Book Club Selections for June/July

Maggie is hosting the next Ethereal Reader book club. Her book selections are: Queen of Palmyra, by Minrose Gwin; A Long Time Ago and Essentially True, by Brigid Pasulka; The Last Child, by John Hart; and Let the Great World Spin: A Novel, by Colum McCann.

You have until Friday, June 18, to cast your vote. Please email Kris at kzmclain@comcast.net to let me know your book choice. Ethereal Reader will announce the book Friday.

The Reliable Wife

Once I came to grips with the fact that I would never remember the name of this book -- I called it The Reluctant Wife, The Realistic Wife, The Rambunctious Wife (well, that last one's not actually true; I never called it that) -- I enjoyed this deeply disturbing but quite thought-provoking novel.

At first look, the characters seemed to be one dimensional. Clearly Catherine was evil; after all, she was out to kill Mr. Truitt for money. As for Mr. Truitt, he was simply a sexual pervert, wasn't he? But as I read on, I found the two main characters to actually be very complex and interesting, if not exactly likeable.

As I read a book, especially for book club, I try to decide which character I like the best, or that at least I find the most interesting. About halfway through the book, I was thinking to myself that I detested all of the characters and found none to be compelling. By the end, however, I found myself drawn to Catherine. It's true she had done some terrible things, and was about to do the most terrible thing of all. But as I learned about her past, I was able to see why she did the things she did. Furthermore (and more importantly), I realized that she had a conscience and even a bit of a moral compass.

Give me some of your thoughts about the characters -- who did you find most interesting or who did you like the best?

I think the thing I liked most about this book, the thing that kept me turning the pages, was the author's writing style. I found the cadence to be almost poetic. He would write the most disturbing words but I found it to be beautifully written. It was the kind of book that I would get to the end of a chapter and want to keep reading, even if I was tired. It wasn't because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next; it really was just the writing style. And I LOVED the ending.

What did you like best about the book? You must answer this question even if you disliked the book.

I found Mr. Truitt's obsession with sex (and the author's choice of discriptives) to be one of the things that I found most uncomfortable about the book. As I learned of his past, however, I decided he really was obsessed with sex because that was the only way in which he found closeness and what he considered to be love. It was a bit over the top, however. Sleeping with his finger in her sex? Really?

I also didn't quite get the random references to people cutting off their hands or hanging themswelves. I found that to be quite weird.

What did you like least about the book?

My rating is 8 out of 10.

May Book Choice

The votes are in, and the book we will be reading for May is A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. Let's begin discussion on June 1. Happy reading!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – some lighthearted springtime reading! If you like commitment-free sex and violence (in your reading, not your personal life), this book’s for you.

Seriously, I was warned that the book would take some time to get into, and I found that to be true. Once I got into the flow of the book, however, I found it to be a gripping mystery with a snazzy surprise ending.

I say ending, but I’m really talking about the ending of the murder mystery part. I felt that the book went on too long once the mystery was solved. It gave me closure and pleased me that Wennerstrom got “his” in the end (or did he since he actually escaped incarceration), but my feeling is that the settling of the Wennerstrom matter went on a bit too long.

Some questions I want to pose for my fellow readers:

Did the conclusion surprise you? From the get-go, I felt that it was possible that Harriet wasn’t dead. I’ve read enough murder mysteries to know that if you don’t find a body, stay tuned. But I have to admit, I had been lulled into believing she was dead, and when Martin said he didn’t do it, I was astounded. I immediately suspected Cecelia, because she was so elusive and weird throughout the book. So when he went to Australia, found the woman, and said “Hello Harriet,” I was totally taken by surprise.

Give me your thoughts about our friend Lisbeth Salander. I’m going to withhold my thoughts because I want to hear all of yours first.

What do you think we would learn about Salander if we were to read the next book? Larsson wrote a follow-up, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” which supposedly tells us more about her. What are your predictions?

Were any of you bothered by the aforementioned sex and violence? The book really was one of the more graphic murder mysteries I’ve ever read. While they didn’t describe the murders detail-by-detail, Martin and his father were two of the sickest characters I ever came across in any book. And, being old and prudish, I was somewhat troubled by Mikael’s tendency to jump into bed with anyone interested. I, for one, wish he had not succumbed to Lisbeth.

Favorite characters? Kind of a hard one when you’re dealing with a despicable family like the Vangers. I guess I liked Henrik, though I distrusted him throughout the book. I was fearful he was going to be revealed to be the murderer, though I couldn’t begin to think why he would have hired Mikael. Speaking of Mikael, I liked his journalistic ethics. But what was up with Cecelia?

Talk to me about your reactions to how Lisbeth handled her guardian, the extraordinarily despicable Bjurman. Wasn’t he one of the most horrific characters in any book you’ve ever read?

Did any of you think the book was too long? As I mentioned, I felt the wrapping up of the Wennerstrom stuff went on too long.

Any other thoughts?

Our next book choices

From Josey:

Ok, here are my picks...very random as most came recommended by friends...

The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Alex Awards (Awards)) by Jeannette Walls
The History of Love: A Novel by Nicole Krauss
These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 (P.S.) by Nancy E. Turner
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner

These are quite varied, as I was trying to find selections that would appeal to everyone...do we dare take a risk? I dunno...

Vote by Sunday, February 7. Enjoy!

The Art of Racing in the Rain

A book using auto racing as a metaphor for life, narrated by a dog, might not seem too promising. But, I really enjoyed this book, and I hope everyone else did, too. It was a fast read because of its simplicity, but I thought there were some grains of truth that bore thinking about. It seemed a good choice to read during the busy holiday season and then those first dreary days of January.

We know from the beginning that Enzo is old, ill, and at the end of his life. But as this faithful dog looks back over his life, he recalls that it was rich and full. Anyone who knows and loves dogs understands that they are unbelievably loyal and, they always seem to know what you're thinking. Of course, Enzo almost always did understand even the nuances of the lives being lived around him. But, oh, how he longed for opposable thumbs!

Enzo is a great chracter. Somehow, the author managed to capture both his "dogness" and his ability to think and especially feel like a human. Enzo makes the case that the highest form of animal, the animal most like humans, is the dog. As he watched over Denny, then Eve, then Zoe, I believed that to be true. He knew what they needed, and he gave it to them.

I also enjoyed Denny's character. As Enzo was living out his last life as a dog before becoming human, Denny was a wonderful role model for him. Denny went through a long and very dark time, but he didn't give into it. He nearly always took the high road. Although he made mistakes, he never compounded them, which is where the racing metaphors come in, of course.

"That which you manifest is before you." "Your car goes where your eyes go." "You are responsible for where you are and what you are doing there." I can't help but think these are words to live by...or at least to consider. Attitude is all. Denny and Enzo (and apparently all good racers) understand that when we look ahead, we are, in a way, determining what will happen. If we see good things happening, that's more likely to be the case than if we forecast the worst case scenario. Granted, that's a little simplistic. There is always the possibility of the Evil Demon Zebra! However, Enzo eventually concludes that "The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-t0-face with our worst times. The demon is us."

I don't believe that we always make our own troubles. Some things are truly out of our control. But, like Enzo, I do think that how we react to those troubles -- whether it's taking a turn too fast or an oil-slick on the track -- often determines how things will turn out. There are Evil Twins out there, and we just have to deal with them. I'd like to think that we will all have happy endings, like Denny and Enzo.

Enough philosophy! My favorite chapter was the one in which Enzo gets his ride on the race track. Enzo had a zest for life; he always barked twice. May we all bark twice in our race through the rainy tracks of our lives! - Beckie

Best Books of 2009

Here is the link to the New York Times' selection of the best 100 books of 2009. Firefly Lane wasn't among them.