Ivan the Sad

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

This book was an incredible story of a man grappling with his own death - up close and personally. Ivan is your average middle income husband with two children working for the Ministry of Justice. He slips one day while hanging drapes in his new home and comes down with a mysterious illness that slowly and painfully kills him. I know what you're thinking - depressing! Well, it was depressing, but it was also an interesting look at death. The book itself is really short (106 pages) and I can't help, but think that it's a lure to try to get the common people to delve into Tolstoy's longer books, Anna Karenina or War and Peace (each over 800 pages). The Death of Ivan Ilyich deals mostly with the often messy and secular aspects of death. Ivan spends many hours contemplating "What is it all for?", "Why is this happening to me?" and pondering what he has done to deserve such an end, as if death can be avoided if we only live more 'correctly.' Reading this short story made me feel very lucky to be alive and not in Ivan's serious pain. It also made scrutinize the family and friends with which I have surrounded myself. I don't believe that anyone I love would treat me as poorly as Ivan's family treated him. He had a run-of-the-mill marriage and while I believe his wife and children did love him they keep the lie alive and refuse to discuss his death. Ivan winds up mostly alone, with only his servant, Grissom to take care of him and his young son to pity him and feel his loss. With all of his anguish, at the end of the story Ivan does see a light and one has to wonder - what is this light he sees and what does this say of Tolstoy's own vision of death?

Dashing, no Dashiell

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

The Thin Man is a famous series of movies staring William Powell and Myrna Loy from 1934 that my husband and I really enjoy so we decided to try reading the book. Wow! Was I ever shocked. This story was fantastic. There were lots of twists and turns in the plot (not all presented in the movie) and a complicated cast of people. In the book, Nick and Nora have a love that continues to defy conventional boundaries. Nora is an amazing strong woman that enjoys watching her husband work and can match him drink for drink. Nick is a classic hardboiled detective that has retired only to be drug back in while 'back east' with his new wife Nora. The focus of the story remains on the case, but the relationship between Nick and Nora shines through. Instead of being mushy and corny, they each maintain strong independence and opinions. I can imagine this story was a bit risque in 1934 and it is rare that a relationship represented so convincingly even in modern literature. All said, this book has something for everyone, mystery, suspense, romance, and a little murder.

Me Tarzan, You Silly

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan is an amazing fast-paced adventure story. I had little expectation for this short book by Burroughs. This was my first read of this author and I had no idea what kind of story I was in for. Tarzan's parents die in the jungles of Africa when they are abandoned by the ship captain following a mutiny. After Tarzan's parents die he is adopted by Kala, and ape that becomes his mother. The novel is filled with examples of social darwinism (Tarzan knows not to eat human flesh because of his 'English Lord' bloodline) and blatant racism of it's time (first published in 1912). While some of the classic phrases like, 'Me Tarzan, You Jane' are not in the book (Tarzan speaks only French and writes only English), the book is far superior to the 'Crocodile Dundee'-like plot of the campy movies. Tarzan is an interesting bridge to the past with a galloping plot and a twist ending - and if you're like me you can finish it in a single rainy afternoon!

Love in the time of Canada

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Garcia Marquez has told another amazing story with Love in the Time of Cholera. The story follows Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza from a short-lived fling in their youth through a deeper love found when they are reunited in their 70s. Garcia Marquez tells a story similar to how his own parents met and his strong admiration for their relationship shines throughout the novel. He challenges us to understand, with a brave simplicity, a love that is strong enough to still burn strong after 51 years, nine months, four days, and 622 affairs. The marriage of Fermina Daza to Dr. Juvenal Urbino is so believable that I can recognize some of those potential arguments in my own married future. Fermina's devastating loss of Juvenal and later disgust with Florentino are written with a style that breaks down barriers between author and reader so that by the tie you finish the book you wish you could discuss the plot with the characters. While Garcia Marquez is often touted as 'the fabulous Columbian author', I would argue that his books are amazing not because of where he's from, but the solitude, love and heartache that he conveys with such emotion. His unique talent allows all of us to further understand what it means to be human.