As December comes to a close, it’s time for December book recommendations. This month is by coincidence, the month of books about or set in New York City. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to spend less time watching television and more time reading, so hopefully these recommendations will get more interesting!
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
This book was yet another discovery during my frequent perusal of my parents’ bookshelves, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It is a story that has a book within a book, and the readers of that book within a book are connected through the translation of the book, the original owners, lovers, and other generational paths. At first it is hard to keep everyone straight, but soon the fog clears and you are left with a often sad but heartwarming story of older people finding new connections and younger people understanding the history of those around them.
My favorite character is Leo, an elderly man who is searching for something to either ease the pain of his lost love or just fill the days tht he has left. His relationship with his best friend, (whose name could be Nick I can’t remember!) is both sweet and slightly morbid, as they have an agreement that they will check on eachother once a day in their apartments that are one floor away from each other, just in case the other has fallen down or is sick and can’t call for help.
This style of Krauss’ writing reminded me of another author I’ve featured here before, Jonathan Safran Foer. Both Krauss and Safran Foer write the stories of individuals who are seeking new connections but also often trying to leave behind something in the past. For both writers New York serves as a poignant background to the sometimes chronic loneliness of their characters.
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
This book was for a Book Club meeting that I ended up not being able to attend, but I still got to talk to Leah about it which was great. I have always liked books by Quindlen, in that a lot of her fiction, like Anne Tyler, is comforting and well-written. It doesn’t require me to stretch my brain too much yet it is of higher quality writing-wise that a good many books out there.
Rise and Shine is the story of two sisters, one who lives in the glare of the public eye as a morning news anchor (a la Katie Couric before her move to CBS) and the other who has gone about life in a more nomadic way before finally ending up running a shelter for battered and homeless women. Quindlen tries to make this a story of what happens when a public figure falls from grace, but in reality she writes a beautiful and powerful story of a relationship between two sisters and what happens when one sister subsumes their own life in favor of the other’s seemingly more compelling narrative and need.
If you do read this book please comment and tell me what you thought of the ending, there was a variety of opinions among the people I know who have read it, and I would love to hear yours!
Enjoy!
