Mockingbird

Finished September 25

Mockingbird by Chuck Wendig

This is the second book in a series set around Miriam Black, a young woman with a strange ability, an independent spirit, and an empathetic streak. The first time she touches someone, she will see the moment of their death, including the day and time as well as details such as disease, accidents, and violent deaths. Recently she's been trying to pass as normal, living with a man she saved from his fate and working as a cashier at a grocery store. She wears gloves to prevent touching the customers and overwhelming herself. But it goes against her nature and one day her mask slips and she ends up touching someone at the store. She foresees that the woman will be violently killed by a man with a gun, in only a few moments. As much as she doesn't like the woman, this is not something she wants to happen, and she steps in to change fate again. 

When she has these visions of deaths, she often sees birds, usually a crow that seems to talk to her in her head, and we see birds appear in other scenes as well. I found this an interesting and key part to the novel, something to think about in a new way. There are also  chapters in the book called 'Interludes' where we see visions of people from Miriam's past, now dead, interacting with her. 

Afterward, she returns to the trailer she lives in with Louis, a long-distance trucker. She decides that she needs to move on, and begins a trek from Long Beach, New Jersey toward the rest of the continent. But she ends up sidetracked towards a girls boarding school, one for misfits and delinquents but offering academic excellence. There, she's agreed to a job, using her ability for a woman who fears her own death is near.

As Miriam finds more than she bargained for at the school, she knows she must step in to change fate again, rather than have young girls undergo horrible things. As Miriam relies on her instincts, Louis, and the birds that fly along with her, she takes the birds' warnings and tries to understand how to do what she feels she must. 

I really liked Miriam, her antisocial attitude, casual coarse language, and her perseverance. She's a woman who doesn't necessarily like what she feels she has to do, but does it anyway. She can't see her own death, but somehow doesn't fear it either. 

I've had this book on my shelf for a while and regret not picking it up sooner. I'll look for more in the series soon.  

Beyond Fate

Finished August 1
Beyond Fate: 2002 Massey Lectures by Margaret Visser

I thoroughly enjoyed this series of five lectures, which explored not only the idea of fate, but went far beyond that, touching on many other ideas including honour and goodness, guilt and shame, revenge and payment, forgiveness and trust. She uses examples from daily life and from history, and shows how the idea of fate has developed and changed over time. This is a series that really made me think about a lot of things including cultural differences.
I liked that each lecture fit my commute almost perfectly allowing me the time to think about the ideas presented before moving on to the next lecture.
There is insight and humour here and a lot of stuff to think about.

Canada

Finished July 4
Canada by Richard Ford

This novel is told by Dell Parsons, a man looking back at a few months fifty years earlier, where two actions changed his life. The opening lines tell us "First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later. The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister's lives on the courses they eventually followed. Nothing would make complete sense without that being told first."
So the first section of the book deals with the robbery, the situation his family was in at the time, his parents' personalities, his twin sister, Berner's personality, his own immaturity, and longing for a normal life. We seem them, outsiders in the two, partly due to his father's recent, lifelong army career, partly due to his mother's ethnicity and attitude, partly due to the small town culture of Great Falls, Montana at the time. Dell is small for his age, bookish, interested in chess and beekeeping, longing to begin high school in the fall. We see that Dell is a person things happen to for the most part, not a boy who takes action. The robbery uproots his whole world, and he begins again.
The next section of the book deals with the next few months of his life, in rural Saskatchewan. He lives at first in a mostly abandoned prairie town, in a shack with no running water. Later, when things turn colder and his shack is needed for other purposes, he lives in a small room in a hotel owned by the man who has provided for him. He works, tries to figure out his new life, and lets things happen to him again. It is during this time that he learns some life skills, and gains some maturity. He is in an odd situation, casually looked after by others who have no real interest in him. At the end of this, he moves on again, to a more normal life, one we don't get the details of.
The last, short section is in the present, looking back, telling us where he ended up and how, and what he makes of those earlier experiences.
This is the story of a life and shows that how one reacts to events is so important. As we see Dell's life, and the life of his sister Berner, we see how different reactions produced different outcomes. We see how Dell's acceptance of life and what it brings has brought him some measure of happiness in the end despite those earlier experiences.
A great book club book.

Faith

Finished December 14
God Is by David Adams Richards
This book examines faith, the ideas of good and evil, fate (although it doesn't call it that), and the forces that work on our lives. Using instances from his own life and experiences, the author takes on the idea of God's existence and those who argue against it.
I should say that my own religious background is Protestant, and although I was baptised as a child, I am not a regular churchgoer. But Richards addressed the issues that I have had with religion by talking about the sometimes disconnect between religious actions and faith. A lot of what he discusses here is stuff that I have thought but not been able to put into words.
This is a very interesting book, and certainly helped me to think about the issues he discusses in new ways. I recommend it.

Great Teen Novel

Finished February 14
Just In Case by Meg Rosoff
I was totally caught up in this great book. It starts with fifteen-year-old David Case rescuing his one-year-old brother Charlie from tumbling out a window and this incident drives David to recreate himself. He chooses the name Justin, and goes to a thrift shop for a whole new wardrobe. This is where he meets Agnes who helps pick his new look and is one of the new people he meets who has an impact on his life. Another is a new friend at school, Peter, who is smart and nice and provides a wise voice and support.
It is hard to describe the book as it is so very different from most novels. Most of the book is told from Justin's point of view, but we also see glimpses from Agnes, Peter, Charlie and other characters. Justin is also caught up in what he believe fate has in store for him, and fate has a voice as well. This is a great look at teenage angst and the sense that many teens have of being very caught up in themselves.