Geraldine Brook's MEMORIAL DAYS-Memoir and Tribute to her Late Husband Anthony Horowitz

The sudden loss of a spouse is a heartbreaking tragedy that befalls many. Grief is the response to the loss of a loved whom one bestowed their love and is no longer there to receive it. The process for giving is as individual as one's fingerprints. Accomplished writers like Joan Didion and Joyce Carol Oates were able to channel their emotions into their forte of writing. Brooks' husband, Tony Horowitz, died suddenly at age 59, leaving Brooks with their two sons and an immeasurable void after decades together in a blissful marriage. Writing about their unlikely coupling, their even more surprising successful literary careers and the morass of loneliness following her husband's death was a means for Brooks to process her mourning and challenges of widowhood. Having read both Didion and Oates' memoirs, comparing them felt required. All three writers have received numerous literary honors including Pulitzer Prizes in Literature. Of the three, Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking" resonates poignantly with her ephemeral references when confronting her husband's death and daughter's flailing health. Oates' memoir,"A Widow's Story" is blatant in her tactile descriptions of her husband's corpse. Oats' writing felt too harsh and detached. Conversely, Brooks memoir, "Memorial Days" resounds candidly and clearly when sharing her suffering and state of mind. Brooks' prose ebbs and flows like the tides on the shores of their home recounting their courtship, the arduous/adventurous years of foreign reporting to falling in love and becoming a family four folded into the welcoming arms of each other's parents and siblings. Brooks is direct concerning her financial status which left her secured in their dream home on the Vineyard and the joys derived from raising their sons. Brooks Admitted to being thrust into handling fiscal matters she gladly left to her husband such as taxes and insurance which reverberated with the fears for many of not only losing one's soul mate but the guilt associated with many couples who gladly turn over various responsibilities knowing they should take more responsibility for knowing what to do. Both Brooks and her late husband's paths fortuitously intertwined into a loving couple hood, expanding family each establishing a literary legacy and most of all a legacy of having lived, simply put, happily-for-what-it's worth and while it lasted in a most congenial way - where July and August never got too hot. MEMORIAL DAYS provides solace in its calibrated allotments of grief. This eloquent memoir tugs gently at the heartstrings resounding with sorrow offset by blessings that abound in life, 

K Morton's Novel HOMECOMING-You Can Never Get Your Wasted Time Back Reading It

Kate Morton is a best selling author who hails from down under. As far as I'm concerned, her novel HOMECOMING should remain under wraps. It's underwhelming, overly convoluted and a complete waste of time. The heroine Jess also hails from Australia and studied literature abroad in the UK as did Morton. The relevance is of little importance to the story. A call from overseas regarding the flailing health of her beloved grandmother (GM), Nora Turner, brings Jess back to care for her GM. Nora raised Jess from early childhood and only went to her mother Polly's sporadically. Jess' life in the UK was floundering. She just had a recent breakup with her longtime boyfriend and her career was stalling. There were no ties holding her in England. Neither is anything else in the story tied into Jess' years abroad.  Upon returning, Jess visits her GM in her hospital bed.  Nora's cryptic comments set Jess on a whirlwind quest to decipher what her GM's last words meant. The story is told in the present and 3 decades prior; Christmas Eve just before Nora gave birth to Jess' mother Polly. A terrible tragedy befell the Turner family which was kept in the dark from Jess. Nora's sister-in-law Isabel who was married to Nora's beloved brother was in the UK at the time of his family's infamous catastrophe. Isabel died along with 3 of her 4 children. The bodies of Isabel and her 3 eldest children were discovered in repose on the estate. The serene picnic setting of the mother and children alongside their lake belies the horror of discovering the 4 of them are deceased and the infant missing. The tawdry tale of what befell this robust family is a mystery that is confusing to unfold.  Worse, this befuddling and turgid crime/mystery with its numerous trajectories are all misfired. The plot is a painfully slow burn saga. The final payoff when it finally arrives is a complete bust. Pass on this morass read.  Do not stop at home, the library or bookstore. I regret the arduous hours spent with HOMECOMING and I can never get my time back. 

ORDINARY GRACE-W Krueger's Extremely Ordinary Coming of Age Novel In Midwest Mid 60's

If you're a fan of Stephen King's novels or short stories (especially the non-horror ones) you'll recognize William Kent Krueger's style of story telling told by an older but wiser narrator looking back on a pivotal, early-teen year in which life-altering events augur him towards adulthood. Frank (an overly obvious choice of an honest sounding name) is the middle child of Methodist Minister Nathan Drum and his wife Ruth (a biblical name worthy of rubies). Frank's beautiful, older, Juilliard bound sister Ariel and younger, "Howdy-Doody looking," brother with a stuttering issue, Jake, live modestly in their church relegated home in a small, riverbed town an hour or so outside the Twin cities. The story is entrenched in the good v. evil attributes of small rural town; neighborliness with hosted block parties replete with pop and jello molds, bigotry towards the few Native Americans living on the fringes. There's the rapid gossip hot-line and railroad tracks that divide the town; literally. It's too easy to compare Krueger's story and writing to King's, but I will. The story begins with the gruesome discovery of a young boy's body along the train tracks. Secondly, the story focuses on the close knit relationship between the brothers within a virtuous family, i.e. sagacious, altruistic father and admirable wife and daughter; both are leading assets to the church's choir. King and Krueger set a similar scene in a bucolic haven. The neighborhood kids have pickup games, the local drug store has an old fashioned soda fountain and listening to a Twins' game or getting a haircut at the local barbershop is de rigueur. King's novella "The Body" which was made into a blockbuster pick "Stand by Me" stood as a paving stone for setting the tone of Krueger's "Ordinary Grace" (OG). The simple life for the salt of the earth citizens is soon badly shaken in the summer of '61; a time when innocence died (along with several others) in Krueger's coming-of-age/crime novel. As Frank tells us right upfront in the story, young Bobby was only the first of several deaths to occur during the coming lazy days of summer vacation days. Along with mounted bodies, Frank's dawning empathy and his appreciation for his father rose. The story is driven by Ariel's disappearance and Frank's inner turmoil. Ruth's refusal to accept God's grace after tragedy strikes their family and the racist, quick to condemn attitudes of many in town, and perhaps his own, gave Frank plenty to grapple with. Overall, this is an easy read with obvious clues to culpabilities. If you're already a King fan you'll likely enjoy this easy read, or as in my case, take umbrage at obvious appropriations made. Either way, ORDINARY GRACE is an end of innocence/coming of age story that is nothing out of the ordinary. And, not a worthy Library Book Club   Selection.

The READING LIST-A Book to Be Banned for being so Bad DO NOT READ IT

"The Reading List" by Sara Adams is intended as a tribute to bibliophiles. Sara Adams was born in England to Indian and English parents. The story is set in contemporary West London and connects two families of Indian heritage. The catalyst for the connection is a brusque conversation between Mukesh, a recently widowed older gentleman and Aleisha, a high school student who begrudgingly takes the desk job at the library. Mukesh's wife with whom he shared 3 daughters and 3 grandchildren was a dynamic, outgoing woman and voracious reader. Aleisha is a very intelligent teenager dealing with her parents' split, her mother's clinical depression and her own isolation from her peers. Though well intended as a symbiotic story of love, friendship and the omnipotence of reading, this is a mawkish melodrama over- loaded with trite witticisms. The reading list in the title refers to a mysterious scrap of paper discovered by Aleisha and several others with the titles of 11 novels. Mukesh meanders hesitantly to the library to return his wife's misplaced, over due library book, "The Time Traveler's Wife." Mukesh requests a reading selection from the librarian. Aleisha happened to be the librarian on duty. Meanwhile, Aleisha having dealt with her mother's debilitating depression, her attitude was gloomy and she's curt with Mukesh. From this unfavorable encounter, a friendship is germinated and flourishes along with the discoveries of pleasures stemming from reading; especially exchanges from shared readings. I'm vehemently opposed to censorship and book banning. I'm also against banal insights that are intended as pearls of wisdom. The author touches on the obvious memes of what reading deems. Aliesha needs a respite from her dismal days at home and finds "reading creates magic beyond its pages". Mukesh discovers "comfort in curling up with a book and his lonely days go faster." Both main characters make the obvious observation that reading is a good way of connecting with others. Aleisha's beloved older brother kills himself by jumping in front of a train which further exacerbated Aleisha's mental state and puts the final nail in the coffin on this already dreaded read. Oh brother! If the story wasn't maudlin enough already, Mukesh gets the idea of having a community gathering at the library not unlike Mickey Rooney wanting to put on a show to save the day. Mukesh suggested to Aliesha making the event a tribute to her late brother and encouraging support of the local library threatened to be shut down. "Snack and Stay" was the motto for the day to entice people to attend. At the very end of this overly long story is the miraculous discovery of a posthumous letter from Mukesh's late wife which resolves the enigmatic matter of the origin of the reading list. Why did I take the time to finish reading this annoying novel? It was the book assigned for the local library's monthly book group. It was a BIG MISTAKE and a big waste of time and paper.