I love reading. That is a fact. My siblings used to tease me that I even read the cereal boxes and that once engrossed in a book the sky could fall down and I would not even notice. Well, I guess that has continued and the feel of a good book will never be replaced by any kind of electrical device. But be that as it may, I have just finished reading two very interesting, albeit two very different books. One is The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and the other is Hanging by a Hair by Nancy E. Cohen.
The first, by Kline, is a wonderful tale of humanity, the good and the bad, the evil do-gooders who unintentionally cause a lot of pain and the sometimes wonderful things that happen as a result. It is very much akin in spirit to the saying and belief in Judaism that "Gam Zoo l'tovah" - even this is for the good. It is said when bad things happen and we cannot see nor understand why, why, why, something terrible would happen, but the belief is that somewhere along the line, even a hundred years later, there will be a good consequence and no one might even remember, but the belief is there. For example, the starvation period in the land of the Israelites, the family of Naomi moving to Moab, her son marrying Ruth who dies, the return to the land of the Israelites, Ruth marrying Boaz and down the line - the House of David, the royal house of the people of Israel.
But in any case, this is the based on fact story of one orphan train, a train full of orphans swept off the streets of NYC and out of the orphanages and placed helter skelter on a train headed out to the Midwest and West to place them, be it as adopted and beloved children or free labor to be brutalized by terrible people and conditions. The interactions and intertwinings of people, the melding of two different but similar stories, all contained in a well written novel make for good reading and a good feeling when the end is reached. It is available at any library and can be bought in trade sized paperback at any store selling books.
The other novel is one recommended to me by two good friends and even though it is not my style or preferred style, I picked it up at the library and read it. It is part of a small, as of now, series called A Bad Hair Day Mystery, written by an author who has previously written sci-fi and romance sci-fi series. There are returning characters and many people like to follow the growth of these characters just as they do in the wonderful novels of Daniel Silva or the stories written by Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy, even to a second generation of characters.
But what makes this mystery quite thought provoking and humorous at the same time is its content. There are certain characters with which we are very familiar. Set in a HOA community, we have the old guard, led by a gruff president who thinks he is special, allowed to break the rules when he wishes or wants to, but not anyone else, and certainly not his opposition, rules by intimidation, and newcomers who question all that has gone on and is going on, asking probing questions concerning budget items, by laws of the community and their rationality or relevance, who insist on getting answers and as one reads, one laughs and then goes - OOOH, sounds familiar! And the deep secrets that are being hidden, the iffy suspicious contracts that are signed only add to this feeling.Hmmm, wonder whether she ever lived in CV at WPB.
While not especially written in scintillating prose, there are some touching and some very humorous notes to be found here and a comforting feeling even, knowing that we are not alone in our battle, that others face the same obstacles and perseverance and determination is needed. However, I do have one reservation - I do not recommend following one character who decided that the only way to solve that person's issues was to kill the president. Nope, not here,folks, and do not jump to conclusions as to the identity of the killer.
Try both books. You will love the one and enjoy the second, a quicker and lighter read.
PS. Idjit, what names will you call this author? Guess the whole world is against you, huh?
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