Storyline Serendipity: 9/11

9/11 SERENDIPITY

IN TWO BOOKS I RECENTLY READ

I read these back-to-back, not realizing that the  Julia Glass book had anything to do with 9/11 until I got into it.

The Whole World Over by Julia Glass (2006)

Greenie Duquette owns a popular bakery in Greenwich Village but, with her marriage in the doldrums, she decides to shake things up by accepting a surprise offer to become the in-house chef for the Governor of New Mexico. She takes her young son west and leaves her grumpy husband in New York to sort himself out.

As with her earlier National Book Award winner, Three Junes, there are multiple, complicated plots, here eventually coalescing around 9/11. Glass bustles the reader along all these story paths, gently drawing attention back to the characters, their dilemmas, and their decisions, which are complex enough to keep you thinking even after the book wraps up.

It was interesting to me to read a literary book with 9/11 woven into the plot. Apparently, Glass started writing the book in the spring of 2001 and stopped when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. When she was ready to start writing again, she decided to incorporate the event into the story and write about how such an enormous public tragedy affected their personal choices.

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille (2004)

This is another 500+ page book that takes place partially in Manhattan and culminates with 9/11. And it is proof that two books addressing the same subject can be completely different. DeMille is the master of the page-turning thriller. Night Fall isn't as breathtaking as Cathedral -- it is more of a police procedural -- but it is still fast-paced, wise-cracking, and pure entertainment.

WHAT IS STORYLINE SERENDIPITY?

A ONCE-IN-A-WHILE BLOG EVENT

Have you had the experience of something coming up in a book -- an event, place, idea, historical character, or even an unusual word -- and then shortly after, the same thing comes up in a different book completely by coincidence? I call this Storyline Serendipity.

I don't mean like when you take a class in Russian history and read two books about the Tsar. Or when you read two mysteries and there are dead bodies in each.

I mean random coincidence between two books. I like it when this happens because it makes me slow down and pay more attention to how the event or idea, place or character was treated in each book. I get a little more out of each book than I would have if the universe hadn't paired them on my reading list.

If you experience Storyline Serendipity, feel free to grab the button and play along. If you want to, please leave the link to your post in a comment. Or leave the link to your post on the Rose City Reader facebook page. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your serendipity in a comment.

This is a once-in-a-while blog event that I'll post as I come across Storyline Serendipity. If you want to participate, post whenever you want and leave a comment back here on my latest Storyline Serendipity post. If it ever catches on, we can make it a monthly event.

Teaser Tuesday: At the Hearth of the Crossed Races

In July 1831, the intermittent fever first descended upon the Kalapuyans of the Willamette Valley. . . . By 1833 the fever had spread as far south as California's Sacramento Valley, likely transmitted by the HBC trapping brigades.

At the Hearth of the Crossed Races: A French-Indian Community in Nineteenth-Century Oregon, 1812-1859 by Melinda Marie Jette.

Jette re-examines the traditional history of the Pacific Northwest that put Anglo-American settlers at the center of the story. Instead, she looks at the role of French-Canadian fur trappers, their Native American wives, and the Kalapuyan people they married into.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday: The Girl on the Train

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one fun for summer book last week:



The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I've been reading some good, but heavy books lately, so I am looking forward to something fast and exciting. I am going to read this right away.

Review: The Lemon Cookbook

Ellen Jackson has produced the cookbook equivalent of a cheery bowl of lemons, The Lemon Cookbook: 50 Sweet & Savory Recipes to Brighten Every Meal. Everyone should have one on their kitchen counter.

This is not a big book, but it is perfect. Jackson, a classically trained pastry chef and food stylist, gets all the details right, from the bright, sunny cover, to the beautiful photographs and watercolor illustrations, to the selection of recipes.

The recipes are a reasonable mix of simple and more complex, with nothing too difficult for home cook. All try to have something a little novel to them, like charring the lemon for the chimichurri, adding parmesan and pepper to make a savory lemon biscotti, and using brown sugar in a meringue. The book could get by on its charm, but the recipes really do look good!

The Lemon Cookbook is my new Go To gift for weekend visits, new kitchens, house warmings, wedding showers, and for everyone living in a sunny climate with a lemon tree in their backyard. Yes, Mom and Dad, I mean you.

OTHER REVIEWS

The Oregonian

If you would like your review of The Lemon Cookbook listed here, please leave a  comment with a link and I will list it.

Book Beginning: At the Hearth of the Crossed Races

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

In the summer of 1851, the French traveler Pierre Fournier de Saint Amant visited the Oregon Territory, spending several weeks with French-Indian families living in a corner of the Willamette Valley known as French Prairie.

At the Hearth of the Crossed Races: A French-Indian Community in Nineteenth-Century Oregon, 1812-1859 by Melinda Marie Jette.

Jette takes a new look at the role of French-Canadian fur trappers, the French-Indian families they created, and their indigenous kin in colonizing the Pacific Northwest,  She re-examines the traditional history of the region that puts Anglo-American settlers at the center of the story, focusing on the 47 years from 1812, when the Kalapuyans first had direct contact with Euro-Americans, and 1859, when Oregon became a state.