Names on a Map: A Novel by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I must have a thing for novels set in the 60's this year. First My Revolutions and now Names on a Map: A Novel. Names is the story of one week in 1967 that brings momentous change to the Espejo family. When a draft notice is delivered to the oldest son, Gustavo, he is forced to chose between disappointing his father and following his conscience. Mirroring the turmoil that infects El Paso and the nation, each family member's reaction to this event shapes the story of their lives. The alternating viewpoints give you a complete picture of each family member and the why the decision each makes has such an impact on the character and the family.

Novels written by poets almost always make me happy. I love stopping and looking out the window at the green, sunlit world (assuming it is out there) and thinking about a beautiful turn of phrase or a stunning description. Some days that is really all I need to have a worthwhile day.

After This by Alice McDermott

Hope I make sense tonight. I think I might be coming down with something because I feel a little woozy. Luckily, at work, no one has needed me to be particularly knowledgeable tonight. If there are glaring errors or nonsensical statements I will go back and fix them when I feel better.

Alice McDermott specializes in Irish-American-Catholic suburban life and is a National Book Award winner for her novel Charming Billy.

By the age of thirty Mary was not expected to marry, having settled into life taking care of her father and brother. But contrary to all expectations, the spinster meets and charms John, a war veteran. This novel follows John and Mary Keane and their children through courtship, raising children and enduring loss. When their eldest child goes to Vietnam and never returns the entire family is profoundly affected and it shapes the texture and direction of their lives (and the novel) forever.

I usually like quiet novels but for some reason I could not lose myself in the quietness of these people's lives. Part of the appeal of the quiet novel (for me) is the ability to become a part of the novel not just an onlooker and I could not quite get there with this book. Still it was beautifully written and in a different mood it might have had a profound impact on me.

Oddly enough, the small vignette that I particularly liked takes place as a priest and a pianist are waiting for the daughter's bridal party to arrive and has very little to do with the family and the rest of the novel. The priest is listening to the pianist, a student a Julliard, and thinks "and then there was a kid like this, who played in a trance......not the engine for the instrument but a conduit for some music that was already there, that had always been there, apprehensible, inscrutable, really, something just beyond the shell of earth and sky that had always been there and that needed only this boy, a boy like this, to bring it, briefly, briefly, to his untrained ear."

Isn't that what we all hope for every time we hear someone sing or play an instrument? I have heard that kind of music maybe twice in my life but am always hoping for the next performance to hear it again. Don't get me wrong, I have heard some wonderful musicians with beautiful voices, technique, etc... but only two that have transcended the composition and soared above that to achieve something extraordinary.

Night, Fish and Charlie Parker by Phan Nhien Hao

I believe I have said before that poetry is not my strong suit. The book Night, Fish and Charlie Parker is a work by Vietnamese surrealist author Phan Nhien Hao. Because this poet is in exile his work deals with the effects of the war and the immigrant life. He is currently living in Los Angeles.

This volume feels a little uneven to me. There are some really interesting pieces in the book but also some that are a bit weak. Because this is not my specialty I have asked a couple of poetry professors to take a look and give me their feedback as well.