Apr. 7, 2009 - Book Review(s)
I hate to give a "Skip It" to a book, but life is short, folks. Don't waste your time on Elizabeth Berg's Dream When You're Feeling Blue.
The first half of the book proves promising, with rich character development of the three sisters. Set in Chicago during WWII, there's plenty to write about as the flirty sister, the engaged sister and the wanna-be-engaged sister write to their respective boys abroad.
But by half way through, you'll be skipping the long letters intended to reflect the doubt and angst produced by war. Why one author can use the letter format to well express their philosophy and why with it another falls flat, I do not know. I only know Berg's effort proves initially engaging but ultimately comes up short.
The ending "twist" will enrage you just a little shy of what "it was all a dream" might. Berg may have been going for noble and self-sacrificing, but rather than appeal to the best of human nature, the ending seems to fly in the face of what we all know about powerful human emotion. Even assuming Berg achieves the noble and self-sacrificing aspect she strikes at, the ending would still prove ultimately manipulative and unfair, depriving at least one character of full knowledge with which to make important decisions.
You'd be better off spending your time in my current read, Little House in the Ozarks. This book contains the farm newspaper columns of the the adult Laura Ingalls Wilder; columns she wrote in the dozen or so years before she turned her attention to the writing The Little House books. Lots of practical and pithy optimism in this collection of essays and perfect for the busy mom-reader as no individual essay runs longer than a couple of pages. Another good companion book to read at the same time would be Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder, an interesting biography of how Mrs. AJ Wilder morphed into the best selling and beloved childrens' author. You'll find out lots of interesting tidbits as well as what's actually true, what's compressed and what's omitted in The Little House series (the Ingalls had a useless boarder couple during the Long Winter? There were actually more back and forth moves than recorded in the series? Laura had a little brother who lived only nine months?). This biography also explores the complicated relationship between Laura and her only child, Rose Wilder Lane. Most of the information we have comes from Rose's preserved writings. Laura did not save most of her own.
Books are best read in pairs or even in constellation. Consider making the Little House series, the collection of adult essays and the biography your next big reading project.
Blessings, Holly
