My Friends

Here’s my experience with Fredrik Backman, the prolific, beloved Swedish author. Meredith recommended him, and I loved A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. I tried to read but gave up on Anxious People and Beartown. I wanted so badly to love My Friends, but I really didn’t. I didn’t abandon it though. I plodded my way to the bitter end even though every step of the way I found it overblown and overwhelming. 

This one-star review on Goodreads says it best. Something similar to when you over-highlight parts of a text. When everything is highlighted, it’s impossible to discern what has significance. This book tries so hard to be deep and ends up feeling shallow.

I actually polished off the resolution of My Friends on the plane to Puerto Rico for Sue and Bonnie’s excellent adventure to Vieques Island. The book redeemed itself briefly at the end and turned out to be a great entry point for my “Medicare-year-birthday-celebration" with my dear high school friend, also vintage1961. 

Strange Pictures

Strange Pictures by Uketsu is strange indeed. Even more mysterious is the author’s bio: “UKETSU only ever appears online, wearing a mask and speaking through a voice changer… His innovative ‘sketch mysteries’ challenge readers to discover the hidden clues in a series of sinister drawings… They have sold nearly 3 million copies in Japan since 2021. Uketsu‘s true name and identity remain unknown.”

In my opinion, the author’s premise and marketing strategy are brilliant, but the execution of the plot, not so much. That said, I had to rate it 4 stars because I—slow reader extraordinaire—devoured the book, making quick work of it in 11 days. In places where it became graphically descriptive, I choked a little on the details. Over all it went down smoothly, but undoubtedly will leave me with a bit of heartburn.

The story’s strong start devolved into a jumbled mess of “tell” not “show”, and the pictures lost their relevance by the end. Truthfully, the pictures alone would never have led me to solve the mystery. Luckily, I didn’t need to since it was so intricately spelled out by the author in the second half of the story. Could be that something was Lost in Translation here. In any event, while I find Japanese philosophy fascinating, their literature sure is deranged.

Final score: A+ for originality. C- for implementation. 

Isola

I’m not sure what to make of the book Isola by Allegra Goodman, but I disagree with the negative reviews on Goodreads, some calling it “annoying and boring." This is the kind of historical fiction that needs to connect the dots and fill in the blanks because not much is known about the life of the real person on which the story is based, and I think the author did an admirable job. I like books that make me think, and shed light on other ways of living and different times.

What is known about Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval, I found to be riveting, and her experiences have been written about many times. Born into French royalty in the 1500s, she fell into challenging times upon the death of her parents. She became well-known after surviving abandonment on the Isle of Demons off the coast of Canada, a treacherous and fantastical place with a rich history of its own. You can read a fascinating summary on Wikipedia here.

In order to fabricate a sense of time and place for Isola, Goodman not only read about Marguerite, but she studied objects and paintings from the time period. In the Author’s Notes of the novel, she recounts learning about the life of Marguerite this way:

“In an illustrated children’s book about Jacques Cartier, I read a passage that stopped me short. It went something like this: In 1542, a nobleman named Jean-François Roberval sailed separately with colonists to meet with Cartier in what is now called Canada. Roberval brought along his young ward, Marguerite de la Rocque who annoyed him by having an affair aboard ship. Roberval marooned Marguerite and her lover on an island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where she managed to survive for more than two years while fighting off polar bears.”

This is quite a tale for a woman to have lived through, especially in the 16th Century. Religion, duty, gender expectations, and class privilege mingle with the cold, harsh reality of daily survival during this period of time. Although the heroine’s inner thoughts and daily activities are full of melodrama and sentimentality, bordering on mawkishness, I believe this portrayal is true to the mannerisms of the times. 

The author’s writing style was also fitting. It transported me back to a different era. Nearing the end of the book, I began to wonder if I would even be able to write in this manner, with an old-fashioned flourish, like script from a quill. It might be fun to try!

Here is an example of the language used to describe Marguerite’s feelings of accomplishment having never had to perform household chores in the past but participating with the servants at her relative's home.

“Filling these packets and wood boxes, I felt a joy I had not known before. It was not love, and it was not comfort, nor was it mastery or beauty, but it was usefulness.”

And here, Marguerite contemplates all she has been through. “I have been alone, bereft, but I know now that in solitude we find our way, and in learning, and in God’s word.”

Finally, I love the Queen’s candor upon meeting Marguerite and hearing about her misadventures on the island.

“Those who know their faults are truly wise,” the Queen said. “And those who have endured the worst have most to teach. Do not say, then, that your story does not deserve retelling. Tell me, rather, how I might reward you for offering what you have learned.”

This is sage advice for any day and age.

A short YouTube video about Marguerite de La Rocque

A Life Suspended

This important book, A Life Suspended: A Mother and Son’s Story of Autism, Extinction Bursts, and Living a Resilient Life, is written by my writing group facilitator Nicole Donovan. 

It was fortuitous that I attended Nicole’s Snapshot Stories workshop at the Sandwich Library in February. Despite my experience writing, after retirement I was in need of some inspiration. I learned so much from Nicole that I signed up for five more sessions in May at her Lotus and Rose Healing Arts Studio. The Ancestral Stories writing group continued meeting monthly through September and has been a consistent source of joy for me throughout.

Now, I’m at a crossroads about how to move forward with my writing. September truly is a month of transitions and a time for me to come to terms with my goals. I love the group energy of Ancestral Stories and can’t give that up. I’ve been questioning what direction to take, and I feel like I need some guidance. My ancestors haven’t exactly been banging down the door between me and the netherworld, but nonetheless I feel their presence. Somehow, my writing persists. 

And, I have seriously digressed from this book review!

Having finished reading this book, I believe Nicole is a good fit to help me bring some coherence to my own ideas. Her writing is honest and accessible. She writes in an open and authentic manner about the very personal topic of her son Jack’s Asperger’s Syndrome diagnosis. Nicole is insightful and generous with her time and feedback.

Our writing styles and outlook on life seem similar in many ways. We’re both mothers and teachers whose experiences reverberate with the familiar themes of self-doubt, a search for clarity, and difficulty letting go. Correlations echo throughout, mostly in our reflective natures and coping strategies. Therapy, journaling, breath work, meditation, and humor bring solace to us both during emotional challenges.

I love how Nicole incorporates figurative and descriptive language into her prose. Her story is both heartrending and hopeful at the same time. She fully captures the essence of trying to keep it all together as a mother, as well as the intensity of our ‘mother bear’ feelings for our children. 

I annotated the hell out of this book as I read it, but this passage stands out for its relevance in my life at the moment. 

“There is an old saying, ‘When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,’ which I found true in my own life. Jack was ready for the next phase. It was time for me to let go . . .”

I have had opportunities to be both the teacher and the student in my lifetime. Lifelong learning and emotional growth are the key components for a worthwhile existence at any age.

Abscond

Abscond is a short story by Abraham Verghese that I downloaded to my Kindle for free. I think I like this author’s writing, but his novels are LONG and therefore require quite a commitment from me. I’m glad I made it through The Covenant of Water and need to decide whether to attempt Cutting for Stone. I worry I won’t have the stamina. 

Verghese clearly writes from what he knows, and much of that knowledge seems to revolve around Indian and Scottish cultures, as well as an interest in academics and medicine. I recognized these similarities in both of his stories I have read and suspect the same is true in Stone.

So in summary, Abscond was entertaining. The story centers on the life of 13-year-old tennis prodigy Ravi Ramanathan, during the summer of 1967 in New Jersey. The description on Goodreads begins, “Fate challenges a boy to find his place in the world …” Ironically, I felt there were some areas that could have been fleshed out more. In other words, think I would LOVE this author if his books were “just right” (like Goldilock’s porridge) in length. Not too short and not too long :)