Books 6/29/05

The last two books I read created an interesting synergy. As I posted earlier, I got an advance copy of The Zahir by Paulo Coelho from Harper Collins. Contrary to some other people, I like his writing, and his fable-istic approach to situations. This book centers on a writer who is very similiar to Coelho, whose wife vanishes, leaving him to sort out if something devious has occured, or if she’s just gotten tired of their marriage. He goes through much searching and pondering, and through a number of events, ultimately comes to a deeper understanding of love and marriage.

I also read Retreat from Love, the last in the Claudine series by Colette. In it, Claudine pines for her husband, who is away at a sanitorium for a rest cure, and stays with her friend Annie and stepson Marcel. Claudine is deeply dedicated to her ideal of love, while Annie and Marcel both favor a more promiscuous approach to relationships. While they are all together, Claudine ponders the effects of both of these lifestyles.

Reading them back to back created a counterpoint that is fortunate because I think both books were slightly weak on their own. Enjoyable, but not as filled out as they could have been. Both seemed to take shortcuts past difficult situations rather than delve into them, and while I appreciate that those situations are sometimes ignored so as to deal with the main subject at hand, these situations were vital to the core themes of the books.

Now I’m reading Don’t Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford, and loving it so far. I’m glad that I’m back in a reading mood, life is more enjoyable with books in it.

Current total: 46
Just Finished: Retreat from Love by Colette
Currently Reading: Don’t Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford

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