I love listening to Maureen Corrigan on NPR's Fresh Air when she reviews books. She does a wonderful job of describing a book, and I've found some great ones thanks to her. Recently, she discussed the books by Laurie Colwin, an author from the 1970's who I'd never heard of but whose books looked somewhat familiar to me.
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/24/365227833/decades-later-laurie-colwins-books-will-not-let-you-down
Coincidentally, BookBub had one of Colwin's books on sale a few weeks later so I grabbed it for my Kindle. Happy All the Time is a story about two young male long-time friends, Guido and Vincent, who are well educated, urban and a tad nerdy in an age that the word "nerdy" wasn't around. Through the course of the book, they meet and fall in love with two very difficult women, Holly and Misty. Both the women are aloof and distant while the two men are emotional and caring - an interesting twist on the typical stereotypes we usually see in books and in life.
The plot? Pretty nonexistent. They meet, they marry, life goes on. But we know these characters, their relationships and their many quirks. The writing is clean - no flowery stuff here. And even though this was written 30 years ago, it could have been written this year (with the exception of the non-stop smoking and the reference to public telephones). I'd like to try reading one of her books about food which Maureen also refers to and likes. - June
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman
What a story! If only I could tolerate the author's writing! But that story...... just so interesting. Have you ever driven by one of those huge, old mental institutions? There's one up in Traverse City, Michigan, and it is simply haunting. A few years ago, a developer bought it and turned it into condos and restaurants. While it's beautiful, I feel as if the souls of those who lived there might still be hanging around. And I feel guilty sipping wine in the restaurant in the basement level where the patients did their laundry or were given shock treatments or worse. But back to the book.
This is one of those books where we have two separate story lines that eventually merge. The first story is about Izzy, a high school girl who is living with a new foster family because her mother is in prison after killing her father. The second story is about Clara, a young woman who was sent to an insane asylum in the 1930s when her wealthy parents did not approve of her boyfriend. As you can probably guess, the author jumps from one character to the other as we learn about the lives of both of these women. Clara's story is tragic. The institution where she is sent is horrific and the staff cruel and uncaring. Izzy's story reads more like a teenage romance novel where the most popular girl is mean to her and the most popular boy is attracted to her. But despite this, the story continued to be good. But some of the writing just became too overly dramatic. Here's a sample:
About three-quarters through the book in a section about Izzy, the author writes:
"Izzy steeled herself, her stomach clenching. Her lungs felt like they were wavering inside her chest, as if at any second her organs were going to spasm once and shut down forever, leaving her dead on the floor."
In the very next chapter, the author describes Clara's feeling this way:
"Every time the thought crossed her mind that something horrible might have happened to him.... her chest felt hollow and cold, as if her lungs and heart were gone and she would drop dead at any second."
The events described in these two chapters are indeed traumatic, but I found these descriptions to be just over the top. Way too much "dropping dead" and way too much time repeating the same emotional state over and over. Despite it's faults, I continued to read and needed to know how it all turned out. Would you imagine that it ends with a happy fairytale ending? Surprise! It does! A little far-fetched but satisfying in a way too. Recommend with reservations. -June
This is one of those books where we have two separate story lines that eventually merge. The first story is about Izzy, a high school girl who is living with a new foster family because her mother is in prison after killing her father. The second story is about Clara, a young woman who was sent to an insane asylum in the 1930s when her wealthy parents did not approve of her boyfriend. As you can probably guess, the author jumps from one character to the other as we learn about the lives of both of these women. Clara's story is tragic. The institution where she is sent is horrific and the staff cruel and uncaring. Izzy's story reads more like a teenage romance novel where the most popular girl is mean to her and the most popular boy is attracted to her. But despite this, the story continued to be good. But some of the writing just became too overly dramatic. Here's a sample:
About three-quarters through the book in a section about Izzy, the author writes:
"Izzy steeled herself, her stomach clenching. Her lungs felt like they were wavering inside her chest, as if at any second her organs were going to spasm once and shut down forever, leaving her dead on the floor."
In the very next chapter, the author describes Clara's feeling this way:
"Every time the thought crossed her mind that something horrible might have happened to him.... her chest felt hollow and cold, as if her lungs and heart were gone and she would drop dead at any second."
The events described in these two chapters are indeed traumatic, but I found these descriptions to be just over the top. Way too much "dropping dead" and way too much time repeating the same emotional state over and over. Despite it's faults, I continued to read and needed to know how it all turned out. Would you imagine that it ends with a happy fairytale ending? Surprise! It does! A little far-fetched but satisfying in a way too. Recommend with reservations. -June
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