2022 Books in Review (Part 3)

 

Field Recordings from the Inside by Joe Bonomo

Synopsis: This is a series of essays that explore the impact of music on our lives both personally and culturally. The music discussed ranges from Frank Sinatra to rock and roll, punk, R&B, and the Delta Blues.

My Thoughts: I took Joe Bonomo's creative nonfiction class at NIU (longer ago than I want to admit), and the things I learned really helped as I worked in journalism and continue to write. I enjoyed this collection of essays relating to music and how music shapes people and/or shaped the author. I've always wanted to write about music but have never been able to find the right tone. Hopefully this will help. Music lovers would enjoy this one.  

Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate

Synopsis:  This is the story of a young mother and her husband returning to the familial farm to take care of an aging grandmother. The young mother is put into the place of trying to decide upon continuing her career or returning permanently to her roots.

My Thoughts: While I appreciate many of the sentiments of this book, it was, at times, a bit too sentimental for my tastes. It also just played too much into tropes of the rural areas somehow being the answer for people failing personally in the big city even if they are succeeding professionally. I think stories like this tend to oversimplify the complexities of rural living.

In One Person by John Irving

Synopsis: Narrator, Billy, tells the story of growing up bisexual in the 1950s and 60s at a boarding school in New England. The story is about the mystery of his unknown father, and how all the people around him confront the realities of their own identities, sexual and otherwise.

My Thoughts: As has been the case for much of his career, Irving was ahead of his time with this book (written in 2012), as it's ultimately a discussion on sexual identity. His goal is to humanize those that traditionalists want to dehumanize.

While he denies his books are self-reflections, there are several of his common tropes - the male narrator who grows up without a father and with a strained relationship with his mother, amateur wrestling, the theater, a beloved stepfather who is a teacher, and plenty of behavior considered sexually deviant for the time period (this book ranges from the 1950s to 2000s).

I’ve also read by John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow for a Year, The World According to Garp, Until I Find You, The Cider House Rules, A Son of the Circus.

Ghost Country by Sara Paretsky

Synopsis: The worlds of Luisa, a drunken diva fallen on hard times, Madeleine, a homeless woman who sees the Virgin Mary’s blood seeping through a concrete wall, and Mara, a rebellious adolescent cast out from her wealthy grandfather, collide on the streets of Chicago.

My Thoughts: The backbone of this book is the debilitating effects of a domineering patriarchal society on women, other men, and institutions. I generally liked the book, although wasn't wild about a few of the writing style choices.

The Stephen King Companion by George Beahm

Synopsis: The recap and analysis of Stephen King’s work from his start in the 1970s to the mid-1990s.

My Thoughts:  While repetitive at times, it was also interesting. It gave good perspective on the changing landscape of publishing from the 70s to the 90s. An updated version would probably be even more enlightening. I also liked the academic look at each book in regard to structure and themes.