Her Fearful Symmetry

I received a copy of Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry for Christmas from my cousin Miranda. I've wanted Niffenegger's second novel since I found out about its release. I had gotten it from the library immediately, gobbled it up and loved it, but for some reason didn't admit I had read it when I received the book last month, afraid she wouldn't understand how much I loved the gift if I said I'd already read it. (Silly, I know.)

I reread the novel a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it all over again. (It's amazing how much of a book you can forget after a few years and how the reading experience can be so similar to the first time around.) The novel is about two sets of twins: Elspeth and Edie, and Edie's twin daughters- Julia and Valentina. After Elspeth dies, her nieces inherit her estate with the provision that they live in her flat for one year before deciding to sell it. And so Julia and Valentina head off to London, where life begins to get complicated for them. It's a story about identity, love, family, and loyalties--to ourselves and to our loved ones. I know the novel had received poor reviews, but after reading it twice now, I can't for the life of me figure out why. Perhaps because it is different from her first novel that was so well received? I'm not sure, but sometimes the critics are just plain wrong.

The Girls' Guide To Hunting and Fishing

I read Melissa Bank's The Wonder Spot a couple years ago and enjoyed it, so I picked up her first book, The Girls' Guide To Hunting and Fishing. Bank did not disappoint. I was in a bit of a reading slump--one of those times when everything you pick up seems bland and nothing grabs you. And though this book wasn't exceptionally exciting or interesting, I was hooked by the first page as I loved the character's voice. Thankfully that character, Jane Rosenal, is carried throughout the seven interconnected stories so the reader can follow her through her life as she navigates her way through relationships. Bank writes with humor and poignancy, with that ability to write about something that makes you shake your head even though you did or thought the same thing yourself before. I loved this book and am looking forward to when she comes out with another book, be it a novel or short story collection, either will suffice.

Autobiography of a Face

A few years ago I read Ann Patchett's memoir Truth and Beauty, about her friendship with writer Lucy Grealy. Patchett mentions that Grealy wrote a beautiful book called Autobiography of a Face. I filed the title in the back of my mind, in that space I throw names of authors and books I want to read someday to retrieve from later at the library or used book sales. I found a copy of Grealy's memoir for 20 cents and grabbed it.

Lucy Grealy, who died in 2002, was a beautiful writer and her story is one that stays with you. It's been weeks since I read it [I'm a bit behind on this blog] yet I still remember it in startling detail.When Grealy was nine years old she was diagnosed with cancer causing her to get part of her jaw removed. It's a sad and inspiring story of how Grealy coped with it all--the cruelty of her classmates, the multiple surgeries and pain she endured over the years, the hunger to fit in, and the challenge of dismissing vanity in a culture that puts so much emphasis on appearances. It is the kind of book that makes you look at life and the world a little differently, definitely a worthwhile read.