Biloxi

I really enjoyed this. The protagonist is a 60-something-year-old male recently retired and divorced. He spends his time in his char, drinking beers, watching bad TV, eating horribly unhealthy foods by the sackful, and avoiding people. He dislikes his ex-brother-in-law who insists on visiting him, and seriously considers changing his phone number to avoid his daughter. His life turns around when he impulsively adopts a dog. I just really loved this story. ( )

PS  I own it physically and am willing to lend.

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

This was very tough to get into, and I’d say for the first 25% I was ready to abandon it. It started out very thinky and talky and I was afraid there’d be little plot. I kept giving it another shot because it was for book club. I felt like she felt about reading Kerouac on page 76: “I read like I had to finish an infinite bowl of lukewarm soup.” It was the kind of book that would throw a word at you like “edulcorated.” I’m 50 and I’ve polished off a fair number of books. This was a new one on me.

I’d say about halfway through, the plot got strong. About 75% of the way through, though, I wasn’t at all sure anymore. But at the end, I just said: Wow. It was just plain beautiful and powerful.

Do you want the plot? Couple, 10-year-old boy, and 5-year-old girl drive from NYC to the southwest for the father’s research project on Apaches and the mother’s attempts to help an immigrant locate her two missing undocumented little girls. First half or so is narrated by the mother. The ‘marriage is ending’ – this plot point is part of what gave me intense dislike in the first 25%, but let me not start complaining about that. Second half or so is narrated by the boy. I don’t think I’ll give away any spoilers, but things do happen.

I have to on balance give it only 3 stars because it threatened to lose me so often. ( )

Emma by Jane Austen

Write a review of EMMA? Well, as long as I am permitted to write three very dull things indeed, I should have no problem. Why, I am as sure to write three dull things the moment my fingers touch the keyboard, am I right?

Austen’s best story, IMHO. The annotated edition from Harvard is as usual superb. I absolutely love how he makes frequent reference to both the excellent Gwyneth Paltrow 1990s movie version, as well as CLUELESS from the same decade, the latter being for sure my favorite Austen adaptation ever. I know there is a new 2019 movie adaptation as well which I must see for completeness’ sake – somehow, as I don’t stream and they don’t seem to make DVD’s anymore.

Two of my favorite quotes from this work:

“Oh, Miss Woodhouse, for the pleasure of sometimes being alone!”

And, “One half the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other half” – I had that on a t-shirt once. ( )