Wallace Stegner's ALL the LITTLE LIVE THINGS-A Major Masterpiece

ALL the LITTLE LIVE THINGS is a major literary work by one of America's most highly regarded writers.  Stegner won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction & a Nat'l Book Award for Non-F.  In this novel written in 1967, Joe & Ruth are 2 seniors who have retired to the serenity of northern California for their waning years. Their peaceful solitude is shattered by a young rebel, James who charms them into letting him just camp out on their land.  As soon as this motorcycle riding, bearded granola eater plants himself on their land, he commandeers it for his own self-serving commune that sparks Joe's rage to combustion.  New neighbors, Marion, John & young daughter move into the property next to Joe & Ruth and immediately ingratiate themselves deep into their lives, reviving familial feelings of love.  Stegner's theme of generational divides are prevalent and buffer the underlying melancholy due to the loss of Joe & Ruth's son Curtis, who struggled to find himself.  "I shall be richer all my life for this sorrow."  Idealism, frustrated science & thwarted aspirations are also themes that Stegner's prose eloquently articulates.  Stegner's story telling is both captivating & potent.  The beauty of his writing is on every page.  "Sometimes my heart grows tired with beating, it wants rest like my eyelids."  Read this magnificent work ALL the LITTLE LIVE THINGS & anything written by Stegner.

Do Not Have Great Expectatons for The HOUSE on FORTUNE STREET by M. Livesey

Scottish writer Margot Livesey admires Charles Dickens greatly as she repeatedly refers to him in her novel.   Abigail's grandfather regaled her with Dicken's stories growing up, purchases a home mainly for its address, 41 Fortune Street because "her grandfather would have liked the name. Straight out of Dickens."  Abigail & Dare are the 2 main characters who meet at Univ. and become fast friends.  Abigail becomes enamored of the theater & runs her own small theatrical co.  Dara becomes a social worker offering solace & guidance to her clients.  Livesey writes with 4 interconnecting narratives. She  flashbacks to both girls' childhoods & family lives.  After graduation, both women move apart but at Abigail's urging, Dara moves into the flat in Abigail's home on Fortune Street.  The power of luck seems to trump diligence and hard work.  Fortune St. will bear more misfortune & misery than good fortune.  The novel touches on the age of wisdom when discussing taboos & inappropriate behaviors.  Who gets to say what's right & wrong?  What does a person do with desires that are socially forbidden?  Abigail & Dara's lives play out with more melodrama than Miss Havisham.  When Dara spirals into depression after a disastrous affair, Abigail reminds Dara of her own dispensed counsel, "Remeber the people who do love you, the small things you enjoy."  In the superlative degree of comparison to Charles Dickens, The HOUSE on FORTUNE STREET is the age of foolishness.

Alice McDermott's SOMEONE-Not Appealing for Some

Alice McDermott is Amer. writer who is highly regarded & honored.  Among the many awards McDermott has received are the Nat'l Book Award, Amer. Book Award & a Pulitizer Prize Nom. for fiction.  McDermott's writing skills are never less than exceptional.  Her character's become indelible, the imagery crystalline and her observations on life both affecting & heartfelt.  SOMEONE's heroine, Marie, along with her older brother Gabe, are born to Irish immigrants.  We are introduced to Marie at age 7 living in a neighborhood of mostly working class Irish immigrants.  McDermott's characters are mostly Irish/Catholic lower class, struggling to make a better life for their children.  Often times, their struggles involve alcoholism and reconciling with their religious convictions.  SOMEONE is typical in these respects & her lyrical writing is in keeping with her honed craft.  The story of Marie's life are told at different ages.  She becomes a young woman during WWII.  Gabe abandons the priesthood.  He tells his sister "The damn church is blind to life sometimes," and "Brutal & cruel is the way of all flesh."  Marie's sense of purpose came from giving birth, "The child's need for me, for my vigilance had made my life valuable."  There is much to praise in the storytelling.  Nonetheless, the tale itself is not riveting.   Reading McDermott's writing is always worthwhile but alas, reading SOMEONE is not worth the while.    

The DISREPUTABLE HISTORY-Experience the Thrill of Rebellion

E. Lockhart's The DISREPUTABLE HISTORY is a finalist for the Y/A Nat'l Book Award.  It's set in an elite NY boarding school where the wealthy, privileged student body; tomorrow's movers & shakers, establish their own hierachy of social strata on campus.  Geared to the teen scene, this page turner is a romp of ridiculousness, disreputability with the dynamics of power plays. Frankie is a returning sophomore whose summer transformation from plain Jane to campus hottie has now gotten her noticed by the senior males in the cool clique.  Matthew falls for Frankie while helping her up from a fall from her bike.  He becomes smitten and the attraction is mutual.  Despite their coupledom, Matthew goes running whenever "Alphadog," the leader of the wolf pack calls.  Frankie's modus operandi is better to lead than follow, better to speak up than stay silent and better to open doors than to shut them on people.  Frankie's clever cunning outwits Alphadog's leadership.  We experience the thrill of rebellion, unconventionality and naughtiness with little risk.  Frankie discerns appropriate & inappropriate ways to express a desire for change.  Lessons in friendship, loyalty, empathy & cruelty are played out amongst the students.  The DISREPUTABLE HISTORY fits the Y/A genre.  It's no secret though, this novel is indisputably, an enjoyable read for older adults as well.  

GOODBYE for NOW-Love Means Never Having to Say Goodbye

Amer. novelist Laurie Frankel has written a captivating story that grapples with love, loss and the ramifications of finding a lost loved once again.  Sam & Meredith are 2 young techies who find each other through an on-line site Sam designed to find you your perfect mate.  Sam's brilliant programming pairs him with Meredith.  Their relationship quickly builds into a love that "outweighs everything else."  The heart wants what the heart wants.  When Meredith's beloved grandmother dies suddently, she is lost in the throes of grief.  Sam wishes only to comfort Meredith. Meredith wishes if only she could speak with her beloved grandmother once.  Sam figures out a computer program that allows Meredith to communicate with her grandma.  Sam designs an algorithm using a person's chat histories, text messages & blog postings enabling a virtual, visual communication that reaches beyond the grave.  Frankel's sensitive and intelligent novel views the miraculous ability to remain connected with your dearly departed.  The dark side of this technology is also viewed as unethical, cruel, selfish, disrespectful.  Has Sam helped ease the tragedy of dying or exacerbated the pain of loss & interfered with the essential grieving process.  Perhaps too much time is being spent in a virtual instead of striving to bridge the gap between human hearts.  Love & loss are linked.    GOODBYE for NOW is an enriching read for the mind, the heart & soul.