@ossobuco,
Haven't been on A2K for awhile but I've been reading! Found the neatest used bookstore, such inexpensive books they have.
The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. God, what a great book. A young family, once very sophisticated knowledgable Jewish family came to the U.S. during WWII. Horrible experiences living in a graveyard. Poor English and harrasment by the locals was the main cause of their misery. But, the end is perfect. In her sad books, Oates does give the reader that.
American Adulterer by Jed Mercurio. about John F. Kennedy. Best book I've ever read, the author is very fair in his description of this man and his many illnesses, the drugs he is addicted to, and obscession and addiction to sex. Well, the author is a M.D. It's quite unbelievable. There's humor, though, and empathy. As one critic said, the book reads like prose.
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. Picture 1950's Kentucky, an orphaned girl living with grandparents. Tough enough, but Icy has Tourette Syndrom that isn't diagnosed until she's an adult. You know, violent ticks and uncontrollable cursing. Of course it's sad, yet funny, and it's an Oprah Book.
Now, I'm reading a newly published book, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I have to keep staring at the author's photo, a professor of history at the University of Southern CA. She has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and Nat'l Humaniies Center fellowships, and also writes an award-winning wine blog. Don't worry, the vampires, witches and daemons don't involve themselves in the lives of humans. Interesting the way she ties these creatures into ancient history. Not a scary book, just strange and intriguing.
, but those references tie in with his thoughts about adolescence, the experience of growing up in WA, often related to what became of those early friendships, the loyalties & connections, the early dreams ... what became of them in adulthood.
