The Group by Mary McCarthy This book was referred to in another book I was reading and I got curious about it. It tells the story of 8 women who recently graduated from college in the 1930s and shows the paths their lives begin to take. I found it to be an excellent piece of feminist literature and quite shocking for it's intended audience as it was published in the early 60s. I really related to the women each trying to find their own path and see where their lives would take them. Each of them in their own way had their own hopes and dreams and they were living in a time where it wasn't an easy task to get those wants met. It was odd to read about women in a much different era but facing many of the same issues today's women face. It was easy to relate to the idea of wanting to keep your college friends but getting lost in your career, marriage, and family choices. It was also sad to read about the challenges they faced and the loses that they endured. Overall I'm certain it didn't have the impact on me that it would have had if I had been around to read it when it was first released, but I still found it to be a great read. I also see the influence it has had on other writers who write about women's friendships throughout the life course and how they grow and change.
This is how You Lose Her by Junot Diaz This is a collection of short stories all following the main character, Yunior. There are 9 short stories all telling of/about love. The author shares stories of family love, love for one's country of origin, romantic love, and the mistakes sometimes made in romantic love and the consequences those mistakes can have. The book was a little too vulgar for my taste at times but I appreciated that it wasn't vulgar for the sake of being vulgar but as a way to explore the main character in a real way. There were stories I liked better than others but throughout I liked the authors writing style. I also think the book started strong and ended strong but I got lost a little in the middle stories. I also think since 8 of the 9 stories included the main character and the other one hinted at his involvement in the story, the book may have been better as a sequential novel rather than a fragmented short story book. The stories jumped around a bit and made it a little confusing. That being said I liked the authors style and added his other two books to my to read list.
"Okay, we didn't work, and all memories to tell you the truth aren't good. But sometimes there were good times. Love was good. I loved your crooked sleep beside me and never dreamed afraid. There should be stars for great wars like ours." Sandra Cisneros opening quote
"Ana Iris once asked me if I loved him and I told her about the lights in my old home in the capital, how they flickered and you never knew if they would go out or not. You put down your things and you waited and couldn't do anything really until the lights decided. This, I told her, is how I feel."
No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel This was an excellent book. I've gotten quite behind on my blog writing but even 3 months later I still vividly remember this book. The author narrates in such a detailed way it would be difficult to forget. The story is of an isolated Jewish town in Romania starting during WWII. The town reinvents itself in order to keep the bigger world out and is successful at doing so for some time. Eventually the two worlds collide though and the main characters face many hardships and challenges. The writing in this book was excellent and I am sad this was the author's first novel as I don't have other books of hers yet to add to my "to read" list.
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick I only added this book to my never ending "to read" list after seeing the movie. I happened upon the movie by chance and I absolutely loved it and saw how it would make a great book. I think this is the first time in a long time that I liked a movie more than the book it was based on! The book is more or less the same storyline of the movie but with some key differences that really change the tone of the novel. The story still revolves around a 30 something year old man with Bipolar disorder that is getting out of a mental institution. There is still a love story in the middle of it all and also the story of the man reintegrating into society after his life has had such a dramatic change. The title is made more clear in the book and the family dynamics are explored much more as well. Overall the book wasn't bad and if I hadn't had such a great experience with the movie it may have met my expectations but since I was really counting on it being great it just didn't satisfy me as much as the trumped up Hollywood version did.
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy This book confused me. I guess it was passed on a story from some years ago and may have had more meaning if I had known what it was based on. The story follows a family visiting France and is told through several of the main characters voices. There is a young girl who is the daughter of a couple and then several neighbors and friends staying with the family. There is also a young woman who is involved in each of their lives. It was a short read but a bit confusing to follow and I'm not entirely sure what message the author was trying to convey was.
Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman This book is a collection of short stories with human characters as narrators but each story has animal characters as well which are important to each story in a unique way. The human characters are struggling and sharing their stories of the struggle they are facing. The animal characters are important to each story and for some stories bring in some happiness where there is only sadness. The reader learns unique facts about the animals as we are learning about the human characters and making connections of similarities. As both a book lover and animal lover this book was such a great read for me. It was also the first time in awhile that I read a book of short stories where I felt the author did a good job of closing the stories individually. For the most part each story had the right amount of writing to get you interested but also to give you closure where you weren't constantly looking elsewhere in the book for the character's chapter to return to be closed in a better way.
"I want to fix everything. I want him to know nothing but gentle landings. I don't want him to know that people like Louis's mom exist, that people fall into land mines of pain and can't crawl back out."
"Mother's, I believe, intoxicate us. We idolize them and take them for granted. We hate them and blame them and exalt them more thoroughly than anyone else in our lives. We sift through the evidence of their love, reassure ourselves of their affection and its biological genesis. We can steal and lie and leave and they will love us."
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