The Three Books of March

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul."

 -Joyce Carol Oates, author of We Were the Mulvaneys and 40 other novels, quoted from flavorwire.com

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It's been an active month of reading for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I read Hillbilly Elegy, A Man Called Ove, and The Life We Bury. I discussed Hillbilly Elegy in my last post, and I am still savoring this true story about a man who was born in Jackson, Kentucky and spent most of his youth in and around Middletown, Ohio. He writes about what it was like to grow up in an extremely dysfunctional family and to get past those experiences to graduate from law school in an ivy league university. The reading of this book led me to find a book that a Tennessee friend recommended, White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. This book isn't "easy reading," but it's very interesting so I'll write about it when I finish it (that won't be anytime soon!).

Before I start writing about the other two books that I read in the past month I want to let you know something interesting. I wasn't aware of this news, but this week I found out that The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks is being made into a movie and will be released sometime next month. I was mesmerized by this story when I read it a few years ago, as I've mentioned in my posts in the past. This movie stars Renee Goldsberry, Oprah Winfrey, Courtney B. Vance, and others. Apparently it's going to premiere as an HBO movie on April 22, 2017, so look for it. I'm not sure how I'm going to watch it since we don't have HBO, but I'll search diligently for a way to be able to see it. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a book that kept popping up on my Amazon searches so I thought, why not? Backman also wrote a book that I discussed earlier, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. It's a newer book so it's probably hard to get at the library, but I discovered something new: they now have copies of recent books in a special location in the library, but readers can only keep them for one week. So I read non-stop and finished the book in three days. These books that are only for one week are labeled with a yellow band on the side as well as a yellow note on the front. I'm so glad the library added this section for speedy readers and people who are just dying to read a newer book and don't want to wait until a copy becomes available.

 This book centers on the life of a man named Ove, 
a depressed 59-year-old widower who is planning to end his own life.  
He is probably the crankiest person you've ever "met," and he finds something to complain about all the time. Nothing is good enough for Ove. He complains about the neighbors and acts as a sort of "neighborhood policeman." Since his wife died, Ove has not been able to enjoy anything in his life so he plans various ways to end it,  but things don't work out, mostly due to the interference of neighbors. In the end, it's the people in his neighborhood who help him see what's really important in life. I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't go into too much detail, but it's basically a character study of a man who asks critical questions that we might be able to relate to. These are questions that many of us have asked ourselves in the past.

The other book that I read recently is The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. It's about a college student, Joe Talbert, who comes from a bad home experience but manages to stay in college while his mother and autistic brother live in a nearby town. Because of his mom's alcoholism and bad relationships, Joe must be the leader in the family and takes steps to protect his brother from a dangerous home situation. While working on an assignment for his English class, Joe discovers Carl Iverson in a nursing home and decides to write his assignment about him. Joe learns a lot from Carl, and the two become fast friends. But why is Carl in a nursing home? And why does Joe become so wrapped up in his writing assignment? There is a lot of danger and mystery in this book, so if you enjoy that type of thing you will like this one. One thing I thought about as I read his book is that I don't think a young college student would behave in the way that Joe does. I really think Joe is characterized as maybe a 30-year old at least. The way he talks, his relationships, how he communicates, etc. are unbelievable for me. I just don't think a young man his age would behave in the way that Joe does. That's just my opinion. I read that the book has won several awards as a new novel or "best debut novel," so readers are enjoying it. I wouldn't say that the two books I've discussed today are "great novels" in the realm of The Poisonwood Bible, Cutting for Stone, Huckleberry Finn, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Edgar Sawtelle, but they are both good reads and have a lot to say about life. I could see them being good books to discuss in your reading group. 

So, what is a good novel, anyway?

Well, it has a long, epic story with intricate characters who deal with many different kinds of issues. It has to be interesting to people. It has to "catch you" on the first page. It has to have appropriate and beautiful language that makes the reader want to go on to the next page. Lots of twists and turns help to take the story on and on, but it also has to know when to quit. It must also have a memorable plot. I tend to read a lot of non-fiction because I love to learn, but I also learn from novels that are well-written. Fiction and non-fiction must reel me in so that when I'm finished I can say it was worth my time and energy.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a note below. Have a wonderful weekend....

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

My parents gave me this fun mug for Christmas.Look closely as the titles appear.