Cormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works, that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it.
The PaCormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works, that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it.
The Passenger is a book that I believe I will need to revisit one day soon. It is a slightly incoherent, rambling and confused. Still the dialogue is brilliant, and the sense of place is vivid. I was rooted to place immediately. You go into this book thinking you know the plot and expecting to follow that mystery. But, the bigger story here is the portrait of one man reckoning with life. He hasn't always found things easy, and we see this in the chapters where his dead, schizophrenic sister is narrating the story. These interludes are confronting and I found that they often pulled me out of the story... and yet, the story wouldn't exist without her.
The protagonist, Western, is surrounded by people who are sharing their lives, their views on death, and their philosophies add to the slight confusion of the book. We are taken along as these characters ruminate about string theory, the atom bomb, old-school philosophers and even incest. The book meanders in the same way that conversations meander. That is the beauty of this book.
Merged review:
Cormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works, that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it.
The Passenger is a book that I believe I will need to revisit one day soon. It is a slightly incoherent, rambling and confused. Still the dialogue is brilliant, and the sense of place is vivid. I was rooted to place immediately. You go into this book thinking you know the plot and expecting to follow that mystery. But, the bigger story here is the portrait of one man reckoning with life. He hasn't always found things easy, and we see this in the chapters where his dead, schizophrenic sister is narrating the story. These interludes are confronting and I found that they often pulled me out of the story... and yet, the story wouldn't exist without her.
The protagonist, Western, is surrounded by people who are sharing their lives, their views on death, and their philosophies add to the slight confusion of the book. We are taken along as these characters ruminate about string theory, the atom bomb, old-school philosophers and even incest. The book meanders in the same way that conversations meander. That is the beauty of this book.
Merged review:
Cormac McCarthy writes such brutal but beautiful works, that push me into places I may not want to go but when I leave I feel gratitude for it.
The Passenger is a book that I believe I will need to revisit one day soon. It is a slightly incoherent, rambling and confused. Still the dialogue is brilliant, and the sense of place is vivid. I was rooted to place immediately. You go into this book thinking you know the plot and expecting to follow that mystery. But, the bigger story here is the portrait of one man reckoning with life. He hasn't always found things easy, and we see this in the chapters where his dead, schizophrenic sister is narrating the story. These interludes are confronting and I found that they often pulled me out of the story... and yet, the story wouldn't exist without her.
The protagonist, Western, is surrounded by people who are sharing their lives, their views on death, and their philosophies add to the slight confusion of the book. We are taken along as these characters ruminate about string theory, the atom bomb, old-school philosophers and even incest. The book meanders in the same way that conversations meander. That is the beauty of this book....more
Marie Lindstrom sent me a free copy of her book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to her.
Moments of Change is a collection of short stories Marie Lindstrom sent me a free copy of her book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to her.
Moments of Change is a collection of short stories based on true stories. The collection focuses on people who fought drug abuse and alcoholism, a person who found her previously unknown sister, another who lost a baby, and one who has a serious health scare. The stories are a compassionate look at what ties us together as humans. With a few of the stories I was hoping for more -- some deeper insight into the individual story -- but they all touched my heart and awakened a desire to know the characters better.
The Sunshine Vicram series has been a new favorite when I am looking for a light, fun read with fun characters. I will be turning to it often -- especThe Sunshine Vicram series has been a new favorite when I am looking for a light, fun read with fun characters. I will be turning to it often -- especially when I hit a reading slump.
The antics start when Sheriff Sunshine Vicram wakes with a hangover and is immediately called to the scene of a brutal crime, where a hunter has found a girl who was badly beaten and assaulted. While Sunshine is at the hospital with the girl a hospitalized prisoner escapes. Soon after her friend asks her to recover a stolen sewing kit -- which she insists Sunshine not look at the contents and won't explain why it is so important. On top of everything her mother's group of friends are back causing upheaval, and Sunshine's teenaged daughter is acting like an investigator. It is a lot on any day -- but especially on a day when you have a hangover!
There is also the renewed romance with Levi -- with one very spicy love scene.
It is a silly, funny, fast-paced book, and I hope there are many more.
Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press for the beautiful finished edition. The review is my honest opinion...more
The most difficult reviews to write are always those attached to books written by people who I have a connection to in real life. I want so much to giThe most difficult reviews to write are always those attached to books written by people who I have a connection to in real life. I want so much to give them great feedback. I want them to know what I loved, and what I didn’t love, but I want to do it in such a way that doesn’t hurt because I know that this book that I have just read is a result of their hard work, dedication, and passion. With that in mind, this review will probably be longer than normal. Mount Hope is a real place. It is a cemetery in Topeka, Kansas known for its beautiful wrought iron fencing. Kellie Woolf lives in the mountains in Colorado today but Topeka is her home, and you can see it on every page of her book. She knows the place and loves the place and it comes across.
[image]
[image] (the beautiful author, Kellie Woolf)
This is the story of the brutal murder of an LGBTQ young man that takes place within the cemetery. That first chapter is difficult to take, as it is very clear that this young man’s last moments on this earth were filled with terror and pain. Kellie was inspired by the story of the murder of Matthew Shepard, and her love for that young man is a parent in her love for her character.
Some of her sentences are beautifully descriptive, and in the beginning of my read, I found myself highlighting many of them. The lovely prose helped me to take in the horrific nature of the crime and eased the pain of it.
Assaulted by branches and rain-soaked leaves, his face is whipped as he runs, like flagellation. The thick brush between houses has become an invisible gauntlet in the dark. Sticks, trash, forgotten toys, and garden tools litter the pathway and bludgeon him blindly. The underbrush claws at him through the thin fabric of his pants. Still unsure where he is heading, he can no longer feel his legs, just the sting of fear. The loss of sensation and control makes him feel as if he is a marionette and someone else is moving his limbs with invisible strings.
There are two important elements to the story that I will discuss. The first involves the investigation of the crime. The lead detective is a young woman who happens to be a lesbian, and is hiding her orientation from those she works with because she is afraid of their judgment. When the local hate group, Westboro Baptist comes on the scene. They quickly out her, and the difficulty of her job becomes even more emotional. I enjoyed the story of her relationship with her wife and my biggest complaint here is that I really wanted a bit more of it. I felt like it humanized the character and gave her dedication to solving the crime even more meaning.
The second element of the story is the one I struggled with slightly. On the night, that our victim is murdered, he immediately meets Jesus, who is waiting for him on the grounds of the cemetery, along with one of the young man’s beloved dogs, who had already passed over the rainbow bridge. Kellie’s intent with bringing Jesus into the story is evident on every page. The Jesus found in her book is is the same loving man on the pages of the Bible. He is welcoming this young gay man with open arms, and he is trying to help the people on earth to come to terms with the fact that they are in the wrong for showing hate and judgment towards the LGBTQ community. My struggle is personal to me. I have had bad experiences with people who call themselves Christian, and with churches that welcomed me into their fold until they saw some flaw in me. This Jesus found on the pages of her book is the one that I would’ve wanted to know for the most part. There was a section in the middle of the book, where he was speaking for a fairly long period of time, and for me, this section felt preachy rather than loving. However, I do believe that this is a very personal element, and that many, if not most, people would not feel the same.
This book provides a loving balm after the horrific shooting at club Q in my community.
One another note, the physical copy of this book is spectacularly beautiful. Kellie has created chapter headings that look like the fence line at Mount Hope and she has included communication that comes through on text in text bubbles. But even more than that the edges of the pages where Jesus is speaking are highlighted in a light gray color that makes them stand apart from the rest of the pages.
The ending of this book is slightly messy and not completely happy which to me is perfect. Life isn’t wrapped up in a pretty bow. Life is messy.
Most of my followers know that I rarely give five stars. The book needs to be perfect for that and rarely is a book perfect. I don’t think anything is generally perfect. Because I know this author, I’m going to give ratings slightly differently than usual.
The author provided me with a copy of this book, and I purchased a kindle version that I could listen to on my Alexa device. The review is my honest opinion. You can purchase the book at Amazon (in both formats)....more
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