Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek
March 2011
Hello,
everyone! Welcome to the first issue of Carol’s Comments. Before starting
this blog, I was a Reference librarian at Indiana University Northwest (IUN ) Library in Gary, Indiana for 16 years.
While working there, I edited an online newsletter that promoted new library
products, events and services. From
2000-2006, I also served on an American Library Association virtual committee
that reviewed and selected the Best Free Reference Web Sites
for public, school and academic libraries each year. After leaving the IUN Library and returning to my South Bend hometown, I now had the time to indulge
in two of my favorite passions; reading for pleasure and critiquing movies.
Several months ago, my friend and colleague Scott Sinnett, Manager of the River
Park Branch Library encouraged me to start a blog where I could share my
thoughts about these and other topics with the local Michiana community.
During
the past six months, I’ve read four books (two with movie tie-ins) that dealt
with a person’s quest for self-discovery after a life changing event. The first
book was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Like most people, I saw
the movie starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem first before reading the
book. Although I found the film entertaining (especially the food sequences in
Italy), I thought Julia Roberts’ interpretation of Elizabeth Gilbert was extremely self-absorbed,
the supporting characters underdeveloped and the plot sketchy and overlong. However,
after reading film reviews in the New York Times and Entertainment
Weekly which stated that Gilbert’s original memoir more accurately
captured her spiritual self-realization, I eagerly checked out the book at the
library and was not disappointed.
Gilbert
successfully chronicles her personal journey from depressed, disillusioned
divorcee trampled by life’s disappointments into a happy, self confident woman.
Traveling alone for a year to three different countries, she rediscovers the
importance of simple pleasures in Italy, spiritual serenity in India and
achieving balance and finding true love in Bali. Gilbert’s engaging narrative
inspired me so much that it helped me appreciate all the simple things that
made my own life satisfying.
After
finishing Eat, Pray, Love, I hungered to read similar books on this
theme. I discovered one soon afterward while browsing the New York Times weekly
Books newsletter I subscribe to via e-mail. In the best-selling Trade Paperback
Nonfiction list, I found Traveling with Pomegranates: a
mother-daughter story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor.
Written
by best-selling author Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann, this fascinating
dual memoir documents trips to sacred places throughout Greece and France the
two women take together between 1998 and 2000.
This book is more than a typical travelogue. During their travels, each
woman has reached a personal milestone in her life. The mother, Sue has just
turned 50 and her daughter Ann recently graduated from college. Both women
bring their own unique perspective on how visits to ancient sites devoted to
the goddesses Demeter and Persephone and medieval shrines honoring the Blessed
Virgin Mary affected their perception about what it means to be a modern woman.
These trips ultimately inspired Sue Monk Kidd to write her first novel The
Secret Life of Bees published in 2002.
This
realistic coming-of-age novel set in 1960’s South Carolina revolves around 14
year old Lily Owens. Burdened by accidently causing her mother’s death ten
years ago, Lily escapes from her abusive father with her caretaker and friend
Rosaleen in the summer of 1964. They are eventually befriended by the eccentric
Boatwright sisters who make and sell Black Madonna Honey in nearby
Tiburon. While living with the
Boatwrights, Lily not only learns beekeeping from the oldest sister, August but how to forgive herself and learn to accept
love from other people who eventually become her second family.
Shortly
after reading the novel, I watched the 2008 film adaptation starring Dakota
Fanning as Lily and Queen Latifah as August Boatwright. The movie poignantly
depicts Lily’s gradual transformation from a frightened, distrusting little
girl to a confident young woman. Furthermore, Queen Latifah gives an
exceptional performance as mother figure to both Lily and her own sisters. The
screenplay, written by writer-director Gina Prince- Bythewood, dramatically
brings Monk Kidd’s novel to life. I highly recommend it.
Finally,
I just finished reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.
Set in Australia and England, this multigenerational saga explores a woman’s
search for her true identity while unraveling a secret family mystery.
Alternating between the present day and the early and late 20th
century, the novel’s central character, Nell Andrews and her granddaughter
Cassandra soon discover that being true to oneself by living a meaningful life
outweighs past family mistakes. I enjoyed Morton’s lively storytelling so much
that I plan on reading her other novels, The House at Riverton and The
Distant Hours sometime soon.
These
books, movies and other treasures can be found at all St Joseph County Public
Library locations. For more information, just visit the Library’s web site at www.libraryforlife.org
. Thanks for reading! See you all next time.
Previously posted on SJCPL blog
Previously posted on SJCPL blog
