I haven't felt my best the past week and found myself reading even more than usual. Fortunately, I had picked up three new books from the library before the lassitude hit. I was most excited to pick up Geraldine Brooks' latest, "Caleb's Crossing." It is a tale about what is now Martha's Vineyard and Harvard in the mid 1600's with some characters based on real people and events. It was, of course, well written and I enjoyed it but it was the other two books which I found hard to put down and read well into the night.
Both are written from the point of view of several different characters. Those in "The School of Essential Ingredients," first published in 2009, find their lives intertwining as they meet and interact for the first time in a cooking class.
"Day for Night,"published a year ago, is told from the point of view of very random characters whose lives come together in very surprising and unexpected ways. The author takes his readers on a fascinating romp across the earth and through time and recent history. The reader experiences magic as story threads combine, part, and then weave together once again. There is not the neat packaged ending readers sometimes expect, but it is satisfying and very thought provoking none the less.
I find it fascinating how as we live our lives, we do seem to find random connectedness with people, events, and places. Lately I find myself recommending books in "twos." I reserve them for pick up singly and then they surprise me with a common thread of some kind such as theme, historical setting, or literary device. All those connections are what make our lives rich and blessed. Perhaps that is why I enjoying blogging and social networking!
2 comments:
What is the connection between Martha's Vineyard and Harvard? Just curious.
Caleb is a Native American who crosses the ocean from the island, which is his home, to attend Harvard, near Boston. He is one of the first Native Americans to do so.
Caleb is based on a real person.
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