CLOSE YOUR EYES HOLD HANDS – CHRIS BOHJALIAN

Books about surviving a cataclysm are of interest to me. Also ever since Dad taught my brothers and me about nuclear energy and energy plants I have worried about the danger. The first line on the first page reading, “I built an igloo against the cold out of black plastic trash bags filled with wet leaves,” was my hook.

The voice is that of 16 year-old Emily Shepard. Her dad is the chief engineer of a Vermont nuclear power plant and her mother in charge of communications. Both parents are raging alcoholics and very unhappy people. Though Emily is very bright and does love her family, home, and pet dearly, she acts out both at home and at school and appears to have behavioral problems even before the disaster. When there is a terrible explosion at the plant and thousands are immediately evacuated Emily is thrown into the world orphaned, homeless, powerless, with no money and no idea of where to turn. Not only are both of her parents killed at the plant, but the news media and and most people think it was Mr. Shepard who was responsible for the catastrophe. Emily can never go home to the contaminated area even leaving behind her dog, Maggie. The heartbreak in the book of Emily is almost tangible. Bohjalian makes the reader feel her anger, frustration, and hopelessness, but also her determination and resourcefulness.

Because of the rabid animosity Emily detects towards her and her family she decides to flee the social workers who are trying to help. She ends up in nearby Burlington surviving by her wits, stealing, hanging with drug users, visiting shelters, and inventing a new identity. She is also cutting herself and having sex for money at truck stops. She is an angry young woman and the harsh language and graphic sexual encounters show that.

Just when it seems like there is no way for Emily to make it out of the cesspool of the dark side of Burlington there is a change. Bolstered by a friendship, her love for poetry especially that of Emily Dickinson, and her determination to protect another younger runaway, Cameron she rises to the occasion. As she spends weeks doing what she has to do to protect, feed, and shelter Cameron and herself, Emily begins to realize she has no way to escape forever. Not from danger, her grief, or her past, and she cannot run endlessly. When Cameron becomes seriously ill she realizes she can no longer keep him safe.

There were so many times that my frustration for and with Emily actually made me a bit mad. I did not care for her endless use of the “F” bomb or her flippant use of sex to get what she needed but then again I am not an expert in working with troubled youth. Why wouldn't such a child in that situation ask or seek help eventually? There are pretty complicated issues in this book, and if you can't handle thinking about how troubled runaways survive it is not for you. But if you want an edgy book to make you worry and think and maybe even perhaps gain some empathy for the homeless, pick it up at your local library for an afternoon read.  

THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN – KATE MORTON

Part puzzle, part fairy story, part mystery, and a tale of lost heritage that affects a persons psyche is this one. I promise, if you embark on the travels of Nell and Cassandra you will be entranced. In 1930 Brisbane, Australia a young beauty finds out that the family that raised her is not related to her biologically. Indeed they “found” her in 1913 and kept her even though she was obviously lost and belonged to another family. This knowledge is a huge blow to her idea of who she thought she was which affects her relationships with her sisters and later with her own daughter. In 1975, in her 60s Nell follows her heart on a soul search which ends in Cornwall, England. There she buys a cliff cottage on the estate where she is sure she was born. But the details of her heritage won't fall into place. She must return to Australia to take care of her business and make her plans to return to finish her quest.

Unfortunately circumstances intrude and Nell never gets the opportunity to complete her research into her heritage. She dies in 2005 knowing where she came from but still not knowing who her biological family was. Nell's much beloved granddaughter Cassandra inherits Nell's Cornwall cottage, Nell's notebook of family research, and her treasured book of fairytales. Thus begins her own quest to learn Nell's background.

The early chapters mention young Nell's unusual looks and bright red hair. Thus for the rest of the book it becomes a puzzle to try to attach her to every redhead that appears in the plot. If you have worked on jigsaw puzzles very much then this book will feel like putting a complex puzzle together. It will all come together in your mind's eye close to the end and suddenly the pieces fall together quickly. So, yes you do have to pay attention and remember key points in a pretty long book of 550 pages.

I love a book with a map and The Forgotten Garden has a map of the Blackhurst Estate as it was in 1913. You may want to put a sticky note on that page for reference as you read. My favorite chapters in this non-chronological story are about Eliza Makepeace who becomes known as “The Authoress.” Her tale begins in London in 1900 when she is a child living above a rag and junk shop with her twin brother and single mother. On page 112 Eliza's dying mother tells her, “You mustn't wait for someone to rescue you. A girl expecting rescue never learns to save herself.” That, dear reader sets you up to expect Eliza to be the heroine of the book and in my opinion she is. Eliza is a natural storyteller, transfixing whatever audience she has even as a child. As an adult she publishes her fairy stories in a book illustrated by a renowned artist. How can Eliza not be your heroine when upon receiving a copy of her book from her publisher she opens the book, lifts it to her face to smell the binding, the glue and the ink? Every book-sniffer reader will understand. A copy of Eliza's book in Nell's possession, which Cassandra takes with her to England, is a key factor in pulling the puzzle together.

The Forgotten Garden has a bit of that English mystery noir about it with dark and brooding relatives and plenty of damaged people trying to keep dark secrets. Of course there is also a bit of freshness as Cassandra finds not just family history, but friendship and a bit of romance. When Cassandra realizes that Eliza's fairytales are based on real family history another puzzle falls into place for her and for the reader. On page 125 Georgiana tells Eliza, “Always remember, with a strong enough will, even the weak can wield great power.” So it is that the weak and the dead wield great power in this book. 

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – PAULA HAWKINS

If you liked Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and/or you like to remain confused until you find out that characters in your book are not what you believe them to be, then this book is for you. What a hoot! I did not want to put it down as soon as I started it. But then it wouldn't have been prudent to be late to work so it did have to be put away on Thursday long enough for a 5 hour shift at the library.

Billed as a psychological thriller, it isn't actually all that “thrilling” until right before the end, then it all comes together so fast. The girl on the train is Rachel. She rides the train every day into and home from London. She has many emotional problems and is an alcoholic. Having recently been fired from her job she continues her routine in an effort to prevent her roommate from finding out. In London every day she goes to the library, visits pubs, and walks. The daily train ride takes Rachel through her old neighborhood. At a stop Rachel has a few moments every day to be a voyeur for she can see into the back yard and through the windows of the house where she had lived in happier times. Her ex-husband, Tom still lives in her old house but now with a new wife and a baby. In another house up the road from Tom's lives a nice looking and seemingly loving young couple whom Rachel calls Jess and Jason She dreams up a wonderful life for them in her imagination and very much enjoys looking for them every day to see what they are doing.

Rachel's depression and alcoholism are debilitating. She is very unhappy and still in love with her ex. She continues to contact Tom and his wife which is considered harassment, some of which she doesn't even remember. Then one day from the train Rachel sees the woman she calls Jess kissing another man. A few days later Jess, whose real name is Megan, is reported by her husband Scott as missing. Rachel tries to get involved in the case by notifying the police about what she has seen but she is an unreliable witness and not taken seriously by the police because of her reputation of harassment and public intoxication. When she contacts Scott things don't go well either.

Many in this book are not who they appear to be and some have mysterious connections. Scott is a very possessive hot-head and a bit violent. Megan had at one time been an nanny for Tom and his wife Anna. Anna had been the lover of Tom's while he was still married to Rachel. The mysterious man that Meg was kissing is her psychiatrist. There are dark secrets, lies, hidden motives, and confusion. I guarantee by the time you get to about page 244 the power better not go off unless you have candles or a book light because you will not be able to stop reading.

Isn't the cover art clever? The scenery is blurred representing what things look like on a speeding train and the double lettering which is how print in a jostled book often looks when reading in a moving vehicle.  

ORDINARY GRACE – WILLIAM KRUEGER

Ordinary Grace is a book about unexpected grace breaking through the human condition of debilitating grief. Frank Drum is telling the story of the summer of 1961 when he was 13 trying to make sense of his world. Frank's father is a Methodist minister, his mother is the music director not only for the churches but for community events. New Bremen seems to be almost Mayberry like with kids playing in the neighborhoods, sodas at the local drug store, and everyone on good terms with the policemen. Then death arrives to the small town in Minnesota. Four deaths in quick succession. Deaths which threaten to tear apart Frank's family and shatter the idyll of the town.

Besides death, other themes running through this book are, secrets, prejudice, fear, sacrifice, and redemption. Frank's dad has a secret from the Korean War so terrible that it changed his career plans from being a lawyer to the ministry. Frank's brother Jake keeps secrets about things he sees and knows about the deaths while his sister Ariel keeps a life-changing secret from her parents. Ariel's boyfriend keeps a secret so dark he hates himself. Emil Brandt the resident celebrity and recluse keeps the darkest secrets of all.

Xenophobia and racial prejudices create a rift between families of New Bremen and between the community and a Native American family. Reverend Drum's persona is one of calmness and caring. When disaster and grief threaten the town and specifically his own family he still turns to his faith and helps family, friends, and neighbors to keep calm and not overreact. He steps in to try to diffuse hatred and prejudice when it erupts. He is stoic in demanding that all the facts be in before passing judgment.

I found this to be a very satisfying one-day read. The characters were believable, and likeable. Mrs. Drum has a hard time being a preacher's wife. College educated with social aspirations she feels unsatisfied and perhaps cheated since she thought she was marrying a lawyer not a clergyman. Reverend Drum is what we all want for a preacher. He is also college educated, unassuming, kind, nonjudgmental, and caring. The adolescent interactions ring true and the mysteries believable. This book comes highly recommended for those of you who like mystery, nostalgia, and an easy read.

Once I finished this book I went to read the author's blog where I found this quotation about libraries,

“Libraries are nothing less than the archives of our culture. These are the places that house the books that guide us to an understanding of who we were and where we came from, help us make sense of who we are now, and maybe point the way to who we might become. When our libraries and librarians are gone, with them goes everything we are as a people. Free and open access to knowledge is an essential right in a democracy. Keeping our libraries alive and vital is as important to our freedom as anything spelled out in our Constitution.”

Of course I know this to be true and I love it being so eloquently stated.

INFINITE JEST – DAVID FOSTER WALLACE

Three years ago I read Foster's Pale King which I described as a novel-in-stories and said was full of “run-on sentences and stream-of-consciousness type writing” and all that is also true about Infinite Jest. Paragraphs last many pages and the stories are not even remotely chronological in this 981 page tome. The story is followed by another 100 pages of footnotes, some of them being pages long. Even motivated by a great desire to read this book I still found it a difficult read. Also, I had to keep the online dictionary open.

What genre would best describe this book? Perhaps futuristic dystopia, political satire, dysfunctional family comedy? All of those and more. It is multi-layered with many characters and most, if not all, of those characters are unusual bordering on the bazaar. The vehicle for presenting to the reader philosophical questions about government, families, cultures, morals, etc. is through vignettes of dysfunctional families, primarily between a drug rehab facility and a tennis academy. America as we know it does not exist. The United States and Canada compose some kind of unified entity called Organization of North American Nations or O.N.A.N. governed mostly by corporations who can buy anything including naming rights to years. On page 223 is a list of all the years covered in the book chronologically.

1. Year of the Whopper
2. Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad
3. Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
4. Year of the Perdue Wonderchicken
5. Year of the Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishmaster
6. Year of the Yushityu 2007 Mimetic-Resolution-Cartridge-View-Motherboard-Easy-To-Install-Upgrade for Infernatron/InterLace TP Systems for Home, Office or Mobile [sic]
7. Year of Dairy Products from the American Heartland
8. Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment
9. Year of Glad

There resides on my own personal library shelf a skull named Yorick so I know the title comes from the line in Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Hamlet holds the skull of the court jester and says, "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest...” and the plot revolves around a piece of failed entertainment (a film) or “jest” that is missing and declared dangerous because all those who view it become obsessed with watching it doing absolutely nothing else. Some anti-O.N.A.N.s have launched a plot to acquire the master copy of the film in a terrorist plot to use it against the United States. The plan is that by mass dissemination they can get Americans to do nothing, therefore destabilizing the country and the organization of O.N.A.N.

Infinite Jest is full of sarcastic humor and I am glad I read it. It is often referenced in book blogs and articles, and now if some of my “more literary” friends comment on it I can participate in discussion. My favorite lines from the book are as follows: “That you will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do. That there is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.” - Narrator voice pg 203.

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS – VANESSA DIFFENBAUGH

Years ago a friend gave me a beautiful little book about the meanings of flowers and the messages that can be conveyed through the use of them in bouquets. I enjoyed it and still have it. I like to lay it on the coffee table in the spring. What a pleasure to encounter that idea in a contemporary book. The Language of Flowers is a heart wrenching story about a troubled young and homeless woman who has a flair for arranging flower by their color and meaning.

Victoria is a very confused and angry young woman. She is emancipated from her group home on the day she turns 18 after having spent her life bouncing from foster homes (at least 32) and group homes. In only one foster home had Victoria been loved and made to feel special. In that home her foster mother, Elizabeth taught her the language of flowers. But Elizabeth's family had its own problems and Victoria ended up being deeply hurt. After that she never found a place again to fit in or to feel loved. Now, at 18 she has no place to go and no one who cares and so lives in a public park in San Francisco sleeping in the bushes. Victoria is actually very bright though. She makes her own tiny garden in the park with plants she pilfers and nurtures. Renata, a florist, finally notices her and asks her to help her out. Victoria ends up landing a job at the florist shop where she gets to display her genius with flowers. She also researches and begins to create her own flower dictionary. Renata rents her a tiny apartment and Victoria becomes respected and loved. And yet, she cannot make it work.

When Victoria meets Grant, a flower farm supplier for the local florists, and who is also painfully shy it seems she may make it and have a true family. But just like a train wreck that you can't look away from, with doom the reader watches as Victoria struggles.

Those of us who have worked with youth have seen this attachment disorder before and it is a heartbreaking mystery. Victoria is self destructive. She does not understand herself or her desires, let alone other people. Every relationship she fosters she eventually destroys. After building a clientele, living clean, and creating a home for herself she methodically proceeds to destroy it and hurt everyone who helped her. The saddest thing is that she doesn't even understand why she does what she does and cannot seem to stop herself.

I don't know if all the editions had them but my book had both a Victorian flower dictionary included and a representation of the one created in the book by Victoria.

GIRL IN TRANSLATION – JEAN KWOK

Bildungsroman anyone? Well I don't see or here that literary term used very much except in the library cataloging circles, but that is what Girl in Translation is, or in other words a coming-of-age story where psychological character and moral growth is important. I enjoy a good bildungsroman very much whether it is of another culture altogether like Amy Tan's novels of Chinese immigrants or of American subcultures like the Greek-Americans, or African-Americans.

Girl in Translation is written in first person from the perspective of an adolescent from Hong Kong immigrating with her mother to the United States. Kimberly Chang is a middle school age girl who desperately wants to do well and fit in at school. Kim speaks and reads only a little English and also needs to work. She and her mother have arrived with little money.

Mrs. Chang's sister and her husband have helped pay for Mrs. Chang's medical bills (she has tuberculosis), arranged for green cards, and made their living arrangements in NYC. Kim and her mother are much indebted to their relatives. However, they end up in a heatless squalid apartment. Kimberly works long hours for very little money. The reader can see how easy it is for immigrants to get into this catch-22 of never being able to get out of their poverty. Once here they have so few options and very little choice. But Kim is resilient and dedicated to bettering their situation. The author illustrates through the story the sense of duty and obligation to family and to honor that is so prevalent in the Chinese culture.

As a reader of little experience with Chinese people I enjoyed how Kimberly would think about the Chinese ways and ideals and then relate them to how Americans think and feel. What a great reminder to a reader of how different cultures are thus making it important not to judge always using our own perspective. When Kimberly struggled because of language barriers or educators would make assumptions about her abilities to do homework because she did not have the simplest supplies my heart broke. When her school friend assumes Kimberly is lying about her job because she is sure that kids in America don't work in factories I had to think about how easy it probably is to have illegal factories in big cities that will employ immigrant children.

When I read books like this and those of Amy Tan, Firooza Dumas, Ishmael Bea, and Julia Alvarez I understand better how difficult it must be to leave everything you know and try to assimilate into a totally different culture. I do not think I have what it takes to learn a new language while trying to get an education, work, and take care of a family. What must it be like to not understand most of what goes on around you when you are trying to survive and dig your way our of poverty? What courage. I think I am going to go reread Funny in Farsi.