Broken for You

Novel by Stephanie Kallos

Communion. Sacrifice. Heart ache. Mosaic. Broken bones. All of these come to mind from the title and cover art of this lovely book. And all of those ideas are found on the pages inside. Stephanie Kallos's first book is amazingly complex, deep and yet fast-moving, and a little intimidating. And most importantly (for me), it still has a happy ending.

There are so many lovable, damaged characters in this book, but the main two are Wanda, a recently single 30-something, and Margaret, a rich old lady who takes in Wanda as a boarder. Margaret has cancer, and decides to make some changes in her lonely old life before she dies. The two begin a complicated, generous, therapeutic relationship, the growth of which creates a plot with all kinds of interconnections between people. It has wonderful juxtapositions of characters and events (like all those popular movies with the ensemble casts). Also, the setting is Seattle's Capitol Hill, so it's easy for me to imagine it all vividly. In fact, the author credits a visit to Shafer Baillie Mansion in helping her describe the old house that is so central to the story. My husband and I stayed at the Shafer Baillie, which is now a bed and breakfast, a few years ago for our anniversary. It's gorgeous and a bit intimidating (like this book, actually).

As I reflect on the novel, I keep coming back to the title. Broken for you. Usually I hear that during Communion, and truly this is a deeply spiritual novel. But the main characters are either lapsed Catholics, atheists, or Jewish (and you don't realize until more than halfway through what importance the Jewish faith plays in the outcome). So it's interesting to me that Kallos chose such a Christian saying as her title.  On the outside, the philosophy of the book seems to be that religion is unnecessary and negative, something we have to overcome in order for people to really come together. For example, a critic's review of a holy-book-shaped mosaic states, "Schultz-who calls herself a 'spiritual atheist'- reminds us that the words of faith are not only divisive, but insignificant."  I think, however, the real message of this novel is about being open to love, healing, and faith in people, which is also part of most faiths.  I love the continuing theme of doing "mitzvahs,"  the Jewish term for good deeds that can heal the world. Big and small acts of kindness truly do heal people in this story.

There is a point at which I wish I was in a real book club, because I have some questions: How does Wanda not recognize someone from her past for such a long time? Is that real, or just a plot device? And how is she not absolutely enraged at that person? Does that show her change of heart or is it convenient for the story to wrap up?

I suppose I could talk with my mom about these questions; she recommended the book to me. But like me, she reads too many books too fast and can't remember much about them after a while. So if you read this book, keep those questions in mind at the end (I promise, they're not plot spoilers) and email me so we can talk!

The Wednesday Sisters

Novel by Meg Waite Clayton

When I write these posts, I feel a little like Michelangelo, sculpting from the front of the marble to the back. The similarity is not in that I am a genius or that my posts are masterpieces (oh, the David! sigh). Far from it.  Rather, I acknowledge that I am completely making it up as I go along, with no plan, and with the knowledge that if it doesn't work, I'll have to just chuck it and start over.

Which is basically what this book is about. The Wednesday Sisters are in informal writing club, and while the book is in large part about their lives as moms in the late 1960's-early 70's, it's also about their writing process, as they begin novels and short stories, then revise or burn them. So the whole time I was reading, I was thinking about characters, plot structure, leads, point of view, time frames, and all the other intricacies of novels. That's not to say I wasn't very involved in the characters' lives. I was. I cried when Ally experiences a familiar heartbreak, and celebrated when two characters finally get published (one writes a book titled Michelangelos' Ghost, hmmm), and nodded when they woefully send their children off to kindergarten. It was a very relatable book for me. But I was also reminded constantly that it's a book about writing. And I'm kind of a writer. So it was kind of intense.

My one criticism is that I sometimes had a hard time keeping straight the characteristics of the five protagonists. Clayton works very hard to give them some definitive character traits, such as Linda's straightforwardness and Kath's Southern charm. But those characteristics became so prevalent that when any other subtleties are revealed, I kind of forgot who was talking. Maybe that's actually very realistic or the way that a group of women become when they are so close, but like I said, I got confused. Wait, maybe it's also that I read too darn fast.

By the way, I read this book because my mom made me. That sounds very seventh grade, but it's true. I already had a big stack of books to read (also borrowed from my mom) when she pressed this one one me, saying it was about writing and maybe it would inspire me to write. If I ever publish, it will be thanks to the persistence of my mom and my grandma. And a patient husband. And maybe a good babysitter...

Catherine, Called Birdy AND Anna of Byzantium

Young Adult Historical Fiction

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett

Ok, I finally did my homework. I am teaching an honors seventh grade social studies class this semester, and we only have time to study the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. I want the kids' understanding of the scope of history to go beyond the Mediterranean and beyond the fall of Rome. So I decided to give them a choice of novels to read about a different culture and time period. These two were recommended by our librarian and some other sources, but I hadn't read them, so I've had them sitting on my bedside table since Christmas, waiting for inspiration to strike. (I'm also offering two books about ancient Korea by Linda Sue Parks, The Kite Fighters and A Single Shard, but I've already read those.)

You know I love historical fiction, and mostly I like YA fiction as well. Following suit, I enjoyed both of these books. It's interesting to review two books at once because I can't help but compare them. The first one I read was Anna, and it's my least favorite of the two. It's about a true historical figure, a princess of Byzantium (the area that was the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and continued on after the fall, though was more Greek than Roman in culture). Anna would have been empress, but a family dispute made her brother emperor instead. That's no plot spoiler--the story starts with her telling her tale of woe after the fact. I learned more about Byzantine culture from the book than I had ever known before, which I enjoyed, but the characters were dark and complicated--too much like real people for me. I think the author should have romanticized it a bit. Catherine, on the other hand, was a real winner. It's also told from a young girl's perspective, but this time in medieval Europe. It's in the form of a diary kept in 1290, the year in which Catherine's father, a minor knight, is attempting to marry her off at a profit. Catherine is stubborn, foul tongued, and tender hearted, and she doesn't want to marry a stranger. In fact, she'd rather be a Crusader, or a minstrel, or a hundred other things. She is delightful. God's thumbs (to borrow her idiom), this is a good one!

I'm glad the kids are going to be reading these mostly outside class, and discussing in their own little book clubs, because otherwise it would be a little too...interesting...to discuss some parts of the books together. There's a good deal of talk about baby making in Catherine. Not sex; just baby making. But still. That's more than I want to talk about with middle school boys, thank you very much. There's also a great deal of religion in both, mostly Christian but with some Greek mythology thrown into Anna. Should make for some good discussion with the kids. I'm glad I get to listen in...