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In this memoir, the author shares what drives her writing. It's the compulsion to follow her endless curiosity to discover what lies beneath "ordinary" lives. Close scrutiny and asking the right questions lead her to subjects who turn out to be fascinating after all. Like the guy who was obsessed with orchids. The book, The Orchid Thief, was made into a movie, Adaptation, which featured Meryl Streep as Orlean herself. And in The Library Book, she celebrates all those unsung librarians in LA. She also shares personal history, like her early struggles to be recognized in the world of journalism, and her long, difficult marriage. (They've split but he's still her first and best reader.) Behind the scenes with Orlean is a joyride indeed.
When the protagonist, Olivia, spoke out against the misogyny of a fellow writer, her ghostwriting career was sandbagged. But Vince, who writes very dark books, has requested her services, and Olivia really needs the work. Her agent had no idea that Olivia was his daughter; she changed her name to get distance from the tragedy that still haunts the family. When Vince and his siblings Danny and Poppy were teenagers, those two were murdered but he survived. He was a suspect but had an alibi that held up in court. Why does he hire her? Ostensibly to get out his version of the story, but who knows what the underlying motivation might be. Olivia is forbidden access to others who were involved back then, but she does a surreptitious workaround, and the story of what actually happened that dreadful day finally emerges. Clark writes very good psychological thrillers with depth and nuance. I've now read all three of her books. Highly recommended.
In 2119, Thomas is on the trail of a poem written in 2014 by Francis Blundy. The poet read it at a very special birthday party for his second wife, Vivien, and supposedly there's only one extant copy. Obsessively, Thomas searches through archives from those who attended the fabled gathering, and a clever young girl decodes what might be geographic coordinates for locating said poem. Off Thomas goes to track it down, and what he discovers is shocking. Vivien’s first husband was Percy, an artist/carpenter whom she loved deeply until he declined severely with Alzheimer's, when caring for him utterly exhausted her. The last section of the book in which Vivien tells all really brings the story home. Very intriguing, especially with McEwan's vision of what our future life might be. (Not fun..., no surprise.)
I'm always drawn to books about how people deal with disability, and this one delivered in spades. In this riveting memoir, subtitled A Blind Life, just about the worst thing I can imagine happened to Josh. When he was 4, a schizophrenic neighbor flung a cup of sulfuric acid in his face. There went his sight, and his face. His long recovery was agonizing, but he had many things going for him: a very supportive family, an amazingly buoyant spirit, and a dynamite brain. Now he's a MacArthur fellow with a family, doing extraordinary work in providing access for other blind folk. In the book, written with a long-time journalist friend, he takes us through his adventuresome boyhood, rebellious adolescence, and then finding his way professionally and personally with great candor and humor. Not a trace of saccharine "inspiration," but greatly spirit lifting. Local setting—he lives in Berkeley.
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