A Congratulations and a May Recap

Woman Reading
by
Louai Kayyali

Well as everyone I am sure knows by now, American author Madeline Miller has won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Song of Achilles. Congratulations to her.

Although happy for Ms. Miller, I am disappointed that State of Wonder by Ann Patchett did not win. That book I have read and found it engaging. I read it in two gulps.

This is a short reading wrap-up for May:

Books read: A paltry 4
Books bought: 0 (could that be right?)
Still reading: Amenities of Book-Collecting by A. Edward Newton
Authors met: 0

Mr. Newton has enlightened me with essays on Mrs. Thrale, a good friend and benefactor of Dr. Samuel Johnson; Mr. William Godwin, the ridiculous philosopher (as Newton calls him) whose one claim to fame, besides being a rather contentious and unlikeable fellow, is being the father of Mary Wollstonecraft and father-in-law of Shelley; the origins and life of Temple Bar, the gateway into London; Mr. Trollope; and, James Boswell and his book about Dr. Johnson.

I have a new stack of book review magazines from The Professor across the street. And I have still not unpacked the bags of books bought on The Grand Southern Literary Tour.

Will I ever catch up?

State of Awe

"I don't know another story to match this," said Dr. Swenson, shaking her head.

I can only concur. The quote above comes on page 344 of Ann Patchett's State of Wonder. Just minutes ago, I finished the 353-page book having read it in two long gulps. And I have the insect bites to prove it. Or at least I feel as if I have been sucked on by Brazilian insects, bitten by snakes, suffered from fevers, and bathed in dirty and dangerous river water. Such is the intensity of Patchett's writing.

This is an incredible book. I am in a State of Awe.

State of Perplexity

I awoke this morning with the thought: I will begin reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I have owned the book for about a year now, I have been to Patchett's bookstore in Nashville, and Cornflower Books (the blog) reported that it is now out in paperback and that it has been shortlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize, the UK's only annual award for fiction written by a woman.

But then, trouble. I looked and looked for the book. I could picture the spine, but it was not on my shelves. I looked four different times. Had a book thief come in the night and stolen it away? I was in a State of Perplexity. And a bit depressed when I realized how many books were on my shelves that I owned but had not read. Some books I had forgotten I had. Some I wondered why I still had them. And others, I was so glad I had not given away in a fit of purging.

Finally, on the fifth go-round, after breakfast was eaten and two cups of coffee were drunk, I found the book. Maybe it was the coffee.

I am here to report that I am captivated. Swept away. After 150 pages I can feel the insect bites, the heat, and the lethargy of the city of Manaus, Brazil, South America. I won't go into plot or characters as they are discussed all over the book blogging world. I will save my report for a post upon finishing and digesting the book.

I will say that I love that it is a mystery although it isn't catalogued as one. I am constantly torn between reading quickly to find out what will happen next and reading slowly to savor the words.