Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

I started reading this book after I read my first book for the Orbis Terrarum challenge - Lolita. Compared to Lolita this book seemed small and was an easy read. It was an unassuming book I could say. Usually the first few pages of the book give you a feel of how the book will be and I really thought this book will be a easy read. But boy was I wrong. I was so wrong and really could not quite grasp the book so I quit writing its review for the longest time. But here we are, a small review. I admit the book has left me a little unsure and I am planning to read it again soon. But I am quite sure it will leave me unsure as it is a subject that confuses me – impermanence of life.

The story is about two sisters, Ruth and Lucille who grow up in a small town by the lake near Seattle. Their mother abandons them with their grandmother and presumably commits sucide. The sisters grow up with the great-aunts who find it difficult to raise children after their grandmother dies. Finally the great-aunts summon their mom’s sister Sylvie who had left home ages ago. Sylvie lives a life of a wanderer and abandons her life for her nieces. Her way of life is different and she cares for the sisters in her own way. The sisters grow up “different” from other kids. At one stage, Lucille decides she wants to be more like other kids and moves in with another family. Ruth (also the narrator) is sad on losing her sister and this brings her close to Sylvie. She and Sylvie have some strange adventures which makes the residents think Ruth should be sepearated from Sylvie. Finally Sylvie and Ruth find a way to be together.

The book is about how impermanent life is. As you read, you start slowing down because it is a book that cannot be rushed. It is so simple that it is raises so many questions at multiple levels. It is a book that has made no mark on me yet left an impression on me and that is strange. I tried to think it over and then write a review but the more I thought about it the more it became muddled. I guess it is because I still refuse to accept that life is impermenant. Maybe when I read it again I will be more open to accepting life as is.

My fourth book (well I still have not written the 2nd book review) for the Orbis Terrarum challenge was Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

As you may recall I am choosing 8 books from the Time magazine top 100 novels and reading them over the course of 8 months. The only rule is that each book author is of different nationality. I could not have found a better way to read some excellent work and what a diverse read it has been. So far my reads for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge have been

1. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov – Russia

2. Housekeeping – Marilynne Robinson – USA

3. Wide Sargasso Sea -Jean Rhys – Dominica

4. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro – Japan

My next read is A House for Mr.Biswas – V.S Naipaul – Trinidad

Now the review,

The cover, the title and most of the book is about romance, a triangular love story between Kathy.H (the narrator), Ruth and Tommy – all students from a British boarding school Hailsham. Hailsham is almost out of any of those pre-teen British series one reads – rolling hills, guardians, friends, swaps, exchanges, games and some secrets. The book flows easily with just hints of suspense thrown in – hints in terms of the future, hints in terms of terms like carers and donors. It makes you wonder what the book is all about.

The story unfolds nearly at the end – the story of clones brought to life for organ donations, their souls, their emotions and love. It is science fiction set in teen world without any science. It is a perfect read for someone who does not want too much scientific terms in sci-fi books (Oh well if I wanted science terms, I would be reading a science text book not a novel – my logic). It is heartbreaking and the more I think about it – sad. It is about justifications and repulsion. It is about acceptance and letting it go.

It made me wonder – how would I react and behave if I knew the person next to me was a clone? I still have no answer but have you thought about it? What would be your reaction?

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This was the next book from the Time magazine top 100 list I chose for the Orbis Terrarum challenge and what a choice it was.

The book is small and what a punch it packs. I finished it today and I am yet to find answers to many of the questions the book evoked in me. I am quite sure I will go back and read this book some other time maybe in a few years when I am older and hopefully wiser.

Set in the mid 1900’s in a beautiful and almost haunted Caribbean island, the book’s protagonist is lonely woman seeking safety. The book starts with the protagonist Antoinette Cosway – daughter of a former slave owner living in isolation with an emotionally distant mother, an invalid brother, a step father and nanny, Christophine – an obeah.

After losing their family home and brother in a fire set by the locals, Antoinette is set to a convent where the nuns teach her not to pray for happiness. She is married to an English fortune hunter – Mr.Rochester.

Part two of the book is narrated by Mr.Rochester is a wonderful narration of the paranoia that engulfs a penniless husband who does not love his wife and woman who longs for security and happiness from her husband – all while both of them are locked in a failing marriage.

Part three concludes with as Antoinette, now called Bertha living in the Great Rochester House with a servant guarding her. Bertha seeks her destiny and the book ends in a fire.

Haunting, disturbing and beautiful!