Saturday by Ian McEwan

"On a recent Sunday evening Theo came up with an aphorism: the bigger you think, the crappier it looks. Asked to explain he said, "When we go on about the big things, the political situation, global warming, world poverty, it all looks really terrible, with nothing getting better, nothing to look forward to. But when I think small, closer in - you know, a girl I've just met, or this song we're going to do with Chas, or snowboarding next month, then it looks great. So this is going to be my motto - think small."

This is 9/11 fiction. McEwan's writing is detailed and lyrical as he follows his main character, Henry Perowne, through an atypical Saturday. A Saturday that will always stand out in his memory. The minutiae of Henry's day and the constant patter of his thoughts flutters through you in a wonderful way. Henry is a neurosurgeon. McEwan describes a typical day doing surgery and it is absolute poetry.

Henry is an affluent, middle aged man who sometimes wonders if there isn't more to life than saving lives. Because his work is saving lives, and if Henry Perowne's work were taken away, sometimes he thinks there would be little left.

Henry is a likable and solid man. He loves his children, who have shrugged off their dependent selves so rapidly, he is adjusting to being the parent of young adults who no longer need him. He doesn't care for fiction, although he reads books assigned to him by his daughter, a poet. While this is a running theme in the book, and works mostly, he has read quite a bit of fiction (of course, only thanks to his daughter) and ruminates on it more than a real person who "doesn't read fiction" would. But, I guess it is all relative. Compared to Henry's daughter and compared to the author (I'm sure), Henry is less ensconsed in the world of literature.

I read an interview with McEwan (why I picked up the book) and I liked his honest take on the war and President Bush. He met President Bush and McEwan said, "When someone ceases to be simply a set of policies with which you may disagree he becomes this oddly, surprisingly humorous and charming character. Right afterwards I joined a friend at a huge peace demonstration where people were holding "Bush: Murderer" signs and I thought, if you knew where I'd just been!"

-- don't read furthur if you are interested in reading the book and want to go in fresh --

I particularly enjoyed the debate between Henry and his daughter Daisy over the war. She has been to a peace march, and he has spent a good part of the day ruminating over the post-9/11 world, a plane that he saw burst into flames, a car accident he has been involved in, and a man he operated on who was imprisoned and tortured by Saddam's regime.

(Daisy says) "Why is it that the few people I've met who aren't against this crappy war are all over forty? What is it about getting old? Can't get close to death soon enough?"

..."Death's all around, "(Henry) agrees. "Ask Saddam's torturers at Abu Ghraib prison and the twenty thousand inmates. And let me ask you a question. Why is it among those two million idealists today I didn't see one banner, one fist or voice raised against Saddam?"

"He's loathsome," she says. "It's a given."

"No it's not. It's a forgotten. Why else are you all singing and dancing in the park? The genocide and torture, the mass graves, the security apparatus, the criminal totalitarian state - the iPod generation doesn't want to know. Let nothing come between them and their ecstasy clubbing and cheap flights and reality TV. But it will, if we do nothing. You think you're all lovely and gentle and blameless, but the religious nazis loathe you. What do you think the Bali bombing was about? The clubbers clubbed. Radical Islam hates your freedom."

In his thoughts, Henry isn't sure why he's taking a harder line with his daughter then his pro-war colleague. I like that while he has an opinion, he's conflicted. He can see both sides, but his daughter can't. She gets very irritated when he admits he could be wrong and accuses him of hedging his bets. He says that he is simply being honest. And he realizes that although the issues are important, it's just an intellectual game for them "...how luxurious, to work it all out at home in the kitchen, the geopolitical moves and military strategy, and not be held to account, by voters, newspapers, friends, history. Where there are not consequences, being wrong is simply an interesting diversion."

People often make a comparison between terrorism and someone breaking into your home. McEwan centers the book around this idea. But, if the break-in is purely metaphorical, then I find it slightly irritating. And, if Henry's solution to the men that invade his life, his peace, is supposed to be a global solution then I disagree. But, at face value, the wrap-up works. Taken as a whole, the book is marvelously conceived and written with a wonderfully believable touch.


Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott

"Hurt people hurt other people. That's the way it works."
- Blue Shoe

Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers, but until this book I had never read any of her fiction. I first discovered Anne Lamott when Gracie was a newborn. Operating Instructions is a fabulous book. It is her funny, honest, sad, and optimistic account of her first year as a mother. She is a single mother, but her experiences of being totally in love and totally in over her head are universal.

A few years later, I read Traveling Mercies, a collection of essays in which Lamott shares her trek out of alcoholism and into Jesus. Again, she keeps it real, irreverent and funny even as she describes hitting bottom. To label Lamott a Christian writer would be to miss the mark (and probably disappoint or irritate a few Christian readers) because she doesn't have a Christian agenda, she simply shares her experiences and her faith. I loved it.

Last year, I read Bird by Bird, which is a book about writing. Again, her wonderfully funny self just shines through in this great book. It's a worthwhile book whether or not you are an inspiring writer. Even a no-account blogger would get something out of it.

So, The Blue Shoe. It is a wonderfully funny and believable book. It chronicles the years following Mattie Ryder's divorce. You see Mattie struggling to juggle her children, her rapidly aging mother, her ex-husband, her relationships, and her father's secrets. Her children are damaged by the breakup of their home, and so is Mattie, but she does the best she can.

Having read Lamott's non-fiction, there is much of Anne herself in this book. It was refreshing to see Mattie rely on her faith and her church. She prays to Jesus to help her daughter who is slowly gnawing away her fingers (through the nails), to give her patience when her son acts up, when she falls in love with the wrong man. And, it doesn't come off as preachy, just real.

"The crying will wash it out," she said, pulling him into her lap. He tore at his eye, rubbed hard, whimpered, and she cooed and patted him with mounting hostility... What would Jesus do? Roll his eyes and growl softly, as she was doing? She pictured Jesus and the men He lived with, whiny bachelors all - "Can I be first?" "What about me, Lord" - and saw Him sigh and head back up the mountain. Where could she go?

Her child sobbed in her arms, and she held him. Boy, she thought, when Jesus said we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven, He was definitely not referring to Harry. Maybe He had been misquoted. Maybe he did not say you must be like little children, but that you should eat the little children - with a little butter and garlic.

At the beginning of the book, Mattie keeps thinking of her father, wishing he were still alive. If she could lean on him, she knows it would give her the strength she needs to keep things together. As the book progresses, she and her brother start a little detective work to figure out some questions about her father, and the answers are not what she expected.


Emma by Jane Austen

..I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public! A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable, old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman, of good fortune is always respectable and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.

Most of the last two weeks have been taken up with Emma (Saturday and Blue Shoe were eaten up in just a few days each), but an Austen novel should be savored. Just as I think that when you read Walt Whitman quickly (only stopping to catch your breath), with Austen I recommend strolling.

Emma, like most of Austen's characters (but unlike her main characters) is interested in status and birth. She is rich, conceited, and spoiled but she has good intentions and a good heart. It is Emma's good intentions that give her the most trouble.

Emma befriends a woman below her in status, but who she believes she can help. Her help consists mainly of matchmaking, which has disastrous results. Her attempts at manipulating those around her produce only comic misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

Emma herself is not interested in marriage. But, from early on, you know who she loves (although she does not realize it yet). The beauty of the book doesn't lie in figuring out who loves who, but in watching Emma realize her mistakes and learn from them. Austen language is so lovely and precise, I'd probably love any of her books regardless of the plot.


Operation Shylock by Philip Roth

Thought provoking. I reviewed this here.

Read with the Kiddos


King Arthur by Rosalind Kerven

Beautiful illustrations, beautifully written. This subtly mentions the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere.


Aladdin by Rosalind Kerven

Fabulously written. The girls and I really enjoyed this.


Muhammad by Demi

Lovely book. Demi did a beautiful job of portraying Muhammad while respecting the Islamic tradition of not showing the prophet's face.


The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi

Nice book. Good starting point for discussing Saints and Eastern Orthodox religion.


I Am Eastern Orthodox by Philemon D. Sevastiades
I Am Roman Catholic by Philemon D. Sevastiades

This is a great series. A child tells about their beliefs and customs in basic terms with lots of photos. We have already read I am Buddhist, I am Hindu, I am Ba'hai, I am Muslim and I am Jewish. I'm sure we'll eventually work our way through the series. We usually talk about the similarities and differences in our religion and the religion discussed. This is a simple and sweet way to learn about different religions.


Look What Came from China by Miles Harvey

Another great series. Great photos, lively text, interesting stuff. We've also read Look What Came from Japan, and will read the books on Australia and France next.


Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings

We just finished this. We started this quite a few months back. We have been reading from it for years, and read through the New Testament last year. This year we read it from start to finish and really enjoyed it. The illustrations and photos are wonderful.The text keeps things basic enough that is understandable, but covers all of the major and most of the minor stories.