"I'm just thinking of what I know about Will Traynor, what I know about men like him. And I'll say one thing to you. I'm not sure anyone in the world was ever going to persuade that man once he'd set his mind to something. He's who he is. You can't make people change who they are."
-Bernard Clark's fatherly advice to Louisa near the end of the novel
This book was selected for our Page Turners group by being strongly suggested by a couple of members. Since a film version has been out for a while, I knew a little of what to expect. I expected a tear-jerker. My readers will know I try hard not to include spoilers in my posts. It seems this novel has spoilers everywhere! I even saw a description as an answer on "Jeopardy" recently, under the heading Recent Novels, with the question being this book title; it pretty much gave away the plot.
The story centers around Louisa Clark, a young woman with a pretty unexciting, unfulfilled life, who takes a job helping quadriplegic Will Traynor. Will had been a mover and shaker before a tragic accident left him paralyzed. He has lost all zest for life and become bitter and self-pitying. Louisa is hired by his mother to hopefully cheer him up, perhaps even give him a reason for living. Although the relationship starts out rocky making Louisa want to quit, she hangs in there and the two come to care about each other. In addition, I will only say that Louisa gains as much from the connection as he does.
Moyes's writing style is easy and enjoyable. I liked the book but thought it was predictably sad so I am giving it a 4. Litlovers.com calls it a romance novel; my husband would call it chick lit. But I do think it will give us plenty to talk about when we meet this week. More then....
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The Page Turners met on our regular day and apparently we liked the novel---the average rating was 4.4---no votes under 4. Our discussion followed the publisher's questions. Much talk was generated by Will's outlook on life and whether we understood his feelings. There was some difference of opinion and a few people cited real-life examples of folks who have overcome serious injury to live fulfilling, even inspiring lives. I speculated that the prospect of living as a quadriplegic might be more difficult for a man to accept than a woman. As one might expect, most discussion was about the meaning of life, the right to die, assisted suicide and related topics.
There were several interpretations of the Me and You in the title. One of the best, we agreed, would have referred to both Will and Lou BEFORE they met the other. In other words each one could have said, "This story is about Me before You." Some of our members have read the sequel, After You, and have liked it as well. Others have seen the film version.
A good selection for a book club---plenty to talk about related to Me Before You!
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Three Biographies of Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston, Harlem Renaissance Writer by Katie Marsico
Zora Neale Hurston "I Have Been in Sorrow's Kitchen" by Laura Baskes Litwin
Zora Neale Hurston, Author by Paul Witcover
"What waits for me in the future? I do not know. I cannot even imagine, and I am glad for that. But already, I have touched the four corners of the horizon, for from hard searching it seems to me that tears and laughter, love and hate, make up the sum of life."
-Zora Neale Hurston
All of these books are categorized as juvenile biography even though I located them in the adult biography section of the library. I knew they would be quick and easy reads to help me prepare for a lecture I will be doing this summer. I often choose "kiddy lit" when I want some boiled-down nonfiction to give me background for a class or trip. These did not disappoint: all less than 115 pages with photos, timelines and helpful indices.
In the Florida Authors class I am teaching, I will have students read Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora which is an autobiography. I had been told some time ago that it is not necessarily true to life and is suspected to have been somewhat embellished by the author. I thought by reading a few biographies before Dust Tracks... I would have facts to compare to Zora's account.
I found all the biographies very interesting---the woman had an amazingly full life, though not an easy one. She seems to have been very brilliant, creative and strong-willed with a good sense of humor. Our book club read Their Eyes Were Watching God, considered her master work, a few years ago. I enjoyed it but not everyone in the group did.
So now I am ready and looking forward to Dust Tracks on a Road.
Zora Neale Hurston "I Have Been in Sorrow's Kitchen" by Laura Baskes Litwin
Zora Neale Hurston, Author by Paul Witcover
"What waits for me in the future? I do not know. I cannot even imagine, and I am glad for that. But already, I have touched the four corners of the horizon, for from hard searching it seems to me that tears and laughter, love and hate, make up the sum of life."
-Zora Neale Hurston
All of these books are categorized as juvenile biography even though I located them in the adult biography section of the library. I knew they would be quick and easy reads to help me prepare for a lecture I will be doing this summer. I often choose "kiddy lit" when I want some boiled-down nonfiction to give me background for a class or trip. These did not disappoint: all less than 115 pages with photos, timelines and helpful indices.
In the Florida Authors class I am teaching, I will have students read Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora which is an autobiography. I had been told some time ago that it is not necessarily true to life and is suspected to have been somewhat embellished by the author. I thought by reading a few biographies before Dust Tracks... I would have facts to compare to Zora's account.
I found all the biographies very interesting---the woman had an amazingly full life, though not an easy one. She seems to have been very brilliant, creative and strong-willed with a good sense of humor. Our book club read Their Eyes Were Watching God, considered her master work, a few years ago. I enjoyed it but not everyone in the group did.
So now I am ready and looking forward to Dust Tracks on a Road.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Hawaii by James Michener
"They came to the island to do good, and they did right well."
"No wonder the islands were lighter when they left; they stole everything in sight."
"They taught the natives to wear dresses and sign leases."
"Before the missionaries came to Hawaii, there were four hundred thousand happy, naked natives in the mountains killing each other, practicing incest, and eating well. After the missionaries had been there awhile, there were thirty thousand fully clothed, miserable natives huddled along the shore, paying lip service to Christianity and owning nothing."
-gibes heard against the missionaries of Hawaii @1915
Whew! This novel was a tome...thought I would never finish! At 937 pages, it is a good thing I purchased it for my Kindle. I ended it up carrying it on two cruises over about 6 weeks time, the second one in the Hawaiian Islands which was the primary reason for reading it. It was a busy time with travel and celebrations so my reading time was limited. Otherwise I might have managed to get through it more quickly. It added quite a lot to my enjoyment of the trip as it provided me a good bit of background on the history, mythology and culture of Hawaii. So I am very glad I read it! My rating: 4.
As with most of Michener's books this one starts off slowly with the geological formation of the islands and then the arrival of plant life in chapter one. In chapter 2 one reads about the fugitives from Bora Bora who become the first people of Hawaii, and it gets much more interesting. When the Calvinist missionaries from New England arrive in the 1800's and begin interacting with the natives in chapter 3, the plot is definitely enhanced. By the time Chinese workers are imported for working the sugar cane fields (chapter 4) and then the Japanese (chapter 5), the story is more and more compelling. The Chinese are represented by the Kee family; the Japanese, by the Sakagawas. Their stories, side-by-side with that of the Hales, Whipples and other founding missionary families add the personal touches to keep one reading. Then the reader finally reaches chapter 6 where the changes in culture and economics caused by the conflict and mingling of these different groups reach their climax.
I thought I had read Hawaii years ago but I now think I only saw the movie. I learned that the movie covered only the coming of the missionaries and that is all I remembered. I also discovered that Michener's book was published in 1959, the year Hawaii became the 50th state. Pretty cool.
I am sure this novel must have required years of research. Much of what we learned from our tour guides in Hawaii related well to the book. Michener's main characters are fictionalized but the story involves some historical characters as well such as Father Damien, who ministered to the lepers quarantined in Moloka'i in the late 1800's. In our tour of Pearl Harbor we learned of the heroism of Japanese soldiers sent to Europe during WWII and the book made that fascinating by involving the Sakagawa brothers.
We also heard a lot about the mythology of the Hawaiian natives, especially stories of Pele, the fire goddess. I would recommend this book for anyone going to Hawaii for the first time. Just give yourself plenty of time to finish!
"No wonder the islands were lighter when they left; they stole everything in sight."
"They taught the natives to wear dresses and sign leases."
"Before the missionaries came to Hawaii, there were four hundred thousand happy, naked natives in the mountains killing each other, practicing incest, and eating well. After the missionaries had been there awhile, there were thirty thousand fully clothed, miserable natives huddled along the shore, paying lip service to Christianity and owning nothing."
-gibes heard against the missionaries of Hawaii @1915
Whew! This novel was a tome...thought I would never finish! At 937 pages, it is a good thing I purchased it for my Kindle. I ended it up carrying it on two cruises over about 6 weeks time, the second one in the Hawaiian Islands which was the primary reason for reading it. It was a busy time with travel and celebrations so my reading time was limited. Otherwise I might have managed to get through it more quickly. It added quite a lot to my enjoyment of the trip as it provided me a good bit of background on the history, mythology and culture of Hawaii. So I am very glad I read it! My rating: 4.
As with most of Michener's books this one starts off slowly with the geological formation of the islands and then the arrival of plant life in chapter one. In chapter 2 one reads about the fugitives from Bora Bora who become the first people of Hawaii, and it gets much more interesting. When the Calvinist missionaries from New England arrive in the 1800's and begin interacting with the natives in chapter 3, the plot is definitely enhanced. By the time Chinese workers are imported for working the sugar cane fields (chapter 4) and then the Japanese (chapter 5), the story is more and more compelling. The Chinese are represented by the Kee family; the Japanese, by the Sakagawas. Their stories, side-by-side with that of the Hales, Whipples and other founding missionary families add the personal touches to keep one reading. Then the reader finally reaches chapter 6 where the changes in culture and economics caused by the conflict and mingling of these different groups reach their climax.
I thought I had read Hawaii years ago but I now think I only saw the movie. I learned that the movie covered only the coming of the missionaries and that is all I remembered. I also discovered that Michener's book was published in 1959, the year Hawaii became the 50th state. Pretty cool.
I am sure this novel must have required years of research. Much of what we learned from our tour guides in Hawaii related well to the book. Michener's main characters are fictionalized but the story involves some historical characters as well such as Father Damien, who ministered to the lepers quarantined in Moloka'i in the late 1800's. In our tour of Pearl Harbor we learned of the heroism of Japanese soldiers sent to Europe during WWII and the book made that fascinating by involving the Sakagawa brothers.
We also heard a lot about the mythology of the Hawaiian natives, especially stories of Pele, the fire goddess. I would recommend this book for anyone going to Hawaii for the first time. Just give yourself plenty of time to finish!
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