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Post by violet on Sept 1, 2006 13:23:37 GMT 10
Heard about this on the radio, it's written by a journalist named Kate Legge and is called The Unexpected Elements of Love. Interesting story, the main characters being a mother who's a weather forecaster with a shaky marriage, a perfect daughter and a worrier of a son. Her sister is warm, kind and a little flaky. The other family are a married couple in their 70's - he is a renowned sculptor. She has physical problems, he seems to be developing dementia.
I didn't like the ending, it was too tidy, which of course life simply isn't, but it was kind of poignant. It was the author's first novel - very keenly observed, but maybe too many wasted words. I think her next book may be better.
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lynn
Regular Contributor
~Inspired To Be Far Above Rubies~
We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
Posts: 1,572
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Post by lynn on Sept 2, 2006 6:52:27 GMT 10
I like the sound of that, Violet. I like tidy endings for the very reason you listed....life is not! Life can be so cruel sometimes, so I rather enjoy bookies/movies that take me to a happy place. LOL. I know, I know....I'm weird. LOL
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Post by violet on Sept 2, 2006 13:28:38 GMT 10
Hm, well I hope you never read this book, lynn, because I'm about to spoil it for you! I do prefer loose ends tied up, but in this case it was a little different.
The family with the little boy ended up ok. They finally accepted him for what he is, and he settled down. The older couple was a different story. The wife, Beth, had been investigating assisted suicide so that she and her dh wouldn't have to be parted, and so that her dh would not have to live as a remnant of himself. He was steadily losing the battle with dementia.
Anyway, one day, after the husband had finished his final commission as a sculptor, his brilliant last piece, the studio somehow caught fire. Beth, his wife, just sat down in the studio and let herself die with him. Her last thoughts were that this way they'd still go together, and her dear husband would never become completely senile. I thought it was a hideous ending.
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lynn
Regular Contributor
~Inspired To Be Far Above Rubies~
We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
Posts: 1,572
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Post by lynn on Sept 2, 2006 23:01:22 GMT 10
 Thanks for telling me, Violet. Now I'll know to stay clear of that one.
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Post by violet on Sept 3, 2006 12:56:04 GMT 10
Oh, lynn, I hope I haven't been too harsh! It's nicely written, but too.....gritty, I suppose. There's a lot that's good and funny in the book, and the ending is written as something positive, but I couldn't see it that way.
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lynn
Regular Contributor
~Inspired To Be Far Above Rubies~
We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
Posts: 1,572
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Post by lynn on Sept 4, 2006 13:27:40 GMT 10
You haven't been Violet. I just don't think I would enjoy a book that ends like that. I realize dementia is not a happy place, but neither is suicide. |
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Post by violet on Sept 5, 2006 8:38:38 GMT 10
I agree, lynn. The author was interviewed on radio, and the book sounded very quirky and upbeat, so it was disappointing to get to the end. Anyway, it's about time it went back to the library.
If I'm lucky there will be a Sue Grafton to while the time away with!
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