Aflame

Pico Iyer

This is a book by a travel writer about his time spent at the Mount Baldy Benedictine Monastery in California.

He finds out about the monastery when he becomes homeless because his mother's house is destroyed in one of the devastating california wildfires.    He goes there and finds a cheap, very peaceful place that promotes contemplation.  

He takes a lot of time for himself but also meets other visitors and some of the monks.  One of the monks he becomes friends with is Leonard Cohen.  He is as also acquainted with the Dalai Lama.

He talks about how the silence stimulates his mind and spirit and how he goes there to escape when life gets too hectic.   He references various philosophers and authors, Lichtenstein, Camus, Thoreau.

The book is a bit slow, understandably I guess,  it is a meditation on being still, communing with nature, the value of solitude but also the value of community and connections.

The book ends with:

"You can just se the lights through the mist," I saym looking up, to where people robed and otherwise are sitting in rich silence.  Cyprian (the head monk) turns to e, and with a quiet smile says ' Yes".

In the acknowledgments the author says " The book is about the beauty-- you could say, the sanctity of clarity and ssilence.  It's also aobut how something of such treasure are available to us in many settings, not always monastic.

He wrote the book at the Banff Centre for the Arts where " I have been given the greatest of presents: the freedomm to think, to wander and to lose myself in what's around me." 

 

Snap

by Susin Nielsen

This book is by a BC author and takes place in the Vancouver area. It is a sad book at times but also funny.  The story is about three people who are assigned to take anger managment sessions and do community service cleaning up local parks.  The three people are a girl who was sexually approached by an old actor while she was a costume assistant on a tv program set, when she is approached by a leche in a mall she pushes him down an escalator, the second person is a children's author who is going through a divorce because her husband has decided he is gay.  The author has a meltdown at a school when a young student is rude while she is talking.  She takes him by the shoulders and shakes him.  This episode goes viral and she loses her publishing deals and her school talk income.  The third person is a man who wanted to buy into a muffler franchise and after he has put down a downpayment finds his boss is having an affair with his wife.  He defaces the bosses car and pees in his fountain.

The man's husband wants to get sole custody of their son, the man is really upset about this.  The two women try to talk to the boss to get him to remove a restraining order removed and also encourage his lover to let her ex have access to the son.  The boss recognizes the children's author and this is bad news for the man when he goes to court.... he is associating with a child abuser.....

Eventually all three become close friends supporting each other, and each find some peace in their lives.

The book was funny, the references to local bc made it interesting.  I enjoyed it and especially how the story developed. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

 by Gail Honeyman

This is the story of a young woman who is working in an accounts office.  She has been badly burned on her face and body and seems to be autistic or at least very reclusive.  Her co-workers make fun of her ocd tendencies.  She looks forward to the weekend when she can drink herself into a stupor.  She hates Wednesday evenings because that is when her mother phones and constantly berates her.

One day the young woman sees a musician online and falls for him.  She seeks all the information she can about him and dream about them becoming a couple.  She even buys a computer so she can do more research about him and track him online.  She also goes about getting a new, modern wardrobe and hairdo to impress him and fit in with him.

 She had consulted an IT guy in the company for advice about what computer to buy.  One day she and the tech are leaving work and walking in the same direction when they see and old man fall down onto the sidewalk.  Her reaction is to leave the scene but the techy insists they call 911.  She tells him she doesn't have a cell phone so while he calls 911 she talks to the old man.  The man is taken to the hospital and Eleanor gathers up his groceries.  She eats the perishables.  The next day the IT guy convinces her to go visit the man in the hospital and she does so taking him his remaining groceries. The man's family are there and are very thankful to the young couple for saving their Dad's life.  Eventually the family invite Eleanor and the IT guy to some family events.

Eleanor finally gets a ticket to the concert of her heart throb.  She is shocked to find he is a rude jerk.  She is so upset she ends up going home and drinking so much booze she passes out.  She considers suicide.  She is lying on the floor of her apartment when the IT guys shows up to clean her up and help her.  After going to hospital she goes on sick leave and starts seeing a psychiatrist.  She does not want to talk about her mother.

Eleanor and the IT guy meet for coffee on occasion and he stays in touch with her.  Eventually we find out that Eleanor's mother is not really alive, her other died when she said fire to the family home. Eleanor's sister also died in that fire.  Eleanor escapes with burns.

In the end Eleanor is able to return to work and she is warmly welcomed by her boss and co-workers.

It was a sad book at times but in the end it appears Eleanor may start to have a more normal life.