Fifth Business

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies was one of the books on the list of books that my Mom had left that she had wanted to read.  It is the first of a trilogy (The Deptford Trilogy).  It was published in 1970, first in Canada, then in the United States.  The author was a Canadian and the story takes place in Canada.    Mr. Davies was born in 1913 and died in 1995.  I read a bit about him on Wikipedia and he sounded like a very interesting man.  His life also sounded a great deal like the life of Dunstan Ramsay, the  main character of Fifth Business.

 Dunstan Ramsay was a man who was raised in a small Canadian town.  The first line of the book is the following:

"My lifelong involvement with Mrs. Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on the 27th of December, 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old."

And that began the story of Dunstan Ramsay and his lifelong involvement with not only Mrs. Dempster, but with Percy "Boy" Staunton.  Dunny and Boy were throwing snowballs at each other, when Dunny ducked and a snowball with a rock in it accidentally hit Mrs. Dempster. As it turned out, the rest of Dunstan's life was irrevocably influenced by this one event. As Dunstan's life went on, he went off to fight in WWI and came back a wounded veteran, who had lost a leg, and was decorated with the Victoria Cross.   He settled into teaching young men for the rest of his life. The book is actually a letter/report to the Headmaster of the school, written by Dunstan because he "was deeply offended by the idiotic piece that appeared in the College Chronicle..."  that was written about Dunstan upon his retirement.  Dunstan felt that the piece left the impression that he was a senile, doddering old fool, rather than the author of many books and other accomplishments.  So he wrote this letter/report to correct the record and tell that story of his life.

What is "Fifth Business"?  Here is how it is defined by one of Dunstan's friends in the book:

"You don't know what that is?  Well, in opera in a permanent company of the kind we keep up in Europe you must have a prima donna-always a soprano, always the heroine, often a fool; and a tenor who always plays the lover to her; and then you must have a contralto, who is a rival to the soprano, or a sorceress or something, and a basso, who is the villain or the rival or whatever threatens the tenor.

So far, so good.  But you cannot make a plot work without another man, and his is usually a baritone, and his called in the profession Fifth Business, because he is the odd man out, the person who has no opposite of the other sex.  And you must have Fifth Business because he is the one who knows the secret of the hero's birth, or comes to the assistance of the heroine when she thinks all is lost, or keeps the hermitess in her cell , or may even be the cause of somebody's death if that is part of the plot.  The prima donna, and the tenor, the contralto, and the basso, get all the best music and do all the spectacular things, but you cannot manage the plot without Fifth Business!" 

And she tells Dunstan that he is Fifth Business.  It is the perfect description of him and his life. 

The book was rather slow reading at first, but picked up as it neared the end.  I will go on to read the other two of the trilogy at some point this year.  I was glad that I read it.  Good book, Mom.  I think that you would have enjoyed it!

Touch

Touch by Alexi Zentner came to my attention from a couple of friends who know him and had read the book.  I have had it on my TBR (to-be-read) list for a long time and finally got around to ordering it and reading it.  It is a great story and I love the author's writing style.  I found it to be a rather mythical type story, somewhat like The Snow Child that I had just finished.  The kind of book that leaves you wondering and considering and thinking.

The story is told by Stephen, an Anglican priest, who, with his family,  returned to Sawgamet in the wilds of Canada where he was raised.  He had left there when he was sixteen and the story is told from thirty years later.  Stephen's mother was there dying and Stephen was asked to come there to take over the parish and minister to the area. 

"There were only the last few weeks of sitting at my mother's side, knowing she was preparing to die, and trying to sort out the truths from the myths. I talked with her and asked her questions when she was awake, held her hand when she was asleep.  And yet, no matter how many times my thoughts returned to the winter I was ten, no matter how many questions I asked my mother as she lay dying, no matter how many stories I have heard about my father and grandfather, there are still so many things I will never know."

Stephen began recalling his growing up, the loss of his sister and father, and his grandfather's return. The story tells of his grandparents settling the country there and of love that never dies, despite death and years passing.  Stephen wanted to pass on the stories that he had heard from his father and his grandfather (and others) of the family and of encounters from the spiritual world.

Stephen's father had never met his own father (Jeannot), who had left Sawgamet shortly after his wife died,  but he told the stories about Jeannot to Stephen that had been told to him. When Stephen was ten years old, his father died, and shortly after, Jeannot showed up in Sawgamet.  When questioned why Jeannot had returned, Jeannot replied:

"I've come for you grandmother.  I've come to raise the dead."

The book is the story of Jeannot's life and the impact that the story had on Stephen.  The book is about loss and love.

"...but I have come to believe what my mother began to believe soon after my father and Marie went through the ice on the river: memories are another way to raise the dead."

I love that line.  It speaks volumes and yet, is so simple.

This is a beautiful book.

Favorite Books of 2012 and Reading Goals for 2013

Well, last year 22 books made my Top List for 2011.  I felt bad that I couldn't even narrow it to 20, but then this year I have ended up with a Top 28 Books (out of about 70 that I read), so I am re-framing my feelings, and feeling grateful that I read even more great books this past year!  The books I read are rated by me on a very subjective scale, ranging from "bad" to "excellent".  I don't share my subjective ratings with others; it is just for me.  However, the list of 28 books below were rated either "excellent" or "very good".  And as last year, I will slowly attempt to narrow this down.  Last year, I could not pick a number one favorite, but this year, there is a hands-down favorite!

So, here is the list of the top 28 books that I read in 2012, listed in the order that I read them:

Jack Kennedy Elusive Hero-Chris Matthews                        

The Immortal Life of Harriett Lacks-Rebecca Skoot

The Sense of an Ending-Julian Barnes                                       

On Canaan’s Side-Sebastian Barry

To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee                                                

Old Filth-Jane Gardam

Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins

The Man in the Wooden Hat-Jane Gardam

A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving                                       

The Bottoms-JR Lansdale

nightwoods-Charles Frazier

The Snow Child-Eowyn Ivey

The Ice Queen-Alice Hoffman

The Absolutist-John Boyne

In the Tennessee Country-Peter Taylor                                      

The Orchardist-Amanda Coplin

The Patron Saint of Liars-Ann Patchett

A Summons to Memphis-Peter Taylor

11/22/63-Stephen King

Wild-Cheryl Strayed

Rebecca-Daphne Du Maurier

Once Upon A River-Bonnie Jo Campbell

The End of Your Life Book Club-Will Schwalbe

Gone Girl-Gillian Flynn

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul-Deepak Chopra

The Lost Wife-Alyson Richman

Lincoln-David Herbert Donald 

I am pleased (with myself) to report that of the top 28, 6 are non-fiction.  At this rate, I may have to stop saying that I don't like non-fiction!

Okay, narrowing the list down to my top 16 (why are my numbers so odd?)

Jack Kennedy Elusive Hero-Chris Matthews                       

The Sense of an Ending-Julian Barnes                                 

On Canaan’s Side-Sebastian Barry

To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee                                      

A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving                                

The Bottoms-JR Lansdale

nightwoods-Charles Frazier

The Snow Child-Eowyn Ivey

The Ice Queen-Alice Hoffman

The Absolutist-John Boyne

In the Tennessee Country-Peter Taylor                                

The Orchardist-Amanda Coplin

A Summons to Memphis-Peter Taylor

Wild-Cheryl Strayed

The End of Your Life Book Club-Will Schwalbe

Lincoln-David Herbert Donald

Wow, there are still 4 non-fiction books on my list!  Crazy!  It is interesting to note that 6 of these 16 are older books.

And more selecting:

Jack Kennedy Elusive Hero-Chris Matthews                       

The Sense of an Ending-Julian Barnes                                 

To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee                                      

A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving                                

The Bottoms-JR Lansdale

nightwoods-Charles Frazier

The Snow Child-Eowyn Ivey

The Ice Queen-Alice Hoffman

The Absolutist-John Boyne

The Orchardist-Amanda Coplin

Wild-Cheryl Strayed

Oh, nuts, now the number is 11.  Maybe I am odd, not the numbers! 

Okay, now it is getting really tough, but I am narrowing it down even further (last time before announcing my favorite book of 2012, I promise):

Jack Kennedy Elusive Hero-Chris Matthews                       

To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee                                      

The Ice Queen-Alice Hoffman

The Absolutist-John Boyne

The Orchardist-Amanda Coplin

Wild-Cheryl Strayed

And now for the final narrowing...Despite the fact that To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite all-time book, my very favorite book read in 2012 was:

 Wild by Cheryl Strayed

And there you have it...my absolute very favorite book that I read this past year.  And, yes, it is non-fiction!  Hooray for me and my reading!

 My reading goals for next year are a little different than in the past.  Usually I have focused on wanting to read more books than the year before.  I am not focusing on that this year.  This year one of my goals is to begin reading more about Abraham Lincoln.  It was a in-retirement goal that I had for years, and I still hadn't gotten to it until last month.  Reading Lincoln and seeing the movie Lincoln re-enforced my feeling of wanting to know more about him. A second goal is to begin reading some of the books that my mom had left a list of that she wanted to read.  And my third goal is to whittle down the pile of books to-be-read (TBR) that are all over my house! I can't wait to get started, so off I go to read right now!

Happy New Year everyone!

Lincoln-my last book read in 2012

Interesting that the first book I read in 2012 was Jack Kennedy (by Chris Matthews) and the last book that I read in 2012 was Lincoln (by David Herbert Donald).  I find it even more interesting because I am not a big fan of nonfiction.  However, the lives of both of these past presidents fascinate me.  One of my goals upon retirement was to become a Lincoln scholar.  Unfortunately, that has not happened, but after seeing the movie Lincoln, my interest was renewed.  (BTW-the movie is incredible).

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald is an amazing book.  It is extraordinarily researched, and is based on Lincoln's personal papers and records.  It is a long book; however, it is a great read. I do have to confess that I found some of the book difficult to focus on, as I am not a person terribly interested in politics.  My interests always lie with who the person actually was/is.  And I thoroughly enjoyed those parts of the book that discussed Lincoln's personal life.  I have much more reading to do on Mr. Abraham Lincoln.

Anyone who is interested in Abraham Lincoln and his politics would find this to be a fascinating book.

[Just an interesting aside: I first learned of and bought this book several months ago after hearing Bill Clinton discuss it on the Today show.  He highly recommended it, and knowing what a well-read person he is, I trusted his word.  I was right to do so.]

End of the Year Reading

It looks as if I read a great deal over the past month, but actually I finished three books that I had started earlier this year (in the fall), and read two complete books this month.  So this is a rather abbreviated review of all the books, since there are five of them!

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg has been a top seller this year.  I enjoyed it very much.  It is not really a self-help book as one might think from the title, although one could use the information for themselves to work on either breaking or developing specific habits.  What I found most fascinating was how companies are able to focus on consumers patterns/habits and shape new habits so that consumers want their products.  Examples that come to mind from the book are Proctor and Gamble, Starbucks and Target.  I also was very interested in the study of AA and how it has worked over the years to help people achieve sobriety.  The book also shared examples of how individuals have been able to identify and change behaviors for themselves. Very interesting reading.  The book is very readable and fun to read.

Dying To Be Me by Anita Moorjani has been a much talked about book this year. It is the story of the author and how when she was close to death, experienced a near-death-experience and  was healed of her cancer.  The author's point is that she had the power to heal herself.  I wasn't very taken with the whole thing, although certainly some of what she wrote is helpful in that it is important to love yourself, find your Higher Power, etc.

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra was written in 2009.  I was just recently (in the past two months) introduced to meditations on Abundance by Deepak Chopra and want to learn and read more of his work.  This is the first book by him that I have read.  I found it quite thought-provoking.  I underlined much in this book.  What I especially found interesting were the parts where he highlighted the similarities between Buddha and Jesus.  Very interesting.  I will be reading more of his works.  I love the awareness and thinking that his words inspire in me.  

Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Meruullo was one of my book group picks.  It was odd to be reading this right after I had just begun meditating...This is a novel about a successful, happy family man, whose parents died and he and his sister needed to go to across the country to South Dakota to take care of their parent's estate.  However, when Otto goes to pick up his sister, she said she was not going, but would like for Otto to take her friend out there with him.  The friend turned out to be a rather well-known guru, who had speaking engagements along the way on their journey.  It turned out that the experience allowed Otto to view his life through someone else's eyes and it was mind-opening.  This is a fun book to read.  Parts of it were laugh-out-loud funny. 

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman was recommended by my daughter-in-law and I loved. it.  The story was good, and the writing was even better.  Many things about this writing struck me.  The story is a story from the Holocaust-of a couple who had married and were separated during the war.  Josef and his family were able to leave Prague before the Nazi invasion, but his brand-new wife, Lenka, remained with her family to await Josef's arrival in the United States, when he would send for them.  Lenka ended up in a concentration camp, believing that Josef had died.  Almost sixty years later, they meet accidentally.

"Every person has an image or a memory that they hold secret.  One that they unwrap. like a piece of hidden candy, at night.  Pass through there and you will fall into the valley of dreams."

"Her ghost will finally be at home now.  Because that's what happens when we eventually return to the ones we loved but left behind. To the ones we never forgot.  We slide into them like two perfect hands.  We fall into them like two cotton-filled clouds."

Just a great story of love never forgotten.

And Three More...

Before I begin, I need to tell you that I am thinking already about my reading goals for 2013.  Are any of you thinking about reading goals?

After reading Await Your Reply by Dan Choan earlier in the fall, I was wondering around the used book store and came across You Remind Me of Me, also by Dan Choan.  It turned out that You Remind Me of Me is his debut novel, published in 2004.  I liked it.  It is also a novel about brothers and identity, as was Await Your Reply. Knowing that Choan is an adopted child,  I find it very interesting that he continues to explore the concept of identity.

You Remind Me of Me is the story of three lives all connected in ways they are not aware of.  It all begins with a young unmarried woman in 1966 who gives up a child for adoption.  The book is about Troy Timmens, who struggles with finding his place in the world.  However, his son, Loomis, is Troy's one stronghold...the one thing that does make sense and meaning of Troy's life.  Jonah Doyle is younger than Troy.  He was raised by his mother who always seemed bitter and lacking in love.  Jonah carries horrible scars on his face from a dog attack...but those aren't as bad as the scars he carries inside his heart.  After his mother commits suicide, Jonah sets out to try to make sense of both her life and his life, trying to understand how they became who they were.

I liked the way Choan wrote the story.  It goes back and forth between years and stories, but it never seemed too confusing to me.  Each chapter is titled by a date...I think that helped.   Good book!

On a lighter note, one of my book groups had chosen Dress Me in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris.  It was also published in 2004.  I guess that I am catching up on books written that year!  The book is a collection of essays...some of which are laugh out loud funny.  A good example of his writing (about his sister):

"Growing up, she had a reputation for dishonesty, and her relentless, often inappropriate truth telling is, to her, a way of turning that around. 'I'm not going to lie to you.' she'll say, forgetting that another option is to simply say nothing."

Doesn't that sound like families?  It was great fun to read.  It is also light, quick reading, which is sometimes a perfect break between heavier books.  If you haven't read it, I recommend it!

I just finished reading The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Oprah's latest Book Club pick.  It is quite good.  This is also a debut novel, and I look forward to seeing more of her writing.  It is a bit reminiscent of Toni Morrison's writing.

Fifteen year old Hattie left Georgia to find a better life in 1924.  The story begins with Hattie meeting (and marrying) August and giving birth to twins.  She named them Philadelphia and Jubilee.  August thought the names were "crazy".

"Hattie's mother, if she were still alive, would have agreed with August.  She would have said Hattie had chosen vulgar names: 'low and showy' she would have called them.  But she was gone, and Hattie wanted to give her babies names that weren't already chiseled on a head stone in the family plots in Georgia, so she gave them names of promise and of hop, reaching forward names, not looking back ones."

The twins were the joy of Hattie's young life.  But after their birth, life began to get harder and Hattie lost her joy.

Each chapter is about one (sometimes two) of Hattie's children, but all intertwine as they tell the story of Hattie's life.  Hattie ended up having eleven children.  And at the end of the story, Hattie is left with a granddaughter, who completes the "twelve tribes".  And joy begins to return to Hattie's life.

And now I am off, to continue my reading...I have lots of books to finish and begin!

What a Gift!

Today my sister and I went to my Dad's to go through my Mom's Christmas stuff.  Mom died earlier this year and Dad only wanted to keep a few things.  As we went through some things, Dad came across a small, old notebook that Mom had written in.  Inside were lists of books that she wanted to read.

I just read The End of Your Life Book Club a few weeks ago and was envious of the author that he got to share reading books with his mother over the last two years of her life.  When Dad gave me this notebook, I felt like maybe this is my Mom's way of sharing, even though she is now gone.  I typed up the list and here it is:

                                                                                          

Mom’s Book List

Found 12/2/2012

Aunt Julia and The Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa

Loving Women by Pete Hamill

A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman

The Journals of John Cheever

Shadows on the Grass by Isak Dinesen

A Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel

Meridian 144 by Meg Files

Bad Girls Good Women by Rosie Thomas

Family Pictures by Sue Miller

The Locusts Have No King by Dawn Powell

Tilting at Windmills by Charles Peters

Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan

The Fountainhead by Aryn Rand

By Robertson Davies:  Fifth Business

                                     The Manticore

                                    World of Wonders

By Jane Smiley: Barn Blind

                            At Paradise Gate

                           Duplicate Key

                           The Age of Grief

                           The Greenlanders

                           Catskill Crafts

                           Ordinary Love and Good Will

Landscape Without Gravity by Barbara Ascher

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

How amazing is this?  I have read a few of these books, but not most of them.  This is going to be one of my 2013 reading goals for the year! 

Here's the very most amazing thing...today is my birthday!!!  Thanks, Mom!  Miss you and love you!