Ti | Book Chatter

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there. Today we are spending a relaxing afternoon at home. I picked up some steaks and lobsters for the grill and we just finished watching Winter’s Bone (which I’ve had from Netflix for 3 months). It was very good. It always amazes me how long I sit on a DVD from Netflix before I actually watch it. It’s just hard to work a non-kid movie into the mix. The timing has to be right, etc.

I know it’s Father’s Day weekend but my Blackberry was dying a slow death, so I ended up getting a new phone. Yeah, I know. It’s HIS day yet I end up with a new gadget.

So this is my new phone…the Droid Pro. It’s a touchscreen AND has a Qwerty keyboard. The perfect transition for this Blackberry user. I really liked my old Blackberry, but the new operating system leaves a lot to be desired. So far, I am loving my Droid Pro. If the iPhone had a keyboard like this, I’d go with an iPhone as I love Apple products but this has both the keyboard AND the virtual keyboard in landscape. Perfect.

The rest of the weekend is kind of all over the place. I trimmed The Boy’s hair, washed the dog, did a bunch of laundry, went shopping for the week and now I am just worn out. Hoping to unwind a bit over dinner.

If I get a chance to sit down, I plan to continue with The House of Tomorrow. I’m liking it so far, but I did what I can never do. I put it down for too long and now I don’t feel like reading it again. Does that ever happen to you? It has nothing to do with the book, it’s just the time away from it. I just can’t set a book aside for too long.

Anyway, Happy Father’s Day! Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

The London Train
By Tessa Hadley
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780062011831, June 2011, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

Understated, quiet and lovely.

The Rest of It:

Paul and his second wife Elise have had issues in the past, but at the moment, they seem to be doing well. That is, until he leaves her to live with his pregnant daughter in a ramshackle flat with a couple of strangers. While Paul struggles to find his place in this new arrangement, Cora finds herself utterly conflicted over her recent separation from her husband Robert. The two stories intersect to create a new dynamic that force these characters to face life, head on.

This is a book of moments. As a whole, it’s very quiet and simple but there are moments within it that beg to be reread, or even read out loud. There is a lilting, pleasing tone to the writing that I found quite enjoyable. Although at first glance nothing much happens, as this is not a plot-driven novel, there is a lot that happens within the characters. Revelations. Realizations. Understanding.

Once, Cora had believed that living had built a cumulative bank of memories, thickening and deepening as time went on, shoring you against emptiness. She had used to treasure up relics from every phase of her life as it passed, as if they were holy. Now that seemed to her a falsely consoling model of experience. The present was always paramount, in a way that thrust you forward: empty, but also free.

Readers who enjoy reflection and contemplative musing will truly appreciate this novel. The writing was lovely and it left me with a deep sense of peace. The London Train was longlisted for the Orange Prize but didn’t make the shortlist. A real shame if you ask me.