Well, I guess I've neglected my reading blog for too long! I've read three books in the three weeks I've been away, so I haven't been exactly shirking my reading duties, but I now have three books to write about.
I finally finished Rising Tide, the story of the 1927 flood, last week. I had to take a break from it while I was on vacation, partly because it's hard to focus on and partly because I needed a break from the frustration and sadness I felt reading about all the really big mistakes and the abuse of power that created the disaster.
So I read a murder mystery instead. Mysteries are fast reads, light and satisfying. Everything works out in the end--we learn who dun-it, the perpetrator gets punished, and none of the principal characters get killed. The book I read, Motion to Suppress, by Perri O'Shaughnessy--really a pair of sisters, Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy--was their first novel, and it was quite gripping. It takes place in Lake Tahoe and is about a wrongly accused woman and her defense attorney who is trying to prove she is innocent before the murder trial is over. It's a familiar plot, but it had some inventive elements and plenty of twists! I recommend it and the authors to all mystery lovers.
Rising Tide was an eye-opener on many fronts; I learned a lot about the Mississippi River's history as an avenue of commerce, about the depth of corruption in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and about the immense suffering of African Americans living in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere in the south during this time. It's still terribly shocking to think such horrors went on in our supposedly law-revering country in full view of the public (and often with its consent if not participation), including the media!
I was also taken with how complex the issue really was--no simple solution could be found for dealing with all the warring factions that coalesced around the mighty Mississippi and its habit of flooding the land. Even now, the river still holds sway, despite all the measures taken to contain or control it over the last two centuries.
Rising Tide is an interesting book--filled with lots of detail and human drama. And to think that the author only talks about one small part of the vast area affected by the 1927 flood! I recommend it, especially for those who love American history. It's a story that everyone should know, but be prepared to be outraged.
Once I finished Rising Tide, I felt the need for something smaller, more intimate and shorter. The book I settled on, Shadow Tag, filled the bill. It's the latest novel by Louise Erdrich, an Ojibwe writer from Minnesota who has an amazing range. She writes about indigenous people--individuals and families--but she also writes about the non-Indians who live with and near them. Her stories are always compelling and sometimes disturbing, but never fail to ring true. Shadow Tag, about a couple's failing marriage and the attempts of their family to deal with it somehow, seemed especially real in that it was, I think, partly autobiographical. As I was reading it, I couldn't help recalling Erdrich's own seemingly perfect marriage that ended after years of turmoil that no one knew about until it happened. Not long after, Erdrich's husband, himself a writer, committed suicide. You may want to read an interesting article about the family's problems here: A Writer's Descent. I recommend waiting, though, until you've read the novel so you're not looking for connections.
I haven't decided what I'll read next. Maybe another novel, maybe something else. I'll let you know, and as always, I'll keep you posted. Sooner this time!
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