Troubled Bridge Over Water

It all comes full circle for me with my beloved Willa Cather!  Alexander's Bridge, Cather's first novel, was published in 1912, and it was one of the last of her novels that I have read.  Ironically, I read this book in one sitting just a stone's throw away from a bridge that crosses the great Stanislaus River.  The story's protagonist is Bartley Alexander, an engineer who builds bridges.  Torn between his love for his wife Winifred in Boston and his lover Hilda in London who makes him feel alive and youthful, Alexander must navigate these relationships and becomes increasingly tormented.  Perhaps, given all the weight on his shoulders and his inability to move forward in either direction, life comes crashing down on him, literally, when his newest bridge collapses, despite the description earlier in the book as a man who had shoulders that "looked strong enough in themselves to support a span of any one of his ten great bridges...."  Perhaps some heavy handed metaphor here, but for a first novel, it still showed signs of Cather's greatness.  One of my favorite descriptions in the book is how Cather writes of how Winifred's face suggested "stormy possibilities."  One of her better shorter works, but still not comparable to the wonderful My Antonia.

Obscure Cather

Willa Cather's collection of three stories of the West, Obscure Destinies, was published in 1932.  The first story, "Neighbor Rosicky," tells the story of the patriarch of the farm, Rosicky, who cares for his land and his family in Nebraska.  It is a simple story, but a really warmhearted one.  My favorite scene is when old man Rosicky visits his son Rudolph and his daughter-in-law Polly. Worried about how Polly, a city girl, will take to farming life, he goes over to give them his car to borrow so they can go out to a night on the town.  Rosicky takes an apron off a hook and gently pushes Polly out of the way.  Cather writes, "That kind, reassuring grip on her elbows, the old man's funny bright eyes, made Polly want to drop her head on his shoulder for a second."  Cather finds such tenderness in the smallest moments.  The second story, "Old Mrs. Harris," follows the life of Grandma Harris, who is often stoic except when she beams with love for her grandchildren.  The neighbor, Mrs. Rosen often brings over coffee cake and tries to bring Mrs. Harris out of her shell.  As Cather writes, the house in which the Harris family lived was small and "Mrs. Harris and her 'things' were almost required to be invisible."  While Mrs. Harris may not take up very much space figuratively, she doesn't need more than her grandchildren to make her "perfectly happy."  Cather writes of Grandma Harris and her grandsons, "She and the twins were the same age; they had in common all the realest and truest things."  This sentiment really reminds me of Capote's short story, "A Christmas Memory" which follows the friendship of young Buddy and his older cousin Sook.  The final story, "Two Friends" is told from the perspective of a young boy who looks up to two older men in his small town, who "led more varied lives than the other men in our town."  These stories are classic Cather - not my favorites of hers, but still worth reading. 

Don't Pass By McMurtry

 

Larry McMurtry is a prolific writer who spins stories of the American West, many of which take place in Texas.  Having read his Pulitzer prize-winning epic novel Lonesome Dove earlier this year, I was curious to read his earliest (and much slimmer) novel, Horseman, Pass By, written in 1961.  An unsentimental, gritty, atmospheric work, Horseman, Pass By is set against the backdrop of a cattle ranch in post World War II Texas.  Lonnie Brannon is the teenage grandson of Homer Brannon, an honest and hardworking old time cattle man who has owned the ranch for many years.  Homer's stepson Hud also lives at the ranch, and Lonnie is both repulsed by and intrigued by Hud's selfish, ruthless and "mean" ways.  McMurtry brings the tale to life with his description of the ranch landscape, the open sky, and the way a small town can make a person yearn to see the wider world. 

The heart and art of Asher

My Name is Asher Lev, written by Chaim Potok and published in 1972, tells the story of a young boy growing up as a Hasidic Jew in Brooklyn who discovers at an early age that he has a gift.  Asher explores his gift by starting to draw the world around him - the streets near his house, his mother, people he sees in his Brooklyn neighborhood, etc.  Those around him discover that he possesses greatness.  His father dismisses his work as foolishness and wishes that he spend more time on his studies and on honoring his parents.  Torn between Asher and his father is Asher's selfless mother who must carefully balance her love for her son and her husband.  Asher's father believes that his son should be able to control his impulse to create art, and to fight against this "evil."  While Asher feels that his father has "aesthetic blindness," Asher's father is worried about what may be his son's "moral blindness."  The rabbi decides to connect Asher with the great Jacob Kahn (a nonobservant Jew), who takes Asher under his wing and teaches him about many important artists and techniques.  The book culminates with a big art show that Asher has in New York, in which he presents a piece that scandalizes his community, so much so that he is asked to go study at a yeshiva in Paris.  I really loved this book - it is written with crystalline language and captures Asher's passion for art and his love for his family, his mother's devotion and anguish, and his father's struggle between pride for his son and a longing for his son to have followed in his footsteps.  With intellectual savvy and emotional acuity, Potok has created a classic masterpiece. 

A Visit into a Writer's Mind, and to Chile

Ways of Going Home is Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra's third novel, which interweaves the story of the protagonist with the writer of the story, and flashes back and forth from the time of the Pinochet dictatorship to modern day.  It is a poetic, short novel, which captures the mindset of a writer and the insular world of childhood.  An interesting and unique read which sheds light on Chilean life and culture, but not a book that is a stand-out for me.  Zambra is clearly a very talented young writer, with a clear point of view and sparse but lyrical writing style.  

Mere Mortals

Willa Cather's novel My Mortal Enemy, written in 1926, tells the story of Myra Driscoll, a woman of strong character and opinion.  Not my favorite Cather novel (it is over so quickly), but still includes some beautiful passages by Cather, in which she succeeds in very distinctly describing some of the people in the short novel, as follows:

"She looked strong and broken, generous and tyrannical, a witty and rather wicked old woman, who hated life for its defeats, and loved it for its absurdities." 

"I felt that his life had not suited him; that he possessed some kind of courage and force which slept, which in another sort of world might have asserted themselves brilliantly." 

Re-visiting Potent Potok

 

On a recent visit to the library, I was looking for a copy of Charles Portis' True Grit (see earlier review below)  Finding myself in the "Po..." section, Chaim Potok's novel The Promise caught my eye.  Having remembered enjoying The Chosen many years ago, I thought I would take on another Potok work.  The Promise is a wonderful novel in many ways - the construction of the narrative, the pace, the character development, and the deep exploration of ideas in an intellectual yet accessible manner.  I couldn't put it down, and I was very interested to learn what would happen.  The story centers around Reuven Malter, a young man living in post-WWII Williamsburg, Brooklyn, studying to be a rabbi at a yeshiva.  He has a difficult relationship with one of his teachers, Rav Kalman, who takes great issue with his way of interpreting and questioning sacred Jewish texts.  Meanwhile, Reuven becomes intertwined in the life of a troubled teenage boy, Michael, who is a patient of Reuven's good friend Danny, a newly minted psychologist.  I learned a great deal about Judaism in this novel, and it is written in a highly intriguing way.  This is novel of ideas and of great tenderness.  I will be reading more (and maybe all) of Potok's novels, based on the highly satisfying experience contained in the luminous pages of The Promise. 

The Great Western Novel?

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.

Danticat's Haiti

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. 

True (or false?) Grit

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. 

Hurrah, Chimamandamericanah!

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!

Watered Down

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. 

Goodness, Grace

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.

High Wind, High Drama

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. 

A Tale Not so Gayheart-ed

Lucy Gayheart was one of Willa Cather's later novels, written in 1935.  It tells the story of Lucy, who grows up in a small Midwest town, and then moves to Chicago at the age of 18 to study music.  While in Chicago, she discovers her own talent and also falls in love with the great singer Clement Sebastian.  After tragedy strikes, she returns home to her small town, where further tragedy ensues.  While the story line is not riveting, Cather captures small town life in her usual pitch perfect way.  In my opinion, this was not nearly as good as some of her other works that I have previously reviewed. 

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the novel:

"In little towns, lives roll along so close to one another; loves and hates beat about, their wings almost touching.  On the sidewalks along which everybody comes and goes, you must, if you walk abroad at all, at some time pass within a few inches of the man who cheated and betrayed you, or the woman you desire more than anything else in the world.  Her skirt brushes against you.  You say good-morning, and go on.  It is a close shave.  Out in the world the escapes are not so narrow."

A Comeback for Kincaid

The last time I read a Jamaica Kincaid was in college, but with the recent release of her first novel in ten years and after hearing her brilliant words on NPR's City Arts and Lectures, I decided to read See Now Then.  This slim novel tells about the unraveling of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sweet and their children Heracles and Persephone, who live in a small town in New England.  The novel is written in a very unique style which has a repetitious yet unique use of language that borders on magic realism.  Of Mrs. Sweet, Mr. Sweet says, "The sound of her voice, as she read to the young Heracles, made him want to kill her, take an ax (as a child, he lived in an apartment, and he had never seen such a thing) and chop off her head and then the rest of her body into little pieces..."  The book is filled with bitterness and vitriol, but is so unflinching and caustic that it demands the readers' attention.  Kincaid also writes of her son's tasks, which include both the mundane and the surreal, such as "wash the dishes...imprison the innocent in a dungeon...trap and then skin the she-fox...tie his shoelaces..."  Interestingly, we learn of Mrs. Sweet's first name about half way through the novel, which is Jamaica, which of course leaves the reader to wonder the extent of the autobiographical nature of this work.  About the Sweets' daughter, Kincaid writes, "The beautiful Peresephone grew strong and big, so big that she looked like an illustrated rabbit, caught, just before he was cooked, which would then satisfy the hunger of a small family named McGregor..." 

All in all, I feel this would have worked better as a short story.  Nonetheless, the writing is unique and it is refreshing (though depressing) to hear such an honest telling of a family irreparably torn apart and asunder. 

Highs and Lows

 

I really enjoy reading survival stories.  My favorite in this genre is Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado, which is a first-hand account of the plane crash in the Andes (see my review for this on my blog).  I couldn't put that book down because Parrado's writing is simple and illuminating, unflinching and emotional.  In 1996, Jon Krakauer, a writer and mountain climber, was sent by Outside magazine to write an article focusing on the increasing commercialization of Mt. Everest, and to do so, he would have to attempt the summit to the top of Everest with one of the respected groups, led by Rob Hall.  At the time, there were several different outfitters and guides that would take groups on the Everest ascent, some which charged over $60,000 (I am not sure what the figure is today).  What Krakauer of course could not know when he accepted the assignment was that he would be part of one of the deadliest years of Everest summits, in which fifteen people lost their lives.  His memoir, Into Thin Air, captures his harrowing experience. 

 

What is it that compels people to risk high altitude, well below freezing winds, and essentially their lives, to conquer a mountain?  There are parts of Krakauer's book that focus on this particular and unique drive which I found the most interesting, as well as how people make decisions on the mountain.  However, for me the book was too bogged down in detail, and not rich enough on the internal decision making and emotional landscape of those who take on a nearly inhuman challenge, which is the part of survival stories that interest me the most. 

Summer Camp and Beyond

 

I'll admit that I didn't think I would make it that far with Meg Wolitzer's new novel, The Interestings, mainly because I often find that novels in this day and age that are over 500 pages suffer from a lack of editing.  However, I was quickly drawn in by Wolitzer's swift and humorous writing style.  The Interestings tells the story of a group of friends who first meet at the arts camp Spirit-in-the-Woods, in Massachusetts in 1974.  After the one summer in which these friendships are solidified, Wolitzer follows the group of friends from their teens into their adulthood.  Jules Jacobsen, the one camper who didn't grow up in New York City with wealthy parents, is initially surprised to be invited into the group, but her offbeat humor is winsome to the others.  Ethan Figman, a budding cartoonist, is drawn to Jules romantically, though the two remain friends for many years to come. Ash and Goodman Wolf, the siblings of the bunch, are a mysterious twosome whose lives take unexpected turns.  Jonah Bay is the somewhat elusive and aloof son of a famous female folk singer.  The novel explores how the friends' lives are affected differently by fame, fortune, marriages, children, etc.  After all, not everyone who is a talented teenager at an art camp can make it big, though of course, some do.  I found the novel to be very funny, poignant, and well-written, with a cast of motley characters.  Recommended, especially as a good summer read!

A bit of doubt, for Strout

 

Olive Kitteredge was a delightful read, so I decided to dive into the newly released novel by Elizabeth Strout, The Burgess Boys, which tells the story of brothers Bob and Jim and Bob's twin Susan.  Born and raised in small-town Shirley Falls, Maine, Bob and Jim move to New York City and pursue careers in law, while Susan stays in Maine, eventually raising her teenage son on her own.  What sets the story in motion is that her lonely son Zach puts a frozen pig's head in a mosque in the local town, where a recent influx of Somalis have come to live.  Jim, the "golden boy" of the family, and Bob (who idolizes Jim) attempt to help their sister and nephew, and in returning to Maine and becoming involved in the family drama, they also revisit conversation that was put to rest long ago regarding their childhoods, specifically around the accidental death of their father.  The novel explores issues of guilt, loyalty, and the imperfections of family life.

 

This was an easy read, however I did not find any of the characters particularly likeable, compelling, or unique.  While there are a few plot twists, none of them were so climactic or riveting.  For me, the character development was not as strong as it was in Olive Kitteredge. 

tiny beautiful things, indeed

 

My introduction to Cheryl Strayed was by way of reading her memoir, Wild:  From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which I really enjoyed (see earlier review on my blog!).  I recently picked up her book tiny beautiful things: Advice on love and life from Dear Sugar, and I did not want to put it down.  I really mean it - I walked down a busy sidewalk reading this book!

 

The book is a modern day "Dear Alice," in which Sugar fields all kinds of questions about love, life, money, intimate relationships, important life decisions, etc., and she does so with wit, compassion, and an authenticity that cuts right through to the heart of the matter.  The Dear Sugar column started on a website called the Rumpus, and it was only recently that Cheryl Strayed outed herself as Sugar. 

 

Strayed is not a trained therapist, but she has lived a lot of life, and her responses are well crafted, raw, and direct.  This is both immensely entertaining and illuminating! Highly recommended.