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"Karel had never accustomed himself to the way a woman's joy and sorrow could sound so much same when given voice. He'd grown up around boys, in the midst of men, for whom pain was weathered in silence and pleasure announced in exaggerated groans of relief."
~Page 285
Title: The Wake of Forgiveness
Author: Bruce Machart
ISBN: 9780151014439
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/2010
Pages: 309
Based in Texas, this novel starts from 1895 and goes on to 1924 spanning almost 30 years. When a landowners fourth child is born, his wife dies. Karel, the child is hardly ever loved by his father. But his brothers do seem to love him. Karel often dreams of the mother he has never known and wishes for his father to love him, which does not happen.
Since a toddler, Karel is good with horses. Only while riding, Karel feels bonded to his father, who does his best not to encourage the boy. When a Spanish Landowner comes into town along with his daughters in tow, 15 year old Karel is made to race for the stakes of his family. It turns out that it is his brothers who gain but he is left alone with his father. And he gets estranged from his brothers. Fourteen years later, when tragedy strikes, Karel knows that he has to to make a move which might bring him and his brother closer to each other.
With horses, and racing and people whose life surrounds around the animals, this novel is captures the spirit of Texas of those times. Karel is not treated well by his father but we never see him hating his father. His father had made him and his brothers plow the fields due to which all of them have been permanently marked by the yoke. All this are a bonding factor between them. And when time comes for them to reconcile, they are only too eager to meet each other halfway through.
It goes back and forth, abut it does not distract us from the novel. Long after finishing it, the story, the characters stay in the mind. Especially Karel. After all, it is his story. The prose is wonderful, moving and well written.
Title: Remedies
Author: Kate Ledger
ISBN: 9780425234488
Publisher: Berkeley Books/2010
Pages: 384
After a LONG time, I finished a novel. And it feels good.
Remedies is set in Baltimore, where Simon Bears is practicing Doctor and his wife Emily is a partner in a Public Relations firm. They have a 13-year-old daughter, Jamie. On the surface everything seems to be going great for them. However, time has stood still for them since they lost their infant son 15 years ago. They are in a mode of denial about their relationship. And Jamie too is living under the shadow of her dead sibling, Caleb.
Simon Bears treats Chronic patients by trying to relieve their pain. Then he stumbles upon something which seems to be working for relieving the persistent pain. He knows it is a major breakthrough. He also pursues unusual interests. Emily is totally dissatisfied with her life and when she meets an old lover, she knows she wants out. Jamie deals with her pain in her own way. Each one them seem to be unaware of the other's problems.
Remedies speaks about pain. Of the body, the heart and the mind. And can one or all of it be cured? Kate Ledger has tackled that very well. The dilemma a modern couple goes through. Or they way they are unable to communicate with each other. And also that, it spills over to their daughter.
Kate has tried to deal with these issues but somehow Simon and Emily seem out of the reader's reach. And Emily's relationship with Jamie, was something, I could connect with. No mother leaves her own child to her own devices the Emily does. Yet I will say, Kate Ledger knows that a broken marriage can't be resolved that easily. Not unless both make an effort. Despite some hiccups, she writes well. I will look out for her next novel.
She said she wanted to be like the trees, that she had read they were most trusting of creatures because they put their roots down in one place, knowing they'd be there for their entire lives."
~Page 41
Title: the Language of Trees
Author: Ilie Ruby
ISBN: 978-0061898648
Publisher: Avon HarperCollins/2010
Pages:339
One only has to look at the trees to learn all about roots, being totally grounded or be down to earth. Every part of a tree speaks to us. Reaches out to us. This novel too does that for the reader. Yet we find the novel in the realms of what is nowadays called magical realism. Roots (of ones own self) and flying (that of the mind) go hand in hand.
Grant Shongo is back to his roots in Canandaiga, to deal with his broken heart. His wife has left him and he knows that only solace he will get is by coming back to his childhood home. He also knows that his Seneca blood will not let him rest until he deals with a past tragedy. The spirit of a young boy, haunts him.
Melanie and her sister are unable to get over the death of their younger brother, Luke, which happened more than a decade ago. Almost eveyone who had been connected with Luke, has not been able to get over it. THen Melanie disappears all of a sudden leaving her boyfriend, Lion and their newly born son, Lucas...
Echo O'Connell, too comes back to the place she calls home after 15 years. When she meets with Grant again, she knows that, she can't go back, leaving her first love. But before both can find love love again, they have to face the past, the spirits of the place, the whisperings of the trees. Echo has to let Grant know, what he really is. Only then the healing can overcome the past tragedy, the spirit may leave to rest eternally.
How the lives of Grant, Echo, Melanie are connected by a spirit? Why is Luke not ready t leave yet? The secondary charracters are all essential for the story and have been well etched out by the author. I really loved the language in the Language of Trees, both literally and figuratively.
Title: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Author: Beth Hoffman
ISBN: 978-0670021390
Publisher: Viking-Penguin/2010
Pages: 320 pages
In the midst of all the difficult reads, I found Saving CeeCee Honeycutt very refreshing.
CeeCee has a mother, who lives in her own world, and a father, who has no time for either of them. Instead of her mother looking after her, it is CeeCee who is taking care of her. Then one day, her mother is hit by a car and is dead. CeeCee is 12 years old and nowhere to go. Tootie Caldwell, an unknown great-aunt turns up, to take her away, her father is only too eager to let her go.
When both arrive in Savannah, CeeCee finds herself in the midst of love from so many women that she is kind of overwhelmed by it. Slowly she emerges from her haze of sadness and takes in all the love and affection and returning it in great measure.
The novel does start with CeeCee's troubled life. We feel for her and wish the best for her. Our wish comes true in the form of Tootie, who genuinely wants the best for the girl. Even in the sad moments, the novel is not depressing. It tackles the issues with wit, sometimes hilariously and the affection of large-hearted women. We also get to see a few eccentric characters who help in enhancing the novel.
Title: Last Last Chance
Author: Fiona Maazel
ISBN: 9780312428310
Publisher: Picador USA/2009
Pages: 368
Lucy Clark has to much in her hands after her father commits suicide. He had been accused of having a hand in the disappearance of a lethal strain of virus, resulting in Superplague. To make matters worse, she too like her mother is addicted to drugs. Hannah, her younger half sister, is always speaking out about diseases. Lucy wants to set right everything but doesn't really know how to do it. Her older lover, Stanley, does not help. He is on the lookout for someone who will carry a child from his dead wife's frozen eggs. Lucy dwells in the misery and seems to love being miserable.
"It's like you are more attached to being miserable than you are to being with me," a lover tells her as he walks out.
With such massive problems, Lucy tries to do the best she can. In the face of gravest of despair, Lucy has the ability to laugh at herself, her ways, the world. Initially it appears, she can't cope. But she does. Her relationship with her half-sister is beautifully depicted. With wit, and self-deriosion, Lucy does rise to the occasion rather very well and learns to survive. The novel speaks of the present times and future. It also speaks of lethargy, personal demons. The writing is surreal, nothing seems straight but makes sense. It is a book which makes the reader think.
Title: The Tricking of Freya
Author: Christina Sunley
ISBN: 9780312378776
Publisher: St. Martin Press/2009
Pages: 352
Told in the voice of Freya, we take a journey from Gimli, a village in Canada, to Iceland. She is writing all her thoughts, her experiences for her unknown cousin. She doesn't even know if her cousin is a male or a female. But she knows she has to write it all down for that person, whom intends to find out in her lifetime.
She and her mother have always lived in Connecticut. She speaks about her mother, Anna and her aunt Birdie, her grandmother, Sigga and various other relatives, Icelandic as well as Canadian. After Birdie dies on her 14th birthday and also when her mother dies, a few years later, she is not keen to visit Gimli again. But she does go back for her very old grandmother, who wants to preserve the family history.
Again we see Freya travelling from Gimli to Iceland to learn more about her cousin. And finally when she does learn the untold secrets, she can't believe how much injustice was done to herself, her volatile aunt and her gentle mother.
It starts with Freya being seven years old and takes us through more that two decades. We too are affected when we learn the enormity of Freya being tricked. With beautiful scenics and interesting characters, the reader is moved beyond words.
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I liked the following words from the above reviewed book:
1) Kenning (page 3): Word-Meadow is a Kenning for tongue, "she explains. "And I suppose now you will want to know what a kenning is."
A kenning is a much-compressed form of metaphor, originally used in Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry. In a kenning, an object is described in a two-word phrase, such as 'whale-road' for 'sea'. Some kennings can be more obscure than others, and then grow close to being a riddle.
2) Elskan (Page 6): "Come here, elskan, and kiss your rotten aunt."
Elskan is an icelandic word meaning, honey, sweetheart or darling
Title: The Sea Captain's Wife
Author: Beth Powning
ISBN: 978-0307397102
Publisher: Knopf Canada/2010
Pages: 384
Azuba Galloway has always been fascinated by the sea. She has always dreamed of marrying a sailor. When she meets Captain Nathaniel Bradstock and marries, she thinks she has realised her dreams. But he is not keen to take her with him as he knows the dangers of the sea.
Azuba lives in a house overlooking the bay, built for her by her father. But she misses her husband and longs to be with him. It takes so long for the ship and crew to return. Meanwhile, Azuba has a daughter. When Nathaniel does come back, he is horrified by a scandal involving Azuba and is forced to take his wife and daughter with him in his next voyage. There seems to be little love between them now.
It is entirely a male world and Azuba finds herself alone only with her daughter as her company. The voyage seems to be ill-fated, what with storms, isolation and the hardships of each day. Yet Azuba is determined to carve a place for herself and win back her husband's love.
The ups and downs of life are well depicted by the sea as a metaphor and we see the young heroine coming into her being with her determination, compassion and love. All in the face of adversity. Only in the sea she can decide whether she can choose the land or the ocean. Nathaniel adores his young daughter and sees the strength of Azuba. The sea does help in bringing them together.
