Books read in March and April

I enjoyed almost all of the reading that I was able to do in March and April. I read one other book but it was so forgettable and I cannot muster the energy to think about it- I’m afraid I wouldn’t get this written until June if I waited until I gathered the energy to look it up to remind me of what it was about. 

A Lantern in Her Hand- Bess Streeter Alrich- This book is a fictional account, though loosely based on an ancestor of the writer. It is set in Nebraska mostly in the 1800’s and tells the story of Abbie Deal and her husband as they head west, start a family, deal with an incredible amount of work and hardship all to settle on a farm in a remote part of the state. At one time, Abbie had dreamt of fame and an easy life but she realizes the life she’s lived (by the end of the book, she’s an old woman) has been rich (not materially) and wonderful. The hardships that she and her family (and everyone around them) endured while in their desolate region were incredible. Not always enough food to eat, no electricity and conveniences that electricity engenders, little access to a doctor, let alone a hospital and the list goes on and on. 

When I was reading this book, I kept thinking of a meme I saw recently that goes something like this: Hard times lead to strong men which leads to easy times which leads to weak men. There is no question that hard times led to strong men (and women!) and I do fear that the easy times we’ve had recently have led to weak men and women. Well, that sounds negative, doesn’t it? I will focus on the positive: Americans stand on the shoulders of industrious, hard working, risk takers and this book will make you appreciate that all the more. The book contains many nuggets of good advice and wisdom as well. Abbie lived a simple, good life- lovingly raising her family and working hard. I liked this exchange (with her granddaughter (I think?) in the book a lot:
I've been part of the beginning and part of the growth. I've married...and borne children and looked into the face of death. Is childbirth narrow, Grace? Or marriage? Or death? When you've experienced all those things, Grace, the spirit has traveled although the body has been confined. I think travel is a rare privilege and I'm glad you can have it. But not every one who stays at home is narrow and not every one who travels is broad. I think if you can understand humanity...can sympathize with every creature...can put yourself into the personality of every one...you're not narrow...you're broad."
I really enjoyed reading the book!

Fly Away by Kristen Hannah- The book centers around Tully, a successful TV personality, and her inability to deal with  her best friend’s recent death, the promise to be there for her late best friend’s kids, and her absentee mother who abandoned her when she was young. She turns to pills, becomes addicted and loses her job. Then the book shifts to Tully’s mom and we learn about another broken and sad character.  It was… depressing to read and not particularly enjoyable. I guess it’s the second book in a series and the first one is much better? (According to reviews that I read.).  I think I will pass on the prequel…

All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and First Miracle Season by Kurt Warner- when I could get no one in my family to go and see the Kurt Warner movie (that’s me not feeling sorry for myself ;)), I decided to read his book. It was great to read more of such a feel good story- a former grocery store clerk turns NFL team’s starting quarterback who leads said team to the Superbowl his rookie year and the team wins the Superbowl. Does a story get much better than that? Why, yes it does because there’s obviously much more to the story than the sentence and reading about the ups and downs of Kurt’s football history, his relationships with his family and his girlfriend turned wife and his turning to Christ was inspiring.

Of Woman and Salt by Gabriela Garcia- This book spans five generations of women and it takes place in Cuba, Mexico and Miami. There are non linear multiple narratives taking place in the past and the present. The different story lines make the reading mentally a little difficult and the subject matter(s) make for difficult reading emotionally. All of the women in the book have been treated terribly by men and/ or a corrupt government regime. The book does not have a happy ending. It is beautifully, lyrically written so there is that. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- Have I read this book before? Surely I’ve read this book before, but why is it not coming back to me if I read it before? But how could I not have read it before? Am I losing my memory? I thought I  had read all of the Bronte sisters’ novels. These are the questions/ thoughts that swarmed through my mind as I read (reread?) Wuthering Heights. All I know is that the tale seemed new to me. The major events in the book take place in the late 18th century in northern England. A wealthy landowner brings home an orphaned boy named Heathcliff to his estate. The daughter, Catherine, ends up befriending and then falling in love with Heathcliff. The son, Edgar, cannot stand Heathcliff. Catherine marries someone else for social standing. Heathcliff goes away, comes back wealthy and vows revenge on Edgar who treated Heathcliff poorly after Edgar and Catherine’s dad dies. There are subsequent marriages, children born, Catherine dies and Heathcliff’s mental health deteriorates to worse than it had been. I enjoyed reading the book but did not care much for the main characters. That definitely detracted from the book. Emily Bronte is a superb writer but not caring for the characters much made this book not a page turner for me. 

Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story by Brian Welch- I had only vaguely heard of the rock band Korn before and had no idea how big/ commercially successful the band was until I read this book. The book chronicles the band’s road to success which was fascinating to read. Also fascinating in a bad way was how much drugs Brian took before, during, and after he became a rock star. So. Many. Drugs. At the pinnacle of his musical success, dependent on drugs and knowing he was failing as a father to his little girl whom he dearly loved, he turned to the Lord and dedicated his life to Christ. He stopped taking drugs, quit the band and began earnestly pursuing a life dedicated to raising his daughter and following the Lord closely. I really liked this book. It was written simply, conversationally. You could picture yourself sitting down with Brian listening to him tell his story. He has written a few more books and I think I will check them out. 

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens- This is the third book by Chares Dickens that I’ve read (Yah, I still have twelve more to enjoy!).  I very much appreciate his wry writing style, the long sentences comprised of some wonderfully rich adjectives, his zany supporting characters and that the themes of his books are as applicable to human nature today as they were almos two hundred years ago. You have to love a writer who has written the following sentence:

“The major characteristics discoverable by the stranger in Mr F.'s Aunt, were extreme severity and grim taciturnity; sometimes interrupted by a propensity to offer remarks in a deep warning voice, which, being totally uncalled for by anything said by anybody, and traceable to no association of ideas, confounded and terrified the Mind.”

Imagine reading other sentences similar to that for 1000 pages and you will realize the enjoyment that reading Little Dorritt enures. 

There is no way that I could do this book justice in trying to summarize it in the usual way that I do. Instead, I have copied and pasted a review of Little Dorrit that I found on Goodreads. I agree with everything it says;  I could not have written it better if my life depended on it!! It was written by someone with the user name Pyiangie (sadly (incomprehensibly by me),  Pyangie only gave Little Dorrit four out of five stars). Here is what Pyiangie wrote about the book:

“Little Dorrit is a dark tale written by Charles Dickens. It is dark in texture, atmosphere, and satire. The story begins in a prison and also technically ends in one. The prison atmosphere dominates the story even when it's not present. And as it happens, most of the other settings in London too, have a similar ambiance of confinement, gloom, and airlessness. It was at first puzzling why Dickens set such a gloomy tone to the story, but when it is understood that the setting is a necessary character to work on the dominating themes of the story, all felt into a pattern.

The main reason that induced Dickens to write this story is his need to expose the obstacles that operated to impede the forward progress of the country. He wanted to show what imprisoned the country, robbing it of its air, light, and freedom. Everything was confined and weighed down by government bureaucracy by their maxim of "how not to do it", and also by the false patriots who represent them as major contributors to the country's finances, boasting as saviors of the people when in fact they are nothing but a bunch of swindlers who squeezes and robs people of their hard-earned money. Dickens, with his dark satire, exposes this duplicity. Following the publication of Little Dorrit, Dickens was accused of exaggeration. Perhaps, he did, for the book was a creative art, but it also was evidence that the message has hit home.

The book consists of two parts - the first part is named "poverty" and the second part is named "riches". As the names indicate, the story is a comparison and contrast between these two ends. The exploitation of the poor by the rich is a common theme in many Dickens novels, and here he does it by exposing the shocking living conditions of the poor, living in cramped, dirty houses while the landlord's, from their comfortable houses, unmercifully demanded the due rents when the tenants were barely scratching a living to feed their families, and this too with no thought for the improvement of the place. This showed in whose hands the power laid. And then there is the condescending patronizing of the poor by the rich which was prompted not out from true kindness, but from their vanity and love to differentiate. Some of the literary critics have described this 11th book of Dickens as a 19th-century criticism of Capitalism. There is some truth in it no doubt, for otherwise, George Bernard Shaw wouldn't have declared that the book turned him to socialism.

Other than the social criticism, Dickens's personal views and experiences too have made strong contributions to the story, especially regarding a debtor's position. It was customary when a person is found in heavy debt and unable to meet his creditors for the creditor to execute a writ and imprison him in a debtor's prison (a similar situation was faced by Dickens's father). But Dickens seems to doubt the productivity of such action. Unless the creditors can be relieved by some friend or relative, meeting their demands, the debtor has no way to meet them as he is imprisoned and cannot earn. What benefit will the creditors reap by confining the debtor into a prison, except for a possible vengeance? These thoughts run subtly through the pages of the story.

Immersed in this social commentary and personal opinions is a beautiful story of courage, perseverance, and selflessness. The titular character, Little Dorrit, is the good angel, the loving heroine. With a quiet strength and an unusual forbearance, she labours for others both in their good times and in their affliction. She herself is steadfast equally in her poverty and her riches. Arthur Clennam, the center of the story, despite the title, is Little Dorrit's male counterpart. He comes to our story having passed his youth in toil for his family business. His youth was sacrificed for duty and he continues with this duty and many other duties he takes upon him in the course of his life, having resigned his own hopes of love and marriage thinking that his time for such pursuits has passed. Arthur is a new hero that I came across in a Dickens novel, one I cannot compare with, unlike Little Dorrit, the dutiful daughter, sister, wife, and friend who we have met in Dickens's novels before. I liked both these characters. They made me quite emotional. Their misfortunes, miseries, losses, and heartbreaks became my own too. That is the extent of closeness that I felt for them. I was happy that they were both rewarded at the end for the many sacrifices they've made.

Dickens's writing is rich and heavy, unusually so than other Dickens novels I've read. Reading was almost a battle in the field of his verbosity. There is always the debate when it comes to Dickens that he could have done with fewer words and it is because he had to stick to a certain amount of serial installments that so many words came forth from his pen. But it is also a characteristic of Dickens that if you do away with it, certainly it will lose the pleasure of reading him. What I found most fascinating in Dickens's writing in Little Dorrit, however, is the use of symbology to bring out different quirks of his characters. I don't know if I've missed observing this style in his other works, but since I observed it only here, its novelty was welcoming.

Reading Dickens is always a pleasant journey. It takes you to memorable places and characters you'll never forget. It also gives a good account of 19th-century Victorian society with its strengths and its flaws. I also like the fact that I'm drawn to that time through his writing and living the history of a memorable period in England. I experienced the same in Little Dorrit. Except in one, Dickens hasn't disappointed me so far, and that may be why I keep looking forward to reading him more.”

Again, that was someone else’s review but I agree with it wholeheartedly. 

Full by Julie Spiro- from the 1800’s to the 2020’s- It was really interesting* to me to read a book set in modern times (like within the past three years) so soon after finishing Little Dorrit. The main character in LD  and the main character in Full could not have been more different nor could the time periods in which they lived. I couldn’t help but compare and contrast much between the two. Full is about a woman, Ava, who is a successful Instagram influencer. Her niche is wellness/ women feeling comfortable in their skin with whatever they eat/ having a healthy relationship with food/ no food is bad, etc. Except there’s one big problem- she’s bulimic and as such has an extraordinary unhealthy relationship with food. She goes on a retreat on Martha’s Vineyard to try to heal herself and conceal her problem so that her followers don’t realize that she’s a fraud. Someone, however, knows she’s a fraud and anonymously threatens to reveal the truth to the world. I liked this book a lot. I think the questions the book  raised about social media, the way we want others to perceive us and be accepted are super relevant in our social media saturated/ image management world. The book is well written and I will definitely check out the other book that Spiro has written.

*Ah, but if I had Dickens’ ability/ knowledge to find just the right word! I feel like “interesting” is such a bland word and not the most appropriate but I couldn’t think of another word to describe it.