I received two more books from Paperbackswap.com this week…..and I couldn’t put either of them down. Finished both in four days. Reading, for me, is like needing to drink water and I was very thirsty, I guess.
The first, Water for Elephansts was an excellent look into depression-era traveling circuses. Sara Gruen’s tale of love, loss, and aging mingled with interesting insight into the circus life is so descriptive that, at times, I felt the grit of dirt in my teeth as I read about the the circus train departing.
The second read of the week was Alice Sebold’s The Almost Moon. This was so good that I read the entire book in one day. I had no intention of even starting the book as I have so many others on my To-Read list….but the first line pulled me in- “When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily.”
Other than that….not a lot going on this week. I’ve been working and Thom’s been trying to keep his children entertained. The kittens continue to be a source of entertainment and are full of cuddles and great, white fluffy goodness.
Today we’re heading down the LR for an IMAX movie. Should be fun! Hope y’all are having a great weekend!
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a
passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate
circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night
stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his
degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there
that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is
married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets
Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach
her.Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense
of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes
incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can
afford.
With fierce intelligence and emotional intensity, Alice Sebold brings us a
searing portrait of a mother-daughter bond that descends into murder.Clair and
Helen Knightly are a parent and child locked in a relationship so unrelenting
that they have become the center of each other’s worlds. But as this
electrifying novel opens, Helen crosses a boundary she never thought she would
approach. And while her act is almost unconscious, it somehow seems like the
fulfillment of a lifetime’s unspoken wishes.Over the next twenty-four hours,
Helen’s life rushes in at her as she is forced to confront the choices that have
brought her to this one riveting crossroad. As a woman who spent years trying to
win the love of someone who had none to spare, she now faces an uncertain and
dangerous freedom.With her unflinching ability to confront the violence and
danger that lurk beneath life’s everyday surface, Sebold explores the complex
ties within families, the meaning of devotion, and the thin line that separates
us from our most haunting impulses. The Almost Moon is unforgettable, a raw and
powerful story of passion and redemption written with the strength of voice that
only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.Images and book description courtesy of Paperbackswap.com
