While I was away, I read

Summer vacation was pretty unproductive (not counting sweat), but I did get some reading done. A few fiction recs:

The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer
This novel's title refers to sibling friends of the protagonist, Jules. She is one of a lifelong group of pals who meet at summer camp, an idyll which late in the book morphs into a darker iteration of rural. Jules struggles to define her own modest life as successful and fulfilling by societal norms despite being the shoulder on which all her friends lean. Wolitzer explores the lasting bonds, and sometimes devil's bargain, of close relationships, as well as infatuation, fate, and the seduction of wealth. Wolitzer is a Smith-then-Brown alum, once a guest editor at the old Mademoiselle magazine (which stopped publishing in 2001!?). Engrossing, but takes a bit of investment.




Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
This borderline YA novel is a binge read that may seem sweet, but the main character's family situation is heartbreaking and keeps the story grounded. Two unconventional high school kids bond over the power of music in a kind of 1980s Romeo & Juliet. And the ending is not neat, which adds to the book's intrigue. Quirky and quick. 

The Engagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan
Several storylines that seem to connect only through the symbol of marriage—diamonds—stealthily weave together in the closing chapters. The introductory story about the copywriter who came up with the tagline "A Diamond Is Forever" binds everything together. The other individual stories are largely bittersweet, lest you think it's treacly romance. Sullivan's witty and her characters are snarky enough to get frequent chuckles, and I'm still marvelling at how she brings it all together. Another Smith grad. 




And don't forget:

The Son, by Phillipp Meyer
A sprawling history of Texas through several generations of a family. Includes good old-fashioned Native American anecdotes about the practical skills of life (like scalping and hunting) that give the book some exotic grit. 

The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller
Life after an apocalypse of sorts. Spare, succinct prose with finely etched characters, but the most gut-wrenching relationship is between a man and his dog.

Books: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

The Dog Stars' protagonist, Hig, has survived a terrible epidemic that has left just a handful of sparsely scattered survivors, all wary of contamination, poaching, and murder, and therefore fully armed and on the defensive. He lives with his dog, Jasper, and another man, Bangley, skilled in battle strategy and armaments, in a makeshift family compound; they banter like an old married couple. Hig has a plane and access to fuel, which gives them knowledge about the fates of nearby survivors and, most importantly, access to an abandoned soft drink truck with a stash of Coke. Eventually, tempted by a stray radio transmission, Hig needs to explore beyond their comfort zone and discovers another pair, a daughter and father, with whom he bonds after nearly getting offed by them.

In this novel, Heller expresses the profound loneliness that comes with the End, but he also elucidates the gifts of surviving, simply, amidst the beauty of nature. Sleeping under the stars, running streams and their habitats of fish, the delightful behavior of baby lambs. And most of all, Hig's inexpressably deep bond with his dog, Jasper, that goes beyond his human relationships. Heller sometimes writes in a clipped style, free of punctuation, but suitably uses language on an as-needed basis, in survival mode. He's also hilarious on occasion. It's hard not to compare this to Cormac McCarthy's The Road, but with The Dog Stars you come away with indelible compassion for Heller's characters, and an appreciation for what life hands you. Riveting, compelling, memorable, and highly recommended.