Ponder Post: Three Authors, Three Books

If I only post about books I'd recommend then one might get the impression that I am batting 1000 for my selections. Not so! This post is about three books that were well written by highly acclaimed authors but that I would not want to be responsible for recommending because they were such downers. These were not bad books and I finished each of them; but, just as one cannot judge a book by its cover, neither should one judge potential enjoyment of a book by its author.

I would not recommend Summer Island by Kristin Hannah.

I usually love Kristin Hannah's works. I have read On Mystic Lake, Distant Shores, Home Front, Firefly Lane and liked them all. Maybe it is because I resented that the book reviews on Summer Island were misleading. Per Tulsa World – A fascinating story of love, healing, forgiveness, and renewal...certain to strike a chord in the hearts of mothers and daughters everywhere. Well, the chord it struck with me was discordant. It involves a dysfunctional family where a mother walks out on her two daughters and achieves a successful career. There is a bit of a mystery in why she does this and so I kept reading to see what the extenuating circumstances were; but I did not enjoy the unpleasant interactons between the mother and her two adult daughters. Characters were somewhat realistic but I did not like them.

Although I am not quite as harsh about this one, I also would not recommend Mercy by Jodi Picoult because it made me feel strangely ill at ease.

For me, Jodi Picoult is an uneven author but her books make you think. I liked My Sister's Keeper and Change of Heart but disliked a couple others by her. Her books typically address a controversial topic. In this book the topic was mercy killing but that was not forefront in my mind while reading. Mercy had a second underlying question, a bit of a twist on the commonly touted theme that in a successful marriage each person contributes more than 50% effort. Mercy claims in a marriage that love is not equal – that one partner loves the other one more. This made me uncomfortable in sort of a lose/lose way. I did not want to be the person who was loved less. Then I again I would feel guilty if I were the partner who loved less. This internal conflict nagged me throughout the book, distracting me from the euthanasia question at hand. I was uncomfortable while reading Mercy and for this reason would not recommend it. I will admit though... the opening chapter is GREAT!

I completed The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls. This book was a page turner but I would not recommend it because the environment is so depressing.

The author grew up extremely poor with well-meaning, highly intelligent, but somewhat mentally imbalanced, parents. She overcame her impoverished conditions to become a well-known author and I kept reading to find out, "however did she do it?". Knowing she triumphs over her adversities is uplifting in one sense, but being bombarded page after page with the hardships she endured because of not necessarily ill-spirited, but certainly incompetent, parents did not make for enjoyable reading. Her writing style was great and riveting and I am going to check out her other two books Half-Broke Horses and The Silver Star.