"Shelter" by Harlan Coben- Book

            I know.  I read a lot of the same author.  I can’t help it.  When someone writes a good story, then you expect them to do the same with everything they have written.  Unfortunately for you all, I am focusing less on the story itself and more with the one aspect that I related to within it.  The loss of a parent.  There is so much more to this story than that one aspect, but it is the one thing that, for now, I want to discuss. 

            Mickey is a high school boy who up until recently had traveled the world with his nomadic, do-gooder parents.  Tragically, his father dies in a car crash soon after his parents make the decision that for Mickey’s sake they need to find a place and settle down.  Mickey’s mom loses it because of her loss and becomes an addict who has to spend time in rehab.  The aftermath of a death, especially a significant death to you, is never pretty.  We each grieve in our own ways, move forward in our own ways, and often expect others to do both in the same way as we ourselves. 

            Fact is, the loss is something that never leaves you.  You do, in time, find yourself able to function.  Unfortunately, those dreams and expectations that you had built in your relationship with the person never leave you.  Mickey’s loss was his father.  You can tell through reading the novel that this loss has left a significant imprint on him.  He yearns for his father to be back in his life.  Little things like basketball or his dad’s computer remind him of what is gone, what will never come back, and the task of accepting those things. 

The loss of my mother has left a significant imprint on me as well.  If you see me and somewhat know me, you would not even notice anything.  To the outside eye, I hide the emotional machinations of my heart quite well.    It has been a bit over a year at this point.  You would think time would cause you to accept certain things about someone’s death.  As of yet, it does not.  Yes, I accept that she is gone.  I will not see her or hear her voice or hug her as long as I am still here.  It is a lot harder to accept that she won’t see me ever in love.  Meet the man who has captured my heart.  Help me pick out my wedding dress. Talk to me about what it means to be a wife. See me say I do and make a lifelong commitment to that man.  Get excited as I announce that I am pregnant.  Comfort me during those times that I am not thrilled with being pregnant.  Be in the hospital room as I am waiting to give birth.  Holding my baby for the first time.  Being the grandmother that I know she can be to my children as well as my brother’s.  Those dreams won’t ever come true.  Those losses are much harder to accept.  They are the thoughts that in my most quiet moments enter my mind.  They are what cause me to have been far more emotional in this past year and a half then probably my entire life. 

Death changes you.  For Mickey, it causes him to step up and take on the mantle that his father modeled for him.  For me, I am not so sure.  I look to my mom and the woman she was.  I see so much in her that I wish I could be.  Non-judgmental.  Non-critical. Accepting.  Loving the hard to love.  I am not as good at that.  I can only aspire to be like that someday. 

"The Wise Woman" by Philippa Gregory- Book

 

         A fire of absolute selfishness begins the novel. A fire of self-sacrifice, atonement, and unselfishness ends the novel.  These are the bookends of “The Wise Woman”.  What happens in the middle, the plot, is the author, Philippa Gregory, creating a story with absolute artistic freedom because she does not need to stick to the truth of a well-known historical figure. 

            Philippa Gregory is the author of many well-known and beloved historical fiction novels such as “The Other Boleyn Girl”.  For the many who may not have read that or any other of her novels, chances are that you have seen the movie.  She is well-known for her novels concerning the Tudor king, Henry VIII, and his six wives and various other women that fulfilled his lusts and need for power.  She also has written a novel for each of his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.  She has recently taken to going back further in history and writing of the women who were instrumental in the War of the Roses which led ultimately to the Tudors taking the throne in England.  The point is, a vast majority of Philippa Gregory’s novels are ones based in history and historical figures whose histories are well-known.  Because of that, true and factual history is the backbone of her books.  Lesser known are her books that do indeed take place during historical periods of time but does not focus on the factual history of a real person.  “The Wise Woman” is one such book. 

            After reading many of Philippa Gregory’s books, I have realized that she focuses heavily on strong female characters who are simply trying to find a sense of power, security, and financial stability in a world where men rule and those things are not readily available for women.  I watched while Mary and Anne Boleyn attempted this, and we all know how it ended for Anne.  Recently, I found myself in the world of Jacquetta and Elizabeth Woodville who also were trying to have these things and found them to varying successes (“The White Queen” and “The Lady of the Rivers”).  And, in “The Wise Woman”, it is Alys who is trying to have this.  Alys, who was orphaned very young, was taken in by Morach who was a local wise woman.  A wise woman is someone who is learned in herbs and the use of them in a healing sense.  A wise woman was also someone who could be a midwife and had nursing skills.  Unfortunately, wise women were often marked as witches. 

            When I think of witches, I think of the sordid history that our very own country had for a short period of time in the 1600s.  Many Americans have heard of the Salem Witch Trials and have seen them portrayed in plays such as “The Crucible”.  Various authors have taken their spin at the history and stories of this period of time.  One I have read, by Katherine Howe, is called “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”.  Without going into a full summary of the novel, I can tell you that the women in this book also were talented at midwifery and using herbs.  In looking at each situation whether it is England in the 1500s or the American colonies in the late 1600s, I can see a trend in why there was such a fear of witchcraft and such an ease in accusing women of doing so.  Both of these periods were times of religious change and religious persecution of the non-religious or differing religious.  During this period of time, it was expected that you followed the majority religion and that you behaved within the guidelines set forth by it.  Unfortunately, this meant that the role of women was very narrowly defined.  Fear crept up when women had knowledge that only men should have.  Fear crept in when women were able to do things that they should not be able to do had they so stuck within the religious guidelines of the day.  I do not doubt that true witchcraft took place in those periods of time and even still.  The idea presented in these books though is that so called wise women were persecuted and died for it and because of it, and thus lived in fear of the church and accusations. 

            When it comes to “The Wise Woman”, Alys struggled between two worlds.  Set just before and during the religious reformation of King Henry VIII, she very much so chose the faith of the pope and was a nun during her young years.  After a fire which burned down her nunnery, she chose to return to Morach who as a wise woman and mother figure expected her to follow in her footsteps.  Alys struggled with it and would only do the things that she believed would not offend her Lord.  But, after being taken away to the castle of the local nobleman and falling in lust with his son, she allowed the darkness of her wise woman ways to overtake her.  Alys, in truth, was firstly a woman who was only interested in her own welfare, security, and wants and secondly a nun or a wise woman.  When it was convenient, she easily shed her religious ways and the vows she had taken.  When it served her, she would turn to the dark side of being a wise woman to get what she wanted and felt that she deserved. 

            As the novel delved into Alys’s and witchcraft’s dark side, it became very creepy indeed.  I personally am a bit sensitive to characters and storylines that purpose to remove all obstacles in their path of achieving what they so desire, without regard to the lives that they are ultimately affecting.  Alys used the dark side of witchcraft for that. Doing that led to some extremely sordid storylines including the man she lusted for, Hugo, and his wife, Catherine.   

            Overall, I enjoyed the novel.  I wasn’t a fan of the witchcraft that was used for evil or self-serving purposes, and I wasn’t a fan of the sometimes sordid sexuality in the book.  Unfortunately, I know that the culture of the time was very much sexual.  Because of these things, I would not rank it in the highest among my favorites of Philippa Gregory’s, but I did enjoy       it nonetheless.  The story is compelling, and it does cause you to wonder how Alys will make it in this world that is against witchcraft and is against the religion of the Pope.  I enjoy Philippa’s point of view in her novels including this one which is exploring a woman who is simply trying to make a place for herself in a world where women are simply objects and conduits of their family’s wealth. 

Hope Springs- Movie

          In my near 33 years of singlehood, one of the most prevalent things I have learned by observation and conversation is that marriage is rough.  It is work. It is far too easy to get comfortable and forget how to truly communicate one’s needs and feelings to one another.  And such is the premise of the movie, Hope Springs. 

            I am sure many of you have seen the preview for the movie.  You get a cast of Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carrell, and automatically you (or me specifically) think that it will be a movie full of laughs, tons of comedic value, and some heart string moments.  You don’t imagine that it is going to mainly have emotionally raw moments with some laughs throughout.  You don’t imagine at all that Steve Carrell can play a character who isn’t silly at all but very much so fulfills the role of a therapist who genuinely cares about the couple he is counseling.  Yet, all of these things are what makes the movie Hope Springs truly great. 

            The story itself is genuine and real.  The hardships presented in this movie are what real couples are challenged with after many years of marriage.  The very core of this movie and what it is trying to teach its audience is that communication has to be present between two people.  The reason why the wife in the movie is not happy with her husband is that she has not ever effectively communicated with him her unhappiness, and he has never effectively communicated with her his own issues.  It is only when they go to therapy, Tommy Lee Jones grumbling and all, that they begin to really communicate with one another.  The movie isn’t trying to preach that therapy itself is the answer to all things.  It doesn’t focus on that.  It focuses on two people openly talking everything out with one another, and at times, it being the one of the hardest things that they have to do.

            Another focus of the movie is true intimacy between two people.  It examines the idea of intimacy for the sake of closeness and intimacy for the sake of sex both being equally important.  Both of the characters are craving intimacy so badly, and yet because of the choices made in their past, they don’t know how to get past the blockades that they have built themselves.   In the opening of the movie, you realize that some of those blockades built are literally physical.  They sleep in separate rooms.  One of the biggest struggles that each character has is being open and candid about what they want and desire sexually from one another.  It would be very easy for a film to become extremely dirty and crude when it comes to this very subject, but the film took it on incredibly tastefully with a true realness.  That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its moments with making you think that it may go over the edge in a scene or two, but overall, the topic of sex is dealt with in a tasteful way.  (For those who plan to see it or have seen it, the movie theater scene- enough said).

            The last idea that the movie hammers home is that marriage is worth fighting for.  One of the most poignant things that is said in the movie, and I can’t remember it word for word, is that when it comes down to it,  did each character do everything possible to try in this marriage.  It wasn’t something that Steve said to Tommy Lee because the possibility of divorce was on the table.  That idea isn’t ever truly explored in the movie.  But, the thing that was at stake was letting someone that you genuinely love down because you were too foolish and prideful to give them what they most deeply desire.  It is truly within a husband or wife’s power to give the other what they need most if they put that person above themselves. 

            All in all, I truly enjoyed the movie.  I think all of the actors did a tremendous job of playing their characters with truthfulness and honesty.  I think the story was a well-written and played out.  I feel like anyone who takes the time to see it, whether in theater or by rental, will relate in some way or another and will definitely be pulled into the emotion of it all.  All of these thoughts shared are ones that I took away from the film, and I am certain that someone else seeing it may see other things because of their experiences and circumstances in life. 

"Caught" by Harlan Coben- Book

Let me first say that I LOVED this book!!!!  I definitely enjoy a book that employs a well thought out mystery.  The genius within this book though is in its ability to cause the reader to think and not just about the plot alone, but about how we react to the things the plot presents.  The story explores the ideas of pedophilia, corruption, forgiveness, the negative use of the internet, the search for the truth, and how that truth is often what we least expect.

This book has two mysteries within it that become enmeshed with one another.  Mystery number one surrounds the character Dan Mercer.  Dan is a divorcee with no children of his own and works with the local troubled youth.  At the beginning of the book, Dan is lured to a house by one of the teenagers that he worked with but barely knew.  As he approached the house, he has a sense of foreboding, like it is a trap, and yet feels compelled to help this girl who may be in trouble.  Next thing you know, he is inside, and he is automatically put on some trash TV’s version of candid camera.  The show, “Caught in the Act”, specializes in hunting down and catching people that they are accusing of being a pedophile. 

Mystery number two surrounds the disappearance of Haley McWaid.  Haley is a driven teenager who gets great grades, is involved in a lot of sports and activities, and is the least of worries to her parents.  One morning she is discovered not home.  Her normal routine of placing her clothing from the day prior into the hamper is non-existent.  She didn’t come home from the night before.  Police don’t take it too seriously because kids run away all of the time.  But, months pass.  She doesn’t fit the characteristics of the teenage runaway.  With so much time passing though, the odds are not looking great. 

I am sure you can guess how the two mysteries intertwine.  Dan Mercer could have done it.  He had met Haley once through his ex-wife’s daughter.  He had, in fact, met her close enough in time to her disappearance that his involvement could be a definite possibility. The plot thickens when Wendy Tynes, the newsperson who revealed Dan to the world, gets entangled in the web and mess of the possibility that she was wrong about Dan. She was considering this when she agreed to meet him in secret and when she saw him murdered.  Indisputable evidence comes to light though shortly after the murder that causes it to appear that Dan definitely had something to do with Haley which causes Wendy to step in and seek out the truth.

Wendy’s journalistic mind does not give up for one second in this story.  A single mom who had enough of her own personal tragedy to last a lifetime did not want to let this story go until the truth in full was revealed.  As she had begun searching for evidence in Dan’s life that he was indeed a pedophile, she discovers information about his three roommates from Princeton.  Two out of the three roommates had also had their lives twisted upside down in a scandal.  She begins to see a pattern in the accusations against the men, including Dan, and has to figure out the common link.  What had happened to these guys when they were in college?  Why are they all being attacked?  What is the truth in all of it? 

The truth.  Not assuming that you know it.  Realizing that there is always more to it than you could have ever imagined.  That is the theme of this book.  The truth is a shock when it is revealed in full.  It makes me think of our lives.  We look at other people, their situations, things that have happened to them, and we so proudly think that we know their truth.  We are so ready to point fingers and look down upon others without having ever investigated or even allowed ourselves to hear the full tale of truth.  It is easier to just go with what we think or what we have heard.   It is easier to shun and write off then. Unfortunately though, like in this book, it can ruin or dramatically change a life. 

Once upon a story....

Once there was this girl who loved a good book.  Oh, and a good movie.   And t.v. shows too!!

Hey wait a minute!  That's me!!!  

Over the years,  I have engaged with stories that have evoked such an emotional or intellectual response that I would have so much that I wanted to say about it, but no such outlet to do so.  That is when I made a decision.  That blog (this blog) that I had once started to share thoughts about life (I am not a diary keeper, be it privately or publicly) could be turned into a blog where I share my thoughts about these stories.  After much grueling work today,  I have begun that blog transformation.  Clearly,  I will only post when something does evoke a response; however,  there may be some posts about past stories.  Sometimes one experiences a story that just sticks with them.  Those are the kind I want to write about in this blog. 

I hope everyone, whoever you may be, enjoys these reviews/thoughts/reactions/etc.  Feel free to comment and share your thoughts as well; however, I do ask that anything of an offensive nature be left out.  Thank you so much!!!