A Splendid Gift by Alyson Richman

A Splendid Gift by Alyson Richman

I first read The Little Prince in Mr. Marapodi's high school French class.  At sixteen however, the story's message of life was largely lost on me.  The assignment was simply a means to an end, a grade on my report card.

I'm grown up now and have read The Little Prince in English many times, loving it more each time.  So when I read the blurb for A Splendid Gift, I was sure I wanted to read it.  Alyson Richman chooses interesting and unusual story lines which also capture my attention. 

Silvia Hamilton sets her sights on Saint Exupery at a party in New York City, setting their love affair in motion.  Saint Exupery is struggling to write, to deal with his turbulent marriage and somehow win the war for France.  Silvia is able to bring him a sense of calm if only for the little time they are able to spend together. 

A Splendid Gift is a novella.  For me, it was just not enough.  This is a beautiful, intriguing story set with a backdrop of war.  As a reader, I felt I was only seeing a very shallow view of the characters and their faults. I wanted more depth from this story and it ended far too soon.  A Splendid Gift is written in a wonderful Richman style, but it left me wanting so much more from it.

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Cujo was the last Stephen King novel I remember reading.  It came out in 1982. The story scared the holy crap out of me and I don't like being scared.  I steer clear of any zombies, Freddie Kruger, or Texas Chainsaw massacres. Even though Stephen King is an American treasure, I hope reading a good book will tap into my emotions, but not have me checking the locks on all my doors and windows. I've stayed away from all things Stephen King all this time.   

Deciding it was time for something new, I opened up Mr. Mercedes.  Kermit William Hodges is an overweight, retired detective who suddenly only has the television and his gun for company.  A cold case where a man wearing a clown mask, driving a stolen gray Mercedes plowed into a line of people waiting to enter a job fair, gnaws in Bill's gut. Several were killed, and more were maimed.  Against his better judgement, he sets out to solve the case.

What I realized by page two, is that Stephen King is a brilliant writer.  I was blown away by the telling of this story.  King's writing is earthy, no frills and only a few big, complex words sprinkled in so they were easy to pass over. But make no mistake, Mr. Mercedes is a creepy, edge of your seat, evil thriller.  I couldn't put it down.  One night when I couldn't stop turning the pages, I had to force myself to put my Kindle down or be useless at work the next day.  But my mind had been worked into such a frenzy, I couldn't sleep anyway.  I sat up in bed and read some more. 

It's good to get out of your comfort zone every now and then.  Mr. Mercedes took me to places I never knew existed and where I never want to go again.  The sequel is out now, Finder's Keepers, and I can't wait to find out what happens next.  But I'll read it with the lights on.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

I 've never really thought of myself as a serial reader.  Plenty of people I know read the same author's novels never sticking their toe into other waters.  I've taken pride in reading a variety of authors, topics and genres.  That is until I found Liane Moriarty. 

I liked The Hypnotist's Love Story, I loved What Alice Forgot and I adored The Husband's Secret.  It was a no brainer for me to read Big Little Lies. However, after reading the first few chapters of Big Little Lies, I was ready to throw in the towel. The strong-willed Australian women, who were trying so hard not to lead ordinary lives, left me uninterested this time.

Madeline is turning forty and although she wants everyone to know she hates getting old, she secretly loves all the attention.  While stopped in traffic, she gets out of her car to yell at a teenager who is texting and driving.  Her high heel catches in the pavement, she falls twisting her ankle.  Jane watches from behind the wheel of her own car and comes to the rescue.  Both, it turns out are on their way to kindergarten orientation at the same school with their children in tow. 

Now I've never been able to stop reading a book midstream no matter how much I hated it.  But I'm beginning to get a bit more discerning after being caught in a long string of really bad books I wasted alot of time on and didn't enjoy. I came so close to closing the door on this one but that little voice inside told me to keep going.  And I'm glad I listened to it.

There are no spoilers here but Big Little Lies struck a chord. Although women have come a long way in our society, we still have a long way to go.  Liane Moriarty put her own comedic spin on a very serious subject and anyone who reads this novel will remember it for a long time to come.  Today I'm an even bigger fan knowing there are more Moriarty novels waiting for me. But most of all, I'm glad I can add Big Little Lies to my list of favorites.

Where The Om Am I? by Sara DiVello

Where The Om Am I? by Sara DiVello

Being a yoga lover and having written a novel that spoofs big business, this memoir seemed to be right up my alley. Sara, a recent college graduate with eyes wide open and big dreams, lands what she believes to be a great opportunity in a financial services company. She puts her nose to the grindstone hoping to make an impression, which is not easy with all that's going on around her.

Enthusiasm for a great job quickly wanes when Sara's co-workers begin to show their true selves.  Her boss Vicky can't separate her personal life from her work life.  A business trip with Vicky turns into a drunkfest with Sara playing nursemaid to Vicky's monster hangover.  A salesman, who Sara has nicknamed, The Meat, freely shares tales of his sexual conquests in the office. No one seems to notice that Sara is left to do the work the rest of them have simply neglected.  Let's just say, I can relate.

At the urging of her new husband, Nunally, Sara follows her dream of becoming a yoga instructor.  She juggles intensive classroom training while continuing to put up with the office antics.  It's a struggle since the other yoga students are as equally obnoxious as those she desperately wants to leave behind in the office. 

Where The Om Am I? is funny and I mean laugh out loud funny.  The people in the office are real characters.  In fact I think I know a few of them!  The yoga students are mean and spiteful and I was pulling for Sara to rise above them.  If you are looking for a light, funny summer read, I think you will enjoy, Where The Om Am I?

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

Chapter One sets the stage for the story that is to come.  An old man attending his grandson's wedding can't keep his eyes off the bride's grandmother.  She is so familiar yet he struggles to figure out why.  And then he realizes she is his wife.  A wife, he long ago had been told had died in a Nazi concentration camp.

Lenka is a young girl living in Prague in the 1930's.  She is also a Jew.  She is fortunate enough to attend art school and works diligently to perfect her craft as an artist.  She meets Josef, the brother of one of her classmates.  The two fall hopelessly in love. They marry in haste as the Germans invade  Czechoslovakia, limiting their freedoms.  Josef's family has secured visas to leave but Lenka refuses to go with them unless her own family can come too.  Time and money are scarce and additional visas are not forthcoming. A stubborn and determined Lenka says a tearful goodbye to the man she adores.

This is another wonderful story that I lost myself in, turning each page with anticipation of the next.  The author did a skillful job of taking me from the present to the past and back again all while keeping me fully engaged.  Josef's and Lenka's separate stories seamlessly entwined throughout the novel.  As a writer myself, I know that's not an easy thing to do.

The Lost Wife is a captivating story of love in the midst of great evil. And it is a story of hope and the will of the human spirit.  Never give up on hope and love will always prevail.  A must read.

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The other day a friend posted something on Facebook that caught my eye.  It was a picture of a girl on the beach reading a book.  The caption read, "The moment when you're reading a book and the whole world around you does not exist anymore."

As an avid reader, being lost in a novel is a rare and magical moment.  You know you have uncovered something wonderful.  When I began All The Light We Cannot See, the world around me ceased to exist when I read page one.  I was in heaven! I couldn't put this book down.

Marie-Laure is a blind girl living in Paris as Hitler is rising to power in Germany.  Her father is the lock master at the museum, the keeper of all its keys.  Papa builds Marie-Laure models of the city so she can learn to navigate the streets on her own.  She counts steps and storm drains under his loving guidance.

 Werner is an orphan in Germany with a talent for fixing radios.  He's sent to a special school to learn engineering since his skills are in demand by the Nazis.  His loyalty is a way to survive and he learns to hide his compassionate heart from view. 

All The Light We Cannot See is the story of two young lives coping with the horrors of war from different viewpoints.  One has the ability to see, the other can only feel. This book is filled with love and terror, mystery and myth, kindness and hatred, all told so vividly I bubbled over with every emotion. 

Ah! My disappointing streak is finally over.  No wonder this novel won the Pulitzer Prize.  I adored every single page.

Lighten the Load

Today is the official "Lighten The Load" day at my house. It was time to clean out all the things I no longer use, or wear or need and send them to the Goodwill where they can find a new home. 

I started in the closet.  It's packed with more clothes than I can wear, yet it's a struggle to put much on the pile.  I might need that chartreuse T shirt with a hole in the armpit that I haven't wore in five years and I can't part with it.  Yet that someday is never going to come and I know it. Neither is sewing up the hole.  I found three pairs of hiking boots and I'm really not much of a hiker.  The last time those boots did any serious hiking was twelve years ago when I hiked out of the Grand Canyon.  That hike changed my life forever, but almost killed me in the process.  So when I noticed a pair of boots still had the red clay of the Grand Canyon imbedded in the soul, they immediately went back on the shelf and the other two pair went into the pile.

It didn't take long to come to a standstill in the closet. I moved on to my office with shelves and shelves of my beloved books.  The task I faced here was even more daunting than purging a few old pairs of jeans.  My books.  I love my books.  I haven't read "Tales of Aladdin", "Rascal" or "The Little Prince" in probably forty years but I can't bear to part with them.  They were among my first books, carefully selected at the annual book fair held in the school gymnasium when I was eight years old.  I gently stroked the covers and put them back in their place.

Moving to the next shelf, I thumbed through my collection of books on reiki before coming to several autographed titles.  I have one entire shelf of novels by Thomas Wolfe.  He was my step mother's cousin. The old, worn, first edition books have found their way here.  Nothing on these shelves is leaving anytime soon. 

Desperate to add at least something to the contributions, I found a John Irving novel, that I enjoyed but no longer had any special attachment to or desire to read again.  I carefully folded the clothes and put them in a plastic garbage bag setting the lone book on top. 

I looked at the half full bag and put it in the back of my car for its trip to Goodwill.  I hadn't made really any extra space inside but I'd made an effort.  Thank goodness for my Kindle.  It's rare that I buy actual books any more, much preferring the digital kind.  They take up much less space.  Plus it allows me to cherish the old books I have and not crowd them with new purchases. 

The clothes in the closet, however are a totally different kind of story. "Lighten the Load Day" is going to have to become official at least once a month.  Once a year is just not going to cut it, but I can skip cleaning the office.  Nothing in there, is going anywhere.