Passing Through All Right

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a compelling story! From the moment you meet Charlie you realize that this is not going to be a simple story. Each time I turned the page, I was wondering, is it this chapter where the shoe is going to fall?

The author's opening line is "The thing is, all memory is fiction. You have to remember that." He goes on to say

This story actually happened, and it happened pretty much the way I'm going to tell it to you. It's a true story, as much as six decades of remembering and telling can allow it to be true. Time changes things, and you don't always get everything right."

Charlie walks into town a stranger--he's pretty much adopted by a family, then by the town. But Charlie has an obsession--her name is Sylvan. Heading Out to Wonderful is primarily their story, although you will meet many other people along the way.

I love how the book was written, in fact, the writing reminds me a little bit of My Ántonia. That too, was a story of ordinary people living ordinary lives, told in a respectful way.

I would say this story will also make you think of forgiveness, or, perhaps, the lack of forgiveness. We have so much to give each other, yet, so often we withhold ourselves, holding onto judgment instead.

Some favorite quotes:

When you're young, and you head out to wonderful, everything is fresh and bright as a brand-new penny, but before you get to wonderful, you're going to have to pass through all right.

Childhood is the most dangerous place of all and no one gets past it unscarred.

She could only think, there are no fires of hell, there is only mercy

This book may not be for everyone, it's written in a very reflective manner, but I thought it was excellent, and will be checking out other books by this author.


View all my reviews

A Magical Evening with the Book of Speculation

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was absolutely pulled into this book from the first page. For me, this book helped me to reach that zone of living in an alternate universe, which is what all the best books do. I did not want to come up for air!

First, the main character, Simon, the librarian, who naturally, loves books (I really liked Simon). Right there, I'm hooked. Then, he receives a beautiful, old, mysterious volume in the mail from a bookseller he doesn't even know. And thus the mystery begins. It is a fantastic mystery--by that I mean that the events recorded in the book, and the events surrounding his ancestors are rather fantastic and out of the realm of belief. But, you believe them, they are part of the story of Simon's life.

You will weave in and out of Simon's life as he digs into the book's mystery. Sometimes you will be in present time (Simon's time), and sometimes you will be in his ancestor's times. I know this can be annoying to some people, but it really worked well in The Book of Speculation.

I love when debut novels are so good, but feel bad for the author, because now I will expect her next book to be just as enthralling.

As always, it's not just the story, but the language used that draws me in. Here are some tidbits for you to consider:

"at night the lights from Connecticut shine across the harbor like they're crying."

"We carry our families like anchors, rooting us in storms, making sure we never drift from where and who we are."

          "Perhaps the book opened a door; books have a way of causing ripples." (love this!)

I borrowed this book from my local library, read it in an evening, and am now re-reading bits of it. It pulled me in like The Thirteenth Tale did years ago. I highly recommend it.



View all my reviews