I hope this post finds all of you safe and healthy.
In these strange and frightening times, I would like to say I have used every spare moment to read. But there do not seem to be many spare moments. There is the occasional time, when the morning sky has not yet brightened and I cannot stop my mind from wandering to unwanted places, I get up with a book and read for an hour or two before my day starts. If it is the right book, I am lost in the writing and my mind is calmed. And if I am lucky, that hour or two carries me through at least part of the day.
If you are anything like me, you have a stack of books that with all good intentions, you are planning on reading. But then a new book comes out, especially one that is a well-done page-turner like the Alan Furst novel I mentioned in a recent post, and the pile keeps growing even as you keep reading. And since I want to support our local bookstores, I cannot resist buying a few new books if the store does online sales. Perhaps at some point, the six feet of unread books might become five or even four, but it seems unlikely.
Here are a few of the books I have been reading recently:
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje. This is one from the pile. I have mixed feelings about Ondaatje’s books. He is a wonderful writer, but my engagement with his books ranges from dazzled to not so much…sometimes, I just cannot get caught up in the story. This one is a fascinating and surprising story set after the Second World War and revolving around Nathaniel, who, with his sister, was left by his parents in the care of an enigmatic man known to them as the “Moth” and the circle of eccentric characters around him. And how Nathaniel begins to unearth the true story behind this seeming abandonment. A really good read, full of twists and reveals and truly memorable characters.
Writers and Lovers by Lily King. I bought this from Three Lives bookstore in Greenwich Village on the last day they were doing in-store purchases (for pickup). I had read enthusiastic reviews and was intrigued by the conceit, an emerging writer working on her first book. And it was an excuse to go for a longish walk through the Village with our son and our dog, supporting a great local business. I was not disappointed. King is a masterful storyteller. I read this in a couple of sittings. But to call it a “fun read” would not be doing it justice as it has more weight than that description may convey.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. I have maintained an ongoing dialogue with a dear friend about this book. Vuong is a poet and this lyrical book reflects that on every page. Although styled a novel, it is a prose/poem, an autobiographical (I assume) hybrid (for another example, see Bernardine Evaristo below). I found it dazzling at points, sometimes really engaging, but sometimes studied and self-consciously literary. As I have said before, I am not a critic, just a reader, so take that with the appropriate grain of salt.
Every Drop of Blood by Edward Achorn. Subtitled “Hatred and Healing at Lincoln’s Second Inauguration”, it centers on the gathering of many of the important players of the time in Washington, D.C. around the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, John Wilkes Booth, Salmon P. Chase, and many others figure prominently. A brilliant way to structure Achorn’s fascinating account of the critical events of the day, the issues that led to the Civil War, and the ambitions, scheming, and shortcomings of the politicians and power players, among other things. It is very well written and weaves a mesmerizing story. And it is a harsh reminder, if we needed one, that the United States has always been a fractured society, with hatreds, diametrically opposing views on a range of issues, intense and sometimes violent disagreements over almost every issue. It is a wonder the democracy has survived as long as it has.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. I know I overuse the word, but wow, just wow. An incredibly powerful book, brilliant structure and approach, brilliant writing. This won the Booker in 2019, or rather, shared it with Margaret Atwood. I don’t know what that was about, but this book is mesmerizing. Like Ocean Vuong’s book, it is a hybrid of prose and poetry, although I found Evaristo’s writing is more powerful. It is the story of the interconnected lives of several generations of mostly women of color in the U.K. I could not put it down, although at times wished she had followed fewer characters but in more depth (as I think the at least one reviewer suggested). And I found one or two spots a bit pedantic, particularly one chapter in which she spends several pages describing gender issues that seemed to go on longer than needed to fully develop the character. But she is such a masterful writer I hesitate to offer too much in the way of criticism.
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason. Another one from the pile. I originally bought this on the strength of Mason’s earlier novel, The Piano Tuner, and was not disappointed. The protagonist, Lucius, is a young upper-class Austrian (or Austro-Polish) who breaks off his medical training in Vienna to become a doctor on the World War I front. Mason puts his medical background to good use in describing in vivid detail the horrors of the battlefield. Lucius ultimately lands at a field hospital set up in a small village church, where he learns his “craft” at the side of a sister nurse. Complications ensue, to put it mildly. I was thoroughly absorbed in the book and the only disappointment came in what seemed to me to be a somewhat predictable, abrupt conclusion to the story. But then again, perhaps it was the only way it could have ended. Very much recommended.
Next up may be Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & the Light, the conclusion to the trilogy that began with Wolf Hall. I have been looking forward to it but do not want to overcommit, as this book really takes dedication–the Cast of Characters alone is intimidating. So there will undoubtedly be a few less imposing reads before I dedicate myself to this one.
And as we say each night at 7 here in New York City, thank you to all of the health care workers, first responders, transportation workers, grocery store clerks, teachers, and all the others who keep us safe, healthy, and functioning.
