Someone Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage

"We left San Francisco that morning even though your mother was sick. It was a pretty day, the sun shimmering like a gypsy girl's tambourine."


Title: Someone Else's Daughter
Author: Elizabeth Brundage
ISBN: 9780452295377
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)/2009
Pages: 352

The novel opens with a father's letter to his daughter, who he had given up for adoption. Nate Gallagher and Cat are in no state to look after the baby girl Willa, named after the famous author Willa Cather. Nate and Cat are drifters and Cat is sick with AIDS and thinks that only right thing she can do is giving Willa a good life by giving her up for adoption into a good family. Nate, although reluctant at first, knows the practicality of it and agrees.

Joe and Candace Golding are a prosperous couple in Massachussetts Berkshires, and love Willa even though their relationship is not the very best. They too have a past and wouldn't like it to be revealed in the society they live. Willa studies in Pioneer School, which is an elite private school.

Clair, an artist comes back to the town along with her son, Teddy. She too has a past and seems to have lost out in love. Joe is strongly attracted to her. They are complete opposites and their affair only makes Joe see reason and strengthens him for working towards his marriage with Candace, who has always known about his affairs but turned a blind eye. The headmaster of the elite school Jack Heath and his wife Maggie seem like an upright couple but nothing could be farther from the truth. Maggie is scared that their past might be revealed and they be thrown out of the town.

Nate Gallagher, now a much cleaned up teacher and a wannabe writer, arrives into town by taking a teaching post in that school as he has a strong desire see his daughter. Willa starts her community internship training in a women's shelter and is forced to face some truths she has not envisioned till date. There she meets a hooker Petra and forms some sort of friendship with her.

In this apparently happy small town, when tragedy strikes, everything thing crumbles down. Things come to an head and each one is left to ponder over his/her behaviour and individuality. They must make some choices.
With very realistic portrayal of the various characters, who are not black or white but rather grey, Brundage manages to create a gripping novel, with so plausible a setting. The suspense simply takes us in and the psychologial aspect comes forth very well. Each and every character is well etched. Willa, Joe, Clair and Nate and also the now dead Cat, stay in mind long after.

What I really liked about this novel is the way the learning disorder Dyslexia, is covered here. No surprises there, as I am teacher! No way, it is a depressing novel. The end is fitting and very uplifting. I am going to look out for Brundage's first novel, The Doctor's Wife and anything else she writes.

Also reviewed by :

Jen at Devourer of Books
Michelle at 1 More Chapter
The Friendly Book Nook
Swapna at S. Krishna's Books
Shana at Literarily
Elizabeth at I need more bookshelves
Kristie of Kristie loves books

the nine planets by Edward Riche

Title: the nine planets

Author: Edward Riche
ISBN: 0670044563
Publisher: Viking Canada/2004
Pages: 302

Give a brief summary of the book:

Marty Devereaux is the vice-principal of The Read Pines, which is an exclusive private school but in a remote part of Newfoundland. Mart wishes for it it to be well known. The Principal of the school is involved in a ecological crusade which kind of alienates those interested in investing in the school to take education globally. Also Marty is involved with the music teacher Sophie. However, his foolishness drives a wedge between them. On top of that, Marty is asked to look over Cathy, his niece, who does not think much about him. She is a quiet teenager, who lives in a world of her own. But their paths are always crossing.

Likes:

As a teacher, I liked the interaction of Marty with the teachers, students and parents. He is detached and keeps his cool. He is obssessed with global marketing of education for The Red Pines. He wants it to be well known. There is wit and humour at every step which sustains the reader when the novel gets a bit heavy. Marty is not vey close to his brother, Rex, sister-in-law meredith and niece Cathy but he is kind of always there when they need him.

Dislikes:

The book drags in the middle. I found it repetitive at places. I had to skip a few pages.

Additional Thoughts:

Despite the wit and humour, it is not a light read. It covers relevant issues, reflective of our society. It is satire on the whole system, be it family, love, letters, or education. There are poignant moments too which brings us closer to the main characters. I recommend this book for all those teachers, educators and parents. Students too. Not for those who like books with happy endings.

Larry's Party by Carol Shields

By mistake Larry Weller took someone else's Harris tweed jacket instead of his own, and it wasn't till he jammed his hand in the pocket that he knew something was wrong.


Title: Larry's Party
Author: Carol Shields
ISBN: 0670873926
Publisher: Penguin Books/1997
Pages: 339

This book opens in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with Larry at 26 years of age ruminating over the tweed coat he is wearing. This particular one does not belong to him but got exchanged by mistake at a cafe. We can almost hear him aloud about his thoughts on the coat.

Right from the beginning, Larry is an ordinary guy, confused, lost and somewhat like us, with a regular life. He has a girl friend, Dorrie, whom he marries soon after. On their Honeymoon, he comes across a maze and it becomes his passion to design mazes. He leaves everything to realise his dreams and all through this, he has two broken marriages and one son.

At one glance, this book has not much to offer. It is about a very normal guy who is just like one of us and his life's path goes somewhat like ours. There ends the analogy. In its simplicity, it endears Larry to us. A guy who seems so lacking in ambition is suddenly found passionate about building mazes. He spends days, months, years developing it. His thoughts and imagination grows leaps and bounds. He has this burning zeal to learn, be it the languages or about mazes. His love for flowers does not diminish but it helps him grow in other directions. He is not lacking in his ambition as it is initially thought. The mazes he builds becomes symbolic. It is the maze that his life has become. He is a good loving person. Still he has been twice divorced.

The party he throws in the end shows him what he truly desires but still he has a long way to go to come out of the maze called life, to find the peace within himself. Vignettes of Larry's life becomes our own vignettes, his slices of life are what we undergo at each moment. And that is what holds it..along with the mazes....the metaphor for life. I am not saying everyone is going to love this book, but it is one worth giving a try. Carol Shields is one author to read, if only at least once. Next on my list is The Stone Diaries.