Recent Reads

112. The Heart's Invisible Furies
Here I go swimming against the tide again. I see why so many people love this one, but it fell short in some significant ways for me.

This story starts in rural Ireland where a pregnant teenager is dragged out of the church one Sunday and booted out of town. The first line or two of this novel is pretty compelling and I settled in for the ride. This novel starts in the 1940s and spans about sixty five years (give or take a few), and the author is clearly making a statement about Ireland's trajectory over the course of those years. The story is initially told from the POV of this young girl, but then switches to the child, Cyril Avery, who is adopted by a wealthy couple in Dublin, and the rest of the story is told from his perspective. Life in Ireland, or most of the world, was not a friendly place for an unmarried mother, let alone a boy who might be attracted to other boys. Over the course of this story, the author uses Cyril's life to explore some of these issues.

The writing itself is good, and there are some wonderful sentences that I read again to savor the imagery invoked. My biggest complaint is that this book is all tell, tell, tell, and no show. This happened, then this, then this. Dramatic and tragic events all seem to happen of-page, and that might have worked if we got to dive into the depths of emotional turbulence these events caused, but at no point that does happen. So that left me looking into a life through a very thick pane of glass where the characters were not fully fleshed out, and I couldn't connect emotionally with them. The actual issues brought up are all important and there has been much suffering in Ireland and throughout the world because people insist on labels and boxes and everyone being the same, and I appreciated that the author exposed these issues to a reading public that might not know these stories. I however struggled with reading tragic events that didn't really make me feel anything. I didn't really know or care about these characters as they didn't seem real, but rather like props to express observations the author wanted to make. In terms of actual plot, the sheer number of coincidences boggle the mind, and it was hard to suspend disbelief. Yes, it's a small world in some ways, but not this small.

This is the first book I've read by the author and while I liked his writing, I'm reluctant to pick up any of his other books, because from what I can tell they all have some serious issues at their core, and unless he dives deeply emotionally I doubt they'll work for me.

If you have yet to read it, I would highly recommend And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. Yes, it's non-fiction, but you will not be able to put it down. Rating: 3 stars.

113. Another Brooklyn
There are times when I wonder if the world will ever be a safe place for every girl and woman in it.

What is memory? This novella is a bit like watching a beautifully filmed old fashioned movie of your childhood. Not on DVD. I'm talking about movies on those reels where the frames are a tad jerky, and every now and then a frame bubbles up and burns out. I guess you have to be of a certain age to understand that reference, but I also think you have to be of a certain age to appreciate the wonder of this book. If you are looking for a straight forward linear story this is not for you. Like memory, this weaves moments in time, beauty, tragedy, and the trails and joys of growing up. This is not a story, but a long poem about girlhood, and I loved every minute with it. The only reason I docked a star is the length felt too short and I wanted more, but maybe that's the very point the author is making.

I listened to the audiobook which is wonderfully narrated by Robin Miles. I highly recommend this one on audio as you really get to hear the poetry in the telling. Rating: 4 stars.

114. Paper Girls, Vol. 2
I continue to be both amused and confused with this graphic novel series. I quite like these girls, and the time travel plot problems are fun to think about. What would your 12 year old self think about you if they stumbled across you in town one day? Questions like these give the reader much to think about, though the story itself is a bit garbled, but maybe that's just the effects of time travel. The art is fun and colorful, and I'll continue with the series to see where all this craziness is headed. Rating: 3 stars.