Book Review: The Shelter Cycle

The Shelter Cycle by Peter Rock was read for the May meeting of the Critical Era bookclub. We’ll also be speaking with Peter about this book at the end of the month. I’m certain, like what has happened for us so many times before, is that after discussing the book with the author, it will become something much more than initially realized after closing the final pages. For me, while the The Shelter Cycle  was very interesting, it still seemed quite unfinished and/or underdeveloped closing with a rather abrupt ending.

When this title was first circulated as the planned May selection and was accompanied by this book trailer, I think all of us at the Literary Hoarders were excited for it.

The Shelter Cycle is a fairly quick read, at only about 186 pages, and shares most of its story between Francine and Colville, two former members of the religious group/cult called the Church Universal and Triumphant.

Francine has completely distanced herself from the Church and we come by her pregnant with her first child and married to a man that has absolutely no idea of her former life and activities. Colville reappears in Francine’s life following the media frenzy surrounding the disappearance of a young girl living a few doors down from Francine and her husband, Wells.

Colville is Francine’s former best friend from the Church and the person whom she was told shared each other’s fate. When Colville bursts back into Francine’s life, she begins a rediscovery process and drives back to the shelter and pays a quick visit to the Messenger. The Messenger is obviously suffering from Alzheimer’s and speaks in circles to Francine. She does all of this without explaining it to or even letting Wells know. At the same time, Colville is also visiting the shelter, but is it during the same time as Francine? Colville seems to be returning to the Church’s teachings and lifestyle and preparing for his life inside the shelter on a more permanent basis.  He’s seeing visions, he’s hearing things, and someone from the Church is guiding him along his future path – are they really happening?

Then, Francine returns home to have her baby. Colville kidnaps the child believing she’s the next Messenger. Alas, this kidnapping is short-lived. Colville returns the baby. The end. I’m serious. That’s the end.

Quotes taken from Peter Rock’s website do describe the quirkiness found in The Shelter Cycle:

“Pete Rock is not a normal novelist — he simply refuses to tell a story that is predictable or that permits us to put it aside … Certain writers are so unnervingly original their work secedes from our shared world and makes up a world of its own. With The Shelter Cycle it’s clear that Pete Rock’s world is the most singular and wondrous of them all.” -Susan Choi

“Peter Rock is marvelous at revealing both the insightful strangeness and the madness erring on the outskirts of civilization, and at showing with great sympathy how quickly we can slip from one to the other. A wonderfully humane book about the weirdnesses that make up people’s pasts, and the way they persist into the present.” -Brian Evenson

I am in agreement here, The Shelter Cycle is not a predictable story, and there is indeed strangeness between the pages. I did enjoy reading it however, it is always a great read when exploring these vastly strange and weird cults or organized groups lamenting and preparing for the world’s end. It’s always surprising to see the power and hold over so many that one person can have. It’s surprising to see how many hundreds of people prepared for years to live underground and the magnitude of the project and building of the shelter. However, it still read as though it were unfinished and Francine and Colville remained very underdeveloped in my opinion. Their entwined fates remained disturbed and broken. The abrupt ending does no favours to the reader in discerning how it really ends for Colville and Francine. A good read. But not much more than that.

Book Review: Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter

Thanks so much to Anna at FSB Media and Weinstein Books for sending us a copy of Melissa Frances’ Autobiography – Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter. Melissa played the ADORABLE adopted daughter of Ma and Pa Ingalls on the 70′s hit TV show Little House on the Prairie– which was one of my all time favourite shows growing up.

My cousin and I were obsessed with anything to do with Little House when we were younger. The summer between Grade 4 and 5 we devoured Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 8 book Little House series, we would constantly quote lines from the TV show, discuss the differences between the books and the show and do elaborate drawings of scenes and characters from both. We loved it so much so I was super excited to read all about Melissa’s experiences with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert and fun tales of filming. Unfortunately Little House was a very small part of this book. Melissa (or Missy as she was called then) was only on the show at the end of the series so, if you are looking to find lots of Prairie dirt– don’t come here (apparently Allison Arngrim a.k.a. Nellie Olsen has some of the best tales in her book Confessions of a Prairie Bitch).

But that is not to say that this book was not an interesting read. Little House may have been Missy’s first big claim to fame but it was certainly not all she ever did. Even before her big break she was in countless commercials, made-for-TV movies and a bunch of TV shows. Her sister, Tiffany, was also in the biz– an extremely beautiful child who did mostly commercials and modelling. It was quite interesting to read that being pulled out of school to audition for roles was common place in the area of California where they lived. It was a normal thing for the Francis girls to spend hours driving to auditions with their stage mother from hell who was absolutely DESPERATE for at least one of her daughters to become famous.

This crazy-ass stage mom deservedly gets the full Mommy Dearest treatment and no doubt she was an awful person– there are countless tales of extreme mental abuse, confrontations galore and she basically robbed her children of every penny they ever made– but there are also indications that this woman was suffering from some kind of undiagnosed mental disorder (bipolar or schizophrenic). Missy certainly did not get off scott-free from her mother’s tirades but she certainly didn’t get it half as bad as her sister. Because Tiffany was less successful than Missy, both in acting and in life, their bully of a mother preyed on her more, crushing her already low self-esteem into dust which totally changed the path of her life. She did not do very well in school (Missy was a straight A student and eventually went to Harvard) and she got heavily involved in alcohol and drugs at a very early age.

Melissa is now a host on the Fox Business Network, happily married and a mother to 2 boys. She no longer has anything to do with her mother who seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. As much as this book was one giant hack on how terrible a person her mother was it also seems to be an homage to her sister. There seems to be a sense of underlying guilt for what eventually happened to Tiffany and this book provides an explanation as to why it happened. I also found it kind of funny that she thanks and stands by her dad with such love and affection when he just passively allowed the crazy-abusive behaviour and recklessly spending to take place. He did not stand up for his children and came off as a weakling who would, no doubt, go back to this woman should she ever resurface. This was not the most literate autobiography I have ever read but it was certainly interesting enough to keep you reading until the end. Best of luck Cassandra! 3 stars.

Mom had always been the queen of slamming down the phone. The sound of the handset crashing into the cradle a split second before a dial tone replaced her screaming voice. It was the perfect exclamation mark to whatever dramatic speech she’d just finished. Years ago, the proliferation of the cordless phone had robbed her of her of one of her dearest forms of expression.

Audiobook Review: An Inquiry into Love and Death

First off, thank you very much to Simone St. James for granting me the win of the paperback of An Inquiry into Love and Death. Once again, the cover knocks it out of the park and makes it so intriguing to want to read. I read St. James’ first novel The Haunting of Maddy Clare, and believe I spent as much time devouring the book as I did flipping back to look at the cover. However, An Inquiry into Love and Death came available in audio and thank you to Audiobook JukeBox and Blackstone Audio (Downpour) for allowing us the opportunity to listen.

The two covers below are for the paperback and the audio for An Inquiry… Both absolutely lovely. The third book cover is the one for The Haunting of Maddy Clare. I’m a sucker for great book covers and whomever is responsible for the design of Ms. St. James’ books deserves heaps of praise and awards.  And doesn’t the girl on the cover of the audio version look like Lady Mary Crawley? Love it!

      

My first discovery of St. James’ novels was when The Haunting of Maddy Clare was first out. Initially I was taken by the cover, and then I read that the book was something along the lines of “Maisie Dobbs – Ghost Hunter”. Really? Sign me up! And I did truly enjoy The Haunting of Maddy Clare. Great ghost story! Therefore, when the news came that another one was on its way, I was delighted. Then to win a copy? Giddy with glee.

There is one difference between the Maisie Dobbs or the Maggie Hope novels, (as they take place in between the WW eras), and it is that St. James’ adds romance to the storyline. Indeed, in The Haunting, there was a tad more of the bodice-ripping type romance writing than in the Maisie or Maggie stories.

However, in An Inquiry into Love and Death, the heavier parts seems to have been toned down considerably. At any rate, it is another top notch ghost story and mystery! I absolutely enjoyed every character, they were all wonderfully realized and distinct. The habitants of the village of Rothewell were interesting people to spend time with. Jillian herself, is a great heroine and I enjoyed every moment with her. Jillian does indeed find herself in some harrowing moments and adventures!

The story opens with Jillian being called to meet with the family’s lawyer while she’s in school at Oxford. This in itself is not the norm for young women of Jillian’s age in this time. And educated woman is frowned upon.  Now, it seems her Uncle Toby has met his demise in Rothewell and as her parents are far to busy and wrapped up in their own lives to settle his affairs, it is up to Jillian, to a.) identify the body and b.) pack all of his belongings and clear him out of the place he was renting.

It is the break from her studies, of which Jillian is quite serious about, that is most concerning to her, that being left with the settling of Uncle Toby’s belongings. Her Uncle has long held the frowned upon, not-taken-seriously-occupation of ghost hunting. He obviously must have been in this village to track a ghost. Jillian is set to do this for her Uncle however, as she has always been quite fond of him but has not been in touch with him in the past 5 years or so.

Jillian sets off to Rothwell and quickly discovers the ghost her uncle has been researching. “Walking John” has long haunted the house Toby has been living in and the woods around Blood Moon Bay. She also quickly learns that Toby’s death may not have been so accidental. Something more sinister than the local ghost is causing a great disturbance in Rothewell.

Enter, the tall, dark, extremely handsome (and young) Inspector Drew Merriken from Scotland Yard.

Jillian and Drew are powerfully and immediately attracted to one another and together they set out to solve the many secrets hidden deep in Rothewell. Jillian also makes important and life changing discoveries about herself, her identity and her family history.

Now, about the audiobook: Rosalyn Landor provides the narration. There is truly no denying that Landor has the most pleasant narrative voice. Her lilt and narration is top notch. However….I firmly stand by my belief that she was just not the right fit for this narration. Jillian is a young woman and immediately upon first listening to Jillian’s voice spoken by Landor I felt she sounded far too old and mature beyond her 22 years. And then…oh lord…then there were the male voices. Horrible. I’m sorry, they were. Drew Merriken is a young man that makes you weak in the knees when in his presence and his voice was that of an old, old stodgy man. Grit your teeth and speak in a lofty and Old stodgy voice and there you have the most frustrating voice of Inspector Merriken. It was so terrible that so many many times I considered ending the audio and picking up the book instead.  But, as the story progressed and the intensity of the situations increased, Landor improved giving more emotion to the narration. I stuck with it. I pushed through my annoyance (and deep frustration) at the male voices and just lost myself in Jillian’s adventures and discoveries. Overall, it is worth the listen, it was just a matter of bracing myself and becoming accustomed to the (terrible) male voices.

An Inquiry into Love and Death is another fantastic ghost story taking place in a favoured era to read about, with another fantastic heroine. This Literary Hoarder enjoyed this Simone St. James novel once again! I’m now looking forward to the third!

Audiobook Review: Bringing Mulligan Home

A heartfelt thank you to Audiobook Jukebox and HighBridge Audio for sharing this title with us. I have to say that I knew that Bringing Mulligan Home was a book that would share the Pacific war stories of the men of Love Company, but I didn’t realize how much it would affect me.

In his efforts to unearth what troubled his father about an old wartime photograph, author Dale Maharidge began a discovery process that would take 12 years. The photograph in question was of the author’s father, Sgt. Steve Maharidge, and fellow soldier Herman Mulligan. This item seemed to haunt the retired Veteran, but the reason for this was not clear. What resulted from the author’s quest to determine the source of his father’s pain was a narrative that offers readers a new glimpse of the Battle of Okinawa. By researching the stories of his father and Herman Mulligan, Dale Maharidge not only listened to the stories of many Veteran Marines, but he gave them the long overdue opportunity to share the high cost of war.

First, a little history for you regarding the fight on Okinawa, with thanks to Wikipedia:

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

The Battle of Okinawa was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland.

The battle has been referred to as the “typhoon of steel” in English, and tetsu no ame (“rain of steel”) or tetsu no bōfū (“violent wind of steel”) in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Japan lost over 100,000 soldiers, who were either killed, captured or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds. Simultaneously, tens of thousands of local civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender just weeks after the end of the fighting at Okinawa. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

To be a little more specific, there were 150,000 civilian deaths on Okinawa. There were over 12,000 U.S. soldier deaths. There were over 110,000 Japanese soldier deaths.

What becomes readily apparent in Bringing Mulligan Home is the gruesome ferocity of the battle. The fighting was relentless, as were the deaths. Too many of the men who were sent to fight were in their late teens. Too many of the men were asked to serve repeatedly. Too many soldiers on both sides of the fight lost their lives. Those who didn’t were either injured or affected in such damaging psychological ways that they would never be the same for their families.

And how in the world could these men have escaped mental scars? I listened in horror to men recounting their experiences on the battlefield. These men bore witness to atrocities that no one should have stored in their memories. Murder. Suicides. Children slain. Grenades being tossed into caves. Japanese soldiers using civilians as cover. Americans taking “souvenirs” from the battlefield, such as swords, pistols and gold teeth from their enemies. How can anyone emerge from such a situation in tact? More importantly, what is being done to support soldiers (past and present) when they return? Let’s be clear – war follows these people home.

The people who were faced with the forever-changed soldiers were those who the soldiers needed the most: their families. Dale Maharidge wanted to figure out why his father returned from World War II so angry. He wanted to determine what haunted him, and what followed him. By visiting surviving Veterans, the author not only peeled some of the layers of the story back, but he got some men talking who had never breathed a word about their experiences before. Some of these men can move you to tears. Some are heroes. One in particular, is not. Regardless, you can’t help but admire Dale Maharidge for his determination. 12 years is a long time to devote to the truth.

After recounting several stories from survivors, Bringing Mulligan Home then takes the time to share some of the experiences of the people of Okinawa. The author traveled to Okinawa to see some of the war sites first hand, and speak to various members of families of Japanese soldiers. Some of the people he met were actual survivors of the Battle, having only been children when the horrors of war took place. So many families had to flee their homes. So many were in grave danger by the hands of their own soldiers. The meetings were touching. The conversations were sincere. The sentiment radiated from both sides: no more war.

I learned a great deal about the Battle of Okinawa, albeit the author humbly advises that if we want to know more, there are a several sources that we can use. Personally, I think that hearing the stories of the men who were there does more for history than perusing a textbook. What I came away with after listening to this audiobook was a much greater understanding of the Battle, and of the soldiers. For that, I thank the author. His devotion to the truth was remarkable, and he was tireless in its pursuit. This book is the ultimate tribute to the soldiers who served.

The author notes at the end that it would take 100 years to get rid of all of the unexploded bombs that are still on Okinawa. He also notes that his narrative is a departure from a history text, as there is a marked difference between a written round-up of those who perished in war, and actually learning their stories. In Bringing Mulligan Home, Dale Maharidge does just that.

No more war.

This audiobook was narrated by Pete Larkin, and I found him to be the perfect choice. His character voices were distinct, and he breathed emotion into the book at every appropriate moment. He did the book terrific justice, and I would certainly look for his work again.

5 stars for Bringing Mulligan Home, and a special thanks to the author for this very special book. And a very special thanks to the men and women who risk everything when they serve.

Book Review: Pictures at an Exhibition

 Thank you to the author, Camilla Macpherson for sending this book to me! It came all the way from London! What a treat!

The start of every chapter of Pictures at an Exhibition comes with a QR-Code that you can scan and will take you directly to the painting from the National Gallery’s site and give you all the information about the painting and the artist. What a lovely touch! Alternatively, you can see each of the paintings on Camilla’s site here as well, which is how I viewed them. Her site is also so wonderfully designed around old letters and paintings. It’s really very nicely done. I love her “Contact” with the address written on an old letter with stamps and postmarks.

Pictures at an Exhibition is the story of Claire, and the affair that develops between her and a woman named Daisy, from reading Daisy’s war-time letters. These letters were originally written to Claire’s husband’s grandmother, Elizabeth. Daisy would write to Elizabeth at the start of each month detailing her life in London during WWII and of her monthly visits to the National Gallery. Each month the Gallery would hang one single picture and make it available to the public. Each month, Daisy would go to the Gallery, view the painting and write Elizabeth all about it, of her feelings about the painting and also about life in London, the city that Elizabeth has left when she wed her Canadian man.

Following Elizabeth’s passing, package containing these monthly letters arrives for her grandson, Rob. These letters arrive at a key turning point in Rob and Claire’s marriage. Just five months prior, Claire was expecting their first child, was quite along in her pregnancy when a terrible tragedy occurred, causing her to miscarry the child. Claire has named the baby Oliver and is overcome with grief at his loss. Utterly consumed with grief she cannot forgive her husband Rob, for he had made himself unavailable at this critical time for Claire. Indirectly, and perhaps directly, she blames Rob for the death of her unborn child and their marriage is crumbling from the weight of it.

Intrigued, Claire begins to read Daisy’s letters. They become the single source of happiness in Claire’s life. She takes it upon herself to read one letter each month and to go see the same painting at the National Gallery that Daisy has written to Elizabeth about. One day, Claire meets a dashing man at the Gallery, named Dominic, and quickly things begin to spiral out of control for Claire. She finds herself quite dependant upon Daisy, her growing affair with Dominic and the increasingy distance between her and Rob.

“‘I think I’ve let it mean too much, Rob. I’m sorry. I’ve thought of nothing else for months. It’s just that she was there for me, when I needed someone.’ It felt almost embarrassing, saying these things, admiting to what she felt for someone who had never really been there, whom she had never met, who had not even written the letters to her.”

However, as her life more and more begins to resemble Daisy’s, Claire also begins to realize her life is with Rob and forgiveness is long over-due. She slowly draws Rob back in to her life and shares the wonder and mystery about Daisy. Together they go to see the final paintings and work to uncover what happened to Daisy – did she survive the war? Did she marry her lover?

“Home now. Home to her husband and his familiar hands and arms and voice, home at last. Home for good.”

I enjoyed Pictures at an Exhibition, a lovely story all around. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Daisy’s letters alongside Claire, and while you may experience some fluster with Claire in the middle of the book with her crippling inability to move on, she does capture your heart and the story ends quite well. Thank you again to Camilla for sending it my way, much appreciated!

Here is one of the pieces of art that is written about in Pictures at an Exhibition. It is titled, “The Painter’s Daughter’s” by Gainsborough. (sorry, it is very small) You can however find out about it from the National Gallery’s archives here.

How My “Reading Schedule” is Progressing

Back near the end of March, I posted a new reading schedule for myself. This is a marvelously helpful tool that keeps me on target for reading the review copies provided, the book club picks and then the books where I can’t stop myself from putting on hold at the library.

So here were the books as listed in the March post that I was to read over the next coming months. The first five (5) below are the ones from the original list that I completed, or well, sort-of completed.

1. All this Talk of Love, by Christopher Castellani: Finished this one, loved this one, this was a very good read! My review can be found here.
2. LoveStar, by Andrei Snaer Magnason: This was for the Critical Era bookclub. Didn’t finish. Too out there for me. It was SciFi and again, it demonstrated why I have never been a fan. My “Did Not Finish” review is here.
3. Smoke Portrait, by Trilby Kent: This was an easy-going, comfortable kind of read. I enjoyed it. You can read my full thoughts on it here.
4. Studio Saint Ex, by Ania Szado: This one…it was just okay for me. It was a fictionalized account of the author of The Little Prince, his wife and his amour/muse/third wheel? It was a love triangle, but I found this triangle to be trivial. However, I will say Szado’s prose was a delight to read, just the overall impression of the book wasn’t anything that I was enamoured with. Full thoughts are here.
5. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler: The cover, oh so stunning, so striking! The story, for me, not as much. I was reading this while travelling for work, so I had plenty of time on planes and in hotels to read it, but I found that I had to put it away. I won’t be finishing it. Briefly, truth be told, I admittedly know nothing of Zelda Fitzgerald, but from reading Z, I see she was a well educated, born into an affluent Southern family, her father being a judge. Yet, Fowler’s Zelda came across as un-educated, extremely naive and her personality just didn’t seem to suit her upbringing? It was unfortunately not a story I wished to continue with, so I’ve put it away. It’s okay, it happens sometimes.

 

Now, from the original schedule, this still leaves the following books:

     

Geepers! That’s still a lot of books to finish! I’m currently reading (and enjoying so far) Pictures at an Exhibition. This was sent to me by the author, Camilla MacPherson and is about a woman that comes across letters written to her husband’s grandmother during WWII.

But, that must mean there were other books that popped up during this time, right? So, which did find their way in to my hands that had me deviating slightly from my schedule and not allowing me to get to those three other books listed above?

1.  This was the other book for the Critical Era bookclub. We also spoke with Teddy Wayne about The Love Song of Jonny Valentine. I had no plans to actually read this one, but I’m very glad I did. I was surprisingly sucked right in to this one and read it in no time! Teddy Wayne’s book club talk on the other hand left me wanting. One got the feeling he was felt far superior to us and the time spent talking to him about the book (that is soooooooooo much about Beiber but apparently “irks” Wayne when that comparison is made) left me not finding any charm or wit in Mr. Wayne. And, um, I’m sorry, but when you so thinly disguise Beiber’s life (right down to the hair, the girlfriend and the heart-shaped swing, etc, etc., for the list goes on and on) and demeaningly impress upon your readers it has nothing to do with him and that you find this so bothersome, you come across as a douche sir. Sorry, there it is. I couldn’t hold that opinion back any longer. But, overall, this was a very, very enjoyable read! You cannot deny that one. My review is here.
2.  Glow, by Jessica Maria Tuccelli came to us from Penguin/Viking to review and also to offer a giveaway on our site. I thought it only appropriate to read it while the giveaway was going on. Wow, this was an excellent read. This novel gave me no problem or guilt in deviating from the original reading schedule at all! You can read me gush about Glow here.
3.  All The Light There Was, by Nancy Kricorian was originally advanced to us by NetGalley. It came in as a PDF so I waited for it to come in from the library. Again, here’s another wonderful, wonderful book that had me deviate from my schedule, but gave me absolutely no guilt in doing so. This is a beautifully, emotionally and well-written story of an Armenian family surviving daily life in Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII. In particular, it is about Maral. She is a admirable heroine. I lovingly wrote of All The Light There Was here.

In terms of audiobooks, well I read a number of those during this time too. Here is the list and links to the reviews:

1. Frances and Bernard, by Carlene Bauer. Fabulous audiobook! Full thoughts here.
2. Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman. Unfortunately, this novel would be best appreciated in its book form. The audio did not encourage enjoyment of Maltman’s gorgeous prose. Link to review here.
3. Chanel Bonfire, by Wendy Lawless. Narrated by Wendy Lawless. A story at times far too close to home, but all very good! My thoughts here.

 Currently, I’m listening to An Inquiry into Love and Death by Simone St. James. I really enjoyed St. James’ first novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare. It is characterized as Maisie Dobbs meets Ghost Whisperer. Hello. I was all over it. Again, St. James takes us on a ghost-hunting adventure. I actually won An Inquiry into Love and Death from St. James’ website but when the audiobook came up, I went with that format instead. Unfortunately, all too often I’m left thinking I may have to switch over to the book format. Rosalyn Landor simply isn’t doing it for me here. Jillian is a young student at Oxford and Landor makes her sound as though she’s 42, and not the 22 she actually is. Also, I really, really, really cannot stand forced male voices. It completely denies me the ability to focus and listen to the story, rather, I’m too focussed on overcoming my frustration at an awfully read male voice. And, again, the dashing and handsome Inspector Merriken is a young man but under Landor, sounds like a 65-year-0ld stodgy fart.

So there you have it. This is how I’ve progressed so far in my reading schedule. Since then, more and oodles of books (wonderful, wonderful titles) have come in! I want to get to them all! But, I will still see myself to the end of this reading schedule first. Then, I can move on and get to all those other goodies!

Book Review: Astonished

Evil paid me a visit.

Prayer chased it away.

Beverly Donofrio

Warning: do not open this book unless you have an open heart.  If you’re in a cynical mood, best to leave this alone until you’re ready to be inspired by one woman’s spiritual journey.

If you’re ready, however, then Beverly Donofrio is offering her readers something precious.

Many thanks to Viking/Penguin Group for sending us a copy of Astonished; a book that I would describe as candid and inspiring.

In Astonished, Donofrio generously invites you in as she recounts how she was able to cope with life following her rape.  With faith, affection and yes, some humor, she shares the path she took to heal her soul.  Many of us don’t want to look.  We don’t want to hear about the violence of rape, or how women deal with its aftermath.  But Donofrio puts her arm around us, and tells us that we will be better off if we listen to the story of her pilgrimage.  She’s right.  And let me say right away, she’s wonderful.

In Driving In Cars With Boys (Hoarder confession – I did not read the book, but rather, saw the movie), Donofrio shares her experience as a teenage mother, and a young woman who must mature as she raises her son.  Despite her youth and dealing with the lost soul that was the boy’s father, Donofrio persevered and emerged from the experience stronger.  The story was raw and sweet, and the author’s honesty and humor radiated from the screen.

Astonished leaves a different impression.  In her mid-fifties, Donofrio was already exploring her faith, and was contemplating a cloistered religious life.  She was heading toward a change when a stranger turned things upside down.  In her own bedroom in her home in Mexico, the author was raped.  She certainly did not foresee being held at knife point.  She did not expect that the home she designed with such affection would be stripped of its safety because of the intrusion of one man. Somehow, however, she was able to fend her attacker off with prayer; it seemed to expel him from her home.  As it turned out, the man was a serial rapist, and had targeted many other women in the area for an extended period of time.  With the author’s help, he was caught.  But the rape propelled Donofrio to look for answers.  What, she thought, should she learn from it?  How can she overcome her fear?  Can she overcome it?

It’s difficult to summarize Donofrio’s journey, so I will not attempt to do so.  What I will say is that it was fascinating to observe her grappling with everything from fear to faith.  She visited five monasteries.  She went on retreats.  She spent time with her grandchildren.  She contemplated becoming a nun.  She took religious vows.

She wrestled with the existence of evil.

Since the rape, I am closer to God than I have ever been.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Since the rape, I am more frightened than I have ever been.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Beverly Donofrio

Rather than choosing to live in anger and despair because of what happened to her, the author sought solace.  She found strength in observing nature, and having heart-to-heart talks with others who had strong faith.  The fact that she was able to move forward while simultaneously embracing her vulnerability was remarkable. Donofrio is humble, intelligent and intensely grateful.  She proved that you can come out of a terrible situation more in tune with your own spirituality.

I don’t believe for a moment that Donofrio’s journey is complete, but I do thank her for sharing her wisdom.  4 stars for a touching memoir that brims with sincerity and love.  By opening her heart, she teaches us that forgiveness is not only possible, it’s necessary for the soul to heal.