by Emily St. John Mandel
I really enjoyed this author's first book, Station Eleven, about the aftermath of a pandemic.... again very significant considering the coronavirus pandemic we are experiencing right now.
So, I was eager to read her next book which is getting rave reviews. However, while this book was probably good I did not enjoy it.
The book is basically about a man who creates a ponzi scheme and the lives he impacts. But there is a girl and her brother who play the main roles in the book.
There are a girl and boy who are step-kids. The boy resents the girl and her life. He is a drug addict who has been kicked out of college after several rehab treatments funded by his mother. His mother has died. If I remember correctly he was in Toronto. He goes to Vancouver to see his step sister. She doesn't get along with her stepfather/father and goes to live with an aunt but is suspended from school when she etches some grafitti on a school window. She goes to live with an aunt but that doesn't work out so eventually she leaves.
The two siblings meet up again when the girl is working as a bartender on a hotel on a secluded cove on Vancouver Island. Her brother comes to see her and she gets him a job as a cleaner at the hotel.
The brother etches some words on the hotel window and is fired. The girl ends up hooking up with the owner of the hotel who wants her to be his pretend trophy wife. She agrees because she has a nice house and all the money she wants.
Her brother goes on to be a somewhat successful music/performance artist. The girl goes to one of his performances and is furious to find he has used some videos she did as a child as part of his performance. She had intended to reconnect with him but after what she has seen walks away without talking to him.
The girl doesn't realize that her wealthy "husband" is actually running a Ponzi scheme. He is eventually tried and sentenced to 170 years in prison. The books explores the impact of his deceit on some of his clients. The man himself is haunted by ghosts of some people he hurt who have died but most of the time he lives in his mind making up alternate realities. He does not accept any responsibility or seem to have any regret.
The girl goes to work on a cargo ship as a cook. She seems to like her austere life. One day while she is trying to film the ocean she falls overboard.
I had real trouble getting into this book as I disliked all three main characters, they were totally without morals, self-absorbed and un-sympathetic. I was very disappointed by this book as the first one was so fascinating and the characters so interesting.
Tuesday, 5 May 2020
The Memory Police
by Yoko Ogawa
This book is currently on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize. It was actually published 20 years ago but has only been translated recently. It is an amazing book, almost prophetic considering our current times.
The book is about a young woman, and author, who lives on an island where things start to disappear. They can be common everyday things like flowers, fruit, etc. When things disappear people forget about them and forget the word. One day the river is full of rose petals as all roses disappear. If things don't disappear on their own, the people of the island destroy them, so when books are "disappeared" the people gather for book burnings.
As a little girl the girl's mother, a sculptor, would show her things she had stored in drawers in her workshop and tell the little girl about these "disappeared" items. Her mother is taken away at some point. Other people are also taken away by the Memory Police. Her parents sculptures and her father's work as an avian expert are removed from the house by the Memory Police.
One day some people who are trying to hide from the Memory Police come to visit the girl to give her some of her mother's sculptures. The girl later discovers that her mother has been hiding disappeared objects inside these sculptures.
The young girl is friends with an old man who lives on an abandoned ferry boat, ferries no longer run and people no longer have a memory of them. The young woman's publisher seems to be one of the rare people who do not forget about things when they are "disappeared". She knows he is in danger so convinces him to leave his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, and come and live in a secret room she has built into her house. He is trapped in this tiny room, she feeds him and provides water etc. She also arranges for him to exchange messages with his wife.
Eventually people's body parts, e.g. their leg, are disappeared. People are going to cut off their legs but realize that would be deadly so instead they limp along on sticks etc as if their leg didn't exist.
Ultimately all the bodies disappear. The only person we know of who continues to exist whole is the publisher hidden in the woman's house.
This was a very dark story, but with a powerful message for today. How much are we willingly ignoring?? How far will we let the dark forces go? Will we surrender ourselves completely.
This was a book I will think about for a long time. It had a few things that were unexplained, who is doing the controlling? Why don't the memory police forget things? Or do they?
This book is currently on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize. It was actually published 20 years ago but has only been translated recently. It is an amazing book, almost prophetic considering our current times.
The book is about a young woman, and author, who lives on an island where things start to disappear. They can be common everyday things like flowers, fruit, etc. When things disappear people forget about them and forget the word. One day the river is full of rose petals as all roses disappear. If things don't disappear on their own, the people of the island destroy them, so when books are "disappeared" the people gather for book burnings.
As a little girl the girl's mother, a sculptor, would show her things she had stored in drawers in her workshop and tell the little girl about these "disappeared" items. Her mother is taken away at some point. Other people are also taken away by the Memory Police. Her parents sculptures and her father's work as an avian expert are removed from the house by the Memory Police.
One day some people who are trying to hide from the Memory Police come to visit the girl to give her some of her mother's sculptures. The girl later discovers that her mother has been hiding disappeared objects inside these sculptures.
The young girl is friends with an old man who lives on an abandoned ferry boat, ferries no longer run and people no longer have a memory of them. The young woman's publisher seems to be one of the rare people who do not forget about things when they are "disappeared". She knows he is in danger so convinces him to leave his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, and come and live in a secret room she has built into her house. He is trapped in this tiny room, she feeds him and provides water etc. She also arranges for him to exchange messages with his wife.
Eventually people's body parts, e.g. their leg, are disappeared. People are going to cut off their legs but realize that would be deadly so instead they limp along on sticks etc as if their leg didn't exist.
Ultimately all the bodies disappear. The only person we know of who continues to exist whole is the publisher hidden in the woman's house.
This was a very dark story, but with a powerful message for today. How much are we willingly ignoring?? How far will we let the dark forces go? Will we surrender ourselves completely.
This was a book I will think about for a long time. It had a few things that were unexplained, who is doing the controlling? Why don't the memory police forget things? Or do they?
Thursday, 9 April 2020
A Long Petal of the Sea
by Isabel Allende
This book starts in Spain during the Civil War. It starts with one family, two brothers, their mother and a young women the family "adopted". The two brothers go to fight in the war, one of them becomes a soldier, the other brother who had been studying to become a doctor, goes off to be a Medic. The soldier brother and adopted sister fall in love and the girl gets pregnant. Her lover is killed in the war. The other brother knows this but can't bring himself to tell her.
As the war is winding down and Franco is winning, the medic brother arranges for an ambulance driver to take the girl and his mother over the border to France. On the way the mother disappears, the driver gets the girl to a refugee camp. The refugees are not welcome in France and conditions in the camp are terrible, with men taking most of the food.
The medic contacts a "nurse" he knows and she is able to find the girl and get her to a safe location to have her baby. She is taken in by a family.
The medic and girl eventually get reunited and are granted permission to move to Chile. This infulx of refugees is supposedly the idea of Pablo Neruda. The man convinces the girl to marry him because they will only be accepted for entry if they are married. It seems that refugees will not be welcome there either but they find that they are welcomed warmly. The man completes his medical training and becomes a highly regarded surgeon. The woman becomes a musician and founder of an ancient music orchestra which tours around South America. The man becomes a friend of Pablo Neruda and many years later helps Neruda escape from Chile.
The man treats the baby as his own. The couple are married but it is initially just a marriage of convenience. The medic eventually tells her that the father of her child died in the war.
The man has an affair with a woman, above his social class, who is engaged to someone else.
She gets pregnant and her family send her off to a convent to have the baby, to avoid scandal to the family. They tell her the baby, a boy, dies at birth. She initially calls off her engagement but her fiance loves her so much he agrees to marry her anyway.
Overtime the Doctor's wife reconnects with the driver who got her out of Spain and they have a seven year affair. Eventually the woman tells the Doctor about this affair. And eventually they do end up consummating their marriage and realizing they do love each other.
The book then switches to the political time when Salvador Allende, the socialist gets into power. The Doctor is a friend of his and plays chess with him. Allende is killed/commits suicide in a coup attempt. Soon after the doctor is arrested and sent to a concentration camp where he sees great cruelty again (like in the Spanish Civil War). He saves the life of the cruel camp Commander.
Eventually the doctor is rescued from his imprisonment with the help of his wife and they move to Venezuela. They eventually move back to Chile and live in a small house in the country. The man's wife dies and he is devastated. One day a young woman shows up and tells him that she is daughter. The woman he had an affair had a girl, not a boy, and the child lived and was adopted by a German couple. The arrival of this "new" member of his family jolts the man out of his despair and he is eager to include her in his life. It turns out the girl's mother was and continues to be a very self-centred, not very nice person.
This was a great book. It was interesting to learn about the history of Spain and Chile. It too demonstrated how cruel people can be. But more importantly it shows how people can be kind and loving. The author is the Goddaughter of Salvador Allende
This book starts in Spain during the Civil War. It starts with one family, two brothers, their mother and a young women the family "adopted". The two brothers go to fight in the war, one of them becomes a soldier, the other brother who had been studying to become a doctor, goes off to be a Medic. The soldier brother and adopted sister fall in love and the girl gets pregnant. Her lover is killed in the war. The other brother knows this but can't bring himself to tell her.
As the war is winding down and Franco is winning, the medic brother arranges for an ambulance driver to take the girl and his mother over the border to France. On the way the mother disappears, the driver gets the girl to a refugee camp. The refugees are not welcome in France and conditions in the camp are terrible, with men taking most of the food.
The medic contacts a "nurse" he knows and she is able to find the girl and get her to a safe location to have her baby. She is taken in by a family.
The medic and girl eventually get reunited and are granted permission to move to Chile. This infulx of refugees is supposedly the idea of Pablo Neruda. The man convinces the girl to marry him because they will only be accepted for entry if they are married. It seems that refugees will not be welcome there either but they find that they are welcomed warmly. The man completes his medical training and becomes a highly regarded surgeon. The woman becomes a musician and founder of an ancient music orchestra which tours around South America. The man becomes a friend of Pablo Neruda and many years later helps Neruda escape from Chile.
The man treats the baby as his own. The couple are married but it is initially just a marriage of convenience. The medic eventually tells her that the father of her child died in the war.
The man has an affair with a woman, above his social class, who is engaged to someone else.
She gets pregnant and her family send her off to a convent to have the baby, to avoid scandal to the family. They tell her the baby, a boy, dies at birth. She initially calls off her engagement but her fiance loves her so much he agrees to marry her anyway.
Overtime the Doctor's wife reconnects with the driver who got her out of Spain and they have a seven year affair. Eventually the woman tells the Doctor about this affair. And eventually they do end up consummating their marriage and realizing they do love each other.
The book then switches to the political time when Salvador Allende, the socialist gets into power. The Doctor is a friend of his and plays chess with him. Allende is killed/commits suicide in a coup attempt. Soon after the doctor is arrested and sent to a concentration camp where he sees great cruelty again (like in the Spanish Civil War). He saves the life of the cruel camp Commander.
Eventually the doctor is rescued from his imprisonment with the help of his wife and they move to Venezuela. They eventually move back to Chile and live in a small house in the country. The man's wife dies and he is devastated. One day a young woman shows up and tells him that she is daughter. The woman he had an affair had a girl, not a boy, and the child lived and was adopted by a German couple. The arrival of this "new" member of his family jolts the man out of his despair and he is eager to include her in his life. It turns out the girl's mother was and continues to be a very self-centred, not very nice person.
This was a great book. It was interesting to learn about the history of Spain and Chile. It too demonstrated how cruel people can be. But more importantly it shows how people can be kind and loving. The author is the Goddaughter of Salvador Allende
Night Boat to Tangier
by Kevin Barry
This book has been on several best seller lists in the past year. It is a bit of a strange book but I enjoyed it. It kind of reminded me of writings of Samuel Beckett, particularly Waiting for Godot.
The book centers on two old men, waiting at a ferry terminal. They are down and out criminals who in the past made a lot of money in the drug trade. They admit they did some bad things along the way, including murder. They are waiting at the terminal to try to see if the daughter of one of the men arrives on the ferry. As they are waiting they gradually revisit their past, they torment young people who arrive, asking them if they know the girl they are waiting for.
Maurice, is the father who is waiting for his daughter. As the story progresses we learn that he was married to a woman he loved very much. They did a lot of drugs. They had a baby girl. It is a wonder the child survived her parents drug lifestyle. At one point Maurice abandons his wife and daughter and heads to Spain where he shacks up with a drug dealer contact.
At one point the man's daughter does arrive in the terminal, looks down and sees her father and his friend but decides not to make contact with them. I personally agree with her decision. I think the father probably wants forgiveness but I don't really think he deserves it and I think he would likely manipulate her if they did reconnect.
The story might sound uninteresting but the language the author uses, the interplay between the two tragic-comic characters is very interesting. Even though this too is not a happy book it certainly kept my attention.
This book has been on several best seller lists in the past year. It is a bit of a strange book but I enjoyed it. It kind of reminded me of writings of Samuel Beckett, particularly Waiting for Godot.
The book centers on two old men, waiting at a ferry terminal. They are down and out criminals who in the past made a lot of money in the drug trade. They admit they did some bad things along the way, including murder. They are waiting at the terminal to try to see if the daughter of one of the men arrives on the ferry. As they are waiting they gradually revisit their past, they torment young people who arrive, asking them if they know the girl they are waiting for.
Maurice, is the father who is waiting for his daughter. As the story progresses we learn that he was married to a woman he loved very much. They did a lot of drugs. They had a baby girl. It is a wonder the child survived her parents drug lifestyle. At one point Maurice abandons his wife and daughter and heads to Spain where he shacks up with a drug dealer contact.
At one point the man's daughter does arrive in the terminal, looks down and sees her father and his friend but decides not to make contact with them. I personally agree with her decision. I think the father probably wants forgiveness but I don't really think he deserves it and I think he would likely manipulate her if they did reconnect.
The story might sound uninteresting but the language the author uses, the interplay between the two tragic-comic characters is very interesting. Even though this too is not a happy book it certainly kept my attention.
Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree
by Shookoofeh Azar
This is one of the books on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize this year.
I like to read works from different countries and cultures. However, I found this book a kind of downer. Part of my reaction might be because we are in the midst of the pandemic right now.
The book is set in Iran. I know the author wanted to show how cruel people could be to each other but I found the book bizarre and depressing.
The story is told by a dead girl, the young daughter of the family. She dies when soldiers set fire to their family home because they are considered dissidents. The girl, a ghost, is able to see her family and follow their activities. Somehow they know she is there.... she does take things from the family home and move things around so perhaps that is how they know she is there.
After the daugther's death the family moves far out into the country thinking they can get away from all the terror. The father works with the nearby villagers and helps to get houses built and schools so the community thrives for a time.
The brother in the family is taken to prison and dies there because people seem to have forgotten about him. The mother seems to have a nervous breakdown and walks away wandering around the country, eventually she has an affair with a man she meets.
After a time the family tell the young girl they don't want her around anymore.
The other sister in the family has an affair with a man, he leaves her for another woman and she also leaves the family to turn into a mermaid. The family make a tank for her but eventually realize she needs to be released into the river. Near the end of the book the mermaid leaves the water to see her family and is abused by men who try to figure out how to have sex with her, then she is killed.
The family home falls into disrepair. At the end the mother returns and the father and mother are back together.
I know the author wanted to comment on the violence in Iran but found it so tragic that all the children had to die. The book did not seem to offer any hope for the future.
This is one of the books on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize this year.
I like to read works from different countries and cultures. However, I found this book a kind of downer. Part of my reaction might be because we are in the midst of the pandemic right now.
The book is set in Iran. I know the author wanted to show how cruel people could be to each other but I found the book bizarre and depressing.
The story is told by a dead girl, the young daughter of the family. She dies when soldiers set fire to their family home because they are considered dissidents. The girl, a ghost, is able to see her family and follow their activities. Somehow they know she is there.... she does take things from the family home and move things around so perhaps that is how they know she is there.
After the daugther's death the family moves far out into the country thinking they can get away from all the terror. The father works with the nearby villagers and helps to get houses built and schools so the community thrives for a time.
The brother in the family is taken to prison and dies there because people seem to have forgotten about him. The mother seems to have a nervous breakdown and walks away wandering around the country, eventually she has an affair with a man she meets.
After a time the family tell the young girl they don't want her around anymore.
The other sister in the family has an affair with a man, he leaves her for another woman and she also leaves the family to turn into a mermaid. The family make a tank for her but eventually realize she needs to be released into the river. Near the end of the book the mermaid leaves the water to see her family and is abused by men who try to figure out how to have sex with her, then she is killed.
The family home falls into disrepair. At the end the mother returns and the father and mother are back together.
I know the author wanted to comment on the violence in Iran but found it so tragic that all the children had to die. The book did not seem to offer any hope for the future.
Thursday, 27 February 2020
Avenue of the Mysteries
by John Irving
This is the first book I have read by this author. It was an interesting read, but I have to say I am not sure what to make of it.
The book starts with us being introduced to the main character, a successful writer, who is a cripple. The man is on his way to the Philippines. It then jumps back in time....
The story tells of the man and his sister who live in a dump in Oaxaca Mexico. The boy is bright and has taught himself to read by reading the books in finds in the dump. He has read some very strange things, manuals, a history of the Jesuits in Mexico, etc. His younger sister is strange, she can't speak clearly because of a physical issue in her throat. Only her brother can understand her. She seems to be a mind reader, able to understand what others are thinking and comments quite sarcastically and critically about people. Her brother filters what she says often.
The children are looked after by a man who may or may not be the children's father so they are a bit more fortunate than the other dump kids. Their mother is a prostitute/cleaner at the local orphanage who has limited contact with them.
A monk, Pedro meets the kids and wants to take the to live at the local orphanage run by the Jesuits. The kids are reluctant to go. Then an American from Iowa (a priest in training) arrives on the scene and he also develops and interest in the kids. The kids meet an American draft dodger who says his father died in the Philipines(sp?). The boy promises to visit the father's grave for the man (but he doesn't know man's name nor his father's).
One day the "father" of the children accidentally runs over the boys foot with his truck. The boys foot is crushed and not repairable. He will be crippled for life. The decision is made to put the children in the orphanage but they are given their own room rather than being housed with the other children, because of the girl's disability? because their mother is the cleaner at the orphanage?
The two children are very critical of the catholic church and especially of the worship of the virgin Mary. They feel that the Virgin of Guadalupe should be the one to be worshipped. She seems to take second place to the virgin Mary. One day the children are in church when their mother is dusting the statue of the Virgin Mary. The children believe they saw the virgin give their mother an evil look before their mother plunges to her death off the ladder. This of course further inflames their dislike of Mary. Part of Mary's nose is broken off in the accident. The little girl pockets the nose.
For some weird reason the priests/monks decide the kids should join the circus and they are taken to a nearby circus. They think the girl could work as a psychic but of course she would need her brother to translate. She is given the job of feeding the lion's. The boy is taunted into trying to be a high wire acrobat but doesn't really succeed. The girl hates the lion tamer. He wants her to read the lion's minds, which she can, but she doesn't tell him what she knows. She hates him because he has sex with all the young girls once they get their periods.
The kids go to the morgue to get their mother's body. They find the draft dodger (the good gringo) has died. They take both bodies to the dump and cremate them along with a dead dog and the virgin's nose.
They later return to the church and throw the ashes all over the statue of the virgin. The priests are furious. Their "father" agrees to clean the statue and the next day the nose is back on the statue and the virgin's skin is darker. The priests think it is a miracle...
The kids go back to the circus and the sister gets killed because she climbs into the cage with the male lion. The lion tamer then gets killed by the female lions. We find out that the lion tamer got one of his girls pregnant and she died after an abortion he paid for.
The children had another friend, a transvestite. Once the sister dies the Iowan, who has fallen in love with the transvestite, suggests that he and the transvestite should adopt the boy and move to the U. S.
The priests reluctantly agree. They boy has a lovely life in America, gets a good education and becomes a successful author. He is teased about his strange parents but doesn't care because they love each other and love him. Both his "Parents" die of HIV/Aids.
Back to the present..... the author is haunted by thoughts of his past so he is supposed to be taking beta-blockers, but he finds they make him dull and have no dreams so he doesn't always take his pills. He also has a supply of viagra. He is on his way to the Phillippines to honour his pledge to the good gringo... despite the fact he doesn't know the name of the soldier he is supposed to look for.
On his flight to the Philippines, which has been organized by a former student of his who lives there. he is taken over by a mother and daughter who are supposedly fans of his. They stop to get a picture taken and the people who take the pix are shocked. The women grab the phone saying they don't photo well.
The man has sex with the mother or daughter as he travels to different locations in the Philippines. The man visits with his former student's family and the daughter shows up to be with him. She insists he go to a site where soldiers were tortured and he sees one of the ghosts who haunt the place. When he finally finds the photo of him and the women on his phone he is startled to see that only he is visible.
Eventually he gets back to Manila and his former student takes him to a church to see a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe that has come from Spain centuries before. Only two women, dressed in black are in the church. The man is feeling ill and collapses. At the hospital, as the man is dying, two figures in black go by in the hallway.
So that's the story.... I don't know what to make of it.... I think the man's daughter may have gotten herself killed so her brother could have a better life.... He is not married, maybe he doesn't feel he deserves a happy life? He finds out late in the book that a doctor he loved might have married him, but he hadn't asked her. What is with the mother/daughter? They are obviously spirits, are they designated to make sure he meets his fate? What is with all the sex they inflict on him? The book ends by coming full circle in the sense that it starts with the virgin in Mexico and ends with the Virgin in Manila. You cannot escape your fate. There is a lot of ranting about the catholic church. The man and his former student argue frequently about religion as the former student is a devote Catholic. A very perplexing book. The author does comment briefly that good books are not autobiographical, that real authors should use their imagination...
This is the first book I have read by this author. It was an interesting read, but I have to say I am not sure what to make of it.
The book starts with us being introduced to the main character, a successful writer, who is a cripple. The man is on his way to the Philippines. It then jumps back in time....
The story tells of the man and his sister who live in a dump in Oaxaca Mexico. The boy is bright and has taught himself to read by reading the books in finds in the dump. He has read some very strange things, manuals, a history of the Jesuits in Mexico, etc. His younger sister is strange, she can't speak clearly because of a physical issue in her throat. Only her brother can understand her. She seems to be a mind reader, able to understand what others are thinking and comments quite sarcastically and critically about people. Her brother filters what she says often.
The children are looked after by a man who may or may not be the children's father so they are a bit more fortunate than the other dump kids. Their mother is a prostitute/cleaner at the local orphanage who has limited contact with them.
A monk, Pedro meets the kids and wants to take the to live at the local orphanage run by the Jesuits. The kids are reluctant to go. Then an American from Iowa (a priest in training) arrives on the scene and he also develops and interest in the kids. The kids meet an American draft dodger who says his father died in the Philipines(sp?). The boy promises to visit the father's grave for the man (but he doesn't know man's name nor his father's).
One day the "father" of the children accidentally runs over the boys foot with his truck. The boys foot is crushed and not repairable. He will be crippled for life. The decision is made to put the children in the orphanage but they are given their own room rather than being housed with the other children, because of the girl's disability? because their mother is the cleaner at the orphanage?
The two children are very critical of the catholic church and especially of the worship of the virgin Mary. They feel that the Virgin of Guadalupe should be the one to be worshipped. She seems to take second place to the virgin Mary. One day the children are in church when their mother is dusting the statue of the Virgin Mary. The children believe they saw the virgin give their mother an evil look before their mother plunges to her death off the ladder. This of course further inflames their dislike of Mary. Part of Mary's nose is broken off in the accident. The little girl pockets the nose.
For some weird reason the priests/monks decide the kids should join the circus and they are taken to a nearby circus. They think the girl could work as a psychic but of course she would need her brother to translate. She is given the job of feeding the lion's. The boy is taunted into trying to be a high wire acrobat but doesn't really succeed. The girl hates the lion tamer. He wants her to read the lion's minds, which she can, but she doesn't tell him what she knows. She hates him because he has sex with all the young girls once they get their periods.
The kids go to the morgue to get their mother's body. They find the draft dodger (the good gringo) has died. They take both bodies to the dump and cremate them along with a dead dog and the virgin's nose.
They later return to the church and throw the ashes all over the statue of the virgin. The priests are furious. Their "father" agrees to clean the statue and the next day the nose is back on the statue and the virgin's skin is darker. The priests think it is a miracle...
The kids go back to the circus and the sister gets killed because she climbs into the cage with the male lion. The lion tamer then gets killed by the female lions. We find out that the lion tamer got one of his girls pregnant and she died after an abortion he paid for.
The children had another friend, a transvestite. Once the sister dies the Iowan, who has fallen in love with the transvestite, suggests that he and the transvestite should adopt the boy and move to the U. S.
The priests reluctantly agree. They boy has a lovely life in America, gets a good education and becomes a successful author. He is teased about his strange parents but doesn't care because they love each other and love him. Both his "Parents" die of HIV/Aids.
Back to the present..... the author is haunted by thoughts of his past so he is supposed to be taking beta-blockers, but he finds they make him dull and have no dreams so he doesn't always take his pills. He also has a supply of viagra. He is on his way to the Phillippines to honour his pledge to the good gringo... despite the fact he doesn't know the name of the soldier he is supposed to look for.
On his flight to the Philippines, which has been organized by a former student of his who lives there. he is taken over by a mother and daughter who are supposedly fans of his. They stop to get a picture taken and the people who take the pix are shocked. The women grab the phone saying they don't photo well.
The man has sex with the mother or daughter as he travels to different locations in the Philippines. The man visits with his former student's family and the daughter shows up to be with him. She insists he go to a site where soldiers were tortured and he sees one of the ghosts who haunt the place. When he finally finds the photo of him and the women on his phone he is startled to see that only he is visible.
Eventually he gets back to Manila and his former student takes him to a church to see a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe that has come from Spain centuries before. Only two women, dressed in black are in the church. The man is feeling ill and collapses. At the hospital, as the man is dying, two figures in black go by in the hallway.
So that's the story.... I don't know what to make of it.... I think the man's daughter may have gotten herself killed so her brother could have a better life.... He is not married, maybe he doesn't feel he deserves a happy life? He finds out late in the book that a doctor he loved might have married him, but he hadn't asked her. What is with the mother/daughter? They are obviously spirits, are they designated to make sure he meets his fate? What is with all the sex they inflict on him? The book ends by coming full circle in the sense that it starts with the virgin in Mexico and ends with the Virgin in Manila. You cannot escape your fate. There is a lot of ranting about the catholic church. The man and his former student argue frequently about religion as the former student is a devote Catholic. A very perplexing book. The author does comment briefly that good books are not autobiographical, that real authors should use their imagination...
Saturday, 18 January 2020
The Innocents
by Michael Crummy
This book has been getting a lot of acclaim. It was on the short list for the Giller Prize.
This was a very interesting book. It is the story of two young children, living in a bay in Newfoundland who are left orphaned and to fend for themselves when their parents die. The boy is 12 and the girl is younger.
The kids are really innocent and there is no one else around to help them or teach them. The girl doesn't have any idea what to do when she eventually gets her period. Sometimes they sleep together to keep warm... at times they engage in foreplay kind of activities not understanding what it is or why or that it might not be a good idea.
They work really hard and eke out a living, fishing and gardening and collecting berries. A supply ship comes once a year and the boy takes the salted fish harvest to the ship as his father did before. They get some supplies of flower, salt, etc. The supply ship people are concerned about whether they will survive but the boy insists they will try for a year or two
The children buried their parents at sea, a young sister died and she is buried near the family garden. The young girl was around when the baby was born and later hears her mother say she would like to kill herself (post-partum depression). The girl is traumatized by what she saw her mother suffer in the birth. The young girl talks to her sister often.
They have a number of strange adventures... they see a ship stranded in the ice one day. When they go to it they find out all are dead on board, the boy discovers evidence of cannibalism but doesn't tell his sister about this. They take some wood, clothing and other supplies from the ship and take it back to their house.
On another occasion the boy gets ill and they the girl gets very ill. The boy feels she will die but through some chance of fate a ship arrives and a man and woman help to nurse the girl back to health. The man also shows the boy how to use his father's gone to shoot animals and to set traps for animals.
Later another ship arrives, seeking wood for a replacement mast. The leader and his men stay with the boy and girl for a time The crew are quite raunchy, the leader regales the girl with stories of the many countries he has visited. At times the girl and this man spend some time together and the crew suggest they are having sex.... they don't
After they leave the boy and girl go back to their usual lives but one day the boy is almost drowned when a storm comes up when he is fishing. He survives and and as the girl is trying to warm him up they end up having sex.... they have no idea where a baby comes from. The girl thinks there can be virgin births, the boy thinks it might be the boat leader's. As the book ends we learn that the baby girl is told the boy is her uncle.
This was a very interesting story, the language, the descriptions of life at the time, etc. and the portrayal of the two young ones was almost like something from the bible.... Adam and Eve.
This was a beautiful but sad book, powerful and gentle, kind and brutal at times. Very impressive and memorable.
This book has been getting a lot of acclaim. It was on the short list for the Giller Prize.
This was a very interesting book. It is the story of two young children, living in a bay in Newfoundland who are left orphaned and to fend for themselves when their parents die. The boy is 12 and the girl is younger.
The kids are really innocent and there is no one else around to help them or teach them. The girl doesn't have any idea what to do when she eventually gets her period. Sometimes they sleep together to keep warm... at times they engage in foreplay kind of activities not understanding what it is or why or that it might not be a good idea.
They work really hard and eke out a living, fishing and gardening and collecting berries. A supply ship comes once a year and the boy takes the salted fish harvest to the ship as his father did before. They get some supplies of flower, salt, etc. The supply ship people are concerned about whether they will survive but the boy insists they will try for a year or two
The children buried their parents at sea, a young sister died and she is buried near the family garden. The young girl was around when the baby was born and later hears her mother say she would like to kill herself (post-partum depression). The girl is traumatized by what she saw her mother suffer in the birth. The young girl talks to her sister often.
They have a number of strange adventures... they see a ship stranded in the ice one day. When they go to it they find out all are dead on board, the boy discovers evidence of cannibalism but doesn't tell his sister about this. They take some wood, clothing and other supplies from the ship and take it back to their house.
On another occasion the boy gets ill and they the girl gets very ill. The boy feels she will die but through some chance of fate a ship arrives and a man and woman help to nurse the girl back to health. The man also shows the boy how to use his father's gone to shoot animals and to set traps for animals.
Later another ship arrives, seeking wood for a replacement mast. The leader and his men stay with the boy and girl for a time The crew are quite raunchy, the leader regales the girl with stories of the many countries he has visited. At times the girl and this man spend some time together and the crew suggest they are having sex.... they don't
After they leave the boy and girl go back to their usual lives but one day the boy is almost drowned when a storm comes up when he is fishing. He survives and and as the girl is trying to warm him up they end up having sex.... they have no idea where a baby comes from. The girl thinks there can be virgin births, the boy thinks it might be the boat leader's. As the book ends we learn that the baby girl is told the boy is her uncle.
This was a very interesting story, the language, the descriptions of life at the time, etc. and the portrayal of the two young ones was almost like something from the bible.... Adam and Eve.
This was a beautiful but sad book, powerful and gentle, kind and brutal at times. Very impressive and memorable.
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