So Many Books, So Little Time

I managed to read alot during Christmas break, mostly because my parents were visiting and one of our main "do together" activities is to sit around and read. It took Stephen a couple of years to adjust to but now, before my parents come to visit, I notice that he is stockpiling stuff to read, so he is not left alone, a conversational group of one, while the rest of us are ploughing through a book or magazine.

The first book I read was The Water's Lovely, by Ruth Rendell, who is one of the best suspense/mystery writers ever. She also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The Water's Lovely is a suspenseful reminiscence of two sisters who lived with their mother and step-father as they grew up. Their step father died in the bath tub, in suspicious circumstances. As more is revealed about him and his relationship with the girls, we begin to understand how, if not why. The ending is a bit ironic. Very very good beach reading, but keep your distance from the surf!

The second psychodrama that I enjoyed was The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage. This book attempts to tackle the issue of pro-life activism vs abortion rights workers. The story follows an escalating drama of two couples, a gynecologist who is performing abortions at a Planned Parenthood clinic, and his wife. The doctor's life is threatened by a pro-life extremist, whose husband teaches on the faculty where the doctor's wife works. Thought provoking when you consider the irony of a murderous pro-life activist. Many twists and turns.

The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai, was a beautifully dense story of four people living in decaying colonialism. As Ms. Desai brings the characters to life, we can feel real empathy for them, for while our world changes dailywithin proscribed boundaries, theirs is a fragile existence in a chaotic world. This book won the Man Booker Prize in 2006 and is well worth reading.

I am embarassed to say that I've read some other books, too...The Queen of the Underworld by Gail Godwin, which I didn't really love, but I generally enjoy her books...I didn't think that the protagonist, a new journalism school graduate who gets her first job with the Miami Herald, was very believable. Skylight Confessions, by Alice Hoffman was a lyrical book, with a dream-like quality. I didn't want it to end.