Well, no, not exactly the authors themselves but don't you always love to see who people are reading? We've been faithful to our exercise routine everyday but I like to walk outside and Don prefers the gym. The deck is nice and long, 2 times around is a mile - I do my walking out there while listening to a new novel by ex- MI-5 agent, Stella Rimington. I'm addicted to spies right now.
As I walk I love to people watch and, in particular, I love to see what folks are reading. Spotted several John Grishams, of course, Harlan Coban, Jennifer Crusie, and one man reading Say YOu're One of Them, which is on my own "to read" list. Only saw one library book in the whole mix, To those who say that reading is on the wane, I scoff. Every single person by the pool has their nose in a book. I think it's because they can. When else do they have time to relax and read? It really does my heart good to see.
Our own routine looks something like this...sleep 9 or 10 hours, have coffee and juice delivered to the room, read for another hour or two, go to brunch, go to the gym, come back and sit in the sun and read some more. Need I say more? There is no greater pleasure for me than to stare at the sea. The idea that there's no land in any direction - visible at least - thrills me. My sister thinks there may have been a pirate in our family closet. Would that explain it?
Just finished the novel I wish I could have written during NaNoWriMo. Hello, Goodbye could have been my story. How could this young woman, Emily Chenoweth, former editor at PW, write like this? I'm pea green with envy! This gorgeous, gorgeous novel sounds depressing but, interestingly enough, it really isn't at all.
Fit, bright, wife, mother, counselor, Helen, comes in from her early morning jog, pushes the button on the coffee maker and sinks to the kitchen floor in a blinding burst of light and pain. After weeks of testing and an agonizing wait for Helen's husband Elliott, the diagnosis is an inoperable brain tumor. Why does this seem so common lately? Not just in literature but in real life....how do we deal with this kind of news? Yes, everyone is different but the family dynamics explored by Chenoweth are a joy to behold. This is one of the most honest books I;ve ever read.
From college freshman Abby, torn between a deep, unbearable love for her mother, and the normal selfish, what about me attitude of every 18 year old, to Elliott, overwhelmed with the burden of caring for his wife while keeping the truth of her dreadful diagnosis from Abby and their friends, these people act with a generosity of spirit that keeps readers high in the face of grief.
Elliott decides to take Helen and Abby back East from Ohio for a last summer vacation at a resort in New Hampshire where the couple's old friends can gather to say farewell to Helen and their carefree younger selves. All interesting and complex characters themselves, they rally round Elliott and Helen, with mixed feeling of helplessness and fear in the face of their own mortality.
How I wish it could have been my name on the back cover of this sensitve, uplifting novel. Emily Chenoweth, I hope you have more stories percolating,
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thank you, Sally, for bringing this book to my attention. I found it to be sad, funny and supremely moving.
Oh Dorothy, How lovely to hear from you. Isn't it grand when we can make a connection? Literature and its audience is so subjective. Have you any recommendations for me?
Post a Comment