Book Review | Book Chatter

TransAtlantic
By Colum McCann
(Random House Trade Paperbacks, Paperback, 9780812981926, May 2014, 336pp.)

The Short of It:

Non-fiction elements mingle with fiction in this Irish-American tale which begins in 1919 with the first nonstop transatlantic flight.

The Rest of It:

If you’ve read McCann’s work before, you may recognize the format of this novel, which feels like a collection of interconnected stories. The story opens with Alcock and Brown’s first transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to County Galway. Their mission is riddled with challenges, of which, eventually lead to a crash landing. From the title, you’d think that the book is about this trip alone but no, after just a short section on the flight itself, McCann moves on with his story which focuses on Frederick Douglass’s visit to Ireland just as the Great Famine begins to fully take its hold. From there, we meet Lily Duggan, a maid who is inspired to create a new life for herself in America.

This story spans many years and goes back and forth as it’s told and I know for some, including myself, this doesn’t always work for me. In fact, as soon as I realized I’d be jumping back and forth in time, I audibly groaned. But honestly, McCann’s handles it so well, that it never seemed to bother me at all and his style of writing, which consists of short, clipped, sentences made the reading experience quite a pleasant one. His writing creates a sense of urgency which gives the story that “unputdownable” quality that so many of us look for in a book.

There’s a little bit of history, which prompted many in my book club to look up additional information and the fictional parts were well-done and engaging. I read it in just one sitting, which is not something I often do but the story is constructed in such a way that it’s hard to find a good place to set the book down. A good problem to have, if you ask me.

Have you read Transatlantic? It came out some time ago and I immediately added it to my Kindle after reading Let The Great World Spin, but for some reason it just sat there, unread. Such a shame because I really enjoyed it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

It Was Me All Along (A Memoir)
By Andie Mitchell
(Clarkson Potter, Hardcover, 9780770433246, January 6, 2015, 240pp.)

The Short of It:

A warm, sometimes funny, often heartbreaking novel about a young girl trying to find herself.

The Rest of It:

Yes, folks! It’s a memoir. I know I don’t read them often but this was written by a blogger I’ve been following for the better part of a year and a half. Andie Mitchell’s blog, Can You Stay For Dinner? chronicles her weight loss journey, which truly began when she was in college, but it’s really about so much more than that and although the blog alludes to certain periods in her life, the book goes into them in detail.

Raised in a loving family but one battling the effects of alcoholism, Andie learned at a very young age that food could be comforting. Her love of food is both a blessing and a curse, and all the while her story is told with the utmost honesty, tinged with a great deal of shame.

There was a decade, back in the 90’s I want to say, where weight loss memoirs were a dime a dozen. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve read one, but this one really has a different tone to it. Yes, it focuses on food and weight loss but it’s more about a young woman trying to find her place in the world. Mitchell’s struggle for acceptance, her bouts of isolation and shame, are things that we can all relate to, regardless of weight.

On her blog, she writes as if she’s talking to a close friend. The book has that same tone. It’s warm and inviting and even though I don’t know her personally, I feel as if I do. Plus, her story is inspirational. She lost over 135 lbs and at no point was it easy.

The other thing I really enjoyed is the way she writes about food. She’s a foodie, no doubt about it and any foodie will be drooling over her take of a perfect cupcake or pizza pie. Clearly, her love of food is still present but the way she views food is what’s changed.

I really enjoyed this one. If you’re looking for something different to break up your fiction pile, give this book a try.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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