Oh it was a horrible week. Let’s not sugarcoat this (why should we?). The U.S. election result was a terrible shock and blow. I’m still so ticked off and disillusioned I can’t believe it. What a disaster and heartbreak. The U.S. had a great opportunity in front of it but totally blew it. Completely blew it. As the author George R.R. Martin wrote: “America has spoken. I really thought we were better than this. Guess not.” So glad I’m no longer working in D.C., where I was for 15 years. I even worked on the Hill for awhile. Gawd what clowns this new administration will bring.
Needless to say, the election took the wind out of my sails and I wasn’t able to get much done this week. Of course, my most potent antidotes in times like these are my dog Stella and falling into a good book. So I’m midway into Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography “Born to Run,” which I’m loving. It also helped that my husband, Stella, and I went to a cabin near the mountains last weekend and did some hiking. (See the attached photos.) So far we’ve had a warm November and it’s been nice to have a little Indian summer to our parts. The area of Waterton Lakes National Park is beautiful and we saw a few moose and Rocky Mountain sheep while there, which was really cool.
Meanwhile I did finish the audiobook of Jojo Moyes’s 2012 novel “The Girl You Left Behind.” This is my second novel of Moyes’s — the first being “Me Before You” — and it was light and a story that swept me along, which is what I needed this week. I guess what I enjoy most about Moyes’s works is that she is an excellent storyteller. Even if a few parts of her novels can seem contrived or unlikely, she can spin a good tale.
“The Girl You Left Behind” is no exception. I got sucked into the first part of the story that takes places in 1916 during WWI in a small French town that has fallen to the Germans. Sophie and her sister are caretakers of their family’s hotel, where the German officers are coming for meals. Both sisters’ husbands are gone, fighting at the front, and life is precarious in the town. Especially once the German Kommandant there becomes interested in a portrait of Sophie’s that her artist husband had painted that hangs in the hotel. A gripping scene follows where Sophie’s fate seems to hang in the balance.
But then the story abruptly changes to 2006, and a 32-year-old woman in London named Liv owns Sophie’s portrait. It was a wedding gift from her husband before his sudden death. But when Liv’s new boyfriend, who deals in returning stolen art, sees the painting, troubles begin. He says Liv must turn over the portrait to Sophie’s descendants who’ve been searching for it, but Liv’s determined to keep it. A court case ensues and the reckoning of what happened to Sophie and her painting is unveiled in twisty ways.
I was jarred at first by the change in the novel’s second half but then got into it as well, as the new cast of characters came to life. Though the second half seemed a bit more flawed to me. I wasn’t sure exactly why Liv wanted to hang on to the painting so much in the face of financial ruin and doing what seemed right to those who were looted from during the war. But still I was compelled to find out more in the court case. The ending though seemed a bit too nicely tied up. Ultimately while parts of the novel might have stretched my believability, I still enjoyed being swept away for awhile with these characters and finding out what had happened to the painting and Sophie during the dark days of WWI. It’s quite a tale.
What about you — have you read this book, and if so, what did you think? Or what are your thoughts on the election? This Rocky Mountain sheep might know better than I do where we go from here.
I completely understand why that book was perfect for this week! Last Wednesday, after I finished T C Boyle’s new one, The Terranauts (surprisingly relevant by the way), I was casting about for what to read next. Nothing on my shelves seemed even remotely interesting. So I looked through all the unread books on my eReader apps and picked My Real Children by Jo Walton. It was the correct choice for me. The wonder of reading is, one can always find the perfect book for hard times.
Yeah I agree Judy. A good book can help in hard times. I hope we have a lot stored up for the next 4 years 🙂 … I know we do.
Great post, and I’ve been amazed and encouraged by the reactions of bloggers about the US election fiasco.
Can anyone remind me again why we still have the electoral college here?
I stayed up all night watching and still hoping for a different outcome…and then wanted to bury myself in something…so I had a good reading week of escape, with five books read and reviewed.
Some TV watching, too, and I keep hoping that something will change this horrible outcome. But…I guess the most we can hope for is that the supposed “checks and balances” will work…but wait! There is a Republican-dominated Congress, too.
But maybe some of them will show a conscience if he goes too far.
Okay…I guess I should get off of this rant for now…but thanks for sharing!
I read The Girl You Left Behind three years ago, and had to check my review to remind myself of how I felt…lol. I gave it five stars, so I guess I loved it. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as I did.
I think we should check with those Rocky Mountain Sheep, as they might have a solution to our situation….
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Ha Laurel. Thanks for your comments. I feel for anyone who waited up that terrible night trying to make things change for the better. Ugh I feel the pain! Not sure about the electoral college either. It’s going to be a long & dreadful 4 years I fear. Still we have our books! I enjoyed the storytelling of The Girl You Left Behind which was perfect for me this past week. It transported me elsewhere.
As you know I am similarly affected. This was more then a disappointment. I have grave concerns for the future.
I am glad to see that you are still reading. Hopefully I will resume in a few days.
Yeah Brian, I agree with your post & have left a comment there. I hope you do continue on with your blog and keep up the fight … with your ideas & discussions there.
I spent my week watching and re-watching movies, and occasionally listening to my newly discovered Queen and solo Freddie Mercury. I didn’t read, I didn’t watch any TV show, or much of anything really…
Yeah Carmen, I can relate. I felt completely drained last week by the election. We need our comfort things in times like these.
I have spent the week crying and holding myself. I was and still am in shock and the sense of injustice is strong. What happened? Check out my post for further reactions to the election. I, too, have been doing lots of light reading and movie watching. I can’t face the news and the opinion papers. Not yet.
Okay Anne, I will check your site. I totally relate to what you are feeling. I feel adrift, even a week later. I can’t turn on the news either. I don’t seem to care now. How disheartening.
I’m thinking we should take our books and go live on the mountain with the goats. Or, in my case, in the highlands with the moose. Or maybe with the bears in a cave? Whatever your preference…
Thanks Naomi, I think so too. Head for the hills. I want to bury my head. I think being out in nature helps. So with the moose it is ….
It was a hard week. We must forge on and keep on fighting the good figh
Thanks Deb, for your words.
Great post, and great sense of humour (clowns… hahaha). I noticed, a state of shock for all my American blogger friends.
Their distress is palpable. One said “the world has gone crazy, I tell you…” another said that “I’m ashamed to be an American right now.”
All I can say is, I’m sorry. But we will see what the future holds for you.
Lastly, I truly adore your photos, they are sublime! There is nothing more majestic than nature. It reminds us that we are so little.
Thanks RT. Spending time amid nature really helps me. So these photos remind me of good times. We have some amazing areas and mountains here so I just have to keep going!