I picked up this book at a library book sale and had no idea what it was about (I tend to do that, I think the summary on the jacket always gives too much away so I don’t read it.) “If Only It Were True” is Marc Levy’s first novel and it reads like one. It’s simple, it’s a bit rough on the edges and the plot isn’t catchy or dramatic. I would be impressed if someone told me they wrote this for NaNoWriMo, but not as a published novel (touted as an “instant bestseller in France!”)

The story is about a woman who is left in a coma after a car accident. Through the magic of the imagination, her spirit is able to leave her body and travel invisibly, eavesdropping and invading the lives of anyone she chooses. No one is able to see this spirit except for the man who lives in what used to be her apartment. No reason is given for this unique ability, other than the fact that he’s handsome and single and she’s a looker despite being in a coma. The two embark on an uneducated, and eventually unrealistic (if you have already gotten past the idea of the ghost to begin with) journey to keep her coma-body alive and to get her spirt reunited with her physical being.

As I said, the plot isn’t complicated, nor realistic. The dialogue and interactions between characters are simple, unpolished and curt. The book was a quick and easy read, taking me perhaps two hours. I am certain I will have forgotten (gladly) the context within the same time frame.

For a $.50 library sale book, I did not get my money’s worth on this one.

A novel that takes a long-winded circuitious route to its title. The story of a family divided by a lie told by one as a child that had implications to last a lifetime. A novel about a novelist, using writing as her voice, even if it can never be published.

I wasn’t impressed with this novel. The characters didn’t move me, the plot was tediously slow, the setting in England, pre- and post-war. McEwan has a story to unfold, this is certain, the the lengths he goes to, the details and journeys he takes us on seem so tangental to the point that I felt a loss of connection. I stuck it out only to see it through, but not for a sense of urgency to turn the page.

It also seems to me that stories of betrayal are limited in scope. Either, the betrayer comes forward (or is brought forward) and repents, is forgiven and life moves on; or, the betrayer dies with the secret, their penance being the burden of guilt. This novel takes the turn of repentance, but forgiveness cannot change the burden of the effects. The crime will ripple through their lives with or without repentance, and so it bears no weight when the betrayal is acknowledged. It feels empty and I wonder why all these pages should lead to an event so unremarkable.

Perhaps it is so that we realize the cross to bear is our own, whatever our sin. Forgiveness is an internal matter as much as an external one. Decisions, made in youth or in maturity can change our lives and those around us forever.

I wouldn’t recommend the novel, but for a $.50 library sale book, I’d say I got my money’s worth.

I have a need to find you today. Maybe it was the book they talked about yesterday, the one we read together and disagreed on. Maybe it is just the passing of time – what has it been, a year? maybe two, this time? Maybe it is just the ebb and flow of life, the way life goes on, even if we don’t share it anymore.

I have a need to hear you laugh. To see that smile, those eyes. There is peace there, contentment, security. Your presence is a safe haven. Perhaps the only place where I never felt pretenses, never had the need to hold back, hold up or hold onto.

I have a need to see your words. Your writing, your letters. To see the emotions you don’t always say. To read the feelings hidden within. To know, to just know.

I have a need.

But I won’t pursue it. I won’t call the number I know I could find. I won’t send the letter I wrote after dark. I won’t find your email, changed, but similar. I will leave it alone.

Because that is how we are best. Alone. Apart. Divided. That is the only way we can both move forward. And moving forward is the only way I will go. I will not go back.

This need will pass.

This need will pass.

Poka Bean recommended “All Over But the Shoutin'” by Rick Bragg awhile back and I devoured it in one sitting. Today, it was the same with “Ava’s Man”. Rick Bragg is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author, who writes in these books about his family, his family history in the south. The words, the sentences, the metaphors fall on the page and into your soul with the same slow, rhythmic pulse of a southern accent. His family, his relatives are every bit as American as we might ever know, every bit as human, as real as tangible. He shares the joys and the sorrows, the rights and the wrongs, the evil and the good, making up a whole of a person, and he does it all with such grace, such humility, such honesty that you cannot help but find yourself transformed by the experience.

If you have not read anything by Rick Bragg, plan to. At some point, let the phrases of his books roll through your mind like a summer thunderstorm. Let the people of his life enter into yours as your own family. Let the love and the heritage of his past linger long after you close the book and set it back on the shelf. Bragg’s writing is the most un-forced, natural flow of words that I have ever read. And the ease with which you will feel a part of his history is remarkable.

Many years ago, I read Barbara Kingsolver’s trilogy, “The Bean Trees”, “Pigs in Heaven” and “Animal Dreams”. Not long ago, I read “Prodigal Summer”. I had loved her trilogy but was disappointed in “Prodigal”.

For some reason I cannot put my finger on, I have avoided reading “The Poisonwood Bible.” I know it was classic Kingsolver, and I know many people who have read it, but for some reason I had always avoided it. Until now. I picked up a copy at my library’s book sale last summer and finally cracked it open last week.

“The Poisonwood Bible” tells the story of a missionary family, led to Africa by their zealous father who becomes oblivious to the cultural hurdles and challenges that lie in his path to converting the Congo to Christianity. It takes the reader on a journey through this family, through Africa and through the tested faith of Christian children. It is a story of love, of belief, of faith, of reality, of the world, democracy, kindness and charity. Each chapter is told from the view of the mother or one of the daughters, complete with grammar and semantics appropriate to the character.

Kingsolver has given us a gift with this book. Tremendous characters wrapped in the culture and settings of Africa. She gives us a glimpse of faith, the blindness, the arrogance, the ignorance, the assumptions and yet the kindness, the charity and the generosity. She tells a side of history white, upper-class Americans would rather forget. She tells of the human element of war, famine, politics and religion.

I am sure that most book lovers out there have long ago read “The Poisonwood Bible” but for those like me, who never picked it up, I encourage you to do so. You will fall in love with Rachel, Adah, Leah and Ruth May. You will struggle as their mother did with her circumstances and her choices. You will find yourself angry with America and her arrogance in politics. You will cry over the generous spirits of the world’s poorest citizens. And hopefully you will come away with an appreciation for the absolute necessity to understand one another, to know from what place we have come from, and to apply our beliefs according to that understanding, not in spite of it.

Dear Bloggers:

I saw your recent friendship vacancy listed on your blog and wish to submit my resume for consideration. Your position of “Dear Friend Extraordinaire” meets convincingly with my skills and experience with relationships. Attached, please find a list of reasons for why you should consider me as an excellent choice to not only replace the friendship you recently ended, but to surpass your expectations for a friend altogether.

The following is a list of the top ten reasons why I would make a great friend:
1. I love visitors. Last minute or planned long in advance, I love visitors. My house is your house and if you can find something edible in the fridge, you are welcome to it. If you just need a break from your house, your kids, your spouse, your job, you could stop by and hang out and relax and I wouldn’t mind a bit;
2. I’m available. I am not so super-busy in my life that you’ll find me to be an absentee friend. I’m there. I’m accessible. I can come at a moment’s notice to watch the kids while you take the dog to the vet, or to watch the dog while you take the kids to the ER. Whatever you need, I’m there. But I’m not so needy that I can’t leave you alone, either. I enjoy quiet nights to myself, without lengthy phone calls or being bogged down by the problems of others. I know when to say when.
3. I know when the moment calls for a margarita, a cup of cocoa, a glass of wine, soda and popcorn or just a hug;
4. I always have tissues. With lotion. If you’re feeling sad, want to watch a great but sad movie, or just have the flu, I have tissues;
5. I don’t care what condition your house is in. You will never see me making an ugly face when I walk in the door and your sink is piled high and your carpet is the color of the dog’s fur. Not only will I not care, I’ll load your dishwasher while we talk. I’ll help you vacuum before your in-laws arrive and I’ll even take out the trash when I see that it’s full;
6. I know to bring something. When you invite me over, I’ll always bring something. Whether it’s the latest book I read that I know you’ll love, some homemade cookies or a new recipe that will accommodate your husband’s allergy to white things, I’ll have it;
7. I love kids. Mine, yours, the neighbor’s (well, sometimes the neighbor’s), I love kids. If hanging out together means we need to entertain the kids, too, all the better! If movie night means watching Ice Age 2 for the 100th time, so be it! If you can’t go out because the littlest is sick, I’ll bring over a pizza. I’ll also baby-sit so you and your man can actually have a date night this month;
8. I’m cheap. I don’t want to go into the city to the clubs and bars for girls’ night out. I don’t need to go to the movies to see a flick, either. Going to the mall doesn’t mean I’m going to spend more than $10. I’m not into designer anything, I don’t have to acquire things to make myself happy and I don’t need a restaurant with linens on the tables;
9. I’m low maintenance. You don’t need to change your clothes if I’m coming over for dinner. You don’t need to have makeup on if you want to go to the bookstore. If you need to clean out the garage and want some company, I’ll put on old jeans and throw my hair in a pony tail and be right over to help; and,
10. You don’t have to be perfect. I try to be a good Christian but I mess up. Sometimes I swear, sometimes I get obsessed about football, sometimes I feel like sleeping in instead of going to church, sometimes I get jealous or angry, and it’s okay with me if you feel those things, too. You don’t have to tip toe around me or watch yourself so that you don’t slip up and appear “un-Christian-like”. I’ll like you anyway.

I hope you’ll consider my qualifications carefully and schedule a time when we can meet in person to discuss your friendship vacancy. If, for some reason, you don’t feel that our personalities are a good match, I believe these qualifications would also make me a good girlfriend and perhaps you could pass along my resume to any single man you might be acquainted with.

Thanks again for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Eliza Jane

There will henceforth commence a day of mourning for the loss by the New England Patriots. It was a good game, but I’m deeply saddened that the Pats didn’t come out on top at the end. I guess now I’ll have to watch the SuperBowl for the commercials.

And so we started looking for four paws to touch our heart. And today, the rescue let us bring one home, to spend the afternoon. We took him back so he can be treated for heartworm and seen by the vet, but if all goes well, we’ll have a pooch in our home as soon as Friday.

I think he’s a keeper, how about you?

LM knows the rule when I’m watching football: interupt only on commercials. He also knows the rule for when I’m watching the Patriots: interupt only on a commercial and only if you’re bleeding from the head. Last Sunday, I introduced LM to the rule of the Patriots in the playoffs: interupt only on commercials, only if you are bleeding from the head and ONLY if the bleeding has not stopped for an hour. This Sunday, I think I will just drive him to the ER before the game starts, just in case he needs medical attention while Brady is on the field. Cause I don’t want to lose my “Mom of the Year” status or anything.

GO PATRIOTS!!

One of my favorite movies is on, “For Love of the Game”….shhh….

I’ll blog some other time…it’s time for baseball and true love.