When Harry Met Sally...UK Style

"One Day" (Vintage, 2009), by the English writer David Nicholls, tells the story of Dexter and Emma, who had a very brief fling just as they were graduating from college in 1988, and then for almost two decades had a long, bumpy, but always connected friendship. They each had their own romances and even marriages, but their friendship always continued, with undercurrents of something more. Then finally...well, I won't spoil the suspense, in case you read the novel yourself. The unifying structure, which is somewhat gimmicky but doesn't come across that way, is that each chapter takes place on July 15 of a given year: 1988, 1989, 1990, and so on. Each July 15 is a kind of "checking in" as to how Emma's and Dexter's lives are going, and how they intersect. Part of the appeal of the book is watching these characters as they get older, (very slowly, and with many stops and starts) figure out what they want to do with their lives, have both failures and successes in their careers, deal with illnesses and deaths in their families, watch their friends become married and settled and suburban, sometimes drink far too much, make late night calls to each other, write each other long letters, and always consider each other their best friend, the one person they really want to talk to when things are very good or very bad. Sometimes the characters -- especially Dexter -- are very annoying and make bad decisions, yet somehow we root for them to find happiness, individually and -- we hope -- together. Sometimes the book is larky and funny, and other times sobering and saddening. But the author's best feat is that he makes us really care about the two characters. An absorbing novel.

"The Husbands and Wives Club"

The focus of this book with the catchy and possibly slightly provocative title, "The Husbands and Wives Club," becomes clearer with the subtitle, "A Year in the Life of a Couples Therapy Group," by Laurie Abraham (Touchstone, 2010). The author obtained permission to sit in on the monthly meetings of five couples with a therapist, over a period of over a year, and to write about them (using pseudonyms for the participants). Observing the participants' work with their partners, the other couples, and the therapist on a wide range of issues is fascinating. The issues include sexual problems, the bisexuality of one participant, sorrow over miscarriages, financial problems, work problems, low self-esteem, control issues, communication problems, and more. Many of these problems can be at least partially traced to the patterns that played out in the participants' families of origin. I admire the willingness of these couples -- who are all basically but sometimes ambivalently committed to making their marriages succeed -- to work so hard on resolving their issues. In addition, I admire their willingness, and that of the therapist, to have a witness (the author) to their sessions and their very personal and difficult baring of their issues, needs, and vulnerabilities. Those of us who are married cannot help making comparisons with the couples' situations, and looking for helpful insights. For anyone who is married, or has been married, or is thinking of getting married, this is a riveting examination of the institution of marriage.

Adults Reading Y.A. Books

Apparently there are many adults -- including people who also read plenty of adult fiction -- who read Young Adult (Y.A.) books, according to an essay by Pamela Paul in the New York Times Book Review (8/8/10, p. 23). This first became obvious during the height of Harry Potter frenzy, but is much more widespread. One author, Amanda Foreman, says about Y.A. fiction: "There's a freshness there; it's engaging. Y.A. authors aren't writing about middle-aged anomie or disappointed people." Some writers of adult fiction who have also written Y.A. fiction include Sherman Alexie, Francine Prose, and John Grisham. Personally, I don't read Y.A. fiction, mostly because much of it is science fiction/fantasy, which I am not interested in. And I DO, as a matter of fact, like adult fiction "about middle-aged anomie." However, I do very occasionally enjoy revisiting some of my favorites from my youth, such as the Anne of Green Gables series.

"Cleopatra's Sister"

One of the first writers I wrote about on this blog was Penelope Lively (on 1/25/10), one of my very favorite contemporary authors. She writes beautifully, her novels have intriguing plots and settings, her characters come alive, and she thoroughly understands human nature. On my trip to Kelowna, British Columbia last week for a wonderful family reunion on the beautiful Okanagan Lake, I took along paperback copies of three of Lively's novels, all of which I had already read, but wanted to re-read, knowing they would be good company on the trip. The first one I read was "Cleopatra's Sister" (Penguin, 1993). This novel tells the story of a flight from England to Nairobi that makes an emergency landing in the fictional North African country of Callimbia (Libya?), where the passengers are taken hostages as bargaining chips with England. The two main characters, passengers Howard and Lucy, are drawn to each other during the ordeal. Much of the book is about their back stories, as well as the back story of Callimbia, which includes the historical story of Cleopatra's sister, and then these strands gradually come together in the suspenseful telling of the hostage-taking. This is not one of Lively's best novels, being a bit schematic and with a storyline a bit too "torn from the headlines." But even lesser Lively is wonderful, and I enjoyed the novel. If you have never read Lively's work, I recommend you begin with one of the following novels: Moon Tiger; Heat Wave; The Photograph; Consequences; or her recent Family Album. I can almost guarantee that if you read one of her novels, you will read more.

Senator's Sex Scandal and Its Effects on His Family

Jennifer Weiner says in the acknowledgments section of "Fly Away Home" (Atria, 2010) that this book "actually got its start ten years ago, before anyone had heard of Silda Spitzer, Elizabeth Edwards, [or] Dina Matos McGreevey..." Her novel about a senator whose affair with a young aide is discovered and becomes a big scandal is, then, very timely. (However, we should remember that there has always been such behavior by some politicians, but in the past it was more likely to be hushed up, whereas now everything is on the news, blogs, gossip sites, etc.) In any case, this novel is less about the affair and the ensuing publicity than about the effects on the senator's longtime wife and on his two grown daughters, each of whom is already struggling with her own difficult personal issues, which include drug addiction, low self-esteem, an unhappy marriage, and adultery. During the course of the story, each of these three women learns much about herself and about each other, draws closer to her family members, and gradually works toward a better future. The story is not profound, but it is engaging, readable, and enjoyable.

Sad Loss of School Libraries

Do you remember the excitement of going to your school library when you were a child? I have written here before about how important public libraries and university libraries are; school libraries are also extremely important, and unfortunately an increasing number of school libraries are underfunded, understaffed, and inadequately stocked. According to Susan Thompson of the California School Library Association (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/8/10, Insight p. E11, "Letters to Insight"), school libraries are "in trouble" in California and elsewhere. School librarians are increasingly reassigned to classrooms or leaving the profession. This is a sad loss. Not only do libraries get children interested in books, but "studies have documented the positive and measurable impact that library programs have on student achievement even when poverty, parent education and language are factored into the equation" (Thompson). I can still remember the joys of going to libraries at various schools I attended, browsing through the displays and stacks, and taking home armfuls of books. I also remember school librarians reading to us and generating excitement about various books. This defunding of school libraries is very sad, and should be unacceptable.

Which Art Do You Love Best?

Most people who are interested in one of the arts – literature, music, painting, sculpture, theater, dance, opera, film, etc. – are also interested in one or more other arts. This is true for me as well; I go to museums, galleries, concerts, and plays. I took art history classes in college. When I travel, I always look for art museums and for concerts. I buy art books and various types of music on CDs. I go to “art films.” I particularly love dance performances. These arts all give me aesthetic pleasure, teach me, and often move me intensely. My life would be far poorer without my experiences with them. But none of the other arts have anything close to the powerful attraction and influence on me that literature has. I am not sure if this is because I had more exposure to books when I was a child than I had to the other arts, or if I am hardwired to be a “written word” person rather than a visual or aural person, or if there is some other reason. Whatever the reason, my truest and most compelling passion among the arts, by far, has always been literature. I wonder if it is true for most people, as it is for me, that they can appreciate and enjoy several arts, but there is one genre, one art, that stands far above the rest for them and is their “true love” aesthetically and emotionally. What do you think?