activist before she becomes a Catholic and her gradual conversion. Having been brought up Catholic, I related to a lot of her experiences in the church. But the second half of the book is hard to get through. She writes the first half in more of a spiritual awakening. The second half … is a factual list of things that happened in her life as part of the founding writers of The Catholic Worker. For a historical perspective, it’s worth the read but other than that I can’t recommend it very much.

Book Rating: * *

Why Not a PP Winner??

I’m not quite sure why Betty Smith’s amazing novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn didn’t win a Pulitzer Prize. It was my pick for our book club … it’s one of those books I’ve always wanted to read but never got around to it (being nearly 500 pages and all!).

Smith masterfully put words to a childhood none of us dream of — poverty, hunger, loneliness. In her tale of a young girl growing into womanhood in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, Smith gets at the heart of what is really important in life — love, family, and dreams. I’m not going to say much more about this one because we haven’t had our book club meeting about it yet, but I’ll sum my opinion up with this — Book Rating: * * * * *

This is a MUST read for anyone interested in what living in poverty in the early 1900s America really means.

Another Score

So I made a quick stop at one of my local used bookstores the other day. I was looking for a cheap copy of a writing book that I have long packed away … to be opened when I have my own place again. And I couldn’t help but glance through the clearance shelves. I’m so glad I did … I found 3 Pulitzer Prize winners for a total of $2. (One of which was on my list of “hard to find.”) I also found a hardback copy of a Wallace Stegner book (see post about Angle of Repose) a new favorite author.

Still Reading …

OK … I promise, I’m still reading! But this last one was a doozy to get through! (And I took a couple breaks for other things!) But my sluggish reading pace had nothing to do with the quality of novel. In fact, Angle of Repose (1972 PP winner) by Wallace Stegner has introduced me to a new favorite American novel and author.

The novel uses one of my favorite writing techniques, the story within a story, to tell the tale of the Ward family — back several generations. It mainly focuses on Lyman Ward, a disabled history professor and writer, as he chronicles the life of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward.

Susan grows up in a life of priviledge in the New England area, but as she sets her sights on adulthood, she takes a twist no one in her life could see coming. Susan chooses to marry Oliver Ward, an engineer determined to be a part of cultivating the new Western frontier. At first, Susan casts a romantic glance toward her life in the West. She utilizes her talent for art and writing and makes her own career depicting this “new” world that readers back in New England have no opportunity to see firsthand.

Susan’s romance with her frontier life and with her husband take their hits as Oliver’s endeavors take his family to parts unknown and uncivilized. As children are added to the mix, Susan begins to resent her husband and his choice of careers. She longs for the familiarity of New England and the class and clout her family held there.

While delving into the past, Lyman Ward is dealing with his own disappointments and difficult marriage. His wife left him soon after his leg was amputated, for his surgeon no less, and his son has set his sights on putting dad in a home. Lyman’s quarky neighbors add humor and realism to the mix … especially when Lyman takes on a young female typist to help him with his research and writing.

I don’t want to say too much more because this novel other than it is well worth the 500+ pages. Wallace Stegner’s vivid descriptions of land, emotions, and people are enough for a Pulitzer Prize itself. But put those together with an intriguing tale of family heritage and dynamics and you come away with a true masterpiece.

Book Rating: * * * *

The Chosen One

I’ve always had an interest in young adult fiction and the coming of age story. Maybe it’s the emotional angst that all teens go through, especially girls, that seems to resonate with me. As a writer, I’m always intrigued by how a novelist describes those movements and jolts of adolescences. What words does she use? Does she capture the true feelings? Does she take you back to your own adolescent murk?

In The Chosen Oneby Carol Lynch Williams, the main character is Kyra — a teen-aged girl living with her family in a polygamist cult. Even though her life is dramatically different than most mainstream teenagers, her emotions and cares are the same. Well … maybe there are a few differences — like marriage and having babies. Yes, she’s faced with these adult experiences at the tender age of 15. Her comfortable childhood takes a significant turn with the cruel reality that she is to marry her uncle — who is 20 years older than her father; and she comes face-to-face with the harsh punishments of the cult’s leaders if orders aren’t followed. It’s a quick read and definitely worth it for a reader of any age.

A Chance to Die

Like many books on my shelves, I’ve had this one for a long time but hadn’t gotten a chance to read it yet. What brought me to it? I guess you could say a spiritual restlessness of sorts. I’ve had some ups and downs — spiritually speaking — during this crazy time of unemployment and I needed a good biography of someone who put her life and her dreams in the hands of her God. (Yes, it also helped that the biography was about a woman and a single woman at that.)

A Chance to Die — The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot met my needs and more. The book tells the story of Amy Carmichael’s journey from a young child, then woman, in Ireland to the matriarch of an adopted “family” in India. From a young age, Amy felt called to tell others about Christ and the saving grace He offers through faith in Him. She moved among the poor of her town and surrounding areas — all while seeking a “higher” calling to a far away land. How she ends up in India is worth the read in and of itself; but the spiritual journey that God takes her on is what really resonated with me.

Amy struggled to discern where God wanted her to go. She felt strongly that He wanted her to be a missionary in another country, but disappointment and misread signals seemed to derail her from finding that right location. Through it all, though, she doesn’t give up. It’s that determination to follow her God anywhere that moved me where I needed movement the most. Although she felt every dashed hope deeply, each time Amy had to turn back from what she thought was “the” place God was pulling her into an evermore dependant existence. He needed her to be totally “on-board” with Him and reliant on Him to be ready for what He had planned for her.

And His plan was an amazing adventure that, once Amy was there, she never left until her death. The majority of Amy’s life was spent building and securing a safe haven for the lost children of Dohnavur, India. Children who were once abandoned or sold into prostitution were brought to her, many by the grace and hands of God’s servants in India, and became part of her family.

Though Amy reaches Dohnavur in the early stages of the 380pg biography, her spiritual growth doesn’t end there … and obviously neither does her story. The rest of the biography follows the growth of the Dohnavur Fellowship that still exists in India today — long after its founder has gone to her Lord. What overwhelmed me during the growth of this ministry, which was attacked in many physical and spiritual ways, was Amy’s constant and staunch reliance on prayer for the things needed to make the ministry productive. Whatever was needed, be it money, people, or protection, Amy first went to prayer … and then had the faith to know that God would answer.

My favorite quote from the entire book is when Elliot, the author, quotes Amy herself, saying “Faith never wonders why.” Amy had that dependence on God and confidence in His power and provisions that she did not question that He would answer her prayers. And even when faced with a long, drawn-out, pain-filled descent to death, Amy relied on God to provide for her family and for herself. She did not ask why but followed God on whatever road He called her to go on. That’s amazing faith.

What a Girl Needs to Know

During a recent browse through the nonfiction section of my local library, I stumbled upon a book of essays written by contemporary female writers. The essays had one focus — growing up as a girl and reading Judy Blume. While the focus was common the responses were refreshingly diverse. One writer’s take on Blume’s Deeniewas vastly different from another’s memory of the same tween fiction masterpiece. And both were very different from my own memories of the book. (I was so transfixed to memory lane by some of the essays about Deenie that I picked up a copy from my favorite used bookstore — since my copy seems to have been given away at some point.)

But one other common thread weaving these essays together, which I truly enjoyed and related to, was a significant sense of gratitude to Blume for writing about all those things that no one around us would talk about when we were younger – sex, menstruation, beauty, differences, boys, etc. It all comes together in one title that really says it all for any girl who read Judy Blume in her pre-teen and teen years: Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. I highly recommend this to any girl who remembers Blume’s classics as playing a pivotal role in her adolescence, including my favorite, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.

A Vacation Read

I took several Pulitzer Prize winners on my vacation to Ohio to visit my sister. However, I found myself reading a “fluff” book I got on clearance my last day in Atlanta. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addictby Laurie Viera Rigler caught my attention right away. Of course, my first reaction to these type of books is that the author is making use of Jane Austen’s genius and fame in order to make a buck. I’ve always been skeptical of books using Jane’s storylines or name. I wonder if the writer isn’t confident enough in her/his own work to lead without a proven literary gem. And this book didn’t do much to sway my thinking.

Rigler spins a tale of Courtney Stone, a modern-day girl, trapped in the life and body of Jane Mansfield, a 30-year-old single woman in Jane Austen’s day. The story evolves around Courtney’s confusion as she wakes up in Jane M.’s world and tries her best to make sense of it all. As Jane M., she has an overbearing mother who is obsessed with getting her daughter married off well (hmmmm… does that sound familiar?), a servant lover she can’t remember, and a widowed suitor who has skeletons in his closet. And of course Courtney, as Jane M., can’t remember anything about her interaction with any of the characters … and in bits and pieces the reader finds out about the life Courtney left behind.

The only thing that I found semi-comical was the modern conveniences Courtney has taken for granted — including indoor plumbing and deodorant. I stuck it out, however, because I wanted to find out how the author rectified the storyline. I was not impressed, but to sum up, it involved a psychic who had to run for her life and an encounter with the real Jane Austen.

Book Rating: 0 out of 5