I have not read anything from Amy Tan before although I of course knew all about her. She is an amazing writer who's book "The Joy Luck Club" was a world-wide success. This book is beautifully written. Amy Tan has a wonderful way with words and the way she brings her characters to life makes you identify with them right away.
"The Bonesetter's Daughter" is about a Chinese Mother and Daughter who live in San Francisco. The Mother Luling, who has always been a challenging person to deal with, is diagnosed with Alzhimers. The daughter Ruth, is in her 40's and is in a relationship with an American man whom she lives with although they are not married. She is struggling still trying to find her way in life, and being shouldered with the responsibility of an aging and now sick Mother.
I have not figured out where the title fits into the book yet but I'm less than half way through.
My monthly book club has decided to take the month of Febuary off so I'm excited to be able to continue catching up with the other books I have that I want to read. We met last Sunday and discussed "Benny and Shrimp" and it was so fun to hear how everyone else liked the book. We laughed and laughed about the characters and the quirkiness of the book. My friend Max, the uber-book reader, told us that she thought she heard there is second book out about Benny and Shrimp. Add it to the list!!!
I super enjoyed this book! It provided everything you would look for in book, history, education, and thought provoking. It even had a little romance in talking about some of the presidental marriages.
It was very interesting to read about how the Secret Service began and how it has evolved over the years. Definetly fulfilled my history bug and was a quick read.
Moving on.....
I gave this book to Bob for Christmas knowing it was right up his alley and then asked him if I could read it when he was done (hope that wasn't too tacky!). He is Mr. Speed Reader so he was done quickly and gave it to me to read! Thank you!!
Just started it and it's very interesting!! Kinda gossipy with tid bits from past Presidents, which is fun. But also has interesting information on how the Secret Service began.
Really enjoying it!
Just AWESOME! Those who know me know that I love history. I love learning about the past whether it be my family, my neighborhood and town or in the case of this book, The Civil War. I have always been fascinated with that time in our county's history peaking with a recent obsession with Abraham Lincoln. This book is an historical account of the battle of Frankin, Tenn. November 30, 1864 which includes the story of Carrie McGavock, her family and family home. Carrie and John McGavock's home is chosen to be a make-shift hospital for the wounded in the ensuing the battle.
At first, I felt like it was slow going, but once I saw what Robert Hicks, the author, was leading me to I became utterly entranced by the story. I could not wait to read it everyday!
It was in reading the chapters that go into detail about the battle at Franklin, I found those sentances that I love. The sentances that I read over and over again because I actually feel the words written not just read them. The first of those sentances was "I realized then that we are never still in life, that even when we think we are motionless, we are still vibrating a little. It was odd and confusing, yet reassuring, to see a man at perfect rest. And I went to join him". The death toll at the battle of Franklin was over 8,000 Confederate Soliders in roughly 5 hours.
Another of the sentances that I read and reread was "Lord, give me the wisdom to know what you want from me and how to do it". Said by Carrie in prayer as her home is filled with the wouded and dying soliders. There is so much carnage she does not know what to do...where to start...she is totally understandably overwhelemed. There are only 2 doctors and thousands of men that need help. And there, she knows she must do something but is terrified. She wants to ignore..to run like hell, but realized that she is there for a reason. Carrie is kind of a tortured soul already and barely gets through her days anyway and now life is demanding her to be part of it with the war literally brought to her doorstep. She wants to give up, but something is keeping her there and she finally figures that she is the one God intended to hold the hands of the wounded men to nurse them back to health or ease the dying men in death. It must be an amazing thing to realize your purpose in life the way Carrie did. "There by the grace of God go I".
Now, I have to admit..because I love a good love story... I relished in the relationship between Zachariah and Carrie. That they connected so deeply as humans without being married or even lovers but as people. To connect with someone without the borders or boundries that life puts in the way and to just be. Although they never fully expressed their love for one another with physicality I dont think they really needed to. They were intuitively bonded the second they laid eyes on each other. Getting choked up just writing about it!!!!
Here are some pictures from the "Widow of the South"website which I found so cool to look at! I have never read a book that had a website about it!
This is Carrie McGavock.
Although not the best picture, this is the house Carrie and family lived in which they called Carnton.
A better picture, but this is the back of the house. Carrie, John, and Zachariah talk about how they dead and wounded were stacked up on the porches on the front and back of the house. The operating room was a 2nd floor bedroom and when they had to amputate they just chucked the limb out the window where a pile of disregarded body parts grew higher and higher.
There are so many beautiful parts to this book it's not just about death. The metamorphosis that Carrie makes from the woman she was to the woman she became was inspiring. She turned her home and property into a memorial and cemetary and became the caretaker to those who died during those few days and always remembered those that lived. She wrote letters to as many of the families she could to tell them of thier sons, father or brothers last moments and final resting place.
Here's the thing I kept forgetting when I was reading but will never forget again...these were real people and it really happened.
I so enjoyed this book! It was quaint, sweet and at times heartbreaking. Benny and Shrimp meet visiting loved ones graves who happen to be buried next to each other. They are both experiencing what is like to loose the one you love and how to continue living. Shrimp's loss was her husband and Benny's was his Mother.
They happen upon each other regularly visitng thier loved ones graves and wonder about each other. They are drawn to each other fall in love. She is a librarian who lives in the city and he a farmer who lives in the outskirts. One of the funniest ways I have ever heard a person talk about love comes from Shrimp who says "He makes my ovaries jump and sing!"
They both know from the begining that their relationship wont last as each is tied into their lives so. Shrimp is a city girl, who never thought herself worth much and loves Benny for all the reasons she is appalled by him. He is a true farmer, loves his land, the life, the dirt and the cows. He loves it too much to let it go when offered the life with Shrimp. And Shrimp, she just can not live in the county. The sadness and heartbreak for me was when they knew they were done, but didnt want to let go. "It was as if we sensed that if we opened so much as a tiny crack onto the outside world, all manner of ghouls and ghosts would be blown in and skeletons would come toppling out of the cupboards." They wanted to be together and yet knew they were far too different. They knew it wouldn't last and didn't want to hurt the other, but were stumped as to how to end it. We have all had those relationships were it would just take too much to make it work and so even though we really liked the person it just wasn't a fight we were willing fight. The sadness in that realization does not make it any easier. She says "Depression is contagious..dont let anyone tell you different."
I felt melancholy when I finished the book. I've said before that I'm not the type who always has to have happy endings and things tied up with a bow, but this one..because it was so real I really wanted it to work. Definetly worth the time to read it, just grab your box of kleenex!!
