BOOK REVIEW: On The Road

On The Road
(The Original Scroll)
By Jack Kerouac
Viking Penguin Publishing
Copyright 2007
Autobiographical Novel
2.5 Bookmarks

The concept behind this book intrigued me. I had not read the book On The Road previously, but I had heard of it. I knew it was a story about seizing the moment, living life to the fullest, never missing out on an adventure, etc., etc. Apparently, the edited and published version included changed names and read more like a fictional novel (at least that's what I gathered from the "Forward" in the book).

So this version, The Original Scroll, reads like a diary and includes the actual names of the character involved. It is written almost as one long train of thought exercise by the author; describing people, places and feelings with heart before rapidly switching to a new story.

Now on to the actual story: Kerouac describes a variety of cross-country trips he took over the period of several years in his life. For some reason, Kerouac is fascinated by a certain friend of his, and makes several of these random trips for the sole purpose of finding "Neal." Neal is an interesting character. He is someone your mother has warned you about. He is into just about every single despicable vice known to man (and a few others thrown in for good measure). Not only that, but he seems to be actually crazy. And yet Jack seeks him out like someone seeks out their next drug high. He hitchhikes, nearly starves, begs his mother for money, etc., just to follow some strange quest to "meet up with Neal." Oddly enough, in reading the book, I never quite figured out what magical power Neal had that kept Jack on the hook.

Things I liked: The traveling nature of the story (lots of interesting places in interesting times), the ability of the reader to develop an accurate picture of the characters, and the "Seize the Day!" mentality of the book. Things I didn't like: The rampant drug use (among a variety of other illegal activities), the missing chunks of time within the story, and the despicable behavior of the characters that was treated as "normal" by the author (including the abandonment of several wives along the way).

I may someday read the actual published version of On The Road, just to have the comparison. But for right now, I think I may be a little Kerouac'ed out.

BOOK REVIEW: "O the Clear Moment"

O the Clear Moment
By Ed McClanahan
Counterpoint Press
Copyright 2008
Short Story Collection
2.5 Bookmarks

In this short and quick read, Ed McClanahan shares some of his favorite coming-of-age moments (true or fiction? I was never quite certain). From puppy love to iconic foundations to best frenemies (before the term was even coined), McClanahan delivers a witty and fun view of "how things were". The author also never hesitates to throw in a shameless, shameless plug of his novel "The Natural Man", which is mentioned on numerous occasions in this 183-page collection of short stories. If it wasn't so completely amusing, I would have been irritated by the repeated mention of the novel, but McClanahan keeps it so lighthearted that you can't help but chuckle a little at his audacity.

One of my favorite bits in the collection was "Great Moments in Sports", a story about the author as a youngster vying for the attention of a fair lady by lobbing a hand-grenade of an egg at some rival lads. The ensuing splatter of sticky egginess was deserving of it's own story, even if it didn't quite result in the hoped-for admiration of the lady in question. Another great story was "Dog Loves Ellie", about a man in his late 50s who attends a class reunion and sadly attempts to woo his high school love in a profound state of drunkenness, and the author (and hero of the story) coming to the rescue of the said high school love who also happened to be somewhat of a secret crush of the past for the hero.

I definitely love a good coming-of-age story, and there were definitely some chuckle-worthy moments here, but the shameless pluggery of the author's novel knocked it down a notch on the loveability factor. I would recommend this for a quick read only if you have nothing better to do.

COMMENTARY: "Going Home"

There’s something so surreal about going home. I don’t mean going home from work at the end of the day. I mean going back to the place you spent your childhood: the “old” home. A few weeks ago, I did just that.

Technically speaking, the home I grew up in no longer exists. My dad built a house that the family moved into less than a year before I moved out for good. He still lives in that house, but the actual home that held most of my childhood memories is no more. Which, believe me, is a good thing.

So when I say “home” I really mean the small town in southern Idaho where I grew up. The town with two stoplights (although I do remember a time when there was only one). The town that boasted no chain restaurants during most of my childhood (I’m glad that Subway has finally found a home there, though). And the town with the hometown newspaper where I learned how to work for a living.

(And technically-speaking yet again, I’m not really from that town. Rather, I’m from a small farming community eight or ten miles from that town, but since it was the nearest outpost of civilization, in my mind, that town is “home” by default.)

It still shocks me sometimes how it is that I lived for the first 19 years of my life with no big-city amenities. Frankly, I like that I can walk from the house I live in now to the grocery store, the ice cream parlor and the city library. I like that I can go to the movies at the drop of a hat without having to plan for the 30-minute drive to the theater the next town over. I like that if my house caught on fire while I was out of town, my neighbors live close enough to see the smoke and call the police.

The reality, though, is that when I’m in that little town, it isn’t the amenities that come to mind; it’s the memories. Memories of a different time. Driving through this little town brings back those moments that I spent with the people who were so important to me at the time. Some of those memories are happy and some are sad, but either way, they’re unavoidable.

Wait. Let me back up. Maybe that’s too simplistic a view.

I’ve contemplated over the years why I become so weird whenever I visit “home”. It’s like I become a totally different person: emotionally insecure, scared, submissive. Being around my family, my old haunts, passing by the houses of people I knew so well but now haven’t spoken to in many a year…it can be somewhat disconcerting. I think I somehow forget that I’m an adult and I live in a different world now, with different friends, different relationships. But somehow, just being there, I get sucked into the nostalgia of it all. When I’m driving through that little town, I can remember vividly the trepidation I felt when I started 9th grade at the junior high school…my first day of school after eight years of homeschooling. I can remember my heart pounding with fear while walking through that cemetery in the middle of the night searching for a certain headstone. I can remember exactly how I felt the first time a boyfriend broke up with me, the moment I found out my best friend had been in a terrible car accident, or the year and a half I spent watching my mother die of cancer. Those moments in my memory give everything a sense of the surreal when I’m “back home”.

In real life, those pains are easier to forget, the memories fade into obscurity. But when I “go home”, they seem more immediate, more apparent. Those that I’ve lost, whether by death or by distance, become people to grieve again. Events that occurred, choices that were made…those things become painfully immediate in my psyche again. And so, it seems, for a short period of time during my visit, I become that same scared little girl I was when I lived there.

They joke here in Colorado that because there are so few people who live here who were actually born here, you can call yourself a native after you’ve lived here 10 years. I like the idea of that. Kind of like an adopted hometown.

So while I enjoyed visiting with the family that I only get to see once a year and doing the other things that I can only experience in that little town in southern Idaho, I am grateful to now be “back home” to my real home; the only home I now truly call home.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Last Blue Mile"

The Last Blue Mile

By Kim Ponders

Copyright 2007

HarperCollins Publishers

Adult Fiction

2 Bookmarks

I picked up this book because it was about the Air Force Academy, something I'm vaguely familiar with as it is located directly north of my house. I usually really enjoy books that include anything Colorado Springs, for obvious reasons. I was kind of surprised, however, by the topic and tone of this book.

The Last Blue Mile covers a period of time in the "incarceration" of cadet Brook Searcy at the Air Force Academy. The ritual, the hazing, the unpleasant nature of the story, was just a little bit discomforting. Although other scandals that had actually occurred at the Academy are mentioned, the main story begins with a cheating scandal and how the Academy is forced to deal (less-than-fairly) with the female instigator of the cheating, simply because she is female and because the Academy is still recovering from a rape scandal still fresh in everyone's memory. Brook is a bystander to this, but has her own demons that she has to face.

The story also focuses on General John Waller, the Commandant of Cadets at the Academy.....the one who has to put a good face on everything for us out in the "real world". The Commandant is forced to see things at this mostly-male military institution from a female perspective and I, even as a female myself, felt like he was placed in a terrible position between a rock and hard place regarding the decisions he is forced to make.

The story switches back and forth between these two main storylines, with a few others thrown in for good measure. But then something happens to Brook that made me want to stop reading the story entirely. Suddenly it was as if none of the rest of the story mattered except this new "event" that occurs, throwing the reader back to the rape scandal of previous years.

I didn't like the "ick" factor in the book and I didn't like that the book was really about something that I didn't think it would be about. Just discomforting. Probably would not recommend.

BOOK REVIEW: "More Than This"

More Than This

By Margo Candela

Copyright 2008

Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

Spoiler Alert!

Okay. I just have to say it. I loved reading this book. Well, at least up until the last chapter. More Than This is such a wonderfully indulgent, fairy tale read that I really just didn't want to put it down.

Evelyn and Alex have never met. But they keep "almost" meeting. A glance across a crowded train. Watching each other through the windows of their office buildings conveniently located across the street from each other. Odd circumstances and coincidences that keep them apart when they would be oh so perfect for each other! The story gets deeper and deeper and you just get sucked into this world where they both want what they see but can't seem to ever grab it....even though it's right there in front of them. I really enjoyed reading about these two people who have been disappointed by life, struggling to find meaning and purpose. Hilarious moments, especially for the Evelyn character when she takes on a "temp" job at her friend's company, and an ironic career position for Alex; two mothers with bright expectations for their adult children; and many other highly entertaining plot lines and characters.

But.......I'm just gonna say it. They don't EVER meet! Well, at least not in the book (I sort of imagined how it must have gone when I finished reading, but isn't that the author's job?) Yes, that's right. The author's last prosaic effort is the two characters explaining (in turn) what they felt and did in the moment BEFORE they meet. But, of course, as disappointingly disappointing authors always do.....she leaves the best part OUT OF THE STORY!!!!! I turned the page? Nothing. Nothing! So disappointing.

This book would have garnered at least 4 bookmarks if only the author had given me even ONE page of what it was like for these two perfect-for-each-other characters to get together.

Such an utter disappointment (......still worth the read, unfortunately. It really was a good book, so I can't totally dog it.)

BOOK REVIEW: "My Sister's Keeper"

my sister's keeper

By Jodi Picoult

Published by Washington Square Press

Copyright 2004

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

Okay, so probably everyone already knows what this one is about because you've all seen the previews for the made-for-the-big-screen movie, so I'll keep my summary short. Young parents find out their very young daughter has leukemia. Brother is not a match for a bone marrow transplant, so parents go to a genetic specialist and conceive a "donor" sibling.....a perfect match with the genetic markers required to be a good donor. Flash forward to the young parents, now the parents of three teenagers, including middle child still suffering recurring bouts of leukemia, and youngest daughter who has undergone numerous medical procedures over the years to keep her sister alive.

But now, all of a sudden, young Anna has had enough. She is ready to call it quits. She doesn't want to be a donor anymore.....and hires a lawyer to make sure she doesn't have to.

In case you haven't seen the movie (or haven't read past the first two chapters of the book), I won't be a spoilsport and tell you the rest of the story or how it ends. But here are my thoughts:

This was a scary book to read. As a parent, it is my worst nightmare to be in the situation these poor parents found themselves in. There were many times while reading it that I had to just put it down for awhile because I couldn't stop the tears. However, it was an extremely well-told story and I felt like Picoult did an outstanding job of really digging in to the lose-lose situation that this family found themselves in. I did feel some sense of an "ick" factor in the book, just simply because the topic is so utterly controversial and unsolveable. With this situation, there was really no good outcome possible.

I usually avoid any cancer-themed books and I did know the premise before I started reading it, but I figured if it was good enough to make into a movie, it was probably a pretty dang good book and worth the emotional thrashing! And it was. "My Sister's Keeper" truly was a heart-wrenching story, but I came out of it with hugs for my family and appreciation for what I have.

I don't think I'll see the movie, though. The emotions in the book were raw enough and I wouldn't want to spoil it by having it simplified into a two-hour retelling.

BOOK REVIEW: "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict"

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

By Laurie Viera Rigler

Copyright 2007

Dutton/Penguin Books Ltd.

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

I know, I know, you're getting sick of me reading books with "Jane Austen" in the title. It's an addiction, I swear. I love love love all things Jane Austen (and, to be quite honest, all things Bronte as well). So whenever I see a novel that mentions Jane Austen by name, I always snatch it up.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict had a great, although not all that original, premise. What happens when a lover of all things Austen wakes up in Mansfield Park? Is it a dream? She pinches herself to be sure, feels the pinch but still doesn't awaken. Now what? Courtney Stone is stuck. Stuck in world which she has always loved but never visited before, but now she can't get out.

Courtney stumbles through the rituals put upon her by pre-Victorian society as she contemplates her new-found circumstances. The uncomfortable attire, the formal language, and the role of a single woman in this place are all new to Courtney. There are some really funny moments in the book involving blood-letting, chamber pots and "the vapors". It was a fun read!

Even though I really enjoyed the book I'm only giving it 3.5 bookmarks because of the lack of originality. The author "borrows" so many storylines from actual Austen novels that it leaves you questioning her creativity. It seemed like every other page I was saying to myself, "oh yeah, I remember that from 'Pride and Prejudice'", or something along those lines. I'm all for not reinventing the wheel when it comes to many things in life, but novel-writing is not one of them.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Rescue"

The Rescue

By Nicholas Sparks

Copyright 2000

Warner Books, Inc.

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

Everybody's favorite author and screen-writer seems to be appearing all over the place these days. With The Notebook firmly under his belt (among others) and now The Last Song out in theaters, Nicholas Sparks is going to be a permanent fixture in American pop culture. So whenever I see a new (to me) Sparks book on the shelf, I try to grab it. The formula Sparks uses for his novels doesn't really change all that much, but I always feel like any book of his is a satisfying read.

The Rescue is no different. Denise Holton, single mother of a unique child, is inconsolable when her young son goes missing after an accident. Found soon after by firefighter Taylor McAden, the three form a special bond and thus begins the story of The Rescue. While Denise struggles with the challenges of motherhood, living in a new town, and her new relationship with a man who keeps protective walls solidly in place around him, the story moves forward toward what we know will be a dramatic ending.

With sad moments, happy times shared and a final realization for McAden, The Rescue doesn't disappoint Sparks fans. Many romantic moments dot the landscape of this novel. One of my favorites being the simple moment when McAden whispers to Denise, "You're perfect".

I enjoyed reading this book (as I always do with Sparks novels), but there were a few moments that were just nearly too sad to bear. When an author is really good and getting his reader's emotionally involved, you can almost feel the pain of the characters and sometimes it's just a bit much. But if you have a strong heart, take some time to find a good Sparks novel and let yourself sink in.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

The Art of Racing in the Rain
By Garth Stein
Copyright 2008
HarperCollins Publishers
Adult Fiction
5 Bookmarks
Exceptional!

Okay, let me just start out by saying that this is THE best book that I have read in a very, very long time. If you are looking for a great bookclub book, this is it. If you are looking for a great feel-good book, this is it. If you are looking for a story that will tug at your heartstrings, this is it. If you are looking for a book that will make you look at life differently, guess what? This is it.

That last one is the most important to me, as a reader. I like books that make me think and make me step back and look at my life from a different perspective. The Art of Racing in the Rain was the right book to accomplish that.

The author, Garth Stein, is obviously a dog person. You know, one of those people who view their dog as an equal member of the family. And thus we meet Enzo, the main character and narrator of the novel. Enzo introduces himself by explaining to us mere humans why he behaves as he does. The book begins with, "Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature." Enzo goes on to explain that he feels somewhat trapped in his life as a dog and hopes to one day die and come back as a human. Enzo becomes almost human to the reader from the very first page of the book. He becomes a friend, a neighbor, the watchful eye that sees all. I am not a dog person (not a dog person AT ALL, actually), but even I could truly appreciate the role that Enzo fills in this novel.

But this story is not really about Enzo. It's about a man, Denny Swift, semi-professional race car driver, his wife Eve, and their daughter Zoe. It's about Enzo's relationship with this family. It's about what happens when life takes an unexpected turn, and then another, and then another. It's about how we survive as human beings when the worst imaginable things come flying at us from nowhere.

A simple philosophy that Denny shares with Enzo early on rings true through much of the book. "That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny." It is through this simple philosophy that, somehow, Denny survives the rain that life pours down upon him. He takes the turns with a gentle hand and slides back into the race.

This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It will make you angry and it will make you feel love. It is poignant and profound, and yet the subtle way Stein weaves the emotion in and out of the story seems simple and natural.

This was a truly good read, and a book that I highly recommend you add to your reading list!

COMMENTARY: Grief and Sadness

Sad things happen on my birthday. 15 years ago, my mother died. 10 years ago, my first baby died. Those are the two major events, but not the only ones. I don’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me. I do not want nor need your sympathy.

I suppose I just need an outlet for the grief that remains behind. And so, every year I take a few minutes on that day to reflect on that grief and sadness. A few minutes spent one day a year alone with the memories of what used to be and what might have been. I don’t know if this is a healthy way of handling it or not, but so far relegating my grief to one specific day has worked for me. And since God (with his inimitable sense of humor) has granted most of these grievous events to occur on that day, He makes it easy.

Grief has a funny way of changing a person, making her look at life differently, to appreciate things in ways she may not have before. I may be sad, but I am stronger for the pain. I am more aware of the world around me. I know that I am alive, that I am breathing air. There is nothing worse than being numb, deadened by the inability to accept the terrible things that life throws at us. Not knowing which way is up or down. The grief process is simple: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Each of us works our way through these stages in different ways. It’s been many years, and I have long been in the “Acceptance” phase, but that does not mean that I don’t still feel the pain. Because I do.

One of the worst things that happens when someone you love dies, is not being able to say goodbye. People talk about whether it’s better to know they’re going to die so you can have the chance to say goodbye, or if it’s better to not know ahead of time so you don’t have to dread it happening. Personally, when the Big Guy in Charge decides we don’t get a chance to say goodbye, I think it’s just... unnecessarily cruel. How good it would be if only we were able to say those final words, to say “I will love you always”, or “I’m so very, very sorry”, or whatever else needs to be said in order to truly have closure, instead of the regret of not being able to say a word.

Sometimes in the dark moments of grief, when all our hope is gone, we need to try to find something to hold on to. Saying goodbye is painful at best. Knowing it will be the last goodbye is heart-rending. Knowing you don’t get to say goodbye is...tragic. Having a goodbye to hold on to is worth the world.

But sometimes He decides for us. It is out of our control. Of course, if God were as omnipotent as religious folks will tell you, couldn't He just break the rules of the universe to allow that one last goodbye?

Death is cruel. The finality of it is almost incomprehensible. I wish it was easy to let go of the sorrow and pain. But it simply isn’t. And yet somehow we must take a deep breath and move forward with our lives. We hope the crutch of grief will get smaller and smaller each day, and it does to an extent. It just takes a long, long time. And it never truly goes away. So I give myself this day to cry, for all of us who have lost someone--mothers, fathers, children, a soulmate or best friend. Their losses are unquantifiable. And so I will spend my few minutes alone today, thinking of what I have lost.

COMMENTARY: Frankie Say Relax

I hate the word "uptight". Especially when it's used to describe me. I don't generally consider myself to be uptight. I'm just "driven", "steady", "assertive", and "cautious". And, okay, maybe a little bit OCD.

I admit it. I like everything to fit. I like all the pieces of the puzzle to be in place. I'm a woman with a plan and I'm not afraid to use it!

Nothing can cause me to go into a panic quite so much as someone calling and wanting to (*gasp*) "go do something" at the last minute. I eat the same thing for lunch nearly every day simply because I don't want the pressure of deciding on something new. Spontaneity and I don't get along so well. Patheti-sad, I know. But I am what I am and I'm kind of used to it.

The problem that I'm finding with this is that life can't be planned. At least not to the level I want it to be.

First of all, I'm a parent. Having a child forces one to accept the reality that life goes where it wants to go. The constant bouncing around of reality when you have a child always throws me for a loop. I go left, she goes right. I stop short and she keeps right on trucking. She's like the Energizer Bunny and I find that sometimes I just can't keep up. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Add to that a high-stress career, adorning myself with the moniker of "student", keeping my "happily married" status firmly in place, and attempting to keep a tight grip on household management, well....it's a recipe for rigidity. To keep all the cogs in this wheel running smoothly, I write a To-Do list, but then I end up only accomplishing 3 of the 10 things on it. So the remaining 7 get bumped to the next day and add to the challenges of THAT day. I try to remember that's "just life", to "take it as it comes", and "it is what it is. But it's hard to do that for a person who is so upti....I mean, "steady and cautious".

Result? STRESS. So what's a girl to do?

Frankie says RELAX. But that's easier said than done for someone of my fortitude (or lack thereof). I'd like to think I give a valiant effort at doing what a person is supposed to do in this situation. Yoga. Meditation. Deep breathing. I also have been known to drop a few bucks for a good massage (love Kyle!) But it's not enough. How can I just find that moment of peace that I need? That break from this vicious cycle of stress?

When I was a teenager, my mother used to tell me to "chill". I used to get so angry that she would use such a cliched phrase to try to get me to think something earth-shattering in my life was less than important. But maybe she was onto something. Maybe all these things that are earth-shattering in my mind really aren't? I'm pretty sure my dear husband would agree. Sometimes I wonder how he puts up with my constant elevating of all things to a Code Red level of urgency and catastrophe.

A wise man once told me, "It isn't brain surgery. No one is going to die if this gets screwed up." But for some reason, I have a hard time taking that to heart.

I want to let go of the stress. I want to just relax. I don't want to feel like the outcome of a particular action of mine is going to result in a nuclear holocaust. I don't want to feel like I have to picture the poor guy who has his brain splayed open on a surgical table just to make myself feel better.

So instead, I do the best I can. I plan to my little heart's content. I take frequent deep breaths. I take a ME vacation away from it all. I have luxurious hours with my buddy Kyle's hands. And I occasionally throw in a glass or two of wine. And I take that little word "uptight" and throw it down on the floor in front of me and give it a good stomping. Whew! Now I can relax.

BOOK REVIEW: "Everything I Long For"

Everything I Long For

By Melody Carlson

Copyright 2000

Harvest House Publishers

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

"Everything I Long For" is a slice in the life of Maggie Carpenter who has fled the hustle, bustle and stress of the city for new possibilities in the small town of Pine Mountain. As Maggie makes a world for herself and her son Spencer, a new kink is thrown into the mix when they discover a runaway hiding out in the woods behind their home.

After Maggie uncovers the reason why Leah is in Pine Mountain, she begins a search to help the girl find her real father. Meanwhile, Maggie struggles with juggling the affections of two men in her life, as well as the challenges of being in the sandwich generation (having a son to care for, and an aging parent to care for as well). Maggie's uncertainty about the decisions she makes are very true-to-life. I liked that I could relate to her insecurities and the difficulties she faced with the decisions that were in front of her. Being in a new place and making new friends is hard for anyone, though many would be hesitant to ever admit it. It was easy to place myself in her position and feel what the character was going through.

"Everything I Long For" was a quick and easy feel-good read. If I had one complaint it would be that the author seemed to do a little too much "explaining" about why things were happening. It gave the book almost a little too much of a simplistic feel because of that. But all-in-all, I enjoyed the book and read the entire thing in just a couple hours.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Scroll of Seduction"

The Scroll of Seduction

By Gioconda Belli

Copyright 2006

HarperCollins Publishing

Adult Fiction

2 Bookmarks

I picked up this book because it was supposed to be an historical fiction-type read, with main character, Manuel, sharing his knowledge of a historical Spanish queen with a willing pupil. While I did appreciate the historical nature of the story of Queen Juana, the story soon became a little too, ummmm...., statutory for my taste. When Manuel seduces his 17-year-old student, you just know things are not going to end well.

The story of "Juana the Mad", was interesting in a lot of ways, though. Based on historical accounts of the love-obsessed queen, "The Scroll of Seduction" takes you on a journey with a young girl off to meet her betrothed. She considers herself lucky when she immediately falls desperately in love with him. But she soon becomes wracked with jealousy when things turn sour. When Juana's love falls victim to illness, she never quite recovers and those who wish to rule the dynasty that was, in large part, created by her, use her passion and pain as an excuse to hold her captive and leave her helpless in her own kingdom.

But the side plot was, in many ways, quite disturbing. Manuel is a little loony, if you ask me. He wants his student to do some crazy things while he's telling her Juana's story. And, shockingly, she does them. And then one thing leads to another and... yada yada yada.

Sometimes when I read these stories written in another language and translated to English, I am pleasantly surprised at the unique way the story unfolds. This book, however, left something to be desired. In addition to the story having a decided "ick" factor, the way the book ended was off. Like the author didn't know how to resolve everything so she just lit a match.

Don't think I would recommend this one.

BOOK REVIEW: "Heart of Darkness"

Heart of Darkness

By Joseph Conrad

Copyright 1902

William Blackwood & Sons Publishers

Classic Literature

3 1/2 Bookmarks

When I was in high school, "Heart of Darkness" was on a required reading list for Mrs. Brown's AP English class. At the time, it affected my 17-year-old psyche in ways that not many other things have (either before or since). The theme of the book revolves around the idea of restraint. An old river captain named Marlow tells a tale about a trip to find an elusive ivory agent named Kurtz. Everyone seems to know Kurtz and paints a picture of his grandeur for the narrator. Marlow cannot wait to meet Kurtz, to discuss philosophy and swap tales of adventure. Marlow's description of the events that occur along his journey are intriguing and disturbing, especially when he finally does come upon Kurtz only to discover that he is not the man Marlow had been led to believe.

This novel speaks volumes about how people in society make the choice to be "normal" or not, to follow societal norms or to step outside those boundaries to boost their own rank among the masses. Choosing a right or a wrong becomes more difficult when faced with the prospect of hero worship and adoration.

I did like the book, although it didn't seem quite as entertaining to me as an adult as it did to my 17-year-old mind back in the day. Conrad does throw in some great quotes. My favorite--now, as it was back then, is-- "Droll thing life is--that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose." Seriously! What a great quote! Soooooo, to sum up: Good book, great wording, quotable quotes, freaky story, and you get to say you read a classic. All plusses. Hmmmm....I wonder what ever happened to Mrs. Brown?

BOOK REVIEW: "What to Keep"

What to Keep

By Rachel Cline

Copyright 2004

Random House Publishing

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

"What to Keep" by Rachel Cline is an enjoyable novel about Denny Roman. Most of the story is set when Denny is a young girl dealing with the foibles of being a pre-teen, having divorced parents, and a special adult friend named Maureen who also happens to be what we consider today to be a "household manager" for Denny's parents. Denny bonds with Maureen, mostly because Maureen actually looks at her and considers her to be real. Denny's own mother is absorbed in her work and herself and often forgets she even has a child. As Denny grows up, the story almost becomes more her mother's story; why she is the way she is, why she reacts to Denny the way she does, and how that affects her later in life.

The story then jumps to Denny as a young adult, finding her way in the world as an aspiring actress, she gets a phone call to come home and decide "what to keep" when her mother and her new husband decide to move away from the only home Denny has ever known as home. This part of the story was especially interesting to me, although I didn't feel like the author really fleshed it out as much as she could have. This trip back home almost reminded me of the movie Garden State, in the way Denny viewed the items from her childhood, and even her old childhood haunts. There were a few parts of the story that I really didn't feel were necessary (like a completely weird and bizarre kiss between Denny and her mother's new husband), but for the most part, I felt like this part of the story was meant to make the reader look at their own life and think about what we would keep if we were in her situation.

The final segment of the story brings us to a fully adult Denny in her mid-30s, single and a playwright living in New York, when a blast from the past shows up on her door. Denny has to make an important decision (What to keep?) yet again, and this time, for the first time in her life, her mother steps up and makes the right choice in giving to her daughter in a way she never has before in their entire relationship together.

This was really an enjoyable book. It would be great for a bookclub or, really, for anyone interested in a mild introspective about life. Cline does a good job of creating characters that are believable and, even in their darkest hours, likeable. 4 bookmarks from me for this one!