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| as you like it* |
Dear Bookclub,
Meeting at Piacere Mio* to discuss William Kent Krueger's "The River We Remember", seven of us stretched out at a long table establishing our presence. The challenge of having one conversation across this configuration became apparent and we just tried harder, talked louder and did our best. We were not unnoticed (hard to ignore) as a neighboring table stopped to chat on their way out. The threesome correctly identified us as being a bookclub - they were part of one too. Finding they were also familiar with William Kent Krueger, (one of them being from Minnesota), fueled our widening presence in volume, both auditory and physical. Yet the restaurant remained endeared and presented a most delicious panna cotta.
Meanwhile, back at the river, most of us enjoyed the mystery while a couple of us were not as enthralled. Richly drawn characters magnetized while the mounting number of characters confused. The descriptions of the Alabaster River and its power with analogies lent Krueger some poetic prowess. I hope he is done with this genre and gets back to writing with emotional intelligence, free of forced drama.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabaster |
Alabaster River is fictional in this novel, but the qualities of the mineral, a snow-white translucency in particular, grounded the reader to the magic of the river. As depicted in this Italian workshop above, the softness of the stone allows for a variety of definitions. Please peruse the Wikipedia page in preparation for our visit to Gem Institute.
My suggestions for an upcoming read:
"The Wager" David Grann *chosen
"Womb" Leah Hazard
"Grant and Twain" Mark Perry
Up next:
Happy reading,
LK
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