Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins

Never Know What I'm Getting!!!

Once in a while, I go shopping in an Asian supermarket, where I can't read the signs and hardly know what I'm looking at! The produce are totally different from what I'm used to seeing in my local grocery store, so it's a real adventure. On rare occasion, when I'm feeling daring, I'll pick up "mystery" package of food, and try to eat it without having the faintest idea what I'm consuming. (Thank god
I haven't stumbled into eating mothballs just yet!)

 Cover that Caught My Eye

Anyhow...Last Tuesday, I spent an good half hour at my local library simply browsing the stacks, and I came across a novel with that intrigued me. First thing, the title caught my eye: Novel About My Wife. Not "A Novel", but simply Novel. I found it a big jarring. That was followed by the fact that the authors name was clearly Emily Perkins, not Emile or Edward. I picked it off the shelf and gave it a quick peak. Cool cover: a gaunt looking redhead standing ascu wearing a simple cotton slip.

I had to open it and see what it was about. The first sentence is probably one of the best first lines I have ever read: "If I could build her again using words, I would: starting at her long, painted feet and working up, shading in every cell and gap and space for breath until her pulse couldn't help but kick back into life." Very clever writing. I could only wish to write a line as beautiful as that!

Well, I was sold. I had judged a book by its cover, and I decided that I would give this one a try. I laughed to myself, because it was like a package of Chinese dried goods...I had no idea what I was getting myself into!

Here's a quick summary courtesy of Goodreads.com:

"From one of Britain’s most exciting young writers comes the story of a couple’s emotional and complicated relationship … from the husband’s perspective. Novel About My Wife is narrated by Tom Stone as he searches through the mysteries his wife has left him with. The reader is left to discover what dark thing has come between him and his beloved partner.  

Tom Stone is, as well as being cheerfully neurotic, madly in love with his wife Ann, an Australian in self-imposed exile in London. Pushing forty and newly pregnant, they buy their first house in Hackney. It seems they are moving into a settled future, despite spiralling money troubles. But Ann is dogged by a local homeless man whose constant presence comes to feel like a terrible omen. As her pregnancy progresses Ann finds solace in her new friendship with Kate, a woman Tom is both repelled by and peculiarly drawn to. Their home is beset with vermin, smells and strange noises. Is this normal for London, or is the measure of normality in this city actually mad?"

I really enjoyed this novel. It was well paced, and I was drawn to keep reading. The protagonist is a bit frustrating, as he's a bit of a lame duck writer who needs to get a steady paying job. (God bless my solid husband!) He has a good heart though tries to help his wife who is struggling to hold onto her sanity.

I would try another of Perkins' novels...It was a pleasant surprise!

(Emily Perkins and I are born in 1970. She's from New Zealand and currently lives there with her family. I'm from Canada...and the winter feels like it may never end!)

I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish

A Must Read.

I am a middle aged, suburban mother of 3 who has never paid much attention to the ongoing conflicts in the middle east. I have always been confused about who exactly the Palestinians, Israelies, Hamas, Gazans and PLO are. I don't pretend to be an expert on any of these groups, nor do I know more than the average Canadian citizen. To call me ignorant in this area would be complimentary. In fact, I would say that I know next to nothing about this topic, so here goes:

I attended public school in Ontario, Canada. Here, what I learned was straight from the standard curriculum with little to no diversion. Current affairs were seldom incorporated into the classroom, so I can confidently say that I never learned anything about the middle east. We certainly never learned about middle eastern conflicts. After having read I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abeulaish, I would suggest that this book be mandatory reading for all high school students. It is a mémoire of hope, pain, loss and determination to change a small part of the world; one man's story to make a difference.


Here's an overview courtesy of Goodreads.com:

At the Tel Aviv hospital where his 3 Daughters Died.

"I Shall Not Hate is Izzeldin Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life - as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East. And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."

Izzeldin Abuelaish

Abuelaish is a Gazan doctor who is determined to work with Israel to improve the living conditions for the Palestinian people. He believes that the medical community has a central roll in improving the public health conditions of this war torn region. He explained that for years and years, Israel and Palestine have fought over the Gaza Strip. This tiny piece of land has been the centre of so much bloodshed and war.  This land's history is so complicated that it's hard to know who and what is justified, and what motivated each hostile action. He believes that rather than looking to lay blame, we need to acknowledge the personal costs and losses that both sides have suffered. We then need to settle this dispute and establishing peace for the next generations.

This book is a good starting point for anyone who has never taken a close look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I accept that Abulaish undoubtedly has his own politicized perspective to a certain extent, but I found his story very compelling, and informative. I was able to follow his overview of the issues, and I was able to understand the various factions.

I am open to learning other perspectives about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, so if anyone would like to make suggestions as to my next readings on this topic, I would be most receptive.

Palestinian child among the rubble

The imposed embargoes by Israel against Palestine  that have essentially choked the vitality from the majority of the population. I was staggered to learn that 70% of the population in Palestine live in abject poverty. I had no idea that running water and working filtration systems are a luxury that are threatened by the lack of parts needed to maintain these systems. How shameful.

Here are a few passages that I highlighted during my reading that I want to remember:

"One of the ways to alter the status quo is to look to the women and girls. It's easy to find a thousand men in favour of war; it's difficult to find five women who are inclined that way...The mother is the school. If you prepare this school with the right equipment, the students will be smarter and more successful and so will the nation...The evidence beyond doubt that investing in women and girls is the way forward out of poverty and conflict." page 118-119

Of the soldier in the tank that fired on and killed his 3 daughters and 1 niece: " 'What have I done?" And even if he doesn't think that now tomorrow he will be a father. He will suffer for his actions when he sees how precious is the life of his child...Hatred is an illness. It prevents healing and peace." page 167

Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place between the seventh and twelfth days of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar. This is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world; every able bodied Muslim is required to make the trip at least once in his or her lifetime.

This novel has made me think.

I am left with the thought that armies do not resolve wars, individual people who decide not to fight resolve wars. Abuelaish has made me think about the Middle Eastern conflict for the first time, and I hope to learn more.  I am open to learning other perspectives about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East also, so if anyone would like to make suggestions as to my next readings on this topic, I would be most receptive.

I encourage  you to read this memorable book.

eReader Vs Old Fashion Book...

Fancy Pants Tech is Great When It Works!

Kobo, iPad, Kindle, iPhone...Which ever device you use to read your "books", we all have our preferences.  I bought a Kobo eReader several years ago...certainly long before the iPad came to market. Since then, I have used different eReaders, and I'm now weighing in to the debate: eReader vs. traditional paper books.

Bought from Chapters, my Kobo came with 100 classics preloaded. I immediately felt that I had access to so many good reads no matter where I was. I also purchased and loaded a few more current books and downloaded a couple of novels that were offered for free. It was great to be able to carry 120 books around in my purse! No doubt, I enjoyed the portability of the Kobo from the start.

Yes, the Beaches are This Beautiful

Then I went on vacation with my husband to St Lucia. I thought that I had found the perfect combination of travelling companions: Claudio who likes to sleep undisturbed in the sun and the Kobo who will keep me from disturbing him! St Lucia is a fabulous place boasting an endless assortment of beaches and coves that are perfect for an afternoon of reading in the sun or shade. It was perfect having the Kobo in my beach bag. We were planning on lounging on the beaches and I was set for a ton of reading.

I began by finishing of Elegance of the Hedgehog, and was just getting into Still Alice, when the unthinkable happened. Yup.  You know what I'm going to tell you. Smash. Safely tucked away in my beach bag, my trusty Kobo didn't stand a chance against the unmoving volcanic rock that I dropped it on. I don't know what I was thinking when I plonked my bag next to my chair (actually, I was probably thinking about what drink I was going to order from the bar, or maybe I was thinking about whether to reapply some sun screen).  Anyway--truth be told--I wasn't thinking anything important, when I dropped my Kobo on the ground and smashed its screen.

Boom...There it was...End of my vacation reading. Just like that. Next item on the agenda?

How about a bunch of waiting for my husband to wake up and "....do something with me?" Yah right. The only person who felt more disturbed by this technical difficulty was Claudio. "What do you mean you have nothing to read? What do you mean you want me to keep you company now?" When the penny dropped, it was a bit like the end of the Fantasy Island vacation! In desperation, I ended up buying a shlocky paperback from a hotel lobby that basically annoyed me from start to page 132. I couldn't take any more, and went cold turkey for the balance of the vacation.

My Vote Goes to the Old Fashioned Book!

So here's my verdict. I enjoy eReaders for the portability that they offer, but when the chips are down, there are very few technical glitches that will get between me and my favourite paperback while on vacation. When push comes to shove, I will always travel with a couple of traditional books over the Kobo. I just don't ever want to be left on vacation without a good book!

You Before Me by Jojo Moyes

And now, for my March Break Survival read...

This novel was recommended by a fellow hockey mom who is also an avid reader.  At weekend games, we like to compare notes on our most recent reads.  Based on her direction, I downloaded this one onto my iPad and read it over the March break.  

Here's my summary (Spoiler Alert): 

Pretty basic Pygmalion plot with Eliza Dolittle or "Louie" as caregiver to young, handsome, upper crust British  quadriplegic "Will".  Louie is an awkward, but charming younger woman who lacks self confidence and it looking for direction in life.  Will is surly and caustic  and treats her dismissively.  Unbeknown to her, Louie is hired by Will's mother to cheer him up and change his mind about his pre-arranged assisted suicide.   Louie eventually finds out about Will's plan to end his life.  She then takes on the 6 month challenge of saving him by changing his mind about ending his life.  Her plan is simple:  show him a good time and demonstrate all the great things quads can do. In the course of her efforts they fall in love which ultimately drives home Will's resolve to end his life because he feels he is unable to love Louie the way he would like.   

There is little doubt from the beginning where this novel is headed and it's just a matter of time before a smouldering romance emerges between these two characters.  I appreciate the attempt to paint a non-traditional romance between able bodied and disabled characters.  There is surely not enough representation in fiction of disable characters and how they cope with real life.

Primarily though, my criticism is that it was all a bit simplistic.  It's a modern day Pygmalion plot that is terribly predictable.  While Moyes lures the reader into the story and keeps them turning the pages (a la John Grisham style), I couldn't help feeling that this book was written to be produced into a screen play. I couldn't help seeing it play out as such in my mind.  

Personally, I don't really enjoy Grisham style writing.  I would much rather read a novel that is a bit more challenging, and watch screenplays on the big screen.  

It's time for some Non-Fiction. Stay tuned!!!

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

Shortlisted for the 2012 Giller Prize, The Imposter Bride was one of the hot books at my Book Club's Christmas Exchange this past December. It made it's way around the room at lightening speed, and eventually went home with someone else (I can't find my meeting notes right now! and no, I don't keep notes...no worries!!!)

I bought this one and enjoyed it quite a bit. I have been spending a lot of time at the hockey arenas lately with 3 kids playing winter hockey, I am invariably at an arena at least 3 times a week. When tournament season hits, it's awful--the expectation is for the players to arrive an hour early, and then play for an hour. Rather than squander the time away, I like to find a quiet spot and bang off a few chapters when possible.

The Imposter Bride kept me company this week, as my daughter Abigail was playing in the Leaside March Madness Tournament. Their team didn't fair very well, but I made good progress with my book!

Here's a quick summary provided by Book Browse:

"An unforgettable novel about a mysterious mail-order bride in the wake of WWII, whose sudden disappearance ripples through time to deeply impact the daughter she never knew. 
The Imposter Bride blends gorgeous storytelling and generation-spanning intrigue in the story of Lily Azerov. A young, enigmatic woman, Lily arrives in post-WWII Montreal on her own, expecting to be married to Sol Kramer. But, upon seeing her at the train station, Sol turns her down. Out of pity, his brother Nathan decides to marry her instead, and pity turns into a deep - and doomed - love. But it is immediately clear that Lily is not who she claims to be. Her attempt to live out her life as Lily Azerov shatters when she disappears, leaving a new husband and a baby daughter with only a diary, a large uncut diamond - and a need to find the truth. 
Who is Lily and what happened to the young woman whose identity she stole? Why has she left and where did she go? It's up to the daughter Lily abandoned to find the answers to these questions, as she searches for the mother she may never find or truly know." 

(I actually take issue with the term "mail-order bride" as stated in the above review.  It's an awful, pejorative term that really doesn't have any place in describing the influx of immigration to Canada of young adults who are left without family after WW2.)  

From the author's own website, here's a much better summary:

"In all my writing I explore the slipperiness of morality and identity in the face of extreme loss and threat, though the settings and circumstances change with each novel. The Imposter Bride is set in the postwar Jewish community of Montreal, the setting of my own childhood. Here, too, one of the igniting sparks was an event in my family history: My paternal grandmother immigrated to Canada for the purposes of marriage, only to be rejected by her prospective bridegroom at the moment of her arrival in Montreal. The young woman who arrives in Montreal at the beginning of The Imposter Bride faces the same crushing rejection that greeted my grandmother at the start of her new life in Canada, but her circumstances are entirely different. The arrival I depict in that opening scene is drawn from my mother’s descriptions of greeting relatives who came to Montreal in the late forties, having survived the Second World War in eastern Europe. The Montreal that I describe grew out my own experiences and memories of a community where loss and dislocation lay at the core of so many people’s lives."  http://www.nancyrichler.com/bio.html

Here's a brief interview with the author about her latest work:  

I enjoyed this story. It was mysterious, and engaging. The author draws clear characters and describes several distinct perspectives during the course of several years. I was fascinated to explore the issue of child abandonment and the fall out created by such unnatural actions. I truly saw the depth of Lily's despair and grief, and Richler does an excellent job of painting the picture of a young woman who is struggling with PTSD. There was no such label for shell shocked civilians in the late 1940's but there was an entire generation and their families were left to pick up the pieces.

This story also examines the effect on the daughter who is left to grow up without a mother. Ruthie is a resilient child who questions why Lily simply walked out of the apartment and never returned. She internalizes a great deal of guilt about not having a mother and imagines the negative reactions of others. 

It was a well written novel and I would recommend it as a good read. I will read her first novel Throwaway Angels because I believe that the media may have passed over it as a result of the sexual orientation of the protagonist....I'll let you know what I think!

Noteworthy Business Books from Vegas!

Just back from the International Re/Max Conference in Las Vegas NV, and I can tell you that Vegas is NO place to read. I brought my book Cutting for Stone, and tried several times to steal away for a few quiet chapters, but alas, no luck. It didn't matter if I was in Starbucks or sitting alone at the breakfast table, the noise, distraction and constant interruption conspired against me. Thank goodness it's a 5 hour flight for Toronto, so in the end, I was able to really "fly" through my novel once we were in the air. (I have already finished my post on Cutting, and I highly recommend it.)


Here's a topic that I have never blogged about before: Business Reading.

Now, for the most part, business reading--be it motivational, strategic planning or self-help, is typically pretty crappy reading. I have found that these books are often poorly written and are more a means of getting the author onto the TV interview circuit.

However, during the course of the conference, a few books were recommended and I would like to note them here as future possible reads:

• My Next Step by Dave Liniger, Founder and CEO of Re/Max International.  

• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. Recommended by Dave Liniger.

• The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews. Not sure about this one, but Andy Andrews addressed us at the conference, and I found him to be a very engaging speaker. I will give it a try and let  you know how I do!

• Deliver the Unexpected by Richard Robbins

Just Finished, But Didn't Want it to End!!!

Cutting for Stone is a Treat!  

Here's a summary of Abraham Verghese's novel courtesy of the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Feb 6 2009 (I'll leave the book reviewers to write the summary, but I'm happy to offer my thoughts afterwards!):

"The plot of this big, dense book is fairly straightforward. Marion and Shiva Stone are born one dramatic afternoon in 1954 in Addis Ababa, the same day their mother — a nun, Sister Mary Joseph Praise — dies of complications from her hidden pregnancy. The boys are conjoined at the skull, yet separated at birth; they are raised by Dr. Kalpana Hemlatha, a forceful woman known as Hema, and Dr. Abhi Ghosh, both immigrants from Madras and both doctors at the hospital where the boys’ natural parents also worked. Missing Hospital, it’s called: “Missing was really Mission Hospital, a word that on the Ethiopian tongue came out with a hiss so it sounded like ‘Missing.’ ” They grow up amid the political turmoil of Ethiopia (its actual chronology altered slightly by Verghese to suit his fictional purposes), and in 1979 Marion flees, first to Nairobi and finally to New York, where he qualifies as a surgeon. Shiva, too, goes into medicine, specializing in treating vaginal fistula, for which work he is acclaimed in this very newspaper, a sure sign of his renown. Almost supernaturally close as children, the brothers become more and more distant as the novel progresses; they are dramatically reunited at its end — through the mysterious agency of the long-vanished Thomas Stone."

This summary doesn't spoil the story whatsoever, and I encourage you to read and enjoy it.
The following brief interview with Verghese will help explain the inspiration of his novel:



Cutting for Stone was a memorable treat: I found the language rich and flowing, the imagery enchanting and insightful. As a general rule, I do not mark a book. I know that markings distract subsequent readers, and so I really avoid this practice. However, in this novel, I just couldn't help but highlight a few passages that stood out for me. Here are a few lines that I really want to remember:

On the topic of death, what insight:  "...the tragedy of death had to do entirely with what was left unfulfilled." and as the novel's father figure struggles to impart the last of his insights to his son:  "He was teaching me how to die, just as he'd taught me how to live." and further along, "Death is the cure for all disease."

How true is this statement?: "Life too is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward."

"Guilt leads to righteous action, but rarely it is the right action."

"Knowledge shall be promoted by frequent exercise
Art polishes and improves nature
Fortune is a fair but fickle mistress
Yesterday misspent cant be recalled
Vanity makes beauty contemptible
Wisdom is more valuable than riches."

And wouldn't our world be so different if we would live this idea more in our actions: "How we treat the least of our brethren, how we treat the peasant suffering with volvulus, that's the measure of this country. Not our fighter planes or tanks or how big the Emperor's palace happens to be."

On the lighter side, I caught myself laughing out loud when Matron chides Dr. Stone's cursing during a medical emergency: "Custody of the tongue." I have never heard this reproach, but it was memorable for me.

The following article written by Verghese explains how the author's work mirrored some of his personal experiences:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/11/abraham-verghese-ethiopia-coup-1973

I hope you discover this work, and enjoy it as much as I have!