Open Serendipity

Wow, I’d better start blogging every weekend or else I’ll never blog at all! To cope with all the newness of the job, I dip into fiction when I have the energy to read for fun.  I love the “15 books” note that floated by on Facebook and I’m looking forward to reading the books that “will always stay with” my friends.

For example, I discovered that years ago (BK) when I thought I’d read every book written by Mary Renault, it turns out I’d only read everything in my outstanding local library.  It did not have a copy of The Friendly Young Ladies, and it still doesn’t.  But recently my daughter researched the various book swapping sites and decided we should join PaperBack Swap, so she could order used books for Honors English and write in them, and I got a copy  that way!

The Friendly Young Ladies is not ancient historical fiction, like all of the other books that I read by Renault, it is set in the early 30’s.  It is an excellent book!  It has a few shortcomings, but they are minor compared to the strengths.  She draws her characters much like Jane Austen does: some caricatures, others life-like characters with depth.  But in both cases, she is absolutely ruthless in her descriptions of their errors and shortcomings, and yet, somehow, at precisely the same time, totally compassionate.  You cringe at the thought of how she would describe you, the reader, with all your shortcomings and past errors, and yet you sort of wish that she could.  Such ruthlessness is highly entertaining to read.  Some of the caricatures are hysterical.

More recently, because I was looking for something else on the P aisle in the library, I noticed a book by Sara Paretsky that I had never read, Ghost Country.  She is another author that I read years ago, but I missed this one, or chose to skip it as it is not part of the murder mystery series of hers that I did read.  I got it, and enjoyed it in spite of several shortcomings.  For example, near the end of the book, the first sentence of one chapter made me burst out laughing and I kept giggling for a good 30 seconds all by myself, it was that funny.

One shortcoming is interesting though.  Paretsky writes about a lot of social injustice, and she has some downright nefarious characters.  But unlike the ruthless descriptions by Renault, Paretsky is harsh.  The consequence of this harshness is distance from the reader.  I did not like some of the characters in Renault’s book, but I could identify with them in spite of that, which was quite unsettling.  I did not like some of the characters in Paretsky’s book, and I could dismiss them easily.  I would never, ever, be anything like that or make any of those mistakes.  Probably not true, but reading the book, I was quite sure of myself.

I thought that was an interesting difference between the two.  The author who has done the best job of making me uncomfortably recognize the humanity of truly dreadful characters (several of them in one book!!!) is Toni Morrison.  I’ve only had the courage to read one of her books so far, The Bluest Eye, but I know I will read some others eventually.

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Books by marla