House and Home

by Kathleen McCleary

At every turn of the page I was reminded of one of my favorite places - Portland, Oregon.  That was both a good and a bad thing.  Good because it brought back sights and experiences but a bad thing because it made my longing to get in the car and drive there so much stronger.  Just read this and see if you don't long to go to Oregon with me:

When she moved to Oregon, it wa like moving from black and white Kansas to a Technicolor Emerald City.  Yes, the sky was gray and the rains came, but the ground was green, green all year long, and the laurels and Douglas firs and cedars were green even in winter. . . And she fel, finally, that with all that rich color, her life came into focus, too, that she somehow grew more vivid and became the person she was meant to be, the one who was just a ghost in Michigan.

House and Home is the story of Ellen Flannigan, who seems to have it all - 2 precious daughters, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop, a terrific best friend who lives next door and a sexy, if irresponsible, husband.  And she adores her house.  But as her 18-year, roller-coaster marriage heads toward divorce, she's about to lose it all - her house, her husband and her sanity.

If only she could hang in that moment forever, suspended like a cocoon dangling from a silk thread.  She'd never have to move forward then, into the moment when she'd actually walk out the door of this house for the last time

I liked House and Home, though there were times that I wanted to shake Ellen.  Part of that might be because I don't usually get overly attached to things.  I could walk away from my house today, though the back yard would tugged on my heart strings.  Maybe I'll fall in love with my house after the remodeling is finished, but I don't think so.  I can imagine a house that would break my heart to leave, but I don't think I'll see it in this lifetime.

This would be a good movie.  Some of Ellen's shannigans would be hilarious to watch played out on the big screen.  Even as I'm thinking about saying the movie would be a chic-flick, I wouldn't say the book is chick-lit.  I'm not sure why because I certainly don't see men reading House and Home.  Let me step out of my confusion long enough to say this is a good, fun, entertaining and light read.

Travel Writing Guest Reviewer

When I received an ARC from author David Ferry of Travel Writing I appreciated the cover for a few minutes before reading the first few pages.    I was intrigued that the main character had the same name, job, and hometown (Chicago) as the author.   It says 'novel' right on the cover so I knew I wasn't reading a memoir, but at first it sounded like a memoir.  It's not.

The first few pages dealt with the power of a make-believe story.  I automatically thought of Candleman, my own live-in storyteller and thought he would like to read this book.  When I suggested it he was willing and even anxious to read Travel Writing.  For the review on my blog, I interviewed him.  To read his original review check out Live And Learn.

Me:  Did the author capture your attention early in the book?

Candleman:  Ferry begins the book by telling a story to his High School students.  Four times in the opening two pages he points out to the kids that he is making the story up as he goes.  Even so, they are on the edge of the seats and demand to know how it turn’s out.  He clearly demonstrates to them that “that is why stories are so powerful.”   On the second page, I am hooked!

Me: I was quite taken with the cover.  The paint-by-number picture of a girl with only her eye painted intrigues me.  Does the cover correlate with the story?

Candleman:   The cover is drawn from an interesting quote from early in the book.  Ferry is spending time with a mentor, hoping to impress him with his writing.  His mentor critiques his work in these words, "I like what you are doing.  I really do.  I think you are sincere, and I think you are talented.  You haven't much to say, but you say it very well."

Ferry already knows it, he describes himself this way, "I was like that person you know who acquires a friend or a girl friend or a wife or even a child because someone says he should, who does and says all the right things, but who is only painting by numbers.

Actually, the eye is not painted on.  That portion is torn away revealing the real subject.  I think the tear represents the pain that brings the revelation of the meaning behind the motion. The narrative is about one who has spent much of life going through the motions, painting by numbers so to speak, with no understanding of reality or why anyone would triy to depict it.  He's trained to depict it in words, but is totally clueless as to what he is really looking at. The stories show us how gradually his shallow view of life gets torn away revealing truth behind the illusion.

Me:  Did you identify with the main character?

Candleman:  Yes, on several levels.  I too, aspire to be a writer, value a good story, have an uncertain future, am confused about my direction and am inexplicably compulsive.  While our stories are entirely different, our emotional circumstances match!

Me:  Why did Ferry write this book - what was the message he was attempting to make?  Did he succeed?

Candleman:  I think he wanted to show that there is a very fuzzy boundary between reality and imagination.  A story, even a “true” one may be true or it may not.  I think he wanted to show that we are writing our own stories, but in a very real way, our stories are also writing us.

Me:  Were you satisfied with how the book ended?

Candleman:  Yes, it was marvelous.  He finishes by telling us how his personal story was going to end, but you’re not sure if it will happen that way, or if it already has.  Again, is Ferry inventing the story, or is it inventing him.

Me:   What is something your really liked about Travel Writing?

Candleman:  I was interested in the way the author told several stories, all revolving around a central story.  It worked for me, because in the end it wasn’t what the stories were about, but rather who they were about, that mattered.  The collection of stories all resolved into a settled, understanding of the author’s self.  Something he lacked in the fragments and acquired in the whole.

Me:   Was there anything you did not like?

Candleman:  There was too much coarse language for my taste.  I don’t seek such company in life, nor do I in literature.  There is plenty of good stuff I’ll have a hard time getting to read to be crowding any of it out with trashy stuff.

Me:  Would you recommend this book?

Candleman:  Not really.  It wasn’t a waste of time for me, but I’m no better for having read it.  I do have a greater appreciation for the power of story, but I got 95% of that by page two.

Winner for The Holy Bullet

My daughter just drew the  name of our winner.   It is

Crystal

Congratulations! 

Mailbox Monday

I received 3 books in the mail this week.   I was holding my breath that #4 in the Inspector Gamache series would arrive before the weekend, but it didn't.  It was released on Sep 1 and I pre-order it, but I guess I'll have to hope it shows up on Tues. since today is a holiday.  I've also been anxiously anticipating the arrival of Cleopatra's Daughter as an ARC.  It will be released on Sep 15 and I need some time to get it read before then.

The 3 books that did make their way to my house were either mooched or bought from used bookstores online.   They all have a theme - Cape Cod.  Dawn from She is too Fond of Books told of her vacation there and the friendly people at the local library.  She also shared a nice list of books set in Cape Cod.  Hey - I only bought or mooched three.  I thought that showed great restraint.  After spending time looking at the cape on Google Earth, I mentioned to Candleman that we really need to spend a week there.  Plans are cheap - we have a million vacation spots planned.

Anyway, back to the books.
Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Dying to Sea by Frank Heavey

Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark

I read this one years ago, but I remember liking it better than most of Clark's, and I liked Clark a lot in those days.  Still read each new book as it comes out.  Since this was on the Cape Cod list and since I'm going there someday, I thought it would be worth a reread.

Win The Holy Bullet

by Luis Miguel Rocha

I did not finish this book.  I just couldn't keep track of what was happening.  There was a lot of jumping around in time and place.  I had the feeling the author was well educated  in the subject matter and the history of the Catholic Church.  He often threw in delectable tidbits of information that, though interesting, caused my mind to wander from the main story.   I tried to keep reading, but I felt lost most of the time.  Perhaps it's all that multi-tasking that 'they' say interferes with our focusing skills. I know my focusing skills are minimal at best.  I don't know but I finally said, "Enough!"

My loss could be a win for you.  Since this was an ARC I feel responsible for reading it and since I couldn't I'd like to pass it on to someone else.  I have seen some good reviews and suspect that someone willing to make the effort would be well satisfied.

If you would like your name thrown into the hat to win this book just leave me a comment saying you'd like to win.  This drawing ends on Aug. 9.