One Day at a Time

Hello faithful readers - sorry for the delay in posting! I was rather busy last weekend, but things have calmed down now, and the rest of the summer should be smooth sailing from here.

The book I am going to talk about today is One Day by David Nicholls. It is about Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, who meet on July 15, 1988 on their last day of university. The book follows the progress of their relationship by checking in with them on July 15th for the next 20 years or so. This was another one on the Entertainment Weekly Top 10 Fiction. The book has already been optioned for a movie with Anne Hathaway (love!) and Jim Sturgess (who?).

So far, I seem to be really enjoying the non-fiction of the list and not enjoying the fiction books as much. This book is no exception. I really hated the first few chapters, but I persevered, and grew to like it. It was not bad. Do I want to own it? No. Was it a mildly enjoyable read? Yes.

I was very intrigued by the one day per year format, and I thought it really added to the book. I would read about something that the characters were planning for later on that year, and I'd have to wait until the next check-in to find out what happened. I thought that was a neat trick.

On the other hand, however, that's almost all the book had going for it. I don't think I'd be interested in the characters of Emma and Dexter if the book had just been written in a normal way. Your main characters should be able to carry a book no matter how it's written. But I just wouldn't be interested enough to read about them without the conceit of only learning about their lives one day at a time.

I might be interested enough to read about Emma - especially as I think she sort of had short shrift in this book. It's supposed to be about two people - Dex and Em - but I think the author focused more on Dexter's journey and grow than he did on Emma's. And there was some sort of inconsistent characterization at the end: Emma is thoroughly annoyed with her friends with children, yet only a few years later she wants a baby desperately. There was no hint of this complete change of mind at all.

My main problem is with the character of Dexter. He starts off as the kind of guy who is, well, a jerk. He's a lad - to use the British slang (in keeping with the Britain-set book). He tarts around with girls, drinks and drugs, thinks he's so amazing, has some sort of trust fund so he doesn't really have to work - in short, he's not a very likeable character. And he doesn't really change or grow - he does, to some extent - but is essentially the same person at the end as he was at the beginning. Unlike Emma, who does grow and change, but who is not documented as well as Dexter. With this type of characterization, it is very hard to see what Emma sees in Dexter. Sure, a woman might be swept off her feet by a pretty face, but if he's a jerk, she'll realize that sooner or later and come to her senses. Unless she's the sort of woman who will put up with jerkiness for the sake of being in a relationship. And Emma is not that sort of woman.

I also had an issue with the structure of the book. The book opens with Emma and Dexter's meeting on July 15, 1988. But, the reader does not really learn about what happened on that day. It's briefly alluded to, but not enough to form any definite conclusions about what happened. While at first I was annoyed (how are these two people supposed to make some epic connection over an encounter that brief!), I eventually came around. I liked that the author wasn't showing us what happened, but letting us make up our own minds. Until the end, after the climax of the story, when the author flashes back to July 15, 1988 and shows us what happened. I think that was a mistake, story-wise. By then, I didn't want to know about July 15, 1988, because I already had my own idea of what happened. He should have told us at the beginning, or not at all.

From all of this, it sounds like I hated the book. I truly did not - after I got into it, it was an enjoyable read; mostly because each day ended on a cliffhanger that wouldn't be resolved until the next yearly check-in. It's not a terrible book, but neither is it an amazing book. It is a nice, light-hearted summer read, however. If you're looking for something light and summery, this could be the read for you.

Summer Retreads

For whatever reason, in the summer I find myself rereading a lot of my favourite series. I know that the summer is typically either the time when people challenge themselves with difficult classics that they don't have time to read during the rest of the year, or entertain themselves with light and fluffy beach reads. Sadly, there is no beach where I live. Nor do I feel the need to challenge myself with something difficult and possibly unpleasant. Instead, I turn to favourite series that I've enjoyed in the past.

Currently I'm reading both Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms series and Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series. I'm nearly finished the 500 Kingdoms series - there were a number of the 500 Kingdoms books at my branch of the library last week, so I managed to grab a bunch in one fell swoop and read them in order. I'm just working on the last one, The Sleeping Beauty, which is my least favourite of the series. This is the one in which she attempts to meld Terry Pratchett-style humour with her usual earnest fantasy. For me, it is not a success. I don't always find that humour comes across well in books, and I'm not a fan of Terry Pratchett-style humour anyway.

I'd read my copies of the Mary Russells that I own last month, and really enjoyed them. I wanted to read a few more in the series and, as luck would have it, my library also had a number of Mary Russell books last week, so I picked those up too. It's nice when the library actually has the books that I am looking for, so I don't have to wait to order them in! I am reading them somewhat in order: I own The Beekeeper's Apprentice, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and The Moor, so I read all of those back-to-back (which is not entirely in order). I picked up A Letter of Mary, Justice Hall, and Locked Rooms from the library, and am reading those in order.

However, I am also re-reading another series which I am finding very enjoyable. Everyone knows of my love for Agatha Christie mysteries and those featuring her diminutive detective, Hercule Poirot, in particular. I've reread the books so many times that one would think that there's nothing new left in novels for me. However, this summer I decided to reread them in order. Much to my surprise, I have never read Agatha Christie's Poirot novels in their publication order. I usually just read through them at random, picking and choosing books at whim. I am rather enjoying reading the books as Christie wrote them.

So far, I have read: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four, The Mystery of the Blue Train, Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, Murder on the Orient Express, Three-Act Tragedy, and Death in the Clouds. I am currently working my way through one of my favourites; The ABC Murders. While the books are not strictly chronological - in that they do follow the natural progression of time but that you don't need to read them strictly in order - it is enjoyable to watch the relationships between the characters develop. The friendship between Poirot and Hastings deepens and grows, the animosity between Japp and Poirot mellows. And, too, the reader understands little references throughout the books to prior crimes which Poirot helped solve.

It was, I think, somewhat of a mistake for Christie to marry off Hastings so early and send him to Argentina. It makes for somewhat of a stretch after The Murder on the Links to have him conveniently turn up in London to help solve cases with Poirot. Fortunately, he does not appear in too many: The Big Four, Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and The ABC Murders so far. And, some of Poirot's greatest mysteries are without Hastings: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express.

Murder on the Orient Express is one of my favourite Hercule Poirot novels. The solution is so clever and it all just unwinds at the end. I can't help thinking about all the behind the scenes manipulation of the parties on the train. I would like to read a novel from the point of view of the train passengers - it would be fascinating.

I also must point out Peril at End House: this is not one that my mother has a copy of, so it's not one I read a lot growing up. As a result, it is, for me, one of the lesser known Poirots in that I never remember anything about the book until I read it again. Although, I must admit, that even though I have read the Poirots so many times I usually don't remember who the murderer is. I think I do, and then realize at the end of the book that I have remembered the red herring whom Christie wants me to think has done the murder! However, there are a few in which I do know who the murderer is. In that case, it is fun to read the book from the murderer's point of view and try to grasp all the little clues that Christie put down for me to figure out who the murderer is.

Probably one of my least favourites is The Big Four. This was Christie's attempt to write a real "thriller" with spies and vast international conspiracies. I just don't think it works as well for her. Her real strength is in the type of English-country-house mysteries with tricky puzzles - not in the realm of international espionage. It does not work as well for me as some of her other books.

I'm only about one third of my way through the Christie canon, and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books. This may last me until the end of the summer! It's especially interesting reading the earlier Poirots at the same time I am reading the Mary Russells as they are both set in the 1920s. (However, I've moved on to the 1930s with Poirot by now.) It's fun to compare the subtle differences in writing between a writer who is writing contemporaneously with the time period, and a writer who is writing of the time period in a historical sense. Not to mention that the two are completely different writers and characters. I would, however, love Laurie R. King to set up a situation in which Poirot and Holmes meet. She's brought in other fictional characters, surely she could set up a meeting between England's two most famous sleuths? Such a book has the potential to be amazing. I'll keep my fingers crossed - Ms. King has a new Mary Russell out in September - maybe this could be the one!

Pioneers for Grownups

Recently I wrote about my love for Laura Ingalls Wilder and her "Little House" series which inspired me to be a pioneer when I grew up. Well, the books did not end with These Happy Golden Years. Laura wrote three other books which detail her travels after These Happy Golden Years. Are they suitable for children? Sure - older children. But there is quite a difference in style and tone between these latter three books and the earlier books in the "Little House" series. Those who like the "happily ever after" feeling of These Happy Golden Years (which ends on the occasion of Laura and Almanzo's marriage) will not want to read any further. Those interested in Laura's story - the good and the bad - will want to read on.

The First Four Years is a story unearthed after Laura's death. Obviously it is a first draft of a book she probably intended to write later - it is very short and the events are hasty and sketched-in without the wealth of detail Laura usually provides. However, the writing is still clearly her voice. It tells the story of the first four years of Laura and Almanzo's marriage: Laura agreed to give farming a try for four years. While her Pa had farmed, Laura had grown up more as a pioneer girl than as a farmer's daughter. She was reluctant to settle down on a farm, so she and Almanzo compromised on four years.

These four years have joy, but there is also sadness that hits Laura and Almanzo. Sad events had occurred before to Laura - her sister Mary went blind from illness. However, those events were not chronicled in a book. These sad events are, although briefly. Laura and Almanzo lose their second child, a son, as a baby; Laura and Almanzo get diphtheria; they go into debt; and their house burns down. But there are happy times too: sleigh rides, pony rides, the birth of their daughter Rose, the beautiful little house Almanzo builds for Laura.

While Laura's earlier books may have glossed over some of the tragedies and heartbreak the family suffered, this book meets it head on. Not everything is rosy for the pioneer family, and farming is difficult and hard with the farmer completely at the mercy of the elements. It would have been nice if Laura could have finished this book in her usual style, but the spare prose only serves to emphasize the hardships the family suffered. This is a darker book than the other "Little House" books.

The next book On the Way Home, details further travels of Laura and Almanzo. Their attempt to make a go of it as farmers in South Dakota failed. They then moved to Florida, hoping that the climate would be better for Almanzo. However, Florida failed them too and they moved back to South Dakota. This is where the story picks up.

Laura and Almanzo have decided to move to Mansfield, Missouri - the Ozarks, the Land of the Big Red Apple. It is 1894, but the family is moving by a familiar mode of transport - the covered wagon. A more modernized version than the one Laura traveled in a child, but a covered wagon nonetheless. Laura kept a diary of their trip and her diary entries form the majority of the book. A brief introduction is provided by Laura's daughter Rose, who was 8 at the time of the move. It is interesting to hear her recollections of her childhood with the mother we all know so well. Rose grew up to be a famous writer of her own and her introduction is filled with wit and charm. Mansfield would end up being Laura's home for the rest of her life. Finally, she and Almanzo had found a place where they could settle.

The last book in the series, West from Home, details further travels by Laura. The year is 1915 and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition has come to San Francisco. So too has Laura's daughter Rose with her husband Gillette Lane. They work as writers for papers and magazines. Rose invites Laura to come out for a visit to see the Exhibition. She does, and the book is a collection of the letters she wrote home to Almanzo. Just as Laura was her sister Mary's eyes as a girl, so to for the exhibition was she Almanzo's eyes. It is interesting to get a glimpse of San Fransisco - a young, eager city - and the spectacular exhibition through Laura's eyes. We also get a glimpse of her relationship with Almanzo and her love of their farm, Rocky Ridge, at home in Missouri.

With that story, Laura's journey is complete. We have followed her travels from a little log cabin in Wisconsin to a final train journey out to San Francisco. She had literally traveled across the entire North American continent - and mostly prior to the use of cars or trains. Her stories provide us a window on a vanished world whether happy - in the "Little House" series, or sad, in The First Four Years. These books are an excellent resource for anyone who wants to know what it was like in the "olden days."

Thursday, meet Thursday

Those who have read this blog before know of my love for the extremely creative and very unique novelist Jasper Fforde. (He's so unique, his last name needs 2 F's!) (Actually, I think that's Welsh.) Anyway, the latest Thursday Next book is out and it's a treat of creative weirdness.

By now, I really hope everyone knows who Thursday Next is: the Spec Ops agent in an alternative-universe Britain who also fights crime inside novels. (See what I mean about the creativity!) In our last meeting with Thursday, in First Among Sequels, several years had passed and Thursday was older as were her children, Friday, Tuesday, and Jenny. The book ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger as Thursday was pulled back into the world of Jurisfiction one last time.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing takes everything you know about Thursday Next, the Bookworld, and Jurisfiction, and turns it all inside out and upside down. After 5 books, I wasn't sure where Fforde could go, and he's totally surprised me by reinventing the series and looking at things from a whole new point of view.

Yes, the main character in this book is still Thursday Next. But not that "real-life" Thursday Next that we've come to know and love after several books. This is Thursday's doppelganger; the "fictional" Thursday Next who in First Among Sequels was so hippy-dippy. She's less so here, but still retains an essential sweetness and naivete. I think this is very clever of Fforde - it gives the Thursday series a new breath of life and allows the reader to see Thursday and her adventures from a new point of view - even though it's sort of the same point of view.

But Fforde also plays around with the Bookworld and gives it form and shape. Whereas previous incarnations of the Bookworld focused more on the library and Jurisfiction, this novel looks more at the Bookworld and at the "characters" (literally!) who populate it.

This book is a crazy fun-house ride of amazing. There is a plot surrounding the mystery of the missing Thursday Next (the "real-life" one), but it's almost secondary to exploring and learning about the Bookworld from a fictional person's point of view. Plus, the plot is fairly convoluted and I think I'm going to have to read the book again to really get what was going on!

For fans of the series, you've probably already picked this book up. For new readers, I wouldn't recommend starting here. I think you should begin with the first Thursday Next novel - The Eyre Affair. This book changed how I read books forever - I now cannot read any book without thinking of all the things that are going on behind the scenes. I can't recommend this series enough - but begin with the first book and then work your way up to One of Our Thursdays is Missing. I think you will appreciate it a lot more. Speaking of, I may have to begin again with the first book and reread the series this summer myself! It's always a crazy-fun time with Jasper Fforde and I highly recommend all of his books.