The Age of Miracles

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thomson Walker was a book that scared me a little to read. It is about the slowing of the earth which makes days and nights longer with no scientific explanation. Birds die, whales beach themselves by the thousands and yet for 11 year old Julia, life as a burgeoning teenager continues on in all it's painful reality.

Friends disappear as their families flee the cities, some people choose not to join the mandated clock time and become outsiders. Julia loses her best friend, watches as her parents marriage unravels and her mother suffers from the "syndrome" and tracks her crush, Seth Moreno, from afar.

The book is well written and while anxiety-provoking, it is also thought-provoking and touching as a story about ordinary life in in-ordinary times.

A Land More Kind Than Home

A Land More Kind Than Home is the July selection for my (former) Charlotte book club. I am still trying to read what they read because they have really good selections and after starting (and stopping) a few bad books recently, I was thrilled when I started A Land More Kind Than Home.

From the opening chapter, Wiley Cash had me hooked. Set in a small town in North Carolina (which I could easily imagine from my days running through the hills of Western NC during relays), A Land More Kind Than Home tells the story of Jess Hall who witnesses something bad happen to his mute brother, Stump, inside the makeshift church his mother attends.

Jess is older and wiser than his 10 years, but his story is still supplemented by two other narrators, Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife who used to attend the church but years ago starting keeping the children during church services, and Clem Barefield, the local sheriff. Like all small towns there is a deep history and connection between the residents which impacts how everyone reacts to the incident with Stump.

Carson Chambliss the Pentecostal preacher is a scary soul, so the story carries with it some fear of what he will do next to his parishoners or those who cross him.

A Land More Kind Than Home is a eloquent, exciting first novel.

The Cat's Table

Michael Ondaatje has always been a writer I have admired and enjoyed, so I was eager to read The Cat's Table when it was published. After I finished, my admiration of Ondaatje was reconfirmed.

A story of adventure as a young boy travels to England from Colombo on a ship in the 1950s, it is told with wonder. Along with two older boys, Cassius and Ramahdin the boys meet amazing characters and learn more about the world on this ship than ever before.

I Thought It Was Just Me (But it isn't)

My friend Brie introduced me to Brene Brown and her research on shame and vulnerability through her two TED talks. After watching both of them numerous times, I decided that she was my new personal hero. What Brene had to say was so smart, so well-researched and she was so open about her own vulnerability and shame, how could you not be inspired?

I ordered her book I Thought It Was Just Me but saved it for summer break before starting it and then I savored it. Not because the language is beautiful or the topic is so wonderful, but because itmakes so much sense. It needs to be read slowly (and probably more than once) to really be absorbed.

The idea that shame makes us feel disconnected and isolated and how we can become aware and hopefully stop that shame, felt like genius as I read it. I thought of dozens of friends and acquaintances that should read it, but afterwards, I decided that every woman should read it. It might give us pause the next time we start to feel shame or if we see someone else struggling or someone pulling us into gossip, we can change direction.

Brene's work feels tangible and actionable and I hope someday that I will be able to use some of the techniques in my own practice.

Buddha in the Attic

Forgive me for gushing, but it's been a while since I've read such a wonderful book, that I won't be able to help myself. Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka was different than I expected. It is a small book, but is jam packed with beauty.

It is a meditation on the experience of a group of Japanese brides coming to America in the early 1900s. We follow them on their journey and then through various successes and disappointments of life up to the internment camps of WWII. It is told with such honesty and yet such delicacy for these women who lived and loved and lost so much. 

Otsuka shows the passage of time with the changing of seasons in a way that is beautiful and makes you forget the individual suffering of these women for a moment.

Overall, this small book is one I would highly recommend.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Everyone I know is reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, but it had been on my list for a while (since my sister asked for it at Christmas) and I'm glad I was able to borrow a copy from a friend.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks traces the history of the HeLa cells - cells that were taken from Henrietta Lacks and then were used to study and find cures for all sorts of diseases.

Skloot does a great job making the science digestable and weaving in the story of the Lacks family. She is fair to everyone - doctors, the family members - even when some bad stuff was going on and clearly put a lot of time and energy into tracing every part of the story.

I learned a lot while enjoying myself and would recommend this book to friends (I already have).

State of Wonder

I loved State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I love Ann Patchett. It reminded me of Bel Canto. It swept me up from the minute it started and while I was left with questions and the themes were familiar, I want to read it again, right now.

The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff is an amazing tale of the Mormons and polygamy. Ebershoff is a master storyteller, weaving in the history of Mormonism and polygamy with a current day tale from a compound in Utah.

It is clear that The 19th Wife was well researched and even though it is published as a work of fiction, you get a better understanding of the Mormon religion.

Ebershoff weaves in the history of Ann Eliza, Brigham Young's 19th wife, through a memoir of her own (she did in fact publish a memoir after leaving the church, but it is not completely and fully replicated here). Between that is the story of BeckyLyn and her excommunicated son, Jordan. BeckyLyn has been accused of killing her husband - and incidentally she is his 19th wife.

You feel pulled along by both tales and are curious to learn more. There are some holes in the story, but after reading the interview with the author at the back of the book, those appear to due to lack of information, not any error by the author.

The 19th Wife is the type of book I love, one that has interesting characters, a good plot and gives you a view into a world you don't have access to.

Zeitoun

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers was our book club book for September. I was reluctant to read a story about Katrina (I think I avoid books that feel like they are capitalizing on a national tragedy), but this was Dave Eggers so I should have known better than to be worried.

All the proceeds from the book go to various organizations related to New Orleans or that are important to the Zeitoun family and Eggers does an amazing job of telling a story of terrible injustice.

The Zeitoun's lived in New Orleans for years, are Muslim and have a family contracting and painting business. Abdulrahman, the father and a Syrian-American, has much to lose and take care of, so he sends his wife and children out of the city while he stays behind as the storm threatens.

His days before and after the storm are calmer than you would expect, but once the levees break, life for Zeitoun changes. Eventually, he is arrested along with 3 other men and held in horrendous conditions. They are never clearly charged, never told why they are being held - there are indications that someone thought that were terrorists.

I was horrified that this treatment occurred in this country and glad in the end that I read this story and that it was brought to me in the capable hands of Eggers.

I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith was our August book club selection and what a precious find it was.

Written in the 1940s, I Capture the Castle tells the story of the Mortmain family, living in a dilapidated castle in the English countryside. The story is told through a series of journals by Cassandra Mortmain who relates the tale of her eccentric family.

Her father who was the famous author of a novel and is now suffering from writer's block; her sister Rose who flits about and becomes engaged to Simon Cotton the American who has inherited the estate that includes the castle; Topaz their bohemian stepmother who wants very much to be needed; ; handsome Stephen who has lived at the castle since he was a child and continues to do odd jobs around the place but who is desperately in love with Cassandra.

Cassandra herself is a sweet and witty 17 year old, though her writing and inexperience makes her feel younger as you read about life in the castle through her eyes.

This was a book I wanted to savor.

Born to Run

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall is one of those books that is known very well by a certain group of people - in this case runners. I was told it would change the way I run and I believe it has.

Born to Run centers on the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico who are infamous for their ability to run for multiple days in leather sandals. McDougall sets out to understand what makes the Tarahumara capable of such feats as well as their ability to stay healthy and serene while he hurts from just running a few miles.

McDougall does a wonderful job in pulling the reader along between history, biology and anthropology, tying all of it together in the world's greatest footrace through the Copper Mountains.

Apologize, Apologize

I finished Apologize, Apologize by Elizabeth Kelly last night and I wish I hadn't. I didn't want it to end!

Apologize, Apologize is about the quirky Flanagan family living in a big house on Martha's Vineyard. Anais Flanagan is the daughter of Peregrine Lowell, a newspaper magnet who funds her anti-establishment lifestyle. Anais is married to an Irish immigrant, Charlie Flangan, and is such a dog lover that she names her sons Collie and Bingo.

The novel is told from the perspective of Collie who takes after his grandfather in his rule-following, conservatism rather than his free spirited mother and brother. Bingo is the one his mother adores, the beautiful and risk taking son. As the boys grow up in a house overrun with big and little dogs and with a drunk father and uncle providing comic relief, one minute you are laughing at the absurdity of the household and then thinking "oh my, how did they survive" the next.

Kelly's writing is wonderful and the wit that runs through the novel makes it so enjoyable, but when it is over it is the emotional connection with Collie that had been created in ~300 pages is surprising.

Half the Sky

I read Nicholas Kristof's columns in the New York Times every week, so when I heard he had published a new book with his wife (Sherry Wudunn), I knew I had to read it.

Half the Sky is about the struggles of women around the world, but unlike so many other books, it offers solutions. Ways to get involved. Things to do. And the authors realize that even though we can't all quit our jobs and work for the Peace Corps (as much as I'd like to!), that we can each have an impact in our own way.

Ever since I heard about the cutting of girls genitals in a college religion class, I have followed the efforts to curb this practice. It's interesting to read how it has gotten some attention, but not nearly enough. Kristof and Wudunn also write about sex trafficking, maternal mortality and other gender based violence. But they use individual stories of women who often have survived the crimes committed against them to bring the point home.

The only negative reaction that I had was a question that kept popping up in my head "where are the men in this? Do they not have a responsibility?" And I get that if you educate a woman, you help an entire village, but there was some acknowledgement I didn't get from the book. However, when I checked their website (to confirm the spelling of Sherry's last name) I noticed they have a headline "Women aren't the problem. They are the solution. Along with me." Maybe I wasn't the only one.

Little Bee

I've had Little Bee by Chris Cleave on my "to read" list for a while - I think it was recommended from someone at Malaprop's (a fabulous bookstore in Asheville). It finally came out in paperback a few weeks ago and I read it in just a few days.

Little Bee, a teenager from a small Nigerian village, comes to Britain to find the couple she met on the beach when she was running from the men who had burned her village. Instead, she arrives on the day of the husband's funeral and continues a series of events that were set in motion on that beach.

Cleave rotates narrators between Little Bee and Sarah which brings more dimension to the story. In the end I was left wondering if we do enough as human beings to help others and where our need for self-preservation is outweighed by the need to help someone in more danger.

The Hour I First Believed

I have read Wally Lamb's previous two novels as well as the short-story collections he edited by the women in his writing workshop at the York Correction Facility, but I was reluctant to read The Hour I First Believed, mostly because it was marketed as dealing with the aftermath of Columbine.

I am reluctant to read stories dealing with recent tragedies (I still haven't read any that deal with 9/11 unless it's extremely cursory mentions), but after a recommendation from a friend (thanks Beth!) I decided to give it a try and am glad I did.

The novel is set in Littleton, CO as well as the fictional Three Rivers, CT and centers around Caelum Quirk and his third life, Maureen. Caelum and Maureen both worked at Columbine but only Maureen was at the school the day pf the shootings and was severely traumatized by what experienced. As Maureen struggles with PTSD and Caelum flounders to help her, they decide to leave CO and return to the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers, CT.

Once you get past the Columbine incident, there is almost a sense of relief to have the tragedy dealt with, but Lamb has much more in store for Caelum and Maureen. The story is told primarily from Caelum's perspective and because of that there are times you loathe him, times you want to smack some sense in him, but in the end I grew to love him. I cried when the book ended. It felt as if I was on the quest to be a better man and make sense of what happened throughout his life with him.

Lamb is a master storyteller and I hope we don't have to wait another seven or eight years for another book.

A Story of a Marriage

You MUST read this....

They have a segment on NPR of this name, and I'm stealing it for the book I just finished. A Story of a Marriage by Adam Sean Greer is amazing.


It is one of the best books I have read in a long time and while I don't want to give too much away, I will say it is full of surprises. It is a wonderful story of Pearlie and Holland Cook shortly after World War II. It chronicles their marriage and is touching in so many ways.

Moloka'i

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert is a terribly heart-wrenching story. At the age of 7, Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy and is sent into quarantine on the island of Moloka'i. She is separated from her family including her father whom she is very close to.

Rachel experiences many loses during her time on the island, each one heart-breaking for its own reasons. Yet she remains strong and steadfast in the belief that she will be "cured" and be able to leave Moloka'i.

While the story is compelling, the writing is weak in some places and over-wrought in others. And toward the end, you start to wonder how much one person can really take and remain positive. Maybe living with leprosy and surrounded by other lepers and death makes one more able to deal with it all, but I didn't want to be immune to it even if only in a novel.

Zookeeper's Wife

I think that the Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman is going to be one of my favorite books for 2008. It is non-fiction, but written much more like fiction.

The story revolves mainly around Jan and Antonina Zabinski who managed the Warsaw Zoo at the start of WWII. Once Warsaw became occupied by the Germans and the zoo animals were removed, they used the zoo to save over 300 people from the Nazis. The code name for their house was the "The House Under the Crazy Star" because of all the characters that passed through.

So, it was a great mix of characters with interesting stories and history of the German occupation of Warsaw.

Unaccustomed Earth

I just finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri and it was another excellent collection of stories by one of my favorite authors. Definitely 5 stars!

I had read some of them before but it was fun to read them as a collection.

Three stories about Hema and Kashuik that were published together in this collection and while I had already read two of them, it was great to read them in order. The third one was new and the ending was kind of crushing. But still worth reading.

Lahiri is at her best in her short stories and while the themes are the same or similar, each has a different spin to make it memorable.

Loving Frank

I finished Loving Frank. It was an interesting and engrossing story, but possibly because it also described the history of Frank Lloyd Wright and was set around the Women's Movement (you know I prefer historical fiction to nonfiction).

What was interesting was that Mamah left her husband and two very young children as well as her sister to pursue this relationship. And while she talks about missing them, there almost seems something unnatural about it. The character, Mamah, seems to use the writings of a swedish feminist and her ideas of following your passion a little too literally.

The ending was shocking because I didn't realize that there was a murder and fire at Taliesin in 1914. But I do want to go visit Taliesin in Wisconsin now.