I’ve been a reading fool lately (as opposed to when?), and because every book becomes part of who I am and every character a friend (which is why it breaks my heart to return the books to the library [I had a 40% off coupon for Borders the other day and spent an hour deciding which book to buy--choose wisely, grasshopper]), I love sharing with you guys these loves of my life.
(Can I get props for the uber-long sentence?)
So I have to share with you two books I recently finished, The Brief Wondrous LIfe of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is misleading. The story is less about Oscar than you might think. It’s a family epic tracing a family curse of sorts (the fuku, and yes) from Oscar’s grandparents. It culminates in Oscar’s attempt to break the curse. There’s a bit of magic realism in it that reminds me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One thing I’m learning about myself–I love magic realism (though I don’t see myself using it in my writing). It breaks the boundaries before the natural and the supernatural in bits and pieces the way Christ did when he walked on earth.
Two things I love about this book:
1. The voice–This book breaks the rules. Most of the narrative unfolds through telling rather than showing, but it works because of the strong voice. The author isn’t telling the story, though you don’t know this at first. You don’t meet the narrator until halfway through the book. But the voice itself embeds you in the world of this family, which brings me to my second prop.
2. The world/setting–Oscar’s mom immigrated to the States (to New Jersey, no less, although north Jersey, a different world than my beloved south Jersey–cue angelic music). Half the story is set in north Jersey, half in Dominican Republic, as their lives and identities are half Jersey, half Dominican. I love books with strong settings, but beyond that, the setting undergirded the theme of life as an immigrant or first generation American. The split setting supported the split identity.
I highly recommend this book (so do the Pulitzer people, by the way–if Diaz won a Pulitzer for his debut, how does he follow that?).
Now we come to Russo’s That Old Cape Magic.
Framed by two weddings, That Old Cape Magic is the story of Jack Griffin’s marriage and the family ties that shaped it. To the first wedding Griffin carries his father’s ashes, seeking the appropriate place on the Cape to scatter them. By the second wedding a year later, Griffin has the ashes of his father (never discarding them the year before) and his mother. His inability to dump the ashes symbolizes his attempts and (albeit denied) inability to escape the influence of his parents.
I don’t think this book is as strong as Nobody’s Fool or some of his others–I think Russo excells when he has more pages to unfold his story and characters. Also, it’s not as complicated because it focuses on one character. Part 1 is almost entirely introspection. While I don’t have a problem with introspection, especially with Russo’s writing that combines comedy and tragedy, Russo’s dialogue and interactions show off his talent more so than anything else. Like a comedian, he finds the subtleties that define and shape humanity. This shines in Part 2.
Three things I love about this book:
1. The humanity–Russo knows people. He doesn’t write this knowledge into abstracts and generalities, but embodies it in real people you’re pretty sure you know (and, in fact, you do know by the end of the book). He notices the unnoticed. But the moment he notices it (and reveals this to you), you know exactly what he means.
2. The setting (see a theme here?)–I’m a sucker for books where setting becomes almost its own character, where the setting so influences the story that set somewhere else, it would be an entirely different narrative. In this book, the setting is so important, it’s given in the title.
3. (Related to the first prop) His observations–Okay, this isn’t just related to the first point; it’s synonymous. But it deserves restating. He words these observations about movement and body language and people in such a way that they linger like a good wine. And these observations are much more than first appearances. For example, he talks about (I can’t find the page number to quote it exactly) Griffin afraid of releasing the ashes into the wind so that he ends up wearing his father. I really should have marked these passages, but I couldn’t come out of the story long enough to do so.
Do I have to mention that I recommend this book?
Next on the docket, Coupland’s Eleanor Rigby (can you believe I haven’t read this yet?).
crossed to meet their fate),
by Daniel Siedell: This is one of those books that I like to read slowly, stopping every chapter (which are more like separate essays) to consider the author’s point. Currently, I’m reading the chapter about art criticism. Coming from the world of music criticism in my past life, while the specifics are different, the debates are the same.
by Jeanne Damoff: I’m ashamed to say this, but I’ve been putting off reading this book for over a month (sorry, Jeanne!). I know it will be a book that will Play Doh my emotions. But this is the next book, to be started tonight, I expect.
by Marcus Zusak: This is my current audio book. I’m coming to the end of this. The POV is brilliant: the story is given through the eyes of death, a much more kind-hearted fellow than the Grim Reaper. Death retells the story of Liesel Meminger as he reads her account of it. He offers asides, such as times he encountered her in his collections or flash forwards to the deaths of a certain character. It combines an omniscient POV with limited in a new way, stealing the strengths of each. Set during WWII in a small German town, it follows Liesel and a small cast of characters: her neighbor and best friend, Rudy, her foster parents, and the Jewish refugee in her basement, Max. Not only a new story, it gives a fresh perspective on the time period. Zusak doesn’t hide from the atrocities, but neither does he exploit them, but tells the story of Liesel, one girl during this time.
by Leif Enger: This is up next for my local book club, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
