In the Wake

I really like this little book. Only 202 pages. Written by Per Petterson, translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born.

Someone gave Arvid (the book star)a glass of Gin. He finds himself pounding on the door of a bookshop he worked in 3 years ago and doesn't how he got there or why his ribs hurt. That's where we start. As we follow him though his thought process we discover that his family were killed in a boat fire. Only a brother is left to him.

The journey of this story is how these two finally come to terms with their loss. It only took 6 years, the loss of both their marriages and pretty much everything else.

This book is beautifully written. It is erratic at first but as Arvid works things through the story becomes centered and thoughtful.

Ty counted to 10....and now I am it.

Ty tagged me a while back about what books I read. Sorry it has taken me soooo long to get to it, Ty. Here it is. Read it and weep. Or laugh. Or just shake your head in wonder.

1) A book that changed my life besides my ible:


This is a hard one because nothing has changed my life like the Bible. But...I guess I will go with Left to Tell, Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Immaculee Iliagiza. The faith that this woman has is a miracle.






2) A book I would like to take with me if I were stuck on a desert island: The Source, James Mitchner.



Ya I know. Lots of words lot of information. But....I love this book. It is all about God. At least it is to me. I read this at least once a year.




3) A book that made me laugh:


Anonymous Lawyer, Jeremy Blackman. A partner at a large law firm writes a blog.
Marley and Me, I laughed so hard reading this book. The antics of Marley are amazing. Even more amazing is they kept him. I must warn you, this book will also make you cry.




4) A book I wish had been written:
How to instill common sense in people. 'Nuff said.

5) A book I wish had never been written:
Books written by most radio talk show hosts. It isn't bad enough that they are on the air waves, they are polluting our shelves. I guess Clark Howard is ok though.

6) Books I have been meaning to read:
The Everlasting Man, JK Chesterton ; Tulia Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a small Texas town, Nate Blakeslee; A Morbid Taste for Bones, set in 1137 on the Welsh border, Ellis Peters.

7) Books I am currently reading:


My Bible, Blue Like Jazz, In the Grip of Grace, Corelli"s Mandolin, A & P, Medical Terminology, Ethics and Law, CPT2006 textbooks.








8) Book I finished reading last week:
Hmm... Anonymous Lawyer.

9) Books that are on my reading list:



Bodies and Souls, Isabel Vincent; Spook, Mary Roach; Stiff, Mary Roach; Maimondies, Sherwin Nuland; Losing my Mind, an intimate look at life with Alzheimers, Thomas De Baggio; The Man who mistook his wife for a hat, Oliver Sacks I could on and on...it is pretty much pick a book, any book.

When all hope is gone...Give up and die

So. There is a German, 4 Americans, and a Greek in Mexico on vacation. Nope not a joke, just a book I read called "The Ruins." The German speaks English, the Americans speak Spanish, the Greek speaks Greek. The German wants to find his missing brother. The brother left a note with a map saying he was going to visit some ruins with a women he met. So they all get together to go help find this guy and look at the ruins taking along some light rations. They find the ruins and climb the hill that is covered with vines. They also find no people but they do find tents and backpacks. The long and short of this tale is the 6 travelers figure out the vines are killers. They are very sneaky killers. These vines can reproduce human speech and sounds including a cell phone. That creates some havoc. Accidents start to happen, the Greek gets hurt and the vines decide to help themselves. One by one the vines manage to get them. They begin to realize that there are no rescuers coming, that they are indeed in trouble. They have no hope. Nothing to look for or towards. Utter despair. They start to discuss maybe praying, but no one believes in God. They all perish in despair, hopelessness.

As I was reading this tale I was thinking of this as an allegory for life. We find ourselves on a journey and think we are prepared but in reality we aren't. People, things around us, Satan seem to imitate things that are good. They aren't. They start to hurt us and then as we start to bleed they devour us. Just like the vines. But we don't have to die. We have been saved from the hungry vines. We will not perish in despair and hopelessness.