"I Cannot Remember Much"...

"I cannot remember much, I cannot feel much. Maybe erasure is necessary. Maybe the human spirit defends itself as the body does, attacking infection, enveloping and destroying those malignancies that would otherwise consume us.”  -Tim O'Brien, "In The Lake of the Woods"

Most people know Tim O'Brien for his books about Vietnam. His most popular title is, "The Things They Carried", which is often required reading in high school. "In the Lake of the Woods", was an award-winner book when first released in 1994, but is now frequently overlooked and not commonly found on bookstore shelves. 

After discovering it, I ordered it in bulk to the bookstore where I work. I began hand-selling and recommending it to everyone. I needed other people to experience the book and discuss it with me. 

This novel is intense. Quick paced. Mystifying and horrific. 

The book takes place in 1986. Following the loss of a political election, John and Kathy Wade retreat to a cabin at Lake of the Woods to reflect on the past, dream of the future, and redefine their marriage. Soon after arriving, long-time secrets resurface and tensions build. Then Kathy disappears. 

The novel goes back and forth between evidence and hypothesis, as an unnamed narrator tries to piece together a terrifying mystery. 

Ultimately the book questions obsession, love, and memory. 

I can't tell you anymore. I refuse to ruin it for you. So quick--- Read it!  Let's talk about it. 

"And So We Beat On..."

The Great Gatsby was F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book. He declared it would be, "something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned". This jazz age story speaks of greed and money. Ambition and defeat. The ceaseless desire to attain the American dream at any cost.

It also tells the love story of Jay Gatsby. A man who once loved a beautiful woman. A woman who would not wait for him. Though completely unattainable, he spends a summer trying to win back her love. Flaunting his wealth. Driven to win back the woman he once lost. 

Heartbreaking. Tragic. Full of melancholia:

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." 

Impossible to forget. 

And that is exactly why it is one of the top books on my list. 

If you have not read it--- you will want to. It is being adapted for the big screen again. Director Baz Luhrmann (Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge) is taking his own stunning approach to this classic. 

I absolutely judge books by their covers and my favorite for "The Great Gatsby" is the one pictured. It is designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. She's a talented cover designer that works in-house for Penguin. 

Are you a Gatsby fan? Love it or hate it? Going to re-read in preparation for the movie?