Don't you hate when a really good book comes to an end? It can bring a short separation anxiety when the characters' story is ending and I are returning from some corner of the world that I have been magically transported to for a brief time. The book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, was co-authored by the late, Mary Ann Shaffer and her neice, children's author, Annie Barrows. The historical novel is a glimpse of a community that lived on the British Isle of Guernsey during Nazi occupation. The events are heart warming, and humorous, and cleverly unfolds through letters between the characters. Immersed in the character's lives, I had to remind myself that this was fiction. Usually I have two or three books around at the same time, so that when I find the great story I have been involved in is over, a new one is there to take its place. The trick is to find the next good one.
As I perused the library shelves, my eye caught my next read, Honolulu, Alan Brennert, a longer read, if you are wondering, but I was transported from the the first few pages. Four young Korean picture brides have left their families and their homes for the promise of rich, handsome husbands in a paradise called Hawaii. Of coarse, their arrival is met with many surprises and disappointments. The predjudices, traditions, and womens' roles as told from the eyes of Jin, the brave, resourceful lead character really drew me in and when it was over, the reader "let down". :) Now I'm off to find new titles, any suggestions???
