Sunday Caught My Interest

Our Flag is flying outside today and yesterday before the XC invitational a moment of silence was held. Later this afternoon, we will head off for a flag pole dedication at our newest park. For many people September 11th is a day of reflection of both loss and gratitude. Late this week a friend of Himself and fellow member of the Bonsai club unexpectedly passed away. I am grateful that Himself and Eldest, as well as other club members, had the time to move Steve’s trees to our house so that his wife would not have to worry about them. I am grateful that club members will adopt these trees and tend them in Steve’s memory. I am grateful for our wonderful XC community that eagerly stepped forward to provide teenagers to help Steve’s wife with the yard work in order to give her one less thing to think about. I am grateful for boys who cheer for their front runners and cheer just as enthusiastically for their last runner on the course. I am grateful that Eldest most likely has a job and that youngest choose to spend much of a beautiful Saturday sitting in the library working on a paper rather than put it off. I am grateful that my mother and I can laugh together. I am grateful that I have a dad who chooses to love me and family and friends that support me. I am grateful for an internet community that gives fellowship and camaraderie. And I am grateful for books that give us escape, inspiration, insight, laughter, tears, and remind us of what it is to be human.

Here is what caught my interest this week:

Youngest finished reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami but I still can’t start it as it is in Portland and I am here in the hinterland. The Diane of Bibliophile by the Sea reviewed Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: Short Stories so I have put a hold on a copy and hopefully will be reading it soon. To quote Diane, “this collection often dealt with stories involving loneliness and isolation. Many of the stories seemed like very normal topics and events, but then they veer off and take a bizarre twist, characteristic of this author’s style”. I think I will like the author once I get started by like David Foster Wallace, for some reason he intimates me so short stories might be the perfect way of getting my feet wet before I dive totally into one of his novels.

When I hear the name “Elizabeth Taylor” I automatically think of the actress which is what I did when reading Dove Grey Reader’s blog and her review of The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor. I was a little nonplussed to think that the actress had written a novel that was so highly regarded. I quickly learned about the English Novelist Elizabeth Taylor and looked her up in Wikipedia. At the end of that article was a quote from the novelist, “The whole point is that writing has a pattern and life hasn’t. Life is so untidy. Art is so short and life so long. It is not possible to have perfection in life but it is possible to have perfection in a novel.” A British critic wrote of The Soul of Kindness, “”so expert that it seems effortless. As it progresses, it seems as if the cast are so fully rounded that all the novelist had to do was place them, successively, in one setting after another and observe how they reacted to each other…. The plot… never feels as if it were organised in advance; it feels as if it arises from her characters’ mutual responses.” Now I have to put it on the list. The novel was written in 1964 and revolves around Flora who considers herself to be the soul of kindness and most of the people around her try to arrange life so she can go on thinking that way so that she becomes a very self-absorbed, spoiled woman. Unfortunately it will all catch up with her sooner or later. Hilary at Vulpes Libris adds the intriguing notion that Flora is very similar to Jane Austin’s Emma if Emma had not obtained maturity and empathy. I may have to put this one on my Kindle to read.

I really enjoyed reading Roland Merullo’s Breakfast with Buddha but I haven’t ever looked into reading any of his other works until I read The Boston Bibliophile’s review of The Talk Funny Girl, Merullo’s newest novel. Seventeen year-old Marjorie Richards is the only child of two parents who shun society and who are also involved in some sort of religious cult which encourages them to heap abuse on their only child who is of little use to them until they realize she can become the family breadwinner. Marjorie finds a job and through her boss gains strength and independence. One reviewer highlights a quote from the book describing this abuse and its effect on Marjorie, “The hurt burrows down inside and makes a kind of museum there.”  In our extensive family is a young man who underwent a difficult childhood and this quote totally describes what I see in him. The Boston Bibliophile says that this novel can be difficult to read but is ultimately about hope.

Simon of Stuck in a Book reviews a debut novel from 2009, Mari Strachan’s The Earth Hums in B Flat and the first line of the novel has already pulled me in: “I fly in my sleep every night. When I was little I could fly without being asleep; now I can’t, even though I practise and practise. And after what I saw last night I want more than ever to fly wide-awake. Mam always says: I want never gets. Is that true?” It reminds me a little of The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley which also features a protagonist that dreams of flying. Strachan’s novel is set in the 1950″s and takes place in a small English village. Twleve year old Gwenni Morgan lives with her patient father, a mother who seems to be quite mercurial, and an irritated older sister. When a village man disappears,  Gwenni decides to investigate and finds there is more at stake than a simple crime; there is also unknown loyalties, family secrets, a shaken community. Sounds good.

Finally, The Blue Bookcase has compiled a reading list of books that explore the African American experience. It is an interesting and powerful list worth exploring. On a similar note, Gavin from Page 247 talks about a pair of bloggers (Amy of Amy Read’s and Amanda of Opinions of a Wolf) who have started a reading projected centered on The Help. These ladies are using the book list put together by the American Black Women Historian’s to offer a counterpoint to the world pictured in Kathyrn Stockett’s novel. Since the movie has been released there have been a number of well written articles and blog lists detailing concerns with The Help. As Amanda puts it, “Get to know the facts behind the history of black domestic workers in the United States and read fictionalized accounts of the experiences written black writers, all recommended by educated historians.” This sounds like a wonderful opportunity and you can join in or watch silently from the sidelines. They will be discussing both fiction and non-fiction. I did not care for The Help. I couldn’t finish it the first time and only barely got through it when it was chosen for my book group. Aside from the more historical and cultural concerns, I thought it was a badly written book. This reading project will give me more perspective on other issues with the novel and I look forward to reading the discussion and perhaps may join in the actual reading.

Happy Reading!