Canada by Richard Ford

So, I've read a few books between the last time I posted and now and have neglected to post reviews about them. I hope to go back and catch up.

Today I bring you a review of Richard Ford's newest book Canada. Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize winning author in fiction and is considered to be part of the dirty realism movement.

To give a simple summary of this book, it is the story of a boy named Dell who faces unfortunate circumstances in his life at no choosing of his own.

The story is broken up into three parts, which are delineated for you in the book. The first part focuses on Dell and his family, which includes his twin sister Berner, and his father Bev and mother Neeva. Dell and Berner have never felt a sense of place since they were constantly moving due to his father being in the military. Eventually, they settle in Great Falls, Montana. I don't want to give too much away, but his parents come wrapped up in something that lands them in jail. Neeva, knowing that she and Bev would eventually get caught, has made arrangements for her kids to be picked up by a friend and taken to safety. However, before this happens, Berner decides to run away. Dell, by himself, is picked up by his mother's friend and is driven to Canada to live with the friend's brother, Arthur Remlinger. His life is in upheaval because of his parent's poor decisions.

Part Two of the book focuses on Dell's time in the small town in Canada. Dell works for Arthur by helping cleaning the hotel that Arthur runs and eventually helps with the goose hunts that he organizes. Close to then end of the book, it is revealed that Arthur has a somewhat dark past, and ends up dragging Dell into yet another unfortunate situation.

Part Three of the book is short and brings you to a present time in Dell's life. We find out Dell stayed in Canada and established a life for himself there. We also learn about what happened to Berner.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read.

And a side note. We actually got to see Richard Ford in person at Politics & Prose, a D.C. bookstore. He read from the book, did a Q&A, and then signed books. Richard Ford is my husband's favorite living author, and  he insisted that we go. He was great and was so kind when signing books. He even allowed my husband to take a picture with him. It made me happy that my husband had the opportunity to meet him.

The Help

I recently had the great pleasure of reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. If you have not read this book, you should. I really, really enjoyed reading it every night.  

The book centers on and is told through the view point of three main characters: Aibileen, Minny, and Miss Skeeter. Miss Skeeter is a young, white woman living in Mississippi in the 1960's. She is a member of the local social scene, playing bridge once a week and writing the newsletter for the Jackson Junior League. Aibileen and Minny are both African Americans working as hired help in the homes of white women. Aibileen works for Miss Skeeter's friend Elizabeth. Minny recently got fired by Hilly, who also happens to be the antagonist in this story, and now works for Celia Foote.

Skeeter has dreams of being a writer. She sends off an application off to Harper and Row, but gets a rejection letter saying she has promise but needs experience. So, she applies to the local Jackson newspaper filling in for the writer of the housecleaning column. Off course, Skeeter has no experience and decides to ask for Aibileen's assistance. After working with Aibileen, Skeeter thinks that writing a book from the point of view from the help would be something that Harper and Row would be interested in, and they are, especially with the Civil Rights movement.

Minny, who is sassy, works for Celia Foote. Celia is an outcast of the social scene, mostly because she married Hilly's old flame. She desperately wants to fit in, but she is never given a chance. Minny ends up becoming her confidant.

This book is an interesting look at race relations in the deep south. There is a lot more to the story, including the interactions between Skeeter and her mother, Skeeter's search for the truth about what happened to her old maid, Constantine, and Skeeter's relationship with a certain senator's son, but I don't want to give too much away because it is such a good book that you should read. And the movie isn't bad either!!

The Beaufort Diaries

Recently I read a nice short read, a graphic novel by T. Cooper, The Beaufort Diaries. The husband insisted I pick it up at the "going out of business Borders" since it had a bear on the cover and would provide me fodder for my bear blog.

The Beaufort Diaries centers around a polar bear named Beaufort. He got separated from his mother via an ice floe. He headed south and eventually made it to Hollywood. While waiting tables, he gets a part in a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio about global warming. The film wins critical acclaim and Beaufort is the new hot thing in Hollywood. Then things go down hill for Beaufort. He passes on a part in The Golden Compass 2, his movie Bear bombs at the box office, and he gets hooked on drugs and alcohol. But don't give up hope, Beaufort finds himself again in the theater.

Overall, a quick entertaining read dealing with some real grown up issues. A short film based on the book was shown at the Tribeca film festival. You can check that out at my bear blog (click here).

Up in the Air

About a year ago, I watched the movie "Up in the Air" starting George Clooney. I really enjoyed the movie, especially the story line.   I had heard the novel itself was very good, but didn't have a chance to read the novel by Walther Kirn until recently. Let me say this, if you have seen the movie, you have a different story coming at you in the novel. Needless to say, the movie was loosely based on the book.

The story focuses around Ryan Bingham, a man who lives his life constantly in the air, flying from destination to destination. Ryan works in the field of career transition counseling. That is, he is brought in by companies to fire people, but he makes it seem less traumatic by counseling on their strengths and weaknesses for them to use in their future endeavors. On the side, Ryan goes around as a sort of a motivational speaker for the business sector.

Ryan has spent so much time flying, he is well recognized by several of the employees of Great West airlines, with which he is trying to earn one million frequent-flyer miles. Additionally, he knows the layout of the rooms in Homewood Suites, and is a loyal customer of Maestro car rentals. He secretly hopes he is being pursued by head hunters from a company called Myth Tech. However, he has a great disconnect from his own family back home in Minnesota, who are dealing with the planning of his sister Julie's wedding.

If you enjoyed the movie, I think you will enjoy the book, even though the two are nothing alike. I'm serious, they share the name of the main character, what his job is, the fact that he is trying to earn one million frequent-flyer miles, and that there is a sister getting married, but that is about it. Still, the book kept me captivated and it was quite an enjoyable read. 

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Alright, so today I bring you yet another David Sedaris book of short stories, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. Think of this set of stories as a modern day, bad ass Aesop's Fables. What I really like about this set of stories is that Sedaris assigns both likable and unlikable human qualities to animals. My favorite stories include The Toad, the Turtle and the Duck, where the cast of characters are waiting in line for something in the swamp, The Mouse and the Snake, where a mouse cares for a baby corn snake, and The Grieving Owl, where an owl befriends a hippopotamus at the zoo. The stories are funny and you can easily knock this book out in a couple of hours. Another thing also enjoyable about this book are the illustrations by Ian Falconer, who is known as the author and illustrator of the Olivia the Pig books. Each story has at least one illustration associated with it, which is just as amusing as the story. Over all, this is a fun, quick read that I would recommend.

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

Alright, today I bring you the second book I've read by David Sedaris, Barrel Fever, a collection of short stories and essays. This set of stories is not autobiographical like they were in Me Talk Pretty One Day. There are several amusing stories, like The Last You'll Hear From Me, a letter being read at the funeral of girl who committed suicide. Another one I like, though it had a slightly disturbing ending, was Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family. Santaland Diaries is an autobiographical essay about David's time working as an elf at Macy's during Christmas time. There are several stories in which homosexuality is either an underlying or active theme. If you are uncomfortable with that concept, then you probably won't enjoy the book. However, if you don't care, like I do, you should find all the stories amusing on some level.

The Handmaid's Tale

I read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood at the suggestion of my dear hubby. He really likes this book, and now I can see why.

Imagine a world where the religious right are in power. There are few women able to bear children, and those that are able to are rounded up and are sent to a school to become a Handmaid.

Handmaid's are assigned to families, each lead by a Commander. Handmaids are expected to take part in a "ceremony" each month in an effort to produce a child for the family she is assigned to.

The story centers around the main character of Offred, a handmaid. This story moves back and forth from Offred telling of her experiences as a handmaid, her time at the school where she learned to become a handmaid, and the time before the religious Gileads took over the country.

I envisioned the main character living a normal life during something like the 80's, and then being forced into this servitude and living in a world that is a weird mix of the middle ages and modern times.

I think the main reason I like this book so much is because it reminds me a lot of 1984 by George Orwell. It's a world where people are being constantly monitored and whisked away to never be seen again if they did something displeasing to the regime.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you haven't read Margaret Atwood before. It is an interesting depiction of what our world could be like if our country was run as a Christian theocracy.