A really lovely book about a family just dealing with life’s relationships (Marie, children mainly). Understated, better than McDermott’s book Someone from April.
Category: Book themes
All My Puny Stories – Miriam Toews
This is a book about suicide and so it is hard to be perfectly objective but – this is her best book since A Complicated Kindness. Some back story: Toews wrote Swing Low, a non-fiction account of the suicidal death of her father. In AMPS (words taken from a Coleridge poem), the story is fiction but heavily influenced by the suicidal death of Toews’ sister in 2010.
Now for the comments: this is a heart-breaking story, that captures perfectly the inherent conflict between two sisters who love each other, but conflict because one wants to die and the other who wants her sister to live. The inevitability of the progression to the suicide is frightening, despite great efforts by many individuals in addition to the sisters. And finally, the picture of the psych staff is unflattering: indifference and ineffectiveness. Save up your energy for this but it is brilliant writing.
Perfect – Rachel Joyce
A brilliant story: sad, poignant, about fragility and uncertain realities, and the unsettling grip of mental illness. This book is even better than her previousbook The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Under The Wide And Starry Sky – Nancy Horan
A story of the complicated, often tempestuous relationship between Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny. The setting is constantly changing in the search for a climate that is healthy, a search that eventually leads to Samoa. (Horan wrote Loving Frank which is also excellent)
Hidden – Catherine Mckenzie
A 3-way story: a man who dies accidentally, his wife, and the woman he was having an affair with. It is not so much a story of infidelity but what secrets need to be hidden.
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
This is a compelling story of relationships: two brothers, husband-wife, and most complicated, child-parents. Typical of most Lahiri’s writing, this story takes place in both India and USA. (Jhumpa Lahiri previously wrote short stories – The Namesake).
Cataract City by Craig Davidson
This is a real testosterone-filled guy book starting with two 12 year old boys lost in the woods and then progressing to: wrestling, pit bull dog fighting, bare knuckle fighting between men, greyhound dog racing and finally another “lost in the woods” episode. Ultimately the book is about friendship and loyalty. This was a Giller nominee.
A Fairy Tale, by Jonas Bengtsson
A Danish writer has produced a melancholy story about a father/son relationship. The story has an interesting mix of moral behaviour juxtaposed with illegal activities. This book is a great example of how children can be infinitely accommodating to their parents odd behaviour.
The Weird Sisters – Eleanor Brown
This is a magnificent story about 3 sisters reunited in Ohio because of a parental health issue. The book is dominated by Shakespearean quotes and references: the names of the 3 sisters are Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean) and Cordelia (Cordy). The story is about sister relationships and all three are fuck-ups in their own unique fashion. And may I mention that everyone loves to read in this story. Finally, the book is written in an interesting collective voice of all thee sisters (We …). This is a must-read book.
What David Read 