Thursday, June 30, 2011

Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou

Our latest bookclub pick was the continuation of Maya Angelou's story as a young teenage mom bouncing around from California to Arkansas trying to find and keep her innocence.  We have read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and were intrigued with Angelou's early years so decided to continue catching up with her every few months.  In Gather Together, she has a baby to feed; a mother who adores but doesn't smother her; runs a brothel; returns to Arkansas to discover it's the same but different south; tries to join the Army; loses her innocence and gains naivety; struggles with her brother, Bailey; and finally finds her innocence and her baby (who is not an accessory) - all this in a 3-year span, and she's only 19 at the end of book.  There is a lot more of her to discover - all making her the beautiful poet she is today.  There is very little time to catch your breath as Maya hops on and off trains during her journey, but she writes even the darkest of situations with vigor, hilarity and passion.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

Rating:  Totally Tales
Lynnie (Beautiful Girl), Homan (Buddy), Julia (Little One), Martha/Matilda and Kate give away their passions, homes, bodies, possessions, time and hearts in this story of society's shame, which paths to take, how to give and when to forgive.  Lynnie lives in the Snare, a home for the feebleminded in Pennsylvania.  Homan is deaf but has worked his way up to have jobs of his choosing at the Snare.  They find there way to Martha, a widower, after they have escaped the Snare for 3 blessed days.  Her lighthouse is all the signal that Lynnie needs to see to know that the Little One will be safe. And so begins the story that will take 40 years to  find it's way home.
Illuminating and telling of the society we live in, both today and yesteryear. Each of the characters' stories were told with depth and caring but they were able to develop on their own as we do. There were times I wasn't pleased with Homan and did not like the path he was taking. But it made him real to me. Our flaws show everyday and there are not always people there to teach us how to fix them except maybe the Big Guy. Believe, trust and forgive - your instinct, those who might seem unimportant to you, your past, all things.