Thick Reading

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!