Tag: Fiction

Bridge of San Luis Rey

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Wilder, Thornton. The Bridge of San Luis Rey. New York: Washington Square Press, Inc., 1966.

Warning! This review is with spoiler!!

The premise for The Bridge of San Luis Rey is fascinating. In a nutshell an Italian monk by the name of Brother Juniper was not only witness to a terrible tragedy, he was mere moments away from sharing the same horrific fate. An ancient bridge in Lima, Peru collapses just as five travelers have set out across it. Instead of suffering a kind of survivors guilt, Brother Juniper is instead encouraged to pursue his study of theology, using the tragedy to demonstrate scientific reason as to why his life was spared. Being a man of the cloth he wants to prove it was divine intervention that caused him to avoid such an unfortunate demise. More importantly, he can finally prove the five victims (who weren’t so “lucky”) shared a common fault and their deaths were part of a larger plan. In other words, luck had nothing to do with it. The other option, less likely in the eyes of Brother Juniper, was it was a simple, random accident. Brother Juniper devotes his life to researching the private lives and documenting the secrets of the five victims, in a search for commonality. All in the hopes of proving the collapse was considered an act of god, a shared destiny. This would be something Brother Juniper could finally attach his scientific study of theology to. The five unfortunate travelers are:

  1. Dona Maria, the Marquesa de Montemayor and her companion,
  2. Pepita.
  3. Estaban – a twin grieving the loss of his brother and, before crossing the bridge, about to set sail with a sea captain.
  4. Uncle Pio, the actress Camila’s maid, singing master, coiffeur, masseur, errand-boy, reader, banker, coach, writer and tutor.
  5. Don Jaime, Camila’s son

In the end, Brother Juniper was burned at the stake along with his “research” on the five victims of the bridge collapse. He was charged with heresy.

Favorite quotes: “The Marquesa would even have been astonished to learn that her letters were very good, for such authors live always in the noble weather of their own minds and those productions which seem remarkable to us are little better than a days routine to them” (p 15).
“All families lived in a wasteful atmosphere of custom and kissed one another with secret indifference” (p 16). And another, “You see its the ocean you want” (p 67).

Can I just say I love the titles of the first and last chapters? “Part One – perhaps an accident” and “Part Five – perhaps an intention.”

Note: I should have started reading this book on July 20th, the day “the finest bridge in all of Peru” collapsed. Who knew?

Book Trivia: Bridge of San Luis Rey was made into a movie on three different occasions. It has also been interpreted as an opera and a play.

Reason read: August is the last month for students to travel before heading back to school. I chose Peru as the destination for the last adventure of August.

Author Fact: Thornton Wilder won a Pulitzer for The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “Peru(sing) Peru” (p 177).

Wicked

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Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. New York: Harper Collins, 1995.

It is always interesting when someone is so captured by a story that he or she starts to imagine the “other” side of it. Or when he or she shows the perspective from another, lesser known character’s point of view. The foundation of the plot has been laid but no two people have the exact same experience. It makes sense that the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz would have her own story to tell. We only know Dorothy’s side of things. Gregory Maguire is the perfect person to capture the WWotW’s story. Again, it makes perfect sense.

While Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz specifically for children with a simple plot and even simpler language Maguire wrote Wicked decidedly for adults. Sex drugs, violence. You name it. Of course the main character is Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West. She is born a bright green skinned child with the sharp teeth of a shark and a gnashing stoicism and wit to match. As she grows up she forms an unlikely friendship with her college roommate, Galinda. After their Goat professor is murder they they uncover a politically corrupt system where the civil rights of Animals (those that can talk) are being abused. The Goat was just starting to uncover the Wizard of Oz’s corruption. It’s after this event that Galinda and Elphaba take different life paths. An interesting thing starts to happen – around page 300 you start to root for Elphaba, wanting her to survive. Of course Maguire’s plot runs close to Baum’s but with much more detail and twists and turns.

Back in 2006-2007 I didn’t have my list of challenge books memorized. When I went to the Massachusetts Library Association annual conference Maguire was on the bill as a guest speaker. He had copies of most of his books for sale and he even read a piece from Wicked. At the time I didn’t realize Wicked was even on my list. As a result I missed an opportunity to picked up a signed copy for the challenge. Duh!

Frivolous detail: One of the most delicious details of reading Wicked is that with my copy the page edges are painted a bright granny-smith green.

Favorite quotes: “If you can’t remember whether your marriage vows have been broken or not, there’s not much good in acting like an offended saint” (p 38) and “You can’t divorce your particulars from your politics” (p 173).

Author Fact: Gregory Maguire has a wicked sense of humor (pun totally intended). For examples, go to his website and specifically look at the Q&A page or just play around.

Book Trivia: Wicked was made into a Broadway production in 2003 and sadly, I think more people have seen the musical than have read the book. But, after reading Fahrenheit 451 I am not surprised.

Reason Read: August is Fairytale month.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fractured Fairy Tales” (p 94). Read with The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Wizard of Oz

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Baum, L. Frank. The Wizard of Oz. New York: Award Book, Inc., 1976.

This is one of those reviews I feel ridiculous writing because who doesn’t know the story of The Wizard of Oz? Actually, I take that back. Most people know Judy Garland as Dorothy. This Dorothy is a child living in a one-room house in Kansas with her aunt, uncle and dog, Toto. A tornado rips through the plains but before Dorothy and her little dog can make it to the hole in the floor the tiny house is swooped up in the tornado’s vortex and they are whisked off to a fantasy land. Upon landing they inadvertently kill a wicked witch (of the East). The townspeople munchkins are overjoyed but all Dorothy wants to do is go home. So, the munchkins give her the witch’s special shoes and send her along a yellow brick road. At the end of the road is a wizard who supposedly can help her get back to Kansas…however he has a favor to ask first. Along her journey she meets some oddball characters (the ones we all know and love, a tin woodsman, a cowardly lion, and a brainless scarecrow). Unbeknownst to them, they are being watched on their journey. The deceased witch’s sister (Wicked Witch of the West) wants the shoes given to Dorothy. To read The Wizard of Oz as an adult is 100% entertainment. I had fun taking note of how many times the brains-needing Scarecrow did something exceedingly smart or the Cowardly Lion acted inherently brave or the no-heart Tin Woodsman felt true compassion. Other amusements: the group discussing heart disease.

Author Fact: L. Frank Baum’s biography was recently aired on the Smithsonian channel (narrated by Miss Natalie Merchant).

Book Trivia: According to Baum’s introduction before  The Wizard of Oz Baum wrote this story because he felt the fairy tales of his day were too laden with morals and not “fun” enough for children. TWoO was written to be pure entertainment for children. However, I can remember being completely mortified by the Tin Man’s story of chopping off his own extremities!
Other book trivia: The Wizard of Oz was made into a movie in 1939 (as we all know) and like Wicked I am willing to bet more people have seen the movie than read the book. I know my grandmother plopped me and my sister in front of it every Thanksgiving.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fractured Fairy Tales” (p 94).

Go Tell It On the Mountain

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Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. New York: Library of America, 1998.

What a simple concept. The beginning of the story takes place in a church. Fourteen year old John Grimes is praying beside his family – his Aunt Florence and parents, Gabriel and Elizabeth Grimes. It is in these prayers that an epic story emerges. Go Tell It On the Mountain is a tale told in three parts: The Seventh Day (a day in the life of the Grimes family on a Sunday), The Prayers of the Saints (starting with John’s Aunt Florence), and The Threshing-Floor (John’s “salvation”). The thread between all these parts is John Grimes in theory but the ending is all about his coming full circle. He is at a crossroads in his young life. He knows he is destined to be like the father he can barely stand, but the questions remains, how much like him? Will he become a preacher man, a servant of god? Will he carry anger and violence like his father?

Of note: in this good vs evil tale it is interesting to note the juxtaposition of good vs evil in the father, both in his actions and even his name. Gabriel Grimes is a a man of god who started his early adult years having sex with married women and drinking until he was blurry-eyed and as a married man comes home at night full of rage beat his family. Gabriel is the name of a well-known angel and yet the name Grimes suggests something dirty, something sinful.

Quotables: “And he knew again that she was not saying everything she meant; in a kind of secret language she was telling him today something that he must remember and understand tomorrow” (p 30).
“He would enter on another day, when he had read all the books uptown, an achievement that would, he felt, lend him the poise to enter any building of the world” (p 35). Yeah, books have that power, don’t they?
“The question always filled her with an ecstasy of hatred” (p 81). Pretty powerful stuff. To be sure, there are others.

Reason read: James Arthur Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924.

Author Fact: Go Tell It On the Mountain was Baldwin’s first book and is considered semi-autobiographical.

Book Trivia: Inspired by “Roots” Go Tell It On the Mountain was portrayed as a made-for-television movie in 1984.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “African American Fiction: He Say” (p 10).

After You’ve Gone

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Adams, Alice. After You’ve Gone. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.

I feel positively silly titling a blog “After You’ve Gone” because the phrase has been so overused in music, television, theater and yes, even books. This review is for the compilation of short stories by Alice Adams and not to be confused with the Nova Scotia novel of the same name by Jefferey Lent or the Scottish one by Joan Lingard. I’m sure there are others…

After You’ve Gone could be described as a compilation of stories with two central themes: relationships and change. There are fourteen short stories in all and every one of them addresses the subject of a change (mostly involving women or from the woman’s point of view). The changes range from divorce, loss, aging…It’s as if Adams rode the train to work everyday and stared at the same fourteen people. Ordinary people. Many of them with underwhelming, ordinary stories to tell. Each story is a moment in time for each passenger. My favorite one was the title story. A newly divorced woman is addressing her ex-husband. It’s the only one of its kind. Her tone takes on different emotions throughout the monologue. Regret is obvious as she recounts the things she misses about him, irritation becomes apparent when revealing his new lover has been writing to her, and a show of defiance when she talks about her new/old relationship and the trip she plans to take with him. It’s brilliant. The rest of the stories are a little redundant. The characters are either academic, artistic or medical. Most live in some part of California. I found reading more than two stories in one sitting was a little tiresome.

Reason read: Adams was born in August.

Author Fact: Adams is known for her short stories.

Book Trivia: The best way to read After You’ve Gone is a story a day. Digesting the seemingly similar stories is easier that way. There is less redundancy.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “A…My Name is Alice” (p 1). Simple as that.

August ’12 is…

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NEW! Heads up! I have decided to add one audio book per month. I am tired of driving to work hearing the same songs day in and day out. I think I will get further in this whole book challenge if I allow myself at least one audio book. I only spend 3 1/3 hours in the car per week so all audio books would have to be kept to a duration under 12-13 hours long in order to hear it within the month. I can’t listen to an abridged version so I think finding the right book each month will be an additional pita (pain in the azz). I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.

So. August. Before books August is about a few trips. I’m all over the place, aren’t I? Maine sometime at the beginning of the month and Denver near the end. I *should* have plenty of time to read/listen to books along the way, though. So here is the list (some of them I’ve actually started reading, as I have admitted earlier AND since I’ve cheated I can add a few more than normal):

  • After You’ve Gone by Alice Adams ~ a collection of short stories in honor of Adam’s birth month. I feel really good about adding this one because I didn’t tackle any short stories in June (and June is Short Story month),
  • Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin ~ a short(er) story in honor of Baldwin’s birth month,
  • Kristin Lavransdatter: the cross by Sigrid Undset ~ finally, finally finishing the series started in June! This has been good but really long and detailed!
  • Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum and Wicked by Gregory Maguire to be read together in honor of August being fairytale month.
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey

    • by Thornton Wilder in honor of the month Peru was recognized as independent from Spain (and because it’s super short!).

For Audio:

  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ~ in honor of Bradbury’s birth month. I think I will have to think of something else to add to the audio list since I have a flight to Denver to deal with. I’m choosing Ten Hours Until Dawn: the True Story of Heroism and Tragedy by Michael Tougis ~ in honor of being on the water.

For LibraryThing:

Finishing Sex So Great She Can’t Get Enough by Barbara Keesling AND (I have to laugh at this) The Most Memorable Games in Patriots History by Bernard Corbett. Yup. The very book I was expecting exactly one year ago. I’ll still read it! I just got word of a third Early Review book but since I haven’t received it I won’t mention it here…

For Fun:

Finishing up Tattoo Adventures of Robbie Big Balls by the hilarious Robert Westphal…and mysterious someone dropped Cats Miscellany by Lesley O’Mara in my mailbox. Maybe I’ll get to that. Maybe I won’t.

July ’12 was…

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I am a dumbass to think I would be reading while on vacation. That may be true of a Maine vacation but certainly not of this last vacation…in Hawaii no less. We were so busy and always on the go that I barely picked up a book. Ever. The only time a book was raised before my eyes while on the island (either Oahu or Maui) was when I was searching a tour book to learn something. So, reading this month was severely limited due to my time away. But, I did manage a little:

  • Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife by Sigrid Undset ~ a continuation of a book honoring Norway in June
  • Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes ~ in honor of July being kids month (a book read on a break at work)
  • The Headless Cupid by Nora Zeale ~ in honor of July being kids month (a book read while waiting for a waxing)

For audio:

  • The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland.

For LibraryThing:

  • Waterlogged by Tim Noakes, MD (confessional – this was started in June & finished in July)
  • Sex So Great She Can’t Get Enough by Barbara Keeling (confessional – this was started in July but I will finish it in August.

For the fun of it:

  • Tattoo Adventures of Robbie Big Balls by Robert Westphal.

There you have it. Nothing too impressive. Okay, I’ll be honest. I started a lot of August books in the last week of July. Sue me.

Kristin Lavransdatter: the mistress of Husaby

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Undset, Sigrid. Kristin Lavransdatter: the Mistress of Husaby. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1939.

This is part two of the saga of Kristin Lavransdatter. As with part one I feel I am missing something with part two. I still wish I had the newer translation to refer to. Oh well.

But, wishing is the theme for part two. Kristin has now learned to be careful of what she wishes for. When we pick up the story in The Mistress of Husaby or The Wife (depending on your translation), Kristin is fat with pregnancy and miserable. She spends a fair amount of her time crying and daydreaming about how life would be back home. Her imagination fills in the gaps of what her mother would be doing or her father would be saying at that exact moment. Meanwhile Kristin’s relationship with Erlend is not the carefree wine and roses marriage she imagined it would be. Erlend is careless with his property and political actions and while Kristin’s opinion of him changes he never loses his passion for her. They are a couple out of balance. They go on to have several more children, though. In an ironic twist, Simon, Kristin’s former fiance marries Kristin’s 14 year old sister but gets Erlend out of politically trouble because he still loves Kristin.
It is in this section of the story that the relationship of Kristin’s parents receives more attention.

Favorite line: The advice given to Erlend. “But I will pray to St. Olav to cleave me in two halves with his axe the day I see you stand upon those long legs of yours, look man or woman straight in the face, and answer for the mischief you have wrought in your light-mindedness” (p 312). How many people have wanted to say that to his or her wayward friend?

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Digging Up the Past Through Fiction” (p 79) and from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Norway: The Land of the Midnight Sun” (p 162). PS~ I know I mentioned the twist in the review for part one but it made sense to say it again. Look for it in part three as well.

Forest Lover

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Vreeland, Susan. The Forest Lover.New York: Penguin Audio, 2004.

Disclaimer: This was another audio book I was fully prepared to listen to on the plane to (or from) Hawaii. I had no idea that The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim would take up some considerable time. So, this is a June book…in July. I’m not going to cry about it.

Right off the bat I have to say this is one of my favorite books for July. Susan Vreeland takes the real life character of Canadian artist Emily Carr and, while fictionalizing dialogue and relationships, does an amazing job portraying the factual history and Native American culture surrounding Carr’s life.  Art, culture and society are the three elements of importance in The Forest Lover.

Art was the vehicle Emily Carr chose in order to communicate with the world around her. She was fascinated with color and emotion and desperately wanted her art to say something through these characteristics. Whether they are Vreeland’s words or Carr’s the descriptions of the art of the time (1912 – Monet, Van Gogh, Carr herself) fairly dance off the page. Images come to life through the passion used to describe them. Early in The Forest Lover Carr was fixated on the totems of the Vancouver Island natives. She sought desperately to convey their spiritual power on the canvas so much so that she traveled to Paris with her sister to learn more about capturing color in just the right way. Being able to communicate and show passion through art excited her.
Along the way Carr was confronted with cultural differences between herself (being a white woman) and the tribes of natives she needed to befriend in order to paint their totems. Vreeland goes into deep character development for one Squamish friend, basket maker Sophie. This character development allows Vreeland to illustrate not only how crucial it was for Carr to develop a trust with the different tribes but to say something about Carr’s soothing personality and her ability to connect with people. She could put even the native most distrustful of the white man at ease.
The third and probably most important element to The Forest Lover is Emily Carr’s reaction to Victorian society through her fighting spirit. In addition to having a strong passion for art and the ability to befriend any culture Carr had a devil-may-care feminist approach to confines of her day. For example, during the early 1900s it was unbecoming for a woman to travel alone. While she took her sister as a traveling companion to France Carr was not necessarily worried about what the neighbors might think. She remained true to her spunky attitudes and rarely let anything or anyone intimidate her (although she did seem to have a weird hangup concerning intimacy). Vreeland’s writing style in The Forest Lover has made me a fan.

Author Fact: Susan Vreeland also wrote the more popular Girl in Hyacinth Blue.

Book Trivia: I think this should be a movie…if it isn’t already.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Inside the Inside Passage” (p 106).

 

100 Dresses

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Estes, Eleanor. Hundred Dresses. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1944.

Despite being published in war-torn 1944 100 Dresses is a book that should be read over and over again. It could be taught in school today and well into the future. It is a pretty typical story of bullying no matter what the year, decade or era. Children of all ages can be cruel. Period. They don’t think about what they are saying nor do they think about the consequences of their words.

Everyone reviews 100 Dresses as a story about poor, shy, Polish-American Wanda Petronski but I see 100 Dresses as being about a girl named Maddie, torn between doing the right thing and being friends with the most popular girl in school. Wanda is a central character, I agree. With her strange name and quiet ways, she is the subject of ridicule when she announces she owns 100 dresses. This is obviously a lie when she wears the same faded, and frayed blue dress to school everyday. Right away this makes her a target. Maddie’s best friend Peggy attacks this lie by asking detailed questions about the fictional dresses intentionally making Wanda squirm. Meanwhile Maddie stands by, witness to the taunting but says nothing. She doesn’t dare stand up for Wanda for fear of putting herself in Peggy’s cross hairs. She understands her friendship with Peggy to be conditional. Maddie knows that the bullying is wrong but can’t stand up for Wanda. In the end Wanda’s father moves the family away to avoid more ridicule. While this wouldn’t happen in today’s society (I believe most parents would tell their child to “get over it”) the bullying is as real as ever.

I didn’t have a favorite passage but I loved the illustrations.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Best for Boys and Girls” (p 22).

Calligrapher’s Daughter

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Kim, Eugenia. The Calligrapher’s Daughter.  New York: Henry Holt, 2010.

This is the story of Najin Han from childhood to womanhood in early 20th century Korea. Najin Han begins her life on Korea’s cusp of Japanese occupation as a curious child who often tests the boundaries of her small world by spying on the adult conversations of her parents. As a child she sees and experiences the beginnings of the Japanese occupation but does not completely understand it. As she matures her world changes colors and she watches the political boundaries and tests the cultural ones. From a young age she has wanted to determine her own destiny and as a result Najin grows up to be a headstrong woman, having been pulled in different directions by everyone around her. Into Korean adulthood (by age 12) her mother continues to encourage Najin to foster personal growth and even helps her pursue an education. To avoid a prearranged marriage Najin’s mother sends her to a king’s count to be a companion for the princess; a very unconventional idea for a woman in early 20th century Korea. Meanwhile, her father is a staunch believer in Old World traditions and customs. He fiercely tries to hold onto Korea while the country slowly loses independence.

As an aside, I can’t imagine growing up without a parental given name. But that is what Najin Han experiences. She is nameless until an American misunderstands an introduction. To Kim’s credit it is beautiful the way she comes full circle with Najin’s maturity concerning identity.

Author Fact: The Calligrapher’s Daughter is Eugenia Kim’s first book.

Book Trivia: The Calligrapher’s Daughter is based on the life of Eugenia Kim’s mother and most of the political aspects of the novel are true.

ps~ If you ever get the chance listen to the audio version after you read the print. It’s amazing.
BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Korea – North and South” (p 127).

Headless Cupid

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Snyder, Zilphia Keatley. The Headless Cupid. New York: Atheneum, 1971.

I have to admit I felt kind of funny reading this while waiting for my spa appointment. Women around me were reading Cosmopolitan and Women’s Day while I was nose-deep in a story for kids (illustrated no less)!

The Headless Cupid is a really cute grade school book about a poltergeist. Sort of. After the divorce of her parents twelve year old Amanda has come to live with her mother. Only everything about Amanda’s new life is horrible. She has a new stepfather and four step-siblings to contend with, not to mention the fact she has been uprooted from her city life and transplanted in the country, an hour away from any “town.” Needless to say, Amanda comes to the Stanley household with a baggage. To compensate for her unhappiness Amanda studies witchcraft and the occult. She convinces the four Stanley children to be her “neophytes” and go through a series of “ordeals” to join her in magic making. As a Newbery Honor book, The Headless Cupid is about family dynamics. Any child going through a divorce would relate to the pain, anger and confusion Amanda in going through. I won’t tell you how she finally learns to accept her new family, but suffice it to say it’s a cute book.

I didn’t have any favorite lines or sentences that grabbed me, but I did have a favorite part. One of the “ordeals” the Stanley children must go through in order to join Amanda’s occult is to not touch metal all day. David, the oldest boy is very creative in how he is able to get dressed (zippers), open doors (handles), and eat (silverware).

Author Fact: Snyder has won three Newbery Awards (one being for The Headless Cupid. Wait. I said that already.

Book Trivia: The Headless Cupid is the first in a series of books about the Stanley family. I don’t think I read any of the other books in the series. Bummer. I liked this one.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Best for Boys and Girls” (p 22).

July ’12 is….

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July started in Hawaii which is why this is so, so late. I fully intended to blog while on vacation but who has time to be stuck on a computer while in paradise? Besides, it was ME in Hawaii! Who would have thunk it? Me. In Hawaii. I’m an island girl, yet but an Atlantic ocean kind of girl. Strange days indeed. Anyway, July is a myriad of things. First the second half of the vacation. Maui. Helicopters, waterfalls, snuba, hiking, lu’aus, drinks in coconuts, toes in the sand, tattoo!! All those things were in my future and are now in my past because I did them all. Pictures coming soon. But, July is also (still and always) about books. Somehow I plan to read (or have already read):

  • Kristin Lavransdatter: the Wife by Sigrid Undset ~ a continuation of the trilogy I started in June. I’ll pick this back up when I get home.
  • The Calligrapher’s Wife by Eugenia Kim ~ in honor of the Korean War ending in July. Note: this is an audio book that I planned to “read” on the way home from Hawaii (confessional: I started this in June when I had a two hour (one way) commute to a meeting!)
  • Light in August by William Faulkner ~ in remembrance of Faulkner who died in July
  • Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett ~ because I am homesick!
  • Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis ~ in honor of July being job fair month
  • Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt ~ in honor of July being kids month  Scratch that. Just learned that Dicey’s Song should be read after Homecoming. My bad. I’ll be reading The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder instead.

June ’12 was…

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I had high hopes for June. Unreasonably so, I think. I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided the difference of a day would make everything better. What’s May 31 into June 1st other than Thursday into Friday? One day into the next? Silly me. June was a few things – a return to the run, a funeral heard around the world, a trip to an exotic island…

Here is the book list:

  • A River Runs Though It and Other Stories by Norman MacLean ~ in honor of river cleanup month. I can see why they made the first short story into a movie, but why not the other two? They were equally as good as the first. I read this in five days.
  • Death of Ivan Ilich by Leo Tolstoy ~ in honor of June being the best month to travel to Russia…that is, if you even want to travel to Russia. I guess you would need the desire before you decided the best time to go…I read this over three lunch breaks.
  • Kristin Lavransdatter: the Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset ~ again, chosen for the best time to travel somewhere. In this case, Norway. Note: this is only part one of a three part story. I will be reading the rest in July and August.
  • The Stranger by Albert Camus ~ in honor of I honestly don’t remember what. Something celebrating Algeria, I’m sure. This was deceptively simple to read. Read over five lunch breaks.
  • The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff ~ read in honor of June being family month. Some family!
  • Damage by Josephine Hart ~ in honor of Father’s Day…well, sort of.

Two Early Review books came in, courtesy of LibraryThing:

  • Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports by Tim Noakes, MD. I didn’t finish this in time to consider it an official June read, but at least I started it in June.
  • Who Should I Be? a Novel From Life by Sheila Heti ~ this was slightly delusional but I loved it.

    One audio book on cassette while I worked out:

  • D-Day by Stephen Ambrose ~ in honor of well, D-Day – June 6th 1944. Duh.

I should also note that I had an audio book for the flight to HI. I listened to July’s selection for the entire trip to and from the islands.

How Should a Person Be?

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Heti, Sheila. How Should a Person Be? a Novel From Life.New York: Henry Holt & Co, 2012

This is a clever book. Because it is fictional nonfiction nothing has to make sense or be tied to the truth. When other reviewers use words like “candid” and “honest” I don’t know what they are talking about. What’s truth and what’s fantasy is not up to us. Maybe there is a Margeaux and maybe there isn’t. As readers we are just along for the ride and in the end, while I tried to keep that in mind, I found myself asking who the hell cares? If read as a fictionalized memoir it is murky and smudged like a dirty aquarium full of beautiful and exotic fish or a greasy fingerprinted champagne flute filled with the finest bubbly. In other words, gorgeous writing wrapped up in some psychobabble musings. When trying to read this as an existential “who am I?” it was cumbersome and meandering. However, read with an “I Could Care Less” attitude it was sexy and raw and funny and smart. All the things I am looking for in a good book, truthful or not. I wouldn’t want to classify this as self-help, self-indulgent, or self anything.
To play out the main plot is a struggle. When it was all said and done I’m not exactly sure what Heti was going for. A struggling playwright who can’t decide what kind of life she wants? A chance to wax poetic and wane philosophic?