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Book Review: Canada by Richard Ford
Robbed of their parents to a prison sentence, fifteen year old twins are set adrift into the world. Canada is the story of one of the twins, Dell Parson, as he makes his way from home in Montana to Canada, literally kidnapped from his home by his Mother’s friend.
Dell personalizes his story by telling it in the first person. His experience is illuminated by the author to reflect his contacts with the people responsible for his welfare and the effect they had on his life: his mentor and benefactor. The mentor was a foul smelling, dirty man dressed in rags who sometimes wore lipstick and rouge. He did give Dell words to live by helping him to make the needed adjustment because he was given a cardboard-like room with a small cot to sleep on, flooring that smelled of the dirt beneath him, no windows, and he was surrounded by large storage boxes. The odor of the room was overpowering. Dell was expected to sleep there at night and work during the day cleaning up rooms at the hotel owned by his benefactor in a nearby city. In order to get there, he had to either bike or walk to work. What is truly amazing is that Dell began to adapt by making small changes, adjustments, and even accept his lot in life, this in spite of the hardships he faced!
The benefactor/owner of the hotel was neither friendly nor accommodating despite the fact that he occasionally asked Dell if he was comfortable. There was no warmth, love, or affection showed Dell in the course of his stay. In fact, he was “used” to meet the benefactor’s needs by working the hotel or helping with the goose hunts or being a witness when needed. He did help Dell understand with words that he needed to be accepting of his circumstances, words that gave him the needed courage to keep trying.
Well written, the author uses words that highlight the experience Dell faces leaving the reader with many words of wisdom, words that helped Dell face his extraordinary dilemma, ones that helped him accept what he couldn’t change and then turn around and make the needed corrections to make life more bearable. The lesson learned is that no matter the circumstances that life holds for each person, even the foulest most unpleasant man we have contact with in life has worth, words worth listening to…everybody has value!! Dell’s journey likens to ones we all face in life. It’s how we handle them that really matters!
Written by Joy B., book club member
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Books into Movies: Summer 2013
Descriptions of the books/movies come from dust jackets or publishers.
Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.
This novel is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people–a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Twenty-five years after its publication, Midnight’s Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great literary voices of our time. The movie has already won two awards and been nominated for more.
At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful meeting . . . Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.
But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love. Riz Ahmed, a rapper, stars.
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years. Brad Pitt stars.
Other Books to Read Before You Watch the Movie
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Book Review: Where We Belong by Emily Griffin
Book Club Read for April
Falling in love briefly after high school graduation leads to an unplanned pregnancy for Marian and the birth of a little girl, promptly adopted. However, along with the birth are “secrets” that are buried along with the adoption since Marian failed to tell her lover or her father about the conception and the eventual birth.
Eighteen years later, daughter, Kirby, comes to a swank New York residency to meet her birth mother, Marian, now a successful sitcom producer. Failure to share her “secret” of long ago now haunts Marian’s life leading to issues of trust with friends and family alike. Why did she hold back and fail to tell those she loved? Why didn’t she share the risk?
In a conversational, first person mode, this author cleverly alternates each chapter between daughter, Kirby, and birth mom, Marian, allowing them to personalize how they felt about the consequences of the birth and the adoption. This approach invites the reader to be a personal friend, a partner in the thought process.
Kirby is an interesting, likeable girl: underachiever for all that she is capable of delivering; but, she is grounded when she deals with her own adoption making wise decisions to guide her choices. Talented musically, just like her dad, she is particularly fond of him and vice versa. The relationship is a positive one for both father and daughter. It is clear her father would have been a good, caring dad. On the other hand, the initial visit with her mom is less intimate, far more constrained due to personality and lifestyle differences. This relationship develops with time and contact and the attempt to learn about one another through association. Kirby juggles her biological and adoptive parents with finesse and tact to work out the details, seemingly more comfortable than either set of parents.
The author develops Kirby’s character through her home relationships, best friend, boyfriend, and her sister relaying frustration, moral fortitude, sense of humor, and loyalty. She is not perfect but there is a sense that she has qualities with promise, ones that can be shaped into maturity with life. She feels a sense of hope when she realizes where her roots come from, a springboard for turning her life around.
Marian is successful, the feeling being that all the while her daughter, Kirby, is growing up, she is building a professional career. Seemingly, she lives a sterile life, without the love of her own family, all the while harboring a “secret” from long ago. Much like Kirby, Marian seems to evolve and mature with her secret open to the world, releasing her misguided decisions of long ago for inspection. Guided by her daughter’s ongoing needs, Marian examines her own life and future love. There is hope hinted by the author that she will have a better, happier life for the reunion with her daughter.
Rather than giving a complete overall body description of her characters, the author limits personal identification to matching personal attributes as they relate to Kirby versus her biological parents. Large ears place Kirby and her Granddad and Mom together. The color of her eyes relays those of her Dad. Her hair consistency relates to her maternal Grandmother.
Well written with heart and love, this is a story worth reading and I look forward to more from this author
Written by Joy B., book club member
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