I am so glad that I started 2022 with this book! The retelling of the Greek myths with Stephen Fry’s own brand of humor and wit is interesting, informI am so glad that I started 2022 with this book! The retelling of the Greek myths with Stephen Fry’s own brand of humor and wit is interesting, informative and entertaining. I am no expert on Greek mythology but have developed a keen interest after reading a number of recent retellings. So, naturally, I had to pick up Stephen Fry’s series and I am so happy that I did.
From Chaos to Kronos, Zeus and beyond , Mythos by Stephen Fry holds you in its thrall. The stories are interspersed with historical facts and tidbits about the origins of the names of familiar places and etymology of certain words used in modern day English. The author also adds footnotes referencing text, poetry and other art forms that have been inspired by some of these myths as well as scientific facts. My favorite parts would the segments pertaining to the Titanomachy, Prometheus, Eros and Psyche and Arion and the Dolphin. I found the myths pertaining to the sting of the bee, the arachnid’s web and the stories behind the constellations particularly interesting.
The edition itself is a beautiful copy (I read the US hardcover edition) and the featured classical artwork is a stunning addition to the beautifully penned yet accessible prose .After hearing so much praise about the audiobook, I decided to alternate between reading and listening, often indulging in immersive reading and I was not disappointed. Stephen Fry’s narration makes these Gods, Goddesses, demigods and the mortals they encounter come alive. These are timeless tales of love, lust, jealousy, power struggles and so much more, some more enticing than the others but all definitely worth the time invested (and this is a book that should not be rushed through!). Looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series!...more
Reading “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” written and beautifully illu“This is a book for everyone, eighty or eight-”
I agree wholeheartedly!
Reading “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” written and beautifully illustrated by Charlie Mackesy is a moving, inspiring and comforting experience . Expressed through short and sweet conversations between four unlikely friends - the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, the author touches upon themes of kindness, friendship, self–acceptance and life in general. The handwritten and hand-illustrated format gives this book a personal and intimate feel reminiscent of some of the fables and stories we read as children (and still love and enjoy!). This is a very short read and I reread this book a few times before I finally put it down.
After reading and rereading the book, I took the time to listen to the audiobook and I am so happy that I did! Even if you are not a fan of audiobooks, I would suggest pairing your reading with the audio narration. The author’s narration is calm, soothing and simply brilliant. With the backdrop of soulful music and real wildlife sounds, this was a magical immersive experience I shall definitely revisit.
Simply put, this is a special book that you would want to share with your near and dear ones. I certainly will!...more
In the Indian epic, The Ramayana, Queen Kaikeyi is portrayed as a jealous queen who wants her son Bharata to ascend the throne of Kosala and uses the
In the Indian epic, The Ramayana, Queen Kaikeyi is portrayed as a jealous queen who wants her son Bharata to ascend the throne of Kosala and uses the boons granted to her by her husband King Dasharath to send Rama , the eldest of Dasharath’s sons and first in line to the throne, into exile . She is , therefore, labeled a “villain” as is her trusted maid, Manthara who is instrumental in fueling Kaikeya’s jealousy and convincing Kaikeye to make use of her boons to further her agenda.
In reimagining Kaikeyi’s story, Vaishnavi Patel adds much depth to this powerful, brave and influential woman who, forsaken by the gods and left to carve her own destiny emerges powerful in a day and age when men rule in accordance with the will of the gods and women are bound in roles defined by age-old traditions and relegated, in most part, to the background. Told in a first person narrative format we follow Kaikeye’s journey from her early years as the only daughter of King Ashwapati and sister to seven brothers in the kingdom of Kekaya to becoming King Dasharath’s third and youngest wife, loving mother to Bharata, her biological son,and Rama, Lakshmana and Shatrugna, Dasharath’s children by his other queens through to the role she plays in Rama’s exile. Kaikeyi, whose mother was banished by her father who for the most part ignored his daughter , finds a way to train as a warrior with the help of her twin brother Yudhajit and masters in the art of meditation after discovering magical powers in the scrolls of ancient texts. She is observant and intelligent and proves a worth ally and advisor to her husband King Dasharath even in the battlefield where she joins him as his charioteer. Kaikeyi’s bravery on the battlefield, thirst for knowledge, determination to bring about change in the way women of all ranks are viewed and treated , the way she holds her own against the archaic, orthodox beliefs of the sages, her rise to the rank of a minister in the King’s court and ultimately the ‘saciva’ to her King and husband are described with a reverence that is her due. Her agony, when forced to make difficult choices that she knows will vilify her in the eyes of everyone she hold dear, is palpable. Vaishnavi Patel's Kaikeye, the queen, is much more than daughter, sister, wife, mother or villain. She is complex and flawed but she will be seen and heard and in that she is a force to be reckoned with. Her emotions are strong as is her resolve to do whatever it takes to protect her kingdom and her children. Her asexuality is a theme that is explored with great respect and sensitivity as is her bond with her husband.
Kaikeyi’s story would be incomplete without Manthara and I applaud the author for the manner in which she portrays Manthara as a mother figure, guide and confidante. Manthara plays a significant role in showing Kaikeyi firsthand how the women in the kingdom are treated by their male counterparts thereby motivating Kaikeyi to fight for the visibility of women – in the marketplace, in their homes and in the court, an achievement that causes ripples within her own circle but whose impact is felt in lands near and far.
With its vivid imagery, absorbing narrative and masterful storytelling Vaishnavi Patel’s Kaikeyi is a brilliant debut. The very first sentence of the narrative reeled me in and I was completely immersed in Kaikeyi’s story till the very end. I felt nostalgic revisiting these characters and stories. I was constantly reminded of the stories I’ve heard and read as a child. I would recommend this to anyone one who enjoys retellings/reimaginings of mythological stories revolving around strong, female characters and those with an interest in the Indian epics. This novel is brilliant on its own merit though I do feel that knowing a little bit about The Ramayana would enrich the reading experience. While The Ramayana will always be known as the story of Lord Rama, Vaishnavi Patel’s immersive and powerful debut gives Kaikeyi her own story told in her own voice. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the digital ARC of this stunningly beautiful novel in exchange for an honest review....more
Having read and loved A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes I was eagerly looking forward to reading Pandora’s Jar : Women in the Greek My rating: 4.5⭐️
Having read and loved A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes I was eagerly looking forward to reading Pandora’s Jar : Women in the Greek Myths and I was not disappointed!
The author describes Greek myths as “protean” stating that they operate in different timelines- the one in which they are set and the timelines of the subsequent versions and retellings. Each chapter in this book is devoted to a female character from the Greek myths and the author draws from multiple sources to discuss how these characters have been presented, represented and interpreted over the years. Chapters are dedicated to Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, The Amazons, Clytemnestra, Eurydice, Phaedra, Medea and Penelope. Popular opinion and numerous translators and interpreters have defined these women and their roles in the myths -whether regarded as famous or infamous, labeled and judged as good (Penelope) or bad (Clytemnestra) and in many cases, held responsible for events that had more powerful forces at play (Medusa, Pandora, Helen) or marginalized and relegated to the background in the role of mother or wife (Jocasta), all the while waxing eloquent about the heroic exploits of their male counterparts. But as Haynes explains it, these women are so much more than a unidimensional presence in those stories, the narrative perspectives of which may differ depending upon the writer, narrator or translator. The author provides a broad overview of how these characters have been depicted in not only literature but art, theatre, music and film and the ensuing discussion of how and why these depictions and interpretations vary makes for an absorbing read.
Haynes references the works of Hesiod, Homer, Ovid, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles and other sources while also eloquently describing some surviving antiquarian artifacts and relatively newer artwork (paintings, sculptures etc) depicting the characters and scenes from the various versions of the Greek myths. The child friendly versions of the myths as presented by Nathaniel Hawthorne or Roger Lancelyn Green are also discussed in the context of how authors choose to whitewash the not-so-heroic exploits of popular heroes in order to emphasize the virtues of said character. I also enjoyed the more contemporary references interspersed in the discussions ranging from cinematic renderings such as Clash of the Titans and the more recent Wonder Woman franchise to how the myths have influenced select works of Dame Agatha Christie as well as characters and episodes from Star Trek or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and even Beyonce.
It should be noted that Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths is not a retelling or reimagining of the myths in the strictest terms but an insightful exploration into the different versions of the characters that have been presented through the ages. Smart, witty, engaging and brilliantly researched, Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes is a joy to read for fans of Greek mythology and especially those with an interest in learning more about the women in the myths. I loved the details of the art and artifacts described in each of the chapters and wished that there could have been more pictures embedded with the text. I found myself looking these up on the internet and that truly enriched my reading experience. Not only does Natalie Haynes explore how and why these women and their stories have been defined the way they have but in doing so also motivates you to question your own observations understanding of the women (and the men) in the Greek myths. While I enjoyed all the chapters in the book, I have to mention that those devoted to Pandora, Medusa and The Amazons were my favorites.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for providing a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Set in AD 74, Elodie Harper’s The Wolf Den is the story of Amara , a prostitute in the lupanar of Pompeii. Amara was not born into slavery. The only cSet in AD 74, Elodie Harper’s The Wolf Den is the story of Amara , a prostitute in the lupanar of Pompeii. Amara was not born into slavery. The only child of a Greek doctor in the city of Aphidnai (“Twelfth city of Attica, once the home of Helen of Troy”), she is an educated and intelligent girl whose fortunes were reversed after her father's demise. Sold as a house slave by her mother, she was forced into the life of a concubine before being sold to Felix, who changes her name to Amara and puts her to work as a prostitute in his brothel, The Wolf Den, in the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii.
“Nobody in Pompeii has ever dared ask her this. It’s the last remnant of privacy, of self, that a slave who was once freeborn possesses. Their real name.”
She becomes one of the “she-wolves” subject to the brutality and perversion of the men she is required to entertain in the course of her enslavement. Her clients vary from those she picks up in the street to those whose affluent parties she is made to attend. She shares a complicated dynamic with Felix and a sisterhood with the other prostitutes owned by Felix , especially Dido to whom she feels the closest. Despite the petty jealousies and rivalry that crops up from time to time, the she-wolves are a close-knit group who share their traumas, joy, pain, hopes and dreams. They support each other in doing whatever they need to do to survive. Amara dreams of a day when she would save enough from her earnings to buy back her freedom. Even amid the humiliation, pain, and heartache she endures , she relies on her instincts and intelligence to create and utilize opportunities that would bring her closer to her goals. The narrative follows Amara in her attempt to evolve from a victim of circumstance to a resourceful woman who rewrites her own story in a world that is not kind to women in her position (or women, in general) and where most men would rather exploit than assist and kindness is hard to find. Will she be able to find her way out of this life and away from Felix's manipulation ? What (or who) would she have to lose or sacrifice in order to fulfill her dreams?
“She takes her sprig in both hands, crushing it to release the scent. May men fall to me as this offering falls to you, Greatest Aphrodite. May I know love’s power, if never its sweetness. Amara drops her mangled garland on the ever-growing pile of heaped offerings from the desperate whores of Pompeii.”
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is an exquisitely written novel that blends historical fact (The Lupanar of Pompeii can be found in the ruins of the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii) and fiction, with an absorbing narrative and strong characterization. The realistic depiction of the characters and their relationships and the vivid imagery used to describe the daily lives of the people, the streets and shops in the vibrant city, the religious festivities and the frescos and graffiti in the lupanar transports you to Amara’s world. I enjoyed the references to Greek and Roman mythology (especially in the context of religious beliefs of that period). I felt invested in Amara’s story from the very first page and rooted for her as she attempted to navigate her way through the challenges on her journey, rejoicing in her small victories and sharing in her pain over her numerous setbacks. However, this is not a book I would recommend to everybody. It is not easy to read about the sexual and physical violence that these women have to endure despite it being integral to the plot of the novel. To the author’s credit, she has exercised considerable restraint and has emphasized the cruelty of the acts rather than go into unnecessary graphic descriptions of the same. Overall, this is a compelling novel that I found hard to put down and a story that will stay with me for a long time. I am glad that the author is not done sharing Amara’s story and eagerly look forward to the next installment in The Wolf Den Trilogy.
“Being free. What does it feel like?” What did it feel like to be Timarete? Amara’s past life blazes into her mind’s eye, with all its love, innocence and hope. “When you see a bird flying,” she says, “that moment when it chooses to swoop lower or soar higher, when there’s nothing but air stopping it, that’s what freedom feels like.”...more
“What it was like to leave Earth: A rapid ascent over the green-and-blue world, then the world was blotted out all at once by clouds. The atmosphere t“What it was like to leave Earth: A rapid ascent over the green-and-blue world, then the world was blotted out all at once by clouds. The atmosphere turned thin and blue, the blue shaded into indigo, and then — it was like slipping through the skin of a bubble — there was black space.”
In 1912, eighteen-year-old Edwin St. Andrew finds himself crossing the Atlantic after being exiled by his aristocratic family in England on account of his disparaging remarks on colonialism at his family’s dinner table. His travels take him to Canada and eventually he lands in the settlement in Caitte. Here, one day while walking in the woods, he experiences “a flash of darkness, like sudden blindness or an eclipse. He has an impression of being in some vast interior, something like a train station or a cathedral, and there are notes of violin music, there are other people around him, and then an incomprehensible sound” - an unnatural experience he shares in a letter to his family. In the summer of 1994, thirteen-year-old Vincent Smith is walking through the same woods recording her surroundings on video – a recording that her composer brother shares accompanied with his background score during a 2020 performance in New York City – a video that has a glitch- sudden darkness accompanied by violin music, a "whoosh” sound, a “dim cacophony”- that lasts a few moments. In the year 2203, an author by the name of Olive Llewellyn, a resident of the second moon colony, travels to Earth on a book tour to promote her post-apocalyptic novel, "Marienbad" which revolves around a pandemic. A passage in her novel describes one of her characters who, while traveling through Oklahoma City Airship Terminal stops to listen to a violinist and experiences “a fleeting hallucination of forest, fresh air, trees rising around him, a summer’s day”.
An anomaly? A glitch in a simulated reality? A file corruption? A break in reality? Are discrete realities bleeding into each other?
In the year 2401, Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a security professional employed with the Grand Luna Hotel in the first moon colony - is hired by the Time Institute and is assigned to investigate these unnatural occurrences . Gaspery travels back and forth through time and space , visiting and revisiting the people and the places, witnessing the mysterious events. He meets the son of the aristocrat, the brother and a close friend of the young girl who recorded the video and the author who admits her passage was based on an experience she had traveling through the same terminal. He also finds a fourth individual – the violinist Alan Sami whose music features in those visions. In the course of his travels, he comprehends the fragility of time travel and the ripples that any anomaly can create and finds it increasingly difficult to exercise the “almost inhuman level of detachment” that is required of him on his mission knowing that any manipulation of the timeline will bring with it dire consequences for himself.
A lot is going on in this relatively short novel (my ebook was 252 pages long) but the author’s narrative is structured such that it never feels rushed or too heavy. The author combines themes of time travel, life-threatening pandemics, space travel and other futuristic elements in a tightly woven narrative. The speculative /sci-fi elements are presented in a light and uncomplicated manner and strike a fine balance with the human element of the novel and the themes of family, survival, hope and humanity. Initially, the multiple threads of this novel may seem a tad disjointed, but the author does a marvelous job building up the suspense and brings everything together with a surprising revelation at the end. I also found the discussion (from the perspective of Olive Llewellyn) on the factors that influence the popularity of post-apocalyptic fiction quite interesting.
“I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we’re living at the climax of the story. It’s a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we’re uniquely important, that we’re living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it’s ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world.”
I fell in love with Emily St. John Mandel’s writing after reading Station Eleven– a feeling that was reinforced after reading The Glass Hotel. Naturally, my expectations were high for Sea of Tranquility. With masterful storytelling , themes that resonate and concise and straightforward prose in a well-paced narrative that keeps you turning pages till the very end, Sea of Tranquility does not disappoint! There are references to events and characters from The Glass Hotel and Olive Llewellyn’s novel "Marienbad" appears to be similar to the author’s Station Eleven .Though I feel reading The Glass Hotel prior to this novel would enrich the reading experience, Sea of Tranquility can be enjoyed as a standalone novel for those who have not read The Glass Hotel . I was thrilled to receive a skip-the-line loan from my local library! I promptly set aside my other 'current'reads and finished this book in a day. I know it is only April but I am confident that this novel will feature among my top 10 reads of 2022!...more
“How many children had this happened to? How many children were like me, floating like plankton in the wide ocean? I thought how tenuous the links wer“How many children had this happened to? How many children were like me, floating like plankton in the wide ocean? I thought how tenuous the links were between mother and children, between friends, family, things you think are eternal. Everything could be lost, more easily than anyone could imagine.”
Twelve-year-old Astrid Magnussen spends six years of her life in and out of foster homes (six foster homes and a state-funded home for those “returned”) after her selfish, manipulative mother, Ingrid, a free-spirited poet, is sent to jail for killing her lover.
Astrid’s feelings for her mother are conflicted. While her memories often take her back to happier times spent with her mother, Astrid cannot help but blame her mother for her present state and all the pain she has had to endure. In intermittent letters and the few visits with her mother in prison, Astrid recognizes her mother’s inability and unwillingness to comprehend the impact her actions have had on Astrid, to the extent that her cellmate wrote to Astrid telling her to only share happier moments in her letters as reading about Astrid’s difficulties makes her mother sad. Ingrid initially does not come across as repentant while sharing her accomplishments as a poet with her daughter, her poems being published and circulated while in jail, “a jail-house Plath“, also gaining a strong and sympathetic following in the outside world. Her response to her daughter’s hardships is for the most part devoid of compassion or concern and her biting wisdom borders on cruel , especially considering that she is writing her own child who has had her life and dreams taken away from her for no fault of her own.
“Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness. Never hope to find people who will understand you, someone to fill that space. An intelligent, sensitive person is the exception, the very great exception. If you expect to find people who will understand you, you will grow murderous with disappointment. The best you'll ever do is to understand yourself, know what it is that you want, and not let the cattle stand in your way.”
“You are too nostalgic, you want memory to secure you, console you. The past is a bore. What matters is only oneself and what one creates from what one has learned. Imagination uses what it needs and discards the rest—where you want to erect a museum. Don’t hoard the past, Astrid. Don’t cherish anything. Burn it. The artist is the phoenix who burns to emerge.”
Over the next six years, Astrid’s life is a kaleidoscope of loneliness, rejection, negligence, jealousy, violence and inappropriate sexual relationships tempered with a few moments of kindness and kinship– moments, relationships, and hopes that never seem to stick, only adding to her misery and her sense of abandonment and loss.
“How easy I was. Like a limpet I attached to anything, anyone who showed me the least attention. I promised myself that when she returned, I would stay away, I would learn to be alone, it was better than the disappointment when you found it out anyway. Loneliness was the human condition, I had to get used to it.”
As the narrative progresses, Astrid grows and learns from her experiences. In the process of understanding and interpreting the world around her she channels her energy and emotions into her own creative pursuits. Though she learns to harden her heart, she does not completely lose herself, as we see in how she interacts with fellow foster students and how in her own way, though not quite in the manner she had hoped, she tries to find her place in the world. In her journey of self-discovery she also comes to terms with how she truly feels about her mother.
“I hated my mother but I craved her.”
Janet Fitch’s White Oleander paints a heart-wrenching picture of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. The white oleander flower, while of particular significance as a plot point in the beginning of the novel, is also symbolically woven into the narrative as it manifests-both in its beauty and its toxicity- in the human relationships so vividly described in this story. Written in 1999, this is the kind of novel that stands the test of time. Dark and depressing (some content might be disturbing for readers) but so beautifully written that it holds you in its thrall- the kind of story that stays with you. This is so much more than a coming-of-age story. With its brilliantly poetic and powerful writing, fluid narrative and memorable characters Janet Fitch’s "White Oleander" is a modern masterpiece. I hadn’t watched the movie because I wanted to read the book first. I might pass on the movie but will definitely revisit this book in the future.
“Nobody took me away, Mother. My hand never slipped from your grasp. That wasn’t how it went down. I was more like a car you’d parked while drunk, then couldn’t remember where you’d left it. You looked away for seventeen years and when you looked back, I was a woman you didn’t recognize. So now I was supposed to feel pity for you and those other women who’d lost their own children during a holdup, a murder, a fiesta of greed? Save your poet’s sympathy and find some better believer. Just because a poet said something didn’t mean it was true, only that it sounded good. Someday I’d read it all in a poem for the New Yorker.”...more
The Book of Form and Emptiness is an astonishingly beautiful novel written by Ruth Ozeki. At the heaWinner of The Women's Prize for Fiction 2022!
4.5⭐️
The Book of Form and Emptiness is an astonishingly beautiful novel written by Ruth Ozeki. At the heart of this novel are Benny Oh and his mother Annabelle who are reeling from the shock of Benny’s father’s untimely death in an accident. A young sensitive 12 year old boy , Benny starts hearing inanimate objects speaking to him with their voices cluttering his mind. His mother deals with her emotions by hoarding material possessions. Benny’s problems cause him to exhibit behavior that gets him into trouble at school and subsequently institutionalized more than once while Annabelle struggles with guilt, grief and loneliness while trying to hold her family together.
What sets this novel apart is the unique narrative shared by Benny and his Book (The Book) which is telling Benny’s story to help him recall details of his life and emerge from the shell he has wrapped himself in. As The Book tells Benny, “We have to be real, even if it hurts, and that’s your doing. That was your philosophical question, remember? What is real? Every book has a question at its heart, and that was yours. Once the question is asked, it’s our job to help you find the answer. So, yes, we’re your book, Benny, but this is your story. We can help you, but in the end, only you can live your life."
Themes of love, family, grief, substance abuse and mental health are touched upon with great compassion by the author. As the narrative progresses, the author paints a compelling portrait of how our interpersonal relationships are impacted by the importance we give to material belongings and the clutter we allow in our lives. Our inability to comprehend the “impermanence of form, and the empty nature of all things” often costs us our human connections.
The profound impact that books can have on our lives is a running theme in this novel and is eloquently expressed throughout the narrative. “Every person is trapped in their own particular bubble of delusion, and it’s every person’s task in life to break free. Books can help. We can make the past into the present, take you back in time and help you remember. We can show you things, shift your realities and widen your world, but the work of waking up is up to you.”
Adding to the depth of this novel are elements of magical realism and an interesting mix of characters such as the Zen Buddhist monk whose book on decluttering finds its way into Annabelle’s proximity, the European 'hobo’ Slavoj who befriends Benny in the library (the only place the voices are quiet and Benny finds some respite) and shares his wisdom and insight with him and a young teenage girl who calls herself The Aleph- ‘a gleaner, a freegan, an artist who worked with garbage’ who Benny meets while institutionalized.
The Book of Form and Emptiness is a complex, layered and lengthy novel that inspires pause and reflection. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend it....more
*I read this book for the first time in November 2021 and just finished rereading it (which is something I rarely do!). I was drawn back to it two day*I read this book for the first time in November 2021 and just finished rereading it (which is something I rarely do!). I was drawn back to it two days ago while rearranging my shelves. I loved it as much as I did the first time!
This Tender Land is a beautifully penned, heartwarming novel that transports you to the 1930s Midwest. The story, narrated by the older Odysseus O’Banion to his great grandchildren, starts with Odie ‘not quite thirteen’ and his brother Albert students at the Lincoln Indian Training School in a small town in Minnesota , the only two white boys in a school for Native American children run by the shady Brickmans. The children at the school are provided the bare minimum, punished cruelly for any mischief and are offered to the locals to use as free labor. Mrs. Brickman , referred to by the students as the Black Witch, seems to take particular pleasure in punishing Odie for any reason she deems fit.
A series of unfortunate incidents results in the death of one of the staff of the school and Odie , Albert, their mute Native American friend Mose and little Emmy , daughter of one of their favorite instructors who recently perished in a tornado, are compelled go on the run. Emmy’s “kidnapping” from the home of the Brickmans make local news and the children , the 'Vagabonds' as they refer to themselves are pursued by the police, the Brickmans and and everyone who is keen to collect the reward being offered for Emmy’s return.
The Vagabonds start their journey in a canoe along the Gilead River, intended destination being St. Louis. What follows is a series of adventures and misadventures that takes them through different towns ,meeting people from different walks of life- some kind , some not so much and ultimately for each of these children finding themselves and trying to comprehend what they want their lives to be like in the vast world outside the confines of their school. While they band together with love and loyalty towards each other they also realize that what they want from life, what drives them and what paths their lives might take will be different .They learn, they change and they grow – together and as individuals.
“With every turn of the river since I’d left Lincoln School, the world had become broader, its mysteries more complex, its possibilities infinite.”
It is commendable how the author has touched upon themes of faith and forgiveness without coming across as too preachy. Part coming-of-age, part historical fiction This Tender Land depicts the struggle of people in the Midwest trying to survive in the depression era. The author’s vivid description of the people, the towns and the dwellings of that time period transports you to that era. With engaging narrative, beautiful prose, vivid imagery and a diverse cast of characters, this is a story that will stay with me for a long time. I simply fell in love with the Vagabonds and their story. A magnificent novel , this book really touched my heart and for that I have to thank the author.
“Our eyes perceive so dimly, and our brains are so easily confused. Far better, I believe, to be like children and open ourselves to every beautiful possibility, for there is nothing our hearts can imagine that is not so.”...more
After his father's demise, Emmett Watson is driven home by the Warden after 15 months in a juvenile detention work farm. He decides to leave Nebraska After his father's demise, Emmett Watson is driven home by the Warden after 15 months in a juvenile detention work farm. He decides to leave Nebraska and drive to California with his younger brother Billy for a fresh start. Billy dreams of traveling the transcontinental Lincoln Highway as their mother had when she left them when they were younger. Old postcards sent in the course of her travels give Billy an idea of where she might be and he tries to convince his brother to follow the same route. The appearance of two of Emmett's friends Woolly and Duchess, who stowed away in the trunk of the Warden's car, results in a change of plans.
Emmett and Billy end up having to travel to New York after Duchess 'borrows' Emmett's car leaving them stranded in Lewis, Nebraska after a visit to an orphanage where Duchess's father had left him for some years before coming to collect him again. Sally, a family friend of Emmett and Billy, eventually joins them in New York.
Through multiple POVs Amor Towles takes us on a journey - not just on a road trip in the 1950s but on an exploration of these different characters , Emmett, Billy and, Woolly, Duchess and Sally - their stories and aspirations, their strengths and their flaws. The internal dialogue of each of these characters is extremely well written. The bond between Emmett and Billy is heartwarming. Emmett is a level headed young man who is trying to do his best for himself and his brother. He has learned from his past mistakes and genuinely looks forward to a better future. Billy, a child who seems wiser than his years with his big red book on heroes, is endearing in that he sees the best in everyone around him. He is a smart child, but unassuming and trusting(not quite discerning between an 'acquaintance' and a 'friend') and how his perspectives are broadened over the course of ten days is beautifully laid out for the reader to see. Duchess, at times, is the street smart one who knows how to fend for himself but at times is as vulnerable as can be and whose take on balancing his rights and wrongs may seem foolhardy and cause friction but the author gives so much dimension to his character that even though you might not like him at times you still want him to get a happy ending. Woolly comes from a privileged background but is all heart. He is quiet and introspective but takes joy in sharing stories with Billy. He revels in adventure and novel experiences with his friends. Sally is depicted as a willful young woman and a true friend to Emmett and Billy.
You feel so invested in these characters and the people they meet over the course of the ten days, that till the very last page and beyond you wonder where their adventures will take them. With its memorable characters and brilliant storytelling The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles is hard to put down!...more
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