A Stolen Life

Last week I finished Jaycee Dugard's A Stolen Life, an autobiographical tale of her kidnapping at age 11 and subsequent 18 year captivity. It was a disturbing book, of course, filled with true stories of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. So much of it reminded me of Room, except in this case, all the stories were true. It left me with a lot of questions about her captors and the justice system, particularly: Why was a man who had previously been convicted of multiple sexual offenses on minors, including a previous kidnapping, who was sentenced to a fifty year sentence, out on parole after 11 years? It also raised a lot of questions about substance abuse and the oversight of doctors' diagnosing and prescribing for mental illness, and not following their patients' closely or with any regularity.

Another aspect of the account that intrigued me was how it was written and published within two years of her finally gaining her freedom. While reading it, the book seemed very jumbled and confused, which I assume is because Ms. Dugard's memories and emotions associated with all of the events that happened to her are similarly jumbled and confused. I cannot imagine she has been able to process all 18 years of abuse, and that came across in the story. The end of the book is also reserved to her therapy process, in which, to me, she sounds falsely happy and bright. It seemed to me that no matter how fortunate she is to be rebuilding her life with her family, the process must be harder and more intense than she describes. It made me feel like the book was given a happy ending for the sake of its readers, when I really cannot imagine the long term emotional affects of her captivity have all been solved. I don't think that the level trauma she experienced can be cured, which is how it came across in the book. Certainly it can be mitigated, processed, and coped with, but the 180 she pulls from being traumatized and developmentally stunted upon release from captivity to being completely functional in just 2 years seems as though she is glossing over the long term affects of her trauma. Perhaps she is using this positive outlook as a coping mechanism. If she tells herself she is happy and emotionally healthy, she IS happy and emotionally healthy. Or maybe her therapist is truly performing miracles with her. Or maybe Ms. Dugard is a particularly resilient individual. It's certainly not for me to judge her experience. However, I wish that I had gotten more details about the recovery process in the book so that I could better understand how her healing process went. From my perspective, it doesn't sound as though she is being completely honest with the readers, and worse, it doesn't sound as though she is being completely honest with herself. I hope that in her recovery process she will be able to better process the negative emotions that arise, and not feel the need to always paint a bright and happy picture.

Obviously this book brings up a lot of questions and emotions in the reader. While I was unsatisfied with the ending and the rushed and confused quality of the book, I definitely would recommend it to any of the Madwomen - as long as they are up for a dark and disturbing read.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

It has been almost two months, but I still haven't recovered from finishing A Dance With Dragons. I know, I know, most of you are sick of hearing it right now, but I really do love the Song of Ice and Fire series. And since it's going to be at least another two to five years before the next one comes out, I'm kind of at a loss for how to fill the hole in my reading life left by these books. I wander aimlessly around Barnes & Noble, picking up and then just as quickly re-shelving possible replacements, and leaving with only a magazine or two for company. I surf Amazon.com listlessly without making a purchase. I feel a little like I've been dumped. George R.R. Martin is not my boyfriend anymore!

However, just as the scorned ex-girlfriend eventually recovers and hits the bars in search of a new and better man, I hit Barnes & Noble this past weekend with one mission: to find my rebound relationship. I swore up and down I would not leave the store without a book to read. After staring longingly at the Game of Thrones display, placed in the center of the entryway by some heartless B&N employee who clearly wanted to torture me, I began prowling the fiction shelves. Nothing. I circled back to the display. I was convinced. There wasn't a single book in the entire store worth reading if it wasn't set in Westeros. Mr. DeWinter sighed and left me for the nonfiction section. I wandered along behind him like a lost duckling. After about fifteen minutes of haphazardly radiating between George R.R. Martin and random shelves, I could tell Mr. DeWinter had about had enough. So I promised to make my last, desperate attempt to find something, so we could move on to our Five Guys lunch.

And there...in the middle of the shelves...there they stood like the kind-of-cute guy at the end of the bar at last call...the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. And at that moment, in a somewhat resigned manner, I knew they would be mine (mostly because they were of approximately the same size, heft, and binding as the Song of Ice and Fire books...pathetic, I know...and because there were at least four of them, so if I do like them, they'll keep me distracted for awhile).

And so, I brought my new boyfriend (err...books...) home with me. While not as good as my last boyfriend, they make a pretty decent rebound. A quick summary: While on a second honeymoon to Scotland with her husband whom she hasn't seen in about seven years due to WWII, Claire falls through some kind of portal in a fairy ring, and lands in the middle of a Jacobean rebellion in 18th century Scotland. Torn between her old life and the new one (of course there's a new and much more interesting man in the 18th century) Claire must decide where to spend her future.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for historical fiction, and the hint of fantasy and magic doesn't hurt either. Like most rebound relationships, this one may not be destined to last very long, as I'm not sure how Diana Gabaldon is going to keep up the plot for more than one or two books. But for now, it's distracting and enjoyable enough to get my mind off of GRRM (at least for a little while.)

RDeW

Books Re-Made into Movies

I spent a lovely afternoon at the movie theater today watching the movie-version of The Help. As with most movies based on books that I had previously read and loved, my feelings going into the theater were mixed. I was excited to dive back into a story that I thoroughly enjoyed, but at the same time dreaded that the movie would fall flat. Too many times I have been disappointed by films based on books. Either the adaptations stray too far from the original novel, crucial pieces of the plot are cut out, or character development is sacrificed for the whole plot to be squeezed into a 2 hour time slot.

However, the film version of The Help was as enjoyable as the hardcover version! In fact, this may actually be a movie that was, dare I say it, BETTER than the original novel. The visual scenes of the turmoil and racism in the movie were more powerful on a screen than in my mind's eye. The movie version made it more real for me. I was also very impressed by Emma Stone's dramatization of Skeeter. Her acting abilities shone through in this role, and it was good to see her in a more dramatic role than many of her previous roles in comedy.

I believe the majority of the Madwomen have read the book. So, are you planning on seeing the movie? What ruins film versions of books for you? Any reactions from those who may have seen the movie already?

Summer Vacation

I guess July was summer vacation for the Madwomen - not a single post. But that doesn't mean we weren't reading! Miss Havisham and I were so deep into the Game of Thrones series, we barely came up for air. I just finished A Dance with Dragons last week and I'm feeling a little bereft...I've been living in the world of Westeros for the two months and now I have to find something to take its place.

I'm thinking of a complete genre switch and some re-reading...maybe A Farewell to Arms...it has been 17 years since I first read it when I was 17. I can't remember what I loved about it, but I definitely remember loving it. And at one point, Miss H. and I had discussed a re-read of Gone with the Wind...anyone up for it?

The Distant Hours has me intrigued too. And Savannah's description of it recalls my impressions of The Remains of the Day, which has been on my "someday" list for about ten years now. Decisions, decisions...

What have the other Madwomen been up to?

The Distant Hours

I know I never write anything on here, but honestly I don't often read a book that I really like enough to share. Well, I am completely flumoxed and turned upside down by The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I can't think of another book more appropriate to a book club whose name includes "The Madwomen." It is so gothic. The three Blythe sisters are all madwomen in the attic, and almost literally so. This story has so many twists and turns, with each sister suffering her own heartbreak. Their stories are all layered and held together by their father, the author of a famous children's novel. The web of anguish also reaches out to affect the young girl who is evacuated to the castle from London during World War II. This in turn affects her own daughter. The Distant Hours shows how deeply parental misery may affect children and how the expectations of previous generations can really dictate how a life is lived, despite all efforts made towards normalcy and happiness.- Savannah

Fantasy for Adults?!?!?!

I admit it. I am a fantasy geek. I'm not quite sure how it started (probably with fairy tales) but I do know exactly when it blossomed into a full-on obsession: 9th grade. That summer I read The Once and Future King, and in September my teacher demonstrated incredible coolness when he forwent (is that a word?) The Odyssey in favor of The Fellowship of the Ring. And with that book I was lost...lost in a world of orcs and wizards and rings and quests. Since then, I have come to love all kinds of fantasy, medieval, and dystopian fiction, from The Hunger Games to The Death of Arthur, and even Beowulf...the Seamus Heaney version. But I haven't read any good, modern, adult fantasy in a long time. To be honest, modern adult fantasy kind of scares me. I mean, it is a little weird for grownups to be reading about wizards and warriors, heroes and princesses, dragons and demons...I feel like it's okay if it's a YA book or a classic, but the contemporary stuff is for the Dungeons and Dragons set, IMHO. Then I picked up Game of Thrones in Logan Airport a few weeks ago and have been lost in fantasy land ever since.

I can't speak to the new HBO show based on the series, but the books are incredibly compelling, if you're at all into fantasy. George RR Martin writes a little like Tolkein, a little like TH White, and a little like himself. My favorite part of the series is that there are about ten different main characters, and the chapters are told from alternating viewpoints. At first it was a little confusing to keep everyone straight, especially because as some main characters die, new ones take their place as narrators. But the technique keeps the story fast-paced and always interesting. I'm deep into book three of four, and I have trouble tearing myself out of the Seven Kingdoms. This is the kind of series that I can't wait to finish because I'm dying to know how it's resolved, but at the same time I dread the ending because it's going to take me forever to recover from the series and find something equally all-consuming to read. This series is so good that I would go so far as to say it could be the "gateway drug" for those reluctant fantasy readers. You know who you are...Harry Potter fans who have never ventured deeper into fantasy than Hogwarts...(I couldn't let this posting go without a jab at Harry Potter. I've actually gone soft on good old HP in my old age...I used to look down on HP fans with derision, but I do accept the value and renewed interest he has brought to the genre...plus I finally read the first chapter of the first book and it was actually pretty good.) If you're hesitant about fantasy, this series is written in a modern enough voice that it just might grab your interest.
Back to the dragons and kingslayers...
Rebecca

From India, With Love

A few months back we had a discussion about literary passions, and one Madwoman in particular divulged her secret love affair with novels set in historical India. One of the books on the subject she recommended was Beneath a Marble Sky, which I have recently begun to read. I am about half way through and about to start section 3 of 4 in the novel. I am beginning to enjoy it very much!

This is not a typical book I would pick out for myself if I were to browse the bookstore. While I enjoy historical fiction, I know next to nothing about historical India, so I was slightly afraid that I would be lost in the references in this book. Luckily, the book is a romance more than anything, with only general references to the politics and history of the time period, so its very easy to follow along. What I am enjoying most about the book is the author's skill at creating suspense. The main character keeps hinting that there is going to be some sort of treacherous event that happens, and I have a vague idea of what it may entail, but the plot keeps getting more and more involved, so it's keeping me guessing. I'm getting more and more drawn into the story, and I'm guessing I'll be able to finish it in the next few days. I'll post an update when I do!

Miss. H.