It’s been raining off and on this morning, so I’m glad we got out to rake the leaves yesterday while everything was dry. I don’t mind wet fall weather - it just seems to intensify the gorgeous colours of the trees when it’s overcast and the trunks are black with rain. I’ve got a delicious cup of chai and a Date Bar to motivate me this morning. I’ve done a few things already and am running behind, but I have two great books to tell you about, so I’ll just get to it.
Last week I read Polar Vortex by Canadian novelist Shani Mootoo. This novel has been shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and I can certainly understand why. Priya and Alex are living what appears to be an ideal life. They have a big old house on what is technically an island (maybe near Kingston, Ontario?), where they have room to be creative: Priya is an artist and Alex is a writer. But all is not what it seems, and cracks begin to appear when Priya invites an old friend to come and stay, a man she hasn’t been in contact with since meeting Alex. What ensues is an exploration into the decades-long, complicated relationship between Priya and Prakesh, and how it will affect the relatively new relationship she has with Alex. This literary novel explores various kinds of relationships, and asks readers to consider whether a lengthy but neglected relationship is more significant than a recent but nurtured one. It also questions whether the secrets in one’s past ever really go away. I found this to be a truly thought-provoking novel, making me think of my own past relationships, those I’ve neglected and those I’ve nurtured, as well as consider the experiences of refugees as they settle into a new country. I've also never really thought about the challenges gay couples face, in the past and even now, in our more accepting society. It was a short book that seemed long, packed as it was with so much to think about. I would recommend this to anyone interested in books exploring relationships, secrets and deception.
And I finished listening to a great audiobook, Normal People by Sally Rooney. I think this title came to my attention because it’s recently been adapted into a series, which I've heard was not as good as the book (it never is!). The novel begins when Marianne and Connell are in their final years of secondary school in County Sligo. Connell’s mother cleans house for Marianne’s family, and although they are attracted to one another, they must hide their feelings from others, fearing negative reactions from their classmates. Although he and his mother don't have much money, Connell has managed to become part of the popular crowd, while Marianne is considered an outsider, on the fringes, a loner, despite her family’s wealth. When they both attend Trinity College, Dublin, their roles are reversed, and Marianne is the popular one, while Connell, only able to attend on scholarship, is the outsider. Once again, their relationship must be kept secret, and this goes on for a few more years as they have different, sometimes disturbing, experiences with different people, but they always remain an anchor for one another despite their involvement with others and their ever-changing locations. I had no idea what this book was about and didn’t take to it at first, but once the story got going, I was hooked. I found myself telling them to just get together and reveal their relationship to everyone, criticisms be damned! I was rooting for them, and cringing at their foolish decisions. It was a fabulous book, and the narrator, Aoife McMahon, did a wonderful job of bringing the characters and their experiences to life. I would highly recommend this audiobook to just about anyone, but be prepared to both laugh and cry.
That’s all for today. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and pick up a god book!
Bye for now…Julie
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