Let’s wander down memory lane and revisit what we were reading 25 years ago…at least what I was reading. I unearthed 2 years of reviews I’d written for the Rockville Library newsletter “must read” from 1999-2001 which began my illustrious? book review career. For those Rockvillians of a certain age, I have many “must reads” if you’re interested. Thanks to all those involved in the creation of this wonderful publication!
Most of the titles that I reviewed are available at your local libraries but if they’re not…don’t forget Interlibrary Loan!
Empire Falls by Richard Russo—Just as Anne Tyler is the queen of dysfunctional families, Richard Russo is the king of dysfunctional, falling apart, small towns. His venue is mostly in upstate New York, namely my hometown and his, Gloversville (as you all know), (which he has dubbed “Mohawk”). His most recent novel is set in Maine, in a city where literally the empire (textile mills) has fallen. But call it Mohawk or Empire Falls, it really does not matter. The theme is the same: life in small-town, blue-collar America where the prospects are few and the future is dim.
Miles Roby, divorced father of teenaged daughter, Tick, tries to deal with post-marriage life in a town where everyone knows his secrets. Russo’s cast of characters includes a deadbeat father, frustrated ex-wife, plus her incredibly obnoxious boyfriend and Francine, the diabolical widow who still owns most of the town.
If the story were only about life in present day Empire Falls, it would still be a good novel. What makes it a great novel are the flashbacks to Empire Falls at an earlier time. We meet CB Whiting, reluctant inheritor of the mills and Miles’ mother, an ethereal character whose life is changed by one vacation with her young son.
And the secrets: everyone has them and Miles is always the last to know. Will Miles ever get out of Empire Falls?
Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln by Richard Slotkin—Think about all the material out there about Abraham Lincoln. Do we really need to read another book, especially a novel about our 16th president? Our Rockville Book Discussion Group read it, and I think most of the members would have to say “yes”. Slotkin has approached the subject of a young Abe through a Huck Finn perspective. How did a young man growing up in the backwoods come to develop the anti-slavery perspective for which he is known? Like Huck Finn, Lincoln took a trip down the Mississippi River (actually two in real life) where he saw first-hand what slavery was really like. And although we see Abe develop his notable sense of humor, incredible strength and his love of reading, he is not infallible. He makes mistakes, but muses over them and learns from them.
Slotkin writes in the language of the time and like Mark Twain, uses the vernacular including the “N” word which is off-putting for many readers. But it does place the reader squarely in the 19th century.
And there is no better way to learn about river rafting than reading about Abe’s trip down the Mississippi. A must read for American history buffs.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan—This is the story of Ruth, always coping with her difficult mother Lui Ling, now afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. When she discovers her mother’s journal, Ruth learns the true story of her mother’s life. She also discovers her own voice, identity and the love that she has previously blocked out of her life.
Once again Tan succeeds in writing a story of mother and daughter that translates into every language and culture. Even the second part of the book, where we read Lui Ling’s journal set in China, is also a story of mother and daughter. Tan includes wonderful tidbits about growing up with an immigrant parent when Ruth, as a child, becomes the translator for her mother and realizes the power that she wields.
Code to Zero by Ken Follett—You can imagine my pure pleasure at finally picking up a new Ken Follett novel and really, truly enjoying it. Now, nothing may be as wonderful as Eye of the Needle but this is as close as he has come to a page turner for more than 20 years. He is back in the genre that made him famous in the first place: spy thrillers!
The premise begins simply: the year is 1958. A man wakes up in the bathroom of Washington’s Union Station dressed in cast off clothes, not knowing where he is. (Oh how I love “amnesia fiction”) The rest of the book is how Luke figures out his identity, why men are following him, what his role in the rocket launching at Cape Canaveral is and his relationship with the beautiful Billie. As Follett takes us hour by hour through these two important days, he also takes us back to Harvard and the war years where all the main characters first met. It’s a quick, fun read which will make you want to reread his earlier works. A must read for diehard Follett fans.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood—It is impossible to sum up this multilayered saga of life in Canada from the Depression to post WW2 years. Suffice it to say it is a story where none of the characters get what they want.
Laura and Iris Chase, two sisters brought up in the rarified air of their rich father’s museum of a house, are unprepared for real life after his factory is burned down and the money runs out. Iris is married off to a rich industrialist, while her younger sister is sent to private school. That is the bare bones. But throughout the novel we also read in alternating chapters, the story of “The Blind Assassin” about an illicit love affair between a rich married woman and an idealistic young communist hiding out from the law. Each time they meet, he narrates a science fiction tale about a blind assassin and his love for a condemned woman. We then jump to the present and meet Iris as an older woman, writing the tale of her and Laura’s tragic life so that the public will finally learn the truth.
Once again it is Atwood’s incredible writing style that kept me from putting this sometimes very confusing novel down. Her woman characters are so finally drawn, we can even picture Winifred, the evil sister-in-law, scheming in her green lizard shoes.
A must read for dedicated Atwood fans, but many critics were not pleased with her latest novel.
Hope you’ll enjoy these “must reads”. Next month we’ll be back to new books or at least newly written reviews…but as always, if you haven’t read them, they’re new to you. Can’t believe that I’m saying this so early, but Happy Thanksgiving to all.
GET LIT WITH LISA 