The Girl in the Italian Bakery
by Kenneth M. Tingle
Always intrigued by all things Italian and baked, I chose this book strictly based off the title. It was NOTHING like I expected!
The Girl...is a memoir, of a life that is tattered and broken.
Kenneth, the lead character, lives with his mother, a single mother, and has an absent father who is very open about not having any time for the boys. The boys move from tenement to housing project to apartment, always on the move. We follow Kenneth and his brothers Gary and Tommy (who had mental issues), through their childhood of violence, trouble, and dysfunction.
The book, to me, was difficult to read - very wordy in some cases, with too much detail. But it wasn't a BAD book, it was very interesting.
The Girl is actually a girl, working in an Italian bakery, who he sees from afar. He never gets to talk to her, although he thinks he sees her at various point throughout the book. She comes to symbolize his "missed opportunity".
In the end of the book, Kenneth comes to find God. Having hit his low point, he literally opens a Bible and finds in it the answer to life. He realizes that everything in his life has been for a purpose. Has gotten him to this point.
So while the book wasn't the best I've read, it was a great ending- a good-for-you lesson in life.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
The Dry Grass of August
The Dry Grass of August, by Anna Jean Mayhew
A story set in the 1950s, The Dry Grass of August tackles the difficult issues surrounding integration, and prejudice in the deep south. I love the story from the perspective of Jubie, a white teenager, who has a beautiful love for her black maid. Life for them in North Carolina is very different than the deep south, and on a visit to an uncle's home in Florida, Jubie sees it in person. She starts to see the increasing prejudice on the car ride, at hotels, in restaurants, everywhere. Her mother continues to do all she can to make sure the maid is treated fairly, but society doesn't make it easy.
There is an undercurrent of trouble in the family at home, and the road trip is made without Jubie's father. Upon arrival at her uncle's house, we find that her uncle is divorced, a single father, and throughout the story, the threads of that plot unravel.
But the heartwarming, and eventually heartbreaking plot intertwined with the family issues is that of Mary, the maid, and her place in the family and in society. On the return trip, tragedy strikes, or rather society strikes, and the family is turned upside down.
We as readers get to watch Jubie grow throughout the book, because of the issues in her family, as well as what she is exposed to with Mary, and her transformation is beautiful.
While this book has similar undertones to The Help, it is much more than just that. We see the view from that of a teenager, who has her own thoughts and opinions, and is shocked and hurt by society. It is a beautifully written book, a quick read, one I didn't want to put down!
A story set in the 1950s, The Dry Grass of August tackles the difficult issues surrounding integration, and prejudice in the deep south. I love the story from the perspective of Jubie, a white teenager, who has a beautiful love for her black maid. Life for them in North Carolina is very different than the deep south, and on a visit to an uncle's home in Florida, Jubie sees it in person. She starts to see the increasing prejudice on the car ride, at hotels, in restaurants, everywhere. Her mother continues to do all she can to make sure the maid is treated fairly, but society doesn't make it easy.
There is an undercurrent of trouble in the family at home, and the road trip is made without Jubie's father. Upon arrival at her uncle's house, we find that her uncle is divorced, a single father, and throughout the story, the threads of that plot unravel.
But the heartwarming, and eventually heartbreaking plot intertwined with the family issues is that of Mary, the maid, and her place in the family and in society. On the return trip, tragedy strikes, or rather society strikes, and the family is turned upside down.
We as readers get to watch Jubie grow throughout the book, because of the issues in her family, as well as what she is exposed to with Mary, and her transformation is beautiful.
While this book has similar undertones to The Help, it is much more than just that. We see the view from that of a teenager, who has her own thoughts and opinions, and is shocked and hurt by society. It is a beautifully written book, a quick read, one I didn't want to put down!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Rebooting My Brain
Rebooting My Brain, How a Freak Aneurysm Reframed My Life, by Maria Ross
Two years ago, my best friend almost died in a car accident, and to this day continues to live and recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI). She found this book, and insisted I read it as well. I have never read a book that touched me so closely. Ross is brutally open and honest with her experiences as well as those of her husband, family, and friends.
Ross's life at the time of the aneurysm is rising quickly, a relatively new marriage, move to a new city, launching a new company. When all of a sudden, her life stops. Literally. A freak aneurysm (she is young,fit, and healthy) puts her into the ICU, fighting for her life.
The counts of her fights with daily chores as she recovers brought tears to my eyes, as I see the parallels to my own friend's life. All of the frustrations she's had in her recovery, the anxiety, fatigue, emotional overload....the roller coaster of improvements and setbacks....all of it. As I read, I could only imagine what it had meant to my friend as SHE read it. The AHA moments she must have had...
Ross's humor and insight bring TBI to an understandable, and manageable level. For anyone who has been touched by TBI, either themselves or through someone in their life, this book is a must read. And honestly, it is so well written, that anyone would enjoy it.
Two years ago, my best friend almost died in a car accident, and to this day continues to live and recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI). She found this book, and insisted I read it as well. I have never read a book that touched me so closely. Ross is brutally open and honest with her experiences as well as those of her husband, family, and friends.
Ross's life at the time of the aneurysm is rising quickly, a relatively new marriage, move to a new city, launching a new company. When all of a sudden, her life stops. Literally. A freak aneurysm (she is young,fit, and healthy) puts her into the ICU, fighting for her life.
The counts of her fights with daily chores as she recovers brought tears to my eyes, as I see the parallels to my own friend's life. All of the frustrations she's had in her recovery, the anxiety, fatigue, emotional overload....the roller coaster of improvements and setbacks....all of it. As I read, I could only imagine what it had meant to my friend as SHE read it. The AHA moments she must have had...
Ross's humor and insight bring TBI to an understandable, and manageable level. For anyone who has been touched by TBI, either themselves or through someone in their life, this book is a must read. And honestly, it is so well written, that anyone would enjoy it.
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