This was yet another one of those books that I should have read at least three times by now. But somehow I managed to make it through a
high school career of honors and AP English classes, and a college degree in Humanities with an emphasis in literature with out ever picking it up. I really enjoyed it. It is simply told-- through the eyes of a child. And yet it hits on some fairly complicated human issues; equality, race, friendship, growing up, pride, education, parenting, familial ties. Scout was so familiar to me. Though I didn't have a wardrobe of overalls, her
precocious thought processes were like a page out of my childhood. I also think that
Atticus Finch is one of the most commendable parents in the world of fiction. He realized the challenges his kids would be facing and used every interaction with them to teach them and prepare them to do the right thing.
I need to see the movie. I can't imagine any child recreating Scout the way she is in my mind. The 1962 film won 3 Oscars. Gregory Peck is supposed to be pretty good. I'll let you know how I like it when I ever get around to seeing it!
Geraldine Brooks is an author my sister stumbled upon in an airport bookstore. She sent me
People of the Book, and
Year of Wonders when she was through and I read them back to back.
People of the Book is a kind of historical mystery. The main character is a book binder who
specializes in restoring ancient texts. She is approached to work on the Sarajevo
Haggadah (a rare Jewish codex used at passover dinner) and in the process of rebinding it discovers some interesting artifacts; a dyed hair, a butterfly wing, and a stain of blood, wine, and salt water. She has an adventurous journey finding more clues and in the meantime, Brooks takes us back in time and tells us the story of the book. I've always liked the idea of books having stories of
their own. I looking through my library books to find little notes written in the margins, or little stains on the pages. It was interesting to imagine where else the book had been and how it had effected other readers.
Brooks' research is boggling. The
haggadah's history spans continents and centuries. Each episode and character involved has its own voice and pace. This was really impressive to me. It was like reading 4 or 5 different books. Warning: the chapter that takes place in Victorian Vienna is quite ... Victorian. It is verbose. Some of the language is strong. And there is sexual promiscuity. I skimmed a bit. But the rest of the novel is pretty safe. The last bit of the book is reminiscent to me of reading
The DaVinci Code. There is deception, a race to save the artifact, and a twist. I loved it.
Year of Wonders fell short of my expectations. It is incredibly well researched, and therefore interesting. But it seemed a little -
The Scarlett Letter-meets
The Crucible-meets Lifetime original movie- to me. It is based on the true story of an English village that
quarantined itself once the plague hit. I appreciated that Brooks was not gory. I was left with no doubt of the suffering and the physical details of plague contraction without sensational and grotesque description. I was also surprised by how Brooks introduces the novel. Within the first two chapters or so, she discloses who of the main characters will die before the reader has even been properly introduced to them. The reader is then made to care about these characters, all the while being aware of
their immanent demise. It was a bit like what it might have been for the people of that village; living, loving and serving each other when anyone of them could be gone the next day.
Brooks approaches some good thinking questions through her characters. Much is made through out the novel of enduring God's tests. At one point, Anna, the protagonist, stumbles over a small rock. Did God put that rock in her path? If she had been mortally wounded by the fall, she would be inclined to say yes. Where is the line that decides His involvement in the evil that besets her? Was He hand picking those who were being taken by the plague? Or did He have nothing to do with it?
Brooks lost me in the last few chapters. It isn't a very long book, and the pace up to that point is pretty moderate. Then in the last 30 pages or so, the main surviving characters seem to change from day to night in a matter of pages. And the conclusion of the novel seemed a little out of left
field to me. So, again, I found it interesting, but a bit
disappointing at the end.
READ THIS BOOK! It is completely fascinating and important.
Wild Swans is the true story of three generations of Chinese women. The biography spans
pre-WWI era and
foot binding and concubines through the rise of Communism and utilitarian lifestyles and the Cultural Revolution. Chang expects a lot of her reader, and I'll be the first to admit that I had to look up a few words (and English is her second language) and historical events.
There is too much for me to even try to
summarize. But I think it is a very honest look at the good and the bad of Chinese history and government. Though parts of it were a little complicated to follow, I struggled to put it down.
It probably helps that I was reading it during the Olympics. It hard to imagine how millions of people could live under such control. It was captivating to see a bigger picture of what got the country where it is, and why it has survived.
Again, even if you plan to never read another book, read this one! Hands down, it was my favorite read of the year.
Friday night Cori and I were supposed to have a date. I had a babysitter lined up. I was going to make reservations for us to eat at a fancy restaurant downtown. After two weeks of being quarantined with my sick babies and all their...bodily stuff I was pretty anxious to 
