The Absolutist by John Boyne

The Absolutist by John Boyne
Narrated by Michael Maloney
Published May 2011 by Doubleday Publishing
Source: my audiobook copy purchased at my library book sale

Publisher's Summary:
It is September 1919: twenty-one-year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a package of letters to the sister of Will Bancroft, the man he fought alongside during the Great War.

But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He can no longer keep a secret and has finally found the courage to unburden himself of it. As Tristan recounts the horrific details of what to him became a senseless war, he also speaks of his friendship with Will—from their first meeting on the training grounds at Aldershot to their farewell in the trenches of northern France.

My Thoughts:
First - the three covers. Hardcover, paperback/Nook, and audiobook. They're all great covers but that hardcover, which I'd not seen until I started to write this, is absolutely perfect.

"Chiefly a phenomenon of Britain, white feathers were typically handed over by young women to men out of uniform during wartime, the implication being that the man concerned was a 'shirker' or a coward. The co-called 'Organisation of the White Feather' was initiated by Admiral Charles Fitzgerald in the opening month of the war and was encouraged by a number of writers, including Mary Ward. The organisation was founded as a means of applying pressure to able bodied men to enlist with the British Army." - FirstWorldWar.com

The movement was based on the 1902 novel by A. E W. Mason, The Four Feathers, in which a young man who quit his regiment during war received four white feathers as a sign of cowardice. For the soldiers in the field, men who declared as conscientious objectors became known as feather men and were looked down on as cowards, according to Boyne. During the First World War, these men were given noncombat duties (very often duties that put them in the most danger, such as stretcher bearers). An absolutist was someone who refused to serve the war in any way.

Second - the narration. Michael Maloney is fantastic. He manages multiple character voices and reads with emotion and animation. I'll definitely be looking for more of his work.

Finally - the writing.  Boyne addresses cowardice versus courage, both on the battlefield and off, loyalty, guilt, and morality through the lens of war and its aftermath. Boyne draws out his secrets slowly...until he doesn't and that's why it comes as such a big surprise. The story moves back and forth between Tristan's 1919 visit to Norwich and his time with Will during the war in 1916. 1919 is quiet, mannered, a land trying to reclaim normal. 1916 is loud, masculine, harsh - a tough place to be anyone other than a soldier. The contrast works marvelously to show how Tristan has come to the place in his life he has reached. Perhaps it was too easy to make Tristan's loutish father a butcher. Perhaps the war itself might have been broader. But I didn't really care. When it was good, it was brilliant.

Life: It Goes On - May 22

It's been a quiet but strange week around here. Mama E flew home on Tuesday which meant that Tuesday night was the first night we'd had an empty house in five days. While it was nice to not worry about what we'd eat for dinner and just crash on the sofa after dinner, we kind of missed having Mama E, Miss S and Mini-me around. 

Plus, with my house still in decent shape and no projects in the near future, it was strange not to really have anything I had to do. You'd think that would mean I'd have gotten a lot of reading done but I just couldn't get into any of the books I had going. I even tried a few pages of several books that should have interested me but didn't just now. 

This Week I'm:

Nebraska's own Hannah
Huston on The Voice

Listening To: Podcasts - I'm so far behind on all of them. I got through about half of the NPR Books episodes, several Futility Closet episodes, and some Story Corp episodes. Of course, I'm still listening to The Girl Who Played With Fire in my car. That will take at least a couple more weeks. Can I just say that it has gotten so complicated that I often have no idea who the characters are? 

Watching: The Voice (sorry for the voting spam on Twitter!), Mr. Selfridge (we introduced Mama E to this one and she was a good sport and acted like she was interested), and baseball. I know you'll find it hard to believe, but The Big Guy actually went two evenings without turning on the television!

Reading: I'm struggling with Adam Haslett's Imagine Me Gone. It's gone an entirely different direction than I was expecting after the first few pages. Dark humor, multiple points of view as it skips through time, no real clue where this is going. I've decided to start Beryl Markhams' West With The Night as well which I am enjoying but won't read as my primary book until I finally finish Imagine Me Gone. 

Making: I grilled steaks and made a tater tot/cheesy casserole (for you Midwesterners, this was not your grandma's tater tot casserole!) for Mama E's last night but otherwise we've been using up leftovers. Which ain't a bad thing when those leftovers include gingerbread, homemade ice cream, and ham!

Planning: Mini-him's move the end of the month. Again. Didn't we just move him in?  On the plus side, I can finally get the sofa out of my bedroom!

Thinking About: Doing some painting. The powder room is definitely getting painted today. And, finally, I think we've settled on a color for the front door. I think. Well, we're down to two choices anyway - charcoal grey or tomato red. Could we have picked two more different colors?

Enjoying: A beautiful weekend and a visit from BG's cousin and his wife who were here from L.A. We had inherited some old pictures from his side of the family so they had fun going through the envelop we had for them. 

Feeling: Adrift. Not quite sure what to do with myself. It's not like there aren't plenty of things I should be or could be doing. I just can't seem to make myself care about them enough to do them.

Looking forward to: Seasons of Reading's Sci-Fi Summer Read-a-Thon. I know you're thinking "But Lisa, you don't even read sci-fi!" And you're right. But...The Martian. I need to read The Martian. Also, on NPR's list of 100 sci-fi books, The Princess Bride is included. I'm not sure why but I'm going to run with that idea and try to knock off both of those books.

Question of the week:  What do you do with yourself when you fall into the doldrums?

Why, Hello There!

After planning and cleaning and prepping for the party, after two graduation ceremonies and one hooding ceremony, the party, and a house guest over a long weekend, I was pooped. And then a little sad because it was all over and the next big thing that will happen is that one of my kids will move far away. 

Best way to get over that is to get back to routines and doing the things I love. Like visiting blogs (I missed you all the past couple of weeks!) and finding a book that will suck me in and MAKE me read it. I've been popping into several books trying to find the book.

Any time I need to remember what fun we had the past couple of weeks I only need to look at that adorable tricycle planter and fuchsia plant that Miss S's mother gave us before she left. How sweet is that? Just as sweet as the young lady and her mother who are now part of our family!

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason by Helen Fielding
Published February 2000 by Viking Adult
Source: my local Goodwill

Publisher's Summary:
The Edge of Reason finds Bridget ensconced in an up and down relationship with Mark Darcy, whom she finally decided to give a chance at the end of the first book. Bridget's best Singleton pals Jude and Shaz are on hand to dispense advise about men and relationships culled from the pages of GETTING THE LOVE YOU WANT and KEEPING THE LOVE YOU FIND, with unfortunate results. And Bridget's Smug Married friend Magda still mixes phone calls with friends with instructions shouted at her kids: "Bridget, hi! I was just ringing to say in the potty! Do it in the potty!"


My Thoughts:
Sometimes you just need something mindless, something that doesn't make you work to read it, something that makes you chuckle. Bridget Jones is just the girl to turn to when you need that book.

The Edge of Reason gave me exactly what I was expecting at exactly the right time.

Bridget is still a lovable ditz who is constantly finding herself in awkward situations. She drinks too much, she smokes too much, she obsesses about her weight which is never what she hopes it to be. Her parents, particularly her mother, are still a trial and she has job troubles, relationship troubles, and friendship troubles. This time around she also has home improvement problems and her lack of good judgment takes her to an all-time low which will eventually land her in prison. This being Bridget, you know things won't get too dark.

I know it's to be expected for me to say that I liked the book better than the movie. This time it has to do as much with what the movie added as with what it left out. One of the funniest things in the book was an interview that Bridget does with Colin Firth. As Firth is playing Mark Darcy in the movies, they couldn't very well leave that in which was a shame. A highlight of the first movie was the fight between Firth and Hugh Grant. Apparently the writers of the second movie thought that needed to be repeated. In fact, Bridget's ex-boss and ex-beau Daniel spends a lot more time in the movie than he does in the book. Because Hugh Grant. But it all just felt like a rehash of the first movie. Whereas, the second book offers readers something more and something different all while still being 100% authentically Bridget.

Why We Write About Ourselves Edited by Meredith Maran

Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature edited by Meredith Maran
Published January 2016 by Penguin Publishing Group
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
For the many amateurs and professionals who write about themselves—bloggers, journal-keepers, aspiring essayists, and memoirists—this book offers inspiration, encouragement, and pithy, practical advice. Twenty of America’s bestselling memoirists share their innermost thoughts and hard-earned tips with veteran author Meredith Maran, revealing what drives them to tell their personal stories, and the nuts and bolts of how they do it. Speaking frankly about issues ranging from turning oneself into an authentic, compelling character to exposing hard truths, these successful authors disclose what keeps them going, what gets in their way, and what they love most—and least—about writing about themselves.


My Thoughts:
I'm not sure this is a book you could sit down and read straight through but it made a wonderful nightstand book, a book I read a few pages or memoirist at a time. Even if you've never harbored hopes of writing the great American novel, you may well have wondered about writing your own story. These twenty authors have a lot of tips for aspiring authors including how to know if you have a story truly worth telling and the difference between writing memoir and all other types of writing.

Each chapter opens with a quote from the author's memoir, some biographical information, a list of collected works by the author and then the author's go to town each first addressing why they write about themselves. Beyond that, each author shared what they'd learned about through their particular experience. Ishmael Beah, for example, talked about being called a liar after his memoir, A Long Way Gone, was published. Kate Christensen wrote about writing "foodoir." Anne Lamott shared that she writes memoirs because she has a passionate desire to be of help. Ayelet Waldman addressed the way that social media has impacted her writing.

What I learned:

• Memoir is not a diary. Many of the authors commented on the difference between a day-to-day recounting of your life and life as a story.
• Memoirists should only write their story, no one else's.
• Tell the truth the best you can. It will not necessarily be what others remember. 
• You don't have to tell the whole truth. It's okay to hold somethings back; readers don't need to know everything.
• Try not to hurt other people to the best of your ability.
• Worry about other people's feelings later. Don't overthink your first draft. You can always take things out in later drafts if you feel it will hurt someone or there will be legal issues.

This one is staying on my shelves. Because, maybe someday I might just decide I have some stories to tell.

Life: It Goes On - May 15

Our four kids!

Well, we've had quite the week! We got Miss S hooded and graduated, the party for Mini-me and Miss S was a huge success, we've been enjoying getting to know her mom for the past couple of days, AND Mini-me and Miss S got engaged! We are beyond thrilled!

I'll be AWOL for a few more days enjoying Mama E's visit but I've got a couple of reviews scheduled so I can take a couple of days to recover.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I continue to listen to Stieg Larsson's final book, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I'm enjoying it much more than the second book, so far.

Watching: Gilmore Girls in the mornings before work (the writing on that show never fails to amaze) and I caught a movie I'd never heard of before when I was off work on Friday, "Copying Beethoven" with Ed Harris and Diane Kruger (you can never go wrong with Beethoven!).

Reading: I finished The Bookman's Tale this week and started Adam Haslett's Imagine Me Gone, although I haven't had much time to read in the past few days.

Making: Pork loin; baked ham, turkey or veggie sandwiches; onion dip; and three batches of homemade ice cream. You know, party food.

Planning: Mini-him's move out in a couple of weeks. Our house = revolving door.  

Mama E, Miss S, and
Mini-me

Thinking About: On catching up with my blog reader - I miss my bloggers and I can't wait to see what everyone's been up to with Armchair BEA and real BEA! 

Enjoying: Celebrating all of the good things with family and friends!

Feeling: Thrilled for Mini-me and Miss S - we could not have picked a better girl to join our family and love watching them so happy together!

Looking forward to: Putting my feet up once our house guest is on her way home and reading, reading, reading!

Question of the week: If you're married, what was your favorite part of your wedding?

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Bachman
Published May 2016 by Atria Books
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She begins her day at 6 a.m., because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be.

But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination,bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie suddenly has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she is more than a little unprepared. Employed as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center, the fastidious Britt-Marie has to cope with muddy floors, unruly children, and a (literal) rat for a roommate. She finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts.

My Thoughts:
I've edited that summary. I don't know why they wanted to tell you so much about the book. Were they afraid you wouldn't be interested if you just read what I've left? Maybe. Let's face it, people who are, as her husband said of Britt-Marie, "socially incompetent" don't necessarily draw readers in. Unless you've read and enjoyed Backman's previous books. Or you can tell by that cover that this one is going to have some fluff and fun.

Backman's debut, A Man Called Ove,  is one of my favorite books this year. In Britt-Marie Was Here Backman returns to the tale of a cantankerous older person who rubs people the wrong way until the right people come into her life, people who appreciate her for what she is and who bring out the softer side.  Along the way, Backman helps readers to understand why his characters have become the way the people they've become. Britt-Marie Was Here is filled with humor and quirky characters; on its surface, it seems light. But there is an underlying darkness that balances things out.

I had a harder time buying into all of the happenings in Britt-Marie Was Here and it felt a bit like there was too much going on, making it harder to connect to some of the characters than I would have liked. But I had a mother-in-law who swore by cleaning with baking soda and taught me to get down on my hands and knees and cleaning vinyl flooring with a paring knife decades ago. I couldn't help but have a real fondness for a character who swears by baking soda for cleaning everything. And who wouldn't cheer for someone who'd been so ill-used to find herself and happiness?