Historical April–May 2016 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Wise readers will recall that last month I began sharing the titles of folks’ favorite books. So many people raised their hands that the responses fill two, gasp, columns.
The Heart of the Matter by Green is picked by Marty because of “The beauty and anguish of passion, and the anguish – and not the beauty – of Catholic guilt.” Mike chooses Infinite Jest by Wallace, observing, “I went straight through it on the first reading and have re-read sections over the years.” Susanne selects A Separate Peace by Knowles, “largely because it was one of the first books in high school I actually read cover to cover rather than highlighting the Cliff Notes.” Jean and Bob, evidencing their marital compatibility, each chose a book by Stenger. Jean picks Crossing to Safety, and Bob selects Angle of Repose.
The challenges associated with human diversity were in many books.
The Warmth of Other Suns, by Wilkerson, about the migration of southern Blacks to northern cities is chosen by Mary, and The Namesake, about an Indian growing up in America, by Lahiri, is Nicole’s choice. Claudia names The Space Between Us by Umrigar: “a compelling tale of the relationship between two women in Mumbai separated by caste yet perhaps more intimately connected to each other than to their family members. That the setting is in a culture other than my own made it especially interesting.” Cry the Beloved Country by Paton, chosen by Tina, looks at “The juxtaposed white and black worlds of apartheid South Africa fused together by the commonality of the two father’s pain and ultimate understanding of each other’s suffering.” Similarly, Robbyn chooses, “The Good Earth by Buck. “I’m probably the only person to read this as an adult, not in a lit class.
It is a reminder of how people are of their time.
But for me it was less political or cultural, and more about family.” Motoko favors The Cider House Rules by Irving.
She says, “Not only do I tend to love Irving’s work because of how he sheds light on how normal it actually is to have a life full of ‘unusual’ experiences,” but in this particular book his message of actively making decisions in life and not just leaving things to a wait and see type of approach really speaks to me.” Joyce says, “I underlined passages on nearly every page of Robinson’s novel, Gilead.
Her prose is lovely and deceptively simple — she tells of people going about their daily lives in their small town, in the vocabulary that would be familiar to them, and that represents them.” Perhaps not surprisingly, several folks cited a children’s book. “Having still not progressed to politically correct adulthood from savage childhood,” Susan admits, “My all- time favorite is still Kipling’s Jungle Book I.” Elizabeth says, “It’s a toss-up between Where the Wild Things Are, by Sendak, and Silverstein’s The Giving Tree.” She continues, “What I love about both is that such powerful messages can be communicated in so few words and understood by people at all developmental stages.” Maureen selects a kids’ book written by Julie Edwards (a.k.a. Julie Andrews), The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and says, “It follows three children and a somewhat mad professor through their journeys to and through a magical land.” Franklin names Fun Home by Bechdel, noting “This book is a masterful work in the graphic novel genre, blending story and visual information in a beautiful and seamless way.” Conversely, Dahven cites Einstein’s Dreams by Lightman: “The poetry of physics allowed me to rethink the relationship between time and space.” An artist, Mary’s favorite book is The Song Of The Lark by Cather. Mary says, “It’s a story about the creative spirit, and all through the book I would stop and think, ‘That’s it! That’s exactly right!’” Rob’s fictional pick is anything by St. Aubyn, especially the Patrick Melsose series, and he also mentions MAD Magazine.
In contrast with MAD, Linda picks Rock’s Quiet Leadership, a book about human nature. Terry picks Guns, Germs & Steel by Diamond.
I was pleased to see this because it’s my favorite book too. Terry notes that Diamond “debunks this whole arrogant notion of European superiority, and points out the natural advantages the European geography offered (e.g. temperate climate, domesticated animals, early exposure to diseases that allowed them to develop resistance, and many others).” I’d add that this is a must-read. OK, is your favorite book listed here? I’d be pleased to hear the identity of your #1. You can shoot me an email at trhoerr@AOL.com.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April–May 2016.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed author Green, Stenger and Patrick Melsose retained rather than silently substituting familiar spellings.
Original source: SD_Times2016_04.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
