Book Chatter

Root Beer the cat. Root Beer and my son are headed to Everett, WA this Saturday. He secured a nice, top floor apartment with lots of windows for Root Beer. The building is new and very modern. It’s right across the street from the museum he will be working for so he can visit her at lunch. I think she has gotten really used to having a family around during the day so I hope she transitions okay. The pup is going to miss her terribly, I think. Please send good vibes and/or prayers for a safe trip up.

It’s a busy week. I have a lot to do for work and then tonight is book club to discuss The School for Good Mothers. Thursday night a farewell dinner for my son, Friday is a special event for Student Ministry, Saturday a toddler’s bday party and my nephew’s graduation get-together. This is the most on my calendar since 2019.

My daughter will most likely return to California for the summer. She auditioned for a lot of summer shows but so far, nothing has come from that. One leaves, the other arrives. It is like Grand Central in here.

I am going to keep this short today since I have so much to do. I am just not used to having things on my calendar again. Have a good rest of the week!

Ocean State
By Stewart O’Nan
Grove Press, 9780802159274, March 15, 2022, 240pp.

The Short of It:

Only O’Nan could write a story where the murderer’s identity is revealed in the first paragraph and he still manages to hold my interest.

The Rest of It:

This is a simple story, really. Two young girls, in love with the same boy. The push-pull tension of the story is laid out slowly in its less than 250 pages. Angel knows that her boyfriend has been seeing another girl, Birdy, but in her mind, there is no other outcome possible. She will be with him and Birdy won’t be. How she gets to that decision is how the story plays out.

Angel’s younger sister Marie, reflects on that autumn where it all went wrong. There’s plenty of familial tension but it’s all a little gritty and unsavory and I had a hard time liking any of the characters. I felt empathy for Marie, having to deal with the aftermath of Angel’s actions and her losing the only person she was really close to. But if you are a fan of O’Nan’s, what you might miss in this story is the sense of place that he so elegantly builds in his other books. Other than that, I enjoyed Marie’s reflections on sisters, mothers, and life in general.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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