RE: Surfacing

The description of this novel read as "Part detective, part psychological thriller..." I was psychologically on the edge through the majority of the text. Something about being alone on an Island... with your three other friends... and you have no name. I felt vulnerable. ME. Creeped out! I half expected a bear to pop out of nowhere and slaughter everyone. Or Miss No-Name's father would turn up while everyone was playing bridge or gutting fish, and gun everyone down. BrrrrRRRrrrR!

Non of these things happened. There was a lot of awkward silence, sun-bathing, detective novel reading, canoeing, fishing (or lack-there-of,) and Anti-American ("Yankee") notions. Since I was such a fan of the writing, (and who would't love Atwood?) I'm progressing onto Life Before Man. On the dust jacket of this next read, the text points out that Atwood continues on with her gender role bending writing, which wasn't something I noticed in Surfacing until I read this comment. Other than an occasional slip of the word "groovy," its easy to forget that this novel was written in the 70's. Women's suffrage is ever-evolving, so nothing struck me as "out of the ordinary" about the protagonist's wilderness skills, life goals or attitude. I now see what I had missed during my reading experience and I just know I would have had a different outlook on this novel had I read it in the 1970's or early 80's (yes pre-dating my birth!) verses reading now in 2012.

I didn't think the book felt dated. I kind of reminded me of traveling to my hometown in Maine. The novel is relatable, even with the lack of technology. I connected with the protagonist, even though I never even knew her name. What I found so off-putting was something that probably could have been worked out through spacing, or the use of dig-bats: there were moments when the placement in time was difficult to decipher. The protagonist reminisced (often,) but the text just meshed together as one, so it could be difficult to place what was happening "now" and in memory. 3/5 stars.

A Philosophical Detour

I'm going to say I had the pleasure of reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. Be forewarned (and this is also the reason for my scoring,) that this novel is thick with philosophy and not so much a plot-driven book. It. Is. Dry... at times. This is essentially what you get when a philosopher consciously decides to write a novel about the preciousness/lack-there-of qualities of life. The novel exists to provoke thought, and that it does well.

Listed as one of the 1,001 books to read before you die, I liked the premise of the novel and thought, "hey I'll like this!" I do, but it's most certainly one of the toughest books I had to wade through for the sake of personal enlightenment. The best excuse I could have for picking this book up at this time, is that I wanted to participate in a book club discussion on GoodReads... and I happen to own a copy of the novel. The better half of the group's discussion is an opinion pole on whether or not the book is classified as "pretentious". It's philosophical - the end.

At first I too rolled my eyes at the "Profound Thoughts" of a 12-year-old girl, but I got over that when I actually found Paloma relatable and struck by some of her notions. Renee was a much easier character to digest from the get-go, but every now and then, her tangents would put me to sleep. It's actually the overwhelming nature of the THOUGHTS that I ended up rating this novel a 3/5. I loved the ending, but I hardly see this as a novel I would want to pick up again and again.

France & Food Porn

Be forewarned: bits of Julia Child's bio are a little pornographic... food-wise. Another way to put it: DO NOT READ if you are on a strict diet. This isn't just a story about Julia's love for France, it's her life as told through food.

This was a tough book to get through because you have to stop and smell the bouillabaisse, and crudités, and boeuf bourguignon. Oh, great! I'm hungry again. Though My Life In France was incomplete upon Julia's passing, her voice is so authentic, one would hardly guess it was actually completed by her grandnephew. Julia's animated personality rings true from page to page, and at times a little much to digest.

Her life is far from boring, even though she drones on about politics frequently, as her husband was very active with the government while they thrived in France. Julia has a passion for France/the French that cannot be met by anyone I've ever met. There's a lot of "Frenchness" in my heritage, so I learned a lot through Julia, about myself in relation to food. I now know I can blame my chronic hunger on my genetic roots.

Julia's story is lovely and sweet, so I do recommend this for anyone interested in biographic reads. Enjoyable enough, though my frequent pauses pushed my interest in and out. 3/5 Stars.