The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling

I never expected to be blindsided by The Christmas Pig. I hated the first bleak chapters, and only continued because many people from the Lit Life Podcast group raved over this book. I'm glad I persevered. 

Young Jack has gone through many painful family experiences, but through all of them, he has been comforted by a much-loved stuffed pig (DP). When his mean step-sister throws DP away, Jack is devastated. Just when you think you can't take anymore nastiness, Rowling turns the story completely around, doing some kind of literary magic that had me gaping throughout the rest of the story. I've never read anything by her before so I wasn't aware of her ability to create alternate worlds. I was stunned by her brilliance.

The rest of the narrative takes place on Christmas Eve when Jack is transported into the World of Lost Things to look for DP.  There he discovers that lost items belong to different categories. Items in the "mislaid" section are considered temporarily lost. The "disposable" section is a scarier place because if they land there, they are less likely to be searched for since they can be easily replaced. Other categories exist, but I don't want to give too many spoilers.

Rowling weaves together an amazing variety of lost things. Not only are there the requisite umbrellas, house keys, and socks, there are also lost feelings such as hope, ambition, and happiness. By giving human charcteristics to these misplaced items, Rowling weaves a powerful story of what is means to be valued. 

It had "Toy Story" vibes with traces of The Velveteen Rabbit (and even a smidgin of Pilgrim's Progress!) I am intrigued by the number of people who have seen Dante-esque themes in The Christmas Pig. I was not smart enough to pick up on those, but hope to re-read the book more carefully next time.

Because the the tone is dark overall, this would not be a good story for young children, but the book ends with lots of love and warmth. I'm very glad I read it.

Blessings, 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I came to A Gentleman in Moscow with all the misgivings I usually have for modern fiction, but was pleasantly surprised with this beautifully told story.

Count Alexander Rostov is a political prisoner in Russia during the first half of the 20th century. His “prison” is the Metropol hotel in Moscow where he lives in a tiny attic room. In spite of his limitations, he develops many rich friendships (one with an actress who becomes his mistress, but thankfully their liaisons are never detailed).  

The gentle philosophizing was a delight:

I’ll tell you what is convenient,” he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka, and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered most to me. (p. 352)

When the Count was a young man, he prided himself on the fact that he was unmoved by the ticking of the clock…. There were those of his acquaintance who brought a new sense of urgency to their slightest endeavor. They timed the consumption of their breakfast, the walk to their office, and the hanging of their hat on its hook with as much precision as if they were preparing for a military campaign. They answered the phone on the first ring, scanned the headlines, limited their conversations to whatever was most germane, and generally spent their days in pursuit of the second hand. God bless them. For his part, the Count had opted for the life of the purposely unrushed. (p. 390)

In addition to the literary references (from Anna Karenina to Robinson Crusoe to Dante to Odysseus to the Count of Monte Cristo to Don Quixote!) and the good writing, the story is compelling. How do you thrive and continue to make a difference in other people’s lives when confined to a small space? The conclusions that Towles makes are simply astonishing.

Blessings,

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

I rarely read modern fiction, so I'm not quite sure how this book landed on my radar. But I'm glad it did.

Seventy-one year old Captain Jefferson Kidd is travelling through Texas, carrying "the news of the world" to small towns where folks will pay a dime to hear him read the papers. It's just after the Civil War and, in many ways, Texas is the wild west. Kidd had hoped that sharing stories from all over the world would help bring unity to divided people: If people had true knowledge of the world perhaps they would not take up arms and so perhaps he could be an aggregator of information from distant places and then the world would be a more peaceful place. He had been perfectly serious. That illusion had lasted from age forty-nine to age sixty-five.

In one city where he stops, his offered $50 to deliver an orphan to her people who are 400 miles away. The girl had been kidnapped four years earlier by a band of Kiowa Indians and had recently been rescued by the U.S. Army.  Kidd names the ten-year old Johanna and promises to take her safely home. As they travel together, warding off bandits and busybodies, they learn to communicate and to build a friendship that brings healing to both of them.

Kidd had become indifferent to humanity. Now it was different. He was drawn back into the stream of being because there was once again a life in his hands. Things mattered. The strange depression and spiritual chill he had felt were gone. . . . Joy and liveliness had come back to his readings now. His voice had its old vibrancy again and he smiled as he read; . . . . [he] recalled how dull his life had seemed before he had come upon her in Wichita Falls.

The exquisite writing was balm to my soul. Jiles helped me to see and hear the settings and the people when she wrote that someone was as "freckled as a guinea hen" or that "His pen nib scratched across the newsprint with a noise like avaricious mice." Some turns of phrase were so apt and lovely that I laughed out loud with sheer joy.

She also does a wonderful job establishing the historical context, adding details about post Civil War conflicts, the economy, the laws (or lack of them), Kiowa Indian customs, and more. But it was never an overwhelming amount of details. The clash between the Kiowa and the white man's cultures is handled with skill and without pat answers.

The denouement in the final chapter was spot on. The reader learns that it isn't the big "world" news that changes people, but the daily sacrificial offering of one's life to another.

In spite of the occasional profanity (none of it felt gratuitous), this is a beautiful story of grace in the midst of brokenness. The narrator at Audible, Grover Gardner, had the perfect gravelly voice for this book. I look forward to revisiting this novel in the future.

Blessings,

Guarded by Angela Correll

Annie is a world-traveller who loses her job and has to move back to a small town in Kentucky to live with her grandmother. She meets up with an old friend and their relationship quickly turns into something more. While renovating an old house, old letters are found beneath the floor boards. Guarded is the story of secrets and hidden fears that come to the forefront.

Frankly, my expectations were low because most Christian fiction is hard to swallow. But Correll's book was a nice surprise. Unlike most Christian novels, the writing was good, with nary an awkward sentence to make my scratch my head and wonder where her editors were.

People have Bibles, go to church, and pray, but faith is never forced or awkward. There is romance, but it isn't the only focus of the story. The lost/found letters lead to an adventure for Annie and her grandmother that brings healing to old hurts, which makes this light read very satisfying.

The story was engaging and the characters likable. I have to admit at floundering a few times with knowing who was who. It might have been helpful to have read the first book, Grounded, but it was not essential.

This is a nice deal: 99 cents on Kindle.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry has retired from the brewery and potters through his days avoiding his hostile wife and his painful memories. When he receives a letter from an old acquaintance who is on her death bed, he decides to visit her. By walking 600 miles. This journey will change his life and the lives of many around him.

There are many things to love about this book: the quietly eloquent writing, Harold's faithfulness, the raw honesty of many of the characters, and the balance of heartache and hopefulness. And, of course, "the gorilla man."

A sample from Chapter Fifteen: He had faced his shortcomings and overcome them. And so the real business of walking was happening only now. . . He was no longer afraid. If anything, he was more sure. . . . His walk had become a battle against himself and he had failed [with injuries and false expectations]. Now he followed a set of gentle stretching exercises each morning and rested every two hours. He stopped to study the plants and to treat his blisters. Once more it surprised him how much was at his feet if only he had known to look.

As he learns to pay more attention to his own bodily rhythms and the world's natural beauty, he also learns compassion for his fellow pilgrims.

Harold walked with these strangers and listened. He had learned that it was the smallness of people that had filled him with wonder and tenderness. And the loneliness of that too. The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other. And a life might appear ordinary simply because the person living it had done so for a long time. To Harold every person began to look the same as well as unique. This was the dilemma of being human. It was as if all his life he had been waiting to get up from his chair. . . .

My love for the book is not unequivocal. The short, very strong outbursts of profanity rankled me more than usual because I was listening to the audiobook and these words tended to play and replay in my mind. And faith in God is gently ridiculed throughout.

Still, even with the presence of profanity and the absence of Bible verses, Joyce has written a book that Christian authors can emulate. It's a powerful story of brokenness and the longing for redemption. I'm only sorry the ending was as shallow as it was, with it's fluffy ideas about death and the hereafter.

Even with its imperfections, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a wonderful look at the beauty and fragility of humanity and man's deep-seated need for love and meaning. If you can stomach the vulgar language, I highly recommend the Audible.com version expertly done by Jim
Broadbent.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt

Gary Schmidt is a masterful writer. I've read and enjoyed The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, so I was looking forward to reading his award-winning Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

Turner Buckminster is the preacher's son who has just moved to Phippsburg, Maine. He has trouble making friends until he meets Lizzie, a young girl who lives on a nearby island. She is a descendant of former slaves; the good folks of Phippsburg do not look kindly on their mixed-race friendship. The painful lessons he learns as a result of choosing to go against public opinion help Turner to grow into a man.

This felt like a Dicken's novel much of the time because there were many odious people in it. I read the first half of the book in small chunks so as not to be overcome by the bleakness.Thankfully, grace is extended by some of the townspeople and others learn to be more loving and forgiving than before. The story is beautifully written with vibrant characters. Lizzie Bright is especially delightful.

Even though, I'm glad I read it, I was disappointed in two things: its positive take on Darwin's writings and it's unmitigated sadness, which made it too heavy for a children's book.

Has anyone else read this? What did you think?

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the third book in the adrenaline-pumping trilogy, The Hunger Games.  If you read my review of Catching Fire, you know I was miffed at a heroine who didn’t seem to know her heart; so I began this final installment with only mild enthusiasm.

The Capitol is the ruthless government that has established the hunger games. In this book Katniss is appointed as (symbolic) leader of the people’s rebellion against President Snow and his “peacekeepers.” Katniss plans to kill Snow but because of a series of surprising twists, things don’t turn out quite as she imagined.   

A few cliches made me wince: “If looks could kill,” “He had my back,” and a reference to someone going “ballistic.”  And this book was more gruesome in places.  But let’s face it, Collins is a compelling story teller.  

One of the themes that interested me in all three books was Katniss’ self-loathing for having caused the deaths of so many people.  She was also unable to accept acts of love and grace because they caused her to feel unhappily beholden to those who gave sacrificially to her.  I was disappointed that these ideas were not dealt with more clearly in the resolution.  

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Carolyn McCormick who did an outstanding job.

The Linnet's Tale by Dale C. Willard

Judging from the lack of response to my rave reviews of Wind in the Willows, I know I’m in a small minority of those who love books in which animals act like people. My latest favorite was offered as a free download on Kindle, but now at $2.99, it’s still a bargain.

The Linnet's Tale is the story of a community of mice who live in Tottensea Burrows.   It is told from the point of view of a linnet (house finch) whose conspiratorial confidences are pure pleasure.  Not only are there villains and heroes, there are families and friends who stick together.  My favorite family was the Fieldpeas who own the bookstore.  The three Fieldpea daughters love books and there are several chapters about them that will delight bibliophiles and word lovers. 

I, who love tight, clean prose, was enamored with every flowery, meandering sentence in Willard’s short novel.  How could you not love a phrase like, “He was wallowing helplessly in a small tussock of fescue.”? Or not love words like, “pipit,” “recumbent,” “orts,” and “kerfuffle”? The subtitle of the book is “A Mouse Tale for Grownups,” but I think a child who has been brought up on books (who is not  daunted by big words) would rejoice in the adventures of the Tottensea mice.

I have to agree with Waterford Hopstep (the linnet) when he described them as quite a splendid little company of field mice – all of them honorable, generous, warm-hearted and as distinct from one another as snowflakes.  You’d like them, I think.  (p. 19)

In the tradition of Brambly Hedge, Redwall, and Wind in the Willows, this darling story is full of humor and heroism – and a touch of romance.  Definitely one of my favorite books of 2013.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Have you ever watched  a movie in which the wife is married to a jerk?  When the man of her dreams comes along, you wish with all your heart that she could leave her slob of a husband and find happiness with the new man?  I. Hate. Those. Movies. Because they manipulate me into elevating my flimsy feelings above what I know to be right.

I had similar feelings as I read Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Yes, there is the same heart-thumping action as book one.  Yes, the themes of self-sacrifice are very real and powerful.  But the love triangle is starting to wear on me. Katniss has strong feelings for Peetah because they’ve been through hell together in the arena, but she reserves her romantic feelings for Gale, her lifelong best friend.  When she has bad dreams, however, she allows Peetah to hold her through the night.   Blech.  She hates herself for using him, but she can’t help it...  You feel so sorry for her.  She’s got so much to worry about - keeping her friends and family alive, etc.  But I don’t like being manipulated into thinking that what she’s doing is justifiable.  

And do you really want me to believe that this handsome hulk of a guy holds her through the night with nary a sexual impulse? Is this some feminist theme - that men are there for our needs, but we don’t need to be there for theirs?  Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want sex in these books.  I just think it’s weird that this guy loves her so much that he can pretend that he doesn’t have hormones.

Off my soap box now.  There are things to really like about Katniss.  She eschews the empty-headed people from the Capitol who care only about clothes, tattoos and outlandish hairdos.  She scorns “playboy”  Finnik, comparing him to the lascivious Cray.  She feels pity for the morphling addicts who need the drug to escape from reality.  (She, herself, gets drunk once, but this is shown in a negative light.)  In addition, she is constantly reaching out to the kind of people whom the world rejects.  The main theme of book two is Katniss’ determination to give her life in exchange for Peetah’s.  So aside from her ambivalence toward the men in her life, she is a very moral character.  

Catching Fire has more gore than Hunger Games (book one) and more mentions of people in various forms of nakedness (no details though).   I’d think twice before giving this to a young girl to read. Although the book ended with a great twist, I'm going to resist checking out the third book until I read a few others with less adrenaline-based plots.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Because of my disregard for modern day bestsellers, I never dreamed I’d be reviewing The Hunger Games on my web log.  But I was intrigued by a number of theological blogs that dismissed it as anti-Christian while an equal number of bloggers praised it for its Christian themes. I had to find out for myself.

Whether you like this book or hate it, it’s hard to put down once you start reading.  Collins has written a compelling story of a young girl who is battling for her life in her country’s yearly “Hunger Games.”  Every year teenagers are selected from each district in Panem to fight to the death.  When Katniss Everdeen’s 12 year old sister, Prim, is chosen, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

Is there any idea more biblical than self-sacrifice?  And that isn’t the only time that grace is extended.  Peetah gives bread to Katniss when she is starving. The baker promises to look after Prim while Katniss is gone.  Her friend, Gale, promises to feed her mother and sister.  Rue warns Katniss of danger.  Thresh refuses to kill her when he has a chance.  Katniss risks her chances of winning the games by helping Peetah when he is wounded.  And the list goes on.

Forgiveness is another theme in the novel.  While in training for the games, Katniss meets a girl who she had once seen fleeing from the Capitol.  Katniss feels guilty for not having helped her escape and wishes she could ask forgiveness.   After Katniss’ father dies, her mother abandons the family (in an emotional sense).  Katniss holds a grudge against her and later wishes she could have more clearly expressed forgiveness. 

As far as Book One is concerned, the positive themes far outweigh the negative ones of violence, revenge, etc.  Since I’m not a big fan of romance novels, I didn’t love the final chapters where Katniss and Peetah are trying to sort out their feelings for one another.  However, I am withholding my final judgment on the series until read the other two books. 

Sidenote:  I dread seeing the movie.  Katniss and Peetah pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend to gain audience sympathy (because the games are televised to the entire nation).  At one point she removes his clothing to clean his wounds.  Later they slip into the same sleeping bag to keep warm.  I can see how the movie version could be more sexualized.  Also, the killings are not graphically described in the book, but would be much more vivid and shocking on screen.  If you’ve seen the movie, let me know if my hunch is correct.

Blackout & All Clear by Connie Willis

I had seen rave reviews of Connie Willis’ book To Say Nothing of the Dog on the blogosphere, but knew nothing about her Oxford Time Travel series until Sherry recommended it to me. 

Blackout and All Clear deal with British historians from the year 2060 who travel back in time to observe England during World War Two.  Willis is a good story teller and the reader soon becomes engaged in the lives of the characters.  And because Willis has done her research, these books are a painless way to learn many historical facts about the war.

Polly, Eileen and Mike have varying assignments.  Polly is a shop clerk during the Blitz. Eileen works with child evacuees in the British countryside and Mike is sent to observe “true heroism” at Dunkirk.    It is fascinating to watch the historians switch from observers to participants as they become deeply concerned about the people with whom they are sharing bomb shelters, living spaces, and war duties.  In fact, Eileen keeps missing her “drop” (time transport slot) because of the needs of the many children for whom she is caring. 

Interspersed with bombings and missed drops are lighter moments with the incorrigible Hodbins (brother and sister), the Shakespeare-quoting Sir Godfrey Kingsman, and the crotchety landlady, Mrs. Ricketts. Anyone familiar with WWII history will know the importance of St. Paul’s Cathedral as a symbol of English endurance.  Willis weaves this theme into her book and includes the added dimension of a particular painting within the cathedral.  The painting theme and the strongly Christian theme of self-sacrifice counterbalanced the sparse yet difficult-for-me-to-swallow profanity.  

At the end of the first book the historians are having trouble finding any drops that are working.  They wonder if they have inadvertently altered history and thus destroyed their chances of ever returning to their own time.  It takes book two to explain what went wrong and how they “fix” it. The denouement is surprisingly touching.  Kudos to Willis for wrapping up her story so wonderfully.

A very worthwhile read.  I’m glad I could get it on my Kindle via my U.S. public library.

So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

I’ve heard bits and pieces about So Brave, Young, and Handsome, but was finally nudged into reading it by Amy’s review.

The book’s editor writes, “So Brave, Young, and Handsome is a lean, potent adventure story – a tale of romance and pursuit, friendship and a vanishing American West.  Set in 1915, it features two of the most appealing, aging cowboy rivals you’ll have come across and the modest, self-effacing writer who accompanies them on their trip across the country.…  Enger’s instinct for clean, entertaining storytelling feels rare in today’s world and transports us to a time when, in Leif’s words, outlaw stories could still lean a body forward in his chair.”

Enger is a gifted writer.  Some of the storyline stretches the imagination, but Enger’s writing voice is believable for that time and place.  It is a romance in the old-fashioned sense of the word, a tale of heroes and extraordinary events.

The themes of redemption and forgiveness run through the novel, but are not overdone.  To maintain the moral integrity of the book, the ending is not happy in the Hollywood sense.  Yet it manages to be satisfying because one of the main characters makes a very good decision after a lifetime of very bad ones.

Don’t let the title fool you into thinking this is “chick lit.”  The book has a lot more depth than that and could be equally enjoyed by male or female readers.  It’s a tribute to the dying west and to men who are trying to discover what it means to live honorably.  I’m glad I read it.

The Children of Men by P.D. James

When The Children of Men (the movie) came out a few years ago, I was intrigued by its premise. Sometime in the near future human beings will no longer be able to have children. As hope dies out, one woman becomes pregnant and holds the key to the future of mankind. My son saw the film and told me I would hate it for its violence and profanity. So that was that.

Then I saw the book on a friend’s bookshelf and purposed to read it while skimming over the less savory parts. I’m glad I gave it a chance. Although P.D. James is a bit gritty for me, she’s an outstanding writer and I was immediately enthralled with the story.

Yes, profanity and violence occur, but they are nothing compared to the movie (according to the review I read here.) It’s too bad the film played up the books negatives and completely missed the positives. Although not a Christian novel, biblical themes run throughout the narrative. The most obvious is the hope of the world resting on a baby, but there are many instances of people struggling to find faith in a bleak world.

I was fascinated by James portrayal of sexuality (always discreetly done) in this “brave new world”. You would think the public would welcome sex without the danger of pregnancy, but James proposes the opposite to be true: Without the possibility of procreation, sex has no ultimate meaning and the people lose interest in it.

The Children of Men is a well-written page-turner that offers much food for thought.

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson

I may gripe about “Book Recommendation Fatigue”, but I continue to read books that other bloggers are raving about. This is largely due to the fact that I’m in the U.S. this year and actually have access to them. When in Brazil, my book choices are limited to what’s on my own shelves or what’s available through the library at the American school.

This week I read the novel, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa. The title is completely misleading since it is not a bird guide at all. The story takes place in Nairobi, Kenya. The men in the story are not native Kenyans, but descendents of immigrants from West India. The female protagonist is from Scotland so the books provides a fascinating mixture of characters while weaving bits of Kenyan and Indian culture into the story.

Mr. Malik is a widower who spends his time writing anonymous political articles for the newspaper, watching birds, and visiting AIDS patients. He is smitten with the woman, Rose Mbikwa, who leads the Tuesday bird watcher’s group. Although the book is about his efforts to win her affections, it is not, strictly speaking, a romance because Rose plays a rather small part in the narrative. In fact, most of the dialogue and action takes place among the members of the male Asadi Club.

I enjoyed the good writing and the simple bird sketches that preceded each chapter. I also appreciated the sensitivity and sense of honor exemplified by the main character, Mr. Malik. Yet I was often jolted out of my literary reverie by references to flatulence, Bill Clinton, and several other modern day topics. For some reason I didn’t mind the references to political corruption in Kenya since they seemed to support the story, rather than detract from it. Overall, it was a pleasant, easy read.

A sample of the prose:

He had loved his wife. Not at first, not when introduced to the shy girl that their families had chosen to be his wife. She was rather on the tall side, he thought, and only a little bit pretty. But soon he came to know this deep and quiet girl, and as she grew into a woman he was impressed by her strengths, which were many, and endeared by her weaknesses, which were few. And beauty seemed to grow within her. It sometimes shone so bright he could hardly look at her. (p. 11)

Short, balding, tender-hearted Mr. Malik is a lovely man who I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting on the pages of this book.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Whew! Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is my third book in a row that came highly recommended by other book bloggers. Maybe I’m getting "recommendation fatigue” because I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other two.

Many things about the book appealed to me. Since I was born in Asia, I appreciated the references to Chinese words and customs. The facts about Japanese American internment camps appealed to me because I like WWII history. I enjoyed the excellent writing about the complexities of relationships, particularly at a specific time in world history. Jamie Ford does a superb job of describing the clash between 1^st and 2^nd generation Chinese Americans, the conflicts between Japanese Americans and Caucasians, and even the animosity between the Japanese and the Chinese during that era.

Hotel is the story of a Chinese man, Henry Lee, who is trying to put his life back together after his wife’s death from cancer. It’s told in the present (1986) with flashbacks to forty years earlier. The flashbacks recount his painful relationship to his father and his budding friendship with a young Japanese girl named Keiko. To his son, Marty, Henry is a “man with no surprises in him”, but as the book progresses the reader discovers that there is much from Henry’s past that he has never shared. These slowly revealed secrets are what carry the book along.

My chief complaint against the book is its melancholy tone. I frequently put it down to recover from a sense of overwhelming gloom. One of its main themes is that all happiness ends up broken or marred. Yes, life is filled with the bitter and the sweet, but in Henry’s case the sweet moments are few. I made myself finish it (because it was overdue) and was glad it ended on a hopeful note.

Now I’m ready to move on to a book of my own choosing – preferably something lighthearted!

A sample of the good writing: Henry did his best to communicate without words. To give his son that smile, that knowing look of approval. He was certain Marty picked up every phrase of their wordless communication. After a lifetime of nods, frowns, and stoic smiles, they were both fluent in emotional shorthand. (p.84)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Because I had just finished reading a fabulous book I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to do this one justice. (The first few books after a really good one can seem a little bland.) Well, I needn’t have worried. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel was as charming and delightful as fellow book bloggers said it would be.

The chatty correspondence between writer Juliet Ashton and the members of the literary society on Guernsey Island draws the reader effortlessly into their lives. The story takes place during the years after WWII and though it recalls a few events that took place during the war, it centers on how half a dozen inhabitants of the island are putting their lives back together. Sounds somber, but it isn’t!

Lovers of literature and WWII history get a double whammy with Guernsey. They will discover little known stories of German occupation of the Channel Islands and they will love reading about how reading the classics transformed the lives of the society members. John Booker (former butler) loved to quote Seneca as saying, “Light griefs are loquacious, but the great are dumb.” Truly, some in the book have experienced inexpressible sorrows, but these are handled very well by the author. For the most part this is a very light-hearted book about the resilience of men and women who keep living AND GIVING in spite of the pain in their lives.

The charm wears thin when it should (when some of the horrors of WWII are described), but sometimes wears thin where it shouldn’t (when it describes the sexual preferences of one of the main characters). That didn’t fit the tone of a 1940’s era book, but it’s one of my few quibbles. Even the occasional swearing didn’t bother me because it was not gratuitous and seemed to fit the context of the book’s tragic moments.

One of the amazing features of the book is how it shows simple people with no training in the classics grappling to understand them AND SUCCEEDING. Eben Ramsey, a tombstone cutter and wood carver, tackled Shakespeare and sent his impressions to Miss Ashton:

[The book I chose] was called Selections from Shakespeare. Later, I came to see that Mr. Dickens and Mr. Wordsworth were thinking of men like me when they wrote their words. But most of all, I believe that William Shakespeare was. Mind you, I cannot always make sense of what he says, but it will come.

It seems to me the less he said, the more beauty he made. Do you know what sentence of his I admire the most? It is “The bright day is done, and we are for the dark.”

I wish I’d known those words on the day I watched those German troops land, plane-load after plane-load of them – and come off ships down in the harbor! All I could think of was "damn them, damn them", over and over. If I could have thought the words “the bright day is done and we are for the dark,” I’d have been consoled somehow and ready to go out and contend with circumstance – instead of my heart sinking to my shoes. (p. 63)

What lovely proof of the power of words to console us! If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t read this (all two of you!), head to your library and get a copy.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

The Pulitzer Prize label doesn’t impress me much. Like the Academy Awards it often highlights artsy books that are out of touch with popular tastes. So it was IN SPITE OF the gold label that I picked up this book. Frankly, too many book bloggers had recommended it for me to ignore it. As I began reading I was amazed to find a man of faith being portrayed in a positive light. I kept waiting for the author to “zap” me with some horrible truth about this pastor that would prove he had feet of clay, but it never happened.

Gilead is the touching story of Reverend John Ames, an elderly pastor, who knows he hasn’t long to live. It is a collection of thoughts and memories he wants to pass on to his son. Although Ames seems to meander at times (making his words seem like the realistic ramblings of an old man), his reflections are anything but boring. You’ll laugh out loud at his thieving grandpa and you’ll grieve over his brother’s loss of faith. In the midst of the writing of his memoirs, Jack Boughton, a ne’er-do-well young man, comes to town and threatens Pastor Ames’ happiness. The struggle between Ames’ pastoral concern for Jack and his fear of Jack creates a fascinating story.

One of the only reasons the book did not make my “Wow!” list is because I had just read Cry, the Beloved Country - a pretty hard act for any book to follow. But while Cry is an intense story with an “avalanche of mercy”, Gilead is a gently told tale in which grace is dispersed in lovely, intermittent snowflakes. It’s a beautifully written book that celebrates the gifts and graces of life.

Elijah of Buxton by C.P. Curtis

Many months ago I was intrigued by Becky’s comment at DCR that “Elijah is about as perfect as a book can get”. Later when I saw the book featured at our school library I decided to find out what she meant. And I’m glad I did.

Elijah of Buxton is the story of an eleven year old boy living in community of freed slaves in Buxton, Canada. It’s told from his perspective in words that were appropriate for his age and time and place. I have to admit that reading a whole book written in slang was a stretch for me (I was an English major after all!), but it was well worth it. Rarely have I read a book with such laugh-out-loud-funny scenes that was at the same time so tender and poignant. (I cried like a baby over the final chapter and I NEVER do that.)

The author, Christopher Paul Curtis, does a masterful job of writing about a thriving community of freed slaves, all the while weaving in facts and stories about the horrors of what they went through before they were free. Chapter 11 has a powerful description of a family of runaway slaves that has just arrived:

Pa walked back over to the family and said the same thing we say to all the new-free folks when they first get to Buxton. It’s the way we greet ‘em into being free.

Pa pointed up and said, “Looky there! Look at that sky!” … “Ain’t that the grandest sky y’all ever seen?” Pa smiled and pointed out ‘cross the field. “Look at that land! Look at them trees! Has y’all seen anything that precious? It’s the land of the free!”… “Now look at you’selves! Look at ‘em babies! Has y’all ever looked this beautiful! Today be the first day don’t no one own y’all but y’all…. Today’ y’all’s truly set you’selves free!” Then he opened both his arms and said to the people, “And y’all chooosed the most beautifullest, most perfectest day for doing it!”

It was peculiar ‘cause it didn’t matter if it was raining or snowing or even if the sky was being ripped by lightning and thunder, we always tell the new folks that it was the most beautifullest, most perfectest day to get free. Far as I can tell, the weather didn’t have a whole lot to do with it. (p. 165)

Although its Newbery award (for excellence in children’s literature) was well deserved, don’t let that fool you into thinking this book is just for children. Adults have more to gain from it because their life experiences will enable them to empathize with the characters in a way that children cannot. I was deeply impressed by this book. The people are believable, the writing is exceptional, the setting is fascinating and the outcome is deeply satisfying. Thanks, Becky, for bringing it to my attention.