At over 800 pages, I was daunted by taking on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning and legendary tale of the American West, Lonesome Dove. Filled with heroes and outlaws and "cowboys and Indians," this was a fast moving tale, people with many memorable characters like Lorena, Jack Spoon, July Johnson, and Newt. Led by Captain August McCrae and W.F. Call, both former Texas Rangers, a group of cowboys band together to organize a cattle drive from Texas to Montana in the late nineteenth century. Gus McCrae is fun loving, talkative, and adventurous, in comparison to Call's more quiet and serious nature. This book has it all - plots and sub-plots of love, revenge, loyalty, adventure, hardship, and camaraderie. It is a consuming, readable, and memorable tale.
Edwidge Danticat's nonfiction work Brother, I'm Dying, follows her life as a child growing up in Haiti, and being left in the care of her Uncle Joseph when her parents set out to establish a life in America. Weaving in scenes and memories from both the U.S. and Haiti, Danticat explores the strength of family ties in the face of illness, violence, and distance. I could not get a really strong sense of Danticat's writing style in this book, so I would be interested to read one of her books of fiction.
Having enjoyed Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, I was excited to read another Western classic, Charles Portis' True Grit, first published in 1968. True Grit tells the story of fourteen-year old Mattie Ross, who sets out to avenge her father's death when she learns that he was killed by a man named Tom Chaney. Mattie knows she must find a partner in crime for this adventure, and seeks someone with "grit." This search quickly leaders her to Rooster Cogburn. The two set out to search for Chaney, and of course encounter many ruffians and other trouble along the way. Told from Mattie's perspective in deadpan and straightforward language, this is an amusing tale that has garnered a cult following, not to mention that it was made into a John Wayne movie and then was taken on by the Coen brothers as well. While there is something alluring about the plot, I did not really enjoy the book and would not recommend it. Much less of a time commitment than Lonesome Dove, but not as good either.
I have read all four of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books, and Americanah, her latest novel, does not disappoint. Unlike my favorite of her works, Half of a Yellow Sun, which is taut, explosive, and passionate, Americanah is more meandering and sweeping. Set in the United States, Nigeria, and London, Adichie explores race, love, and identity that spans across continents and time. The story centers around Ifemelu, a young woman who leaves Nigeria to study in the United States, and leaves behind her first love, Obinze, who, after living undocumented in London, gets deported back to Nigeria, where Ifemelu eventually lands as well. The novel traces their separate lives and families, and is infused with great dialogue as well as a refreshing directness, mainly conveyed through Ifemelu's blog. Adichie is one of my favorite contemporary writers!
I've read great reviews of Jess Walter's novel Beautiful Ruins, so I thought I would get a feel for his writing in his new short story collection We Live in Water. The stories are quick and punchy, gritty and dark. In "Anything Helps," a father makes a cardboard sign for donations to get enough money to buy his son the newest Harry Potter book, but his son who he hardly gets to see already read the book at camp. In "Thief," a father discovers that one of his kids is stealing from the family vacation money jar. He stakes himself out in the closet with two beers to figure out who it is.
There was nothing for me to really grab on to with these stories - they were enjoyable and edgy, but not ones that I will remember.
William Kent Krueger's stand alone novel, Ordinary Grace, was a great read. Set in New Bremen, Minnesota in 1961, the story is told from the perspective of thirteen year-old Frank Drum. Frank experiences a summer filled with death and tragedy, but also one in which he realizes the importance of faith and family. Krueger peoples the novel with memorable characters, such as Frank's intuitive and quiet younger brother Jake, his thoughtful pastor father, and his talented and enigmatic mother. His sister Ariel is Julliard-bound in the fall, and despite being filled with promise, has her own set of dark secrets. This was a very well written and remarkably easy to read book. It also beautifully captured the emotional landscape of a family and a small town. There were several passages that caught me off guard and really touched me. This book is not categorized as a mystery, but it is in essence one, as the reader doesn't learn until the final pages some of the important discoveries. Krueger's writing was reminiscent of that of Richard Ford. Despite the sad themes of this book, I would highly recommend it, and I plan to read more by Krueger.
Richard Hughes' A High Wind in Jamaica was originally written in 1929, then re-issued by The New York Review of Books (NYRB) in 1999. Set in late nineteenth century Jamaica, the children of the Thornton family learn that their parents have decided to send them off to England by boat, though they don't understand why, and find it to be "without any particular causation." Indeed, they can't think of anything that precipitated this, "...for it could hardly be due to the death of the cat, and nothing else of importance occurred lately." The hurricane has decimated the Jamaican landscape. Hughes writes, "Then imagine all this luxuriance smashed, as with a pestle and mortar - crushed, pulped, and already growing again!" Hughes writing is at turns sinister and whimsical, and he invents words such as "energeticalness" and "elaboratish." The book focuses mainly on the experiences of the children on the high seas and their strange relationships with each other and with the pirates that have taken over the ship. After the children return safely to England after much trial and tribulation, the oldest child, Emily, reports, "Mother! I've slept with an alligator!" Hughes weaves together dark humor, violence, innocence, and adventure in this unique tale.
