The Death Saga is not a book I read. But let me explain why I have named my post as such.
For the past two weeks, I have been tagging along on business with Rob. First we were in London for 10 days now we are in Bermuda for the week (rough life, I know). Since Rob is going to the office each day, I have had a lot of time on my hands to read, particularly while either waiting in the airport or flying. As a result, I have read 6 books in the last two weeks. But since we have been busy, I have not blogged about any of them. Until now. Bermuda has a bit of a different pace than London, so since I spent 4 hours in the sun this morning, I am now cooling off in the hotel room, blogging.
In thinking about the 6 books I just read, what I have realized about them all, seriously--all 6, is that they have dealt with death in some way. So, to make my life easier as I attempt to catch up on blogging, I am lumping all six books together and calling them The Death Saga (after googling the appropriate terms for six books with like themes). But, please do not NOT read them because they deal with death. All six were excellent reads and worth your time. There's only two, though, that I'd throw in my beach bag. See numbers 3 and 4.
Book 1: Gold by Chris Cleave. This novel is so not something I would typically read. It's about three Olympic cyclists and their race for gold. Let's complicate the already complicated by throwing in a love triangle amongst the three main characters and a potential terminal illness of a child. I was pulled into this story that I may not have likely read otherwise by the idea of a mother's ultimate dilemma-- do you race for gold, if it's your last time to ever compete, or stay home to comfort your dying daughter? Wow. What do you do? That is a tough one. And it takes the entire book to sort it all out. I started reading this before we left for London and thought that it was really cool that the race they are working towards was in London when the Olympics were there. I was very touched by this book . I cried out of sadness and out of anger as I turned the pages towards the end. The good news is that there is a very happy ending. You just have to read a lot of unhappiness in order to get there.
Book 2: Emily Alone by Stewart O'Nan. I picked this book up on a shopping trip with my friend Meghan and her sister Rachel. I always find the best books when I go shopping with Meghan. In fact, the next two books I also found on the same shopping trip. I bought this one solely because of the title. I can't refuse a book with my daughter's name in the title. As it turns out, it was a dumb reason to by the book, but a fabulous book with a fabulous message. Emily is alone. Her husband has died, her friends are all dying, and she's just waiting for it to be her turn. But when one of her friends gets hurt and Emily realizes that she can take care of herself, she realizes that her life isn't over yet and that she can enjoy her life. It's a beautiful story.
Book 3: The Summer We Read Gatsby by Danielle Ganek. I adored this crazy, beach bag story. I loved the characters, but who wouldn't love characters named Stella Blue, Perks, Finn, Hamilton, and Biggsy. They come together to settle the estate of Lydia, Stella and Perks' aunt and friend to the other wild and crazy characters, and end up solving a tiny little mystery along the way. My favorite part of the story was the epilogue, which was told by Perks. It was hilarious! This book was fabulous!
Book 4: The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean. Oh, I loved this book! It's the kind of book that made me happy to spend a day on an airplane so I could just read and read and read. I am not so very into fashion, but as it turns out, neither is Dora, the main character of the book. Her grandmother, Mimi, is the one into clothes and owns a vintage clothing store. She has put together a closet for Dora over the years (she's now in college) that is really the size of a normal bedroom. It's filled with beautiful dresses that Dora doesn't feel right wearing. But when Mimi has a stroke and Dora rushes to her side without taking time to
pack a bag, she is forced to begin wearing clothes from Mimi and finds that she's fairly comfortable in her new skin. This story has a happy ending too after much sadness, so if you choose to read it, just keep reading through the sadness. It will be OK in the end.
Book 5: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. This book requires thought and time to read, but it is fabulous! It is set in Italy around the late 1400's and it focuses on the political changes there during and after the French invasion. I wish that I had known more about the history of the time written about in the novel but it did not impact being able to understand the book. I was drawn to the book because of its artistic subject matter. In fact, the title of the book is the title of one of my favorite paintings, Boticelli's The Birth of Venus. The book opens with the death and burial of Sister Lucrezia told in third person. The rest of the story is told by Alessandra, in first person. The two women are one and the same. But it takes the entire novel for us to learn how and why they are the same woman. This story is passionate, intelligent, and in many ways, eye opening to the ways of the world. Italy in 1494 isn't so different from the world in 2013.
Book 6: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. This book was recommended to me by two friends, so I was excited to pick up a paperback copy for $4 the night before we left for Bermuda. I was still reading #5 on the plane so I did not begin #6 until I made my way to the pool yesterday morning. I spent the entire day yesterday convinced that I was not smart enough to read and understand this novel. It felt like Life of Pi all over again. But as I was reading today, it all changed. This book begins with a suicide plan and it does end with the death of a character. It made me very sad. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that I was not uplifted by the ending of this novel. There was no happy ending, but a reminder to be who you are and to show people who you are and to not live life in the wings, because you never know when death is coming. Live with no regrets.
So, there it is. My Death Saga. All were good. Some had happy endings despite the death.
Some did not. All had worthwhile lessons for us to learn. Which is exactly how I like my books.
I am sad to say that while I hoped by choosing a Nora Roberts romance next that I might escape the death theme, I fear that might night be the case. What's up with that, I wonder? I've never read about so much death and dying since taking Shakespeare in college. Oh well. I read enough that the tide will turn eventually.
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
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