There are so many things I want to blog about and all so complex and hard to do because I don’t like wordy blogs. But it is easy to copy my book reviews, so here goes. (Before I get back to work writing my next book, tentatively titled “On My Way Out.”)
Lessons in life lightly presented.
A friend loaned me this book sure that I’d enjoy it – for maybe three reasons, I think: 1. I have enjoyed a cruise to the Antarctic; 2. I’m even older than Veronica; and 3. I’m a psychologist to the marrow of my bones. But a fourth reason appears on p. 287, quoted in part; “Half of all living species gone. I’d thought that I, Veronica McCreedy, could make a difference, but I’ve begun to realize it will take more than one old woman and her legacy of a few million pounds to save the Adelies and their environment” and a few paragraphs later, “I wonder if the situation is not irremediable? In the wartime, everyone made sacrifices for the common good. It could be done again if only enough people cared sufficiently.” No, this novel is by no means a heavy tome –- quite fun and a good read actually. But sometimes lightness is the best way to transmit a message.
And that’s what this novel was. What I hate about a good novel is that it’s hard to put down for the sake of other activities, or even sleep. As for character development, I thought as I was reading it that the story was fun and conveyed the process in very effective ways, but it wasn’t until the end that I really “felt” the characters and realized that was exactly the way it had to be. The very discovery of themselves was a major theme.
I’m grateful to my friend for a good, gripping, even fun, read.
monagustafsonaffinito 