Book Review - The Dream Lover: A Novel of George Sand by Elizabeth Berg

I was so thrilled to receive an advance copy of Elizabeth Berg's Dream Lover. Berg is one of my favorite authors. Prior to reading this book I never had heard of George Sand or her writings, but I've since been intrigued enough to read some of her works.

This book is vastly different from other works by Berg, and I found it a fascinating look at French history and the lives of so many famous during that time period. George Sand, née Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin was an influential French author during a time when women were not embraced for their intelligence, free-spirited nature, or even independence. George was successful and made her own way in a man's world, even through societal constraints she faced.

If the reader is looking for typical women's fiction with is Elizabeth Berg's normal style this book might be a challenge. It's the story of a strong woman forging a path in a male centric society, and a bit of historical knowledge might be gleamed along the way.


 Goodreads Review

Thoughts on Paul Harding's Tinkers, Life and Living

Book Review - Tinkers, by Paul Harding

Choosing books for a book club can often be a daunting task. It is so difficult to anticipate what members in the group will like or appreciate. I myself often don’t like the choices, but I am always glad to expand my own reading choices.

This month I selected Paul Harding’s Tinkers. The book won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, so I thought if nothing else at least we could appreciate reading a quality novel. Book group meets this coming Tuesday, and I have already heard grumbles that it is too hard a subject, too meandering, too esoteric for most readers. Even my friend who has read every single book in the nearly four years our group has been meeting has been challenged to finish it. One of the couples in the group could not get past the first page – his father recently having succumbed to a similar death as the main character.

I admit it was a difficult book to start. I started and stopped a few times over the last month, until last week I knew I needed to get serious and get it read, so I began again. This time the book flowed for me. I found myself captivated, enthralled, engrossed by so many of the passages that I actually had to get sticky notes and mark the pages I found truly beautiful.

Tinkers is the story of George Washington Crosby and his descent to death to cancer. The story of his life is intertwined with that of his father, who left the family when George was a young boy, rather than be institutionalized by George’s mother because of his epileptic fits. George became obsessed with clock repair later in life, and the mechanisms and clockworks are woven throughout the story. Howard, George’s father, had a parallel life with his son, and their stories show the fabric of life and how deep inside, all of us are made of the same stuff as nature throughout the history of the world. Inside the red blood of our bodies lies the rust left behind from Roman armor, and our bones contain the same materials as the stars in the heavens. It is the story of life; of consciousness, of moments in life that can stay with us always, of living and of dying, and how none of us can escape no matter how we live our lives; deep inside we are all one in the same. The prose in this book  completely left me breathless on several occasions.

“..and my father’s fading was because he realized this: My goodness, I am made from planets and wood, diamonds and orange peels, now and then, here and there; the iron in my blood was once the blade of a Roman plow; peel back my scalp and you will see my cranium covered in scrimshaw carved by an ancient sailor who never suspected he was whittling at my skull – no, my blood is a Roman plow, my bones are being etched by men with names that mean sea wrestler and ocean rider, and the pictures they are making are pictures of northern stars at different seasons…” p. 136

This is an incredible book. Yes, it is a challenge to read, and the timeline jumps so much it is hard to keep track of who is speaking or when. I read that Harding printed his manuscript, laid it all out, then cut it up and formed it into what it is today by pasting the bits together. Whether or not this is true, I do not know. However, I can believe it is. Despite the challenges, I found this book to be poetic genius. Thank you Paul Harding.

Jerry's Magic

I was offered an advanced copy of a book called Jerry's Magic by W.W. Rowe through Net Galley. I don't think my words will make or break this book, and in fact I always hesitate to review a book I do not care for, yet there might be an older child or person who could benefit from this book, so I decided to share my thoughts.

This is a short read, and I think the intended audience is children around 10 years old, which is Jerry's age in the story. However, I think that Jerry's growth and ability to learn meditation and answer to a higher self might confuse a ten year old audience.

As an adult I can appreciate Jerry's choices, and Jerry's magic. I am not certain that a 10 year old would. The story starts out simply enough, but about halfway through becomes more about the higher power of our souls and our ability to discover the magic within ourselves and about how if we believe in something enough it becomes real. These are deep topics for a young audience. While a child might enjoy Jerry's mishaps as he struggles to make money pedaling magical wares to help his mom and enhance the family income and making a better life for them, Jerry's self-discovery was a little to mature a reaction for a ten-year old boy, in my opinion. It is not a book I cared much for, and I do not plan to recommend it to the children in my library.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1248839156

Falling Together

I just finished reading Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos. This, to me, was one of those stories I just did not want to end. I want to know what happens in the characters’ lives going forward. I want to be their friend; to be entwined in their lives.

This is the story of Will, Pen, and Cat and the friendship they formed early in their college days. They were the Three Musketeers; the St. Elmo’s Fire friends, whose friendship essentially went separate ways until several years after their graduation. Cat has disappeared, and Will and Pen reunite in order to find her and solve the mystery of her life since their split. Pen is heartsick over the death of her father; Will is stoic over the loss (but not to death) of his own father; Cat’s mystery surrounds the death of her father. The path of discovery is through each other.

The tale is told mostly from Pen’s point-of-view, but occasionally shifts to third person Will. Cat’s story is told from their memories of her. I found the characters well rounded and well developed, and their relationships to each other folded almost agonizingly slowly – I wanted to skip ahead to satisfy my curiosity! Their backstories unwind and fill in the blanks, leaving the reader to see that even book characters do have flaws in their personalities, and the road to love is not always paved with gold or is always smooth sailing. Although filled with much banter and humorous moments, to me, the best part was the prose and moments of self-discovery Pen experienced.

 

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos