HUBRIS

I just finished "Rules of Civility' by Amor Towles.

Rules of Civility perfectly encapsulates a time and a place - New York City between the two World Wars - a time of jazz, hope and opportunity.  Two friend, Katey and Evey go out on New Years Eve in 1937 and chance to meet Tinker, a handsome young man in a $1,000 cashmere coat.  The story takes place in 1938, told from Katey's perspective.  Katey comes from modest means.  She starts out in the steno pool and through drive, determination and taking advantage of opportunity works her way up to an editorial job and and a place in the rarefied circle of the New York wealthy.  Evey comes from a well-to-do family in the mid-West but does not want to sit back and enjoy her family money on their terms.  The three become fast friends but when Evey is injured in an accident where Tinker was the driver, he casts his lot with her.

When I finished the book, I had a one-word thought - HUBRIS.

This book is beautifully written with smart, snappy dialogue and an intriguing plot.  I was put in mind of the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I would most certainly recommend this excellent novel.

419

This 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner deserved the win, in my opinion. Initially it seemed as though the book was four separate stories. Then slowly Ferguson wove the edges together. Four became three, three became two and finally all were blended seamlessly into one compelling tale.

Have you ever received this type of e-mail?

"Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help..."

What would happen if you didn't hit the "delete" button? This type of fraud is known as "419" after the section in the Nigerian Criminal Code that makes fraud illegal.

The book follows the story of Laura - a Canadian editor whose father has died under mysterious circumstances after answering one of these e-mails. There is a young woman wandering through the Sahara desert. There is Winston - a scammer who spends his days "working" the individuals who respond to his e-mails. Nnamdi is a young man from the Delta who comes to Lagos to be a mechanic. Throughout the book their stories start to entwine and we see how the lives of these four separate individuals join together.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

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VERMONT

A few weeks ago, my son Aaron arranged a family vacation in Vermont.  We all went - all five of the kids, their families and me.  Such a glorious vacation - hiking, playing games, swimming - just being together with people you love in a beautiful environment.

While I was there. I read this book

The author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns has done it again!  One family was forced to make a very difficult and painful decision - a decision that changed and shaped the lives of not just those directly involved but a wide circle of people around the globe.

The novel is told from many different perspectives and reads like a series of interconnected short stories.  At the centre of it all, however, is the story of Pari and her bother, Abdullah.  It begins with their separation, when their father was forced to sell one of his children to keep the rest of the family fed and housed (not a spoiler - it happens almost on the first page).  The book chronicles their lives and the lives of many others all somehow connected to one or the other of the siblings.

Khaled Hosseini has once again proved himself to be a storyteller who truly understands the people he writes about and the culture they are from.  While I didn't experience the exhaustion of reading a very emotionally charged book (like I did with the other two novels), this one has taken over as my favourite of the three books by the author.

I love the topic of  family as a central theme of books.  This one is a multigenerational family story. All the grand themes of life, of being human, can be found within family stories—love, grief, conflict, duty, sacrifice. And yet, they play out differently from family to family, as each has its own unique makeup, dynamics, and volatile antagonisms, grounded as they may be in affection. And so there are endless variations on the theme. Families are puzzles that take a lifetime to work out —or not, as often is the case.  It's interesting to explore how people within them try to connect, be it through love, duty, or circumstance.

Fitting, then, to read an excellent family story on an excellent family vacation.