Carol's Comments March 2011

 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 20^th 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