Book Review | Book Chatter

Making Toast
By Roger Rosenblatt
HarperCollins
February 2010
166pp

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

When his daughter, Amy, died suddenly of a heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife moved in with their son-in-law and their three young grandchildren. His story tells how a family makes the possible out of the impossible.

The Short of It:

Making Toast, although touching at times, lacks the emotional punch that you’d expect from a memoir.

The Rest of It:

As a reader, we are given brief snippets of information about the family. What the children like for breakfast, what they like to wear…their favorite color, you get the idea. This information is given to us in a very friendly, casual way. My problem with this is that it was so casual in the telling that I didn’t feel as if the author was really letting me into his life.

I’ll explain. This was obviously a very painful loss for the entire family, but I didn’t really feel that the author wanted me to know how truly painful it was. I felt as if he was sharing this information with me but with filters in place. As if he didn’t want me to know how he truly felt. There are moments where he mentions his anger but I never felt his anger coming off the page.

Also, it would have helped to know a bit more about Amy, his daughter. He touches on memories of her childhood, and a bit about her work but it wasn’t enough for me to really get a feel for her, and I really did want to get a feel for her as a person.

The significance of the title is very touching. Rosenblatt finds comfort in making toast for his grandchildren. Such a simple act. One child likes it buttered, another likes it with cinnamon, etc. I was moved when I read this part because Rosenblatt went into why it was special for him.

Rosenblatt’s story covers a year. Perhaps it would have been better to focus on the first six months as I’m sure there was a lot of adjustment taking place during that time. I would’ve liked to have heard more about Amy’s relationship with her dad. The bond between a father and a daughter is usually quite strong.

Overall, it’s a touching story but I never really got to know anyone within it, so it sort of left me with an “unfinished” feeling. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to lose your daughter so suddenly.

The back of the book states that Making Toast was originally an essay that was published in The New Yorker back in 2008. I may look for that essay to see how it differs from the book.

Source: This ARC was sent to me by HarperCollins/Ecco.

Impatient with Desire
By Gabrielle Burton
Hyperion
March 9, 2010
256pp

Here’s the blurb from the publisher:

A great adventure. A haunting tragedy.  An enduring love.

In the spring of 1846, Tamsen Donner, her husband, George, their five daughters, and eighty other pioneers headed to California on the California-Oregon Trail in eager anticipation of new lives out West. Everything that could go wrong did, and an American legend was born.

The Donner Party. We think we know their story—pioneers trapped in the mountains performing an unspeakable act to survive—but we know only that one harrowing part of it. Impatient with Desire brings us answers to the unanswerable question: What really happened in the four months the Donners were trapped in the mountains? And it brings to stunning life a woman—and a love story—behind the myth.

The Short of It:

Burton’s rendition of this tale is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

The Rest of It:

Impatient with Desire was an interesting read. Burton’s tale is based on historic fact, but she had fun with some of the details and switched them around a bit to suit her. I’m glad that she approached the novel in this manner because we all know how the Donner party turned out. There is so little to go on as far as what actually happened but she used what she could find and built a story around it.

The story is told through Tamsen Donner and her journal entries. The format worked for me and it gave me a clear picture of the timeframe involved, how many days had passed, etc. Burton’s use of flashbacks was very effective. A certain phrase or image often sends Tamsen back to a happier time. As she struggles to feed her children and care for her wounded husband, we are given the story in bits and pieces. How they came to the decision to head to California, the folks they lost along the way, etc.

The conditions were horrid. Scores of people died. Much of the book is spent recording these deaths. This part was a tad tedious as there were just so many deaths. However, I imagine that this is how it was for those families. Trying to give the dead the respect that they deserve, knowing full well that there would be some tough decisions to make later.

As you know from history, the Donner party resorted to cannibalism. Burton handles this part of the story quite well. The level of desperation is great at this point, and there seems to be no other option. So for those that are a bit squeamish about the subject, don’t let that deter you from picking up this book. As dire as their situation is, the story is hopeful. The passages where Tamsen cares for her husband and children are very touching. The love of a mother runs deep. That’s all I can say.

This booked has piqued my interest in the Donner party and what happened during that fateful trip. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy this one but it is very brief and you will probably want to read more about their experiences afterward, as this book just touches the surface. Of course, it’s fictionalized to a degree so although some of the characters actually did exist, the story that surrounds them is the creation of the author.

Source: This review copy was sent to me in conjunction with Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program.

Chatting with friends about books and life…