| A Cottage by the Sea |
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 This is not an easy read; not one I’d recommend easily; rather one you might read up on and decide if you want to read the story of three generations of women in a dysfunctional family. Thompson, through dialogue, conveys a deep understanding of the nuances of human relationships in families. And there is where the compassion come in. I’m not certain this will go on my 2019 Top Ten Favorite Books, but I sure wont’ forget it.
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 I love the writings of C.S. Lewis and I love his life story. Admittedly his life has been romanticized through the movie “Shadowlands” and now through this book. So be it. In spite of Joy (Davidman-Gresham-Lewis) short life ending with cancer, this is a feel good story.  A profoundly deep novel set during the coal industry in Ohio in the early 1924s. Although not an easy bedtime read, it is nuances the struggles of women, poor miners, and even of the men in power during that time. I’m thinking that money is the root of at least some evil. It’s not easy to build a fortune (more than you need) without hurting a few and killing many. I’m not certain this will make my top ten list, but it could get an honorable mention.  I love this author. She doesn’t divide the characters into good guy/bad guy (gal) categories. They are like all of us, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, trying to makes sense of the lives into which we are born. As I read this very engaging story, I felt compassion for each character, and for myself as I try to be a good gal, but am sometimes a bad gal.  Memoir full of compassion, reality, and hope. Mooriani is uplifting without an affiliation to a specific religious tradition. Her message is universal. “I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I now live my life from joy instead of fear. This is the one very simple difference between who I was before my NDE and who I am today.”  What I consider a good read. The story line keeps moving along, full of little twists and turns, compassion, and surprises. This is a hopeful book, depicting a time in the not too distant future when people of all colors, races, and gender orientations will live in harmony, and showing a way it might be accomplished.  If you want to step into the “the political drama and familial tensions of the 1960s,” read this book. Although graphic and brutally honest, it is also filled with compassion and hope. When I finished reading, my heart was renewed with both. Published in 1995, The Invisible Circus, is Egan’s first novel. A few years ago I read Manhattan Beach (2017) and now plan to read all her books written in between.  Fifth novel in the Maggie Hope Mystery Series. all set during World War II. A good read. Be sure to read them in order.  A humorous and poignant story about Elsie and her friends at their independent/assistant living community, told by Elsie’s friend, Florence. I finished the book feeling a certain relief about aging. By the time I get to such a community, my aging will protect me from some of the losses I worry about now, such as loss of memory and mobility. Maybe I’ll also lose those unnecessary worries, such as what are people thinking about me. Here are the three things Florence say about Elsie: she’s my best friend, she always know the right thing to say, and…I forget the third.  The story is all about compassion. Upon the death of her beloved husband, Eric, Katrin writes about the his first love, Monique, and first wife, Edna before his twenty-five year love for her. I read this beautifully crafted story slowly, savoring each word, phrase, sentence and scene. Katrin confirms us that one can have many loves, and that if we are truthful, we can hold onto the love we are given. |
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