![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
What I've been reading: Books No. 33-34
Jul. 12th, 2020 12:03 pmBook No. 33 was "The Book of Ruth" by Jane Hamilton. This novel tells the story of Ruth, a small-town girl who thinks she is stupid compared to her younger genius brother Matt. She and her mother, May, live a hard life barely scraping by after Ruth's father deserts the family and Matt moves away and barely stays in touch. Ruth falls in love with a man named Reuben, or Ruby for short, and soon it's three adults and a baby all living in a small house together, with tensions running high. One of Ruth's only glimmers of hope is the love and letters she receives from her Aunt Sid.
I really liked the voice of Ruth. She reminded me of some of the small-town women I grew up around. You always wonder what they were like when they were younger and how they got so tired and hard in middle age. Ruth is definitely flawed and has some small-minded ideas about people of other races, "homos" and fat people, but she very much seemed like a real person. I'd previously read another of Hamilton's books, "A Map of the World," and think she's definitely worth reading. Recommended.
Book No. 34 was "The Price of Salt" by Claire Morgan. Claire Morgan is a pseudonym for Patricia Highsmith. She didn't want her name to be associated with this book that was ahead of its time (1952) for portraying a lesbian love story that actually has a (mostly) happy ending. Therese Belivet is an aspiring stage designer living in NYC and who is working a temp job at a department store when she meets a customer named Carol. The two are very different but soon become friends, as Therese provides companionship during Carol's acrimonious divorce. Love blooms as they go on a road trip, but Carol's husband is threatening to take their daughter, Rindy, away from Carol unless she stops seeing Therese.
I thought this book was very lovely. Morgan (Highsmith) has wonderful descriptive powers, and great insight into the human heart. My one criticism is that while Carol is a fully-realized human being with complications and flaws, Therese is a little vague and undeveloped, though she does grow up a bit over the course of the book. Overall, though, I loved this and didn't want it to end. Recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
I really liked the voice of Ruth. She reminded me of some of the small-town women I grew up around. You always wonder what they were like when they were younger and how they got so tired and hard in middle age. Ruth is definitely flawed and has some small-minded ideas about people of other races, "homos" and fat people, but she very much seemed like a real person. I'd previously read another of Hamilton's books, "A Map of the World," and think she's definitely worth reading. Recommended.
Book No. 34 was "The Price of Salt" by Claire Morgan. Claire Morgan is a pseudonym for Patricia Highsmith. She didn't want her name to be associated with this book that was ahead of its time (1952) for portraying a lesbian love story that actually has a (mostly) happy ending. Therese Belivet is an aspiring stage designer living in NYC and who is working a temp job at a department store when she meets a customer named Carol. The two are very different but soon become friends, as Therese provides companionship during Carol's acrimonious divorce. Love blooms as they go on a road trip, but Carol's husband is threatening to take their daughter, Rindy, away from Carol unless she stops seeing Therese.
I thought this book was very lovely. Morgan (Highsmith) has wonderful descriptive powers, and great insight into the human heart. My one criticism is that while Carol is a fully-realized human being with complications and flaws, Therese is a little vague and undeveloped, though she does grow up a bit over the course of the book. Overall, though, I loved this and didn't want it to end. Recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
