August 2023
I feel almost embarrassed to write an entire post on this month.
I couldn’t tell you what I did in August. I got a haircut. I played a lot of Yugioh. I hung out with my cat and my friends. I continued to work stupid hours. I made pasta for the first time. I got matching welded anklets with my sisters. I felt stupidly busy and I was (again) battling back pain, so I only read 2 books.
As always, thank you for reading. And thank you again to my friends for commenting, especially with haikus.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Oh, Ann Patchett. I feel like this blog is really a dedication to her, my first post being how much I didn’t like her writing but loved The Dutch House, and from then on then I just couldn’t stop loving her work. Tom Lake is no exception. Ann Patchett is one of the writers I feel writes so carefully. Nothing is an accident. Every word is intentional. Every scene is set so beautifully in your mind that you can see it.
Tom Lake is a novel that flips between a family spending their long, Covid days together for the first time in a long time, with Lara telling her 3 daughters the story of her great love affair with Peter Duke, beloved actor, and us…. being well taken along for that journey. Oh, what a novel! Patchett writes so well. She catches you right in the midst of the farm the family live at as they set about the long business of collecting apples for the harvest. She catches you at the lake she spends her summer at, rehearsing for plays with her lover. She’s an expert at painting beautiful scenes, filled with a whimsical nostalgia that makes you feel like you’re there. We’re taken on the romantic rollercoaster of Lara and Peter Duke. We learn about the community of theatre. We understand that whirlwind romances are just that - whirlwinds. The entire novel is set out as a retelling, and it feels like exactly that - a retelling.
I will say - the book is slow. It moves slowly. It’s clear how deliberate this is, but if you need a book that moves quickly through the plot, this isn’t it. But if you’ve loved Patchett’s previous work, no doubt you’ll love this.
Rating: ★★★★★
Takeaway by Angela Hui
This is another book I crammed into just under 24 hours. Takeaway is a memoir, detailing Hui’s experiences growing up as the daughter of Chinese takeaway owners. She writes about the abuse that occurred in her home, the continuous chores, the loneliness of the constant work. She writes about her teenage rebellion, her acceptance of her family, the rituals they created that made life fun.
I loved this book. There isn’t much to say about it - it’s simple, easy to understand writing. Hui talks about things in her life that I felt only * I * could understand. I found myself relating to the constant stress of the family, where the children kept the family afloat, of the comments and difficulties of extended family. I think perhaps that’s why I resonated so strongly with it. I loved reading about her teenage rebellion and the guilt she felt later on. I loved reading about her hard work. I loved learning more about something and someone I knew nothing about.
Again, another easy recommendation.
Rating: ★★★★★