Canadian Book Challenge 5: Dance on the Earth - Margaret Laurence

This memoir feels particularly intimate because Margaret Laurence dictated the second draft of it during her last illness -- she became too weak to sit at her typewriter.  Readers can almost feel the pauses, the musing and the striving for clarification that thoughtful speakers go for in conversation.

As with most memoirs, Dance on the Earth's most compelling chapters are the ones that describe Laurence's childhood growing up in Neepawa, Manitoba.  The memoir's sections are built around the three women she calls her three mothers:  Her birth mother, who died when she was a small child, her mother's sister, who later on became her stepmother when she married Margaret's father as well as her only parent, because her father died when she was nine, and her mother-in-law, whom she seems to have regarded with great respect and warmth.

When Margaret goes away to college and during her married years, some of the immediacy seems to fade. Laurence and her husband lived in several different countries during their marriage, but she doesn't really refer to them much, except for the strangeness and inconvenience.  At the point in the memoir in which she leaves her husband, (they were amicably divorced after years of separation) takes the two children and settles in England, the reader feels drawn nearer again.  In fact, Laurence really lights up at the mention of all her subsequent homes and seems to relish the memory of these places.  It's touching to read about her joy when a place felt really right to her.

Another high point of Dance on the Earth is Laurence's insistence that birth stories should be told, (as she mentions bitterly, for so many years male writers sneered at this tendency in women writers) so she tells the stories of her children's births in loving detail.  She's also frank and forthright at expressing her puzzlement, hurt and frustration over her award-winning novel, The Diviners, being challenged and on the verge of being banned just a short time later. Unhappily, this incident took place in the very area of Canada in which she decided to live after years in England.  Dance on the Earth is also full of marvelous photos spanning nearly a century's worth of photographs of both family and friends.  I was really pleased to see a picture of Al Purdy with Laurence's daughter, Jocelyn. 

 My only problem with the book was the ending.  In the last pages of her memoir, Margaret acknowledges that she doesn't have long and bids the reader, and seemingly life a dignified and heartfelt farewell.  Then there's a final section that's a mixture of writings -- poems, letters, speeches -- that Laurence had composed over the years.  I believe that if Laurence had been in better health and had had more time to live, she would have worked those pieces into the body of her memoir.  It was sad, because it was as if Jocelyn, who edited her mother's final work posthumously, was too upset and overwhelmed by the material and didn't have the heart to edit it into the memoir, but also didn't have the heart to leave it out completely.  After I closed the book, I was left unsettled and feeling  a sense of loss but also a sense of unquenchable strength.

Banned Books Week: Thanks, Knuckle-Draggers!

"The problem of [people who ban books], as I see it, is that they are extremely unskilled readers.  They may know, superficially, the meaning of each word on a page, but they are incapable of perceiving what is really happening, what is being expressed, and what all the words add up to." 

                  -Margaret Laurence-

On one hand, I hate that we have such a thing as banned or challenged books.  When I think of those who would restrict reading usually for the most brain-dead of reasons, I can barely speak.  Only jaggedly broken cursing comes out.  Sometimes froth as well.  Of course these wretched creatures serve a purpose; they insure that a book will be read widely since they've plastered it with their clumsily misspelled 'forbidden fruit' label.

On the other hand, I can't help but get a thrill at these lists that give me new ideas for my TBR.  I like to refer these lists because there's such a strong representation of YA, an area in which I could really use a boost.  Although I'm hoping that book banning ends, I'm not a fool.  There will always be knuckle-draggers amongst us.  So I'll console myself by wondering what gems will be on the list for 2010 and 2011.

Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009


1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling.  I've read 1-5.


2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.  Looks promising.


3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier.  I read this.  


4. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell.  I wonder about this book.


5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck.  I read this.  It cheers me to think that somewhere, Steinbeck is smiling about being banned.


6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou.  I read this one.  Such powerful imagery.  


7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz.


8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman.


9. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r (series), by Myracle, Lauren.  This makes me think of another chat/text acronym:  wtf?


10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky.  This one's been on my radar for a while.  I didn't know it was banned.  Now I must have it.


11. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers


12. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris.  Whatever it is, the knuckle-draggers don't want their kids knowing anything about it.


13. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.  Oh, please. [eye rolling]


14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.  I read this.   I'm a little surprised that it's not nestling up there in the #1 spot.


15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison.  I read this one.


16. Forever, by Judy Blume.  I read this when I was a teenager.  Gotta say, there was a lot of useful information there.


17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker.  I read this.


18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous. I read this one.   I think the knuckle-draggers are missing the point.  This book was created to scare young teens away from drug use.


19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger.  I read this.  There will always be goddam crumby phonies who want to banish Holden.


20. King and King, by Linda de Haan.  Hmm, don't know this one.


21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.  I read this one in 9th grade.  Twice.  It's on my Pulitzer shelf.


22. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar.  I can only imagine.


23. The Giver, by Lois Lowry.  I read this.  Must be the "stirrings" that rile up some readers, although calling a knuckle-dragger a reader is too much of a compliment.


24. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak.  I read this.


25. Killing Mr. Griffen, by Lois Duncan.  Interesting title.  


26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison.  I read this.


27. My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier.  I want to read this one.


28. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson.  I read this.  Sometimes, when I see a book on the list, I just want to give out an anguished cry of "Why?"  But then, I probably don't want to hear the stupid reason.


29. The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney.


30. We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier.


31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones.  Just the title is enough to make waves in the knuckle-dragger's tiny little brain.


32. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.  Oh, guilt.  I keep meaning to read this book.  Since it's banned...


33. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson.  I read this.  It sticks out in my mind because the autopsy scene was so graphic I had to put the book down, run to the bathroom and vomit.  That's vivid writing.  Maybe that's what happened to some knuckle-draggers and inclusion on the list is their revenge.


34. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler.  I love the title.  I wish I had a YA connection that I could borrow books from.


35. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison.  Again, the title is enough to make a K-D go all Tipper Gore on an author's ass.


36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.  I must get to this someday.


37. It’s So Amazing, by Robie Harris.  What?  What's amazing?


38. Arming America, by Michael Bellasiles.  What?


39. Kaffir Boy, by Mark Mathabane.  I want to read this one.


40. Life is Funny, by E.R. Frank.  I noticed that this author has a couple of books on this list.  


41. Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher.


42. The Fighting Ground, by Avi.


43. Blubber, by Judy Blume.  I read this.


44. Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher.  Wow, Chris Crutcher -- you've got 'em stirred up.  I must investigate.


45. Crazy Lady, by Jane Leslie Conly.  Sounds interesting.


46. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.  It's on my TBR.


47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by George Beard.  If this is like Captain Underpants, I am so there.


48. Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez.


49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey.  I must read this.


50. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.  I read this.


51. Daughters of Eve, by Lois Duncan.  


52. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson.  I want to read this one.


53. You Hear Me?, by Betsy Franco


54. The Facts Speak for Themselves, by Brock Cole


55. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene.  I read this in 9th grade.  Over and over.  You could barely pry it from my hands.


56. When Dad Killed Mom, by Julius Lester.  Wow!  Way to get it right out there with the title.  K-Ds aren't known for their appreciation of subtlety.


57. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause.  I'm so glad that there's internet where I can read plot synopses all week long.


58. Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Going.


59. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes


60. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I read this.


61. Draw Me A Star, by Eric Carle.  Eric Carle?


62. The Stupids (series), by Harry Allard.


63. The Terrorist, by Caroline B. Cooney.


64. Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park.


65. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien.  I have to read this.  I'm ashamed that I haven't already.


66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor.  It's on my wishlist. 


67. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham.  I read this.


68. Always Running, by Luis Rodriguez.


69. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.  On the TBR. Heh. Irony.


70. Harris and Me, by Gary Paulsen.  I haven't read this, but if it's Gary Paulsen, it's OK by me.


71. Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park.  I haven't read this, but I heard that Junie is considered to be too mouthy and stubborn -- in other words a normal child.


72. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison.  Wow, Toni Morrison.  You might as well bring your furniture and books and move in.


73. What’s Happening to My Body Book, by Lynda Madaras. Heh.


74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold.  I read this.


75. Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry.  I don't know this series.  Must go see why K-Ds object to Anastasia.  Probably because they can't spell or pronounce her name.


76. A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.  It's on my TBR.


77. Crazy: A Novel, by Benjamin Lebert.


78. The Joy of Gay Sex, by Dr. Charles Silverstein.  The K-Ds probably brought lighted torches for this one.


79. The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss.  On my wishlist.


80. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck.  I read this.  Can't figure out which part upset the poor little K-Ds, so I'll start a whole new category:  If I like it, it must be a 'bad' book!


81. Black Boy, by Richard Wright.  I've read excepts from this.  Richard Wright is terrifyingly intelligent and tells it exactly as it was for him.  I can see why that would scare the shit out of a K-D.


82. Deal With It!, by Esther Drill.  Deal with what?


83. Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds.  I'm sure the detour is what caused it to end up on this list.


84. So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Watkins.  Hmmm...gotta know more about this one.


85. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher.  Wishlist.


86. Cut, by Patricia McCormick.  I have a copy of Sold on my TBR.  I can almost guess what this one is about.  


87. Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume.  I read this, but I'm not sure...I think they just see Judy Blume's name and toss her onto the pile.


88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.  Oh, come on, knuckle-draggers!  You'd love it like crazy if the United States was just like this!


89. Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger.  I have wanted to read this one for a while.  I'm puzzled by its inclusion on the list.  I'm guessing that football players don't always talk like they're in Sunday school.


90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle.  Oh, I feel so guilty that I haven't read this book yet.


91. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George.  On my wishlist.


92. The Boy Who Lost His Face, by Louis Sachar.  I loved Holes, so I know I want to read this one.


93. Bumps in the Night, by Harry Allard


94. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine.  Oh, come on, now.


95. Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix


96. Grendel, by John Gardner.  I read this.


97. The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende.  On my wishlist.


98. I Saw Esau, by Iona Opte.  Sounds interesting.


99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume.  I read this.  Not one of my favorites, but I love that she broke new ground. Unfortunately, she's had those damn K-Ds riled up ever since.


100. America: A Novel, by E.R. Frank. Must investigate.

Are You Really Going To Eat That? - Robb Walsh

I read this book for the Foodie's Reading Challenge.

Judging by the title, I thought this book was going to be food essays by some wiseass geek (or geeky wiseass).  I thought it would be laden with obscenities and heavy on the gross-out factor.  Understand that I don't have any trouble with any of the above of course, but I was wrong.  Although the title is slightly misleading, the book is far richer than that.  You get food, you get culture and you get a nice dollop of geography.  Can you say lagniappe?

Texan Robb Walsh isn't a gross-out guy.  Instead, in this series of articles he wrote over a period of several years, he traveled far and wide to find things like the best cup of coffee in the world, an actual bowlful of a chowder that Neruda rhapsodized about in a poem, sheep cheese, authentic soul food (he visited a prison for that one), the hottest pepper, the ultimate barbecued kid goat, the best brisket and along the way, he revels in culinary mysteries like: Why do Spam and poi suck by themselves, but together they're sublime?  He's also made a believer out of me regarding the proper way to eat okra:  Stew the pods in tomato sauce.  Genius.

There's so much more, but I'm hungry.  Robb Walsh has that effect on me.  He hasn't got that otherworldly way of describing food like M.F.K. Fisher or Ruth Reichl, but he lays down some pretty damn good description and he's generous with the recipes.   Reader, I drooled.  I couldn't help it.  Every single day, I see tiresome news stories scolding people for the foods they choose.  In one essay in Are You Really Going to Eat That? Walsh dived with gusto into a lunch of rare hamburger with a side of a dozen raw oysters.  If someone scolded him, he'd tell them to kiss his CFS (Chicken-fried steak).

Walsh is a veteran food writer who has been around and eaten all kinds of strange things in his line of work.  This chowhound could have a big head but he doesn't take himself too seriously, either, which I like.  When he visited Thailand to do a piece on durian AKA "stinkfruit", he admits that his ego took a smacking since he barely manage "two small sections" without gagging.  

I wish I could compare notes with him.  I'm combing through my own list of strange foods:  Has he eaten rattlesnake?  Buffalo?  Pig intestine stew?  Pumpkin porridge?  What about my own culinary Waterloo, bondeggi AKA silkworm larvae?  Does he know stonecrop?

I want all my friends to read Are You Really Going to Eat That?, but I'm scared I won't get it back.  This is one of those times I'm sincerely glad I bought the book, and it won't be my last helping of Robb Walsh.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: My Guys

I read dozens of book bloggers and love them to bits.  You know who you are.  If I talk to you, I love you.   I celebrate you all, but for Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I'd like to focus in particular on some male bloggers that always make my bookish day.

1. Sam from Book Chase.  I've been following Sam's blog for a few years now.  He reads like a house afire and loves to talk about country music history.  I always tune in when he reports library and bookstore news.  Sometimes I have trouble keeping up with him because I'm not very political, but I always learn something.  One of these days I'm going to make Houston my connection between Seoul and Kansas City just so I can shake his hand and maybe exchange a book or CD or two.

2. Peter from Collecting Children's Books.  After finding Peter's blog about a year and a half ago, I spent an entire weekend in my pajamas and in front of the computer and ignoring my phone calls so I could go back and read every single one of  his postings about Children's Literature.  And boy howdy, does he post!  This guy just knows and knows AND knows about that field and can make the most dazzling connections to other genres.  He's the trapeze artist of  bloggers.  I'm going be one of the first in line to buy his book when it's published.

3. James from Ready When You Are, C.B.  James never fails to entertain me.  I love his regular features "Dakota's Favorites", in which he discusses books that his dog has eaten, "Friday Picture Reading" which spotlights a painting or a photo of someone reading and his latest, "Tuesdays with Dorothy", when he posts a picture of Dorothy Parker and an accompanying witticism.  I enjoy his occasional take on movies.  I also admire him for taking on a book I've always been too intimidated to try:  Tristram Shandy. We're both educators, but I wish I could time-travel and become one of his students.

4. Chris from Vitamin Brock.  Chris was my co-worker and neighbor in Korea.  He tried to make me love Faulker, but I don't think I'll ever really be ol' Bill's sweet-ass gal.   Chris did get through to me with his credo that medieval literature very rarely ever disappoints.  I won't go so far to say that it's the pause that refreshes, but it's definitely worth more time than I've put into it.  Although Chris had the temerity to quit Korea (not to mention my book group Cracked Spinz!) and head for Yellowstone, we've been keeping up our connection through a friendly race to 100 books this year.

5. John from The Book Mine Set.  John got me into reading Canadian Literature with all those wonderful challenges he's hosted, and I'll always be grateful.  I was a big fan of the literary smackdowns he used to host every week as well as his Saturday puzzles.  I admire both how breathtakingly well-read he is and how he's always improving on himself and above all, I'm humbled by his dedication.

6. Ron from Buddies in the Saddle.  As an expat living really far east from where I was born, I'm prone to bouts of homesickness.  Ron helps to make it all better with his blog which covers all things Western -- novels, movies, memoirs, folklore and best of all, regular installments of his Old West Glossary which usually have me laughing and shaking my head and trying commit these colorful words and phrases to heart so I can (sometimes successfully) work them into conversation.  A little time at Ron's blog and I'm cheered up again and glowing like an Oklahoma sunset.

Thanks for serving up so much bloggy goodness, guys.  I guess it would be awkward to extract a promise from each of you to keep on blogging forever and ever, but as long as you do, you'll have a home on my sidebar.

My Thoughts Be Bloody - Nora Titone

My Thoughts Be Bloody is an excellent book about Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth and the theatrical family from which he came.  Booth's older brother Edwin was the brightest star in the American theatre, and he and his infamous brother had a stormy rivalry.  Titone, through her superb research, suggests that this rivalry for their father's (Junius Brutus Booth, a brilliant Shakespearean actor from the 1820s until his death in 1852) shining legacy may have played a part in Lincoln's death. 

Edwin, older than John Wilkes by four years, was the more successful actor, and he didn't want any of the other Booth brothers (there was another brother, Junius, Jr.) encroaching on his territory.  He divided the country roughly along the same lines that it would be split into during the Civil War.  He took the cities in the north and east, leaving John Wilkes the south and the west. 

John Wilkes resented this treatment.  He was handsome, muscular and athletic, but he was also lazy and undisciplined.  Furthermore, he hadn't had the same training as Edwin, so his notices were more often than not very poor.  He left acting to pursue an oil scheme in Pennsylvania which failed.  After that, the always staunch Southern sympathizer joined up with conspirators against the president, then made that last appearance at Ford's Theatre.

Although John Wilkes Booth is the undisputed villain of the piece, Titone shows very clearly what forces shaped and warped him.  At times in the narrative, I found myself nearly cringing in sympathy for John Wilkes Booth.  Edwin Booth doesn't exactly come out smelling like a rose.  His grasping for stardom didn't leave a lot of room for family feeling.  He was obviously afraid that if he mentored his younger brother, that brother's fame might eclipse his.  Turns out that he was right, except it was more infamy than fame.

Nora Titone does a great job of showing not only what life was like for members of that profession during the 19th century, but also what was going on outside that rather claustrophobic atmosphere, and she also provides perspective with interesting sketches of the famous figures that both brothers came in contact with. 

My Thoughts Be Bloody includes several pages of photographs, copious end notes and a first-rate bibliography.  It is an enjoyable, informative read and a fresh look at one of the most terrible moments in American history.

Title Meme

This meme is so much fun; I never get tired of its variations.  It's so easy -- just answer the questions below using the titles of books you've read so far in 2011.

Feel free to join me on your own blogs, or in the comments section.

One time on vacation:  Me Write Book:  It Bigfoot Memoir (Graham Roumieu)

Weekends at my house are:  127 Hours (Aron Ralston)

My neighbour is:  Bound for Glory (Woody Guthrie)

My boss is:   Unbroken  (Laura Hillenbrand)

My superhero secret identity is:  John Barleycorn (Jack London)

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry because:  My Thoughts Be Bloody (Nora Titone)

I'd win a gold medal in:  Moral Disorder (Margaret Atwood)

I'd pay good money for:  A Visit From the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)

If I were President, I would:  Go the F*** to Sleep (Adam Mansbach)

When I don't have good books, I am:  A Hell of a Woman (Jim Thompson)

Loud talkers at the movie theater should be:  In a Lonely Place (Dorothy Hughes)

Sorry To Be So Cheerful (1955) - Hildegarde Dolson

Hildegarde Dolson (1908-1981), you're just all right with me.  I adore you, and I have since I discovered We Shook the Family Tree.  Even though you've been gone 30 years, I want you to become a breakout author.  Rediscovered with relish. I want your hometown, Franklin, Pennsylvania, to be blanketed with scholars on fire to research your life and work.  In my own small way, I can help get the party started by rhapsodizing about my very favorite of your books, Sorry To Be So Cheerful, a collection of short humor pieces written over 20 years.

I left my  copy of STBSC back in the US, and I'm cursing myself for not at least getting a picture of the cover of the book.  I made some mad handwritten notes, (mostly titles) that I'm trying to decipher.  Consequently, the pieces I'll mention here are not in any particular order, especially not Hildegarde's.  Miss Dolson's.  Oh, damn.  I'm having that awkwardness about what to call authors that I love too much.   I'd better press on.  One last thing:  Imagine a female James Thurber, and you'll have an idea about Hildegarde Dolson's writing style.

"Proletariat with Duncan Phyfe Legs" - As a young copywriter, Hildegarde gets a job working for a department store in New Jersey.  The head of advertising, a woman named Freda, teaches Hildegarde how to write about furniture.  "Women want facts about the furniture they're buying."  Hildegarde's blank look quickly gives away the sum of her knowledge: "Mahogany is reddish brown.  Oriental rugs have designs on them and broadcloth doesn't.  A long stuffed thing is a sofa."  Hildegarde is a quick study, noting that her instructor has "splayfoot" like the legs on Duncan Phyfe furniture.  Once Hildegarde has a firm grasp, Freda begins to prostletize about the Communist Party.  Hildegarde mistakenly thinks that  Freda is  just telling interesting stories about history. When Freda is hungover, the effort is too much: "Go fly away to Heaven.  I'm drunk, and your goddam beaming hurts my eyes."  Finally, she surrenders in disgust when Hildegarde announces that she has a date with a guy who works on Wall Street.


"Beast of Sea" - During the war, Hildegarde's friend, Hobart is stationed on some remote island in the Pacific and wants a recipe featuring Chinese sea slugs called "Beche-de-Mer." Determined to do her patriotic duty, Hildegarde practically turns NYC upside down looking for this culinary delight.


"Spilling Tea with Emily Post" - Hildegarde interviews the etiquette maven who makes her a nervous wreck about her behavior.  After all of her precautions, her friend Arthur finds a way to finish off her reputation entirely.


"Myopia, My Own" - Nearsighted Hildegarde gives a whole new meaning to the term "blind date"


"Say 'Hemlock' and Flop" - Going through a bout of insomnia, Hildegarde gamely tries out all the cures her friends come up with.  This is my own personal favorite piece in STBSC.


"Tap the Centers and Snarl" - Hildegarde goes to an unconventional massuesse from Croatia who aligns her chakras by engaging in a snarling contest with her.


"One Assassin, One Soft-Boiled Egg" - Traveling back to her hometown of Franklin, PA for Easter, Hildegarde finds her likeness on display in a store window as a painted egg along with Franklin's other most famous (temporary) citizen, John Wilkes Booth.


"Wait and Be Stung" - Vacationing in a warmer climate for her health, Hildegarde cracks under pressure at a dude ranch in Arizona when she discovers that there are scorpions everywhere.


"Shipwrecked in Central Park" - Arthur gets a romantic notion to take Hildegarde around the lake in Central Park, which she finds odd since the two of them are "both pushing 40 backwards".  Also, Arthur has no clue about how to row and Hildegarde is a less-than-promising navigator.


"I'm Saving My Hair for a Second-Hand Car" - A hairdresser assures Hildegarde that her darkening blonde hair is "true drab blonde" and convinces her that she's got tresses worth a pile of money under her hat, perhaps enough to buy a car.  But how will she fit "true drab blonde" into that tiny space for hair color on the driver's license?


"Let's Fall in Love" - Hildegarde unearths an 1896 tome called Our Social Manual for All Occasions.  In it, she finds out how men should go about writing the proper proposal letter, which goes light on the love talk and heavy on talk about providing creature comforts as well as the proper references.  'Deliberate fully, for this is a life affair," the prospective groom is supposed to counsel the future bride.  Hildegarde remarks, "There's a letter you could read without a tremor in any courtroom.  For that matter, you could even read it in private without a tremor."

Book Journal 2010 - ???

I know it's got a great literary tradition, but the "Classic" red Moleskine notebook I began using after I finished my January, 1999 - December, 2009 book journal just wasn't working for me.  I didn't like the size and the pages felt annoyingly thin.  Plus, I never knew whether to pronounce it Moleskin, Moleskeen or Moleskyne.  Details like that can wear a person down.

While on a trip to Barnes and Noble last month, I found this one and it suits me.  It took a while to get all those books from 2010 and 2011 recopied, but I think we'll be happy together.

Guest Reviewer: Paul at Korea Connection - Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin

I'm really excited about this book and annoyed with myself that I haven't read it yet.  Finally a breakout literary sensation from Korea!  Many thanks to Paul Buzan for letting me reprint his review of Please Look After Mom here.  I found it at his excellent website Korea Connection.


Please Look After Mom: A Review

It’s been one week since Mom went missing.

– “Please Look After Mom”

Five adult children and their elderly father are gathered together at a house in Seoul. They are drafting a missing person flyer for their mother. She has been gone for a week, lost in a moment of carelessness at busy Seoul Station.

As they work on and argue over making the most effective flyer, questions arise: Was Mom born in 1936 or 1938? Why don’t we have a recent picture of her? Why was it no one went to meet her and Father at the train station?



So begins Kyung-sook Shin’s English language debut, “Please Look After Mom”, a novel that is both a moving portrait of a family in crisis and an allegory of modern Korea’s relationship with its past.


A Man’s World

Kyung-sook Shin is one of Korea’s most popular contemporary writers. The author of many works of fiction and non-fiction, “Please Look After Mom” is her breakout title. The novel has sold more than a million copies here in Korea and has been translated into 19 different languages. I think it’s safe to say “Please Look After Mom” is set to become the most widely read Korean novel of all time.

Structurally the story owes an obvious debt to William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”.

Divided into four parts and an epilogue, each section is narrated by a different member of the family. Each of these voices offers a perspective on Mom — perspectives that are by turns conflicting, complicating, or compatible. It is a delicate story that relies on nuance and subtelty rather than red herrings and big reveals. Giving away too much here might diminish a prospective reading experience — and this is a book you should read.

The plot is simple: Where is Mom? But what matters isn’t simply that Mom is missing. What matters is that she was only marginally present before her disappearance because she was never truly known, never understood by her family. Identity – how we see ourselves, how others see us, where we fit in history – is a key theme running through the novel.

How well do we know the people with whom we are most intimate? This question is well-worn territory in the world of literature and has been treated by innumerable writers. Kyung-sook Shin does as good a job as many in exploring it. When examined through the lens of Realism, “Please Look After Mom” offers an authentic picture of the difficulties faced by many women in post-war Korea.

To paraphrase James Brown: Korea is a man’s man’s man’s world. In 1995 the United Nations Development Progamme began compiling data for a Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). The GEM indicates women’s participation in a given country’s politics and business, and the income differential between men and women.

When the initial set of GEM statistics were released in 1995, South Korea ranked 90th out of 116 countries. In the years since then Korea has worked to improve quality of life for its female citizens, steadily climbing to the low-mid tier of GEM rankings. That said, this is still a country that has a long way to go in realizing and respecting the rights of a full half of its citizenry.

What “Please Look After Mom” highlights is the tendency, in no way unique to Korea, to treat women as little more than a commodity. Kyung-sook Shin’s characters are dumbfounded by the notion that Mom would have dreams and aspirations other than serving her family. When Chi-hon, the oldest daughter, asks her younger sister, now a mother herself, if she thought their Mom enjoyed cooking for the family, the younger sibling is at first unable to even register the question. After all, you wouldn’t ask of oxygen if it enjoys being breathed, of food if it enjoys being eaten.

I would be doing a great disservice to this book if I were to suggest it is some kind of feminist rant. It isn’t. It is a far more complicated, nuanced work than mere polemic. But in a country where it is routinely expected of a woman to hang upon a cross for her family, “Please Look After Mom” presents a host of challenging questions.



The Yoknapatawpha Connection

When Faulkner created Yoknapatawpha County — the fictional Mississippi county in which the vast majority of his novels are set — he was trying, in part, to make sense of the influence of the past.

The Antebellum South had been gone for sixty years when Faulkner began writing, yet it cast a shadow on every aspect of Faulkner’s life. How was America to understand and navigate its legacy of slavery? At his best, Faulkner alegorized our need to forge new traditions in the absence of old ways. His stories are intensely regional but manage to speak to universal human concerns.

Similarly, I think “Please Look After Mom” can be read as an allegory of Korea’s breakneck pursuit of modernization — with plenty of universal implications.

Sixty years ago Korea was engaged in a fierce, bloody, devastating civil war. Over 1.3 million Koreans died in combat, with millions more dying afterwards from starvation and sickness. The country was divided, a tentative cease fire was reached, and both sides have lived with the threat of war since.

Every day I see people who lived through the war. I work with people who remember fleeing their homes as the front rolled towards them. I know people who have living family members who were tortured by South Korea’s secret police in the 1960′s and 70′s. I have spoken with people who risked their lives in pro-democracy demonstrations. I once lived thirty minutes from Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, a city where, in 1980, as many as 2,000 civilians were gunned down by the government during a pro-democracy event.

Korea in the 20th-century was as volatile and dramatic as any nation in history.

And yet you would hardly know this from visiting Korea today. In the few decades since the Korean War, Korea has transformed from a war-ravaged, poverty ridden, police state, to a high-tech, fully modern, democratic country with one of the biggest economies in the world. It has been a truly remarkable transformation.

But what if you lived through that transformation?

In “Please Look After Mom” Mom is clearly suffering from dementia. The family is in denial and Mom for her part strives to deny or hide her worsening condition. Routine tasks that she has performed throughout her life — making kimchi, tending the garden, going into town for cooking supplies — are suddenly a cause for debilitating confusion. As her mind weakens Mom begins losing memories of a way of life that her children and grandchildren will never experience.

Mom, like many older Koreans, represents a generation that laid the foundation for modern Korea — and who find themselves now living in a foreign country.

Near the end of the book Mom asks a rhetorical question: “Do you think that things happening now are linked to things from the past and things in the future, it’s just that we can’t feel them? I don’t know, could that be true? Sometimes when I look at my grandchildren I think that they were dropped down from somewhere out of the blue, and that they have nothing to do with me. Nothing to do with me at all.”

Today, Korea is a far more comfortable place to live than it was a couple of generations ago — food, night life, nice cars, smartphones, videogames, all the bells and whistles of an industrialized nation. But how high is the cost of comfort if it comes at the expense of relationships and a remembrance of things past?

When Mom disappeared her family lost forever something of immeasurable value that they never fully understood or appreciated. No amount of material comfort can compensate for that kind of loss.


“Please Look After Mom”

Kyung-sook Shin’s “Please Look After Mom” is a worthy read. It grabbed me from the first sentence and wouldn’t let go — I read all 235 pages in a single sitting.

I should note that Chi-Young Kim’s translation renders the story in elegant, unpretentious English. An excellent effort.

Hopefully, the novel’s success in America (it was a New York Times bestseller in April 2011) will usher in a wider range of Korean literature in English translation. The book is available in hardcover and in Kindle format.

Do you know someone who might like to read Kyung-sook Shin’s “Please Look After Mom”? If so, would you share this post? It would really mean a lot. Thanks!  And if you've read "Please Look After Mom", what did you think?

No Bonnethead

I love the Little House books.  I can barely remember not loving them.  Like Amy in Beverly Cleary's Mitch and Amy, I liked to dress up in my mother's dresses (she had a yellow-and-white cotton summer dress with a full skirt that was just right) and play Little House on the Prairie.  I was always Laura.  My younger  brother got to be Mary or Nellie Oleson, or sometimes, Jack the bulldog.  In sixth grade, my first attempt at novel writing looked a lot like On The Banks of Plum Creek.  I was such a little calico freak that I secretly wanted a tin cup, a stick of candy and a penny in my Christmas stocking.

I always wanted my mom to like the Little House books as much as I did.  She watches the TV show from time to time, but never seemed interested in the series of novels.  I always believed they'd be right up her alley since they featured no talking animals, were based on true stories from Laura's girlhood and had plenty of illustrations.  I never gave up hope of bonding with her over the adventures of the Ingalls family.

Last summer, she seemed mildly interested when I was reading Wendy McClure's memoir of her Laura obsession, The Wilder Life   When McClure mentioned that Laura and her family actually lived for one whole year (1868-69) in Chariton county, the place where Mom was born, her interest spiked and we spent a couple of hours roaming the back roads between Rothville and Mendon, looking for the plaque that marked the Ingalls' brief homestead.  As we rode along, I knew she was ready for her first foray into the books. I would usher her into the world of Lit-Laura.  After waiting around more than 40 years, our Bonnethead time had come at last.

I didn't waste much time getting to the bookstore.  Ideally, I wanted to begin at the beginning with Little House in the Big Woods, the first book in the series.  (Actually, I wanted to buy the whole set right then and there, but I thought she'd be intimidated)  No joy.  The bookstore was fresh out of LHITBW, but they had Little House on the Prairie.  That would work.  It had the same name as the TV show and it's the most perfectly structured book in the series.  I brought it home to her, but before she could begin reading, my sense of going in order was making me crazy, so I went to the used bookstore and got Little House in the Big Woods.  The pig's bladder balloon!  Butter making! Laura's corncob doll, Susan! Charlotte! Pa's stories!  She couldn't miss out on all that.

Mom picked up LHITBW and started reading.  I was reading my own book, but I was also watching her read.  I wanted to be ready when she bespoke her enjoyment at intervals.  After a few pages, she put the book down and picked up her word search puzzle book.  No more reading that evening.  Aaaah, I thought.  She's savoring.  When she went to the bathroom, I quickly checked where the bookmark was: Page 30.

"Ma liked everything on her table to be pretty, so in the wintertime, she colored the butter."

The bookmark didn't move over the next few days.  What was going on?  I would find out.  One evening, my friend and former husband, Mr. Bybee, came over for a visit.  During a lull in the conversation, I told him that Mom had started reading the first Little House book.

"It's corny, " Mom said.

"Corny?"  I repeated.  "What do you mean?"  Mr. B. looked a little worried.  He knows how I feel about Laura and the gang.  After all, he was the one who gamely drove me to Mansfield, Missouri to see The Laura Ingalls Wilder museum back in the 1990s. He knew I wasn't going to take a judgment like "corny" lying down.

"Well, all they talk about is boring stuff like smoking meat and making butter step-by-step.  It's corny.  I guess they think kids don't know about any of this."

I was perturbed, but interested in her use of the plural pronoun.  After all, the Little House books were a joint effort between Laura and her daughter, Rose.

"Did you get to the part about the pig's bladder?"

Mom snorted.  "Yes."

"Oh," I said.

Corny?!  Dammit, I had screwed up!  I should have started her out with Little House on The Prairie where the Ingalls family didn't do chores --  they just got up and moved and got the hell across the Mississippi before the ice broke! 

Long story short:  The bookmark stayed at page 30 for the next 6 weeks, and it was still there when I walked out the door for the airport and as far as I know, it will be there until time immemorial.  I'm bound to sail my prairie schooner alone.  I love my mom, but she's no Bonnethead.

August 2011 Reading Recap

Thirteen books for August.  Five were picture books, but hey -- it was summer.

1. The Boxcar Children - Gertrude Chandler Warner.  My disappointed and lukewarm response to the Aldens can be found here.

2. Moral Disorder - Margaret Atwood.  I had this one saved up for a couple of years, and I'm so glad I took it with me to the States (its size was a factor)  and finally read it.

3. Sh*t My Dad Says - Justin Halpern.  Halpern's dad reminded me a lot of Florence King's mother (to compare, see King's memoir Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady -- both had a facility with bad language with a generous helping of creativity.  Halpern's book is a little uneven, and his attempt to show his dad's softer side at the ending comes across as a bit contrived. But he got me back again when he mentioned that his dad honestly didn't consider his years of online writing to be real publishing.  That sounds familiar.

4. American Bee - James Maguire.  Buzz, buzz.  Heart. I spilled my word-nerdy love here.

5. Maria's Wedding - Nunzio De Filippis, Christina Weir and Jose Garibaldi.  The graphic novel I paid 2 cents for!  The storyline strained then fell flat from having to introduce and support so many characters in such a short tale, but Garibaldi's illustrations won me over.

6. Nashville Chrome - Rick Bass.  Fictionalized biography of The Browns, a family singing group (two sisters and a brother -- Maxine, Jim Ed and Bonnie) who achieved crossover success in the 1950s.  The book is mostly about Maxine Brown, her hunger for fame and her inability to accept it when their popularity had passed. Some of the passages in the book seemed a little repetitive, but while some readers were irritated at author Bass for this, I interpreted it as a representation of the way Maxine's thoughts kept rolling over the same tired old road in her mind. Favorite parts included their early life in a rural Arkansas logging camp, Jim Ed's forays into nature, where the writing takes on an almost meditative quality, the lovely portrayal of musician/performer Chet Atkins, who listens so intelligently and intently that he can hear the spaces between the notes and Jefferson Eads, the odd, intense boy who appears on Maxine's doorstep as the answer to her prayers for newfound celebrity.

7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain.  My only regret is that I didn't read this during July when I went to Hannibal, Missouri.

8. I Have To Go! - Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.  My evening of Robert Munsch is here
 
9. Thomas' Snowsuit - Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.

10. Show and Tell - Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.

11. Andrew's Loose Tooth - Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.

12. Get Out of Bed! - Robert Munsch and Alan & Lea Daniel.

13. Becoming Jane Eyre - Sheila Kohler.  I wasn't expecting to like this novel about the Brontes and how Charlotte came to create her most famous work, (headless cover, that derivative title) but I was captivated by Kohler's writing and I felt so nicely steeped in All Things Bronte.  It made me feel sincere about getting back to Villette and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Lost List - 1990 reads

While culling through my USA book collection those last few days at home, I squealed with delight at one point to find Inside Oscar.  I loves me some movie history, but this is also the book that contains the list of books I read during 1990.  I used to write my book lists in the backs of books until 1993 when my son and husband gave me a reading journal and broke me of that nasty habit forever.

Looking back at this 21-year-old list, I'm reminded of how I was very much into the short story form.  Also, 48 seemed like a great amount of books back then; now it seems paltry.  I was working the night shift at a grocery store and did most of my reading before work and on breaks.  During the day, I always felt as if I was in a sleep deficit. Daytime felt gray and oppressive or jaggedy and too-bright.

I've forgotten many of these titles, but one thing I know for sure:  Most of these were library books.  These were the days when I would carry out piles and piles. I could rock a library card like nobody's business.

BOOKS READ IN 1990

1. Peachtree Road (novel)- Anne Rivers Siddons.  I don't remember this book at all.  I really don't remember any of Siddons' books except the very good Heartbreak Hotel and the uneven Fox's Earth. Library book.

2. 50th Anniversary GWTW (nonfiction) - Herb Bridges.  All the trivia about the book and the making of the movie.  Lots of photos.  Everything a fan like me could desire.  Library book.

3. Some Can Whistle (novel) - Larry McMurtry.  Danny Deck, from All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers, meets up with his long lost daughter.  Not one of my favorites, but time spent with McMurtry is time well spent.  Library book.

4. Elizabeth Cole (novel) - Susan Cheever.  I have no memory of this book. I'm sure it was a library book.

5.  Believe Them (short stories) - Mary Robison.  Ooooh, good stuff.  Minimalism.  I love Robison. I bought this book.

6. The Lost Sister (novel) - Robert Love Taylor.  I don't remember anything about this book.  Must have been from the library.

7. This Boy's Life (memoir) - Tobias Wolff.  One of the best memoirs out there.  Gold standard.  I bought this book.

8. The Silent Storm (novel) - Marion Marsh Brown.  This is a fictional biography of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher.  Good stuff, especially the early days depicting Annie's impoverished childhood in the poorhouse.  I'm pretty sure this was a reread.  Library book.

9.  Picturing Will (novel) - Ann Beattie.  I don't remember this book, but I remember wanting to try it because Ann Beattie is also a short story writer.  Library book.

10. Pretty Girls (novel) - Garret Weyr.  This doesn't even ring a faint bell.  I'm sure it was from the library.

11. In Constant Flight (short stories) - Elizabeth Tallent.  Tallent was another short story writer I admired very much.  I still reread her short-short "No One's A Mystery" from time to time when I see it republished in anthologies.  Where is she now?  Library book.

12.  The Chinchilla Farm (novel) - Judith Freeman.  I don't really remember much about this book except that the main character is Mormon, and there was some talk about the sacred undergarments, which always intrigued me.  I also have a vague memory of it being a "road novel".  Library book.

13. Prehistory of the Far Side (cartoons) - Gary Larsen.  Fun.  I would say that I miss The Far Side, but the cartoons are so good, they never seem to lose their freshness.  Library book.

14.  A Period of Confinement (novel) - Moira Crone.  I'm sure I liked this book, but I don't remember much about it except that it was a little dark and the main character's name was Alma. She was an artist of some kind.  Library book.

15. Endless Love (novel) - Scott Spencer.  This was a reread of one of my favorites.  I'm surprised that I wrote down the rereads.  Back then, I didn't think it really "counted" if I had read it before.  I bought this book.

16. Escapes (short stories) - Joy Williams.  Williams was a happy discovery for me during 1990.  I love this collection, particularly the title story and "Rot".  She's like Carver but a little more surreal.  I bought this book.

17. Anna LMNO (novel) - Sarah Glasscock.  Anna is a hairdresser in East? West? Texas and she's saving up to buy the shop from her boss.  She's twice-married, once to a wife abuser and currently, in the novel, to a guy from South Africa who needed a green card.  Her best friend, Jo, has health problems.  I loved the flat quirky voices of the characters, although some of the things they said and did didn't always make sense.  A library book that I later purchased.  Three times.


18. Me and My Baby View the Eclipse (short stories) - Lee Smith.  Smith's short stories are always a pleasure to read.  Gotta love that title, too; there's a whole world and plenty of poetry in those six words.  I love the juxtaposition of the grammatical error with the more formal "view".  Library book.

19. Wedlock (novella, short stories) - Mark Spencer.  In the title story, Pamela, a former high school cheerleader and beauty queen works at McDonald's to support herself and her strange second husband, Bobby who spends his days hunting for old toys to sell and with his wall-eyed mistress who works at the DMV. ("She's so ugly, she could be on television," Pamela observes.) Lon, Pamela's jock first husband comes back to town after bombing out in the minor leagues after a promising high-school career.  This novella and its sequel, Love and Reruns in Adams County are definitely worth a look.  I bought this book.

20. Dove (memoir) - Robin Lee Graham.  Graham left school at 16 and sailed around the world for 5 years.  The title of the book comes from the name of his boat.  During this time, he met the woman he wanted to marry, so it's a bit of a love story as well. I often wonder what became of Robin, Patti and baby Quimby in the years after the book ended.  I bought this book.

21. Best American Short Stories, 1989 -Margaret Atwood, guest editor.  I'm sure I liked this volume.  I was in my heyday as a short story reader and Margaret Atwood was at the helm.  Library book.

22. Louder Than Words (short story anthology) - I think the proceeds from this collection were meant to benefit the homeless.  I also recall that the first story was by Anne Tyler, which led to me buying the book.

23. Ordinary Love &Good Will (novellas) - Jane Smiley.  I remember liking the first novella better than the second one, but can't remember much about either.  I like Smiley's writing though, and some of her odd choices. Library book.

24. Like Life (short stories) - Lorrie Moore.  Yay, I love this!  I love Lorrie Moore, and I simply adore one of the stories in this collection, "You're Ugly, Too."  Library book.

25. Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye (essays) - Florence King.  I love the play on Carson McCullers' Reflections in a Golden Eye.  This is the book in which she says that John Updike reminds her of Jane Austen and Herman Melville -- trying to do needlepoint through whale blubber, or something like that.  I'm an Updike fan, but that was so funny, I had to forgive her.  Updike probably did, too.  A friend of mine got hooked on Florence King while reading The National Review and she loaned me this book.  I was reading it on break at work and a customer came through my line and asked me if I was "an intellectual or something."

26. Once Upon a Time on the Banks (novel) - Cathie Pelletier.  I don't remember this book, but I remember checking it out from the library.

27. The One True Story of the World (novel) - Lynne McFall.  I think I know which book this is, but not sure.  I'd like to try it again.  Library book.

28. A Thousand Benjamins (novel) - Michael Kun.  Benjamin's wife divorces him after many years of marriage, then he meets a young woman who has had heart surgery.  This novel reminded me of Anne Tyler.  Library book.

29. The Shoplifter's Apprentice (short stories) - Ellen Lesser.  The title story was all right, but I liked one of the other ones better, about a woman who goes to visit her old friend from college and now the friend is married with a baby and they're all vegetarian and back-to-the-land-ish.  I thought Lesser did a great job of exploring that awkwardness caused by time and distance.  I bought this book.

30. Rock Springs (short stories) - Richard Ford.  Another happy discovery in 1990.  Love at first story.  This is a really good collection.  I bought this book.

31. Goodbye Without Leaving (novel) - Laurie Colwin.  I didn't like this as much as earlier Colwin books like Family Happiness, Happy All the Time and Another Marvelous Thing.  I wonder: Will  Colwin will end up being remembered best for her fiction or her food essays? Library book.

32. Squabble (short stories) - John Holman.  I don't remember this book.  Library?

33.  When Sisterhood was in Flower (novel) - Florence King.  Florence King, you make my heart sing!  You make everything groovy...best part: the main character goes to work for a porn novel publisher and learns how to crank 'em out.  Hilarious. Library book.

34. Wildlife (novel) - Richard Ford.  I love this book, but I hate the title.  Why is it called Wildlife?  I keep wanting to call it "Wildfire" because the main character's father volunteers to fight a forest fire in Montana.  I'm not the type to go on and on about beautiful sentences, but Ford's writing brings that out in me.  This short novel and Rock Springs are my favorite works by him.  Library book.

35. Anagrams (novel) - Lorrie Moore.  It took me a while to track down this book (pre-Internet days) and when I finally got it, I couldn't stop reading it.  One of my favorites.

36. Lump It or Leave it (essays) - Florence King.  I remember the picture of Florence King on the cover with a gun and her annoyance with having to review crap books, but not much else.  My favorite of hers is With Charity Towards None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy. Borrowed from the above-mentioned friend.

37. Taking Care (short stories) -Joy Williams. This 1985 collection is a gem. The story about the woman whose dog died wrung at my heart, especially when her insensitive boyfriend, tired of her mourning, decides to provide her with perspective. Library book.

38. An Amateur's Guide to the Night (short stories) - Mary Robison.  One story calls for another.  I bought this book.

39. Available Light (novel) - Ellen Currie.  I remember thinking that the first chapter was engaging then it all went downhill pretty fast.  A gift from the Florence King-reading friend.


40. The Funeral Makers (novel) - Cathie Pelletier. All I remember is a suicide at the end, and the chilling, matter-of-fact way that it was carried out.  Library book.

41. Wild at Heart (novel) - Barry Gifford.  I saw the movie first, then the book reviewer in The Kansas City Star raved about the book.  I bought it.

42. Family Pictures (novel) - Sue Miller.  I always feel terrible because I can never remember anything about any of Sue Miller's novels except The Good Mother.  Library book.

43. Presumed Innocent (novel) - Scott Turow.  I read this because a co-worker urged it on me.  It was OK, but I've never read anything else by Turow.

44. Chilly Scenes of Winter (novel) - Ann Beattie. I remember bit and pieces of this book: the main character is suffering from unrequited love, one of the characters mentions that food tastes better since she stopped wearing lipstick and there was a rather spirited discussion between two guys about "brasseries".  I remember liking it and feeling that it was closer in spirit to one of her short stories.  Interlibrary loan.

45. The Gasoline Wars (short stories) - Jean Thompson. I don't remember this book, but I must have liked it because I went out and bought her follow-up collection, Who Do You Love?  Library book.

46. With or Without (short stories) - Charles Dickinson.  I don't remember this book.  Library book, I'm pretty sure.

47. A Long and Happy Life (novel) - Reynolds Price. In his first novel, Price tells the story of the 6-month courtship of Rosacoke Mustain and Wesley Beavers. Beautiful details about the way of life in the south.  Except for his memoir, this is my very favorite of Price's books and I would definitely read it again.  Interlibrary loan.

48. Rabbit at Rest (novel) - John Updike.  In spite of the title, in spite of Rabbit's serious health problems during this novel, I refused to believe that anything bad had happened to him.  At the end of this book, he was still conscious of things going on around him and I was convinced that he would rally and appear in a fifth book.  My friend said she cried and asked me if I did.  I didn't see any reason to until I was absolutely sure.  Finally, in 2001, Licks of Love with the novella "Rabbit, Remembered" came out and I had to accept it.  Library book.