April's travel book for book club is On The Road by Jack Kerouac. I had heard of this book but had never read it, and a benefit of book club is exposure to books I might not choose. It is a book about travel both exteriorly by bus, car, and hitchhiking back and forth across the USA, and interiorly, away from conservative values and the confinement of society's expectations like paying your bills, being faithful to your spouse, and supporting your children. It is described as the voice of the Beat Generation and its influence on American culture. It is a book to read to have a window into the upheaval of the late 50s and 60s. I didn't like On The Road because I found it dishonest. There is no free life; someone will have to pay the cost of food, gas, and babies. Kerouac's idea of freedom is self-centered and comes at the cost of someone else taking on the debt.
In contrast to other books I've read on travel, Wild, Eat, Pray, Love, and Travels with Charley give the writers an understanding of themselves and others; the result of Kerouac's trip feels like a spiral downward. His travel catalyst is his friend, Dean Moriarty, who abandons him and also fascinates him in turn. Dean is the main protagonist and the most exciting character. When he's not around, things are less interesting. Overall, I'm glad to have read On The Road because I won't have to ever read it again.
🗺️🚘👍🛣️
I read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield many years ago, but I didn't recognize the book until about halfway through. I couldn't remember how it ended! It feels like I'm not long from hiding my own Easter eggs. The plot of this excellent mystery is complex so I will give myself a break for not quite remembering the title. The book fits into a gothic mystery category with a crumbling house, orphan twins, and mysterious old women. It has surprising turns and mysteries within mysteries. A big plus is the protagonist works in a bookshop, and there is much book talk. I recommend reading it twice!
👩🦰👩🦰🏚️📚
Speaking of gothic and adding horror brings me to T. Kingfisher's book The Twisted Ones. She has several titles--A House with Good Bones and The Hollow Places--that take place in the American South and are spooky weird. Here is a link to my reviews of the others.
The Twisted Ones follows Kingfisher's gothic horror formula of the female protagonist with a recent break-up, goes south to help or be helped by a relative, and lives in a creepy house that turns out to be a portal to horrible things. However, the book is populated with weirdly wonderful characters and evil villains that give the plot suspense. I like the heroes and dislike the villains.
As a side note, if Kingfisher's actual grandmother is as bad as her written grandmothers, she's crafted an excellent revenge.
This is the last Kingfisher book for a while. I'm still missing a few, but I will have to find them outside my usual channels. Fortunately, there are many good books in the world that I still want to read.
💀😱🐶🌲
No comments:
Post a Comment