bookshelves: currently-reading
]]>
December 16th 2009 - Today the illustrious, witty and warm Paul Zall
has left us for the other world. A renowned scholar, former English professor, prolific author, terrific poet, and a reader at the Huntington Library since 1958 - we will miss you! Rest in peace. ]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
Catherine
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 6 |
| correct: | 6 (100.0%) |
| skipped: | 0 |
| best streak: | 6 |
| questions added: | 0 |
HALF BROKE HORSES by Jeanette Walls
After reading the author’s best selling childhood memoir, The Glass Castle, I, along with many readers, thought how on earth did she turn out so well with such a nutcase for a mother? It was a great read and now Ms. Walls is in big demand, speaking soon in Pasadena. I thought– wow, what’s she going to follow this up with? She began to interview her mother for material for a second memoir, this time based on her mother’s life. That idea was scraped when her mom said: ‘Ya know honey; your Grandma is the really interesting lady here.’ So that’s what she wrote about instead – and here is the review:
Jeanette tells the story of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who is a colourful, candid, no nonsense kind of gal. She’s a ‘rough and ready’, practical-minded ranch hand in Texas whose childhood is spent riding and breaking in ‘half broke horses’. In one frightening scene, the 10 year old Lily saves the lives of her younger siblings’ from a horrendous tornado by climbing high up a tree and holding on to them for dear life. Living through the war years, she recounts treacherous floods on the homestead, real poverty, a bigamist cad of a husband and just plain hard living. Always an adventurous spirit, she earns her living as a schoolteacher (from age 14!) crossing the desert by horseback to her next schoolhouse and home. This compelling woman saves her pennies for lessons, learning to fly airplanes for fun, while other ladies stay at home. With her second husband - Jim Smith, she raises children, including Rosemary Smith Walls – the author’s mother. But the star of the story is Ms. Walls’ writing, her ability to ‘speak’ in her grandmother’s voice and intuit her thoughts. It really is a memoir, but to be truthful the author has called it a ‘true life novel’. An amazing life story! ]]>
]]>
]]>