Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls

"Sometimes, after I finished a particularly good book, I had the urge to get the library card, find out who else had read the book, and track them down to talk about it."

-Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls, page 90

Pumpkin's in the oven making the smells that remind me of the busy week ahead.  So, to start it off, I think I must write about my latest book.  I just finished it a few days ago, so it is hot off the press, so to speak.

The quote above pretty much sums up my feelings when it comes to reading a good book.  I just have this urge to sit down and chew the fat with some other person who read what I just read and needs to process like I do all the thoughts, emotions and reactions I had to said book.  I am, when I am being honest, slightly disappointed in how many people in my life just aren't readers.  Different strokes for different folks, I know, but for goodness sake, talking about a good book is such a bonding experience.  It is like a window into another's soul. 

On that note, Jeannette Walls' second book is a lot like her first (The Glass Castle).  It is another story of passionate human spirit and in a way, a deep look at her own DNA.  And it is fascinating.  While The Glass Castle is the memoir of her own childhood, she names Half Broke Horses "a true life novel" about the life of her tough, hardworking, no nonsense grandmother, Lily Casey.  And here's the thing I loved:  it is Lily under the microscope, warts and all...yet, and for me the thing I love most about Wall's writing, there is a deep admiration for this woman which is balanced with a healthy look at her faults.  For instance, she pulls herself up by her bootstraps, makes her way up from almost no formal education to becoming a passionate teacher during the depression (performing almost a miracle in schedule juggling to get her degree at one point) yet, she can be mean...really mean, exacting corporal punishment on her daughter which really goes too far.  

This is a reminder to look at the whole person.  The sum of the parts is what elicits admiration, not the isolated incidents of human failings.  Wouldn't we all wish to have that gracious gift given to us?  To excuse the disappointing moments in favor of the beautiful composite.  

I recently went to the Guggenheim to see the most recent exhibit (on Kandinsky).  I noticed that the visitors there stood back as far as they could in order to study the works, only a very few got up close.  Actually, those who got too close, were shooed away by the museum guards.   You were SUPPOSED to stand away from the painting to take it all in, the purpose was the whole thing, not one part over another.  It was the whole painting that was the masterpiece. 

   

Kandinsky, Improvisation 28, 1912

After I read The Glass Castle, I was amazed at Walls' ability to take pretty much a story of an awful life, with looney parents and seemingly hopeless circumstances and imbue it with a sense of pride and loyalty in those parents and circumstances.  Don't get me wrong, when she writes in Half Broke Horses about her grandmother, she doesn't gloss over those bad decisions, but calls it like it is:  the good with the bad, and if I may extend the analogy even further, paints the whole picture.  

Well written, interesting and inspiring...what more could you want from a good story?  Now, I just have to hunt down someone else who's read it!

A Couple More Books about Food/Cooking

I must be hungry.

The Man Who Ate Everything and It Must Have Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten are both intriguing reads that have the added bonus of making you a whiz at food trivia.  What a deal!  I learned about how to make my own dog food, which bottled water tastes best (you'll just have to read the book to find out), why raw milk cheese is banned in the United States (and why he thinks that is ridiculous) and probably one of the biggest standouts:  Mr. Steingarten's pursuit of blood sausage.  I'll bet you just can't wait to read that!!

Also, I really have liked reading Ruth Reichl's books.  Ms. Reichl was the editor at Gourmet magazine for a while, and needless to say, a pretty influential force in the food world.  I have read Tender at the Bone which I liked best (the story of her childhood and entry into the food world) and also Garlic and Sapphires during which she writes about her time as a food critic for the New York Times.  

Scientific study has shown that reading about food is significantly less filling than eating food.  Although the dog ate my daughter's school book last week and he might beg to differ.