As a writer of short fiction and novels, I absolutely love Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel-in-stories Olive Kitteridge.
When I finished the book, I immediately began rereading it–to marvel, again, at the masterful craft on display, such as Strout’s handling of time and description, but above all to savor her depth of psychological insight. The thirteen narratives, each in some way involving Olive, hold within them the many colors of human experience ranging from quiet states of joy in the ordinary to the quietly agonizing hells of loneliness, disappointment, fear, and loss.
And the character studies dramatize just how swiftly one state can become another. The narratives, set in a small Maine town, feel so true and are so moving that reading them seems like standing in awe before an astonishing painting depicting all of us. A wonderful book!
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • The beloved first novel featuring Olive Kitteridge, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Oprah’s Book Club pick Olive, Again
“Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her.”—USA Today
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post Book World • USA Today • San Francisco Chronicle • Chicago Tribune • Seattle Post-Intelligencer • People • Entertainment Weekly • The Christian Science Monitor • The Plain Dealer • The Atlantic • Rocky Mountain News • Library Journal
There are times when I sense a need for works that are spiritual in nature, works that dramatize a quest for meaning and authenticity in life.
When a friend suggested that we read Hermann Hesse’s first novel Peter Camenzind and discuss it, it was serendipitous, exactly answering that need this past summer. The 1946 Nobel Laureate’s superbly written first novel reads like a memoir and is the story of a quest not only for meaning in life but also for deep spiritual connection.
From the heights of an Alpine mountain, a young Peter sees the world laid out before him—and so begins his wanderings that will lead to suffering, loss, and hopelessness but also to the words of a saint, Francis of Assisi, and to a crippled humpback named Boppi.
Both enable a connection, through the heart, with humanity and the divine within one. My copy of this novel is now full of underlinings and notes.
Peter Camenzind, a young man from a Swiss mountain village, leaves his home and eagerly takes to the road in search of new experience. Traveling through Italy and France, Camenzind is increasingly disillusioned by the suffering he discovers around him; after failed romances and a tragic friendship, his idealism fades into crushing hopelessness. He finds peace again only when he cares for Boppi, an invalid who renews Camenzind's love for humanity and inspires him once again to find joy in the smallest details of every life.
Another book-loving friend gave me a copy of Alistair MacLeod’s No Great Mischief and never having heard of this Canadian writer before, I was intrigued. Then I saw that my friend had written a note–I think to herself–on the inside cover that read, “A great novel.”
In addition, the book jacket featured praise from Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood. So of course I delved right in. And yes!—what a novel. So rich in characters and tales and life and the Gaelic history of a family settling in Cape Breton, Canada.
This is a generous novel in every respect, weighty with emotion, and beautifully written. As a writer, I found MacLeod’s precise and moving prose breathtaking. For those of us aspiring to the highest bar, this is one of them.
Alistair MacLeod musters all of the skill and grace that have won him an international following to give us No Great Mischief, the story of a fiercely loyal family and the tradition that drives it.
Generations after their forebears went into exile, the MacDonalds still face seemingly unmitigated hardships and cruelties of life. Alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrific tragedy, has nevertheless gained some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living on Toronto's skid row, has been scarred by another tragedy. But, like all his clansman, Alexander is sustained by a…
Inspired by the heroic, real-life story of Edith Cavell, a British nurse and instructor in Brussels during WWI, In the Fall They Leave tells the story from the perspective of a fictional student nurse and failed conservatory student, Marie-Terese Hulbert.
When Germany occupies Belgium in August 1914, life in Brussels becomes perilous for the citizenry and for fleeing and wounded Allies. While normalcy increasingly breaks down, events in the occupied city test Marie-Terese’s loyalty, love, and moral courage.
In a tragic world where doing the wrong thing is considered noble and worthy of reward, Marie-Terese, who values success and fears failing again, finds herself having to choose between allegiance to the occupiers or to her matron who is risking all by breaking those laws.
