Book Review: The Inheritance of Loss

I have read books that sacrifice plot for character or character for plot, but this is the first book I've ever read that sacrifices both for setting. Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss is beautifully written, full of vivid descriptions from the Himalayas to the streets of New York City. To say it moves slowly would be generous,. The story doesn't really start until the last fifty pages or so. The only character I had any fondness for was the dog and there's no resolution to her story.

I only purchased this book because it won the Man Booker Prize in 2006. I only finished it because of a Goodreads review that said it had one of the best endings she'd ever read. I am boggled on both points. Basically, this author spent 350 pages meticulously describing an empty room.

Book Review: Losing Charlotte

In Losing Charlotte, a family deals with the sudden loss of the eldest daughter after she has given birth to twins. In the months that follow, the family tries to adjust. The typically unshakeable father takes to bed, the mother begins planning an elaborate memorial that seems to mark Charlotte's childhood, and the younger sister travels from Kentucky to NYC to help  her brother-in-law care for newborns.

Younger sister, Knox, finds herself plunged into a domestic life she has tried hard to avoid. She suspects her actions are out of guilt, for not being a "good sister." As Knox wrestles with what that means, we get glimpses of their complicated relationship- simultaneously passionately close and, at times, frustratingly distant. Knox tries to understand who her sister was and what she'd thought of their relationship. At the same time, she's trying to figure out who she will become without her sister to measure herself against.

This story does not gloss over grief and end with a tidy, happy resolution. There is truth here and the pain is palpable. You get the sense that these are real people who will deal with the reality of this loss for the rest of their lives.

In an author interview, Heather Clay says she is inspired by: "Anything about that family ache, about what’s unsaid, misunderstood, the simple and tragic passage of time... " That's what she gives her readers with this book.

Recipe: Pad See Ew

Years ago in New Hampshire, my friend Kim introduced me to Thai food. I fell in love with something they just called "Pan Fried Noodles" and when the restaurant went out of business, it took me years to locate the dish that was the equivalent in other Thai restaurants: Pad See Ew.

It's really tricky to recreate this delicious recipe in you own kitchen because the "dark soy sauce" isn't typically sold in American grocery stores. You need to go to an Asian market and find some "Kecap Manis", which is the key to the special sweet flavor of Pad See Ew.

I went to Lee Lee's International Supermarket. I read that "light soy sauce" is just the same as the regular soy sauce that's easily found at your local Safeway, but I wasn't taking any chances and picked up some of that as well. Google turned up a bunch of recipes, each slightly different. This is the one I used: http://rachelcooksthai.com/pad-see-ew-2/

Book Review: String Bridge

Jessica Bell's novel String Bridge tells the story of Melody, who gave up her life as a musician when she had her daughter with her music promoter husband. At first, it hadn't even felt like a sacrifice, but as Tessa turns three, Melody begins to feel like she has lost an essential part of her identity. The dual role of wife and mother is no longer feeling enough.

Add to that doubts about her husband's fidelity and job stress and you have the recipe for an unhappy life. And Melody can't trust her emotions because she's worried that she may have inherited bipolar disorder from her mother who was diagnosed at around the same age.

Bell does a good job describing Melody's conflicting emotions and her memories of a difficult childhood with a mentally ill parent. There are some tangents here and the ending seemed unnecessarily dramatic, but it's a compelling story that may resonate with women trying to define themselves beyond motherhood.

Book Review: Maine

As someone who grew up in an Irish Catholic family on the East coast, J. Courtney Sullivan's novel Maine felt awfully familiar. Something about the cover and the book's popularity made me expect a much lighter sort of "beach read", but I was pleasantly surprised to find a complicated, multi-generational family saga instead.

Technically, Maine takes place over a couple months in the summer when the Kelleher family vacations together in their beach home. But through the voices of this ensemble cast of characters, we read about their journey as a family, beginning with the matriarch in her youth.

We get the story from four perspectives: Alice, daughter Kathleen, daughter-in-law Anne Marie and Kathleen's adult daughter Maggie. All the characters are flawed, and perhaps the most deeply flawed is Alice. The past that torments her is hidden from those around her and all they see is her apparent ambivalence about motherhood. Kathleen, the black sheep of the family, discovers that a lifetime of trying to be her mother's opposite has sent nearly the same message to her daughter. Maggie is unexpectedly pregnant and wrestles with the decisions she must make for her future while trying not to echo the mistakes of the past.

This is character driven fiction- which is my favorite. Each character has their own story to tell which informs the broader story, the portrait of the Kellehers.

Monsoon Season: New Review

The following review for my book can be found on the Literary Inklings website:

Riley is a Massachusetts girl fresh from college when she boldly moves across the country to Arizona, separating herself from her family in an attempt to find her own footing in life. Amid the fervid unrestraint of Tucson’s monsoon season she meets Ben, and the two discover a comfortable life together. They live simply and love passionately until Ben’s spasmodic and unpredictable temper pushes Riley to a place from which she refuses to return. Stricken by the sting of his abuse, Riley once again separates herself from the life she knows and leaves her unstable Tucson world for home and family in New England. But allowing a love to die, she discovers, – even an illogical, rampant young love – isn’t made any easier by walking away. As she comes to grips with the consequences of her choices and learns to reestablish her life, a tragedy close to home will shake her world anew. With determination, and with the help of her true friends and family, Riley will have to learn how to weather a monsoon season of her very own.

Katie O’Rourke’s debut novel reads in a wonderfully unique way; her lyrical prose and the unstructured path of her story make Monsoon Season a refreshing journey through the art of literature. I found myself absorbed in the unfolding drama of Riley and Ben’s tumultuous relationship, guided through the quickly shifting scenes and perspectives with ease. O’Rourke doesn’t tie the novel’s narrative down to one format; some scenes play out in Riley’s voice, others in Ben’s, while others still are seen from the perspectives of the people around them. Such an exploration of the mode of novel-writing could have distracted readers, but O’Rourke is so strong in her ability, so confident in her direction, that the story only gains momentum from it. I had no difficulty in following along; on the contrary, I felt connected to the unique flow of the novel. Monsoon Season’s structure contributes, in a way, to the emotional upheaval and resolute determination Riley feels in escaping a potentially disastrous situation. In Riley the reader finds a very strong-willed and companionable protagonist, a girl at once relatable and admirable. Ben, on the other hand, must suffer the results of his own mistakes, and the reader feels the ebb and sway of the impossible connection he and Riley share.

What would have been a consistently compelling story between Riley and Ben is extended into something a bit fuller, a bit richer, when O’Rourke pulls back from their lives to examine the situations of those around them. Riley’s parents and siblings and their relationships are explored in a way that temporarily leaves a romantic drama behind to touch on the poignancy of family. Ben’s mother is given focus as she herself deals with the aftermath of an abusive marriage and the fear of its genetic inheritance. Donna, Riley’s friend and roommate in Tucson, explores her young life and burgeoning romance. Laura and Jack, Riley’s childhood friends, discover how unexpectedly life can bring joy and sorrow, love and loss. O’Rourke handles every separate thread in such an assured way, and with such a lovely use of language, that the story glides evenly, allowing the reader to experience seemingly everything at once. Monsoon Season will effectively entertain the reader, touch their heart, and leave them reflecting on our intense vulnerability in life and our ability to overcome it.

Book Review: Red Hook Road

I read and enjoyed Ayelet Waldman's last book Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (which was later made into a movie with Natalie Portman). The only problem I had with that book was a bit of trouble liking the flawed main character. (Don't get me wrong; I like complicated MC's, but I struggled with this one.)

I did not have that problem with Red Hook Road. The chapters alternate character's perspectives, which I love. (I wrote Monsoon Season that way.) The story is told in omniscient, actually, so while each chapter focuses on a different character, there's quite a bit of head-hopping within each chapter. I'm pretty sure my writing professors would say she broke some "rules", but I'd say this is a good example that a good writer can ignore all the rules she wants.

The plot sounds a bit morbid: in the first chapter, a bride and groom die in a car wreck on their way to the reception. As the story unfolds, the two very different families try to figure out how to relate to one another, while wondering whether they really have to. It's blue collar vs. white collar; out-of-towner vs, local; stoic vs. emotional. But in the end, their grief unites them and the love for family is a common thread.

I'm happy to see Waldman has another book, Daughter's Keeper, which I'll read very soon.