My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, published by Penguin Random House LLC in 2016. This is a work of fiction but if you think about how the mind work it is right on point , which makes it almost seem like non-fiction. How many times does something cause you to reflect on something in the past and that is what happens in this book. You find out about her home life by her reflections after talks with her mother or talks with her friends or family. But the most reflections comes from her talks with her mother in a hospital setting where Lucy is basically captive.
It took me a bit to warm up to it, so I may have to go back and reread the initial chapters. Her stream of thought is like most peoples. It jumps around according to what is happening in their lives. The other day my husband was your have an interesting stream of consciousness, we were driving and things along the route just jumped out at me and of course I just blurted out what ever came to mind. Nothing hurtful, sometimes songs, poems, something someone said to me in the past. That is the feeling I get from this book.
Her husband is somewhat neglectful, his wife is in the hospital for 2 months and he decides to have an affair with the babysitter of her two children, which she finds out much later. he brings he mother in, so that he doesn't have to sit with his wife in the hospital, because he does not like them.
In her past, is abuse, but you don't get the whole story, we see snippets and then have to infer as to what really was going on. She tells her story of her life in the hospital and what happens surrounding that, before, during and after. But she does not delve into this info because she says that's another story. She is given a quote form another author " You only have one story to tell" and we hear this particular story, making you want to find out more about her life.
Very interesting way to set up a story. I wonder as with Elizabeth Strout's Olive books will we see a sequel about Lucy, so she can tell us another story.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Sunday, August 11, 2019
The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah, published by St. Martins Press in 2018.
I haven't reviewed a book in a bit, but after reading travel manuals for my travel blog, I felt that I needed to start writing the things I have been reading. Last month I read the book EDUCATED by Tara Westover and was surprised by the cruelty that happened in this book, the extremes presented and the men who think they are protecting you but in reality are hurting you. Tara's was based on her life and her family.
THE GREAT ALONE is a work of fiction but holds true to the concepts above, a man broken by circumstances tries to protect his family from the horrors of the world after Vietnam, and finds the last frontier in Alaska. Hoping to get away from the rules of society. In tow are his wife Cora and daughter Leni. They have inherited a cabin in the woods on the Kenai pennisula, when it was mostly, dirt road, no electricity and no running water. They move when it is summer and full of light, but winter comes and the darkness that lies within the father Ernt comes pouring out , usually in the form of abuse to Cora. In a typical "I love him, and it's not his fault he is like this excuse," she stays, never press charges and gives her daughter a very unrealistic look about what love is.
Leni still finds someone in the only boy her age in this wilderness, who she likes, but the wilderness can be cruel and this young man experiencing tragedy leaves to him leaving for awhile to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Fairbanks. They write and their feelings change, but the obstacle is his father Mr. Walker. Ernt, Leni's father hates the family because he thinks Mr. Walker is flirting with his wife and trying to change Alaska.
The Walker family had been the first people to homestead this land and had built a small city and opened it up to people who wanted to live on the land , but as time changes so do thoughts about what this area could look like in the future. This is a thorn in Ernt's side, he wants to live off the grid and not have electricity, running water or a bathroom. Many clashes of will occur, which usually ends with Cora battered and bruised.
Ms. Hannah brings to light the harshness and beauty of Alaska in this book. The dangers that you can encounter and the reality to people who think they can live in Alaska because they went in the summer when it was beautiful. Having been to Alaska in the summer I saw the beauty of the place the long hours of sunlight, the great flowers and rivers. I even played golf at midnight. My husband who lived in Alaska for a few years when he was a child, knows the harsh reality of Alaska. The long nights, the expense of buying things to stay alive, the hunting in the wilderness with his dad and the knowing that you always have to be prepared. When we visited in the summer, he had us bring winter coats, gloves hats, flashlights, water and food, no matter where we went. He was always prepared, he learned this from Alaska.
This book made me understand more about Alaska and how it can either bring a family together or tear it apart. Great book. Great title.
I haven't reviewed a book in a bit, but after reading travel manuals for my travel blog, I felt that I needed to start writing the things I have been reading. Last month I read the book EDUCATED by Tara Westover and was surprised by the cruelty that happened in this book, the extremes presented and the men who think they are protecting you but in reality are hurting you. Tara's was based on her life and her family.
THE GREAT ALONE is a work of fiction but holds true to the concepts above, a man broken by circumstances tries to protect his family from the horrors of the world after Vietnam, and finds the last frontier in Alaska. Hoping to get away from the rules of society. In tow are his wife Cora and daughter Leni. They have inherited a cabin in the woods on the Kenai pennisula, when it was mostly, dirt road, no electricity and no running water. They move when it is summer and full of light, but winter comes and the darkness that lies within the father Ernt comes pouring out , usually in the form of abuse to Cora. In a typical "I love him, and it's not his fault he is like this excuse," she stays, never press charges and gives her daughter a very unrealistic look about what love is.
Leni still finds someone in the only boy her age in this wilderness, who she likes, but the wilderness can be cruel and this young man experiencing tragedy leaves to him leaving for awhile to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Fairbanks. They write and their feelings change, but the obstacle is his father Mr. Walker. Ernt, Leni's father hates the family because he thinks Mr. Walker is flirting with his wife and trying to change Alaska.
The Walker family had been the first people to homestead this land and had built a small city and opened it up to people who wanted to live on the land , but as time changes so do thoughts about what this area could look like in the future. This is a thorn in Ernt's side, he wants to live off the grid and not have electricity, running water or a bathroom. Many clashes of will occur, which usually ends with Cora battered and bruised.
Ms. Hannah brings to light the harshness and beauty of Alaska in this book. The dangers that you can encounter and the reality to people who think they can live in Alaska because they went in the summer when it was beautiful. Having been to Alaska in the summer I saw the beauty of the place the long hours of sunlight, the great flowers and rivers. I even played golf at midnight. My husband who lived in Alaska for a few years when he was a child, knows the harsh reality of Alaska. The long nights, the expense of buying things to stay alive, the hunting in the wilderness with his dad and the knowing that you always have to be prepared. When we visited in the summer, he had us bring winter coats, gloves hats, flashlights, water and food, no matter where we went. He was always prepared, he learned this from Alaska.
This book made me understand more about Alaska and how it can either bring a family together or tear it apart. Great book. Great title.
Monday, May 27, 2019
Ambassadors by Henry James Finished
It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote on this site, the reason is that I just could not finish reading the last three books. But I have managed to complete THE AMBASSADORS, by Henry James. I am still working on the other two books but had decided to finish one at a time instead of reading all three at the same time. I have read this one a little at a time and feel like I did not quite get the reason this was so popular or included in the 100 books you should read in your lifetime.
I will say that it may have been a new concept for the time writing about someone willing to give up their inheritance in order to spend time with an older woman, a somewhat married older woman. That may have been the departure from the norm in the days in the time period with which it is written. so what is the basic outline of the book.
1. Strether is sent to Paris to find the son of Mrs. Newcomb, she is his fiance, or not. Maybe she is just saying she is so that he will do her bidding.
2. In Paris he finds he is not the only one sent to get Chad to come home.
3. He meets Chad and finds he is the company of an older woman and her daughter
4. Finds out Older woman is the love interest not the younger girl.
5. Chad seem very much in control of his life, or is he.
6. Mrs. Newcomb is not happy with the alliance Strether has with a Ms. Godfrey and the fact he has not sent her son home yet. She sends her daughter and the girl she wishes her son to marry.
7. This girl is not really interested in Chad.
8. Strether seems kind of out in left field half the time missing little clues about the situation.
9. Finally figures it out and possibly his relationship with Mrs. Newcomb is over as well as a potential relationship with Ms. Godfrey.
10 And no one knows what Chad will actually do.
The End.
Not a very satisfying ending, nothing gets fixed.
I will say that it may have been a new concept for the time writing about someone willing to give up their inheritance in order to spend time with an older woman, a somewhat married older woman. That may have been the departure from the norm in the days in the time period with which it is written. so what is the basic outline of the book.
1. Strether is sent to Paris to find the son of Mrs. Newcomb, she is his fiance, or not. Maybe she is just saying she is so that he will do her bidding.
2. In Paris he finds he is not the only one sent to get Chad to come home.
3. He meets Chad and finds he is the company of an older woman and her daughter
4. Finds out Older woman is the love interest not the younger girl.
5. Chad seem very much in control of his life, or is he.
6. Mrs. Newcomb is not happy with the alliance Strether has with a Ms. Godfrey and the fact he has not sent her son home yet. She sends her daughter and the girl she wishes her son to marry.
7. This girl is not really interested in Chad.
8. Strether seems kind of out in left field half the time missing little clues about the situation.
9. Finally figures it out and possibly his relationship with Mrs. Newcomb is over as well as a potential relationship with Ms. Godfrey.
10 And no one knows what Chad will actually do.
The End.
Not a very satisfying ending, nothing gets fixed.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Books not quite complete
I have been remiss in writing as I am trying to finish reading the last three books of the list of 100 books that Facebook put out as a challenge what seems like eons ago. 100 books and some of them, well not my cup of tea. However, I am almost finished the Ambassadors , partly finished the Golden Notebooks and barely scratched the surface of Proust. But I have been reading lots of other books and when I finally finish the three, hopefully before I have to start work again , I have decided to start a new reading list. This reading list will be based on the year I was born or close to the year for I have decided to add the three most popular books of that time period. I will not tell you the year for it is a mystery. So I will not put the copyright date on the publishing date of the book. This group of books has a lot more science fiction in it than the previous 100. I may even start a different blog as to reflect my new reading list. As soon as I finish the three I will write a brief blog. I feel like I have taken too long with this enterprise. For that I am sorry to been not as diligent in my reading or writing.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Rules of Civility: Review
RULES OF CIVILITY: by Amor Towles, published by Penquin Books in 2012. A great book, but I had to go back a couple of times to remember the front of the beginning of the book. This is why, it starts off in the 1966 New York where Katey, our narrator for the most part, and her husband are at a gallery looking at portraits taken by Walker Evans in the 1930's. As they are walking along, Eve notices a man she knew in the 1930's Tinker Grey. He is in the photo's twice. Once looking dapper and once looking disheveled. This starts Eve to remember that time and when she met Tinker.
We are zoomed back to New Years Eve 1937, Katey Kontent and her friend Eve have sneaked out of the boarding house to enjoy New Years Eve. Lovely name for our narrator, throughout the book I wondered was she ever really content. This is where they meet Tinker Grey and so the tale begins. We are taken From Winter through Fall as the main section headers, with titles throughout. There are several twists and turns in the life of Katey, Eve and Tinker. Many things I would never have thought to do, but I have never lived in New York of in the 1930's.
So where does the title come from? There is a book that the young George Washington wrote called "The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." This is wonderfully placed in the back of the book, but it is also the motivation behind Tinker Grey, who has a copy in his drawer. I loved the list and wonder what George Washington would say today, especially when it comes to clothing and grooming. My favorite of the 110 is number 2: "When in company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually discovered." What would he think of the crotch hold?
Good book, I like all the photo's of the 1930's.
We are zoomed back to New Years Eve 1937, Katey Kontent and her friend Eve have sneaked out of the boarding house to enjoy New Years Eve. Lovely name for our narrator, throughout the book I wondered was she ever really content. This is where they meet Tinker Grey and so the tale begins. We are taken From Winter through Fall as the main section headers, with titles throughout. There are several twists and turns in the life of Katey, Eve and Tinker. Many things I would never have thought to do, but I have never lived in New York of in the 1930's.
So where does the title come from? There is a book that the young George Washington wrote called "The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." This is wonderfully placed in the back of the book, but it is also the motivation behind Tinker Grey, who has a copy in his drawer. I loved the list and wonder what George Washington would say today, especially when it comes to clothing and grooming. My favorite of the 110 is number 2: "When in company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually discovered." What would he think of the crotch hold?
Good book, I like all the photo's of the 1930's.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
the sound of glass by Karen White: review
(I was in the middle of reading one book when I decided to read my November book club pick, not the smartest thing to do. So I am almost finished Golden Notebook, so I hope to have a blog by the end of the week.)
the sound of glass by Karen White ( and yes I realize I did not use capitals in the title, but neither did she,) published by New American Library a division of Penguin Group, May 2015. This book starts off with a plane crash, accident and a young woman afraid of her husband. Then we jump ahead 2 generations to an accident which leaves a young widow looking for answers about her husband and an inheritance of his family home in Beaufort, South Carolina. We also have a step-mother, half-brother Owen to Merritt, the second generational widow, and Gibbes the brother to Merritt's husband Cal. All these lives are weaved within a tale of abuse, suffering, hardship and mystery that gets centered around a plane crash that happened when Edith Heyward finds a note in the bottom of a suitcase that had blown up over the skies of Beaufort. This book is written in two voices one is Merritt whenever we are in a chapter about her and the second is third person narration when we are in other chapters. This is a bit confusing at first, but makes sense.
The only other thing that was really troubling in the read was the fact that each generation of abusers in the narrative were named Cal. I had to think which Cal were they talking about, but eventually I got used to it and settled in for the read. The domestic abuse in this narrative was both physical and psychological, making the woman feel less than adequate, playing on their fears, until they were lucky enough to escape, unfortunately one was through death of the woman.
Characters that I loved:
Loralee- Merritt's very young step-mother who writes down sayings in a journal for her son, some of her own and some her mother uses to say to her. She also spouts of sayings from her mother to Merritt, which annoys Merritt immensely, as she has never liked her step-mother for taking place of her mother.
Owen- the half-brother who is the only one who seems to be able to bring a smile to Merritt's face. He is very much like his big sister and Loralee loves to make the comparisons.
Okay I liked all the characters, but the two above were my favorite. Merritt for her strength to face her demon. Gibbes for his gentleness towards this new family, especially since he knew nothing about Merritt as his brother never mentioned her and vice a versa.
There are so many plot twists, some more obvious then others but still essential to the telling of the story. A good book all around.
the sound of glass by Karen White ( and yes I realize I did not use capitals in the title, but neither did she,) published by New American Library a division of Penguin Group, May 2015. This book starts off with a plane crash, accident and a young woman afraid of her husband. Then we jump ahead 2 generations to an accident which leaves a young widow looking for answers about her husband and an inheritance of his family home in Beaufort, South Carolina. We also have a step-mother, half-brother Owen to Merritt, the second generational widow, and Gibbes the brother to Merritt's husband Cal. All these lives are weaved within a tale of abuse, suffering, hardship and mystery that gets centered around a plane crash that happened when Edith Heyward finds a note in the bottom of a suitcase that had blown up over the skies of Beaufort. This book is written in two voices one is Merritt whenever we are in a chapter about her and the second is third person narration when we are in other chapters. This is a bit confusing at first, but makes sense.
The only other thing that was really troubling in the read was the fact that each generation of abusers in the narrative were named Cal. I had to think which Cal were they talking about, but eventually I got used to it and settled in for the read. The domestic abuse in this narrative was both physical and psychological, making the woman feel less than adequate, playing on their fears, until they were lucky enough to escape, unfortunately one was through death of the woman.
Characters that I loved:
Loralee- Merritt's very young step-mother who writes down sayings in a journal for her son, some of her own and some her mother uses to say to her. She also spouts of sayings from her mother to Merritt, which annoys Merritt immensely, as she has never liked her step-mother for taking place of her mother.
Owen- the half-brother who is the only one who seems to be able to bring a smile to Merritt's face. He is very much like his big sister and Loralee loves to make the comparisons.
Okay I liked all the characters, but the two above were my favorite. Merritt for her strength to face her demon. Gibbes for his gentleness towards this new family, especially since he knew nothing about Merritt as his brother never mentioned her and vice a versa.
There are so many plot twists, some more obvious then others but still essential to the telling of the story. A good book all around.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain: Review
CIRCLING THE SUN, by Paula McLain is published by Ballentine Books in 2015. The setting Kenya and Europe. The time starts in 1932 with the prologue but jumps back to 1904 and as the author writes " Before Kenya was Kenya...". The heroine one 4 year old who moves from England with her family to the British East African Protectorate, her name Beryl Clutterbuck.
This story is a historical fiction about Beryl Markham and the life she lived as a single, sometimes married, independent woman in the early 1900's. Headstrong and unwilling to be compromised, she left most men bewildered by her inability to be feminine or controlled. She becomes a horse trainer after years watching her father and training. She becomes an aviator and circumnavigates the world. Many misfortunes befall her, but she picks herself up and continues.
The author Paula McLain does a wonderful job with scenery and the story line, citing the many books she read to understand Beryl Markham. This research included a book that Beryl Markham wrote about herself called West with the Night, written in 1942. A book that Ernest Hemingway proclaimed as a "... really a bloody wonderful book."
I was so enthralled with CIRCLING THE SUN, that I read it in three days. It is wonderfully written from scenery to emotions that I could not put it down. It also made me want to read other works about Beryl Markham, so I purchased West with the Night which was republished in 1983, my copy is a paperback published in 2013. I will review this as soon as I finish the autobiography.
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I am still reading The Golden Notebook, but had put it aside because I needed a brief break. It will be done before August ends.
This story is a historical fiction about Beryl Markham and the life she lived as a single, sometimes married, independent woman in the early 1900's. Headstrong and unwilling to be compromised, she left most men bewildered by her inability to be feminine or controlled. She becomes a horse trainer after years watching her father and training. She becomes an aviator and circumnavigates the world. Many misfortunes befall her, but she picks herself up and continues.
The author Paula McLain does a wonderful job with scenery and the story line, citing the many books she read to understand Beryl Markham. This research included a book that Beryl Markham wrote about herself called West with the Night, written in 1942. A book that Ernest Hemingway proclaimed as a "... really a bloody wonderful book."
I was so enthralled with CIRCLING THE SUN, that I read it in three days. It is wonderfully written from scenery to emotions that I could not put it down. It also made me want to read other works about Beryl Markham, so I purchased West with the Night which was republished in 1983, my copy is a paperback published in 2013. I will review this as soon as I finish the autobiography.
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I am still reading The Golden Notebook, but had put it aside because I needed a brief break. It will be done before August ends.
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