Night Film

Night Film Marisha Pessl 4/5	Published 2013 First Sentence  (added the second sentence because it gives a good feeling to the story) "Everyone has a Cordova story, whether they like it or not. Maybe your next-door neighbor found one of his movies in an old box in her attic and never entered a dark room alone again."
Publisher's Description: A page-turning thriller for readers of Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and Stieg Larsson, Night Film tells the haunting story of a journalist who becomes obsessed with the mysterious death of a troubled prodigy—the daughter of an iconic, reclusive filmmaker. On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova—a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years. For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself. Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world.
Dear Reader, What a fun book! Yes, this book is about a horror film director/producer and goes towards the spooky, but really this book is all about the mixed media. Pessl successfully attempted what some have tried, mixed media to go along with a novel. She really gave some thought into every detail and it shows. The novel follows McGrath, an investigative journalist who gets wrapped up in the life of the extremely famous film mogul, Cordova. This isn't his first time investigating the filmmaker and we learn early on that his career was ruined from Cordova's supporters and from the man himself. After Cordova's daughter is found dead, supposedly from suicide, McGrath starts to open up that can of worms and travels down the rabbit hole with two strangers he meets along the way. The book has quite a few disturbing and eerie moments but I wouldn't put it in the "horror" genre but more aptly placed as a thriller/mystery. So those of you who think you'd be too scared to read this, think again, you might really enjoy it. The characters Pessl creates are richly developed and you start to fall right down that rabbit hole with them. I wanted to know what was going to happen next which kept me guessing but I kept getting it wrong! I love when a book can do that, it means the Author has thought of every scenario and picked the least likely one to trick the audience. I usually don't fall in love with mysteries because of this fact, usually the story is too predictable and simple to be a page turner. If I've figured it out too early, the book just seems dull. Surprisingly, this had me pretty much until the end. If I could say anything bad about the book it would be the length. It dragged on in quite in a few spots and I felt this story didn't warrant six hundred pages worth of content. The writing was on par with typical mystery/thriller writers if not a little more sophisticated with the trick-ability. I was more than impressed with all the media content the Author included in the book. She has filled it (not overly) with pictures, charts, lists, letters, articles and more. Each piece she included completely fit with the story and only served to enhance it. I've come across other Authors who've tried this and failed (in my eyes). The trick is to make sure the content isn't superfluous and that it doesn't overwhelm (or underwhelm) the reader. Pessl struck a nice balance with this, and even more so with the EXTRA content that could be accessed through an App on your phone or media device. You download the App and use it to scan the image of a bird that shows up on certain pages. The extra content ranged from video, audio, pictures and even music. One of my favorites was the piano piece that Cordova's daughter plays, the song fit into the story so well that I had it playing while i read the chapter. I would recommend anyone reading this book to download that App and explore the content as you read the book. Overall the book had many great surprises and a very solid and thrilling plot line. Although a bit long, nothing that can't be plowed through and still was worth the time reading it.  The media content elevated the book to 4 stars and it would be hard to find another book out there that has successfully done this. I can only hope that with the success of Night Film, we might see more Authors attempting to do the same. Happy Reading, AmberBug

Support ShelfNotes!  Buy your copy of Night Film here:

Life After Life

Life After Life Kate Atkinson 5 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "A fug of tobacco smoke and damp clammy air hit her as she entered the café."
Publisher's Description: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization. Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.
Dear Reader,  I really loved this book.  It was such an interesting way to tell a story.  I learned as I read this book that it was titled "Life After Life" because it was not only a play on "life after death," but also I think an implication of "life, after life, after life, after life, etc."  This book revolved around Ursula, a girl born in England on a snowy evening in 1910.  Her very start was a rough one: she was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and was turning blue by the time she was delivered.  This birth story and many other turning point moments in Ursula's life are told various times with various outcomes, and the snow - having been present at her birth - becomes a symbol of her many rebirths.  This book at times reminded me of The Time Traveler's Wife (another favorite), in that it jumped around in its own timeline many times.  However, it was mostly told more linearly than the Niffenegger book, and therefore I think would be easier to follow for those who weren't able to get into Clare and Henry's story because of the jagged timeline.  I loved the world the author created, both at Ursula's childhood home in Fox Corner, and from there the World War II that she described so vividly from the UK's point of view.  She wrote the bombings and the soldiers and the rescue workers and even those working diligently in the homefront offices so well, I could imagine she had been there watching it all herself.  The quaintness and comfort of Fox Corner balanced pleasantly with the uncertainty and scariness of war-bombed London.  And the reader often gets to duck back to Fox Corner to hide briefly from the war along with Ursula and her family. One of my favorite things about this book was how it begins: with a mysterious homicide which (although the author makes it pretty clear who the victim might be) reveals itself towards the end of the book, and all makes more complete sense.  I also loved the idea - which I think was the heart of this novel - that time and history turn on a dime: with every small moment and every decision you make, history goes one way and not another.  This is a book about second chances, about trying to right wrongs, and about how sometimes doing that, going back to try again and fix the start of a bad situation, won't always make everything turn out okay.  There are going to be joys and sorrows in life, and trying to fix the sorrows isn't going to prevent others coming along.  This was a beautiful, human, and heartfelt book, and I really enjoyed listening to it.   Happy reading!, Arianna

Support ShelfNotes!  Buy your copy of Life After Life here:

The Bookman's Tale

The Bookman's Tale:  A Novel of Obsession Charlie Lovett 4.5 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "Wales could be cold in February."
Publisher's Description: A mysterious portrait ignites an antiquarian bookseller’s search through time and the works of Shakespeare for his lost love. Guaranteed to capture the hearts of everyone who truly loves books, The Bookman’s Tale is a former bookseller’s sparkling novel and a delightful exploration of one of literature’s most tantalizing mysteries with echoes of Shadow of the Wind and A.S. Byatt's Possession. Hay-on-Wye, 1995. Peter Byerly isn’t sure what drew him into this particular bookshop. Nine months earlier, the death of his beloved wife, Amanda, had left him shattered. The young antiquarian bookseller relocated from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, Peter is shocked when a portrait of Amanda tumbles out of its pages. Of course, it isn’t really her. The watercolor is clearly Victorian. Yet the resemblance is uncanny, and Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture’s origins. As he follows the trail back first to the Victorian era and then to Shakespeare’s time, Peter communes with Amanda’s spirit, learns the truth about his own past, and discovers a book that might definitively prove Shakespeare was, indeed, the author of all his plays.
Dear Reader, Apparently, I have a thing for books about books.  I find I've been reading a LOT of them recently, and I've got a few more queued up, as well!  I don't know what it is - perhaps I just really enjoy the feeling of reading about something I love so much.  And seeing how much others love books, too.  The authors pour so much of themselves into these novels. This one was especially good: evidenced by the fact that I stayed up FAR too late on a school night (technically, a work night, but I do work at a university, so...) to finish it up.  While it was an intriguing story right from the get-go, the action really picked up towards the end, and I could not put it down without resolving the mystery.  I have to admit, the last bit of the book reminded me quite a bit of a Robert Langdon novel, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise, because I did just finish reading one.  Also, I have a very limited knowledge of adventure-mystery books (what genre are they, really?) and therefore, that's really one of the few "detective" stories to which I can relate this book - due to my own narrow experience, though, and perhaps not that it was truly Dan Brown-esque in nature. This story begins with that of a very recent widower named Peter, who is struggling to live again after the blow of losing his one true love, his college sweetheart.  Peter has social anxiety, and Amanda used to be his rock, the one who could make everything out in the world all right.  So his loss is manyfold: he must struggle not only to recover from losing Amanda, but also to return to the world at large, one that he would much prefer to hide from.  Peter is a rare book dealer, so luckily he can lose himself between the pages of an ancient text - usually.  However, he is startled from his quiet existence when he stumbles across an image of his dead wife...that was painted hundreds of years ago. Desperate to solve the mysery of the painting, Peter begins a hunt which brings him in contact with a special rare book, one which may hold the answer to whether Shakespeare actually wrote the many plays attributed to him (an academic argument that has had scholars taking sides for years).  As he delves deeper into the mystery, he begins to see how the book and painting tie together - and how they might both be very, very dangerous items to possess. Overall, a very interesting and engaging book.  The novel goes back and forth between Peter's present and the story of how he met Amanda, and the reader sees as the book progresses that many things which once seemed disparate are in fact woven closely together.  You won't want to stop reading until you figure out what the real story is! Yours, Arianna

Support ShelfNotes!  Buy your copy of The Bookman's Tale here:

The Bookstore

The Bookstore Deborah Meyler 3.5 / 5	Published 2013 First Sentence "I am early; I can walk down Broadway for a while."
Publisher's Description: A witty, sharply observed debut novel about a young woman who finds unexpected salvation while working in a quirky used bookstore in Manhattan.Impressionable and idealistic, Esme Garland is a young British woman who finds herself studying art history in New York. She loves her apartment and is passionate about the city and her boyfriend; her future couldn’t look brighter. Until she finds out that she’s pregnant. Esme’s boyfriend, Mitchell van Leuven, is old-money rich, handsome, successful, and irretrievably damaged. When he dumps Esme—just before she tries to tell him about the baby—she resolves to manage alone. She will keep the child and her scholarship, while finding a part-time job to make ends meet. But that is easier said than done, especially on a student visa. The Owl is a shabby, second-hand bookstore on the Upper West Side, an all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters: handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke; Chester, who hyperventilates at the mention of Lolita; George, the owner, who lives on protein shakes and idealism; and a motley company of the timeless, the tactless, and the homeless. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme—but will it be enough to sustain her? Even when Mitchell, repentant and charming, comes back on the scene? A rousing celebration of books, of the shops where they are sold, and of the people who work, read, and live in them, The Bookstore is also a story about emotional discovery, the complex choices we all face, and the accidental inspirations that make a life worth the reading.
Dear Reader, This was a really interesting book, because the entire time I was reading it, it felt quite a bit like "chick lit", but it really was quite far from that light-hearted, utopian genre.  Maybe that's because the premise is that of a young woman living in New York City, who finds herself pregnant by a man she believes she loves.  The book had a lot of those moments where you felt as if maybe she'd realize that the pensive, kind man with whom she works is actually the right one for her, but the book doesn't turn out as perfectly packaged as most of those sorts of girly books do, so I ended up enjoying it more - because of how real it felt.  It wasn't a princess and fairy tale book, really.  It was about real life, and how imperfect it often ends up being, but how you can find joy and love even when things don't turn out how you expect. Esme Garland is an English expatriate who is doing her graduate work at Columbia, focusing her studies on fine art.  She is an intelligent, very independent young woman who yes, sometimes makes mistakes.  The book felt so very intellectual (often mentioning books and artists who I'd never heard of), which was a bit jarring to me, beacuse it also did feel like chick lit.  I found this to be especially the case when Esme and the father of her child are planning to make a go at it, and you can see that they are just not a good fit for each other.  It made me feel frustrated, because you could really tell that she didn't in fact love Mitchell, but she was forcing herself to feel those feelings because she wanted to make things work.  Mitchell was the classic asshole boyfriend who thought only of himself.  His selfishness was apparent right from the get-go, and you'd have thought Esme would have seen right through it - and would not want to raise a child in that sort of environment.  But, I suppose that is also true to life: sometimes even the smartest girls end up trying to find the knight in shining armor, even when we know that's not how reality works.  Esme just kept gamely trying to make things work, but the reader could really tell that it was a losing battle.  Mitchell did seem to try at times, enough to make Esme feel special and as if she perhaps was choosing the right person to start a family with, but he often tempered his kindness with cruelty, most likely to protect himself.  Again, very real, very true to life.  Nobody is perfect, for sure, but it was clear that whoever Mitchell was perfect for, it certainly wasn't Esme.  He could never have been happy in a relationship where someone else gets the glory sometimes.  He needed to be the center of his world. My favorite parts of the book were, fittingly, those that took place in the bookstore.  The rag-tag cast of characters that made up the employees and regulars of the shop were a wonderful mixture, and again felt very real.  The author herself actually worked in a bookstore, and said she drew heavily on the characters she encountered there.  Esme finds a kind of family, which is important to someone who feels so alone and so far from home.  The others rush to take care of her, each in their own ways, and I think without them she might have been lost, overwhelmed.  I also of course loved the smattering of book discussions, and the feeling of actually being inside that ecclectic shop, piled high with books and strange knick-knacks. Overall, I do think I enjoyed this book.  I still can't get over that it felt like it was written specifically for women, which is why I can't rate it more highly (I like a book the transcends that sort of thing), but I do think I will recommend it to others, especially those who enjoy the "chick lit" genre.  I think it is a nice, more intellectual departure from the normal fare found there, but would still be enjoyed by someone who loves those kinds of female-oriented books. Yours, Arianna

Support ShelfNotes!  Buy your copy of The Bookstore here:

An Evening with Junot Diaz

An Evening with Junot Diaz

Thursday, November 14th, 2013 Welcome Reception 6pm   Reading 7pm Naugatuck Community College 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT Mainstage Theater 3rd Floor, Arts Building This event is free and open to the public. Junot Diaz is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". He was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. His new book is entitled "This Is How You Lose Her". Below Arianna and Amber will give some thoughts and review the event itself.

The two of us attended the above talk at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT.  This was hosted by the school's very impressive newspaper, The Tamarack.  It seems that the school had a connection with Diaz through one of its professors of writing or newspaper advisers, or both?  We can't quite recall, but it was a woman who had known Diaz for years, and been dragged along to a reading of his first book, Drown, which he published in 1996.  The woman told a funny little story about how she was initially unimpressed with Diaz's work, and told him so!  Since then, they have remained friends, as Diaz has gathered accolades galore - including a Pulitzer Prize - for his writing.

The audience was made up mostly of students and faculty of NVCC, most of whom were Hispanic.  Diaz spoke often specifically to them, as he is a great inspiration, having been the first Dominican writer (and one of the first Hispanics?) to receive a Pulitzer.  So it was a great thing to have him come speak to an auditorium full of young, impressionable students.  And he seemed to really strike home with them, especially because he often lapsed into slang and Spanish, and sprinkled his speech with profanity, which made him more relatable and enjoyable to listen to.  His wasn't some dry, academic lecture on the nature of writing.  He engaged the audience, often had them laughing out loud, and really spoke to them as equals, which seemed to work very well.

All in all, the talk was light and enjoyable for the most part, although Diaz did touch on some tough subjects, such as why there is such a perceived gender disparity between how each handles relationships, and why Dominican men are "how they are."  Of course, he made the very important point that it's not just Dominican men, and it's not just men. People are people, and we all have strange but perhaps self-rationalized reasons for what they do.  It was especially interesting to listen to Diaz discuss the reasons he thought were behind why DR men act the way they do, especially when it comes to misogyny.  He pointed out that Hispanic men are given many societal (but not always logical) reasons why they should hide and mask their internal selves.  He was a great, insightful, and very honest speaker.

Diaz has a very strong and deep connection with the Caribbean which he expressed multiple times during his talk. One of the questions he was asked was about Spanish Novellas and if they inspired any of his work. Apparently, to him, Novellas should inspire everyone. His take was that Novellas took the ordinary to the extreme which then elevated a story to fantasy, when something is fantasy it then takes on a different value to a person. Books intrigue because they mirror your life in subtle or profound ways. For Diaz, if a Novella is extreme... one can only wonder what his sci-fi book, "Monstro", will be like? (Currently being written). Who knows when we'll see this book though: Diaz is notorious for taking quite a long time to finish each book (11 years to write his 2nd book and 16 years to write the 3rd!! -- And he claims he must go to his "dark place" to write!).

His honesty really stuck out and seemed to resonate with the audience. He did tend to speak quite a bit about the Hispanic culture but he also tried to connect to the other majority in the audience--the readers! He explained how a book isn't something someone has "to get", and how reading isn't a test even though some teachers might make it seem like it is. He even spoke a little about how making reading a school chore takes the fun out of it. His best advice to aspiring Authors was: "READ!" Everyone in the audience seemed to agree with nods and mumbles of accord. When Diaz was then asked why he writes... His reply? He doesn't know how to do anything else.

Some great points & concepts we took away from Diaz's talk:

• "We live like ghosts" -- Diaz
• A book (reading a book) isn't something to "get", it's not a test. Books intrigue because they mirror your life in subtle or profound ways.
• The masculine & patriarchal regime of the Caribbean produces great feminist Dominican women.
• Monogamy? Exacts a price on people. Possessive marriage has produced enormous damage in our society today.
• Dark, deep history of the Caribbean. Most artists die trying to be "the best" but most art is born in that dark place beyond approval and applause. Diaz writes without looking for this approval, away from it all. He wants to go into that space and bring back a drop of something. Needs to be away from social pressures, he doesn't care if it's prize-worthy...only if it's art. (Which he realizes is a very subjective idea.)
• He is currently writing his first scifi book, Monstro.  A totally new experience for him.  (from the NVCC newspaper, The Tamarack)

Want more?  Check out the Twitter hashtag #JunotDiazNVCC for other thoughts and responses from the event.

-Arianna & Amber

Behind The Candelabra: My Life With Liberace

Behind The Candelabra: My Life With Liberace By Scott Thorson Rating 4 out of 5	Published 1988 First Sentence ""Too much of a good thing is wonderful," Liberace used to say when commenting on a flashy new costume or wild idea for his act."
Publisher's Description: In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about a legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality. Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace’s early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia. His successes create a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo—"too much of a good thing is wonderful"—is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of twenty-six house dogs. Behind the Candelabra also reveals the details of the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson—whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image! This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS—and his deathbed reconciliation with Scott.
Dear Reader, I won't ever look at Liberace the same way after listening to this story.  I didn't really have much of an opinion of Liberace since his life was before my time and he didn't create any music that influenced me. I had heard from my mother in disgusted, hushed tones that he was gay, but that wasn't a shocking or a disgusting thing for me to hear about a larger than life performer.  I would have appreciated him much more if he had owned his homosexuality but I know that wasn't a safe thing to do during his lifetime. If we are to believe all of what Scott Thorson says, and I do,  I don't like Liberace. I feel a lot of pity for Scott.  I should say I feel a lot of empathy for him since I have experienced my own, life destroying break up.  I think that is why my anger for Liberace was so personal and visceral.  I projected my own experience on the narrative of theirs. I particularly was angered by all the times that Liberace lies and promises to take care of people in his life; for the rest of their lives. Breaking one's word or even making that kind of promise without knowing or caring if it will be fulfilled is heinous. Despite their 5 year legal war, Scott ends up forgiving Liberace and making amends with him before he dies of AIDS.  I did take satisfaction that Scott was spared from AIDS because Liberace kicked him out before he contracted it. I was further saddened to hear from the book's afterword about Scott's life in the Witness Protection Program.  He was shot and battled drug addiction and finally in the most current related news he has become physically impaired by one the bullet wounds near his spine and also, rectal cancer. In his afterword he also comments that he is looking forward to seeing the movie version  of this story where he is played by Matt Damon. The story in this book is very interesting and emotionally engaging but the writing is glaringly simple. It is clear that Scott Thorson is not a writter.  He repeats some points enough for me to be irritated by it and he uses the word 'outrageous' far too many times. A thesaurus could have improved that. Also in the midst of his narrative he goes off on a tangent about homosexuality amongst celebrities that doesn't transition well. I understand that he has things to say that relate to the overall life and times of Liberace, but it stuck out to me as distracting. With some consultation and editing from a true writer,  it could have been incorporated better. Overall the content of the book moved me and I admire Scott's determination to paint an accurate picture of Lee the man, instead of the Faberge of Liberace. He did this in 1987 despite threats against him from Liberace's people at the time of publication. I recommend this book for people interested in behind the scenes reality check of celebrities in their own fame encrusted bubbles. It's also a time piece in the evolution of how far modern America has come to accept and respect the contributions of the homosexual community. It also shows that the life of expectancy of someone diagnosed with AIDs has increased from a year to several decades. Yours, Marsha

Mudwoman

Mudwoman Joyce Carol Oates 4/5	Published 2012 First Sentence "You must be readied, the woman said."
Publisher's Description: A riveting novel that explores the high price of success in the life of one woman—the first female president of a lauded ivy league institution—and her hold upon her self-identity in the face of personal and professional demons, from Joyce Carol Oates, author of the New York Timesbestseller A Widow’s Story Mudgirl is a child abandoned by her mother in the silty flats of the Black Snake River. Cast aside, Mudgirl survives by an accident of fate—or destiny. After her rescue, the well-meaning couple who adopt Mudgirl quarantine her poisonous history behind the barrier of their middle-class values, seemingly sealing it off forever. But the bulwark of the present proves surprisingly vulnerable to the agents of the past. Meredith “M.R.” Neukirchen is the first woman president of an Ivy League university. Her commitment to her career and moral fervor for her role are all-consuming. Involved with a secret lover whose feelings for her are teasingly undefined, and concerned with the intensifying crisis of the American political climate as the United States edges toward war with Iraq, M.R. is confronted with challenges to her leadership that test her in ways she could not have anticipated. The fierce idealism and intelligence that delivered her from a more conventional life in her upstate New York hometown now threaten to undo her. A reckless trip upstate thrusts M.R. Neukirchen into an unexpected psychic collision with Mudgirl and the life M.R. believes she has left behind. A powerful exploration of the enduring claims of the past,Mudwoman is at once a psychic ghost story and an intimate portrait of a woman cracking the glass ceiling at enormous personal cost, which explores the tension between childhood and adulthood, the real and the imagined, and the “public” and “private” in the life of a highly complex contemporary woman.
Dear Reader, This is a book about the true development of a crushed human soul. A woman who has lived with a confusing and troubled past. A past that she has broken away from to become a reputable and accomplished President of a very prestigious University (the first FEMALE one). Even though M.R. has gained acclaim from her academic career, we slowly see her unravel in a horrific downward spiral. It brings the reader to a very strange place, that has you wondering what might be real and what might be hallucination. This is something that Oates does very well and really brings about that gothic and dark feel she is so known for. We're first introduced to M.R. (Mudwoman) as a child who lives with an overtly religious zealot mother and her creepy pedophilic boyfriend. There is no mention if this man is her father, and later on even M.R. reflects on this, wondering if she ever even had a father. Within the first few chapters (might even be the first one, can't quite remember) we read in horror as her mother takes this precious little girl and throws her into a mud pit to suffocate (hence the title of the book). By the good graces of a local who is guided by this mysterious "King of Crows" (a recurring animal guide in the story), he finds this child in the mud and rescues her. This all happens very early and is even mentioned on the book flap, so I don't consider this a spoiler. The child is then taken to an orphanage and adopted shortly after by a Quaker family, very kind and loving but they have a strange story of their own. I won't get into this because I think there is a pivotal point to the back-story of this family, one I don't want to ruin for you. The book goes back and forth from present to past as we watch M.R. slowly deteriorate and travel back to places that remind her of her past. Oates did this so smoothly, it wasn't hard to follow at all. I love when an Author has a good grasp of when to move the story from present to past without losing too much of the feeling. You find yourself wondering what exactly is going on, but not because of the time frame. This feeling is from all the daydreams, hallucinations and events that happen and you don't quite know which is which. Is what just happened a dream? Reality? It was kind of fun trying to figure it all out without getting you lost in the process. I think my favorite part of this book is the major theme of feminism. Yes, Oates tends to have a heavy hand on this theme in most of her books... but does that make it any less important? No! Mostly because she does it so gosh darn well. You have to remember that Oates was born in the late 1930's, during a period of time that was extremely enclosed. She grew up on a farm and attended a school with only one classroom! She was given a typewriter at age 14 and has been writing ever since. She really makes the perfect feminism writer, although she claims she doesn't like that label and would rather be known as "a woman who writes". I just adore everything about this woman, so yeah... I'm pretty biased. Getting back to the book, Mudwoman is so chock full of symbolism that at times I was wondering if I was fully understanding everything there was to the story. For example, during M.R.'s travels she came across many physical bridges that also played a huge part in unraveling her past. These bridges were big turning points for her, crossing them brought her clarity to her past. This was probably one of the most obvious symbols in the book and I'm sure I missed quite a few of the more inconspicuous ones. This would be a book to re-read, knowing that the second attempt would bring about much more clarity to the story. If you want to challenge yourself a little, I suggest reading this book and trying to reflect on what Oates really was trying to convey with Mudwoman. I would be interested to see what others thought. Happy Reading, AmberBug