A Backward Glance

Some of the ones I've read this year...

I wanted to write a bit about the books I’ve read this year. By the way, A Backward Glance, dear reader, is the name of Edith Wharton’s autobiography. And I thought that would be a fitting title to this post, since I’ve read quite a bit of Edith Wharton this year—The Custom of the Country, The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, and "Madame de Treymes." This year, I finally finished The Portrait of a Lady and read Washington Square (I’d like to read the latter novel again), both by Edith Wharton’s buddy Henry James. I read some excellent non-fiction—The Warmth of Other Suns, A Hope in the Unseen, and Call the Midwife. I read some books that I wish I’d read when I was much younger—Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. And I read some novels that I probably won’t pick up again—Snobs and Bonjour Tristesse. But, of all the books I've read this year, I think the one I like best of all is Maud Martha. It’s a short little book, but it’s full of life and beautiful language. I’ll probably be reading it again, sometime soon!

The Man of My Dreams

Breakfast of my dreams: bacon, egg & cheese on ciabatta

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Category: I’ve read this book twice before.

My thoughts: This seems to be the book that I like but no one else does. I’ve read reviews on Amazon, and some people are irritated with the main character. And she can definitely be irritating. But I like this book, and parts of it really resonate with me.

The Man of My Dreams is a coming-of-age story about Hannah Gavener. The story begins when Hannah is fourteen and is dealing with the fallout of her parents’ separation, following a very tense marriage (which makes for a tense upbringing for Hannah and her sister, Allison). Their household was dictated by their father’s sometimes crazy moods and because of this, Hannah has issues with men for years. The novel follows Hannah throughout college and her twenties. Those years can be awkward, and they are awkward for Hannah. But the girl doesn’t do herself any favors. There is one scene where she is going to a party in college for the first time with some friends—as she’s waiting for them, Hannah gets the urge to ditch her friends, slink away and go to bed. Instead of advancing, she wants to retreat into her comfort zone. Poor thing!

Hannah is on the lookout for the right guy. And in the process, she falls for Henry, a seemingly perfect guy who she meets while he’s dating Fig, Hannah’s enigmatic but flaky cousin. Fig is one of those really popular girls who you really want to be friends with, but who is almost pathologically self-absorbed. Fig provides an interesting foil to Hannah. I suppose I should point out that I found Fig to be the truly irritating character in this book.

Like I said before, parts of the book really resonate with me. There are moments in the book where I really related to Hannah, or I have, at some point, gotten the urge to do something Hannah did in the book. Hannah certainly isn’t a cheerful, upbeat character. I thought of her as being more like Rhoda Morgenstern than Mary Richards (I love classic television, okay?) Hannah certainly has self-destructive tendencies, but in the end, you definitely get the sense that she’s learned a little something.

Great passage (which reflects how a lot of people feel—sometimes we forget about the inner lives of others…or that they have inner lives at all): Fig is regarding her with both curiosity and confusion. Perhaps, unprecedentedly, Fig is entertaining the thought that Hannah’s life contains its own dark corridors and mysterious doors.

Up next: I think I’m going to read The Newlyweds