Reflections on Marriage and Literature
kevinrunsblog.com – Marriage Reflections & Book Reviews. After three wonderful, exhilarating, life-affirming years of marriage to Nicky, my world, my reason, my soulmate, I find myself reflecting on just why she has transformed my life, my whole being.
There are reasons for the bucket load.
The Bond Through Books
Books are just one example. At various times during my life, I’ve been a keen reader. But it has required sharing a space with someone who knows how to live in the pages of whatever is in your hands, someone who isn’t afraid to say, “I can’t wait to get back to my book,” someone who will happily spend two hours in a bookshop.
One of our most prized possessions is our Waterstones loyalty card, eagerly watching the stamping at the till as we approach yet another £10 discount.
Wonderfully, we don’t do genres; we aren’t confined to fiction or non-fiction. Believe it or not, we don’t just read about running, cycling, and swimming!
As our ‘to be read’ pile starts to diminish, we both start mentally preparing our justifications to unleash another armful of tomes onto the counter on our next pilgrimage.
Books. Yup. We like them.
Anyway, I’m waffling.
A.L. Kennedy’s SERIOUS SWEET: A Review
If there are any, regular readers know Alison Kennedy is one of my favorite authors. So, I delved into this rather hefty novel with high expectations. Rest assured, if I hadn’t loved it, I wouldn’t be writing about it now.
A Unique Perspective on “High Brow” Books
Nicky, my rather splendid, completely beautiful, and awe-inspiring wife, always claims I have a leaning towards, as she says, “highbrow” books. The industry might call it “literary fiction,” but I couldn’t care less about labels. I either enjoy a book or I don’t. Nicky, I do believe you’re currently reading Nora Ephron’s vintage autobiographical novel Heartburn. Highbrow indeed!
A heartbreaking yet heartwarming tale
This heartbreaking, yet heartwarming, tale is told without any suggestion of formula. The prose combines personal third-person narration with soul-searching internal dialogue. Interestingly, the same method is applied to both main characters.
It’s powerful. Floyd’s “Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl” lyric would surely be on the soundtrack to the movie that this book demands to be made into.
The Darkness in Love Stories
This is a flawed love story of flawed love as our two main characters battle their way through 24 London hours. There’s a darkness to Jon and Meg, and our hopes for them never soar too ambitiously as we fear for their fate. Jon, in late middle age, works within the inner reaches of the civil service and is privy to the hideous secrets that come with it. He finds an unusual outlet for his feelings and emotions. Meanwhile, Meg, a recovering alcoholic and bankrupt accountant, lost and alone in a crowded city, takes the bait and seeks refuge in Jon’s words.
Will destiny bring them together?
Will destiny allow this unlikely pair to find romance? Told by the two protagonists in short bursts, the day starts and finishes in darkness. But will there be light?
Why You Should Read Serious Sweet
The attention to detail, the imagery, the complex plot and history, along with the deeply personal voices, make this a compelling read. You can’t skim or presume; it demands full attention. Falling asleep with this book in my hands was always frustrating. I’d grab it as soon as I awoke, even reading a page while the kettle boiled for morning coffee.
A Journey Through “White Tears”
I’ve finished a couple of books in the last two weeks, and as I declared on ‘the other blog,’ I intend to only write reviews of those I’ve tremendously enjoyed.
I picked up White Tears by Hari Kunzru after having seen off a more standard thriller, Don’t Let Go by Michel Bussi. Bussi’s latest work was a great, pacey, page-turning whodunnit-and-why thriller. Enjoyable, but perhaps I was ready for something that challenged me further and explored a bit of me.
The obsession with “White Tears”
Well, White Tears has certainly done that. It is a tale of friendship, hurt, and obsession with darkness; it explores its characters to their core.
The geeky lad, playing with technology and exploring sound, forms an unlikely alliance with the cool student. Popular and confident, from an extraordinarily wealthy family, Carter sees Seth to be the curve that closes the circle of his craving.
Carter collects and is absorbed by old blues and rare black music, chasing those rare catalog numbers on fragile 78s.
Seth’s gathering of obscure sounds using his own obscure technological creations, combined with the scratchy tones of obscure blues recordings, becomes an art form in itself.
Chaos in Collaboration
A chance collision of old and new from their increasingly fractious teamwork sends both their worlds into chaos.
And the story too.
“White Tears: A Dark Journey”
As tragedy and mayhem crowd in on him, Seth’s life becomes a search for the reason behind the cursed recording.
Hooking up with old blues collectors, Carter’s sister, crazy chess players, and the characters living in the home of the poor man’s blues in the deep south.
It is a tale of a young man barely clinging to sanity, told in an increasingly anxious tone as Kunzru dares the reader to turn each page.
Tragedies of old play throughout the challenge of today as Seth is increasingly get into the characters behind the scene that created the ‘cursed’ recording.
Why You Should Read “White Tears”
White Tears is a broken record of a hard tale. It delves into the extremes of the power of music, its role in racial divisions, class conflict, and our souls. I read it in less than a week, fighting sleep in my urgency to go with Seth to the next town and chapter.
Final Thoughts
Not a small book, and it demands the reader’s involvement, but boy, it’s good.
Wonderfully following no formula or fitting with any agenda or genre, I would unreservedly recommend it. I think it will polarize, like Marmite, but I do love a bit of Marmite.