So I just barely checked out These is my Words at the library like last week and I zoomed through it. I really liked that book. There were just a few things I didn't enjoy.
1. It was pretty dang predictable. I mean, I was just waiting for Sarah's first husband to die because of course she was going to end up marrying Captain Elliot. So who didn't see that coming?
2. The book was a little depressing. There was a lot of dying and creepy people trying to rob/rape people.
3. The character of Sarah herself really got on my nerves at a few points in the book. She was always so worried about being viewed as a "wanton" woman. She was also really annoying when it came to "do I love him or don't I love him? I do...I don't!" Kind of got old.
Other than those things, I thought it was a good story. And I didn't have any problem following the narration even without great punctuation and stuff. I think that's because, for me, as you read it, it's like she's just talking. That's kind of how are brains work anyway, right? There is not a lot of punctuation in our heads. So, her style of writing felt pretty natural. That may sound weird, but that's how I felt. Also, I'm really grateful that I was born during a time that is a little bit more advanced than that (to say the least). Having babies like they did does NOT sound to enjoyable to me. As I read the book I just felt like they were probably always dirty. ha.
Also, I was thinking a lot about how the military aspect is pretty similar to today. Living in Anchorage, Alaska, we new A LOT of military families. Anchorage has a huge Army and a huge Air Force base right in town. Our first ward covered half of the bases, so most families were military. I am grateful for all the people who are serving our country, but I am also grateful that my husband is not one of them. All of these military wives, just like Sarah, have to live a pretty unsteady life. Not really knowing how long they'll be somewhere, when they'll see their husband next, or if they'll see him again at all. It's hard to watch those mothers have to be a single parent basically for an unspecified amount of time and I know they get tired frustrated just like Sarah did in the book. In fact, Mike's brother is in the Navy and he's shipping out in July for 18 months and his wife just had a baby a few months ago! I can't even imagine.
Anyway, here is the book I have chosen for May:
I read this book a LONG time ago and, frankly, I don't remember what it's about. I remember I liked it and that people generally love it, so let's give it a try! Here is a synopsis:
Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old.
