Scott tackles the Booker and Pulitzer recent winners

[Sara, New School Classics]

Congrats on this one, Scott. I loved that it was from a totally different perspective than we had seen before. A significant book, for sure.

[Scott]

I just finished March by Geraldine Brooks. It tells the story of Mr. March, the father in Little Women, who goes off to be a chaplain during the Civil War. It sounds like a gimmick, I know: but it is a great story in its own right. 'War changes a man' is a bit of a truism, but here we see the dramatic effects of disillusionment on an overly-idealistic, slightly naive family man.

It also touches on the emerging problems of Reconstruction, as the Union Army had to deal with the thousands of slaves freed but also made homeless by the war.

Highly recommended.

[Scott]

I finished Olive Kitteridge. I don't know if I can really describe this as a novel. It is similar to Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, in that it tells the stories of couples and families in a small Maine community (although I found this novel much pleasanter to read). Olive Kitteridge is the protagonist in some of the chapters, but often she is just a peripheral character.

Tolstoy's famous line about all happy families being happy in the same way is given the lie in this book. Families and couples are happy and unhappy in so many ways, as the author shows.

[Linda R,]

Scott wrote: "I finished Olive Kitteridge. I don't know if I can really describe this as a novel. It is similar to Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, in that it tells the stories of couples and famili..."

I found Olive Kitteridge a surprise. I don't know what I expected but I was surprised by the turn of events. I enjoyed it too. I hadn't thought of that connection to Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, but now that you mention it I see the similiarities in treatment.

[Scott]

Finished The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson. I know some people who have visited North Korea, repeatedly (I lived in South Korea, and in China near the Korean border). And I've been just across the border myself. The novel may sound far fetched, but it is actually very close to the reality there.

Imagine George Orwell's 1984 as nonfiction. That's what the book feels like. You forget, when reading it, and think it's just another dystopian science fiction novel, but then you remember that the 'Dear Leader' was a real person, and his son carries on his legacy today. North Korea is a real place, not a dark fantasy.

The novel is brilliantly written, and has a thrilling plot. You would think it is depressing, given the subject matter, but it is not. I highly recommend it.

[Sara, New School Classics]

You are made of sterner stuff than I am, Scott. That is one border I would never consider crossing--for any reason. I did enjoy the book, though.

[Scott]

Well, it's been an interesting challenge. I've read a lot of great (and a few not-so-great) books. But I've decided to stop-- or pause-- for several reasons. One of them being that I've started a new challenge...

Anyways, thank you all for your support!

[Sara, New School Classics]

Good luck with the new challenge, Scott. You had already done GREAT on this one.

[Scott]

Jillian ❀‿❀ wrote: "Scott wrote: "But I've decided to stop-- or pause-- for several reasons. One of them being that I've started a new challenge..."

Oh, I hadn't reached this point in the thread yet when I commented...."

Thanks!

[Scott]

Sara wrote: "Good luck with the new challenge, Scott. You had already done GREAT on this one."

Thanks Sara!