Ponder Post: Etta and Otto and Russell and James

Why did I pick this book to read? The topic was about an 83-year old women who sets out to walk 3,232 km eastward from rural Canada to see the ocean. It is an impulsive, gutsy move that piqued my curiosity. Also, having just returned from Montreal, I thought I would continue my Canadian immersion. I found out about Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (2015) from my daughter-in-law who had recently completed it as one of her book club's selections. I asked her if she liked it and was bemused by her response. "Yes, I did like it. It's a very quick read, so even if you don't like it, you won't spend much time not liking it. But I think you'll like it." (C.C. 10/19/16)

So the burning question is: "Did I like it?" My initial knee jerk response was, "Hell, No."

Upon further pondering I waffled toward the very wishy-washy opinion, "It depends."  But my daughter-in-law was right. I did not spend a lot of time "not liking" it.

I try not to read the reviews on books before I write my post. What I say really should be what I think and not be swayed by what others have voiced. But I had so many questions after finishing this book I could not just chalk it up as a turkey. Texting my daughter-in-law I learned that most of those very same questions had been raised in her bookclub discussions. Still avoiding reading reviews I sought out a reading group guide by the publisher Simon and Schuster. I was drawn in reading the discussion topics. I asked myself this, "Can a book that is this thought-provoking really be that bad?"

Etta and Otto and Russel and James had war, gore, hardship, injury, poverty, dementia, aging, maiming, and illiteracy in the novel although they were addressed in a very vague and non-graphic way. Alongside these negative topics was the quiet strength of love, fidelity, family bonds, determination, and acceptance but these traits were also subliminally conveyed between the lines of text. The book was written with quotes absent for spoken words; hand-penned letters were often the vehicle for tempered thoughts of the main characters. This punctuation style contributed to an almost stream of consciousness technique that is often used to convey a mood but is commonly very blurred on facts. I prefer something crisper and cleaner but I really do need to give Emma Hooper credit for being able to convey all the positives and negatives I listed above with such a watercolor (think Monet) narrative form rather than a crisp ink-pen (think Wysocki) grammatically edited text.

Finally I gave in and looked at the reviews on Amazon. Those fours stars are an average but customer reviewers either loved it or panned it. Even those who panned it though, could not help asking questions and digging deeper. It's high rating in Magical Realism tells you a bit about the writing style.

So, bottom line, would I recommend reading this book? It depends on what you want to get out of your reading. 

• Is it to get a good discussion group and topic going? By all means this is the book for you. 
• Is it thought-provocation and puzzling you are after? This choice is a good contender. 
• Is it light entertainment? I would not recommend this book. I like something with a happier tone. 

Etta and Otto and Russel and James is not among my first choices for a good read but I cannot call it a waste of time either. If forced into a one parameter metric I would give it three stars. Perhaps I have sparked your interest. Remember, "... even if you don't like it, you won't spend much time not liking it..."