Ahh fall is here. Tomorrow we might even see some snowflakes, which is pretty crazy for September. Meanwhile those on the southern East Coast are about to get battered by Hurricane Florence. Yikes, stay safe everyone. I remember Hurricane Isabel when I was living in Virginia in 2003. I think I was without electricity for a week and the refrigerator had to be emptied. Tree branches were all over the place. This latest hurricane looks like much the same kind of trouble. The amount of water is intense. Be sure to have candles, flashlights, bottles of water, and of course a good book.
My reading the past couple months has not been speedy or very much, but luckily I completed a couple good books at the end of August, which I’m still thinking about. First off, when I was in Montreal for the tennis tournament I was loaned a book by a tennis friend who said “here read this.” Little did I know it would eventually blow me out of my chair — ha, but it did.
“The Tennis Partner” is an autobiographical memoir written by Abraham Verghese almost 20 years ago in 1999. You might know the author from his bestselling 2009 novel “Cutting for Stone.” Well this book was written when Verghese was a doctor practicing internal medicine in El Paso, Texas, in the 1990s. It’s about his friendship with an Australian medical resident he was mentoring there named David and the bonds they shared over playing tennis and their work at the hospital. During this time, Verghese, a father of two boys, is going through a divorce and David is trying to overcome his past problems with drugs. Uh-oh. But as it starts he’s been clean for over a year and is on the verge of becoming a very talented doctor.
Tennis seems to be both doctors joy and release from all the pressures at the hospital, and part of the memoir includes tidbits about tennis playing and strategy, which as a player I loved. Verghese is truly a fan of the game, woohoo. But the book is also more than that. It’s about those days in El Paso and what happened in their lives at the hospital and off, and how his close friend David’s life spiraled out of control. For anyone, who has had a loved one or friend, or relative go through addiction, you will know the experience and shattering nature of this story. It reminded me of a dear friend I knew from work. “The Tennis Partner” is a moving, heartbreaking book — a true ode to friendship — and not something I will soon forget.
Next up, turned out to be one of my favorite novels so far this year. “Elmet.” Who knew?! I surely didn’t expect much when I picked up this debut novel as an audiobook listen, but wow now I can see why it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2017. Half way through I found myself asking: who the heck is Fiona Mozley?! Apparently she’s just another talented British author.
I think it was the book’s narration that caught me up mostly. The story is told by a teenage boy named Daniel, who is living with his older sister Cathy and his “Daddy” in a house in the Yorkshire woods that his father built them with his own hands. They don’t have much — Daddy makes do with odd jobs and as a fighter — but they are a close-knit family, enjoying their solace and existence amid the woods. The kids had once gone to school but they didn’t fit in and were picked on, keeping now mostly to the bonds with each other and the nature in the woods.
The story, which starts with a huge fire, goes back and forth in time to tell of their lives. And you know from early on with the fire something has gone terribly wrong, but you only begin to piece it together over time with the boy’s telling. It’s midway through when you learn about this villainous local landowner and his two entitled sons who try to uproot the family, getting them embroiled in a bitter land dispute. Daddy finally agrees to a fighting match deal for the property, but then something occurs that alters the family’s future. It’s best not to say too much more, other than to say the story gets suspenseful and turns quite violent and the ending is quite a whopper.
“Elmet” is intensely told and the descriptions of the settings and amount of feeling in the story are terrific. Publishers Weekly calls it a “rugged, potent work whose concentrated mixture of lyricism and violence recalls Cormac McCarthy.” Hmm, that’s not half bad for a debut author.
Lastly, I also listened to the audiobook of Tommy Orange’s highly acclaimed debut novel “There There,” which tells the story of 12 Native Americans (some related) in Oakland, California, as their lives collide in the days leading up to the city’s inaugural Big Oakland Powwow. It’s a large cast, but the storytelling is quite fresh and compelling as it delves into the characters lives, all of whom seem to be struggling with a combination of poverty, alcoholism, depression, or abuse. A few of the female characters’ lives — those of Blue, Opal, and Jacquie — are particularly well told and drew me in from the get-go. Others took more time.
It’s a story that tells about the urban Native American experience. I liked its connectedness — how the characters became linked with each other in the plot along the way, which was pretty cool. But although I liked hearing about the various characters, who alternate throughout the story, I found I lost track of some of them. Perhaps I would have liked a more pared down cast, and maybe too a different ending. Instead of what happens at the big powwow event, which is quite traumatic with a capital T … what if it didn’t happen that way and instead affected their lives differently? That’s what I kept thinking. What if the characters flourished in new ways from their connections at the powwow. Ahhh, but no! Instead it felt like a knife into my back.
That’s all for now. I was going to talk about seeing the romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” on the big screen and the coming-of-age story “Breath” on rental, but I think I’ve run out of time here. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed both.
What about you — have you seen either of these movies, or read any of these books, and if so, what did you think?
All anyone around here can talk about is Florence – we’re just waiting to see what the storm will do.
I think I need The Tennis Partner and There There.
Hi Kathy, I really hope your home is all right today after Florence. I’ll check your site today to find out how you’re doing. I think you might like The Tennis Partner.
Luckily we are mostly out of Florance’s path here in New York. Hopefully everyone, everywhere will be safe.
All these books sound very good. There, There sounds creative and different. With that, I can see how twelve characters could get confusing and begin to blend together.
Hi Brian — yeah I thought There There was a fresh take on the Native American experience, more urban and encompassing. Via the audio I did lose track of a few of the characters but not the main ones.
Snowflakes? Wow.
I will get to There There because I’ve had a Native American thread going over the past year in my reading. The other two sound like deeply affecting stories with good writing. I relate to the way you loved the tennis details because that happens to me whenever there is music in a novel.
Yeah Judy, it’s great how you relate to music in stories. Which is your favorite novel with music in it? Gosh that has me thinking … I think you might like There There — I liked its connectedness / how the characters interrelated along the way to the other ones, which I should have mentioned. ps. We did get snowflakes last night! OMG
The most recently read book that I loved with music in it was Appassionata by Eva Hoffman. https://keepthewisdom.blogspot.com/2018/05/appassionata.html
Oh yes I remember you writing about it; it sounded good! Two fun novels I liked with music off the top of my head: High Fidelity and The Wishbones … which made me laugh a bit but I still want to read sometime Madeline Thien’s novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which you liked.
Snowflakes?! Please not yet!!! 😮 It seems that the leaves are already turning there. Here, just barely noticeable. The heat this summer has been much and we are still experiencing summer-like temps this week, so I guess the leaves won’t be changing color for awhile. Last year wasn’t that good for leaf peeping either. It must be the new normal.
The Tennis Partner sounds poignant. It must be difficult to go through that experience up close. I would like to read Elmet. I have seen it in stores and it has made me curious but not enough to investigate further. After your review, my interest is piqued. 🙂 I’ve read great things about There There. Including you, it’s three bloggers I follow who have read it and raved about the book. With such a large cast, I guess the novel is best experienced in print. From what you say, in audio the voices get confusing after awhile. Still, this one has been named one of the best 10 books of the year thus far. That says something.
Please talk about those movies in an upcoming post. 🙂
Hi Carmen: we had snowflakes last night! I kid you not. It’s 35 degrees this morning, ouch! When will your leaves change? I liked There There but I had some reservations about it: basically its large cast & the ending. Elmet was good! I should have talked about the movies! Crazy Rich Asians was a pretty light, fun escape with a fresh cast (more a rental), and Breath was about 2 boy surfers coming of age in Australia and a relationship one of them falls into with an older woman. Uh-oh. Enjoy your week.
You’re expecting snow? I feel like we’ve headed into fall, as much as we can here where I live but today it’s over 100 which makes me think we are not there yet. The evenings have been so nice though.
There, There is THE book to read right now. So much buzz. I don’t own a copy yet but it’s on my list.
My work life has been a real bear lately and then all the stuff with my daughter’s concussion. She has been so difficult to be around but she’s getting better. Still not playing but better.
Thx Ti for the update on your daughter. Gosh that seems really tough. Hope in the weeks to come things smooth out with that & work. We’ll be in SoCal in mid-Oct and are looking forward to it. If you can believe it, we had snow last night! And today it’s only in the 30s. It’s hard to even believe really, but I’m hoping fall will come back. I’ll be curious to hear if you like There There. I found it a bit uneven but interesting for the storytelling.
Susan, I had a copy of “The Tennis Partner” and donated it unread, now I’m sorry I did. I loved Cutting for Stone and bet this memoir would appeal to me. I got rid of it when I culled my collection from over 1,000 books to about 250 before we moved.
I’m ready for cooler weather but, not “snowflakes” yet.
Hi Diane, yes I think you would like The Tennis Partner. See if your library has it! I sometimes cull books too and then I’m sorry I did. I still need to read Cutting for Stone which I’m sure I would love. It’s been on my shelves for a long time.
Elmet sounds so interesting–without knowing the setting for the novel, I would have placed in Idaho or Montana, not Yorkshire. That in itself really interests me.
Yeah Jane, I think you would like Elmet. It’s very much an English countryside story. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.
I haven’t read any of those books but I did see Crazy Rich Asians and I loved it! What did you think? Had you read the book? I’ve read it twice and I thought the movie was perfectly cast according to what I had in my mind. I could go on and on but I’ll stop! 🙂
Hi Rachel, good to hear from you. Yes I thought the movie was light and fun and well casted. It was thoroughly entertaining. So glad you liked it too. It was quite the movie of the summer!
I would like to read all three of these! I loved Cutting For Stone and have meant to read one of his other books ever since, so this is a good reminder. And Elmet has been on my radar since I first heard about it. I’m glad to hear you liked it, as well as There There.
I actually saw Crazy Rich Asians… I found it very entertaining. And now I don’t have to read the book!
The Giller books are coming up on my to-read list. Maybe after that I’ll find time for Elmet. I keep seeing it on the shelf at the library, and wonder why no one else is taking it home. Maybe they just have the same problem as me – too many other books to read!
LOVE LOVE loved Crazy Rich Asians! After the political hell of last week I feel as if I need to go watch it again to purify my brain. My rage is getting out-of-control.
You had quite the unusual reading last month. I’ve never heard of your first two books, but am so glad you read There There. Wasn’t it fantastic?! Orange feels like a completely new voice in fiction. I loved it, even though it was not easy reading.
It was dark and rainy all day here but I don’t mind. I like fall and winter here!