Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

I liked the premise of this novel: six grown women with different problems are forced to do something difficult or scary. I liked that the six women were so different and faced such disparate life challenges yet they came together at first to hold twins and then to support one of their members in her fight with breast cancer. While I found the story engaging and intriguing, the narrative style left me feeling detached from the characters. Each "chapter" is devoted to one of the women.

The novel starts with a Prologue which focuses on Kate, a cancer survivor who finds it strange to be alone with her body. Kate's views on cancer, life and risk were overwhelmingly realistic and deeply intriguing. While reading her story I felt incredibly connected to the emotional tenor of the story. In this Prologue, the six women gather together to celebrate Kate's recovery from Cancer. One of the women notices a brochure for a White Water Rafting trip down the Grand Canyon on Kate's bulletin board. It is Kate's daughter's idea and Kate is terrified. Upon the urging of her friends, she decides to do it, as long as her friends each take a risk too - a risk she chooses.

Each chapter narrates the risk each of the other women takes. Some of these "risks" would seem simple if I listed them here. But each is deeply symbolic of the stage in life the unique woman is trapped in. I liked some of the women and their chapters more than others. The love story between Daria and Henry is very captivating (and I wanted it to play out over even more pages). I also was particularly taken in by Hadley's story. The story eventually comes full circle and brings us back to Kate and her own risk and her physical embrace of life and its challenges. While I enjoyed the story I felt the individual chapters could have meshed better if told in a different way. I also wanted more in the end. I wanted to feel even more connected to the journey of these six interesting women, but the structure and writing left me at arm's distance. I would love to hear what other's thought of this novel and it's narrative structure.

Weekly Update 6/17/11

I am once again behind in reviewing so I want to take the time to at least capture what I have been reading during my first few weeks of summer. I'm still behind on reviewing No Bikes in the House Without A Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene, Exposure by Therese Fowler, This Life in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman, and Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt. I think I read them all last week (this is why I need to update weekly!). I think Greene is an excellent writer and a wonderful mother and her memoir about her family (four biological children and five adopted children) was incredibly engaging, very humorous and very heart-warming. I have more to say about it later. Fowler's book is about teenage sexting and was inspired by her own son's problems in this domain. The book made me feel old (my teenage years were so much less complicated!) and while I was engaged by the story, I found myself more interested in the story behind the story. My latest reads have been The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher and The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson (which I will certainly review).

I just got The Astral by Kate Christensen and Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister from the library and I have the latter with me in New York. (It was hard to pick which one to bring with me on my weekend away as I LOVED Christensen's Trouble but her books are incredibly thought-provoking and I figured I'd save it for when I got back home). I may get antsy and buy Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan on my Kindle (I'm sixth in the library queue) as I will probably finish my one library book in one day. I also have ten other library books on my bedside table in DC. (I figured bringing my Kindle and not several hardcovers was a better move for my back but I am slightly regretting this decision). Expect a lot of updates soon!

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

I was delighted to find out there was a new installment of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The series is near to my heart as it was one of the many quality YA series I had in my former classroom. I specifically bought the first three for my students because I loved them so deeply myself even though I was not a young adult when I read them. I can remember during my teaching tenure happily reading the fourth one (which had just come out) on the floor of my local Barnes and Nobles (the 86th between 2nd and 3rd location RIP) feeling completely satiated. Earlier this evening as I sat on a Boltbus from Washington DC to NYC, I turned on my Kindle happy to find it had power (I mostly read library books and rarely have my Kindle charged but it seemed easier to pack a Kindle than many clunky hardcovers...I always need extra books to read). Looking the book up, I was surprised to see a number of mixed reviews on Amazon. These reviews made me apprehensive to purchase the book (I have problems committing via my Kindle since I get most of my books from the library for free) but I was so deeply looking forward to being reunited with Bee, Carmen, Tibby and Lena and learning what their lives looked like as they approached 30. One of the Customer Reviewers on Amazon stated: "I feel the author did not stay true to the characters and their younger selves. While we certainly change as time goes by, I have to think that the teenage sisters would certainly be disappointed with their adult versions."

While I understand this comment and why this reviewer was disappointed by what she perceived as the "melancholy tone" of the book, I did not have trouble relating to the characters or being drawn in to the story. I found myself incredibly invested in the lives of the characters. I disagreed with many of their individual choices and often felt anguish as the story progressed and yet I still devoured the story, seeking closure. And in the end, I only wanted more words, more pages, more story.

As an almost28 year old I can relate to the "grown-up" sisters so much more than I could the teenage ones. And I am not at all surprised that they have changed in ways that may potentially disappoint their former selves. That's what we call adultolescence. What makes these young women unique is that three of the four of them are still anchored to their own adolescence as they are in some way connected to their teenage lovers. While I suppose that is interesting, I didn't find it particularly unrealistic. It is actually a lot more believable than the entire premise of how these four girls came together in the first place (their mothers met in a pregnancy aerobics class).

I don't want to give too much away about the events of the novel. Something surprising happens very early in the book. I found myself shocked and unsure how the story would unfold. There is something magical in that. I didn't truly understand many of the events until I got very far into the novel. While I was upset with the unalterable outcome and some of the author's choices, I can accept that this is the way it had to happen. My mom still gets outraged over a particular event in the Friday Night Knitting Club. She always exclaims: "That did not need to happen." And while I get her point. I am much more forgiving of most authors. I get that the story sometimes controls its own outcome.

I really treasured this book. It was wonderful to be reunited with characters I know (I rarely read series excluding the Jessica Darling books although I have been waiting not patiently for the next installment about Wynter from Bread Alone and the Baker's Apprentice by Jean Hendricks Ryan). While I understand why fans trifle with the plot lines and the character development, I truly can't complain. My mother (who has only seen the movies) asked: "So is it over?" I replied: "What is she going to do write about the characters when they are forty, fifty?" If Brashares chooses to do so, I will surely tune in.

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

I immediately handed this book off to my mother as I knew she would enjoy it. It was interesting to read about grown children moving in with their parents as I am infinitely interested by family dynamics. While reading the novel I kept thinking about how the story would develop differently if the family was Jewish instead of Catholic. My mother actually called me while she was reading to exclaim: "You didn't read this closely." She was remarking on the fact that the mother felt more attached to her son than her daughters whereas my Jewish mother always recites: "A sons is a son until he takes a wife, a daughter is a daughter for life." So as I mentioned there are some clear cultural differences.

I think this novel also raises some interesting questions about gender dynamics in a modern world. The mother at the heart of the novel is upset to find out her son will be staying home with his daughter and not his wife. She thinks her daughter-in-law will be missing out and doesn't seem to understand that this makes the most sense financially. Her eldest daughter (who stays home with her children) raises the point that it didn't bother her that she paid for her expensive schooling and now she is staying home with her children. It was interesting to consider how some gender expectations persist. My father was a "house dad" so it I suppose staying home with children isn't something I naturally assume I will do. And yet I can imagine wanting to.

I most empathized with the youngest daughter who was jealous of what others had in their relationships although I think we have very different personalities. At times it was hard to accept Rachel's destructive choices and yet they came across as deeply human. Sometimes its easier to run away from our problems than to tackle them head on.

I think this may be one of my favorite reads of the summer.

First Husband by Laura Dave

I loved both of Laura Dave's first two novels. I think I have a special kinship for Dave, Julie Buxbaum and Alison Scott Winn, three Jewish woman authors who attended my Alma Mater - the University of Pennsylvania (I suppose I hope to one day fall into the same category as these three engaging authors).

I wasn't aware Dave had a new book out, but as soon as I exited my finals haze and discovered this fact I download the First Husband on my Kindle (even though I've owned a Kindle since September I still mostly read library books). I finished the book in one evening, and felt completely taken in by the story. I actually immediately started rereading the book once I finished it (something I've honestly never done before).

While I'd say there are details of this novel that seemed unrealistic to me, it was exactly what I needed after a grueling finals period. I fell in love with the characters in the novel and even freezing Willamsburg, Massachusetts. I was particularly taken by the character of Griffin, Annie's "first husband," and his genius Phd brother Jessie. I love how Annie and Griffin met and how their love spiraled so fast. And I love that the real world suddenly crept in. I love the rapport that developed between Annie and Jessie and found the description of the small town life in Massachusetts particularly charming.

This book made me think about how couples meet in the modern world. Annie and Griffin met randomly at 2 am in a hotel bar. Annie and her previous boyfriend met because Annie went to college with the previous boyfriend's sister. Most of my friends met their significant others in college or through friends. Most people I know who are dating use online dating. I wish more people met through a fun twist of fate.

Some of What I've Been Reading During My Hiatus (from Book-Blogging)

I have been reading, even if I haven't been book blogging. Here is a list of some of the books I read over the past few months (those that I can recall):

Secret Daughter -Shilpi Somaya Gowda
The Weird Sisters - Eleanor Brown
Skinny - Diana Spechler
The Four Mrs. Bradwells - Meg Waite Clayton
Half Jew - Susan Jacoby
You Know When The Men Are Gone - Siobhan Fallon
Bent Road - Lori Roy
The Silver Boat - Luanne Rice
Swim Back to Me - Ann Hood
The Other Life - Ellen Meister
Three Stages of Amazement - Carol Edgarian
Soloman's Oak - Jo-Ann Mapson
The False Friend - Myla Goldberg
These Things Hidden - Heather Gudenkauf
Look Again - Lisa Scottoline
Left Neglected - Lisa Genova
Georgia's Kitchen - Jenny Nelson (on Kindle)
If You Lived Here - Dana Sachs (on Kindle)
Jump at the Sun - Kim Mclarin (on Kindle)
A Scattered Life - Karen McQuestion (on Kindle)
Stay With Me: A Novel - Sandra Rodriguez Barron (on Kindle)
One Day - David Nicholls (on Kindle)
Simply From Scratch - Alicia Bessette (on Kindle)
Prospect Park West - Amy Sohn (sister-in-law-to-be's library book)
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky - Heidi Durrow (re-read)
What I Thought I Knew - Alice Eve Cohen (re-read)
Outcasts United - Warren St. John
Wherever You Go - Joan Leegant
The Tenth Song - Naomi Ragen
My Before and After Life - Risa Miller
My Hollywood - Mona Simpson
The Neighbors Are Watching - Deborah Ginsburg

I highly recommend: (fiction) Soloman's Oak, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, Wherever You Go, My Hollywood; (short stories): You Know When The Men Are Gone, Swim Back to Me; (non-fiction) Half Jew, What I Thought I Knew and Outcasts United.

12 overdue books, major fines

I've found myself back in a familiar position. I've been reading voraciously - some weeks reading three or four in a week, staying up late nightly to complete an engaging novel-- and yet I haven't found enough time to review. I started this space because I love thinking deeply about fiction and non-fiction and wanted to share my thoughts with other readers. It seems I am still learning how to make time for this passion of mine. While I hope in time to finally catch you up on all my literary thoughts, I am going to list the books I've been devouring recently. I still hope to find time to finish ruminating about these engaging stories sometime soon....

1. Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch
2. Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel
3. This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia
4. Slow Motion by Dani Shapiro
5. Mothers and Other Liars by Amy Bourret
6. The Blessing of the Animals by Katrina Kittle
7. What We Have by Amy Boesky
8. Where Love Goes by Joyce Maynard
9. The Writing Circle by Corinne Demas
10. The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard
11. Chosen by Chandra Hoffman
12. Devotion by Dani Shapiro
13. The Rich Boy by Sharon Pomerantz
14. The Swimming Pool by Holly Lecraw
15. Bitter in the the Mouth by Monica Truong
16. Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller
17. A Widow's Walk by Marion Fontana
18. The Summer We Read Gatsby by Danielle Ganek
19. The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
20. The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass
21. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore