Nom de Plume

I’ve been pretty good about writing a page every morning, and am now up to 160 pages. Perhaps not 160 good pages, but 160 pages nonetheless.

There are so many regency romances out there, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to fill Almack’s with every fictional regency character. The heroes and heroines of the good books wold get on famously, exchanging witty repartee–and, I suspect, partners–while the badly-drawn characters of poorer novels would appear blurry around the edges, fading into the potted palms.

But just imagine how many elegant, smoldering men who don’t need to pad their shoulders there would be!

Speaking of books, have been very bad about doing my little book reviews. So this is just what I remember.

The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
The best thing about this book was the end. No, I don’t mean it was awful; I mean that the entire book seemed to point its way to the puzzling, ambiguous ending. Impetuous Pauline and stodgy Michael should never have gotten married–but did and stayed that way for 30 years, had three children and a grandson that resulted from a druggie dropout daughter. This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t one of Tyler’s best. Her usually finely-drawn characters and keen sense of place were sacrificed to spanning nearly a lifetime in the space of 300-odd pages.

George Washington Gomez, Americo Paredes
I got this out from the library for Steve because I thought he would enjoy it–and ended up dipping into it myself. I had forgotten how heart-rending it is. The story of a “Mexicotexan” family during the Depression, an optimistic father seeks greatness for his son by naming him after the first American president. As he lies dying, wounded by gringos, he makes his brother-in-law promise not to let him hate and to educate him so he can find his destiny. Rich in detail, this novel evoked East of Eden for me, both in its descriptions of a lost time and in the ambiguities of forging Western frontier identities. Recommend highly.

The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt
Just read it. It’s truly fabulous.

High Maintenance, Jennifer Belle
Funny and sad at the same time. Our heroine goes through a divorce, a sick affair, and emerges from grief as a realtor. Set in NY, it pokes fun at a whole bunch of people. Quick easy read.

In Revere, In Those Days, Paul Merullo
Well, I started reading it. It made me want to shoot myself, and as I was already depressed to begin with, stopped. Steve is now reading it, albeit in a rather lackluster fashion.