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Sunday Matters

Right Now:

I am sitting here waiting for my coffee to brew and the rain is coming down!! We are supposed to get four inches in just a few hours so we’re hoping the burned hillsides hold. In a little bit we’ll be heading off to church and then sadly, I may have to hit the market. Poor timing on my part.

This Week:

Those of you who have been with me for awhile know that production week for a show can be really crazy. Well, this entire week they are finally in the theater and by this time next weekend, they will be on stage. I am really looking forward to this run of JOSEPH. It’s a great show.

Their home this week, and my home too since I will be backstage for some of it:

PAC

Reading:

I got sucked into The Passenger by Lisa Lutz. These suspenseful, thriller type books are really calling my name this month. The review should post sometime this week.

I started Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg for book club. I should have started it a little earlier because in February I’ll be hosting a Ulysses read along with Serena. Details will be posted tomorrow!

Watching:

Not much. Still walking The Hub thorough Breaking Bad.

Making:

I’d like to pick up something for the crock pot today. Maybe stew?

Grateful for:

Weekends. We had a nice day at two museums yesterday. My son was off and it was the only non-rainy day we’ve had in a long time to spend together.

What’s up with you? Reading anything I have to know about? Cooking anything good?

The Passenger
Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster, Paperback, 9781451686647, November 2016, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Classified as a thriller but it really falls into the “what the heck is going on?” category because there is really no telling what these characters will do.

The Rest of It:

A man is dead. His wife Tanya flees the scene but it’s not clear exactly what has transpired. She heads across the country, stopping here and there to assume new identities as she attempts to run from those looking for her. It should be noted that there are plenty of people looking for her. The story is peppered with letters from a mysterious “Ryan” but it’s not clear how he fits into the story except that he knows Tanya as Jo. Why is she running? Who was she in the past?

Honestly, this story is all over the place. The beginning was a little disjointed but I gave it a little more time and eventually got into the story. Mostly, because I wanted to know why this woman needed to assume all these identities. If she truly wanted to stay hidden, why was she so careless with details? Tanya/Debra/Jo is not good at assuming identities which makes for an amusing read but also makes her slightly annoying.

There were parts of this book that worked better than others but the most frustrating thing is that you really don’t find out the “whys” until the very end and then you are like, really? THAT’s the reason for all of this?

I think the story had potential but it seemed very orchestrated and overworked and perhaps a bit underdeveloped as far as plot. I’m not entirely sure the author knew where she was going with the story until she got to the end. Even the title didn’t make sense until the very end so the entire time I kept thinking, who is the passenger?

Plus, the main character’s personality is never truly revealed. Sometimes you’re led to believe there is goodness there. Other times she seems to not care what she does or how many laws she breaks. It’s hard to have empathy for her situation when A) you don’t know why she is running, and B) she seems to switch back and forth between having morals and not having any.

Would I read Lutz again? I probably would given that there were parts that I was really into but as far as this one goes, expect a quick read with a thin plot line.

Source: Borrowed
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