Book Review - Hieroglyphics; Jill McCorkle

Hieroglyphics; Jill McCorkle 

Algonquin - 2020

Hieroglyphics is the story of 4 lives shaped by past trauma. 

Frank and Lil are an elderly couple in their 80s from Massachusetts, now residing in North Carolina, to be closer to their daughter Becca. Frank was a former history professor and Lil a former dance instructor. Frank's father died in a train derailment and his mother severely injured, just before Christmas when Frank was a  young boy staying with his grandmother.  Lil's mother died in a nightclub fire when she was young and, she has never made peace with her death as she didn't understand why her mother was at the Coconut Grove nightclub in the first place.

Shelley, in an overly nervous court stenographer and single mother to an older son, as well as 6 year old Harvey. Harvey is overly anxious, scared of ghosts, somewhat eccentric and inappropriate at school. It's an issue which has put additional stress on his already frazzled mother.

The chapters alternate between the characters and, the story made me think about just how much our present happiness or unhappiness results from childhood joy or trauma. Who would I have become and what would my happiness factor have been if all those stars had been perfectly aligned?

The writing style definitely takes some getting used to, but the writing is thought provoking - a beautiful example of literary fiction. Hieroglyphics is a multi-layered, slow build story that makes the reader think about their own mortality with its themes of grief, loss, secrets and redemption. This is my second novel by Jill McCorkle, I do love her writing. Life After Life is another thoughtful novel of hers that I enjoyed back in 2014.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars

Book Review - The Caretakers; Eliza Maxwell

The Caretakers; Eliza Maxwell

Lake Union Publishing - 2020

Tessa Shepherd once was a well respected filmmaker but, now she's disgraced after helping to free a man she believe was wrongly imprisoned for murder.  When he kills again shortly after being set free, her reputation has been ruined.  If things are not bad enough, her mother has died unexpectedly and her twin sister is still angry at her over something that occurred when they were younger.

As part of her mother's estate the sisters learn that their late mother has left them property which they were not aware of.  Located in rural PA, is an isolated, rundown estate called Fallbrook, complete with "caretakers" cottage and two elderly sisters who still live in the cottage and receive a monthly stipend from a family trust.  The elderly sisters, Kitty and Deidre Donnelly, hold the key to their late mother's unspoken past.  Tessa sees Fallbrook as an opportunity to escape the media but, she has no idea about Fallbrook's dark, horrific past, a reason it has been vacant for years.

Although this story started out a bit slow, once it got going I couldn't wait to find out more.  I liked the mystery surrounding Fallbrook's unsettling history and the story of the prior inhabitants.  I liked the way the story played out.  The unraveling of the late mother's past, the incident that separated the sisters as well as the surprise ending were satisfying and in the end I was glad I stuck with this one.

Rating - 4/5 stars

202 - American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood; Marc Eliot

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood; Marc Eliot

Clint Eastwood has long been a favorite actor of mine, so when I heard about the new biography, I was anxious to read more about this amazing man.  Boy did I learn a lot too! Despite the fact that Clint Eastwood was a womanizer, probably a lousy husband and a not very involved father, no one could say that the man did not have talent and that he worked hard to accomplish what he did in his 50 years on screen.  Probably one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood, he starred in westerns, thrillers, drama, romance and comedies. Some other interesting facts for me were:

• He was married to just two women: Maggie Johnson (former swimsuit model) from 1953 - 1984) and his present wife Dina Ruiz (a former anchor woman and 35 years younger than him) from 1996 - present. 
• He has (7) children from (5) different women: (2) from his first wife, (1) from his present wife, (2) from airline stewardess, Jacelyn Reeves, (2) with Frances Fisher, a British born American actress, and (1) by former exotic dancer Roxanne Tunis.
• He also had a (14 year) relationship with Sondra Locke who starred in several movies with him.
• Nominated for 5 Academy Awards and acted in more than 40 films.

Not wanting to give out too much information about Eastwood and his life, let me just say that, in my opinion,  if you are an Eastwood fan and want to find out more details about him and his acting career, this book might be a good biography to start with. My understanding is that Clint Eastwood was not interviewed for this book, so the information contained within came from multiple sources and interviews.  I cannot say whether the information is accurate or not since I knew very little about Eastwood prior to reading this book. I liked the book and would RECOMMEND it.

194 - Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle; Dennis, Nethery and Larson

Nubs

I saw this book on the bestseller list, and the animal lover in me said...."read this book".  So happy I did....sniff sniff sniff".  Nubs, is a story about an Iraqi pack dog, barely surviving,  whose life was changed when he met Marine Major Brian Dennis. Brian and the dog (he named Nubs) formed a special bond as Dennis shared his meals, gave him lots of attention and a offer a warm place to sleep.  Things changed fore Nubs when Dennis had to transfer locations some 70 miles away, and could not take Nubs with him.  Nubs was not about to give up on Dennis that easy.  What happened next, is a touching story that will surely bring tears to your eyes....but don't let that discourage you....READ THIS BOOK.  (Ages 4 - 8 and the kid in us all).

You can watch the Brian Dennis (and Nubs) interview with Meredith Vieira on the Today Show (here).

177 - The Humbling; Philip Roth

The Humbling; Philip Roth
Pub Date: Oct 21, 2009

In this latest book by Philip Roth, a mere 140 pages, the reader is introduced to Simon Axler. Simon is an accomplished stage and screen actor, who at the age of 66 finds his life coming apart.  He becomes a failure on the stage, and his wife, a dancer, has left him.  Depressed, he considers suicide, but instead checks himself into a psychiatric hospital.

After Axler's release from the hospital, he retires to his home in the country in New York, and begins an affair with a woman 25 years younger than him who spent the last 17 years as a lesbian.........need I say more??

My Thoughts: A strange novella, about an aging man, his failing career and his sexual escapades with a much much younger woman. Even though this was a short book, I was not exactly enjoying, I HOPED this story in some way was more like Roth's earlier book: Everyman, another story about an aging man, obsessed with regrets about his life ---that book I enjoyed.  Try it for yourself is you are a Roth fan, as long as your expectations are not too high.

176 - Have a Little Faith: A True Story; Mitch Albom

Have a Little Faith: A True Story, by Mitch Albom is a book that I hoped might be an appropriate read this last week, while spending time with my dying brother during his final days.  I was not disappointed.

Mitch Albom  has written a beautiful story about his amazing eight-year journey involving two men of God, two different faiths and two communities.

Mitch Albom was asked to write a eulogy by his childhood Rabbi, Albert Lewis "Reb", when he was 82 years old. To do this Mitch made many visits to the rabbi's home to spend time with him, and his family get to know theme better.

This time spent with the Rabbi gave the author an opportunity to reflect on his own lapsed faith. Although Albom had a religious education, but had pretty much walked away from religion. He was now a Jewish man, married to a Catholic woman.

In the process of these meetings Albom meets a Christian Pastor named Henry Covington.  Covington was an ex-drug dealer who had begun a ministry to the homeless in Detroit. His calling came after a spiritual bargain Covington had made with God when he spared his life. The "I Am My Brother's Keeper" ministry, was a very poor church in Detroit. The church was so poor, the roof leaked and the building itself was decaying badly.  Despite this, Covington showed Albom how lives truly can be reformed when people have faith and hope, and reach for it.

The book was written over a period of eight years, and the only bond between the two religious men was their belief in God. One Christan, one Jew, and their philosophy on life and death, and good and evil.

My Thoughts: I think this book would appeal to both religious and secular individuals. People who were born into faith, have lost faith, or are still searching for something will find this powerful story insightful. From issues of doubting God, the importance of faith in trying times, and why bad things sometimes happen. The book is written in an informal memoir style.  I love the fact that this book was never preachy, but I did find it comforting and inspirational.  RECOMMENDED

168 - The Time of My Life; Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi

I was so looking forward to this memoir by Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Niemi, and I was not disappointed.  The memoir begins with a brief overview of Patrick's diagnosis and 20 month battle with pancreatic cancer, which began in January of 2008. But this story is not all about his illness, in fact just the beginning and the end talk about his battle with cancer.  Instead, The Time of My Life, is really more a story about Patrick Swayze's life.  From his humble beginnings, to his love for family, to how he met his wife Lisa, who was the love of his life for some 34 years. Patrick Swayze's successful career on stage, screen and television is described in detail, and it is easy to see how he became one of the most loved actors of his time.

The last section of this memoir touches a bit more on Patrick's cancer battle, his treatment, and the struggles with the disease he, with his wife at his side, endured. Initially I was a bit concerned that this memoir might be too sad for me, as pancreatic cancer has touched the lives of two of my family members, but that was not the case. This book was more of a celebration of Patrick's life, and it does not dwell on his illness nor his death. Patrick Swayze died with his family by his side on September 14, 2009, at age 57. This memoir, The Time of My Life,  is a beautiful tribute to his life. RECOMMENDED
.

167 - Cutting for Stone; Abraham Verghese

 

 Cutting for Stone is a multi-generational family saga that transports the reader all over the world: Africa, India, Europe, and the United States (New York City). The story has a heavy dose of medical science, often graphic in detail, but extremely interesting. Much of the action in this story takes place in hospital settings, beginning at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopia is also in the midst of a revolution.

Marion and Shiva Praise Stone are conjoined identical twins, born to a nun from Madras, named Sister Mary Joseph Praise. Sister Mary Joseph Praise bled to death giving birth, and the father of the twins, Thomas Stone, had not even been aware that she was pregnant. Thomas Stone is a British surgeon, who cannot deal with all that has just happened, and as a result, he flees the country.

The infants are successfully separated at the head, and are raised by Hema and Ghosh, two Indian physicians at the hospital where they were born. As boys the two children were close friends, as adults often rivals. Shiva was the quieter of the two brothers, and almost socially inept. Both Marion and Shiva go on to become physicians like their birth father, and the parents who raised them.

Cutting for Stone was one of those rare books that left a lasting impression. I took much longer reading this 500++ book, than most any other book I've read for several reasons. I did not want the story to end, and I was afraid that I would gloss over some beautiful passages if I hurried through this book. The novel has beautifully drawn characters, great scenery and sense of place, and a bittersweet ending, that I did not expect. This is one book that is not to be missed, and it is sure to be one of the best books I've read this year. (This review is based both on the printed version and the audio book, which was beautifully narrated by: Sunil Malhotra). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

164 - Miss Smith and the Haunted Library; Michael Garland

In Miss Smith and the Haunted Library, Miss Smith takes her class on a field trip to the spooky library--strange things happen.  At the library the class meets librarian, Virginia Creeper, who has purple hair, pale skin and high pitched squeaky voice.  The class sits down to listen to a few scary tales, and the characters jump out of the book and come to life --- literally. There is a Headless Horseman, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Captain Hook, and the Wicked Witch of the West.  While the party is about to begin, Zack saves the day. While Miss Creeper is passing out snacks, Zack notices one more creature is still on the loose as one story had not been read. He finishes the story and ALL of the scary characters jump back into the books until the next time.

Very cute story, with fabulous colorful illustrations. A perfect seasonal read for teacher's to read to their classes. RECOMMENDED

163 - Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody; Michael Rex

Once there was a little mummy who wanted to run away. “If you run away,” said Mother Mummy, “I will get you! For you are my rotten little mummy!"

In Runaway Mummy, a little mummy gets in trouble and he begins an imaginary game running away and being chased by his mother. The Mommy Mummy doesn't flinch when her bad boy transforms into lots of incredible creature: a serpent, a gargoyle, a huge bat, and a beast.  It is only when the little mummy threatens to turn into a little boy that that Mommy Mummy begins to scream!!! If he is a little boy, that means: karate lessons, piano lessons, Spanish lessons, and more. How would he ever have time to be rotten?  

Complete with  beautiful colorful illustrations, this is one book, I think,  that children will be asking to have read to them over and over again. If you enjoyed this author's 2008 book: Goodnight Goon, you are sure to enjoy this new book too. A perfect Halloween treat. RECOMMENDED

162 - Zen and the Art of Happiness; Chris Prentiss

"Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me".

The author uses this powerful statement as a foundation for overcoming stress, dealing with setbacks, and finding happiness in everyday life.

How can we change what we believe when our experience has convinced us otherwise? By creating a new experience. The author explains just how to learn to think in a new way to create more happiness in our lives, instead of gloom and depression. This book is not perfect, but it is still RECOMMENDED.

155 - Evil at Heart; Chelsea Cain

Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain, is book #3 of a series which features serial killer, Gretchen Lowell, and Detective Archie Sheridan, who have played a game of cat and mouse in the first two books: Heartsick, and Sweetheart.  Although the author uses flashbacks in each novel, which is helpful for recall, or to those who have not read the prior books, this series is so good, I'd recommend reading the books in order to get the full gruesome effect.

Gretchen is a sexy, serial killer, know as the "Beauty Killer". Sensationalized by the media, there is even a tour bus that visits the sites around Portland, Oregon where her victims were found.  She leaves her trademark on her victims, similar mutilating marks on the body, and removal of various body parts (eyeballs being a specialty).

I don't want to give away any details so just let me say, if you don't mind a gruesome story with lots of graphic detail, this psychological thriller is not to be missed. Fast-paced and extremely creepy, this book did not disappoint.  I can't tell if there will be a book #4 to this series, but I certainly hope so.  ---RECOMMENDED

(This review was based on a library book I borrowed :)

Here is a link to a brief YouTube video about this book (you'll get the feel of it without giving the plot away).....CLICK HERE.

154 - The Magician's Elephant; Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant is a wonderful whimsical story which includes some fabulous black and white illustrations, by Yoko Tanaka. The illustrations add to the beauty of this story which takes place some 200 years ago.

Peter Augustus Duchene is a ten year old orphan. When his guardian sends him out with one coin to purchase some food in the Baltese market square, he sees a fortune teller's tent, and has something more pressing than food on his mind. Peter was told that his sister was dead, and the question he must ask the fortune teller is----does his sister live, and if so, how can he find her? The fortune teller answers the question by saying "follow the elephant", and tells him that the elephant will lead him there.

When a magician's act goes terribly wrong, and an elephant falls from the ceiling of the opera house, an unbelievable chain of events are set into motion.

The Magician's Elephant is written for middle school aged children. It is a dark, yet hopeful tale with a wonderful cast of charming characters. It is a wonderful story that shows us what can happen to those who believe. I am confident this delightful story will reawaken the child inside of most who read it. It is a story that will have you rooting for not only the children, but the elephant and magician as well. I LOVED the author's last book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and I must say, DiCamillo has written yet another winner, in my opinion. DON'T MISS IT!

151 - No Time to Wave Goodbye; Jacquelyn Mitchard

No Time to Wave Goodbye, by Jacquelyn Mitchard, is a sequel to her 1996 novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, which was later made into a movie.

In  The Deep End of the Ocean, three year old Ben Cappadora was kidnapped, and surprisingly, he returns home nine years later.

In Mitchard's latest novel, the Cappadora children are grown. Vincent, an older brother of Ben, films a documentary about five families whose children were abducted and are still missing. Sister Kerry helps with the film.

At the screening of the documentary, Beth, the mother, is shocked when she learns what the film is about.  The film begins to stir up old wounds and emotions among family members.  When the film is nominated for an Academy Award, everyone is thrilled for Vincent, and everyone is looking forward to the big event.  While the family is celebrating at the ceremony, the happiness they are feeling becomes short-lived when the unthinkable happens --another abduction occurs, causing all the past terrors of such a horrible event to be relived.

My Thoughts:  A good story with some poignant and skillfully drawn out scenes, kept me turning the pages. However, all was not perfect with this novel. There were boring and unnecessary details (which seemed to go on forever) about Hollywood, fashions and makeovers.  There were also some highly improbable events that occurred. The author did redeem herself, in my opinion, by tying up some loose ends rather well.

RECOMMENDATION: To get the full impact of the story, I would recommend reading The Deep End of the Ocean first,  or at least watch the movie, if you have not done so already.

147 - Yes, My Darling Daughter; Margaret Leroy

Grace is a single mom, who works in a flower shop full time, and spends her free time with Sylvie, her sweet little four year old daughter. The two live a simple life, in a not so great part of London, but their life seems happy enough. All seems perfectly normal with Sylvie until she begins having problems in preschool. She has outbursts, exhibits an extreme fear of water, and says odd things to her playmates. She also refuses to call her mother “mum”, and always called her “Grace” instead. She also tells her mother that she does not like living where she does, and wants to go home.

Grace is not sure what to do about the way Sylvie has been behaving. She takes her to a therapist who tends to blame the behaviour on her lifestyle. One day while Sylvie is flipping through a magazine, she becomes fixated on a photo of an Irish fishing village called Coldharbour. Her response to the picture is :

“It’s my seaside….I lived there…I lived in a little house, a white house….I had a cave and a dragon”.

Is it possible Sylvie lived in a past life? Grace and Sylvie are invited by Adam, a university professor involved in the paranormal , to go to Ireland on a research grant, and see whether there is any merit to what Sylvie has been saying.

Part, mystery, part Gothic tale, Yes, My Darling Daughter, had me anxiously turning pages to find out how it would all end. Although things got wrapped up, just a little too neatly, I still really enjoyed this book. I loved that it really held my interest, and that I was able to read it in one day.

RECOMMENDED.

142 - Homer & Langley; E.L. Doctorow

Homer & Langley, by E.L Doctorow, is a work of fiction based on the lives of the infamous Collyer brothers. The decaying bodies of these eccentric bachelors were found beneath mounds of rubble in their upper west side, Manhattan home in 1947. It was reported that some 100 tons of junk had to be removed.

In this story, Homer & Langley were born to prominent parents, who travelled a lot, entertained a lot, and filled their four story brownstone with "stuff" acquired in their travels. Oftentimes, trunks full of merchandise arrived by rail at their home before their parents did: ancient Islamic tiles, marble water fountains, busts of Romans without noses or ears, and the list goes on and on.

The story is narrated by Homer as he tapped away on his Braille typewriter. Homer was a handsome young man who gradually becomes blind in his teens. Women felt sorry for him. He attended the West End Conservatory of Music and became somewhat of a pianist prodigy. Despite his blindness, Homer is an excellent reporter of what everyday life is like for him as a blind person. He had exceptional hearing, "which he trained to a degree of alertness that was almost visual".

Langley was two years older. He went off to WWI and was ambushed with mustard gas. While he was away both parents, who were in their 60's, died within weeks of each other of the Spanish influenza. Homer was alone except for the house staff: a cook, a butler and two maids.

When Langley returns from war he is a changed man, and not for the better.

(Langley's Theory)..."Everything in life gets replaced, we are our parents replacements just as they were the replacements of the previous generation".

(Homer)...."At that point I understood what Langley called his Theory of Replacements was his bitterness of life or his despair of it".

Langley becomes obsessed with acquiring things: he buys every single newspaper that is published each day, and never throws anything away. He brings home, a fire hydrant, spare parts, a Model T car for the dining room, multiple televisions, and more and more junk as time progresses. Homer must learn to navigate around all this stuff. At one point, Langley had enough of television, and unplugged it once and for all. His view on television was this:

" When you read, or listen to the radio, he said, you see the scene in your mind. It's like you with life Homer. Infinite perspectives, endless horizons. But the TV screen flattens everything, it compresses the world, to say nothing of one's mind. If I watch anymore I might as well take a boat down the Amazon and have my head shrunken by the Jivaro".

My thoughts:

This was one tough book to try to review! I was expecting to love this book, but I didn't. It was easy to put down and harder to pick up again. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the book, but it took me almost 100 pages to get into this book, and it was just over 200 pages to begin with. Normally I would dump a book before that, but I was sure this one had to get better. It did get better as the reader was given some insight as to how these reclusive brothers, Homer & Langley perceived the world that they chose to withdraw from.

Recommendation - ?? You read it, and decide!

129 - Heroic Measures; Jill Ciment

Heroic Measures is a short novel that takes place, all in one weekend. Three major events are going on in this story over this weekend: (1) - A gasoline tanker truck is stuck in the midtown tunnel, and a possible hostage situation has the city residents in a panic wondering if they are in the midst of another terrorist attack. (2) - Ruth, a former teacher, and Alex, an artist, are elderly New York City residents, who have lived in a 5th floor walk up for 45 years. The time has come to sell their apartment, and for them to find something in a building with an elevator, for them and their beloved dachshund, Dorothy. (3) - Dorothy, the 12-year old dog of the couple appears to be suddenly paralyzed, and is rushed by the couple to an animal hospital at the other end of the city, while the city is in crisis. Dorothy is clearly the life blood of this elderly, childless couple. They are filled with anxiety waiting for calls from the Vet, to find out how Dorothy is doing. All the while, numerous people tour their apartment which is on the market, and a bidding war develops. Prices fluctuate with every news update on the hostage situation terrorizing the city.

The authors writing is very vivid, and so funny at times. The story is told from multiple points of view, including Dorothys -- a cute idea indeed. The author's writing style really appealed to me as well.....

(p.96) Alex and Ruth have a date this evening with Rudolph and May, their oldest friends as well as Alex's gallery dealers.....Rudolph is tall and concave with features that look chipped from flint. May is flat and thin as a popsicle stick with a glorious thick gray braid worn down her back. Now at seventy-six, the braid finally reaches the base of her spine. Despite May's family's wealth, bluebloods from Boston, she always looks shabby, whereas Rudolph a rag-picker's son, dresses like a count".

Heroic Measures certainly has a different kind of plot line, but somehow, it works beautifully. This was truly a well done novel, that left me thinking about the things that really matter in life when you get right down to it.

RATING - 4.5/5 stars; Completed - 8/19/09; Library

126 - That Old Cape Magic; Richard Russo

In That Old Cape Magic, the protagonist, Jack Griffin, is a 57 year old, only child of academia parents. As a child, Jack and his parents spent one month every summer on Cape Cod, traveling there from Indiana. Years later, Jack and his wife Joy spent their honeymoon on Cape Cod, where they planned for their future.

The story begins with a wedding on Cape Cod, and ends with a wedding in Maine. The setting, Cape Cod is significant, because, this is the year that Jack's life will be transformed. Cape Cod is the place where Jack struggles to find meaning in his life, and at the same time he is struggling with his own mortality. As Jack arrives at the Cape for the wedding of his daughter Lauren's best friend, he is carrying in his trunk, an urn with his father's ashes. His father died unexpectedly, nine months earlier, but Jack is looking for just the right place to scatter his remains.

Jack's parents, are flawed but memorable characters. They were Ive-League educated, but bitterly resigned to the fact they were only able to teach at "second rate" mid western colleges. Extremely critical people, they cheated on each other, squandered their money away, and thought they were better than most everyone they met. Although they thought Cape Cod was paradise, even there they seemed unhappy with their life.

Jack's parents are portrayed so vividly, that I will never forget them.

(Jack's mother speaking to her granddaughter about colleges): "Do you know what kind of people send their progeny to Williams?" "Rich, privileged, white, republican. Or, Even worse, people who-aspire to all that". (Not so unlike your other grandparents she meant). "Their kids aren't smart enough to get into any Ivy, but they have to go somewhere, so God created Williams".

(Jack reflecting on his father): "His father had left the world in about the same financial condition. Not much to show for life, he couldn't help thinking, though Thoreau would have been pleased. Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity".

Told over a time span of one year, and ending with his own daughter's wedding in Maine, That Old Cape Magic, is ultimately a story about coming to terms with one's life.

It was a story that made me think about who I am. How who we are, what we've done with our lives, and the profound effect that our parents, and our childhood has had on our lives. As a baby boomer myself, this story rang true: we are who we are because of them. This story is funny, touching, and reflective. At times I was not sure if the tears in my eyes were tears from laughter or tears of sadness. A wonderful story that moved me deeply, and will stay with me for a long time to come. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Release Date - August 11, 2009)

RATING-5/5; Completed - 8/14/09; Library

109 - Sima's Undergarments for Women; Ilana Stanger-Ross

In Sima's Undergarments for Women, Sima Goldner is a 65 year old woman, who runs a lingerie shop out of the basement of her Brooklyn home, which she shares with her husband, Lev of 46 years.

(Chapter 1- first paragraph......

"SIMA SURPRISED HERSELF BY BLUSHING AT THE ROUND perfection of the young woman's breasts. For thirty-five years, after all, breasts had been her business: she knew the slight curve of the preteen breast, its nipple rigid when unveiled in the cool air of her basement shop; the aching breasts of pregnant women, skin shiny and striped from stretch; the parchment breasts of the elderly, liver-spotted, soft with down; she knew breasts with pink nipples, olive nipples, brown nipples; nipples pushed in and pulled out, tiny as dimes, large as the ringed stain of a coffee cup; she knew heavy breasts on thin women and thin breasts on heavy women; breasts 28A, 52K, and breasts with a cup size between them. She even and of course knew the knotted red scar of the breast that was no longer there, the twisting keloid marker of what science had stolen away".

Sima teaches women to appreciate their bodies, even though her own body has disappinted her. Childless, Sima is saddened by the fact that she was never able to have a child. One day Timna, a beautiful Israeli woman wanders into Sima's shop in the Jewish Orthodox neighborhood. Sima becomes fascinated with this lovely woman. Timna is just out of the Army, and here without a visa, while waiting for her boyfriend to get out of the Army. When Timna learns that Sima is looking to hire a seamstress for the shop, she convinces Sima to hire her. Timna is like a breath of fresh air; she brings new life to the shop.

Sima quickly seems to become obsessed with the young, beautiful Timna, and through her she is forced to think about the regrets she's faced in her own life. A non-observant Jewish woman, who feels shame about her own infertility, she reassesses her life, her marriage and how to spend the remaining years she has left.

(p310)..."How many others like her, she thought, how many others lonely within their walls? And then one day realizing that every room has a door, and opening it".

A beautiful story, filled with colorful and sometimes flawed characters, it is much more than a story about an underwear shop. It is a story about love, loss, regrets and finally acceptance. I'm so glad I decided to read this endearing story. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

RATING - 5/5; COMPLETED - 7/18/09; Library Book

108 - Strangers; Anita Brookner

In Strangers, Anita Brookner's 24th novel, the uncertainties of old age and loneliness are explored.

Paul Sturgeis is a 72 year old introspective, bachelor. A retired bank manager, who lives a solitary life in his London flat: Crescent Mansion. When he ventures out, he prepares in advance for mundane conversation, should it arise, with the people he meets along the way. His only contacts seem to be his hairdresser and "strangers" he sees when he goes out. A lover of books, Paul had always been a great reader, someone who found consolation in books. Although he had two women in his life (great loves as he called them), he never married. Paul believes that "niceness was a condition which had earned him few favours".

Paul spends time on Sunday visiting his only relative, Helena, a widow of his cousin who is about the same age as Paul. Helena is equally uncomfortable around people, and Paul is her only relative as well. To avoid being invited by Helena to spend Christmas with her, he decides to take a trip in Venice.

In Venice Paul meet Vicky, and the two meet for coffee, lunch etc while in Venice. She too is from England, and once each have returned to England she stays in touch with Paul.

(p.81) "What he wanted from her was not so very different: not an audience--never that--but some sort of acknowledgement that he too had a life and a history, even if it was of no interest to her. He would have liked to be gently questioned, without in any way being judged".

When Paul receives a call from the Royal Free Hospital, to say that Helena had passed away, as her only relative, he is faced with making her final arrangements. This causes him to focus more on his own mortality, and his solitary life, and wonder who will take care of his final arrangements, or be there for him if he is sick. .... "her death somehow cancelled the past, so that only the future remained".

Paul runs into Sarah, one of the women from his past. She is a widow, and sickly. Both Sarah and Vicky help to transform Paul's ways, and to help him sort out what he wants to do with the time he has left.

Strangers is a beautifully written novel, about aging, loneliness, and the choices one makes in life. I did not find this story depressing in any way, but it did make me take stock of my own life, and the choices that have brought me to where I am now. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I also enjoyed Hotel du Lac by this author.

RATING - 5/5 ; COMPLETED - 7/16/09; Library Book