Muskrat Ramble

“Muskrat Ramble” (Sequel to “A Sparrow Alone”) by Mim Eichmann 311 pages

After I finished “A Sparrow Alone,” I hoped that Hannah’s life get better. While “Sparrow” wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I did come to care about the characters and was eager to see what would happen.

Author Eichmann pickups the story in 1913 after the African-American school Hannah founded in Kansas closes. Hannah and her daughter, Alice, move to New Orleans as job opportunities abound there, but mostly, Hannah wants to find Emma. There are only two people in the world who know that Emma is Hannah’s biological mother, while Alice is a rescue.  Hannah took and raised Alice after her biological mother died.

Emma is now thirteen years old. She has no idea who Hannah is. Emma is concerned with becoming a jazz singer. Jazz dominated this novel and the greats of the time were minor characters. People like Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, Sissieretta Jones, Honore Duetry and Jelly Roll Morton. The real person who was actually part of the novel was Edward “Kid” Ory. 

I’m sorry to say that this novel doesn’t feel like it was written by the same person. The style was completely different. It didn’t take long for me to not care about the characters any more when the storyline became redundant.  However, I had invested a lot of time with these people so I continued to read. I was dismayed when I reached one of the last chapters, at which time there was synopsis of what happened to the real folks, which was the most interesting part of the novel. 

The other, fictional, main characters lives were also explained, but the story read like a bunch of facts strung together.  And the final chapters read as if the author was tired of the story and wrapped it up. Therefore, “Muskrat Ramble” receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

The Way Life Should Be

The Way Life Should Be  by Christina Baker Kline    320 pages

Three things drew me to this novel. First, it takes place in Maine. I’ve always wanted to live on the coast of Maine; it’s just so darn beautiful. Second, sometimes when I reflect upon my life, I think, “This isn’t what I signed up for; this isn’t the way life was supposed to be.” The third reason is the author, Christina Baker Kline. After reading, and loving, Orphan Train and A Piece of the World, Kline is one of my favorite authors and I want to read all the books she has published. And just icing on the cake, the front cover blurb is from Caroline Leavitt, an author I’m just discovering. So I ask you, “How could I resist this novel?”

Angela Russo lives in New York City and is thirty-three years old. She is an event planner for one of the lesser-known museums. On her office bulletin board is a cutout magazine photo showing a cottage on the coast of Maine. It portrays such a simple life; the life Angela has always wanted.

With her love life is nonexistent, she decides to look into some internet dating sites. A profile name MaineCatch. He’s thirty-five, has ice-blue eyes and lives in Cushing, Maine. Angela spends more time mooning over MaineCatch than she does thinking about the big fundraising event she is planning for the museum. She has to go to Boston on business, and luckily, MaineCatch sails down to meet her. The sparks fly.

When the event goes horribly, horribly, horribly wrong, Angela is fired from her job. She decided to move north to be with her catch. Things go horribly, horribly wrong; seems she has misunderstood MaineCatch’s intentions.

Without a job to return to, Angela decides to stay in Cushing. She finds a little shack to rent that she can renovate, gets a job in a local coffee house, and begins to rebuild her life. The knack for the Italian cooking she learned from her grandmother rises to the surface.

The novel is written in first person, which I think helps add immediacy to the story while Kline’s scenic description have me longing to pack me bags and head Northeast. I was able to live vicariously through Angela. I could barely put this story down and I didn’t want it to end. I hope in the future Kline writes a follow-up novel. The Way Life Should Be 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Clever Girl

Clever Girl by Tessa Hadley
 252 Pages

This is the story of one woman's life, Stella, and how she changes as events and time mold her.  A slow paced yet strangely fascinating examination of a mundane life, the book examines the relationship between Mother and Daughter and men and women.