October - Loss

We've all heard the quote, or misquote perhaps, In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. To be argumentative, I don't think that covers the bases. So here is my edit: In this world nothing can be said to be certain except loss.

Loss can be tangible or not, personal or universal. Loss of love, loss of fortune, loss of memory and loss of ships at sea. It could be a long, long list. When I think of critical loss in my time and place I think of loss of environment and loss of civility.

I'm sure most of us will have a plethora of titles, both fiction and nonfiction, on our shelves or wishlist that will qualify. Choose whatever appeals to you and let us know what the loss was when you post your completion. I hope you find something good and if a few tears are shed, well, crying over a book can be a beautiful thing!

wiki: http://www.librarything.com/topic/311219

I'm going to read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. This is nonfiction and covers the period of time Abbey worked three seasons as a park ranger in southwestern Utah. It was published in 1964 and is considered a classic in environmental literature.

Couldn't find the book I wanted, to I will read The Lost Journal. Don't really know what it is about; but guess I will find out!

I am planning on reading The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar which is a dual time-line story about 2 girls caught up in the turmoil and tragedy of war-torn Syria both today and in the past.

I have wanted to read this book for a long time, so I’ve chosen A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.

Time Travelers Wife Yes its a love story with time travel, and has some holes you could drive a train through, but the premise is dealing with loss in a very profound way. I was sobbing when I first finished it, then turned right around and reread it.

A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, her account of the death of her husband and daughter. Incredibly moving by one of the master writers of our time. I had the good fortune of seeing this adapted for the theatre, with Vanessa Redgrave starring as Didion.

I read The Lost Journal by Chris Blewitt A secret document is hidden during the Revolutionary War and surfaces some 200+ year later. More than 1 person wants to get their hands on their journal and not all for good intentions. A good read, seems the storyline is familiar, but I know that I haven't read this book before. 299 pages 3 stars

Marcus is wounded during an attack on his fort during his first command and invalided out of the legions in The eagle of the Ninth. A secret mission takes him to Caledonia, searching for the lost eagle of his father's legion which vanished beyond the wall, and teaches him to accept his new life.

Loss? I checked out a tag-mash on loss,fiction for books I've already got and might even do some rereading rather than Mount TBR. For a real quickie there's The Velveteen Rabbit and I may do one of my periodic rereads of Wuthering Heights. From unread TBRs I've got Marilynne Robinson, such as Housekeeping and Gilead that I'd been thinking of for my own Philosophy and Religion theme a couple months ago.

It's just that I've gotten so wrapped up in one of the Democratic presidential campaigns that I haven't left myself the time for a lot of reading.

Im trying to think of titles re loss of culture, loss of community , loss of mobility, speech......nothing coming to me yet

Currently reading Autumn Light, which really fits this theme to a T. Lovely writing and descriptions, a look at life and loss and how we try to hold on to what we are leaving behind.

This month I was struggling a to find an appropriate book. I started rereading The Handmaid's Tale and it dawned on me the story fits this theme with loss of freedom, loss of personal identity, loss of rights, etc.

"To Dance with the White Dog" by Terry Kay fits this category--emotional without being sappy.

I usually like to find something nonfiction + history related (ideally on my tbr), but I had some trouble.

So, I have a couple others. This first one is fictional, but WWII during the Blitz in London, so plenty of loss to go around. I may or may not get to the other one.

All Clear / Connie Willis
4 stars

In this continuation of “Blackout”, it picks up exactly where the first book leaves off.
******POSSIBLE SPOILERS for “Blackout”******

Eileen, Polly and Mike have found each other in London in 1941 during the Blitz. They are still trying to figure out how to get back home to 2060, since their drops won’t open.
******END POSSIBLE SPOILERS******
It is coming close to the time where Polly won’t know where and when the bombs are landing, and after that, things will be far more dangerous for them. In addition, Polly has a deadline. One of her earlier assignments had her travel back to VE-Day in 1945, so her 1941 self has to be gone so there is no overlap.

It has only been a couple of months, I think, since I read “Blackout”, so the events weren’t too far away in my head. However, the first 1/3 of the book or so wasn’t as interesting as it got to be later in the book. Have to admit, for how much I disliked Alf and Binnie, they were some good comic relief, at times! Still loved Sir Godfrey. I liked how the book wrapped up, though I was still left with one question from one hint of something at the very end, so I’m not quite sure I understood that one little bit. Didn’t like this one quite as much as the first, though. Still, overall, really liked it.

>10 cindydavid4: How about something by Lisa Genova? I just finished reading (a week or two ago) Every Note Played (about ALS). Of course, her others could fit, too, degenerative diseases.

>15 LibraryCin: I've been thinking about Still Alice ever since I saw your review of Every Note Played. So many books, so little time as usual! Thanks for the suggestions.

>16 beebeereads: Going on memory, but "Still Alice" may have been a 5 star read for me (as, I think, it was for many others!).

I just finished A Long Way Gone:Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. Beautifully written. Horrifying and heart-breaking.

I have completed my read of The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukyadar but unfortunately I wasn't all that taken with it. There were two timelines and I much preferred the modern times that dealt with a family that, after years of living in the U.S., returned to their homeland of Syria only to have their house destroyed in the bombing and found themselves homeless. I think this must have been a YA book as both story lines were quite simplistic.

ETA: I wrote the above before I was finished with the book and now I have to say that I totally changed my mind about the book. The deeper I got into the story the more engrossed I became. I did prefer the more contemporary time line but this coming of age story did totally grow on me.

Just finished Washington Black where one of the dominant themes is loss. I did not choose it for this cat, but it qualifies for sure. The story begins in 1830 at a sugar plantation. The main character is a child slave. He is swooped away from the plantation to a life of struggle and adventure which involves loss at every level. I found the writing stunningly descriptive and the story line compelling despite the brutal depiction of physical violence and psychological distress.
Four Stars for me.

The November thread is up at https://www.librarything.com/topic/311888

I've finished Where the Light Enters by Jill Biden. It deals with a number of losses, particularly by death. Jill married the widower Joe Biden who had lost his first wife and daughter in an auto accident; he wanted to remarry partly so that his sons would have a mother. Ms. Biden mentions losing other family members and friends. The book ends with the brain cancer death of Beau Biden, their oldest son. (Although Ms. Biden was not the birth mother of Joe's two sons, the family never used the word "step.")

>20 beebeereads: - I also read Washington Black this month and agree that it was a very good read.

I finished Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. The book is set in 1990s Papua New Guinea during civil war and is told through the eyes of young native islander Matilda. She loses her mother and her teacher, but gains the power of story and memory through Charles Dickens and Great Expectations. A short but very powerful book.

I have read Die Gleichung des Lebens about the draining of the moors of the Oder River in the 1740s-1750s and the subsequent environmental changes, which destroyed the fishing communities in the area.

I have completed Desert Solitaire by environmentalist Edward Abbey. Although first published in 1968 it is still relevant today, 4.5*.

I encountered the theme of loss in several books this month:

Navigating Early, Clare Vanderpool (mother)
The Red Door, Charles Todd (child and husband)
Uniform Justice, Donna Leon (son)
Varina, Charles Frazier (children, ideals, confederacy)
The Witch Elm, Tana French (innocence, uncle)
The Witchcraft of Salem Village, Shirley Jackson (lives of unjustly accused)
The Woman Who Waited, Andreï Makine (awaiting soldier who didn't return)

Thanks to all who participated, I hope October was a good reading month for you!

The generation after the First World War is often called the lost generation so I read a book about life for those who came of age in the ‘20s, Bright Young Things: A Modern Guide to the Roaring Twenties. It was all about the what the bright young things were into, like saying and cocktails and things they did to pass the time. Great tips if you were thinking of throwing a party with a ‘20s theme.