Summer Reading

Talking to Strangers - by Malcolm Gladwell

The central question is how do we make sense of strangers, people we don’t know?  Using examples from real life, well-known author Gladwell exposes some of our common fallacies about figuring out others.  First, we tend to default to the truth in spite of evidence to the contrary.  Generally, our bent to believe what people say serves us well but does not help us determine scammers.  Second, we believe people are transparent; i.e. that their responses match their feelings or even their guilt/innocence.  Thus we build a world that systematically discriminates against those who don’t fit our ideas of transparency.  

Dealing with the issue of sexual assault and drunkenness, especially on campuses, he shows the myopia often caused by alcohol. which transforms us into someone else.  Our field of emotional and mental vision changes; we are not our true selves.  Similarly torture, especially sleep deprivation, like traumatic events, often produces untrue results.  In these cases the harder we work at getting strangers to reveal themselves, the more elusive they become.

Central to his book is the concept of coupling where things coincide to produce certain results or the idea context is a large influencing factor.  One example he uses is the huge increase in suicides when Great Britain switched their home heating to an inexpensive gas that could be toxic.  As soon as the gas was changed, the numbers of suicide returned to normal.  Thus, to even begin to ‘see’ a stranger we need to look at the stranger’s world.  When we look at strangers without our assumptions and within their context where they appear coupled with other factors, we begin to appreciate the complexity and ambiguity of strangers.  He concludes that because we do not know how to talk to strangers when things go awry we often blame the stranger. 

I found this latest book by Gladwell as fascinating as his previous ones.

-Jackie Potters, csj Associate

A Book Review

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng

This story takes place in Shaker Heights, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland.   A real place where the author grew up which was the first planned community in America.  And it existed with its own set of rules, from the colour of your house even down to where you could put your garbage bins.  The plot begins dramatically with a blazing fire of a rich house.

But the characters are the focus.  Elena Richardson is the third generation of her family to live in this community.  She is one of the movers and shakers, living by all the rules, written and unwritten.  As she says, “Rules are meant to keep you safe.  If you follow them you will have success.”  She has four children, all different.  The eldest girl, Lexie, has her path set for going to Yale and she is accepted for the following year.  In high school, she joined the right groups, become involved in the right clubs/activities, and did well academically.  The next child, Tripp, is the handsome jock who attracts girls but loves and leaves them.  Third is Moody, a sensitive artist with a well-hidden rebel inside.  He is belittled by Lexie and Tripp.  Finally, there is Izzy who rejects the rules of her mother and community.  She constantly acts out, pushing angry responses from her mother when she dresses differently, becomes vegetarian, and refuses to comply with her mother’s plans for her life.

Enter Mia Warren who is nomadic and lives in her car with her daughter Pearl while settling into their next community.  She is an artistic photographer who moves from project to project.  She supports herself with odd jobs and devotes her time and energy to her photography and to her daughter Pearl.  Circumstances have Mia renting an apartment from the Richardsons and later, working as a cook/housekeeper in the afternoons at their home.

While the characters appear opposites, their interactions give them nuances that allow for much reflection on parenting, mother/daughter relationships, values that order our lives, and how or if we change.  This is both a good story and a thought-provoking look at daily life.

- Jackie Potters, csj Associate

A Book Review

Roses are Difficult Here, by W.O. Mitchell

The reader is invited into the town of Shelby, Alberta, a small town in the foothills near the Southern border of the province.   Throughout the novel, the land itself almost becomes a character; life here is difficult with extremes of weather especially freezing temperatures, snow, hail, burning heat, drought and plagues of insects from time to time.  The local ranchers and farmers often walk close to disaster. 

The story is told through the eyes of Matt Stanley, publisher, editor, and lone writer of the Shelby Chronicle.  He introduces us to many of the town’s inhabitants, each with their own foibles.  Indeed combined they are an interesting group of humanity.  There are class distinctions, some folk with earned respect, and others who battle for leadership among the many organizations that make up the life of Shelby.  As always there are those on the bottom.  Here it is Rory Napoleon and his family; his job is to empty septic beds and haul garbage.

Life in the town changes when a university sociologist, Dr. June Melquist, comes to Shelby to put it under a microscope as a ‘typical’ example of a Western small town.  As Matt introduces her to his many neighbours and friends, she ‘interviews’ more and more of the townspeople, making no distinction between narrative, fable, and gossip.  The weaknesses of so many are held to ridicule after she leaves and her book is published.  Apparently the townspeople were a great disappointment having no leadership, culture nor tolerance. 

The strength of the novel lies in its people whom we meet in different situations and see interact with each other.  I enjoyed dusting this off the shelf and rereading it.

- Jackie Potters, an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph

A Book Review

THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY – Kelly Rimmer

This novel is difficult to put down because it is so captivating. The thoughts and feelings of the main characters are revealed in such a way that draws you personally into the drama. Modern day issues and dilemmas that can and do exist in modern life are part of the drama. You become an ‘insider’ rather than a bystander.

The novel moves back and forth from the present to the realities of war in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1942. Kelly Rimmer’s characters reveal the emotions that war provokes and turns fear and doubt into bravery and trust.

The reader is led on this journey, between the past and the present, in a most captivating way. 

-Sister Valerie

Courtroom Drama Offers a Great Summer Read

This is a great ‘summer read’ especially if you like legal court room dramas!

Author, Beverley McLachlin is the former Chief Justice of Canada, and Full Disclosure is her debut novel. McLachlin’s court experience heightens the interest and drama of the courtroom by including interesting details of how the lawyers conduct their investigations and the choices they make along the way and during the court proceedings. This ‘inside look’ certainly adds to the overall drama. Enjoy!

 - Sister Valerie Van Cauwenberghe