This amiable book is made gently subversive by the fact that lady detective Mma Precious Ramotswe takes on what is considered a rather non-traditional role for a woman in Botswana. The book is an easy and charming read, and refreshingly non-formulaic for the detective/mystery genre. Maybe part of its gentle subversiveness is that the mysteries are not really the point, or maybe the real mystery is the human behaviour and nature behind each crime that Mms Ramotswe investigates.
“A Minor Planet for You” is Greentree’s first foray into the short story form after two accomplished collections of poetry. As it is in her poetry, witty, feisty dialogue is one of Greentree’s strengths. She zeroes in on relationships gone askew, and somehow manages to balance tenderly both the humour and the pain or embarrassment of people’s failures to connect and communicate.
This wistful snippet from the title story is a favourite:
When I get home from work, there’s a note on the table. Brian’s out looking for an asteroid belt tonight, and won’t be back until late. I throw my coat over the back of one of the kitchen chairs and phone my sister, Tanya. When I start complaining about the whole minor planet bullshit plan, she interrupts me.
“Maggie, I think that sounds so romantic. Don’t you think it’s a wonderful gesture, having your husband want to discover a planet for you?”
“I think it would be more romantic for him to stay home with me once in a while,” I say. “Maybe even talk to me.”
I would take this book and concept with a grain or two of salt, because not everything it espouses is for everyone, and I found not all of it completely rang true with me. That said, the very first book in the series by Julia Cameron has something to offer just about anyone who is looking to cultivate their creativity, not just in writing per se, but using writing as largely the outlet and mode of expression. Even if you only take one practice or exercise away from it (the daily writing routine is a good one, and one I’ve personally kept up for close to 12 years now), it’s worth it.
This is the 63rd of a series of titles selected by writer Yann Martel to provide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to encourage an appreciation of the arts and literature in particular in the PM, and to also help him (Harper, that is) with his stillness and thoughtfulness. Martel has regularly sent books from a wide range of literary traditions to Harper. Martel has devoted a Web site to the reading list and his kind and considered covering letters with each volume. (All of his letters can be read at http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/.) Martel’s thoughtful persistence in this quest, started in April 2007, is both heartwrenching and highly commendable. He has never received a direct acknowledgement from Harper, and only recently some fairly form-letter responses from Harper’s staff. He has, however, received a response (although not directly related to one of his book selections for Harper) from Industry Minister Tony Clement.
Will this quirky, challenging literary novel by the always intriguing and stylistically shape-shifting Barnes finally inspire Harper, to take up Martel’s recommendation, to read, to respond? We shall see.
Immersed in natural imagery, Borson’s poems are delicate and sensitive in the sense that they are very attuned, but not fragile. At the same time, the collection as a whole is emotionally sound and never obscure.
Both lyrical and bleak, this story captures the protagonist’s hopeless choices in the harsh and divisive world of Northern Ireland. The narrative voice has the flat affect of a person who is both shell shocked and cannot believe he is really capable of or deserving of love or even respect. Yet even with that flatness, that voice is still very moving. When Cal does find love, it is complicated by layers of seemingly unsolvable circumstances that leave the reader wondering and hoping to the last sentence …
“Sometimes in her presence he felt like Quasimodo – as if the ugliness of what he had done showed in his face. The brand in the middle of his forehead would never disappear and seemed to throb when she was near. Alone, now, he relaxed into his ugliness. To hell, why not? If he could not take her like Sleeping Beauty then he could ravish the things which surrounded her. His impotence was something he could smell and touch.”
Stephen McCauley crafts a sweet and impossible pas de deux between two characters, George and Nina, with sufficient warts and foibles to be believable. He surrounds them with a wry and witty cast of supporting characters and melds it all with charming, infectious, Friends-like dialogue (predating Friends by about 10 years). It’s interesting that Jennifer Aniston went on to portray Nina in the movie version of the book.
This is the 55th of a series of titles selected by writer Yann Martel to provide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to encourage an appreciation of the arts and literature in particular in the PM, and to also help him with his stillness and thoughtfulness. Martel has regularly sent books from a wide range of literary traditions to Harper, and has devoted a Web site to the book list and his kind and considered covering letters with each volume. (See http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.com.)
While the subtitle suggests that this book examines creativity and artistry, it really focuses on how the giving of one’s creativity as a gift informs societies, cultures and economies. In a lot of respects, Hyde’s book predicted the current download/open source culture.
Gilead is poetically introspective, an elderly man’s meditation on how fatherhood came to him late in life, and how he regrets that he won’t likely see his young son to adulthood.
This book was the 48th of a series of titles selected by writer Yann Martel to provide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to encourage an appreciation of the arts and literature in particular in the PM, and to also help him with his stillness and thoughtfulness. Martel has regularly sent books from a wide range of literary traditions to Harper, and has devoted a Web site to the book list and his kind and considered covering letters with each volume. For more on Martel’s noble venture, go to http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.com.
This absorbing novel recounts in lively, touching and suspenseful detail the aftermath of worlds literally colliding. Lonely, middle-aged and middle-class Clara’s car connects fatefully with that of the gypsy-like Gage family. While hospitalized after the crash, mother Lorraine learns that her bruises are actually an indication of late-stage cancer. Clara suddenly finds new meaning in her life as she takes charge of Lorraine’s three children, elementary school age Dolly and Trevor and infant Pearce, and elderly, cantankerous mother-in-law. As Lorraine battles cancer, Clara raises Lorraine’s family after L’s husband Clayton flees the situation. Clara’s friends and family rally round, and everyone learns about their capacity for patience, compassion and love. This novel offers probing reflections on selflessness versus selfishness, on charity, on all forms and types of love and caring for one’s fellow human beings.
An aspect of this novel that I initially found distracting was Endicott’s propensity for changing the narrator’s perspective so frequently, sometimes in mid-paragraph. By the end of the novel, however, I appreciated how much richer an overall experience the novel was for its interwoven voices. The novel mimics how voices naturally intermingle in normal group conversations, as if all of the characters are trying to describe the story to the reader at the same time.
Another striking aspect of this novel is its simple but arresting cover artwork. I’m not sure how often this sort of thing is remarked upon in reviews, but this book’s cover haunted me throughout. It’s a very simple picture of the end of an interior wall or doorway, upon which you can see the marks of someone measuring the heights of children. There are only a few marks, however, whereas in a home and a family where this is a tradition, there would be lots of marks. It said to me that Clara yearned to have a family and simple traditions like that, but that she only got to enjoy them for a short while. It turns out that this was the reasoning behind the image, as explained in these lovely and moving insights from the designer, which includes comments from author Marina Endicott:
http://daviddrummond.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-to-fault.html
This quotation from the Bible, which is mentioned in the novel, seems to sum it up well:
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13)