Also Nov.: My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout

 We're not sure what to think of this book. By virtue of its title, one presumes we'll learn who Lucy is. One would be wrong. What we hear is Lucy's background of childhood poverty and abuse by her parents. We learn that her dad fought in WW2, and had a terrible incident, which colors his view of any young German American man he encounters (eg, Lucy's boyfriend, whom she ends up marrying). 

What L and I identify with is the background of poverty, of feeling different because of it, of being perhaps pitied because of it. 

We identify with a generation of parents who didn't utter the words, I love you, while we were growing up. It was said (in both our homes) sparingly. For me, my dad never said it, except in the hospital where he died the next day. 

Lucy Barton is a woman who comes from a small rural Illinois town (so do we, L and I). Lucy loves her daughters, and she dotes on them, knows how to show them love. 

The book ends with many puzzles -- the reader must decide if it's too many puzzles. 

For me, personally, I wanted to know - What was the "Thing" (Lucy's word) from her childhood? Why didn't her mom stay in touch or even seem interested in her life, her children? 

Elizabeth Strout definitely has a way with words. There are truisms throughout the book that resonate. 

L and I were (are) looking for books that speak to us at this point in our lives. Quality ones are hard to find. This one touched on a few truisms that resonate. We are currently deciding if we'll continue with more of Strout's books. 

Nov 2021: My Grandmother asked me to Tell You She's Sorry, by Fredrik Backman

Since we enjoyed Backman's book, A Man Named Ove (oo' vuh), we thought we'd read another of his books. This one, however, is very different. 

Elsa is an "almost-8-year-old" whose "granny" tells her fairy tales. 

These fairy tales involve various characters, eg, "Wolfheart," the wolf boy. And "wurses" which are basically dogs, or at least one dog in Elsa's life. 

L read the book mainly through audio-book; and therefore, she didn't catch the spelling of the different "kingdoms" of the fairy tales. I was listening *and* reading, thus, I saw that the spellings of the kingdoms made sense. Eg, Miaudacas - means I dare (the word audacious is sort of embedded), and Mibatalos - means I fight (the word battle is buried in the word). Sound confusing? Yes, it is.

As much as it took to get into this book - the fantasy of fairy tales and what it was all supposed to mean, Backman (author) has a way of spinning tales, and can be quite comical, as well as developing characters that are endearing. (And not just because Elsa ADORES Harry Potter books!!)

This book is not for everyone. Do we recommend it? Mmmm, yes sort of...if you're willing to roll with the fairy tales that interperse with Else's real life. 

In the big picture, L and I think that granny was trying to distract her grandchild (Elsa) from a life that was tough. Elsa is smarter than the average kid, and gets picked on, and her parents divorce, and she is bounced between households, and feels a bit unimportant to both her parents, unfortunately. Add some stepparents and a new baby and you get the picture. Granny was trying to help Elsa see that we all have hard times -- we all mourn, we all persevere, we all have fights, we all get past those fights. At least, that's what we took from it. 

Most of all, we enjoyed Blackman's writing. And once again, it took at least halfway through the book to see the word "kronor" (money in Sweden) and to know that the world in which Else and Granny and her Mum and everyone else are living is in Sweden (sigh). Are all Backman's books in Sweden? I don't think we'll continue reading more of his books, at least not for a while. 

A cool quote from the book: Nietzsche: Don't hate the one who hates, for you risk become like them.

Another cool quote: "People have to tell their stories, Elsa. Or they suffocate."

And a third (last) quote: "Elsa decides that even if people she likes have been shits on earlier occasions, she has to learn to carry on liking them. You'd quickly run out of people if you had to disqualify all those who at some point have been shits." (Yep, I concur!!!!!!!!!)

Okay I lied. Here's one more quote: "We want to be loved. Failing that, admired. Failing that, feared. Failing that, hated and despised. At all costs we want to stir up some sort of feeling in others. The soul abhors a vacuum. At all costs it longs for contact." (This makes me sad...)

Characters: Mum & George, Dad & Lisette, "lady with the black skirt," Alf & Taxi, Maud (cookies) & Lennert (coffee), Britt-Marie and Kent. Sam, Wolfheart, "boy with the syndrome" (yes, that's all we hear him called), and "halfie" (Mum's pregnant and...oh, you just have to read it to understand)

Kingdoms: (warning: possible SPOILERS, if you haven't read the book yet, perhaps read this list later... "you" whoever might be reading this secret blog, lol). Miamas-I love. Miploris-I mourn. Mirevas-I dream (mir is "i see" in spanish). Miaudacas-I dare. Mimovas-I dance. Mibatalos-I fight. We can build Mipardonus on the site of Mibatalos.

L's Read/Oct. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

 L read this during October.  I read this years ago. She liked it and gives it a thumbs up. Perhaps she'll add a comment thread and give further reflections. 

:-)

The theme, as I recall, has to do with books considered "banned" or dangerous. It's interesting what topics certain people deem unworthy of reading. 

Also Oct. 2021: A Man Named Ove, by Fredrik Backman

"L" found this book, and it sounded good to us so we read it. We both really liked it. It deals with some heavy topics, but uses humor in a way that we found ourselves bursting out laughing, as in LOL'ing. So, thumbs up!

I want to start by saying: go look up the word "kronor." No, I'm just kidding, I did that for you. Kronor is the name of money in Sweden. Yes, this book is set in Sweden. It took until page 52 for me to hear the word, kronor, and I didn't stop to look it up. Maybe I was driving since I had the audiobook. I finally figured it out! Note, you may also want to know that the car, Saab, was founded in Sweden in 1945; don't ask me why you may want to know this. Just trust me. 

It's hard to give a recap without giving spoilers....hmmm. So, I think I'll skip one of the "biggie" themes, because the reader needs to figure that one out all on their own.

Biggie topics: 

- A worldview that is black & white (either right or wrong) without the shades of gray (or compromise)

- At the same time that shades of gray/compromise might be a good thing, we see Ove (pronounced Oo' vuh) NOT compromising on his principles. L and I liked the way Ove stuck to his values even in hard situations, where someone else may have wavered. Ove (ooo' vuh) decided what kind of man he was, and that's who he was. Truly. You knew where he stood :-)

- Retirement; we get some of Ove's (ooo' vuh)'s views on retirement, and what he calls becoming "superfluous." This is an issue that L and I have spoken about a bit more of late, now that she and I are both nearing the age of retirement (not yet! but not so far away). And so it was interesting to hear Ove tackle the topic.

- Miscellaneous topics: loyalty, what gives life purpose, and different types of people - from "foreigners" (as Ove says), and maybe ethnocentricity or the lack thereof, as well as persons who are LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer). 

P.S. Something that caught me off-guard was hearing the same exact 2 sentences only a few pages apart. (pg 58 of Large print book) "He was a man of black and white. And she was color. All the color he had." (pg 70 of Large print book) "People said Ove saw the world in black and white. But she was color. All the color he had." --- I never like to see even one sentence repeated, especially so close together. Was this an editing mistake? Seems like it.

P.S.S. An example of superb use of language: "Get out! No animals in cafe!" 'He slashes at the consonants so that they hop about like naughty children caught inside the sentence.' (Awwwesome!)

List of Characters, Ove and Sonja, Rune and Anita, The Lanky One (Patrick), the foreign pregnant one (Parvanhah), Adrian, Lena, Jimmy, Mirsad, Amel. 

Oct. 2021: One Two Three, by Laurie Frankel

 While "L" was reading 1984, I read this one on my own. Since I loved Laurie Frankel's "This is how it always is," I decided to read this one, and I loved it.

One, Two, and Three are nicknames for three girls, triplets. It's interesting how the author rolled out each girl's personality. No spoilers; let's just say that at first, it was hard to keep track. But once you "get" who each one is, then it's easy to pick up the shifting chapters (from One to Two to Three back to One, to Two, and so on).

The book is about the town of Bourne, a fictional place, with crises that its citizens face that are "modeled on and imagined from communities around the world" says the author. 

Interesting play on Bourne and "born." Kids born in Bourne after "what happened" (as the author writes during the first several chapters) face specific challenges.

There's Belsum Chemical, a company that invents something that stays in the body, much like Dupont's creation of Teflon. In real life, documentaries show how Dupont workers developed cancer at higher rates, babies born to employees with defects, things like that. With Teflon, what makes it appealing as a finish for pans makes it a danger to humans/earth - it resists degradation.

So there's One (really named Mab), Two (her actual name is Monday), and Three (named Mirabel). The town of Bourne is small, everyone knows each other. The girls' mom is a psychologist and does other stuff on the side. No one seems to like the mayor. There's a boy named River. There are other characters that come and go. 

This book is magnificently written (love Frankel's prose). And in the big picture, it begs the question: What materials get tested before companies put them on the market? As well as: Has it always been a fight between money and the health of humans/earth? 

The latter question is plays out through history over and over. For example, DDT and farming. It took Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, to call to attention the birds that were dying en masse. Then came the creation of the U.S. EPA (1973 I think), but it was brand new. How do you start a government agency from infancy and address things like lead paint, asbestos, let alone DDT? And with certain mantras that shout "Small government!" people seem to NOT want government regulations if it's going to cost them money, or if those regulations mean they lose their home or jobs. These are tough topics. No one says they're not tough topics. But cancer has increased exponentially in the U.S., and it came on the heels of the industrial revolution. 

That's enough for the spoilers. If you want a well-written book that begs important questions, you'll enjoy this one, I think.