Review: The Heart Goes Last

Charmaine and Stan are running low on options. They have been living in their car and surviving off the tips Charmaine makes as as bartender. When they hear about the town of Consilience, it seems like it could be a literal life saver. The community has a lot of strict rules though. The couple will live in relative luxury for a month at a time. But then, every other month, they switch and they will become voluntary inmates in the local prison. Another couple will live in their home, go to work, and live their normal lives. Despite Stan's brother warning them not to go, they decide it is the best choice. For a few months, everything is fine. But then Charmaine and Stan both start wondering about the alternates who live in their house when they are gone. Their hypothetical and actual affairs will have irrevocable consequences for the couple, their alternates, and the whole community.

Margaret Atwood is Margaret Atwood, right? A new story from her brain is always reason to rejoice and she can write a bizarre and scary future like few other writers. That being said, this wasn't my favorite of her books and I think a big part of that had to do with our main characters. There are times when authors choose to make characters types in order to make a point. Every time I thought Atwood had written caricatures, something happened to make me think they were actually supposed to be well-developed characters who happened to fall short of that. As we read this story, we are supposed to be rooting for Charmaine and Stan to end up together, in spite of everything that happens to them and everything they do to each other. But I think many readers will actually be hoping that they just go their separate ways - they are so cruel and thoughtless to each other.

The setup of the town itself is fascinating and I loved finding out the little details. The town is divided in half and each side takes a month in either the town or the prison. Each person has a job in each location and a locker in their home to store their clothing and personal items when their alternates live there. I loved the little details, like the music and television choices that were available to the residents and the day-to-day minutiae of their lives.

Because this is a book by Atwood, there are big themes to ponder here about love, sex, power, and commerce. But The Heart Goes Last intertwines those ideas with a sort of campy bad romance about a couple who has no idea what their spouse wants. Neither seems to care too much to find out, which makes it difficult for readers to care either.


The Heart Goes Last
By Margaret Atwood
Nan A. Talese September 2015
320 pages
Read via Netgalley

Mini-reviews: All We Have Is Now and A Window Opens

Today is the last day. Tomorrow an asteroid will strike the Earth and America will likely be decimated. Emerson and Vince have been living on the streets. The two teens think about ending it before an asteroid can do it for them, but then they meet Carl. He has been spending the past few days granting people's wishes. Emerson and Vince take up his mission and go through the city helping people to have a few last minutes of happiness. But will they be brave enough to grant their own deepest wishes?

This book unfortunately fell pretty flat for me. I'm not sure if it is because I just finished another book about the world ending. I never really found myself caring for Emerson and Vince. Strangely enough, I was much more invested in Carl as he thought to help other people in humanity's last moments while trying to get back to his loved ones. The author chose to intersperse the chapters with poems without ever discussing any of the character's love for or habit of writing poetry. I also really hated the ending. I'm not going to give it away, but it really did not work for me. I didn't love this book, but it might work for you if you are looking for a quick YA read about what we would do on our last day on Earth.


All We Have Is Now
By Lisa Schroeder
Scholastic July 2015
272 pages
From the library

Alice Pearse works part-time at a magazine and spends the rest of her days caring for her children. When her husband decides to leave the safety of his job and start his own law firm, Alice needs to make a change too. She is offered a job at a hip new start-up and can't say no. Scroll is a company that will open reading lounges that offer high-end snacks and high-end books. While she manages to balance a new career and her family for a while, things quickly start to fall apart. Alice's husband's law firm doesn't take off right away, her father becomes ill, and their long-time babysitter is thinking of moving to bigger and better things. How can Alice find time for a job and loved ones who need increasingly more of her time and attention?

Stories about moms trying to balance a professional and home life are nothing new, since we all struggle at times to do it in real life. It was easy to relate to Alice's excitement about getting to work for a new company that seemed to love literature as much as she did. But I was sometimes confused about how much she knew - at times, she is portrayed as a clueless woman expecting to work with a typewriter but in other moments, she navigates her smartphone with ease. I also had trouble wrapping my mind around some important plot points at her new job that just never made sense. Alice is an everywoman and she is certainly relatable. While I don't think A Window Opens does anything revelatory, it is nice to see your inner debate over how much time you give to your career and how much you give to your family play out on the page.


A Window Opens
By Elisabeth Egan
Simon and Schuster August 2015
384 pages
Read via Netgalley

It's Monday and I think I am coming out of a slump

Hi friends. How are things going?

I've been feeling so lethargic this week. I didn't really want to do anything. I got home from church today, put little girl down for her nap, and ended up taking one myself. I don't know why, but I woke up feeling so much better. I made a delicious dinner tonight, got the dishwasher running, did some reading, and now I'm watching tv while blogging. I finally feel motivated again and I'm hoping this feeling sticks around.

This week, I read Geraldine Brooks' newest novel, The Secret Chord. While this wasn't my favorite of her books, a new story by Brooks is always a reason to be happy. Today I'm finishing up The Gift of Failure and sneaking in St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves as one final Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) read.

                     

On the blog this week, I talked about Ann Patchett's Truth and Beauty and picked some companion books to read alongside it. I also played along with the newest edition of Top Ten Tuesday, where we discussed what wishes we would ask a book genie to grant.

Next up in my to-be-read pile are We Never Asked for Wings and Sweet Tooth.

                     

What are you reading this week?

Four Books to read with Truth and Beauty

In Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett writes about her relationship with fellow writer Lucy Grealy. I loved how Patchett presented a really honest picture of their friendship. It's tempting to portray ourselves and the ones we love best as always kind and always good. But that's not the case. We all make selfish decisions. We all hurt each other sometimes. Ann writes about not really wanting to be roommates with Lucy at the beginning of their relationships and she recalls the times when Lucy was less than kind or considerate to her. 

Truth and Beauty is a great book to read as readers think about what makes a good friendship and the marks that our relationships leave on our lives. And of course Patchett is an incredible writer, so it is a pleasure to read each and every page.It was especially interesting to see how Patchett (unsurprisingly) talks about many other books and authors. This would be a great choice to read in tandem with some other books. Here are my picks for Truth and Beauty companion reads!



1. Bel Canto is probably Ann Patchett's most beloved novel and it is also the book that catapulted her to literary stardom. The novel is about a group of terrorists takes a birthday party of dignitaries as hostages. It is beautifully written and will make readers reflect on the connections we make in unexpected situations.

2. Autobiography of a Face is Grealy's memoir about her many surgeries and living with a face that didn't look like everyone else's. She writes candidly about the advantage of getting special treatment but the pain of being ostracized and wanting to look like and be like the people around her. 

              

3. Elizabeth McCracken was a colleague and friend of both Ann and Lucy. I've always heard great things about short stories, but now I am determined to finally read some. I love finding all of the connections among writers!

4. MFA vs. NYC explores the benefits of having an MFA and those of just writing without the constraints of a degree program. There are long stretches of Truth and Beauty where Patchett remembers the stress of handing in work for classes, finding fellowships, and applying for the scholarships that would allow the two friends to keep writing.

              

Top Ten Tuesday: Wishes for the Book Genie to Grant

 

If there was such a thing as a Book Genie, what wishes would you have her grant? I'm going to tell you mine. Don't forget to hop over to The Broke and the Bookish and see what other readers would wish for.


1) The ability to remember everything about the books I read without having to go back to my reviews

2) A library that would deliver my books to my house

3) A replicator from Star Trek by my reading chair, so I could have coffee and snacks without having to go to the kitchen

4) A book finder for the library books my little guy seems to keep losing

5) A kindle that is always charged

6) Endless funds to buy more books and bookish stuff

7) New releases every year from my favorite authors

8) A book club in my community with great members, books, wine, and snacks

9) An indie bookstore within walking distance with a great kid's section

10) More time to read (duh!)


What would you wish for? 

It's Monday and we are champions of Readathon

In case you somehow missed it, this weekend was the 24 Hour Readathon. I started at 8 a.m. on Saturday and read until 2 a.m. on Sunday. A few hours later, I got the kids up and going and we headed to church. Afterwards, I crashed on the couch for a few hours and now I'm catching up on everything I let slide during a glorious day of reading!

During the week, I read An Unnecessary Woman. During the Readathon, I read Dumplin', Submerged, Ms. Marvel volume 1, and Tables in the Wilderness.

                          

                                         

On the blog last week, I posted reviews of A Monster Calls, and We Should All Be Feminists and An Unnecessary Woman for Diversiverse. You can read all about my time doing the readathon here.

Up this week? I'm psyched to read Geraldine Brook's newest novel The Secret Chord and then I'm following it up with The Gift of Failure. 

                           


What are you reading this week?

24 Hour Readathon Fall 2015: The Second Twelve

 

The End!

Which hour was most daunting for you? Around 11 p.m., I think, which was hour 15 or so for us. The kids were sleeping, the house was quiet, and husband was getting ready to go to bed. It was hard not to give in to the pull of sleepy time!

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Dumplin' was a great choice this year. I always recommend Saga to readers looking for comics, and Glaciers to people who want that feeling of accomplishment from finishing a short book!

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? As always, I leave things in the capable hands of our fearless leaders. You guys rock!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everyone seemed very prepared and ready to run on so many platforms - blogs, twitter, instagram, Goodreads, etc.
 
How many books did you read? Four
 
What were the names of the books you read?
Dumplin', Submerged, Ms. Marvel Volume 1, and Tables in the Wilderness

Which book did you enjoy most? I thought spiritual memoir would be a tough genre to tackle for readathon, but I loved Preston Yancey's story of figuring out what he believed and how he learned to have grace for people who believe differently than he does.

Which did you enjoy least? Submerged was pretty much what I expected it to be. I obviously liked it enough to finish it, but I wasn't overwhelmingly in love with it.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? If I am reading and cheering, I like to do spurts of reading and then take a break for a half hour or so to cheer. It seems to work - I cheered through my whole team list this year!

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? As long as there is a readathon, I will be there. Since the April readathon falls around my birthday, I tend to do fewer things. However, I am thinking about trying co-hosting or maybe help with the Goodreads group.

Hour 19
I think I'm calling it for the night, friends. I finished the book I was reading and I have to get up in the morning and get the kiddos (and myself!) out the door to church.


What have I been doing the past few hours, you ask? I watched Doctor Who with the husband, did a little work and a load of laundry, ate dinner and some snacks (including Milano cookies with pretzels), and took advantage of this very cold evening to soak in the tub with a good book.



240 pages; finished! 

 
320 pages; finished!

 
256 pages; finished! 


Hour 14

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? I just finished Submerged and I'm halfway through Tables in the Wilderness!
2. How many books have you read so far? Two
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Ms. Marvel!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A few: these children who insist on calling me mom; work; Doctor Who. You just roll with the punches. Readathon is fun no matter how many hours you read!
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How fast and slow the time goes at the same time!