The Giver by Lois Lowry

I took time out from my TBR list to reread this classic novel in anticipation of the new movie that is soon to be released based on the story.  

I did not anticipate the connections I would make to the current events in our world today.  So I apologize ahead of time, Patty: this little review is not going to be light-hearted!

While reading, I was most poignantly mindful of the heartbreaking suicide of Robin Williams.  Of course, it has been almost impossible to avoid the various tributes and eulogies for his lost soul.  So I suppose it seems reasonable that I found a connection between the Giver and Robin Williams.  

In the novel, The Giver understands he cannot "release" himself from the painful and tragic memories he holds for The Community because doing so unleashes those memories to The Community and he believes that would be too painful for the citizens to bear.  However, as he ages, he becomes increasingly aware that the burden of these memories is too much for any one individual to bear.  His apprentice soon convinces him that sharing the memories would ultimately be of benefit to all.  

So how does this relate to Robin Williams? In reading all of the tributes and anecdotes about Robin's life, it is clear this man cared deeply about humanity and spent his life nurturing others.  He did his best to relieve others of their suffering by injecting comedy and kindness wherever he found the opportunity to do so.  But it's also true that he was deeply sensitive to the state of the world.  Could this sensitivity have been the result of his depressed state -- or was it the cause?  I suppose that question can't really be answered.  But it is clear, that much like The Giver, Robin believed it was time to "release" himself" from the burdens.  Sadly -- life is not a novel, and suicide is not a "release."  But pondering the issue of suicide while reading The Giver was a stark reminder of the value of sharing both joys and sorrows within a community -- and the importance of facing our realities together.  

Thinking further -- I was also struck by the concept of "sameness" that underscores the dystopian future Lowry portrays.  Are we driven by a desire toward "sameness" by creating a world where deep poverty, starvation, and cruelty are kept at a safe distance?  We see infrequent images and occasional news reports  on television.  But they do seem far removed from our own realities.  

The Giver is thought-provoking and timely...and I'm very, very glad that the upcoming movie will introduce this story to a new generation.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA

       Wow! It's a daunting task to comment on such an amazing piece of literature. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, can be described with just about every adjective you can imagine. It's profound, humorous, sad, filthy, despicable, frustrating, quirky, lovely, and lots more. This is definitely not an easy, quick read. You get lost in the vernacular and sentence construction, but it is absolute genius. Cudos also go to the translator, Edith Grossman, for keeping true to the author's form and substance. 
        The exotic setting of a coastal city in Colombia, in the late 19th & early 20th centuries, created a backdrop of fascinating proportions. Add to that the cholera epidemic, which was Marquez's metaphor for the "disease" of love in all its forms. The three main characters, engaged in a love triangle of 50+ years, are compelling and confounding at the same time. Some of the behaviors defy even the hardiest of sensibilities. But I kept recalling that Marquez's genre of "magical realism" was not unlike the fairy tales I grew up reading (Hans & Gretel, anyone?) 
         The suspense of the entangled webs of so many major and minor characters made the story so fascinating, that I could not help but wonder and look forward to the final chapter. I was not disappointed, for it was the best part of all. When the ship captain raised the cholera flag on the boat, I knew all would be well!

Guest Post: Book Reviews from Melissa

So proud of my mom and aunt for setting up this book blog! I wanted to contribute with a list of books I’ve read recently that I want to shout from the rooftops about a little bit. --Melissa

Delancey - Molly Wizenberg’s blog Orangette hooked me years ago and now she’s one of those writers who I will follow anywhere and buy whatever she wants me to buy.  I loved Delancey especially because it’s a story of her and her husband’s pizza restaurant (yum) but also the story of their marriage so far.  I was recently in Seattle for work, so I got to go to the restaurant and meet Molly - it and she are just as lovely in person as on the page.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub - How could I not pick up this novel?  The two cover quotes (or blurbs, as we say in the book biz) are raves from Elizabeth Gilbert and Maria Semple.  Hilarious but thoughtful, this book is the perfect amount of breezy to get you through the middle of summer.

Friendship by Emily Gould - This is another writer who I have followed for a while.  She is kind of a messy, honest feminist who hit rock bottom in her 20s and now writes like she has nothing to lose.  Friendship is semi-autobiographical, so you can imagine the character trajectories, but I appreciated the believable bond between two women in their late 20s in NYC, just trying to get by and make a life.  If you’ve watched an episode of HBO’s Girls or Comedy Central’s Broad City, this book has a similar voice, but less comedy and more feelings as you follow them through break ups, job losses, etc.

Currently Reading:  

The Stager by Susan Coll - So, I’ve been on an HGTV binge lately (Fixer Upper, anyone?) and this book hits that sweet spot of literary and quirky and humor that I love - basically, the behind-the-scenes drama of a family trying to sell a house and move out of the country.

Up Next:

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay - a collection of essays by a writer I admire.  I’m excited to dip into these.

The Tenth of December by George Saunders

I finally managed to read all of the stories in Saunders latest book of short stories.  Wow -- what a writer!  

I can't say I "enjoyed" the stories, as much as I appreciated the craft of writing in his work.  These stories are dark, very dark.  But his characters are intriguing and the stories themselves are incredibly compelling.
The aspect I liked the most was Saunders ability to take the reader beneath the surface, to the inner life of his characters.  The action is always complemented with a narrative of his characters perception of the events - Fascinating.  

In the Light of What We Know ~ First thoughts

I decided to veer from my TBR list to read this novel that Melissa was so kind to send me after she heard I was interested.  MacMillan is the publisher and so she was able to snag a copy for me.  

I was interested in reading it because the review mentioned the sentences were breath-taking. I have to say -- they're pretty good, though not exactly in league with Gabriel Garcia-Marquez.  

This is quite an interesting novel to read on the heels of Radical. The two main characters are Pakistanis and the story takes place over a period of years following 9/11 into and beyond the financial crisis.  

It's the story of the friendship between these two men, but it revolves around a mystery involving the disappearance of one of them for several years.  The narration takes place after he resurfaces and the reader is taken along a ride through their experiences as the narrator attempts to put some puzzle pieces together.  

There are many references to the same bigotry and persecution as described in Radical and the behavior of the protagonist in this book seems to parallel the actions of Nawaz, the author of that book.

It's a good literary novel -- well-written and meets ALL of my criteria for sticking with a book!!  Worth taking a break from my TBR list!  

Honoring Marquez

I wish everyone was as talented as Gabriel Garcia Marquez! There will be no forced reading on my part with this novel. It has it all and then some. Just the three sentence opening paragraph is a masterpiece, introducing an epic story whose themes include love, war, sickness, death, and exotic settings. Here is an example of his prose:

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. Dr. Juvenal Urbino noticed it as soon as he entered the still darkened house where he had hurried on an urgent call to attend a case that for him had lost all urgency many years before. The Antillean refugee Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, disabled war veteran, photographer of children, and his most sympathetic opponent in chess, had escaped the torments of memory with the aromatic fumes of gold cyanide." 

I'm sneaking this novel in now since it's our next book club selection. We chose this to commemorate Mr. Marquez's recent death and his considerable literary accomplishments. 

BTW, what are "bitter almonds," anyway?

Glad to Be Off This Train

Mr. Guralnick's goal was to write the definitive biography of Elvis Presley. Surely he was successful, if success is judged by painstaking accuracy of every bit of minutia in his subject's life. I just got bored and left the train station. As we agreed, we don't have to finish a book if it's becoming a forced effort. What I did enjoy, as I mentioned in my last post, was becoming more knowledgeable about Elvis's early years and the beginning of his career. Combining this information with videos from the Internet was very entertaining. The book, by itself, was not.