Thursday, January 24, 2008

BTT

What’s your favorite book that nobody else has heard of? You know, not Little Women or Huckleberry Finn, not the latest best-seller . . . whether they’ve read them or not, everybody “knows” those books. I’m talking about the best book that, when you tell people that you love it, they go, “Huh? Never heard of it?”

Just one? How about three: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, and Owning it All by William Kittredge.

The Passion was passed on to me and I found that I couldn't put it down. The way Winterson writes is so beautiful and poetic that I would get lost in sentences. Its not necessarily an easy read because of the emotional range she covers. The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: the soldier Henri, for eight years the faithful cook who follows Napoleon from the glory of Empire to Russian ruin: and Villanelle, the red haired daughter of a Venetian boatman whose webbed feet are a quirk of fate and whose several identities are created whole cloth out of Venice's compound of carnival, chance and darkness.

Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer prize a couple of years ago and again I was caught up in the emotion of these short stories. Nearly everyone I've loaned this book to has loved it and never returned it--a sign that I am not alone in my enjoyment. Pure beauty.

And finally, Owning it All, also a collection of short stories on the West, helped me reconcile my confused, rural cowgirl identity. While an undergraduate, graduate and even at times today there have been moments where I haven't been able to relate to others due to my rural upbringing. I've lived the rodeo lifestyle, I've plucked chickens, I've lived in both a single- and double-wide trailer. I know how to farm, milk cows, ride a horse, and speak in an altogether different twang when I go home. This collection helped me comfort my confused-self.

6 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

I've not heard of Owning it all but I've read both the other two. I've read most of Jeanette Winterson's books in fact, excellent writer.

Anonymous said...

I cannot stand Jhumpa Lahiri. Call me a snob!

"Huh?"

Anonymous said...

I loved 'Interpreter of Maladies'. I'm not a short story reader normally, but that book was simply stunning. I can't wait for her new novel to come out this spring.

Judy said...

I'm always looking for new short story writers. I like keeping short stories by my bed at night because I don't have to worry being caught up in a full-length novel and not being able to put it down.. something that happens WAY too often!

Julia said...

Never heard of the author but I think it'll be the book I want to check out .

Happy BTTs! Have a good Thursday and good weekend ahead!

Julia - Yen

Tara said...

I agree - Interpreter of Maladies was great. And I don't generally love short stories.