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May 19, 2007

Balm in Gilead

I just finished Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Gilead" this last week. The novel is a set of letters (of sorts) written from an elderly father near the end of his life to his very young son (he had his son when he was mid-60's). And I thought the book was absolutely brilliant. There is no "plot" in any traditional sense, but simply an elderly man (John Ames) - who has been a pastor of a small church in the rural midwest all his life - reflecting back on his life and on the present as his lasting testimony to his son. But you read the novel to get to know him, and his struggles and growth even at this late stage in life.
There are a lot of pitfalls for a writer taking on such a book: the possibility of being too sappy from the father-son perspective, or too preachy from his reflections on his work. And sometimes there were hints of the latter, but even these were so in line with what one expects from this man that they didn't bother me at all.
But the draw of the book, its power and interest, is in the writing. Robinson is an absolutely brilliant writer - clear, concise, and entirely convincing from start to finish. The opening paragraph is one of the best I have ever read and I was entirely taken up into this man's reflections from there. It was thoughtful without forfeiting simplicity, and I really appreciated it. If I were to ever try and write a novel (God forbid!), I fear that I would just be mimicking John Ames.
I was really sad to get to the end of the book and realize that I couldn't sit at the feet of John Ames anymore. I highly recommend it as a great literary read. Not a page-turner like Grisham or something, so don't expect that. But an immensely rich read from an obviously masterful writer.

Posted by j and b at 09:18 PM | Comments (4)

May 07, 2007

And life goes on

One of the best parts about working in the U.K. is all the holidays you get. Americans usually average around 2 weeks in a year of paid holiday. Brits get at least 4 weeks and, depending on where you work, that may not include all the bank holidays. Today is May Day - the first bank holiday in May - and I'm loving having the whole entire day to myself. Nothing planned, nowhere to go...
We've finally found a place to move to at the end of May. Yep, we're moving again! We couldn't sign another year lease for where we are now and needed to find a place that would give us a 6-month lease. So we're relocating down the street - only a 4 minute walk from where we are now. It's a nice place - very small, quite cozy, and, best of all, comes with a fireplace surrounded by built in bookshelves. Should be a good place to finish up our stint in St Andrews.
And Josh is on track to finish in the autumn. We're hoping for a September submission...His current trouble is lessening the word count. I think that's ironic considering my husband is generally a man of few words.
In other news, I have finished Lymond. I look to George Eliot and Kazuo Ichiguro to comfort me but alas, I'm afraid there is no cure.

Posted by j and b at 01:16 PM | Comments (4)