In a valiant attempt to ready myself for the Festival of Faith and Writing (only 2 weeks away!), I just finished Kathryn Davis's unusual novel, "The Thin Place." It's no light read--you'll have to kick the brain in gear for this one.
Davis introduces us to various inhabitants of a small New England town, including Mees Kipp, a 12-year-old miracle worker; Helen Zeebrugge, an elderly occupant of the town's senior living center; and Billie Carpenter, a middle aged woman who has escaped her past by moving into a former camp on the lake. There are so many characters, all of whom the reader meets in snippets. You never quite get a full history of the characters, but you get to know who they are right now. The story of the townspeople is interspersed with the story of the earth and the story of the animals who live in the town.
Davis has an amazing ability to intersect the material and the spiritual, the natural world and the world created by humans. She depicts the solitude, the beauty and the broken nature of human beings. She also breathes life into the world of cats, dogs, and beavers. These forays into the natural world are beautifully written and insightful, but they also make it hard to keep the thread of the story. That's what makes the book a difficult read. Just as you get to know a bit of one character and that person's position in life, the picture is pulled out from under your nose as another picture is thrust in front of you. If you stay with the novel, the tension builds to the climax of the book, and it's a fascinating look at the "life" of a town. At the same time, I didn't really feel all that much for the characters, even when they suffered. I will read another of her novels, though, because I'd like to see more of her use of words and her insight into people.
On a different note, I'd highly recommend "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine. The audience is ages 9-12, but I enjoyed it very much. It's the story of a girl with Asperger's who is struggling to cope with the loss of her older brother. He was killed in a school shooting. The book is written from her point of view, and it's a delightful and touching look into a literal mind.
Got a lot more reading to do, so I'll be moving on. Now that it's actually sunny and warm, I'll have to move to the front porch!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wish Fulfillment
I finished "Wishin' and Hopin'" by Wally Lamb last week, in preparation for both hearing him at Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin and for the church book club discussion we'll have after he speaks the first evening. It was a fun read. Lamb is a master of point of view--I read "She's Come Undone" years ago, and though it was not one of my favorite novels, I felt that I knew the main character inside and out.
His alter ego, Felix Funicello, navigates the world of 1960s Catholic school and the mysteries of growing up in a completely believable way. Felix's wish to know more, to matter more and his inability to manage either are all too familiar to anyone who survived middle school. It also made me laugh. A lot. This book is often, in the word that Felix uses to describe some of his classmates, "salty." But it's got some heart. It's not a heavy read, yet at the end, after the dubious nativity scene, I came away thinking about what a great description it is, to have such hapless, unprepared, flawed individuals emulating the holy family. We are such flawed and yet somehow endearing reflections of Christ!
Next up is "The Thin Place" by Kathryn Davis, which I'm about a quarter of the way through. The first few chapters were a bit disorienting--the novel jumps from character to character, without much context. It's starting to come together a bit now, and I look forward to figuring out what it's really about. Davis has some wild ways of describing things.
I know this is a book blog, but I'll probably throw in music or movie info too. Today I was working on a small editing project, and I put on a new album for background music. It's Patty Griffin's latest CD, "Downtown Church." If you enjoyed "Raising Sand" by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant or the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" you might want to try this collection mostly made up of traditional folk and country hymns. Her voice is more Bonnie Raitt than Allison Kraus, but it's lovely. And it closes with a rendition of "All Creatures of Our God and King" that might finally reinvent that particular song for me. Years ago our family watched a Mr. Bean short where he visits church, and that song figured prominently in the sketch. Ever since, whenever that song shows up in worship, my kids and I find ourselves stifling laughter. Maybe I can keep a straight face now. Here's hopin' (and wishin')!
His alter ego, Felix Funicello, navigates the world of 1960s Catholic school and the mysteries of growing up in a completely believable way. Felix's wish to know more, to matter more and his inability to manage either are all too familiar to anyone who survived middle school. It also made me laugh. A lot. This book is often, in the word that Felix uses to describe some of his classmates, "salty." But it's got some heart. It's not a heavy read, yet at the end, after the dubious nativity scene, I came away thinking about what a great description it is, to have such hapless, unprepared, flawed individuals emulating the holy family. We are such flawed and yet somehow endearing reflections of Christ!
Next up is "The Thin Place" by Kathryn Davis, which I'm about a quarter of the way through. The first few chapters were a bit disorienting--the novel jumps from character to character, without much context. It's starting to come together a bit now, and I look forward to figuring out what it's really about. Davis has some wild ways of describing things.
I know this is a book blog, but I'll probably throw in music or movie info too. Today I was working on a small editing project, and I put on a new album for background music. It's Patty Griffin's latest CD, "Downtown Church." If you enjoyed "Raising Sand" by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant or the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" you might want to try this collection mostly made up of traditional folk and country hymns. Her voice is more Bonnie Raitt than Allison Kraus, but it's lovely. And it closes with a rendition of "All Creatures of Our God and King" that might finally reinvent that particular song for me. Years ago our family watched a Mr. Bean short where he visits church, and that song figured prominently in the sketch. Ever since, whenever that song shows up in worship, my kids and I find ourselves stifling laughter. Maybe I can keep a straight face now. Here's hopin' (and wishin')!
Friday, March 19, 2010
First Fab 5 Report
Last night the Fab 5 met to discuss "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. The Fab 5 Book Club is actually made up of four people ever since we lost Amy to breast cancer a year and a half ago. Since we could never replace Amy in our close knit group, we have continued on with one less. Our original group was made up of people who are connected in assorted ways--former Cincinnati residents (3), former roommates (2), moms of boys in the same class at the same school (3), cousins (2), employees of the same denomination (4), and shared childhoods in Sheboygan, Wis. (2).
We meet every month, and twice a year we have a Book Choosing Night where we choose books for the next 6 months. This is actually the part we look forward to the most. We usually bring way too many books, with the exception of Barbara, who brings one or none. If she brings one, we pick it, and somehow she is always sorry we have to read it. Nancy brings about 15 or 20 books, each with a carefully clipped out review from a newpaper or magazine that she has kept in a file created for this express purpose. Sonia brings a good number of books, from which she has intended to read the first couple of pages but never quite gets around to doing. But she always likes the covers.
It was unanimous--we all loved this book. Even though Sonia didn't come because she was sick, we had all heard already how much she liked it too. This book has such a grim premise; a future, former North America is governed by a Capitol, which requires each of the 12 districts of the land to send 2 kids each year to the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death. We agreed that it's a tribute to the author that in spite of the grimness, we wanted to keep reading and maintained a sense of hope throughout the book.
We liked it that Katniss, the main character, had survival skills in the game that she learned in her daily life, attempting to keep her family alive. And yet she's no superhero--she has weaknesses, one of which is that she cannot read or "work" people. Peeta complements that with his easy nature and ability to connect with the audience.
We were quite proud of ourselves for a couple of insights. Nancy pointed out the David and Goliath image of little Rue preparing for the games. Tiny, vulnerable, but good with a slingshot. Katniss says "But what is a slingshot against a 220-pound male with a sword?" Barbara noticed that there are several instances where there is a sort of "sacrificial lamb." Katniss stepping in for her little sister, Rue taking Katniss's place. There are many layers in this book, and I can attest that the second in the series has at least as much depth.
Nancy put some thought into snacks tonight. She picked out foods that Katniss would eat: berries (chocolate covered raisins), nuts (fantastic almond crisps) and rabbit (chocolate bunnies and blue, bunny-shaped Peeps). She also brought Toasted Corn Doritos, and she ran down a short history of Doritos. Apparently, they were the first tortilla chips that were widely available. Then Doritos came out with taco flavor, which she unknowingly stuffed in her mouth and found disgusting. Since then, Toasted Corn flavor Doritos have only been available west of the Mississippi. Nancy buys them whenever she can. But this time, she found them at Meijer, which seems to be very exciting to her. She even divulged that when traveling, she loves food tourism. She likes to go in the grocery stores in other places and check out the local foods.
It turns out we all have food quests. For Nancy it's been the Toasted Corn Doritos and some unnamed candy that look like Chuckles but have a white glaze on them. Kristy would like to find Marathon candy bars and Trader Joe's frozen walnut and gorgonzola tortellini, but alas they seem to be unfindable. Barbara is most interested in meat that still has bones in it. Even Byron Center Meats had very little to offer with the bone still in! Plus she likes Chewy Runts and can't find them anywhere. If anyone knows where to find any of these foods, please let us know. There may be a reward in it for you.
All this talk of food is making me hungry, which brings me back to the topic at hand: "The Hunger Games." We all say it's a 5 star book, and you should all devour it.
We meet every month, and twice a year we have a Book Choosing Night where we choose books for the next 6 months. This is actually the part we look forward to the most. We usually bring way too many books, with the exception of Barbara, who brings one or none. If she brings one, we pick it, and somehow she is always sorry we have to read it. Nancy brings about 15 or 20 books, each with a carefully clipped out review from a newpaper or magazine that she has kept in a file created for this express purpose. Sonia brings a good number of books, from which she has intended to read the first couple of pages but never quite gets around to doing. But she always likes the covers.
It was unanimous--we all loved this book. Even though Sonia didn't come because she was sick, we had all heard already how much she liked it too. This book has such a grim premise; a future, former North America is governed by a Capitol, which requires each of the 12 districts of the land to send 2 kids each year to the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death. We agreed that it's a tribute to the author that in spite of the grimness, we wanted to keep reading and maintained a sense of hope throughout the book.
We liked it that Katniss, the main character, had survival skills in the game that she learned in her daily life, attempting to keep her family alive. And yet she's no superhero--she has weaknesses, one of which is that she cannot read or "work" people. Peeta complements that with his easy nature and ability to connect with the audience.
We were quite proud of ourselves for a couple of insights. Nancy pointed out the David and Goliath image of little Rue preparing for the games. Tiny, vulnerable, but good with a slingshot. Katniss says "But what is a slingshot against a 220-pound male with a sword?" Barbara noticed that there are several instances where there is a sort of "sacrificial lamb." Katniss stepping in for her little sister, Rue taking Katniss's place. There are many layers in this book, and I can attest that the second in the series has at least as much depth.
Nancy put some thought into snacks tonight. She picked out foods that Katniss would eat: berries (chocolate covered raisins), nuts (fantastic almond crisps) and rabbit (chocolate bunnies and blue, bunny-shaped Peeps). She also brought Toasted Corn Doritos, and she ran down a short history of Doritos. Apparently, they were the first tortilla chips that were widely available. Then Doritos came out with taco flavor, which she unknowingly stuffed in her mouth and found disgusting. Since then, Toasted Corn flavor Doritos have only been available west of the Mississippi. Nancy buys them whenever she can. But this time, she found them at Meijer, which seems to be very exciting to her. She even divulged that when traveling, she loves food tourism. She likes to go in the grocery stores in other places and check out the local foods.
It turns out we all have food quests. For Nancy it's been the Toasted Corn Doritos and some unnamed candy that look like Chuckles but have a white glaze on them. Kristy would like to find Marathon candy bars and Trader Joe's frozen walnut and gorgonzola tortellini, but alas they seem to be unfindable. Barbara is most interested in meat that still has bones in it. Even Byron Center Meats had very little to offer with the bone still in! Plus she likes Chewy Runts and can't find them anywhere. If anyone knows where to find any of these foods, please let us know. There may be a reward in it for you.
All this talk of food is making me hungry, which brings me back to the topic at hand: "The Hunger Games." We all say it's a 5 star book, and you should all devour it.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Can't Wait for Festival!
One of my favorite things in the world is Calvin College's Festival of Faith and Writing. It's a chance to find new authors, enjoy authors I've known about for a while and just completely lose myself in the written and spoken word. It's almost that time again, and so I'm turning my reading energy in that direction.
I just finished reading "Gods of Alabama" by Joshilyn Jackson. I was quite sure I'd enjoy this book--southern fiction, seemed to have a theme of guilt, confession, forgiveness. But frankly, while I wanted to know what was going to happen, the book just didn't do it for me. I waded through some crass and gritty stuff, waiting for the payoff, but the resolution wasn't enough. I am still interested to see what Jackson is like in person, and I might try another, since I think this was her first novel.
Currently I'm reading "Wishin' and Hopin'" by Wally Lamb. I wanted to try another of his books, having read "She's Come Undone" years ago and sort of indifferent to that one. And I'm not quite ready to climb into the Columbine story of "The Hour I First Believed," even though I do want to read that someday. "Wishin' and Hopin'" is a shorter novel, with a Christmas theme, and so far I really enjoy the main character. Felix Funicello is a 10 year old Catholic schoolboy in the 60s who wants to be in the know, struggles with his conscience and wants to be the best student his class. His mother is going to be in the Pillsbury Bakeoff, his distance cousin, Annette, is famous, he might be on TV himself, and a Russian girl just joined his Communist-fearing classroom. I love the way Lamb writes from his perspective.
One break from all "assigned" reading this month was "Short Girls" by Bich Minh Nguyen. This novel of growing up as the child of Vietnamese refugees in a little known place called Grand Rapids, Michigan. This book reads a bit like a novelization of her memoir, "Stealing Buddha's Dinner." The sisters in the novel are now grown up and dealing with the losses and missed connections of their childhoods. I enjoyed it for the perspective on immigrant adjustment and for reading familiar places of my hometown. I can only hope the sisters' lives get better from here on out.
The Fab 5 has been postponed till this Thursday, so the group report on "Hunger Games" is still forthcoming. My church book club is reading "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson. It looks like a valuable book to read, but I can't make that book club meeting, so I'm soldiering on with my Festival list of authors. Either Kathryn Davis or Peter Manseau will be next. I'm open to suggestions!
I just finished reading "Gods of Alabama" by Joshilyn Jackson. I was quite sure I'd enjoy this book--southern fiction, seemed to have a theme of guilt, confession, forgiveness. But frankly, while I wanted to know what was going to happen, the book just didn't do it for me. I waded through some crass and gritty stuff, waiting for the payoff, but the resolution wasn't enough. I am still interested to see what Jackson is like in person, and I might try another, since I think this was her first novel.
Currently I'm reading "Wishin' and Hopin'" by Wally Lamb. I wanted to try another of his books, having read "She's Come Undone" years ago and sort of indifferent to that one. And I'm not quite ready to climb into the Columbine story of "The Hour I First Believed," even though I do want to read that someday. "Wishin' and Hopin'" is a shorter novel, with a Christmas theme, and so far I really enjoy the main character. Felix Funicello is a 10 year old Catholic schoolboy in the 60s who wants to be in the know, struggles with his conscience and wants to be the best student his class. His mother is going to be in the Pillsbury Bakeoff, his distance cousin, Annette, is famous, he might be on TV himself, and a Russian girl just joined his Communist-fearing classroom. I love the way Lamb writes from his perspective.
One break from all "assigned" reading this month was "Short Girls" by Bich Minh Nguyen. This novel of growing up as the child of Vietnamese refugees in a little known place called Grand Rapids, Michigan. This book reads a bit like a novelization of her memoir, "Stealing Buddha's Dinner." The sisters in the novel are now grown up and dealing with the losses and missed connections of their childhoods. I enjoyed it for the perspective on immigrant adjustment and for reading familiar places of my hometown. I can only hope the sisters' lives get better from here on out.
The Fab 5 has been postponed till this Thursday, so the group report on "Hunger Games" is still forthcoming. My church book club is reading "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson. It looks like a valuable book to read, but I can't make that book club meeting, so I'm soldiering on with my Festival list of authors. Either Kathryn Davis or Peter Manseau will be next. I'm open to suggestions!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Okay, here goes.
I've been meaning to start this blog for a long time, but haven't quite done it. So I'll just jump right in. I'm in two book clubs--one for church and one with a small group of friends, known as the Fab Five. This month, the Fab Five is reading "The Hunger Games," a young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. I read it in January, and the minute I put it down, I grabbed the second in the series, "Catching Fire." I'm now impatiently awaiting the third one in August, "Mockingjay."
The first two books are fantastic. These are edgy novels, with a premise that a friend called "disturbing." A futuristic North America is now divided into districts, ruled by a Capitol. The Capitol demands that each district sends 2 randomly chosen young people to the Hunger Games, a reality game show where the kids fight to the death.
This sounds grim, and it is. However, the books don't glorify the violence at all. The protagonist, Katniss, is a young woman of strength and intelligence. The novels have layers of moral and political substance, and they are impossible to put down. I'll let you know what the Fab Five thought about it soon.
The first two books are fantastic. These are edgy novels, with a premise that a friend called "disturbing." A futuristic North America is now divided into districts, ruled by a Capitol. The Capitol demands that each district sends 2 randomly chosen young people to the Hunger Games, a reality game show where the kids fight to the death.
This sounds grim, and it is. However, the books don't glorify the violence at all. The protagonist, Katniss, is a young woman of strength and intelligence. The novels have layers of moral and political substance, and they are impossible to put down. I'll let you know what the Fab Five thought about it soon.
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