Jeannie Hudson's Blog: Bookmarks - Posts Tagged "tragedy"

I recently read THE GOLDFINCH BY Donna Tartt and I must say it is one of the best novels I've read - ever. As we follow Theo,the hapless protagonist, as he copes as best he can with abandonment by his father and the sudden death of his mother when he is thirteen. His loss is so huge, it seems, at times unbearable. His friendships with
those his own age and much older are his
salvation and are presented with remarkable insight by the author.

The intertwined relationships offer him the most enduring loyalty and heartrending betrayal. At certain junctures, my heart wept for him. Yet
he manages to gain a certain wisdom and
acceptance of what cannot be, and learns
that some dreams are doomed at their inception.

Tartt's writing is fast and sure. THE
GOLDFINCH is a long story but it moves
at a quick, compelling pace that intrigues and satisfies from start to
finish. It explores how luck, and the means by which life is filled and affected by unforeseen turns of fate, in the end produces an astonishing resolution.

Growing up in Two Rivers, Vermont during the era of Vietnam and the civil rights movement, Harper Montgomery loved Betsy
from the time they were children and marries her when they're just out of high
school. During his youth, he and two friends are involved in some dreadful activities, one of which is a horrific
racial crime. -- As the story opens, he is still haunted by his past and grieving for his mother who was murdered because of her civil rights activities, and Betsy whose death is somehow connected to the hate crime that still plagues him. His daughter Shelly was born the night her mother died and he has been a single-dad for twelve years. His life has been reduced by tragedy to a shallow existence divided between his job with the Two Rivers railroad and raising his daughter. -- While Harper
helps rescue passengers after a train
derailment, he is approached by Maggie,
a pregnant black girl who convinces him to let her live with him and Shelly. He
soon suspects that more than chance has
brought her into their lives. When he
begins unraveling the mysteries of the
past, he finds new hope and redemption
for all of them.-- TWO RIVERS is a dark,
lovely story of heartbreak and sorrow, of
making amends and finding forgiveness. I
give it three stars.

This is the magical story of tragedy and the consequences of unthinking human cruelty. When the boy William Bellman recklessly kills a rook with his catapult
he barely remembers the incident. But the
rooks never forget. - I loved the allegory
of the rooks in this eerie, timeless tale.
One reckless act, one moment in time if you
will, creates repercussions forever in the
life of William Bellman. The foolish killing of a rook by the boy creates an
unpaid debt among the bird's brethren that is only repaid by the grown man's allegiance to the very essence of death
itself. - BELLMAN & BLACK is a strange,
haunting tale that will leave you wondering.... I give it three stars.