I just finished this book yesterday. I actually started it while I was on bedrest recovering from some minor surgery but never got around to finishing it. It was actually one of those books that I just couldn’t put down (and it is small enough to read in a day, for sure–if given your full concentration…) despite the fact that I did put it down and didn’t finish it until about a month after I started it. I really can’t say enough about it. I felt so strongly connected to the narratorin a way that has never been more aptly described than by the author Gayle Brandeis herself. She says that fiction allows us to “slip into others’ skin–to see through different eyes”. I think that is one of the key aspects of a book for me that makes it so memorable, so addictive…
As in the case of many of my other favorite books, I want to know the fate of the main character. I want to know what is going to happen because in that moment, when I am reading the book, I am the main character and I want to know my own fate. What will happen to me? Will my marriage survive? Will my kids understand the choices I had to make when they are older…? Am I doing the right thing?
Flan Parker lives in student housing on the campus of UC Riverside. Her husband is a Ph.D. student who seems to be floundering when it comes to finishing his dissertation and she has found a way to bring in extra income through self storage auctions. People who have fallen into arrears have their items auctioned off to people like flan who generally use the items to sell at flea markets, on e-bay, or in their resale shops. Flan is famous for her yardsales that keep the neighborhood of poor students in cookingware, clothing, and other household items…
One day, she finds a mysterious message in one of her storage units and it sets her off…two kids in tow…on a journey of both practical and personal discovery. Although she begins to find herself, her own personal inner strength and desire, it might come at great personal cost…
Ok, that’s about as ominous as I can get.
Overall, I give this book a big fat four stars. The only reason it isn’t five is because there seems to be a little bit of an undeveloped subplot. I feel there is so much more that could have been done with, Julia, one of the minor characters that, as it stands…she was almost unnecessary….She didn’t tie in terribly well, but it wouldn’t have taken much for her to completely evolve the story to a five star level.
I like your second paragraph. I, too, often feel this way when reading a good book, which I think is one big reason why I can’t/don’t read very much anymore. I just can’t take it like I used to.
I’m so glad that you agree! It’s hard to explain to someone if they have never felt that way about a book…I try to choose smaller books as a result of this sort of over involvement….they end sooner and are less disruptive to my life and relationship.