Book 3 of the Read-Everything-I-Own Project is Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich (that makes two MN authors in a row for the Project!).
Why I own this book: L gave it to me; she loves Louise Erdrich.
Why I hadn’t read it: Sheer laziness.
Why I still own it: It was a gift, and besides, it’s now signed by the author, from when L and I went to one of her readings a few years ago and L got so excited she turned bright pink when she finally got face to face with Louise. I like being reminded of L’s cuteness. (Also, Random Erdrich Connection: Louise’s sister, Heid, was one of my writing professors in college.)
The verdict: It was skillfully written, but I found the characters hard to relate to (lots of drama and dysfunction). This is more my problem than the book’s, but prevents it from becoming a favorite.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
PEACE LIKE A RIVER
Now I’m tackling Book 2 in the Read-Everything-I-Own Project: Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger.
Why I own this book: Editor-friend A gave it to me last Christmas.
Why I haven’t read it: No particular reason; other books just seemed to keep getting in the way.
Why I still own it: Well, it was a gift, of course, so it comes well recommended to begin with, and both my parents read and liked it too, and it’s critically acclaimed, and it’s written by a Minnesota writer. So I’m about midway through right now and really like it. I was puzzled why it took me a while to get into it; at first the setting, the characters, the writing seemed strange to me, almost too folksy. Then I realized that almost all the books I’ve read recently have taken place in either Victorian England (To Say Nothing of the Dog, Felix Holt, Arthur & George) or magical fantasy lands (the Secret Country trilogy, Howl’s Moving Castle). How long has it been since I’ve read a plain, straight-up, good old-fashioned rural American literary novel? No wonder it seemed foreign to me. Now that I’ve settled in, I’m relishing it; it feels a bit like To Kill a Mockingbird, or, um, maybe Huck Finn? OK, it feels like maybe I ought to read a few more Great American Novels. Can you believe they gave me an English degree when I spent all my time dallying with the Elizabethans and the Victorians/Edwardians?
Why I own this book: Editor-friend A gave it to me last Christmas.
Why I haven’t read it: No particular reason; other books just seemed to keep getting in the way.
Why I still own it: Well, it was a gift, of course, so it comes well recommended to begin with, and both my parents read and liked it too, and it’s critically acclaimed, and it’s written by a Minnesota writer. So I’m about midway through right now and really like it. I was puzzled why it took me a while to get into it; at first the setting, the characters, the writing seemed strange to me, almost too folksy. Then I realized that almost all the books I’ve read recently have taken place in either Victorian England (To Say Nothing of the Dog, Felix Holt, Arthur & George) or magical fantasy lands (the Secret Country trilogy, Howl’s Moving Castle). How long has it been since I’ve read a plain, straight-up, good old-fashioned rural American literary novel? No wonder it seemed foreign to me. Now that I’ve settled in, I’m relishing it; it feels a bit like To Kill a Mockingbird, or, um, maybe Huck Finn? OK, it feels like maybe I ought to read a few more Great American Novels. Can you believe they gave me an English degree when I spent all my time dallying with the Elizabethans and the Victorians/Edwardians?
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
I tore eagerly through Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones. Jones wrote one of my favorite young-adult books ever, Fire and Hemlock, and I may have read some of her other books when I was a kid, but they didn’t stick in my mind. I wasn’t aware she wrote Howl’s Moving Castle until after I saw the movie, and I was immediately curious to find out how much of the weird, wonderful film was really from the original source material and how much was a product of Miyazaki’s rich imagination. The answer, it turns out, is about half and half—the film is a pretty loose adaptation, paralleling the book at first and keeping most of the same elements, but soon shooting off in other directions. Despite their differences, I had about the same reaction to both versions: “I’m not sure I really understand what’s going on, but I like it!” The book would definitely benefit from repeated readings—in fact, I was relieved to see that the School Library Journal reviewer called the book an “intricate, humorous and puzzling tale of fantasy and adventure which should both challenge and involve readers....At times, the action becomes so complex that readers may have to go back to see what actually happened, and at the end so many loose ends have to be tied up at once that it’s dizzying. Yet Jones’ inventiveness never fails, and her conclusion is infinitely satisfying.” Thank you, Sara Miller of White Plains Public Library, N.Y.! I was afraid it was just me being shamefully confused by a novel aimed at 6th-graders. Anyway, thumbs up to a truly inventive and riveting (and, sigh, romantic) story—I might even read the sequel, Castle in the Air, sometime.
ARTHUR & GEORGE
Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes, is a novel is based on actual events: Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; George a contemporary of his who’s convicted of a crime he hasn’t committed. The story follows their parallel, but very different, lives and the point at which they intersect, as Arthur takes an interest in George’s case and launches an investigation to clear his name. It’s Victorian social drama, biography, and mystery all wrapped up in one—fascinating and completely gripping, and totally makes me want to reread Sherlock Holmes, too.
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