A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

Of all books that I have read by Anita Shreve, this is the one that is my least favorite. While I appreciate Shreve as a writer, this story did not particularly speak to me.

This book begins with a couple who has been invited to climb Mount Kenya by their landlord and his wife with two of their friends. Right away, I was set on edge because of the relationship between these six people. The main character, Margaret, seems unhappy with her husband, her landlord, Arthur, is a bossy rich guy, and his wife, Diana, is a snobby, mean rich woman who is suspicious of Arthur's feelings toward Margaret, and the other couple seems to be in the same class as Arthur and Diana. During the beginning of the book, I kept wondering why the heck Margaret was wasting her time with these people! During the climb up the mountain, thought, tragedy strikes and a life is lost. This impacts Margaret and her husband's relationship, obviously, but causes them to grow apart. This aspect of the story also bothered me a bit. I did not like the way that the two become jealous of each other and start lying back and forth. It was painful to have to read about a couple going through this.

The good parts of the book, though, were when Shreve describes Margaret's work. She is a free lance photographer who is hired by a newspaper that speaks too much of the truth, eventually putting people in danger. Because of Margaret's unique position, she is able to view her surroundings and get to know the people of Africa as she and her husband move from place to place.

I also found it interesting the details that Shreve included in this book. In the interview afterward, Shreve said that she did, in fact, live for a time in Africa, working as a journalist, and also climbed Mount Kenya. When authors write based on experience or research, they are able to include realistic deatils that fill out a story, which allows the reader to see the reality of the story. While this book was not my favorite of Shreve's, I did enjoy these aspects.

Sea Glass by Anita Shreve

Anita Shreve is my new favorite writier...she tells stories very well by creating realistic scenarios, genuine, well developed characters, and interesting twists in her stories.

This book involved several different characters and how they all come together during the beginning of the Great Depression. The main character, Honora, gets married, and she and her husband buy a beach house, which becomes the headquarters to a group who is trying to organize a labor union in a factory. While the story's elements were not the most interesting to me, it is apparent that Shreve puts a lot of time researching information that she includes in her novels, which provides the reader with a rich experience, even if the subject matter is not what attracts them to the book in the first place.

This is the first of Shreve's books that I have read in which she uses symbolism. Honora walks the beach often and picks up sea glass, which she collects and displays in her house. My understanding of the sea glass is that it represents Honor's inner self. This is the one thing that she can have to herself, and she often sits and sorts through the glass, noticing each color and shape, and finding beauty in each one. The other characters react to this hobby as they interact with Honora herself, some appreciating the glass's beauty, and some growing frustrated and annoyed with it. At the end of the book, Honora moves to another house and begins a new life, taking the sea glass with her.

Each of Shreve's stories are uniqe, and her characters are all women to whom I can relate. The experiences they have and how they grow and change as people is what keeps bringing me back to Shreve's books.

Resistance by Anita Shreve

This novel is an interesting story of war, love, and courage. Claire Daussois is the wife of a resistance worker in Balgium. When an American plane crashes in her village, she and her husband take in the wounded pilot. Claire and the pilot end up falling in love and having an affair, but as this story takes place during World War II, of course their love is doomed.

What I love most about Shreve's novels is the level of excitement. Her books begin with amazing action and the story keeps building until the end, when she finished with a surprising twist. This story is no exception. While the love story is passionate and emotional, the realistic representation of the time period and the details that Shreve includes sets the tone of the story perfectly and transports the reader into the time of Nazi-occupied Europe.

Another great thing about this novel is the fact that Shreve switches perspectives between different characters so that we are able to understand all sides of the story. At no time is this confusing, since Shreve is quite clear through her developed characters and the flow of the story itself.

By the end of the story, we are sympathetic to the characters and their struggles, and while the ending may not be a fairy tale type ending, it makes sense, and Shreve wraps the story up perfectly.

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens

This is the story of a woman named Mary Gooch. As the story opens, Mary is waiting for her husband to return home. When he doesn't return, she ends up going in search of him. Eventually, she receives a letter telling her that he has left, but has won a lottery and shared his winnings with her, providing her with money in their bank account. This allows Mary to go in search of him, and eventually she finds peace within herself.

The story itself is a simple one, but the way that Lansens creates her characters is really amazing. As a reader, I was dissapointed with Mary at first. Lansens spends a lot of time describing how overweight Mary is at first, and it wasn't until she overcomes her eating disorder that I realized that there was a reason that Lansens described her in such detail: she has a problem that she is aware of, but she seems powerless against it. It was interesting to watch how Mary develops as a character and overcomes her addiction to food.

Lansens is a wonderful author who has the ability to allow her stories to develop naturally. Mary's journey seems realistic and ending leaves you satisfied. While this is not my favorite of Lansesn's books, I did enjoy it.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

I had never heard of Anita Shreve before, but when I told my mother I was reading this book, she immediately gave me another of Shreve's books to read. It turns out that she is a wonderful novelist! 

My husband, Jonah, picked this book up at Goodwill while he was looking for fishing books; he thought it would be a good one to add to my classroom library. Wow, was he right!

This book is about a twelve year-old girl and her father who, during a walk on their twenty acres of woods behind their secluded New Hampshire home, find a baby who has been left in the snow, wrapped in a sleeping bag. The idea sounded pretty interesting to me, but the way that the story develops is intense. The reader learns early in the novel that the main character herself has lost important family members, and the baby that she and her father find cause their relationship and the way they have been dealing with their loss to change drastically.

I was a bit concerned about reading a story told from a twelve-year-old's perspective (since I am thirty-two and find it hard to read young adult literature at times), but there is something about they way that Shreve writes that is so authentic yet mature that allowed be to connect immediately to the main character. She is so believable and realistic, and the story was such a good one that kept developing in layers that I did not want to put the book down until I finished it. I had been looking for a book like this for a while, and I'm so glad that my husband found it for me!

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver has been one of my favorite authors since I read Animal Dreams years ago. I love her writing style and how she uses words, and this novel was no exception. (I actually used two quotes from this book to teach similes in my World Literature class.)

This book is about a young woman, Dellarobia, who has two children and is married to a man that she doesn't really love. On a walk in the woods, she discovers a huge group of monarch butterflies, and she begins a journey of self-discovery. She ends up working with the scientists who come to town once the word gets out about the butterflies. Through this experience, she grows as a person, and her relationship with her husband beings to change.

What I appreciate most about Kingsolver's writing is her ability to use words to make the readers' experience a truly beautiful one. The first time the reader is introduced to the butterflies that Dellarobia sees in the forrest is a great example of Kingsolver's descriptive writing: "The forest blazed with its own internal flame...The flame now appeared to lift from individual treetops in showers of orange sparks, exploding the way a pine log does in a campfire when it's poked. The sparks spiraled upward in swirls like funnel clouds. Twisters of brightness against gray sky...From the tops of the funnels the sparks lifted high and sailed out undirected above the dark forest" (14).

I was very interested to learn that Kingsolver studied biology and was a scientist before she began to write. This aspect of her life tends to come out in her writing. For instance, her main character in Animal Dreams teaches high school science, and her character in this book becomes fascinated with working with and learning about butterflies. While she is a very descriptive writer, she also includes scientific aspects and details in her novels, making her writing realistic and informative while telling a good story at the same time.

If you haven't read any of Kingsolver's novels, you should. She is an amazing writer!

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

I have always loved Steve Martin as an actor, but when I read his book, Shop Girl, a few years ago, I realized that I loved him as a writer as well. While Shop Girl was more about the story of the mian character and her developments, this novel is about not only the main character, but the art industry as well.

What I appreciate most about this book was Matin's ability to weave an interesting story into information about the business of art. As an art major, I have always had a great appreciation for art, but this book opened my eyes to the business side of art, which is something I never really thought about before. The images included in the book are pictures I have never seen before, so it was cool to read about the artists I have known about forever but the paintings of theirs I had never seen. One image is by Andy Warhol, a pop artists with an very unique style. Well known for his images of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's soup lables, the image that Martin chose to include is a simple one of flowers. The images go along with the story, and so being able to see the actual pieces that the characters are seeing made me, as a reader, feel more part of the story.

The story itself is of Lacey Yeager, a woman who is beautiful and motivated, and her experience working in New York City during the 1990s through present time. Martin writes about women very well, and his knowledge about the art world during this time very intersting to read about. While most of Martin's work is an actor is comdic, this book, while it does have some funny lines, is more about the art industry, Lacey's realationships with people, and her journey to owning and operating her own gallery. Comedic, this story is not, but I enjoy seeing Martin as a story teller, since he does it so well.

The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien

This is the second book in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The first book really peaked my interest and was very interesting. This book was a bit dryer, and I actually had a hard time getting into the story and connecting to the characters like I did in the first one.

This book continues the story of Frodo and his journey with Sam to take the ring to Mordor to destroy it. Along the way, they meet up with Gollum, a being who was once in possession and is still under the spell of the ring. He refers to the ring as his "precious" and its power over him is apparent in his conversations with himself. He has a split personality; one personality is his former being before he found the ring, Smeagol, and the other, Gollum, the creature he became once the ring had exerted its power over him. I feel very sorry for this creature, since he represents the power of the ring itself. His character contrasts with Frodo's, representing how weaker people will give into the power of the ring, and stronger people will continue to fight against it. This book presents Frodo's character as that hero who doesn't realize that he's a hero, and that is exactly why he is the only peoson who can complete the task of ridding the world of the ring's evil for good. Sam, then, is the faithful, honorable, simple friend who will stop at nothing to serve his master. He shows bravery in his unending committment to Frodo, suffering with him through a horrible journey of pain and hardship, not leaving Frodo's side for anything.

The parts of this book that were challening for me were the parts dealing with the larger fight at hand: the gathering of good forces against the evil ones. Gandolf, the "good wizard" has to travel around convincing people to fight against the evil forces that are changing the world around them. Unfortunately, it takes a while to gather these foreces, and as a reader, I began to lose interest in the story iteslf. While I was interested in Frodo and Sam's journey, I was not so interested in the other parts of the book.

Most series books lose my interest, but I can say that I am excited to continue the series with the third book. While a good part of the second book failed to capture my immediate interest, I can tell that once I decide to reread the series, I will get more out of the second book than I did the first read through. I can tell that this series is one that I will read and reread again and again.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

I’ve never read anything like The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.  The plotline was simple – told chronologically – but the characters and their amazing-but-human flaws are what make this such an intriguing read.  In her debut novel, Mathis brilliantly illuminates the toughest situations anyone could experience, chapter by chapter, character by character. 

The first chapter is unforgettable.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been as moved by the opening chapter in a novel before.  Hattie, the title character, finds herself (at age seventeen) in a new city, newly married, newly motherless, and a new mom – of sick twins.  With little money and absolutely no friends, Hattie is forced to take desperate measures to save her babies.  In this chapter Hattie is so likable, because I can identify with her situation—I too have had sick babies.  But the outcome of the chapter changes Hattie.  She turns into a different person.  And as a reader, I didn’t like her anymore.  Chapter two, which takes place about twenty years later, tells the story of Floyd, one of Hattie’s many children.  Chapter three was about Six, another son.  And the novel carried on in this structure—a different chapter narrated by a different child of Hattie’s.  But all the while, Hattie remains the main character, as she has played an important role in each of her children’s lives. 

Although I was much more engaged in some chapters more than others, I found myself completely in awe of the author’s craft.  Not only was the structure amazing (I often wondered if each chapter could stand alone as a short story) but the language the author pieced together was almost poetic.  I highlighted several similes, metaphors, parallel structure, personification, and imagery to share with my students.  I do think the author intended to make some kind of statement about race, religion, and relationships in this novel.  I like how she has woven those themes into her text.

I don’t think this critique could be complete if I failed to mention the other texts that I could see in Twelve Tribes.  I could clearly see that Mathis was a hardcore reader.  She obviously was a Toni Morrison fan, but I caught glimpses of Angela’s Ashes, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Color Purple, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in this novel.  Hattie struggled with poverty, racism, an unfaithful husband, mental health issues, loss, and many, many children—a tribe, in fact.  I’m not sure if I would call the ending happy or unhappy, but it certainly is deep. 

#readitinaweekend

 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

             I’ve been scared of this book since it arrived on my shelf.  I bought it.  I knew what it was about.  But I couldn’t bring myself to read it.  I also was very hesitant to let my students read it.  It has been nagging at me for a while, so I had to read it.  And I do not regret it.

            Thirteen Reasons Why is a fictional story about a series of tragic events that happened to Hannah Baker and many of her acquaintances.  The structure of the story is one I have not encountered before – and I think it is brilliant.  Written in an italic font, is the narration of Hannah Baker, in the form of her speaking into cassette tapes, retelling her story.  In a normal font, the reader follows the thoughts of Clay Jensen as he listens to Hannah’s tapes.

            I don’t think I’d be giving anything away by revealing that Hannah Baker committed suicide; that information is on the back cover of the book, and then more specifically on page seven.  But the mystery that makes this book a real page turner is the fact that Hannah has narrated her story onto seven tapes, thirteen of the fourteen sides, each side centered around a person who had something to do with Hannah’s big decision – her thirteen reasons why.  Clay cannot believe it when he starts listening to the tapes.  And he definitely is worried about how he has played a part in Hannah ending her life.  Because the truth is, Clay was in love with Hannah.  But I’m not going in to that story. . .

            As a teacher, nothing is scarier to me than my students thinking about suicide, so the thought of having this novel on my classroom bookshelf really freaks me out, but after reading it, I think any student with any kind of intellect will see the LESSONS that can be learned from this novel.  For example, gossiping can be tragic.  Drinking can be tragic.  Not telling someone exactly how you feel can be tragic.  Not sticking up for an innocent victim can be tragic – for you and for that person.  Oh, there are so many lessons to take from this novel, so I will bring it back to my classroom and put it back on the shelf. 

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

            Usually readers consider taking a break after completing a 600+ page novel, but I literally finished The Girl Who Played with Fire and started The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest within seconds of each other.  First of all I had to find out if Salander was going to live (which I figured she would – this was, after all, supposed to be a series of ten novels, had the author not suffered a fatal heart attack after writing just three).  Secondly, I was interested to see if this third book would actually have a conclusion, or if it would leave the reader hanging as much as the first two.  I was not disappointed.

            So this novel was focused around Salander and her “spy” father, whom she hacked up with an axe in self-defense in the second novel.  After recovering from brain surgery (because her father shot her and buried her alive) Salander is in the hospital only yards away from where her father is recovering also.  One night he tries to limp down to her room and end it for good, but he is unsuccessful.  It turns out that he doesn’t get another opportunity. 

            A majority of this novel is hard for me to follow, not knowing the government organizations of Sweden, but I believe it to be very similar to what we would consider a CIA story.  (Again, this series reminds me of the Jason Bourne series with a Law and Order twist.)  There were many new characters in this novel, but a lot of the regulars, including Michael Blomkvist and Berger, play major roles.  Basically the plot revolves around Salander’s court case and the crew of characters who work behind the scenes to make sure she is proven innocent and declared competent.  Many characters are put in harms way and there are many intense, suspenseful scenes, but overall I was pleased with the outcome and the series. 

            This was a very challenging read: many characters to keep track of, many Swedish words that I was (and still am) unfamiliar with, and FULL of new information from start to finish.  But I encourage strong readers to give it a try (and mature readers, due to graphic language, violence, and sexual scenes). 

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

First let me say that I cannot believe that it has taken me 31 years to begin this series! (When my husband, Jonah, found out I had not read these books, he told me that if I read this series, then he would read The Harry Potter series...we'll see if that works out for us.)

This book is so amazing! I suppose that fantasy is one of my favorite genres because of the unique story lines, and this book is no exception. Tolkien is a master at weaving a story and its characters together. Even though I have seen the movies, I am still able to remove myself from Peter Jackson's interpretation of the characters so that I can imagine them in my head as my own.

I also enjoy the simplicity of Tolkien's story. Basically, there is a group of characters who set out on a journey together, and they encounter hardships along the way. Even though that may sound like a very simple story for a 400+ page book, the different challenges and characters that the group meets along the way keep the story interesting. I also enjoy the character development that goes along with the story: the main character, Frodo, presents all the internal struggles that a true hero experiences. I adore Sam, and how he is the perfect representation of faithful friend. Then, of course, there is Strider, the dark and mysterious ranger.

This book is a true fantasy: I have just to pick it up and open to a page to be pulled right into the world that Tolkien has created within these pages.While I was a little wary of beginning a series (usually I lose interest after the first book), I cannot wait to begin the second book!

Victory by Daniel Alexander

When I started the Writing Club here at Olivet High School, one of my students, Daniel Alexander, decided to join up. It was obvious from the start that Daniel loves writing; he was involved in "November Novel Writing Month," which encourages people to write a novel during the month of November. We have been reading Daniel's novel in chapters during our weekly meetings, but he asked me to read the novel as a whole and to give him some feedback that he could use right away during his revisions.

I am always so happy to see how passionate my students are about writing in general. I am a natural lover of literature, but there is something about seeing young people who are so excited about their own ideas that makes my day. Daniel is one of those young people who I love discussing writing with, and it is a joy to read his writing (he has shared short stories and poems in our club as well).

Daniel's novel, Victory, is a story about a young man, Connor, who discovers he has super powers. Conner lives in a future in which super heros are almost common place; they work together with the government and police force to help protect "normal" humans. Of course, there are bad guys as well, and all of the super villians and super heros have their unique powers and names. What makes this story interesting is that it is told through Connor's eyes, as he develops these powers. Connor is, in the beginning, a "normal" college student who shares a dorm room with his friend, Drake, falls in love with a girl, Rachel, and attends classes taught by an eccentric professor, all while trying to get to know and understand who he is becoming. The novel takes a very interesting twist when tragedy (inevidibly) strikes, and Connor's character is forced to make changes and develop into something the reader might not expect...

I spoke with Daniel when I finished the novel, and I hope I was able to give him some advice as a reader. I appreciate his writing style and creativity--he has such a unique and interesting voice, and he should keep writing and developing it. The story was interesting and action packed, while at the same time commenting on universal themes like love and friendship. While I felt that the change in Connor's character needed to be developed more throughout the novel, Daniel did an excellent job of creating a story from beginning to end. This was an entertaining read with lots of interesting pieces that show the author's style and passion for writing.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

          I choose to read this novel because it was set in the winter of 1907 in northern Wisconsin, a climate similar to Michigan.  I also consider myself a “reliable wife” and was interested to see the similarities between myself and another woman who would have been my peer one hundred years ago.  But I was mistaken about the plot of this novel.  Catherine Land turned out to be a fairly “unreliable” wife and quite dishonest, but I still read this 320 page novel in less than a day, so it definitely kept my interest.

            The book is written in three parts.  Part one begins with the extremely wealthy middle aged (widowed and children less) Ralph Truitt.  He feels judged by the entire town, but the author doesn’t tell us why Ralph is so self-conscious in the beginning. In chapter two, we learn that Ralph has placed a classified ad seeking a wife.  It is Catherine Land who has committed to marrying Ralph, a man she has not met, who lives in the rough terrain of northern Wisconsin, a climate she has never experienced coming from St. Louis.  But the happy couple doesn’t hit it off.  Catherine gets off the train, gets into Ralph’s carriage, and halfway to his home the horses get spooked by a deer and go crazy.  Ralph is thrown from the carriage and nearly killed.  Catherine is forced to learn her new role as wife in a strange place while her husband is unconscious.  She explores his beautiful home and chats with his servants, but meanwhile she treasures a small vile of poison that she keeps hidden in her room.  It is implied that she will be poisoning her husband.  If she wanted him dead though, why did she volunteer to sew up his head?  What was the purpose of answering his ad if she just wanted out of the relationship from the start?  Well, he is wealthy.

            In part two, it becomes clear that Catherine is not the pure “missionary’s daughter” that she claimed to be.  She actually experienced quite the opposite.  And she had a lover back in St. Louis whom she promised to come back to—with money!  I don’t think I can any further in this book review without being a spoiler.  You’ll have to read it yourself to see how it plays out between Ralph and Catherine.

            A note about author’s craft: I find Robert Goolrick to have a wonderful vocabulary, include beautiful similes, and very detailed imagery.  But I had a major problem with nearly every single page in the novel.  Hardly ever would Goolrick start a sentence with anything but a pronoun.  So if he was talking about Ralph, fifteen sentences in a row would start with “HE”.  If he was narrating about Catherine, nearly every sentence on the page would start with “SHE”.  As a writing teacher I was dying inside, screaming “Vary your sentence beginnings!” As a “sentence stalker” I am always on the lookout for sentences that I can use as models in the classroom, for example, sentences containing participles.  I did not gain many sentences to use as models from this novel, but I did thoroughly enjoy the plot and all of its twists.   

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

          In the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tatto, Swedish posthumous author, Stieg Larsson, focusses more of this plot on the talented and mysterious Lisbeth Salander.  In his first novel, Lisbeth played a supporting role to journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, but in The Girl Who Played with Fire audiences are given insight into Salander’s messed up life. 

            I was more easily hooked from the beginning of this novel, unlike the first in the series, because I was already familiar with many of the characters.  I was always left wanting more information about the introverted genius Salander in the first novel, and this sequel catered right to my curiosities.  After the creepy prologue, readers learn that Salander made out pretty well at the end of the first book, and is now able to do some traveling throughout Europe and the Caribbean.  When she finally returns to Sweden, she realizes that she has ruined any chance at a friendship with the two almost-friends she had: Blomkvist and an on-again, off-again lover.  Salander continues to live in hiding, although she does upgrade to a better apartment.  But it isn’t until she is accused of murder, a triple-murder in fact, that she has to put her hacker genius to work—this time to save her own life. 

            Although Salander ignores Blomkvist’s attempts to rekindle their friendship/romance, he still works behind the scenes, with the police investigation, with the media, and he even puts himself in harms-way several times in order to prove Salander’s innocence. 

            I found this novel much more “page-turning” than the first, because unlike Harriet Vanger, I had a much more loyal interest in Salander’s situation because I had grown to know her as a leading character.  The more readers learn about her dysfunctional childhood, the more they support her innocence (even though the author keeps us in suspense about Salander’s involvements in the murders until the very end).  And what a good ending it was!

            When I finished this 752 page novel, I did not take a break, get a snack, use the bathroom, take a nap, etc.  I immediately downloaded the third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, and began reading.  Look for this review soon!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (a book club book)

          Although I struggled to get into this novel for the first several chapters, I’m glad I was persistent – it paid off.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a very complex, suspenseful, intellectual novel.  The author was obviously a very well-rounded individual, as every aspect of this novel – from computer programs to security equipment to forensics – was very detailed in nature.  There are at least twenty main characters, and dozens of suspects to the unsolved murder, the conflict of the plot.  I was almost convinced that I needed a graphic organizer to keep track of it all. 

            The novel starts with Old Man Vanger, a wealthy business owner, who receives a framed pressed flower, marking the anniversary of the disappearance of his then teenage niece, Harriet, and the flower was most likely a sick, taunting symbol from the killer.  From this moment on, the disappearance of Harriet captivates the reader with the infinite possibilities linked with this mystery.

            Old Man Vanger hires a troubled journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (and eventually his research assistant, Lisbeth Salander) to give the disappearance one last investigation.  He needs to know the truth about Harriet before he dies.  He has lived his life wondering what happened to the sweet girl and doesn’t want to die without knowing.  Blomkvist has no option but to accept Vanger’s challenge. 

            In a “Law and Order: SVU” and “Jason Bourne” kind of hybrid story that contains rape, murder, and violence (with a hint of religion), Blomkvist and Salander work side by side to uncover the truth buried forty years ago.  With the truth, Vanger gets what he wanted, Blomkvist gets his life back in order, and Salander is one step closer to freedom. 

            Although I highly recommend this novel to intellectual, competent readers, I do so with caution, as this book is rated “R”.  Due to graphic language, sex, and violence, I would urge only mature audiences to tackle this one. 

 

Other "book club" readers, please feel free to comment!

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

            Because I teach and absolutely love The Great Gatsby, I thought it would be appropriate to read some other F. Scott Fitzgerald literature.  I chose to read Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise, thinking it would have a similar complicated plot twist that chapter seven provides in The Great Gatsby; I may have been dozing through this novel, because I never came across that fantastic chapter where all the pieces of the puzzle come together.  Instead of an amazingly quick moving plot (with many twists), this novel was slow moving, and I’m ashamed to say it, quite boring. 

            The main character, Amory Blaine, is a spoiled rich boy, who never had to work very hard for anything (perhaps my dislike for the main character tainted my opinion of the novel).  He was born rich, considered himself superior to even his childhood friends, embarrassed girls who were saving themselves for marriage, and went off to Princeton to study literature (ok, so there is one thing I approve of in the narcissistic Amory).  He serves in the war (WWI) briefly, and tries time after time to actually go to class instead of slumming around with a hangover all day, and he desperately seeks a romantic relationship with the lovely Rosalind.  But she marries a wealthier man and Amory is left to his alcohol (perhaps a similarity to Gatsby here). 

            I have read many, many bildungsroman novels that detail the “coming-of-age” of a young person into a functioning adult.  I understand and appreciate the genre: mature and grow, mature and grow.  But I don’t understand why I can’t appreciate this piece of literature.  Maybe I am more accustomed to Holden Caulfield or Huckleberry Finn, kids who have a little sense of humor, or Celie Harris or Janie Crawford or Esther Greenwood, who have their romantic/morality struggles with the men in their lives, but Amory, oh boy, I cannot relate to Amory.  He doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes, he treats people horribly, and he throws his money away without even flinching. 

            I do happen to know that Fitzgerald wrote a bit autobiographically, and I wonder how much of this story is his confession of his wasted childhood.  Similarly to Gatsby’s story, Amory loses his woman because he isn’t wealthy enough, he drinks way too much, and he partied very hard.  Although I have little appreciation for this text, I can now draw conclusions between these two Fitzgerald works and his wonderful ability to chronicle the time period. 

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah

          I started this school year reading the beautifully poetic and heart-wrenching Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.  Since then, I have been searching for another text to affect me in a similar way.  Naturally, my first instinct was to read another novel by this author.  Mrs. Allan put Comfort and Joy into my hands.  I was eager to begin.

            It was clear to me that Comfort and Joy was nothing in comparison to Winter Garden.  In fact, it felt a bit cheesy.  I rarely abandon books because of poor plot, but I almost abandoned this one.  I felt like I was watching the worse movie on Lifetime that was ever produced.  And although this Hannah novel doesn’t hold a candle to my first experience with the author, I am glad I finished it. 

            Ok, the cheesy Lifetime stuff first: Joy (get it? “Joy”/Comfort and Joy) walks in on her husband with another woman…who happens to be her sister Stacey! Can you believe it?  Oh, and guess what?  Stacey is pregnant!  (Puke!)  So, of course, Joy is sad, so so sad, and she impulsively drives to the airport, buys a ticket, and gets on a plane.  She is going to leave her terrible life behind.  And then the plane crashes! Can you believe her luck? 

            Joy wakes up from her plane crash in agonizing pain, bleeding, broken, and confused.  But amazingly, she walks away from the crash scene and the first responders.  She walks and walks until she comes to a bed and breakfast, where she meets a young boy Bobby, and his widowed father, Daniel.  You guessed it.  Joy attempts to make a new life for herself here, in a cabin in the woods, with two males she hardly knows.  She takes over the role of Bobby’s mom, recently deceased, and Daniel’s new flame.  It gets so super corny that I could hardly stand it, and then there’s part two…

            I won’t go into Joy’s confusion in part two because that would be a spoiler, but I can say that it gets less cheesy and more believable than a daytime soap opera. 

            While in my obsessed “need to read another novel that was as good as Winter Garden” phase, I purchased another Kristin Hannah novel: True Colors.  Hopefully this novel is less corny and more poetic and plot-filled.  I haven’t given up on this author that I once was so envious of.