Midwives

After The Lovely Bones I moved on to Midwives by Chris Bohjalian which was lent to me by Amy. This may actually be the first time that I’ve read an official Oprah’s Book Club selection. I’m not saying that there’s anything the matter with it, but it’s interesting to me. In any case, it was good, not great, but a solidly good and interesting novel.

Midwives is the story of Sibyl Danforth, a midwife who is charged with murder after one of her patients dies in childbirth. It’s told through the eyes of Connie, Sibyl’s now adult daughter, as she looks back at the trial and the events leading up to it and tries to make sense of what happened.

There’s not a tremendous amount to analyze about the story. Like I said it was interesting and solidly written. Whether Sibyl should be held responsible for Charlotte’s death is an interesting question, the evidence is put forth slowly throughout the book giving the reader time to decide. I didn’t and still don’t know a tremendous amount about midwifery and enjoyed getting a peek into the world of women who deliver children at home. I thought that all of the characters were well fleshed out, especially Connie, the bewildered teenager, first watching her family fall apart around her and later performing a very daring act to try and protect her mother.

Spoilers Follow

I can’t claim to be any kind of expert on the subject of childbirth, but it did seem to me that Sibyl’s actions were justified. Even though it does appear that Charlotte was likely still alive when the c-section was performed it seems that it came to a choice between saving the child and letting them both die. I felt that ultimately Sibyl was stuck in a series of very unfortunate circumstances.

I have to say I was truly surprised when Sibyl was acquitted, as I’m sure I was supposed to be considering all the buildup leading me towards the opposite conclusion. The device of having Sibyl’s journal entries scattered throughout the story worked very well and the very last one had the appropriate impact and shock value.

Before finishing this I checked an archive of Oprah’s book club selections and found that I’m wrong. To date I have read 4 other book club books: The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard, Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, As I Lay Dying by William Falkner, and White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Again, this is not to say that there is anything inherently wrong with Oprah’s book club, I just found it interesting.

Smilin' Des

Yay More Whales!

Beluga Whale at SeaWorld

The Lovely Bones

While I was on vacation I borrowed The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold from Mom. I was intrigued by the book when it came out and even more interested after reading Sebold’s other book Lucky last year. Mom endorsed The Lovely Bones and I borrowed Lucky from Jenny who had borrowed it from Amy.

The Lovely Bones is about a young woman named Susie Salmon. After Susie is raped and murdered she watches her family and friends from heaven as they grieve and attempt to move on. Her father and sister attempt to catch her killer, her mother withdraws, and her brother is too young to understand what has happened.

For the most part I really enjoyed the story. It’s an intense character study that examines the nature and effects of grief. There’s no mystery, we know who killed Susie, but there is still suspense in wondering whether Mr. Harvey will get caught. I loved how realistically each of the family members was drawn. It was amazing watching each of them react to their loss in different ways. Sebold does a wonderful job of painting each person as a three dimensional character, including Mr. Harvey, he is not simply a monster, but a damaged man who I almost, but not quite, felt sorry for.

Spoiler Warning

The only thing that I did not like about the book was towards the end when Susie possesses the body of her friend Ruth and has sex with her childhood sweetheart. I felt like it didn’t fit well with the rest of the story. The lack of sentimentality is one of the major strengths of the book and this scene was awfully trite. That said, I thought the remainder of the book’s conclusion was perfect. Having Susie “kill” Mr. Harvey with an icicle was an excellent way to close his story. It shows a lot of restraint to allow him to disappear and not tie the loose ends too neatly. It was enough for Mr. Salmon to know that he was right.

The Lovely Bones is yet another book that is being made into a movie and interestingly enough Saoirse Ronan, who is playing Lina in City of Ember, is attached to play Susie. There’s a pretty impressive cast attached to the film including Susan Sarandon, Ryan Gosling, Rachel Weisz, and Stanley Tucci. However, what really make me excited is that Peter Jackson is directing. I trust him to do a good job and not turn this well written character study into a Lifetime movie.

I mentioned earlier that reading Sebold’s memoir Lucky is what made me interested in The Lovely Bones. Lucky details the story of her rape and the aftermath as she attempts to recover and move on. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but it was incredibly moving and beautifully written. However, I have to warn anyone thinking about picking it up that the first chapter is very graphic and disturbing. I don’t want to talk anyone out or reading it because I thought it was amazing, but the reason that Jenny gave it to me to read is that she couldn’t make it past the first couple of pages.

Anyway, I don’t think that it’s necessary to read both, but I do think that they certainly inform each other. I always enjoy reading about writer’s lives to see where real life and fiction overlap. For example reading My Losing Season by Pat Conroy was fascinating since he writes so much from his own experiences. I saw characters in many of the real life people he described and it was interesting to see the real events that are mirrored in his books. Also I’ve mentioned before that I like to read about the writer’s process.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

No, I haven't read it yet, but seeing Jenny's comment with the number of books on the list that she's read made me wonder what other people's numbers are. As far as I know Jenny, Stephen, Clay (when I remind him to), and Mom are the only people who read this with any regularity, but I'd still like to know. If anyone has figured out how many of the 1001 he or she has read please leave a comment and share. Maybe you can all make me feel sad and inadequate as Jenny did.

Not A Sunset

Corona Del Mar

Yet Another Sunset

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the Circle Line (again)

Everything Is Illuminated

After I finished reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close I decided that I needed to read Jonathan Safran Foer’s first book Everything is Illuminated. For once no one suggested the book; I managed to pick it out all on my own.

Everything Is Illuminated is another about a young man, also named Jonathan Safran Foer, who travels to the Ukraine to look for the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He’s accompanied in his journey by two people Alex, his translator and Alex’s grandfather, who is also named Alex, his driver. That’s the simple version of the story. It is told through the letters Alex writes to Jonathan, Alex’s version of the journey, and Jonathan’s story of his grandfather’s history.

Alex’s letters and chapters are very amusing and his imperfect English is convincing. I enjoyed his evolution over the course of the book. I was less thrilled with Jonathan’s chapters. The story of Trachimbrod was both funny and tragic, but it was also odd and occasionally difficult to follow. I know it was purposefully surreal, but sometimes it was gratuitously so.

In general I liked the book, but it didn’t come close to the brilliance of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I felt like this was Foer’s warm up novel where he worked out the kinks in his technique. Both books have similar themes and a similar style, but I think Foer’s second attempt is more effective. I’m interested in checking out the movie if only because I can’t imagine how it could work.

On a different but related topic, I recently read about a book called 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Boxall on LibraryThing. I don’t know that I’ll strive to read them all, but I think the book sound interesting and it could be a good way to find new books to read. Someone on the site has created a handy spreadsheet to check off the books you’ve read and has equations that indicate what percentage that is and how many of them you’d have to read a year to read them all before you die. In case anyone is curious, I’ve read 46 of the books, which is 4.6% and I would have to read an average of 18 a year to read them all before I die. That’s just a bit morbid, isn’t it?

Lists like this must be taken for what they are, someone’s opinion, but I enjoy reading them anyway. I’m interested in looking at the book to see the reasoning behind putting some books on the list. For example, I'm surprised that The Shining is included, but not The Stand, which I think is far superior, not only as far as King’s novels, but also as a book in general. Of course I also would place Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on the list instead of Everything is Illuminated. Anyway, I’m interested in learning more about the books that I’ve never heard of and I’m always looking for something new to read.

The Most Adorable Ever!

George showing off her supreme cuteness.

Just A Penguin

Just a penguin at SeaWorld

Equal Time For My Babies

George is wondering why Mama is lying on the floor.

For She is the Queen of the World

When I was a kid I had a hamster named Possum who looked strikingly similar to this cat toy. I love it, but no matter how hard I tried I could not make Desie interested in it. In desperation I put it on her head hoping to annoy her into playing, but instead she took it in stride and modeled her new hat like the pro that she is.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

After finishing the His Dark Materials books I asked Clay to recommend a book for me to read. It took a lot of work to get him to suggest something, but he finally gave me a book that his friend Drew had recommended to him and that he hasn’t gotten around to reading. I’m amazed at his ability to dodge the request. The book was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and I absolutely loved it.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is about a nine year old boy named Oskar whose father died on 9/11. When looking through his father’s closet he finds an envelope with the word Black written on the outside and a key in it that does not fit any of the locks in his apartment. So he decides to visit every person with the last name Black in New York City and see if any of them know anything about it. Woven through Oskar’s story is the story of his grandparents who both survived the bombing of Dresden during WWII.

Oskar is an amazing character; an eccentric nine year old boy who only dresses in white and is a vegan, Stephen Hawking enthusiast, photographer, and inventor among many other things. All of that is balanced with a little boy who is carrying around a lot of pain and guilt about his father’s death. I loved his chapters and the variety of people he met on his quest to find the lock that goes with his key. Foer did a wonderful job of creating the sort of child who has trouble relating to people his own age, but can easily interact with adults.

Spoilers

The chapters in which Oskar’s grandparents describe their lives and relationship are fascinating. His grandfather is mute and communicates by writing and using the Yes and No that he has tattooed on his palms. His chapters are the letters he wrote to the son he never met because he left his wife soon after learning that she was pregnant. The grandmother’s chapters are addressed to Oskar, attempting to explain why she has left. Each section was a portrait of an emotionally damaged person and shows how the baggage from their pasts has dominated and destroyed their relationship.

The peripheral characters were all well drawn and fleshed out. I enjoyed Oskar’s interaction with each and how he seemed to be able to draw each one out and connect with them. I was thrilled when some of them showed up to see him in Hamlet, which made his relationship with the Blacks that he met very real. If he can affect people on that level it doesn’t seem wrong that Mr. Black was willing to join in the search and that the other people he met confided in him as much as they did.

The story is interspersed with photographs and good use is made of color and the placement of words on the page. It has a very livre d’ariste feel that I thought was really cool. The pictures used are beautiful and work well within the story. The close up of an elephant’s eye is truly haunting. The chapter in which the grandfather reveals what happened to him during the bombing is corrected in red ink which is an interesting way to create a detached atmosphere for the story. Still it doesn’t remove the power of learning just how much he has lost in his life.

This is the first book that I have read that deals with September 11 and I was impressed with how well it was used. The book never becomes overly sentimental. Oskar’s attempts to make sense of his father’s death work well as a representation of the country’s collective attempt to come to terms with our loss. I loved that when Oskar finally found out what the key was for it was not the answer and could not explain his father’s death. There is no easy answer, but by the end of the book I felt that he and his mother had at least started a dialog and he will be okay eventually.

I’m not so sure about the end of the grandparent’s story. They certainly turned a similar corner with each admitting that they each knew about Anna’s pregnancy, but I don’t know what I think about leaving them at the airport. Will they stay there? Won’t they eventually need to go home? I suppose if Ruth Black can live on top of the Empire State Building they can live in the airport. It is certainly good for Oskar to have his grandmother’s dependence on him at least lessened.

As I said at the beginning, I loved this book. I had a strong emotional connection with the story. This is now the second book in a row that I have had to put down to keep from bursting into tears on the subway. I think it’s time to try a happy book.

Another Tourist Classic

Bethesda Fountain

I Still Love Sunset Pictures

Leaving Ellis Island on the Circle Line

Like Gatlinburg, but on the West Coast

Jenny on Catalina looking all modelesque and pretending she doesn't know that I'm taking her picture

The Former View From My Window

The church across from my apartment has been covered in scaffolding since last spring. This picture makes me really miss my view.

His Dark Materials

I spent a bit of time today and yesterday reading over reviews and comments about the books because it’s always interesting to see what other people think about books. It’s one of those wonderful conveniences brought to us by the internet. I was just saying to Clay this weekend that while I certainly remember the time before the internet and did not have regular access to it until I went to college, I still have to wonder sometimes what people did before. I often finish reading a book or watching a movie and immediately go online to read more about it.

Anyway, I wanted to see what other people thought of the His Dark Materials books, particularly The Amber Spyglass so I spent some time on LibraryThing, Amazon, and a His Dark Materials message board. The opinions varied wildly, which I expected, The Amber Spyglass is a very love it or hate it sort of book. I think my favorite response was on a LibraryThing thread about books that one would not recommend. Someone actually said that he or she would put the His Dark Materials in the category of “Books that put souls in peril.” Seriously.

There is a tremendous amount of debate about the role of religion in the triology. It seems plain that Pullman has issues with the church and organized religion in general, but so many people seem to feel that his religious beliefs got in the way of the story. I don’t really understand since it seemed clear to me that the story was headed in that direction very early on. Then again it is clear that some people did not understand the humanist message of the books. My, that sounds snobby, but I’ve so often found that particularly religious people cannot comprehend humanism and the idea that one should do what’s right not because he or she will be rewarded in the afterlife, but because it is the right thing to do in the here and now. I think that that is what Pullman is trying to say with the idea of creating a “republic of heaven” where one is.

Beyond the “Amber Spyglass is crappy” debate, the hottest topic in the His Dark Materials universe seems to be, “Did Lyra and Will have sex?” I don’t really think that it’s particularly important, especially since I read somewhere that Pullman himself said that he doesn’t know whether they did. The important thing is their realization that they love each other and that their relationship caused the Dust to stop escaping. Initially that is what I thought was being implied, but after that one scene I wasn’t so sure anymore. I’m certain that when and if a movie is made it will be portrayed as a largely innocent romantic moment. I’m dancing all around giving my opinion on this because I really don’t know and I’m not sure what I want to think. I’ll probably continue to think on this issue.

The more time that I spend thinking about these books, the more I like them and the fact that I’ve spent so much time thinking about them is, in my opinion, a huge indicator of the high quality of the books. I’m looking forward to rereading them eventually to look at the story through the lens of knowing how it all ends.

The Amber Spyglass

I finished The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman last night. I have to thank Amy once again for recommending the series. I really enjoyed all three books and am now a bit sad that I won’t be spending more time hanging out with Lyra and Will. It was not an ending that I expected, but I think it was pretty satisfactory.

Spoilers abound!

Once again I was impressed by Pullman’s writing skills and refusal to spell everything out for his readers. The characters continued to be complex, especially my old favorite Mrs. Coulter. I enjoyed trying to figure out her motives and love it was her, for lack of a better word, evil nature that allowed her to do one good deed and help defeat Metatron. Lord Astriel remains a mystery to me though. I never got a particularly clear picture of his motives, I guess he’s the person who sees what must be done and ruthlessly looks out for the greater good. Their relationship was very interesting, not to mention their relationship with their daughter. I admire Pullman’s restraint in not giving a picture perfect moment when Lyra learns that her parents did in fact care for her and sacrificed themselves to allow her to complete her destiny.

Pullman continued his tradition of devastatingly beautiful scenes with his description of Lyra and Will’s journey into the land of the dead. Lyra’s decision to move ahead and leave Pan behind was heart wrenching. Once again Lee Scoresby had a lovely death scene. I loved the image of all of the ghosts disintegrating and rejoining their dæmons, but the image of Lee finally being reunited with Hester was beautiful. Lyra and Will’s love scene was incredibly well written and the Adam and Eve symbolism was very well done. I’m wondering how that will work when and if a movie is made. I’m not sure that people will accept the visual of two twelve year olds falling so entirely in love.

I love that the solution in the end was that essentially the dogma of the church was getting in the way of the necessary action of basically being in right relationship to other people. I did not expect the further solution of Lyra and Will being forced to give each other up to save the dust and allow all the worlds to continue to exist. I was sorry that there is no epilogue, but I suppose it is unnecessary as one can be sure that the dust that is Lyra and Will will be reunited in the end.

All together I very much enjoyed the His Dark Materials trilogy. I felt that Pullman did an excellent job of building his story and laying the groundwork that would allow the conclusion to work. Lyra and Will grew and changed so much through the three books to become the two people who could sacrifice their own happiness for the good of others. I liked the ending with Lyra keeping the secret of her new relationship with Pan, where her previous self would have shown it off.

I imagine that I may have more to say about the books in the future as I’m sure I’ll continue to think about them over the next few weeks. Someday Clay will manage to get through them as well and any discussion that we have will likely spawn even more thoughts so there will likely be a follow up to this post in the future.

Our Lady of the Lost and Found

I’ve been unable to post for a few days due to the laziness imposed by a long weekend followed by our internet dying, but I did do one thing this weekend. I spent several hours adding books to my LibraryThing account so roughly half of our library is in now, half of the portion that is not in storage anyway. As soon as we get the internet back I plan to finish adding books. Because I’m proud of all my work I added a widget to the side of this page that shows a random selection of books from my library. My point is that LibraryThing is really cool and everyone should check it out so they can have an awesome widget like mine!

Our Lady of the Lost and Found by Diane Shoemperlen was sort of recommended to me by Amy, who let me borrow her copy. I say sort of because she basically handed it to me and said it was kind of interesting and that she didn’t really like it, but it wasn’t too bad. That’s pretty much how I felt about it.

The book is about a writer who is visited by Mary. Mary tells her that she needs a rest and would like to stay for a week. The two women spend a quiet week together taking, cooking, and shopping. Mary tells of her miracles and appearances, while the writer reflects on her life.

It’s really not as dull as it sounds; it’s just not my sort of thing. I enjoyed the history of Marian visions and miracles, although I constantly felt like the author was taking the supposed miracles too much at face value. I understand that the book works under the assumption that such things are possible, but some of them are so far fetched that it’s just ridiculous. I kept expecting the scene to return with Mary saying, “of course they just made that one up.” There is a lot of discussion of the writer’s process, which I found inspiring. I liked reading about her writing random sentences down just to see if anything might come of them one day.

As I said in the beginning, I didn’t really like the book, but I didn’t particularly dislike it either. I probably won’t be recommending it to friends or reading it again, but it was an interesting read.