Last week I finished:
If there's one thing I love to read about, at least in small doses, it's farming. I grew up on a farm, it's in my blood, and every book I read about living on a farm brings me back "home." Jane Smiley has written many wonderful books set on farms including Some Luck, part of a trilogy, and others. A Thousand Acres came out in 1991, won the Pulitzer Prize, and was adapted into a movie staring Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange in 1997. It's an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, in which a king descends into madness after giving away his kingdom to two of his daughters, leaving a third daughter out. In Smiley's book, a prosperous farmer with a thousand acres suddenly decides to give the farm to his two older daughters, Ginny and Rose (and, by connection, their spouses), leaving the younger, Caroline, out of the bequest. Slowly, things start to unravel. Tragedy is right! It all comes to a head after a court case to decide the farm's future. Marriages fail; adultery happens; infighting drives the family apart; there are deaths, suicides, an attempted murder, and a public scene at a church supper; and painful, long-buried abuses come to the surface. I just can't decide about this book. On the one hand, I loved the writing, the phrasing, the characters (even the unlikable characters were good). On the other hand, it was all wrong. The pacing was too quick for the amount of drama. There was too much ugliness and deception, and bitterness. Perhaps the book was written with such a high threshold of chaos and tragedy because it was modeling itself after King Lear. I don't know the play well enough to comment intelligently on that. I do remember seeing the movie when it came out and disliking it, and there's no way I'd see it again after reading the book. I don't need this one to come to life any better than it does in the book. I listened to this on audio, which was perfectly narrated. Do I recommend the book? I'm not sure. If you have a high tolerance for trauma and mayhem, go ahead, if not, try one of Smiley's other wonderful books. My rating: 3.5 stars.
When The Two-Family House came out in 2016, I remember vetting the book, but something made me decide against reading it. Since then, a blogger I respect has raved about the book. And very recently, in fact I think it's still on, it went on sale for Kindle, so I decided I'd take a $2.99 gamble. As is often the case, when I was looking for a new book to start on Kindle, I chose among the last I'd downloaded, and the book sucked me in immediately. It's simply written; it would never win an award for beautiful language or wonderful writing. I don't remember a single description or more than a short scene-setting. But sometimes books like this are great palate cleansers, because another part of the book gets to shine, or you get to engage in a book in a different way. This book is incredibly engaging. It's hard to give the plot without giving away the surprise (though you'll likely have a hunch as to the revelation very early on). It's about two brothers, Abe and Mort, their wives, Rose and Helen, and Mort and Rose's three daughters and Abe and Helen's four boys, who all share a two-family house in Brooklyn. It begins with the two sisters-in-law giving birth to babies on the same night in 1947 during a blizzard that has kept their husbands away. It takes the reader through several decades of the family and the deterioration of the once-close relationship between Helen and Rose. While the characters are sometimes flat, the book is one that is very difficult to put down. The story is told so simply, you want to keep reading. Although this isn't high literature, and I saw the twist coming, I really enjoyed the book. The simple domestic story is reminiscent of Alice McDermott's work like The Ninth Hour and Someone. I recommend this one. If you like domestic fiction, I think you'll like it. My rating: 4 stars.
Carry On, Warrior is a re-read for me. I'd always meant to read the paperback version when it came out, because it had new material. Several years later, I finally got around to it. It was nice to return to it, but in the middle of my re-read, I saw Glennon pop up in an anti-Brett Kavanaugh ad, so I went to her Twitter feed for more information on her stance, and what I found there was so disappointing, I'm not sure I'll ever read another book by her again. While her message used to be love for all, she has changed course, apparently. I wish her well, but I'm over and out regarding the hateful things she's written recently. It's the kind of thing she used to rally her readers against, and I'm heartbroken and disillusioned by her change. So, I don't really feel like reviewing this wonderful book right now. Read the book, not her Twitter feed. My rating: 4 stars.
This week I'll finish:
This one is even better than I anticipated. I'm love, love, loving it.
Last week I abandoned:
By page 70, I decided I couldn't stand another page of Lyndon's bullying or Lady Bird's enabling. Their marriage worked for them, but I had to bail.
My Kindle read:
I bought this on a Kindle sale last week and decided it would be a good one for my current mood. I'm only about 35% in, but it's quite good.
What I started last week:
Yay for books about books! And for pretty decorating book eye candy.
My audiobook:
Book two in the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. It's the perfect thing to listen to in right now--touching, funny, and so well-told. These are especially good on audio.
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