“A great book should leave you with many experiences and
slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” -
William Styron
Fiction: Southern Gothic, Classic
As I Lay Dying by
William Faulkner
This book is listed as one of the most influential novels in
American fiction in structure, style, and drama. And there it was in one of the
Little Free Libraries in our community! I took it.
The Bundren family lives in the back country of Mississippi during
the 1920s. As Addie lies dying in her bed, she gazes out the window watching
her oldest son construct her coffin. Soon the family must deal with the death
of their wife and mother. Her husband, Anse, is probably the “laziest man ever”
and, yet he is determined to fulfill Addie’s wish to be buried 40 miles away in
her hometown of Jefferson. Addie in her
coffin is loaded into the back of a wagon. Then Anse, with his four sons, one
daughter, two mules and a horse sets off for Jefferson on dirt roads. The trip wouldn’t
be so bad except it’s the height of the summer heat. Plus, rainstorms have
flooded the river and washed out all the bridges. Now the trip will take a week
longer than expected due to detours.
Does this stop Anse or convince him to bury Addie closer to
home? No, at each obstacle he insists they continue all the while taking
advantage of the hard work of his children and neighbors. He makes a show of
not accepting “charity” to the determent of his children. It is a nine-day
journey of frequent hunger, danger, and discomfort. Then Addie’s body begins to decompose …
As I Lay Dying is a grotesque road trip with a
rotting corpse told in the voices of the extremely dysfunctional and
occasionally insane family members. It is a stream of consciousness narrative
that drops us into scenes and scenarios without any explanation. It reminds me
of Ulysses set
in the South – only much shorter and I could make better sense of the
narrative!
One of the fascinating things about this novel is that it
can be read either as a tragedy or as a black comedy. All the misfortunes that occur
are made even more absurd by the book’s final five words.
This book flew with me to Aspen.
Fiction: Mystery
The Black Loch by Peter May
Fin Macleod was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. After some years away from the island, Fin, a former policeman, finds himself returning to Lewis because his married son Fionnlagh has been accused of the murder of his 18-year-old mistress, Caitlin. Her body was found washed up on the beach.
Fin and his partner Marsaili attempt to make sense of the accusations made against their son. As they re-acquaint themselves with people they have known decades earlier, events from their earlier lives come to the forefront. In fact, this mystery is really a mix of past and present events, tightly woven together to shape the mystery surrounding Caitlin’s death. There are a lot of dramatic incidents, tragedies, and secrets exposed.
I was intrigued by the native language on the Isle of Lewis. It is Gaelic and is spoken by around half of the population. Much of the land and surrounding sea are labelled in this strange tongue. Fortunately, there is a list of “Gaelic Pronunciations” at the back of the book.
The most appealing element of this mystery is its setting off the west coast of Scotland. Isle of Lewis is a land of wild mountains, immense white beaches, rugged coastlines and lunar landscapes. The weather can be extreme, and it is possibly one of the windiest places on earth. The author’s vivid description of the Isle of Lewis is wonderful! He captures the mystery and drama of this remote, wild, and treeless place so well I felt as if I were there!
Book Club – International Fiction: Mystery, Historical Fiction
The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Margaret Jull Costa (Translator, from Spanish)
Publisher’s Description: “While restoring a 15th-century painting which depicts a chess game between the Duke of Flanders and his knight, Julia, a young art expert, discovers a hidden inscription in the corner: Quis Necavit Equitem. Translation: Who killed the knight? Breaking the silence of five centuries, Julia's hunt for a Renaissance murderer leads her into a modern-day game of sin, betrayal, and death.”
“I would say that chess has more to do with the art of murder than it does with the art of war.”
The Flanders Panel combines historical background and a historical murder mystery with a modern murder mystery. Key to this novel is the 15th-century painting by a Flemish master. The painting depicts a chess game between the Duke of Flanders and one of his knights while the Duke’s wife looks on. We learn that the painting was painted after the Knight’s murder. Why?
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| NOTE: This painting was created for the publisher. It does NOT historically exist - it is a work of fiction! |
In modern times, Julia, while cleaning the painting, uncovers the 500-year-old painted-over message. She begins to wonder, “Who killed the knight?"
The hidden message and the intrigue about the historical significance of The Flanders Panel make the estimated auction value of the painting skyrocket. Suddenly two murders are committed as someone else is apparently after the painting and willing to kill to get it. The unknown murderer is also a chess expert, who leaves a trail of clues as to his possible next moves to get the painting. If that isn’t enough intrigue, Julia is followed by an unknown person. Will she be the next victim?
The Flanders Panel is a stylized murder mystery. The book is built around the theme "art is chess is life is art." I don’t play chess and perhaps that is why I skimmed over the parts where the characters attempt to solve the mystery through “reverse chess.” I felt like I needed a degree in art history and a US Chess Federation rating of Expert or higher to really understand what the characters were talking about sometimes!
Even with twenty-five pages of explanation at the end (always a bad sign), I still have no firm idea what motivated the villain to commit murder, but I have a greater appreciation for art and chess!
Fiction: Dystopia
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
“The first thing that happens at the end of the world is that we don’t know what is happening.”
What if women suddenly began to give birth to babies that emerged as some regressed, earlier form of human? And it isn’t just humans who are regressing, it is also plants and animals. Why? The novel does not explain but we learn about the effects of this de-evolution through the main character, Cedar Hawk Songmaker.
She is the adopted daughter of two liberal, idealistic parents in Minnesota. Cedar has just learned the identity of her biological mother, Mary Potts, who lives on the Ojibwe reservation. Coincidently, Cedar just discovered she's pregnant, and that news plus the vague hints in the media about the “changes” cause her to want to meet her biological mother. During her visit on the Ojibwe reservation, her adoptive parents arrive and advise Cedar to remember what they told her about survival techniques.
The rest of the novel is about how quickly things can disintegrate. When Cedar is roughly three months pregnant, America is a dangerous place for pregnant women to live. There is a mandated program, wherein all pregnant women must turn themselves in and live at a hospital until their babies are born. Cedar sees the ominous tones in this, so she hides out in her house, eventually discovered by the father of her baby, trying to avoid being arrested. There are also "womb volunteer" programs, in which fertile women can volunteer to carry the embryos from fertility clinics. Women lose all their rights; the government is dissolved and reformed to follow biblical laws. Women attempt to flee and go into hiding with the help of an “underground railroad.”
Obviously, this novel is compared to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. The overarching themes are the same, but the plots are very different. Despite so many people claiming that we don't need feminism anymore, these novels remind us how easy women, either biologically, socially, or politically, can lose their rights.
“I want to see the story. More than anything, I am frustrated by the fact that I’ll never know how things turn out.”
Overall, this was a beautifully written novel. But when I finished it, I felt disappointed. None of the narrative lines felt finished. For example, Cedar's baby, who one doctor has hinted is a normal, regular human being, is due to be born around Christmas. So, was her baby the new Christ child? Was he to be the “light of the world”? Also, the foreshadowing, including the use of the name “Mary,” throughout the novel wasn’t fulfilled as I wished. Just another 100 pages may have settled my expectations. But then again, many good books often leave readers “on the edge” at their conclusion. This was well worth reading!
NOTE: The Great De-Evolution series by Chris Dietzel has a similar plot line. Humanity is slowly becoming extinct because all the babies are being born as "Blocks", which cannot move, communicate, or otherwise function like regular human beings. I read all the books and novellas in this series, and they are creepy good.
Nonfiction: Biography, Medical, Science
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
I picked As I Lay Dying from a Little Free Library in our community and read it during our flight to Aspen. There I was able to trade it in at an Aspen Little Free Library for this book, Mountains Beyond Mountains. I choose it because I read Everything Is Tuberculosis last month and this book is about a doctor who treats … tuberculosis.
Publisher’s Description: “At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most.
Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity"—a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners in Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.’s World Health Organization, and others in his quest to cure the world. At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope, and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb "Beyond mountains there are mountains": as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.”
Dr. Farmer explains that suffering is a human creation: interference with the natural state of things, by imposing structures and systems on everything, and creating disparities. Then people devise ways to ease that suffering, but only for the people who contributed to the creation of that suffering in the first place! Yes, it is easy for us to feel frustrated and helpless in the face of such systems that claim, but fail, to benefit humanity.
But rather than wrapping ourselves in helplessness and frustration, we should believe, first and foremost, in the power of the individual to help others. With the power of a collective of like-minded individuals, we can enact even greater changes. Focusing personally on what is doable and essential empowers you and others to make the world a better place. One person CAN make a difference!
I read this book in Aspen and finished it on our flight home. Then I placed it in our community Little Free Library for someone else to read. And so, it goes … take a book, share a book.
Fiction: Horror, Mystery
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
In high school I read Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, and then read The Haunting of Hill House. I liked them both. This month, decades later, I was simply browsing in the public library when I came across another Shirley Jackson book, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Reminiscing about her writing, I checked it out and read it.
The Blackwood sisters, 28-year-old Constance and 18-year-old Merricat, live in an old mansion on the outskirts of town. They are persecuted by the locals, who are convinced one of them is a murderer. Their whole family, except for Constance and Merricat, was poisoned with arsenic six years ago. Their Uncle Julian was poisoned but survived as an invalid. Constance was tried and acquitted of the murders. Now the three survivors, and their black cat Jonas, are living together in the family’s old mansion.
“You will be wondering about that sugar bowl, I imagine. Is it still in use? You are wondering; has it been cleaned? You may very well ask; was it thoroughly washed?”
The story is told through the voice of Merricat. Because Uncle Julian is disabled and Constance suffers from agoraphobia, she must walk into the town twice a week for provisions. During her excursions, Merricat has many reasons beyond her better-than-thou upper-class upbringing to sneer at the townsfolk. In turn, they hate her and revile Constance for allegedly getting away with mass murder. Also, the townspeople hate her family for humiliating upsets caused by her snobbish and cruel father, and they take their disgust out with ridicule. Eventually the sisters take on a sort of legend for their reclusive behavior and disregard for the company of villagers.
The Blackwood sisters and Uncle Julian manage well in their reclusive lifestyle until long-lost cousin Charles arrives on their doorstep, barely concealing his interest in Constance and the Blackwood family estate. Merricat is not happy one bit about Charles entering their lives. And that’s when “things” begin to happen.
“I could wish him dead until he died. I could fasten him to a tree and keep him there until he grew into the trunk and bark grew over his mouth. I could bury him in the hole where my box of silver dollars had been so safe until he came; if he was under the ground I could walk over him, stamping my feet.”
The identity of the poisoner is easy to figure out after the first few pages. However, the main impetus of the story is not about the identity of the murderer. It is the psychological impact and the implications it has on the surviving family members. That is what gives it a real punch. This is one looney, creepy, and thoroughly bizarre story!
