David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "compassion"
Our Souls at Night
Kent Haruf recently died, but not before he left us with one last effort, OUR SOULS AT NIGHT, more of a novella than a full blown novel. In this work, Haruf offers the same compassion as he did in the first book of his that I read, PLAINSONG, one of the best books I've read since I retired in the nineties.
Once again the setting of the story is Holt, Colorado. In a bit of humor Louis Waters, one of the main characters, mentions PLAINSONG, claiming the unnamed Haruf used the town name and street names but that Louis had never heard of any bachelor farmers taking in a pregnant girl.
This work is about Louis and Addie Moore, two senior citizens who decide to live together. Addie can't stand the loneliness and wants someone to sleep with at night, although not in the traditional way, at first anyway. When she asks him, Louis doesn't know what to say, but it doesn't take too long to answer in the affirmative. She's a goods-looking woman for seventy-something, although she's a little thick in the middle.
The story picks up steam when Addie's son, Gene, leaves his son, Jamie, to live with his grandmother, while he deals with a separation from his wife and his business which is nearing bankruptcy. He doesn't like it one bit that Louis is living with his mother. Louis teaches the boy to play catch, gets him a dog from the Humane Center. He'd been crying when he first arrived, but they cheer him up quite a bit.
It's rather hard to believe that the town gossips and busybodies would object to two senior citizens living together, but some of them do. We learn why Gene is the way he is. Who doesn't play catch with his kid? Connie, Addie's daughter was run over and killed by a car when Gene was only a little boy, and he blamed himself; he'd been chasing her with a water house during a hot day, and she ran into the street. From that moment on Gene's father lost interest in him and his mother; it had been ten years since she'd been with a man when she came to see Louis. Louis has some blips in his background as well, having cheated on his wife. But they definitely fit; fate is a sly dog when it comes to romance. Why couldn't it have arranged for these two to meet when they were young?
Haruf has a few other lessons for us. The two go skinny dipping, for instance. Undignified, you say. I guess you haven't heard that seventy is the new fifty.
If Haruf's spirit is still hanging around someplace, I'd just like to say thank you for PLAINSONG and his other three books, which are almost as good. Waters says there are theatrical versions of four of his novels. I wouldn't doubt it a bit.
Once again the setting of the story is Holt, Colorado. In a bit of humor Louis Waters, one of the main characters, mentions PLAINSONG, claiming the unnamed Haruf used the town name and street names but that Louis had never heard of any bachelor farmers taking in a pregnant girl.
This work is about Louis and Addie Moore, two senior citizens who decide to live together. Addie can't stand the loneliness and wants someone to sleep with at night, although not in the traditional way, at first anyway. When she asks him, Louis doesn't know what to say, but it doesn't take too long to answer in the affirmative. She's a goods-looking woman for seventy-something, although she's a little thick in the middle.
The story picks up steam when Addie's son, Gene, leaves his son, Jamie, to live with his grandmother, while he deals with a separation from his wife and his business which is nearing bankruptcy. He doesn't like it one bit that Louis is living with his mother. Louis teaches the boy to play catch, gets him a dog from the Humane Center. He'd been crying when he first arrived, but they cheer him up quite a bit.
It's rather hard to believe that the town gossips and busybodies would object to two senior citizens living together, but some of them do. We learn why Gene is the way he is. Who doesn't play catch with his kid? Connie, Addie's daughter was run over and killed by a car when Gene was only a little boy, and he blamed himself; he'd been chasing her with a water house during a hot day, and she ran into the street. From that moment on Gene's father lost interest in him and his mother; it had been ten years since she'd been with a man when she came to see Louis. Louis has some blips in his background as well, having cheated on his wife. But they definitely fit; fate is a sly dog when it comes to romance. Why couldn't it have arranged for these two to meet when they were young?
Haruf has a few other lessons for us. The two go skinny dipping, for instance. Undignified, you say. I guess you haven't heard that seventy is the new fifty.
If Haruf's spirit is still hanging around someplace, I'd just like to say thank you for PLAINSONG and his other three books, which are almost as good. Waters says there are theatrical versions of four of his novels. I wouldn't doubt it a bit.
Us Against You
US AGAINST US is the sequel to BEARTOWN. On the surface it looks like it's a story about hockey and the hateful competition between two Swedish small towns, Beartown and Hed.
We also find out what's happening with the main characters from Beartown, Benji, the enforcer on the Beartown team, also the best friend of Kevin who raped Maya Andersson, general manager of the Beartown club, Peter Andersson's daughter, at a party is conflicted about almost everything, but he has three strong sisters who keep him on the right course.
Early on the district council decides to fold the Beartown hockey club; most of the players have moved to Hed anyway, but a renegade and ambitious politician comes to Peter Andersson with a plan to keep the team. He already has a deal with a company to take over the Beartown factory; a drawback is that they want the hooligans, the Pack, zealous Beartown fans, gone. You often see these guys wearing black coats. They're not just hoods; some of them own small businesses; they just want Beartown to win at almost any cost. Most of the town wanted Peter Andersson gone after Kevin, their best player, was not allowed to play in the championship game. The Pack stood up for Peter.
In BEARTOWN we learned that Benji was gay. In the sequel the whole town finds out. Benji is lost; opposing fans use his sexual preference against them, howling insults that seem to contradict themselves. Beartown fans are rapists and sluts. The slut would be Maya, the girl who was raped.
Fredrik Bachman is one of the most compassionate writers I've read since Kent Haruf. Maya has a best friend, Ana, who's a female version of Benji, in that she loves the outdoors and will stand up for herself and her friends. She does something terrible and it takes a while for Maya to forgive her, but Benji convinces Maya to give her another chance. Benji was the injured party. As in a MAN CALLED OVER, Backman treats Moslem immigrants like people. Amat is an up an coming player, the fastest on the team. His mother, Fatima, is Bobo the clumsy defenseman's best friend
Some people will be upset by the end of the novel. They should know that this book is about people who play hockey, not hockey itself. The game between Beartown and Hed, actually the second that year, doesn't matter. By then a horrific accident, started by a violent act, has brought both towns together if only for an instant.
We also find out what's happening with the main characters from Beartown, Benji, the enforcer on the Beartown team, also the best friend of Kevin who raped Maya Andersson, general manager of the Beartown club, Peter Andersson's daughter, at a party is conflicted about almost everything, but he has three strong sisters who keep him on the right course.
Early on the district council decides to fold the Beartown hockey club; most of the players have moved to Hed anyway, but a renegade and ambitious politician comes to Peter Andersson with a plan to keep the team. He already has a deal with a company to take over the Beartown factory; a drawback is that they want the hooligans, the Pack, zealous Beartown fans, gone. You often see these guys wearing black coats. They're not just hoods; some of them own small businesses; they just want Beartown to win at almost any cost. Most of the town wanted Peter Andersson gone after Kevin, their best player, was not allowed to play in the championship game. The Pack stood up for Peter.
In BEARTOWN we learned that Benji was gay. In the sequel the whole town finds out. Benji is lost; opposing fans use his sexual preference against them, howling insults that seem to contradict themselves. Beartown fans are rapists and sluts. The slut would be Maya, the girl who was raped.
Fredrik Bachman is one of the most compassionate writers I've read since Kent Haruf. Maya has a best friend, Ana, who's a female version of Benji, in that she loves the outdoors and will stand up for herself and her friends. She does something terrible and it takes a while for Maya to forgive her, but Benji convinces Maya to give her another chance. Benji was the injured party. As in a MAN CALLED OVER, Backman treats Moslem immigrants like people. Amat is an up an coming player, the fastest on the team. His mother, Fatima, is Bobo the clumsy defenseman's best friend
Some people will be upset by the end of the novel. They should know that this book is about people who play hockey, not hockey itself. The game between Beartown and Hed, actually the second that year, doesn't matter. By then a horrific accident, started by a violent act, has brought both towns together if only for an instant.
