Good books/ Bad books- part 5

The idea of 'bad books' came from this quote:
"The kind of pleasure you can get from reading is like no other in the world.  People even get pleasure out of reading bad books, and I deplore this, but that is only because those books are not to my taste." ("Why I Read" by Wendy Lesser)

 ***** These books are not to my taste. ***** 

"Cockroach" by Rawi Hage

  This novel takes place during one month of a bitterly cold winter in Montreal's restless immigrant community, where a self-described thief has just tried but failed to commit suicide. Rescued against his will, the narrator is obliged to attend sessions with a  therapist.
  You hear about his past life in a war-torn country and his current life on the streets of Montreal, where he lives on the edge, imagining himself to be a cockroach sneaking into homes.
  The main character has no name- perhaps he is "Cockroach".  p. 257: "He was a cocktail of emotion, a kind of purgatory that no medical paper had ever described."
  I forced myself to read this book because it was a choice for Canada Reads 2014.  The argument for the book was that it represented the immigrant experience.  It seemed more like the experience of mental illness to me.
  This book was too dark with no positive characters or lightness in the story.


"The Beautiful Wife" by Leon Rooke

  Plot: Marchusa was an employee of President Marcos of the Philippines.  When Marcos escaped the country, Marchusa was sent on a bicycle, entrusted with the Vatican Pumps (shoes that concealed some of Marcos' stolen wealth).  There are several unusual characters in this novel.  The best part is their names- Yimmi, Exmoor Dees, Ve Va Straight and brother Finn, Perchance Quickly and son Childe, Monsieur Epee, James Taterfield.
   A very complex, post-modern, experimental book.  The author is part of the story and dead people mingle with the living.
   The author Leon Rooke is the founder of the Eden Mills Book Festival and he is a very interesting, creative person.  I was prepared for something unusual and didn't completely hate the book, but my book club did!



"The Slap" by Christos Tsiolkas

Melbourne, Australia
   At a barbeque given by Harry and Aisha, Harry's cousin slapped Hugo, 3, who was out of control.  Hugo's parents sued, but lost the case.  The story is told by eight of the characters.  I enjoyed the format and basic idea but the novel was filled with sex to the point that I felt it was pornographic.
   The author is gay and there is a lot of descriptions of male anatomy. I did enjoy the assortment of characters but the language was too foul to enjoy.
  We discussed this book at the Kootenay  Book Discussion in Nelson, British Columbia. The discussion of this book was heated!  Some people hated it and others thought it was an important book.  They felt that the title was saying to the world- wake up and understand what is happening in the world.  That made me very depressed.  If the world is anything like this, we are in trouble.
   There was not one reasonable character in the novel- all were rude, crude and aggressive.
Everyone is taking drugs, drinking and using foul language.  I was most upset after the discussion.  In fact, I had a nightmare that night about some of my grandchildren.  I was trying to save them.  Horrors!

Stay tuned for more 'bad books'.

Good books/ Bad books- part 4

So what do I like in a novel?

Linear narrative, plots centering around individuals, characters in whom readers can invest large emotional capital,and clear resolutions that give emotional pleasure.  

   In fact, that is the definition for the Victorian novel. ("How to Read Novels Like a Professor") And that's what I enjoy!

  However,times change, and,in 1921, Freud and Jung brought a big change in consciousness, resulting in a change in literature. Stream of consciousness!  It only lasted 30 years but changed the simple flow of narrative that I enjoy so much. Some authors still use this style of writing.

   Also, Henry Ford changed the speed of movement and it was felt that readers were impatient with the conventional novel.  So it was replaced by the experimental modernist novel. 

"When men fly and pictures move and sound travels through air, what can you do but try something new!" ("How to Read Novels Like a Professor")

  And now, it seems that "anything goes".  We have a cornucopia of approaches to the novel. An inexhaustible supply of originality.

  But I still favour the old-fashioned storytelling techniques. I love a solid introduction of characters and setting, followed by development of the plot, building to a climax and ending with a clear resolution.  Isn't this what we learned in English classes?  And please- could modern novels still use proper punctuation?  Books often leave out quotation marks.  Irritating!

  A simple sentence can become so interesting with a few literary devices thrown in and great description of both exterior and interior landscape.  I love a good sentence and often stop to reread it or copy it for future enjoyment.  A good sentence! Is that too much to ask?

But I am very aware that my opinions are often not the popular opinion.  I posted this observation at the opening of my blog.  And this will be apparent when I start talking about "Bad Books" -in my opinion. I am hesitant to do this, but I will take a deep breath and proudly announce the books that I think are "bad books"- in my next blog!

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P.S.
   Lisa Moore, a Canadian author, was a panelist for Canada Reads.  She said, "I think a real engagement with a book means that the reader has to chase after the story.... If they know what's happening, then there's no pleasure".
   I strongly disagree. I like the old-fashioned storytelling method-  "Once upon a time..."  It sets a great foundation for the story.  You can learn about the time and place and characters.  That's what I expect from the introduction.  That's the author's responsibility.  Then I can jump on board and be swept along.  No chasing for me, Lisa Moore.

Good books/ Bad books- part 3

My interest in books that have a strong survival theme, leads to many biographies.  The latest one that caught my attention is:

Temple Grandin:

 How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

After reading "The Rosie Project", I was interested in learning more about Asberger's.

This book is the true story of Temple Grandin, 66, who has Asberger's (a form of autism). When she was little her father wanted to put her in an institution.  She is now a university professor and has revolutionized the livestock industry. "I have worked to improve the treatment of farm animals because we owe it to domestic animals to give them a decent life."

    I was surprised that half of the cattle in North America are handled in systems that she designed.  Even McDonald's has asked for her advice to set up and monitor the treatment of cattle.  She has designed a checklist for evaluation of farms- some farms even have a video monitoring system.  Temple asked the farmers to count the moos.  When the farm is being evaluated, if more than 3 in 100 cows  moo, their meat is not accepted by Mcdonald's, because the animals are distressed.

   "Each farm animal deserves a good life, and if it is to be killed it deserves as good a death as possible."

  Temple also is a passionate advocate for autism.  She would not want to change her brain, even though she has struggled to use it to advantage.  She thinks in pictures and understands the needs of the cattle- calm, comfort and companionship.  Temple's 6th sense about animals is one of the gifts of her autistic brain.
Inspirational and informational!

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Other biographies that are inspiring:

"The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How my Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less" by Terry Ryan

   In 1953, Evelyn Ryan had 10 children to support, but her husband spent a third of his wages on beer.  So Evelyn wrote poetry and jingles to support the family.

   When they were being evicted, she won $5,000. and bought a house.  She also won a 5 minute grocery shopping spree. ($411.44 worth of food).

   "Her delight in living rose out of bed with her every day.  It was the one thing Dad couldn't drink away."

   Evelyn had a wonderful way of dealing with her husband- just ignore and get on with life.  She encouraged her children to turn their anger into positive pursuits.

   Her husband had taken out a second mortgage on the house, unknown to her.  She had to pay $4000.00 in 30 days to keep the house.  The day before the deadline she won a trip to Switzerland, Ford Mustang, watches and cash ($3,440.64).

   When there were fewer contests available, Evelyn got a job at JC Penny's.

What a resilient woman!  Great book!

"I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity"

by Izzeldin Abuelaish

   This is a powerful book with a powerful message: peace, through mutual respect and forgiveness.
   This author grew up in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (25 miles by 7 miles with 1.5 million people), filled with misunderstanding and hate.  He always knew there was a better way and set out to find it. In his family there were 11 people in a 9 feet by 9 feet room, no electricity, no water, no toilet.
  As the conflict worsened between the Israelis and Palestinians, he continued to see the similarities of these people.  He refused to see any situation as hopeless.  There are extremists on both sides.
   When he graduated as a doctor, mostly he worked away from home.  The complications of border crossing boggles the mind.
   His wife died of cancer and he was unable to get home easily.  His three daughters were murdered by missiles in their bedroom.
   But the Quran teaches to endure suffering patiently and forgive.  The author lives in Toronto now and still believes everything happens for a reason.
He believes revenge and hatred do not work. People must build bridges.


"Tuesdays with Morrie" 
by Mitch Album
   This true story covers less than 2 years, when Morrie Swartz made death his final project- teaching Mitch, an unemployed sports writer, "The Meaning of Life".  Mitch used the advances on the book to pay Morrie's medical expenses.
   "Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip".
   "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in".
   "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
   "Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."
   "Death ends a life, not a relationship".

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Other inspirational biographies that I have enjoyed:
"One Native Life" by Richard Wagamese
"The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls

"Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt

"Wired for Sound": A Journey into Hearing" by Beverly Biderman

"Life is So Good" by George Dawson who learned to read at 98.  George says:

A good life is when you assume nothing,

Do more, need less, smile often,

Dream big. laugh a lot,

And realize how blessed you are.

Good books/ Bad books- part 2

What is my 'version of the world'?

   "Life can be challenging".

   I appreciate books where people are able to survive and thrive in difficult situations.  Sometimes  the difficult situation is of their own making, as in the memoir "Wild".  Cheryl Strayed had made a mess of her life and needed to figure out who she was and how she wanted to live.

   Sometimes the difficult situation is random.  "Molokai" is about a child with leprosy who is taken from her home to the leprosy colony on the island of Molokai.  Now theres' a challenge!  But she is able to survive and thrive in spite of her isolation and disfigurement.

  In "The Wife Tree", Morgan Hazzard begins a journey of self-discovery at 74, when she is widowed. She had been controlled by her husband for so many years, that when he died, she was adrift in a strange world, trying to fend for herself with limited vision. Morgan finds little help in her friends, the church, or the medical profession, and her children try to control her, as her husband had always done.  But Morgan is able to not only survive, but also thrive.  "The Freedom to follow a path of my choosing, to set my own pace brings me deep satisfaction.  I'm being brought back to life.  Each day is now mine to create in all its fullness".  Love that book!

  Sometimes women find themselves in difficult situations because of their husbands' ambitions.  My all-time favourite book, "The Poisonwood Bible" shows Orleanna Price in the Congo with a husband who believes he is called to be a missionary, but he is arrogant, abusive and self-absorbed.  At the beginning of each chapter there is a retrospective discourse by Orleanna and it is heart-breaking.  She tried so hard to support her husband, while still protecting her four children.  But she was unsuccessful in the latter.  "I had washed up there on the riptide of my husband's confidence and the undertow of my children's needs".  I love to reread this book and always feel the remorse and regret that followed Orleanna for the remainder of her life.  It is a reminder of the complexity of a woman's life.

In "Mosquito Coast" by Paul Theroux, the wife does not have a name, but her husband, Allie Fox, an American inventor, decides that the 'civilized' world is morally bankrupt and takes his family to the jungles of Honduras.  There is a parallel to "The Poisonwood Bible".  There are four children and the husband is brilliant, charismatic, arrogant and controlling.  The children are in danger. Great story!  Fabulous climax!

  In "The Sea Captain's Wife" by Beth Powning, the husband wants his wife, Azuba, to join him at sea in order to keep the family together. But this puts the children in a dangerous situation. Fabulous descriptions of life at sea- terrifying passage around Cape Horn, near starvation, witnessing a mass suicide at the Chincha Islands.

This is another of my all-time favourite books- "The Secret River" by Kate Grenville.  In the early 1800's, Sal Thornhill followed her husband from England to Australia, where he was transported as a criminal. He had stolen because his family was starving.  I loved Sal's courage.  She was loving, supportive, but also strong-willed.  Even though she had followed Will to Australia, she was ready to leave him when it appeared that he may join some of the other white men in violence against the aborigines.     This was the story of the author's great-great-great grandfather.  Fabulous writing!

 Obviously, I favour women as the protagonist.  And these examples show women who really rise to the great challenges in their lives.  I think of a couple of books where the women were unable to rise to the challenge:

  "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom.  In 1791, Lavinia McCarter, an orphan, was taken to a plantation at age 7 to live with the slaves. She had mixed blood, and eventually married a man who became the owner of the plantation.  She married him in order to get back to the plantation, but she knew that he was cruel and violent.  She was unable to help those slaves that had raised her, as she sank into addiction to laudanum.   I was cheering for her all through the book, and was disappointed that she was unable to survive and thrive.  Sad ending!

  I loved "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman, but I was disappointed that Isabel was unable to rise to the great challenge in her life.  After many miscarriages, she found a baby washed up on shore at their island lighthouse.  But when the  identity of the baby's mother came to light, she fought to keep the child and, although Isabel survives, she does not thrive after the child is placed with her biological mother.  In this book, it was the man who rose to the challenge.  He was always loving, kind and considerate of everyone.  Another great book!

The greatest book about rising to life's challenges,

 is "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl.

Good books/ Bad books- part 1

I have been asked to explain my definition of 'bad books'.  But let's first look at 'good books'.

I found this quote by Salman Rushdie:

"A book is a version of the world.  If you do not like it, ignore it; or, offer your own version in return".

Do we enjoy books that reflect "our version of the world"?

There are some members of my family that enjoy a book with 'justice'.

Definition: justice - the administerings of deserved punishment or reward

- moral rightness, righteousness

If you like a book with this theme, there are two fabulous examples of that.

"The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

     I read this book to John as we travelled through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  The weather was dull and rainy but this book made the time fly!

  "It was Wang Lung's marriage day".

Wang Lung married O-lan, a kitchen slave who was not beautiful.  But she was a worker!  She worked in the fields with Wang Lung, only taking off enough time to deliver babies.  She had two boys and then a girl when there was a drought and absolutely nothing to eat.  She delivered another girl but it died.

  They went to another city where O-lan and the children begged and Wang Lung worked.

  Eventually Wang Lung became prosperous and owned land.  Now O-lan was not treated so well and he bought a concubine, named Lotus, who got all his attention.  O-lan had two pearls around her neck that she valued greatly.  It was her symbol of prosperity. She had worked so hard for those pearls.  But Wang Lung took them from her to make them into earrings for Lotus.

  The justice came after O-lan died.  Wang Lung was surveying his land which was very significant to him.  He made his sons promise not to sell the land but the reader knows that the sons do not value the land and will sell it immediately for their own benefit.  So appropriate! 
Justice- the administerings of deserved punishment.

 Fabulous book!  Published in 1931!  Pulitzer Prize Winner!

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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
And here is a book to illustrate the other meaning of justice- moral rightness.

  Everyone knows the narrative of this novel.  Atticus Finch is my all-time favourite literary character.

Harper Lee

  The book was immediately popular and has remained so for 64 years. In 1999, it was voted the best novel of the twentieth century.
  Harper Lee was not prepared for the popularity of this book and shied away from the publicity.  Now, at 88, she lives in assisted living, where she is wheelchair bound, partially deaf and blind and has memory loss.  But the justice, or moral rightness, of her book will live on forever.
  Interesting to note that her father was a lawyer who had defended 2 black men accused of murdering a white storekeeper.  Both men, father and son, were hanged.
 Also interesting to note that the author's first name is Nelle (her grandmother's name spelled backwards).  But she thought that name would cause some confusion so she eliminated it.  In spite of further writing, this author has not published another book.  Why?  To quote Harper Lee, "I have said what I wanted to say and I will not say it again".

Fabulous book!  Published in 1960! Pulitzer Prize winner!

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So, people who believe that you get what you deserve, or, better yet, wish that were true, enjoy books devoted to 'justice'.
That doesn't reflect my view of the world.  I observe that 'rain falls on the just and the unjust'.

Slavery Theme

Since reading "The Invention of wings", I have been thinking of other stories about slaves.  I have already mentioned "The Kitchen House", which I enjoyed.
But this may be my favourite:  "Cane River" by Lalita Tademy

This book allowed me to get inside the skin of a slave.  I was able to understand the thoughts and feelings as families are separated with slaves being sold separately.
Location: Louisiana (Rosedew Plantation)
Time: 1834-1936

There were three distinct classes in Cane river- Creole French planters, free people of colour, and slaves.  Surprisingly, even the free people of colour had slaves.
There was great skin colour bias in this family because they were attempting to 'bleach the line' - a conscious and not-so-conscious effort to improve life for their descendants.
The slave acution was very disturbing.  Each woman in each generation had emotional depressions but the family brought them through.
Main Characters:
Elizabeth - had 2 babies by the son of the plantation owner- she was sold away from them - loving relationship with Gerasimo (fiddler)- 2 daughters.
Suzette- raped by Eugene Daurat- 2 children - sold to Oreline (with daughter and sister)- later married Nicolas Mulon whom she had had a crush on earlier.
Philomene- psychic- married Clement - twins- Clement sold, babies die- gives in to Narcisse- 8 children- got land from Narcisse (and house)
Emily - fell in love with Joseph Billes, worked in his store- 5 children- Joseph got pressure from Night Riders- Emily got land and money.
Angelite- baby by Jacques- terrorized by Night Riders- Jacques returned to France.  Angelite married a black farmer, died in childbirth.

The situations that women have had to face are unbelievable!  And this book really brings them to life.

author- Lalita Tademy

   Lalita has a fascinating story!  She was Vice President and General Manager of several high technology companies in Silicon Valley, spending ten years running business units within large corporations. She was featured in Fortune’s “People on the Rise” list, as well as Black Enterprise and Ebony.  In 1998 she was named an African-American Innovator in the New Millennium at the Silicon Valley Tech Museum of Innovation.

   But her own interest in her family’s roots, and the ongoing issues of racism and women’s empowerment, plus her love of writing, led her to focus all of her energies on her second career – writing. 

  When she researched her family's roots, she said, "I discovered that the horrifying institution of slavery played out in individual dramas as varied as there were different farms and plantations, masters and slaves."

I loved "Cane River" and now I'm reading "Red River".  This book was selected as San Francisco’s One City, One Book in 2007. Her third novel, Citizens Creek, will be published in November 2014.

"Moloka'i" by Alan Brennert

Moloka'i
   This wonderful novel chronicles the grim struggle of a Hawaiian woman who contracts leprosy as a child in Honolulu during the 1890's and is deported to the island of Moloka'i, where she grows to adulthood at the quarantined settlement of Kalaupapa.
   Rachel Kalama marries Kenji Utagawa, a fellow leprosy victim whose illness brings shame on his Japanese family.  They have a daughter that they must give up for adoption.  But Rachel connects with this daughter Ruth, after Kenji dies while trying to stop a soldier beating up the soldier's girlfriend.
   There are many fascinating characters in this novel- Sister Mary Catharine for one.  She is tortured by her parents' suicides and Rachel saves her when she attempts suicide.
Catharine: "I used to wonder, why did God give children leprosy.  Now I believe: God doesn't give anyone leprosy.  He give us, if we choose to use it, the spirit to live with leprosy, and with the imminence of death.  Because it is in our own mortality that we are most Divine."

   This book was recommended to me by Evelyn Heggie at Fairview Nursing Home when I was delivering books to her.  Evelyn has now passed on.  I will never forget her continued passion for books as she approached her 100th birthday.

   Because I loved Moloka'i so much, I searched for another book by Alan Brennert. 
   This book was fun but not as heart-wrenching.

   In 1914, 17-year-old Regrettable arrives in Hawaii with other girls as 'picture brides'. Of course, the pictures are 'doctored' both by the girls and the guys.  All the brides are disappointed in what they find, but still they are married immediately on stepping off the ship from Korea.
   And so, the story follows Regrettable's life- and her name does describe her life!
   Regrettable had been taught to read and hopes for an education.  But her husband lives in poverty, working in sugar cane.  He drinks, gambles, and beats her.  She leaves him (in Korea the penalty for leaving would be hanging) and sews for prostitutes until she divorces and remarries.
The picture brides stay connected as they each try to make a good life.
The beginning of the novel was fascinating but it lagged in the middle and got bogged down toward the end.

Pauline Johnson

One of my book clubs decided to discuss an author instead of a book this month.

Pauline Johnson
And so, I read a biography written by Betty Keller.
It focused on Pauline's travels as a recitalist. 
  Her father had died and she never married, 
so she used this means to support herself and her mother.

Pauline was born in 1861 at Chiefswood, near Brantford.  Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother was from a family of Quakers in England.  Although their marriage was opposed by both families, they were acknowledged as a leading Canadian family. They entertained guests such as Alexander Graham Bell, Homer Watson, Horatio Hale, and Lady and Lord Dufferin.

Her touring stories were interesting.  Remember, this was 1907!

p. 110  "On the chautauqua/lyceum tour circuit, performers have to be hardy.  They are hired for ten weeks of performance and are so tightly scheduled that they must travel steadily from town to town, delivering one or sometimes two performances before catching the train to the next performance stop.  They sleep on trains, catnap on park benches, and eat bean suppers in camp kitchens.  The show goes on whether it pours rain or blows a tornado; many of the campgrounds in the wet summer of 1907 are ankle-deep in soupy mud."
Sometimes there was a bridge out and they had to wait until it was repaired.  Lots of problems with the railway in 1907.
This tour was through the U.S. and Pauline was irate about her billing- "American Indian".  She was bitter about the U.S.'s treatment of the Mohawk after the War of Independence.  She was staunchly in favour of the British and thought anything American was inferior.
Pauline had difficulty paying her bills and often had to call on friends.  When she became sick, she
retired to Vancouver, where she depended greatly on the help of friends.
Pauline died from breast cancer in 1913 at age 51.
Her ashes were buried in Stanley Park where a marker has been placed.

Bad books?

I bought these three books when I was considering my series on "Why I Love to Read".  They were not as helpful as I expected.  So I used my own ideas.
1.) Harold Bloom's book "How to Read and Why" was not helpful.  He has written more than twenty books and he lives in a scholarly world of literature that I barely visit.

2.) The foreword in "The Book Lovers Companion" made me think.  It reads, "Life's too short to read bad books.  There really should be a word for that particular resentment you feel after ploughing through hundreds of pages that didn't pay off.  A single reliable book recommendation can spare you hours of annoyance, impatience and disgust." So 200 books are suggested to relieve that problem.
But, in the last paragraph of the foreword, the editor Lionel Shriver says, "I spotted three or four selections included here that I couldn't bear".  Didn't he just explain why this doesn't work???
One person's annoyance is another person's pleasure!  I am constantly amazed that our interests are so varied.  I just recently gave an impassioned plea for my favourite book "The Poisonwood Bible".  But it is definitely not a favourite for others.  And this makes a real problem for recommending books.

3.) "Why I Read" by Wendy Lesser. page 4: "The kind of pleasure you can get from reading is like no other in the world.  People even get pleasure out of reading bad books, and I deplore this, but that is only because those books are not to my taste.  You will deplore some of the works I hold up as models in this book, and that is not only sensible, but inevitable.  Because reading is such an individual act, the pleasures we derive from literature- even which books we are willing to call 'literature'- will not be identical.  That is as it should be.  Reading can result in boredom or transcendence, rage or enthusiasm, depression or hilarity, empathy or contempt, depending on who you are and what the book is and how your life is shaping up at the moment you encounter it.  This effect will be particular to each person, and it will change over time, just as the person changes over time- and the richer and more complicated that book is, the more this will be true."

  I thought about doing a series on "bad books" but I'm sure that I will  anger some people when I mention their favourite in my list.  Bad books - ponder that!

The Clan of the Cave Bear

my old copy, my new copy

This book was published in 1980 and I read it soon after that.  I was really drawn into this novel about prehistoric times.

Ayla, a little five-year-old Cro-Magnon child is the sole survivor of a tribe that were wiped out by an earthquake. She wandered aimlessly, naked and unable to feed herself, for several days. Having been attacked and nearly killed by a cave lion and suffering from starvation, exhaustion, and infection of her wounds, she collapsed, on the verge of death.

She is taken in by a tribe of Neanderthal.  How fascinating!

I was so engrossed in this book, I continued to read other books in the series as they were published.  And, I also began to record the series on tape.  My sister-in-law had ALS and was paralyzed.  She lived at a distance so I thought this would be a way to help to entertain her.  I found out later that the tapes were put on to calm her to settle for sleep at night.  And, looking back, I can see that it could have put her to sleep.  The description is exhaustive but beautiful!

Example:

"The land was unbelievably rich, and man only an insignificant fraction of the multifarious life that lived and died in that cold, ancient Eden.  Born too raw, without superior natural endowments for it-save one, his oversize brain- he was the weakest of the hunters.  But for all his apparent vulnerability, lacking fang or claw or swift leg or leaping strength, the two-legged hunter had gained the repect of his four-legged competitors."

The role of women is described in this passage: "In the beginning Ayla just followed Iza around and watched while they skinned animals, cured hides, stretched thongs cut in one spiral piece from a single hide, wove baskets, mats, or nets, gouged bowls our of logs, gathered wild foods, prepared meals, preserved meats and plant food for winter, and responded to the wishes of any man who called upon them to perform a service."

I find this book mesmerizing!  I am reading it for the third time- aloud this time as we take advantage of the good weather to take day trips.
I would love to read through the whole series- six books!  But they are long, descriptive books and take hours to complete.  We may complete one book this summer.  I know that the second book in the series has less plot and more description, but I would love to get to the later books that I have not read. The last book was just published in 2011- after a nine year wait.  So it seems like a good idea to re-read the series, in order to fully appreciate the last book.

1980  The Clan of the Cave Bear

1982  The Valley of Horses

1985  The Mammoth Hunter

1990  The Plains of Passage

2002  The Shelters of Stone

2011  The Land of Painted Caves

This series was a major undertaking!  The author began research in 1977. Thirty-four years of work on this series!   It was no surprise to learn that the author belongs to MENSA.

Restoration series

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

modern technology

We spent three days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania recently and visited both an Amish farm and a very modern farm.  While watching the automated system, I wondered aloud what would happen in a blackout.  A fellow traveler told me about the Restoration Series by Terri Blackstock.  I read the first book-"Last Light" about a major blackout.  Nothing is operating- electricity, water, stores, planes, cars.

 "The fast lane has come to a screeching halt and we don't have any skills to get us through this".
The parents attempted to help the neighbourhood, as they worked out their Christian faith.  Do we look after out own family- or share with those in worse situations? This author writes only Christian fiction.
The three children had no idea how to cope, and the 22-year-old was the worst.  She just whined and complained, because she was expecting to begin 'the good life' in Washington, D.C.

But who did have the skills?  the Amish.  However....

"The Amish were not impacted by the outage since they aren't dependent on technology, but they were the victims of burglaries."
Since this novel took place in Birmingham, Alabama, everyone had a gun- including the teenagers.  So people were being killed- for food, bicycles, and other essentials.  It was anarchy!

I don't plan to read the other three books, but I do wonder about the series title- Restoration.
Is it referring to the restoration of technology?
Or the more spiritual restoration of the family?
Or both?
And....how would we manage in a blackout?

Sue Monk Kidd

I have read these other books by Sue Monk Kidd:

I loved this book!

1964- peach farm in south Carolina

   Lily Owens was four when she accidently shot her mother (while her parents were fighting).  Her father was cruel and eventually Lily ran away with Rosaleen, the black maid.  Lily had three items that had belonged to her mother- gloves, a picture of her mother, and a picture of a black Madonna with printing on the back- Tiburon.  So they headed for Tiburon, saw the black Madonna on a jar of honey and found out where it was made. 

  Lily and Rosaleen were taken in by the calendar sisters- August, May, June, April.  August had been Lily's mother's nanny.  This household of women nurtured Lily as she was able to come to terms with her life.

  Marvellous descriptive writing!  Couldn't put it down!

"This is the last thing I remember with perfect crispness- her breath floating down to me like a tiny parachute, collapsing without a trace among the piles of shoes."

"Dragonflies darted back and forth like they were stitching up the air."

Strong, nurturing black women in the time of segregation.  Beautiful story!

 This novel takes place on Egret Island, off the coast of South Carolina.

  Jessie was 42, and unsatisfied with her life. 

Page 1: "I lived molded to the smallest space possible, my days the size of little beads that passed without passion through my fingers". 

  Well, she found passion!

  On this beautiful island, she fell in love with Brother Andrew. "The affair impregnated her with life"-  "I had the sense of being out on the furthest frontier of myself.  It was a surprisingly beautiful outpost".

Andrew told Jessie, ""We'll be damned and we'll be saved- both".  And, in fact, Jessie discovered 'a solitude of being' - through the relationship and the paintings she made.

   Fabulous language!  Wonderful characters!

But, in fact, Jessie did return to her husband."There would be no grand absolution, only forgiveness meted out in these precious sips.  It would well up from Hugh's heart in spoonfuls and he would feed it to me.  And it would be enough". 

  Just a story about an affair, but the language, metaphors and symbolism swept me out to sea!

 This book is a mother/daughter memoir- set in Greece and France.  Ann, the daughter, is depressed about not being accepted to the University program that she applied for.  Sue, the mother,  is upset about the loss of the close relationship she had with her daughter and is also struggling with her own aging process.  

  Sue is obsessed with another mother/daughter relationship - Demeter and Persephone.  "I have come to believe it's really about that aperture opening,  It's the channel where the souls of a mother and a daughter open and flow as two separate souls, woman to woman.  It is, I know now, a place created through necessary loss and necessary search, and a reinvention of the whole relationship."

  This book took 8 years to write and was about 'the sacred feminine'.  It lost me!

  My daughter, Kathy, and I both read this book and laughed about the comparison of this mother/daughter trip to Greece and our trip to Newfoundland. Sue and her daughter were completely wrapped up in self-analysis and the angst of relationship.  

  This book seemed so serious, while we just enjoyed the country, sang and laughed as we drove across Newfoundland with my other daughters and granddaughter.

  Sue Monk Kidd was born in Georgia and received her B.S degree (nursing) from Texas Christian University.  She worked as a nurse and a nursing instructor.  She married Sanford (Sandy) who graduated in theology and they had 2 children.

  She began writing- mostly in guidepost magazine.  She wrote two spiritual memoirs, then took a turn into feminist theology.

This book chronicles her journey from Christian tradition to sacred Feminism.

  The author was strongly influenced by the teaching 'second in creation, first to sin'.  She recognized the wound that women carry when they feel inferior and secondary.  She needed to re-image Deity.  She discovered that before the Hebrew religion, people worshipped the Supreme Being in the form of a female Deity- the Great Goddess.  She found a new inner authority as a woman and a connection to the natural world.

  I didn't relate to this book, perhaps because I have never felt inferior or secondary because of being a  woman.

   Sue Monk Kidd is a very self-reflective woman who writes great fiction!

Whoops!

In my blog on "The Invention of Wings", I made a significant mistake.  And my daughter caught it!  Way to go, Kathy!  John usually edits my blog before I publish it, but he hadn't read the book, so wouldn't catch this error.
Sarah's slave was not 'Helpful', but 'Handful'.  There is a big, big difference.

Also, Kathy responded to the thought about the title.
Her thoughts:
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The title has to do with the relationship between Handful, her mom, and her mom's mom... and the ability to fly away and to be free from whatever holds you down.  She talked about the bones on her back one day growing into wings.  It was based on an African folk tale but I can't remember if it was real or part of the story that was created for the novel.

Also, it's about every character's desire to grow their own wings and escape from the societal constraints of that time.  Everyone, the slave owners and the slaves, both the women and the men in this book were unhappy with the way their roles forced them to be/live.

And she connects the title to the quilting story lines with the flying geese blocks and images.

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Kathy got me started on this blog and I'm happy that she keeps me honest!  Thanks, Kathy!

Her blog is http://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/

The Invention of Wings

Sue Monk Kidd

  I have been following this author for some time.  So I was excited when Oprah chose her new book for her book club.

"The Invention of Wings"

I am always interested in a novel about slavery.  I have no idea why this topic fascinates me so much.  I know that there will be a great deal of pain.  But there is so much emotion in these books. This particular book was missing the exquisite language of Sue Monk Kidd's other books, but has a great plot and interesting characters.  I was surprised to learn at the end that the sisters in the novel were real people.

Sarah and Angelina Grimke were born into Charleston aristocracy.  They were always opposed to slavery in spite of the fact that Sarah's present from her parents for her 11th birthday was a 10-year-old slave, called "Helpful".

Much is known about Sarah and Angelina as they moved north to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers.  The sisters began speaking around the country, but their message became too extreme for the Quakers, who wanted them to stay with an abolition theme.  However, they felt strongly about feminism and, basically, spoke for freedom for all.

  They were involved with the American Anti-Slavery Society but were radicals in that circle also.

  I was interested in their connection with John Greenleaf Whittier, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  I googled for information about each of these fellows and their involvement in the abolitionist movement.  Interesting!

 There isn't as much information about the slave that was given to Sarah, so the author needed to invent a story for her.  The whole story is told by alternating narrators- Sarah and Helpful.  This certainly gives different points of view.

  At the end of the novel, the author explains how much of the story is based on fact and what is invented.

  Speaking of invention....what about the title?

  "Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you?" (Diane Setterfield in "The Thirteenth Tale")

   This is what I experienced after reading "The Invention of Wings".  I was unable to connect with any of the other books on my pile.  Penny would say that I have a 'book hangover'.  I want to think about this book a while longer......