Ti | Book Chatter

Christmas?

My brain is saying no. The mild weather in Southern California agrees with me. No, I am not quite there yet but Christmas is a mere seven weeks away. Did you know that? The Hub and I got into a heated discussion about it. He prefers to let it creep up on him, but he’s not the one who does the buying, or the cooking or really any of it. Okay, he handles the Christmas lights (and has fallen off the roof twice). I do all the rest and I don’t complain because I LOVE Christmas.

I love Thanksgiving, too. I’ve been compiling my gluten-free recipes as this will be my first gluten-free Thanksgiving meal. This year though, I don’t want to wait until Black Friday to get the shopping started. I have two reasons for this. The first, is that it’s just easier to buy a little at a time and I tend to make better decisions when not pressed for time. The second, is that the family business is still teetering on collapse so I have to shop in small spurts in order to afford things. There, I said it.

This year, there may be more bookish gifts than in previous years. I’ve already bought this for The Boy:

The Boy is a visionary so there was no way for me to pass this one by without the opportunity to wrap it up in red and white and stick it under the tree. The tree that I know will be attacked in some way by the Otter Pup.

I haven’t yet, but I would love to buy The Girl these books. She also wants a Kindle. That is a discussion for another time. They are affordable enough, but I really don’t want her to download books willy-nilly. Not unless I become-famous-from-some-reality-TV-show-get -married-for-only-72-days-and-then-file-for-divorce. Smirk. I could probably afford the willy-nilly downloading of books then.

Of course, with every trip to the bookstore I feel as if I must pick-up a little something for myself. Except, this bookstore is in London.

There is something very special about Persephone books. I find that I seem to crave them (yearn for them?) only at Christmas.

Are you thinking about the holidays yet? I can’t wait to read King’s new one over Thanksgiving break. I have it all planned.

The Train of Small Mercies
By David Rowell
(Putnam Adult, Hardcover, 9780399157288, October 2011, 272pp.)

The Short of It:

Compelling and thought-provoking… The Train of Small Mercies affords us a tiny glimpse of people made somber by tragedy.

The Rest of It:

In New York, a young black porter struggles through his first day on the job-a staggering assignment aboard Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train. In Pennsylvania, a woman creates a tangle of lies to sneak away from her disapproving husband and pay her respects to the slain senator, dragging her child with her. In Maryland, a wounded young soldier awaits a newspaper interview that his parents hope will restore his damaged self-esteem. And in Washington, an Irish nanny in town to interview with the Kennedy family must reconcile the lost opportunity and the chance to start her life anew.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one. As the train moves through each state, you feel as if you are one of the mourners, waiting for the train to come through town. There is so much going on with these people. They all have their own challenges and somehow, they come together for this one purpose.

What I enjoyed most is that the story flows effortlessly. The story’s pace never falters and although the story’s point of view alternates between characters, the momentum is never lost. I think in part, this is due to how well-developed each storyline is. The chapters are brief, but include just the right amount of detail.

I eagerly turned the pages and enjoyed this one quite a bit. The Train of Small Mercies will appeal to all types of readers.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program.