Catching up with some great books

Since the last time I posted anything other than that last brief note, I have read five and two-thirds books and gone on a great trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, so I have a lot to talk about. Unfortunately, I have a lousy memory, so my recollection of the books I read, other than the one I finished yesterday, is not great. On the other hand (an editor told me never to say that if you haven’t previously said “on the one hand,” but I’m feeling rebellious today) maybe there is something to be said about those images and ideas that stick with you over time.

I’ll start with the two of the best books I’ve read recently. I loved Saturday, by Ian McEwen. Like his previous novel, Atonement, Saturday has a long leisurely build-up to a really compelling story. I can imagine that some people will get frustrated at the slow pace, but I find McEwen’s writing so precise and beautiful that I want to keep reading. The action takes place over one day in the life of a neurosurgeon in London who is deeply in love with his wife and children. That alone would have made me like this book. McEwen draws wonderfully complex and multidimensional characters (well, really only the main character is fully developed in this book) and presents morally complex issues in a manner that is both powerful and at the same time, restrained. He also draws both art and science into the book, whihc makes for a fascinating and satisfying read.

The next book I read would be a candidate for my “best books of all time” list, if I had one. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer gives us one of the most memorable characters in literature. Not that I am qualified to make a statement like that since I haven’t read most of the world’s great works, but my guess is that it would be hard to find a more memorable character than Oskar Schell. He reminded me a lot of Owen Meany in John Irving’s wonderful A Prayer for Owen Meany. The story revolves around the death of Oskar’s father who was killed on September 11 at the World Trade Center. As Oskar tries to make some sense of this incomprehensible event in his life, we are introduced to a host of other memorable characters. Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother give him space and protection to seek answers to his questions. Woven into the story of the horror of September 11 is the tragic story of the Dresden firebombing that left Oskar’s grandparents grappling for sanity in an insane world. But while these stories are heartbreaking, Foer tells them with such humor and humanity that you won’t want to put the book down.

I'll post again soon with comments about some of the other books I've read recently. I also never wrote about my trip to Santa Fe, which was wonderful. For five days, I hung out with a great group of science writers and was reinspired about my craft. We had a field trip to Bandelier National Monument, which was really interesting and beautiful. To top the week off, Garrett came on Saturday and we had three wonderful days of exploring the area, looking at art, and eating great food. I love Santa Fe. You can see our unedited pictures pictures here and here.