Novel Whore

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One of the great things about going to the library is that I can see all of the books by an author at once, and so I often end up taking several home at the same time. Since Beloved and Song of Solomon are both on my list of 100 Classic Novels I’m trying to finish by next year, I checked them both out. I love that Toni Morrison, and all great writers, are able to create a new mold each time they start a new book. There are writers that sell a lot of books, but each one is so similar you can tell where they are going. They are nice reads, but you don’t find little nuggets along to way that propel you forward like a great novelist.

Much like Beloved, Song of Solomon centers around the family of an ex slave, but that is pretty much where the similarities end. Marcus Dead married the daughter of the greatest black man in town. The relationship between Marcus and his wife is strained at best, with rumors of incest between his wife and her dead father swirling throughout the story. (more…)

Finally, I don’t know what has taken me so long to read Beloved by Toni Morrison, although I always believe books come into your life when they are meant to, just like friends. I’ve always loved Morrison’s writing style, and Beloved is no different. Centered around Sethe, an escaped slave, her children and the mother of her lost husband, Baby Suggs, we watch as a ghost takes over their lives. The story is so compelling, the trials of slaves that make the bile rise to your throat, and the way Morrison slides the scales of suspense, literally had me up until 3am to finish reading. I couldn’t put it down.

The one thing that I kept thinking though was why in the hell Oprah thought this book would make a great movie. I honestly haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t say it didn’t live up to the book, but the power in Morrison’s words, the scenes she evoked in my head and heart, I just can’t see translating to the screen. Very few movies are able to capture the truth the way Morrison does in words. (more…)

Reading a book that was actually written in the period the characters are living always adds a sense of drama for me. Obviously it’s much easier for the writer to catch the small details that transformed lives in the period, but it’s easier for me to also understand the differences and similarities, often unexpected. The The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is set in the late 1800’s and was written by Wharton in 1920, so she had a pretty good idea of the morals and daily events that took place in drawing rooms across New York City at the time.

I fell in love with The Age of Innocence by simply envisioning myself dressing for dinner, attending the opera at least once a week, and being able to act like a lady without looking like a pompous idiot like I sometimes fear in my current life. Imagine not only walking down 5th Avenue in NYC, but being one of the elite families that founded NYC and contributed to the mecca of westernization it is today. Ah, but back to the story… (more…)

You may find this odd, seeing as how I enjoy writing reviews of the books I read, but I hate reading reviews. I can’t even bring myself to read the little snippet that appears on the jackets of Netflix movies because I want a completely open mind when I view the movie. Yes, I probably read a portion of it when I choose the movie, but by the time I get around to watching it, I’ve long since forgotten the premise. Which is why I usually avoid forewords and introductions of books if they are written by another author, especially if the foreword has been added some time after publishing as the author is typically responding to thoughts others had on the book when it came out. Thus I stopped myself from reading the entire foreword by John Updike in Thornton Wilder’s The Eighth Day when I came upon the views of some that believed the characters were thin. I’m glad I did.

John Ashley, a gifted engineer, is accused of shooting his best friend, Breckenridge Lansing, during their weekly Sunday rifle practice in Coaltown, a small mining town in Illinois at the turn of the 20th century. Ashley is sentenced to death but is rescued by unknown assailants, unknown even to himself, on the eve of his execution. The surrounding mystery haunts his young family as they try to eke out a living in a time when women didn’t work. (more…)

East of Eden is one of those classics I always meant to read but never found the time, until Oprah brought it back to my attention with her book club. I’m so glad she did. For the past 6 years I’ve picked it up every summer the first time we head to the beach and immerse myself in the characters. I hand Steinbeck’s most loved novel off to every friend that asks for a book recommendation, and almost every day remind myself that I have the choice, Timshel.

The reason I love books so much more than movies is that the author always has more time to develop the characters. There is nothing worse than a movie that skips character development *cough*Twilight*cough*. Steinbeck takes his time in East of Eden introducing us to generations of fathers and sons, mothers and whores, taking us from one coast to the other, through a time when wholesome painted a picture, but whorehouses were still en vogue. (more…)