3 minute book review of one of my top reads of the year so far
Reading ‘out of genre’, i.e. a book that you would never normally pick up requires a good deal of belief and patience.
June’s choice for my book club was How To Read A Book by Monica Wood.
It is not an author I am familiar with. Therefore I didn’t quite know what to expect, which is why I started reading the book with a little trepidation but ultimately an open mind.
I think keeping an open mind helps in multiple life scenarios, it is what makes humans so great.
Speaking of great humans, How To Read A Book is chock full of them.
The book follows a tragedy and the far-reaching consequences for three main characters who each get their own point-of-view chapters.
Victoria is a 22-year-old facing life ‘on the outs’ after being incarcerated for manslaughter.
Frank is the quiet and gentle handyman at the local bookstore, while Harriet, a retired teacher is the prison book club volunteer.
Harriet is the glue that binds the plot and the other two main characters together, a bridge that sees only the very best of the human spirit shine.
Other peripheral characters stuck with me too, just because they are so vividly written.
Kirsty is the grieving daughter who we are told, is very much like her mother, channelling ‘me-me’ self-involved glory.
Dr Petrov, the intense, dedicated scientist who employs Violet, brings the utterly naive girl, love and pain in equal measure.
Amongst the tragedy of death and keeping a hold of bitterness, several scenes punctuated the text with light as a feather humour.
The part where Dawna-Lynn absconds from prison and meets Ollie (IYKYK) is brilliant.
It is rare that I re-read the ending multiple times, but it was so very lovely and heart-warming. It is where we learn of all the characters’ fates, from Violet to Frank and as I love a happy ending, this was definitely what made the book worth reading.
Some parts of the book did require a partial lifting of belief, where things that happened were too convenient – for example, granddaughter Sophie leaving to (easily) pave the way for Violet to be gainfully employed pretty much straight away after leaving prison.
Around 31% of prison leavers in England and Wales find employment within six months of release, while only about 19% secure work within the first six weeks. These are UK stats, and I appreciate the book was set in America, but data points to a picture that is not as rosy in finding a job so quickly. It was a pretty cushty job too, working in a science lab with an acclaimed scientist.
But I will always come back to that ending because it made me smile.
I love learning new things and didn’t realise that a parrot ‘learning’ aka animal intelligence research facility actually exists in real life. It is something the author mentions in the acknowledgements with a studies being conducted by Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her team.
It is honest-to-God, deeply fascinating, I didn’t realise parrots were such intelligent creatures. You can see these clever birds in action in this video, it has made me want to get a parrot as a pet, but because I live in an apartment block with a no-pet-rule, that is not really a feasible option. I shall just have to get my parrot fix from YouTube, you can get yours too here.