Carol's Comments December 2015

Carol’s Comments December 2015

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. After spending the whole summer with Harper Lee, I wanted to take a leisurely getaway reading an assortment of fiction that would magically transport me to many of my favorite places.

I first selected Dream Lover, the new novel by Elizabeth Berg which chronicles the unconventional life of 19^th century French writer George Sand. The book begins in 1831 when Aurore Dupin (later known as George Sand) leaves her husband and two children to pursue a bohemian lifestyle as a writer in Paris. The narrative alternates between the author’s avant- garde life from1831 through her death in 1876 and her childhood mainly spent at Nohant, her grandmother’s family estate.

Berg’s sensuous writing style vividly captures Sand’s fascinating romantic relationships and friendships with both men and women notably Frédéric Chopin, actress Marie Dorval, poet Alfred de Musset, Gustave Flaubert and Victor Hugo.

Although I usually prefer novels under 600 pages, I thought that for this book, Berg should have delved deeper into Sand’s later life. These final chapters especially those dealing with her affair with Chopin and friendship with Flaubert seemed rather rushed and sketchy. I expected more from a fictional biography about such a unique writer like George Sand and felt very disappointed after I finished it.

As many of my readers know, I absolutely adored The Paris Wife, Paula McLain’s bestselling book about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson .So when I read positive reviews in the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly about her current novel Circling the Sun, it really piqued my interest.

Set mostly in early 20^th century Kenya, East Africa, McLain’s historical novel focuses on Beryl Markham, famous aviatrix and author of West With the Night, her autobiography published in 1942.

In 1906 when Beryl is 4 years old, her father uproots his family from England to start a horse farm in Kenya called Green Hills. Shortly afterward, her mother abandons her husband and young daughter and returns to England with Beryl’s younger brother Richard.

Raised by her father, Beryl grows up into a rebellious, headstrong and passionate young woman. When her father loses Green Hills due to bankruptcy, at sixteen she impetuously marries local landowner Jock Purves which turns into a disastrous mistake. To escape from this loveless marriage, Beryl becomes the first licensed female racehorse trainer in Kenya.

Most importantly, Beryl’s life would profoundly change forever when she becomes good friends with Karen Blixen (also known as Isak Dinesen) author of Out of Africa). Their lives would strangely intertwine because of both women’s complicated love for nonconformist adventurer Denys Finch Hatton.

Through Hatton’s strong encouragement, Beryl learns to fly airplanes after her second marriage to British aristocrat Mansfield Markham crumbles. Eventually she becomes the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west on September 4, 1936, the most crowning achievement in aviation history.

Although this novel was somewhat entertaining at times, McLain’s narrative seemed too condensed and rather melodramatic. I wish the author would have concentrated more on Markham’s remarkably successful career as an aviator. The reader only gets a glimpse of this achievement in the book’s prologue and epilogue. I would have preferred more adventure than soap opera.

After reading two very bland, mediocre novels, I hoped I could find some very imaginative fiction to lift my spirits. After browsing the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List online one weekend, I read a synopsis of The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. This marvelous book turned out to be exactly what I yearned for.

Set in 2013, The Little Paris Bookshop centers on Monsieur Jean Perdu, an eccentric bookseller who owns the Literary Apothecary, a bookstore located on a barge floating on the Seine River. Perdu has an uncanny, intuitive ability of selecting the perfect book that will ease a customer’s particular emotional malady. Unfortunately he cannot find a remedy for his own heartbreak of losing his true love Manon twenty one years ago.

After reading a long forgotten letter that explains the real reason why his lover left him so abruptly, Perdu sets out on a personal journey of both self-discovery and healing on the book barge to Southern France (specifically Manon’s hometown Bonnieux in Provence). He reluctantly lets his friend the young bestselling author Max Jordan ( who’s currently suffering from severe writer’s block) to join him.

Before he arrives at his final destination in Provence, Perdu spends the summer emotionally healing in Sanary, a town near Marseilles. Only then can he reconcile his past with Manon and finally move forward.

In an imaginative twist, the author intersperses entries from Manon’s diary throughout the story so the reader can learn her view about the love affair.

At the end of the novel, Nina George includes two unexpected treats that will delight food enthusiasts and book lovers alike. First, she compiles a small recipe collection of cuisine unique to Southern France. It features such scrumptious offerings as Pistou, a Provencal vegetable soup, Lamb Cutlets with Garlic Flan and Lavender Ice Cream. Yum!

Being an ardent bibliophile, my favorite section is Jean Perdu’s Emergency Literary Pharmacy. This quirky and rather eclectic glossary comically suggests books that will alleviate particular emotional ailments. For instance, Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is effective in large doses for treating pathological optimism. Its primary side effect is an aversion to owning things and a tendency of staying in your robe all day.

I think the funniest book remedy is for reading the short story, The Machine Stops  by E.M. Forster. The story needs to be carefully handled in small doses because it’s an effective antidote for blind faith in iPhones and cures Facebook addiction.

Of all the books I read for this blog, The Little Paris Bookshop was an unexpected pleasant surprise. It offered emotional comfort to me when I needed it the most. This charming novel is a bittersweet modern fairy tale of love, loss and the healing power of reading. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who needs a literary hug. You will not be disappointed.

Ironically, I finished reading The Little Paris Bookshop a few days before the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13^th. I’d like to dedicate this blog to Paris, my favorite city. Although I’ve never personally visited the City of Light, I’ve enjoyed studying French language, history and culture my whole life by mentally traveling there through books and film. I absolutely love this city! Je t’adore Paris!

All the books reviewed in this column can be found at most local public libraries. My readers in St Joseph County, Indiana can visit the St Joseph County Public Library’s web site at libraryforlife.org  for more information. Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and see you all again in 2016!