Trees (Block #2)
All posts by Sherry
Train Dreams
Author: Denis Johnson
When my Facebook group recommended this book I didn’t realize it was a novella, a genre I don’t generally read. Pat picked it up at the library for me and, after he brought it home, he sat down and read it through in an afternoon. I took a bit more time than that.
The book is more or less the life story of Robert Grainier who lived during the early 1900’s. He was a hard working man who suffered the loss of his wife and child in a forest fire while he was working in a logging camp. How he deals with his grief and the rest of his life is the thread that runs through the story.
Goodreads Rating: * * *
Home
Author: Marilynne Robinson
One of my favourite books is Housekeeping by this author. When my Facebook group suggested a book by her I quickly added it to my list. I went looking at the library for the suggested book and I realized it was part of a series. I wasn’t able to get the first book but I borrowed this second book because the cover said I didn’t need to know what happened in the first.
The book tells the story of the Boughton family, but specifically Glory, Jack and their father, a retired minister. Glory has come “home” to Gilead (the title of the first book) after a long relationship ended and Jack has come “home” after being absent for almost twenty years. The family dynamics are interesting and as the father’s health fails he isn’t able to let bygones be bygones.
Goodreads Rating: * * * *
City of Thieves
Author: David Benioff
Another book from the Facebook group I belong to.
In the first chapter the author talks of his grandfather and grandmother who were Russian immigrants. At the author’s request the grandfather has finally agreed to tell the story of their lives in Russia during the siege of Leningrad. When pressed on some of the details, the grandfather tells the author “You’re a writer. Make it up”.
What follows is the story of two young men, Lev and Kolya, who were caught out after curfew and thrown in the same cell. Expecting to be executed the next morning they are surprised to be shown to a powerful Soviet colonel. He will grant their reprieve if they can bring him a dozen eggs in order that a cake can be made for his daughter’s wedding – an almost impossible task.
Goodreads Rating: * * * *