On one of my father's hospital stays, a cousin visited him while I was also in his room. I'd known her all my life, but I'd never had a conversation wOn one of my father's hospital stays, a cousin visited him while I was also in his room. I'd known her all my life, but I'd never had a conversation with her beyond the basic small talk. It wasn't long before my father and his cousin began to go down memory lane talking about what they remembered of grandparents and great-grandparents and childhood escapades. I hadn't known any of this before, and I sat there totally captivated, not wanting them to stop even when visiting hours were over. Reading Delaney's People brought that experience back to me. I believe there is a wealth of information handed down from generation to generation in families that is invaluable if only people realized it and appointed someone in the family as the scribe for each new generation that comes along.
Beth Duke has written the story of a family in Delaney's People by using the short story form and then putting all those small stories together to form a narrative that is interesting, clever, heartwarming, as well as heartbreaking. It all begins with Maggie who is in awe of her great-granddaughter, Delaney. Before too long I, too, was charmed by Delaney as she wound her way through past and present as a composite of what her family has become.
There's something for everyone in **Delaney's People**. There is no shortage of love, yes, but there's so much more than that. There's deceit, lies, jealousy, passion, murder, loyalty, betrayal, and at the bottom of it all, there's the unshakeable strength of family ties and the role women play in keeping a family connected to each other. One of the things I liked so much about this book was Duke's treatment of the men. They were not the afterthoughts men can often be in a book primarily about women. Duke lets the reader in on the thoughts, hopes, and desires her male character have, and then she weaves in the woman's touch, and often wisdom, that comes from the female point of view. While this book is not a marriage manual, the intent of the overall book seemed to me to be that marriage can be a partnership in which both the man and the woman bring the best of themselves to the situations and issues that confront them. Each of the characters learns a life lesson that helps them overcome both small and large obstacles.
For me, the character I loved most was Maggie. She begins the story by talking about her jewelry and how she acquired most of it. The memories she shared through those sequences were wonderfully nostalgic. Not only that, but Maggie came up with what I consider to be the most innovative use for oysters I've ever heard. I only wish I'd known about it 15 years ago. Reading about Maggie maturing through the years was a picture of what I think being a cornerstone in a family means. The most heartbreaking character for me was Dr. Rob Clarke. He was the hardest character for me to leave behind because his story was so touching, moving, and tragic.
But then, that's how all of Delaney's People are. They are the people who live next door to us who've all had their share of trials and troubles and yet manage, somehow, to survive whatever life throws their way. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don't or can't or just plain won't. As long as there's a strong base and some blood, sweat, and tears, we're all Delaney's People in the end. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy a very good story told in a unique way. It would make a great Holiday Gift for someone special on a list....more
Years ago I read Crossing California, also by Adam Langer. It wasn’t a bad book, and I did enjoy the writing for tThe Salinger Contract by Adam Langer
Years ago I read Crossing California, also by Adam Langer. It wasn’t a bad book, and I did enjoy the writing for the way Langer makes conversations and descriptions flow so easily on the pages. But in summing up the book, I felt at the end it was too dispassionate. My view was that Langer needed to express more in his characters so they would come across less wooden. The Salinger Contract has none of the qualities that I found distracting in CC. TSC took me by the hand from the very beginning and never let go until the very end. It was absorbing with its plot details, it had some twists and turns I never saw coming until Langer was ready for me to see what he was revealing, and, best of all, I wasn’t very far into the book before I realized I could NOT put it down. That’s my main criterion in judging the books I read. I always finish books I start, BUT is that rule an endurance test, or is it almost a chase to the end because I gotta know what this is all about? I was so engrossed in The Salinger Contract I finished it in one day. What’s more, I need to read it again. And probably again.
The story of The Salinger Contract is told by a narrator, but the basic story is not about him; at least, not at first. It begins with the narrator running into a man he remembers from the past, but he doesn’t remember their relationship as one that was as close and friendly as the other man, Conner Joyce, seems to think it was. However, after spending time with Conner, Langer, the narrator, begins to accept that he and Conner were the kind of buddies Conner implies they were. Langer believes the story Conner relates to him, and he comes to believe, as Conner keeps reassuring him, that he and he alone can help Conner with a problem that has grown way out of hand. All of this centers around recluse authors who wished to disappear from the face of the earth rather than deal with the attention and notoriety that goes with becoming famous; authors like Thomas Pynchon, Harper Lee, and J D Salinger. Conner Joyce has something in common with these authors, and it has caused great disruption in his life.this is why he turns to his good friend and buddy, Adam Langer.
There were some special features about TSC that, for me, were good touches. For instance, I loved that Langer named his daughters Ramona and Beatrice. I liked his use of names of well known authors. This gave the story more authenticity than if all the authors names were made up. I particularly enjoyed the way Langer layered his story. The reader is so flawlessly led down whatever trail Langer is following until he begins to sort things out more logically and realizes this may not be all as it appears to be. Add to that a pretty powerful ending, and The Salinger Contract is a book to be enjoyed more than once.
Langer has made me a fan with this book, and I will be looking for other books he’s written, only now when I read him, my perspective will be different. I have rated The Salinger Contract 5 Stars. I cannot wait to see what Langer does next.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for a review....more
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