White Picket Fences

I am indeed still reading. Just not commenting on what I'm reading. A combination of busy, forgetful and lazy, I guess. But I have the best of intentions, and so after a l-o-n-g hiatus from this blog, I make my reappearance.

White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner. Her previous book, The Shape of Mercy was very well received and got some good reviews. I have to admit, I have not read it, but now I plan to.

This current book tells the story of a seemingly perfectly normal and happy family (mom, dad, son, daughter) who take in the mom's niece when her brother (the niece's dad) disappears for a while. The niece has had a very unconventional and dysfunctional upbringing, and is the catalyst for the family to deal with a long-buried secret that is tearing them apart.

In some ways this was a very predictable book. Family takes in "non-normal"girl. Girl works to adjust to situation and disappearance of dad. Family has secret simmering under the surface. New person has news eyes to see it, and helps it come out, at the same time as family helps her through tough time. The surprising parts was the nature of the secret, and how the person at the center of the secret, the son, deals with it. The paralleling and intersecting of the Holocaust story was interesting and a nice device. The ending was a bit expected and little too tidy ... everything comes to a head, a disaster happens, everyone deals with their issues, and they live happily ever after.

The niece, the mom and the son are the characters that are developed in the story. The daughter, father, and boy's friend, and the two Holocaust survivors serve as foils for their emotional issues. The survivors are the spiritual/wisdom/mentor figures, who at the very end point the son toward listening for God to help him. The book mentions that the family are church goers, and has a scene at a church event, but really doesn't address faith in any way, other than the survivor's one message to listen for God to give the son the answer for which he is looking.

I think the center point of the story is communication and relationships. Because they don't openly communicate about a traumatic event, and about their emotions, the family comes close to falling apart. There was also an attempt to weave in a mommy issue for the niece, who never really had one (and her aunt is described as acting as the ultimate mom), but it never really gets fully explored.

I enjoyed the story, and the unraveling of the mystery for the son. I found myself getting impatient with the mom and dad, and wishing for more out of the niece's story. The daughter is a straw figure, as is the friend of the son. The work with the Holocaust survivors and the way their story intersected with the family's could have been overwrought, but wasn't. It was nicely done. The book is worth reading, but lacks the greater depth that I kept feeling was right around the corner, but the author for the most part kept missing.

Visit Your Local Library

I'd heard good things about Anna Quindlen's book "One True Thing," so when I got a chance to go to our nearest library, I looked her up. The only one of her books that was available was "Blessings," so I checked it out. The librarian had just finished it, and gave me a lukewarm revue. She said it was an easy and quick read, and nothing to get excited about.

It begins quite well. The first few chapters made me hopeful that it was going to be quite good. On the very first page, there is a lovely counterpoint between deer in the fields and the teenage girl in the car preparing to dump off her baby. There's some decent prose here, "The moonlight slipping at an oblique angle through the windows and the windshield of the car picked out what there was of her to be seen: a suggestion of the whites of her eyes between the curtains of her hair, the beads of sweat on her arched upper lip, the silver chain around her neck, the chipped maroon polish on her nails - a jigsaw puzzle of a girl, half the pieces not visible."

The overall story starts with a teenage couple dumping off their newborn baby at a large house called Blessings. The young man who is the grounds keeper finds the baby, and attempts to care for the little girl. The woman who owns the house and grounds, her housekeeper, the housekeepers daughter, and eventually the woman's daughter all become pulled into the story. This story becomes a way to tell the homeowner's life story as memories flash back to her. The sub story is the unfolding maturing and self-awareness of the groundskeeper.

I think it starts out rather strong, but gets lost along the way. For a while I was intrigued by the unfolding of the homeowner Lydia's story, and the story of her family. But by the end of the book, and the last of the story is revealed, I was tired of it. Her life review revelations felt forced into the story by the end, instead of naturally together. The story of the groundskeeper, Skip, and the baby was intriguing at the beginning. It caused him to ask alot of great questions, and push at his life in some great ways. But by the end, the baby goes from being a real person in this story to being a prop, which was hugely disappointing.

It was a quick and easy read. Parts were quite enjoyable. The main characters developed pretty well to a point. But I was left feeling a sense of emptiness and incompleteness as I finished it. The ending was pat and convenient, which didn't fit the story of people struggling with pasts, presents and sense of futures that were anything but simple and pat. I was disappointed.

So I also give this a luke warm revue. It is an easy read. It has some enjoyable moments, and some nice prose. Don't look for a whole lot of depth, for anything to really sink your teeth into, in this. Still, it wasn't a waste of time either.

Maybe put this under the summer read category, or the easy read category.

Discussion Group

What's your take on Mrs. Bennett? Was Lizzy really bold and admirable in her passionate nature, or was she really just stubborn? How did Jane Austen's life influnce her writing?

We had a good discussion on Tuesday night at the public library. They brought in an English professor from one of the Universities of ND to lead it, and brought us some interesting info about Jane and her life as well. What I found intriguing was that Pride and Prejudice introduces the formula from which arises every modern day romance novel or romantic comedy.

It was fun to dig into the history of the time in which the author lived, the themes of the book, and our reactions to the various charachters. The one unfortunate part of it all was that my friend couldn't attend. Something went wrong with the pipes in her kitchen, and she found her kitchen floor flooded that afternoon. So she spent the evening waiting for, and then hovering around the plumber.

The next book discussion will cover "To Kill a Mockingbird." Another favorite, and a classic, so I'm looking forward to that discussion as well!

What's Your Weakness? Pride? Or Prejudice?

This next week our public library is hosting a discussion of the book "Pride and Prejudice," one that I have read several times. My pastor friend from down the road alerted me to this opportunity, so we're going together to this event.

I find myself really looking forward to it, yet a little apprehensive. I LOVE books, I enjoy analyzing and discussing them, I enjoy being around others who enjoy reading. But. It has been a l-o-n-g time since I have teased apart a book with a group of people who know what they're doing. The mental tools may be a bit...rusty, shall we say?

Nonetheless, it will be fun to go, and dig in. I love the interplay of culture, expectation, class, language structure, and gender interaction in this book. The characters, for me, come so alive; so full of weaknesses and foibles, strengths and graces. There are certainly things about the book that force you to suspend disbelief at times, and the ending is just so very tidy, but I enjoy it anyway!

I will post my reflections of the book discussion, and hopefully that will get me to be more faithful about this blog too!

A Room with a View

"Girls at a Window" by Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Latest read worth mentioning - "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster

I have read this little treasure a number of times, but it had been a few years since I'd opened the pages. The copy I have (Bantam Books) has an excellant introduction to the life and works of Forster by Mona Simpson which I found very helpful. My way of approaching "classics" is to read the work, then read the information about the work and author, then read the work again. I want to read it first with unbiased eyes, and take note of what catches me, what meanings I get from it. Only then do I do the background research, get the info, and reread the book with new eyes. It's been a good process for me, it allows me to trust my inner perceptions, yet learn from outside sources and grow from theirs.

What I appreciate the most about this little book is that it chronicles the growing sense of awareness and sense of self of a young woman. She is given the chance to see past the narrow structures of her life, and see what broader horizens are possible for her mind, soul and life. My delight in the story and some of his turns of phrase allow me to overlook the occasional banality or prejudical class statement.

I'm not going to do an indepth discussion of this book right now because, well, I'm just too dang tired right now. But I certainly commend this read to anyone else!

A Confession

OK, confession time.

I haven't posted for a long time. This is not because I don't love to blog. Because I do. This is not because I haven't been reading. Because I have.

It's because I'm embarrased.

The books I have been reading this spring and summer would not be what one would call classic or quality fiction. Oh no. I have heard the siren lure away from quality towards the you-don't-have-to-think-hard-while-you-read 'em, not-worth-the-paper-it's-printed-on novels you can get at the grocery store or Wallmart near you. (Don't worry, I didn't buy them. They've been from the library or passed on by family members).

Sigh.

Instead of filet mignon, I've been going for the greasy hamburgers of the literary world.

I feel better now that I've made my confession. Not that I have anything against greasy hamburgers. They are delightful. It's just that one should not make a regular diet of them if one wants to be healthy and performing at one's best.

OK, let's ditch the imagery. But still, you get the point. There's nothing wrong with what I've been reading, it's just that there hasn't been anything worth commenting on in the whole lot. And I've gotten lazy and haven't read anything that takes any effort in months.

Bad me. Bad, bad me.

So, what book to take on to change this? Hmmmmmmmmm??????? I must ponder this. Especially right now, while I am in between books. Before I fall into another terribly predictable suspense/ mystery/ romance novel featuring an independant woman who meets a rugged man under trying circumstances, and they solve the mystery together. And one or both of them almost gets killed. Before or after they jump into bed together. But they solve the case and gaze meaningfully into each other's eyes.

Or something like that. Not that I would know, or anything!

Neglected Love

My reading schedule is woe-fully off track. It is my hope that following our vacation this week, the R&R will inspire me to recommit one of my first true loves - reading excellent books.