I first read about this book in the NY Times Book Review earlier this year, and I quickly added it to my list of books I would buy if I finished my huge pile of too-be-read books. Ok, so I cheated. When I saw this cute little hardcover half price at the Barnes & Noble, (you might ask why I was here if I’m not buying books… for the coffee? Never mind.) I had to buy it. For one thing, this is the kind of book that makes me think the idea of a kindle will never work for me. It is, in fact, almost the same size as the kindle, a relatively small little hardcover that just makes you want to hold it in your hands and read. Maybe if hardcover prices hadn’t doubled in the last ten years or so, people would be reading them instead of kindles, I don’t know. This book, all 237 pages of it, was originally priced at $23.95, which sounds kind of steep to me, but like I said, it really is adorable and it was half price. (yeah reviewer’s copies!)
Anyway, I cannot begin to explain this book. It is magical and romantic — all the things I hoped the Time Traveler’s Wife would be with half the pages and none of the confusion. It is the story of generations from decades and centuries past, told through the relationship between an Iraq war veteran and his physical therapist. Besides the detail that he fought in Iraq, there is no political statement in this book. You will travel back to ancient Turkey, and dance to the music of Count Basie at his 1936 Roseland debut. You are going to need to suspend your cynicism reading this, (there are many unexplainable things) but you will not regret it. Try this: call next Saturday a “lazy day” for your family, and tell everyone to grab a book, or a ball, or a fluffy pillow, and then run off and read (uninterrupted) this gem of a book.
No comments:
Post a Comment