Several of us at the library have been reading Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman. I loved the book, and I think it would make a great book club selection. The story begins with the wedding of two young people in Maine--the groom a native Mainer and the bride a summer-only resident. On the way from the wedding ceremony to the reception the newlyweds are killed in a car accident. Now I am not giving anything away since this happens in the first couple of pages, and it is in the description of the book. The book is actually about the two very different families, and how the individual members deal with this tremendous loss. There had always been friction between the families because of their difference in circumstances: highly educated vs. not, year round residents vs. not, and financial security vs. you get the picture. Oddly enough I didn't find this book depressing though I was leery at the beginning. The contentious point among our staff is who is more irksome Jane or Iris? I am firmly on the Iris side, and just found Jane to be a stoic Mainer. Here is a quote from the book that seems to sum up Iris: (this is Ruthie, Iris' younger daughter, contemplating going back to school for a degree in Library Science, and dreading her Mother's reaction) "She knew exactly how Iris would regard such a career path: true intellectuals, true lovers of literature and of books, did not become librarians, they became scholars." Enough said! Read the book and let's talk.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Jane vs. Iris
Several of us at the library have been reading Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman. I loved the book, and I think it would make a great book club selection. The story begins with the wedding of two young people in Maine--the groom a native Mainer and the bride a summer-only resident. On the way from the wedding ceremony to the reception the newlyweds are killed in a car accident. Now I am not giving anything away since this happens in the first couple of pages, and it is in the description of the book. The book is actually about the two very different families, and how the individual members deal with this tremendous loss. There had always been friction between the families because of their difference in circumstances: highly educated vs. not, year round residents vs. not, and financial security vs. you get the picture. Oddly enough I didn't find this book depressing though I was leery at the beginning. The contentious point among our staff is who is more irksome Jane or Iris? I am firmly on the Iris side, and just found Jane to be a stoic Mainer. Here is a quote from the book that seems to sum up Iris: (this is Ruthie, Iris' younger daughter, contemplating going back to school for a degree in Library Science, and dreading her Mother's reaction) "She knew exactly how Iris would regard such a career path: true intellectuals, true lovers of literature and of books, did not become librarians, they became scholars." Enough said! Read the book and let's talk.
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One other thing that bugged me: the cover, so attractive, shows an outdoor reception when the reader knows that they so lovingly decorated the INTERIOR of the grange hall for the reception! Some art director's choice for the cover, I assume: one who didn't read the book!
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