Italian drama and Typhoid Mary

 Happy Tuesday!  I thought I would take some time to catch up on the blog for tv and book chat. Here a few I finished.

Finished a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card - The Story of a New Name by Elena  Ferrante. This is book two in the series. I rounded up to 4 stars.  The characters are complicated and you want to read more about the interactions between Lila and Elena but wow, what a vile bunch of characters surrounding them.  

Elena and Lila have been friends since they were very young and always had a tempetuous relationship.  At times they are fiercely loyal to one another and other times, barely controlling their jealousy with sharp comments or snubs.  Definitely a different friendship than any I have ever experienced.  They are young women now, Lila married at 16 to the overbearing Stefano.  He beats her, he buys her the best of everything but he will never break her spirit.  Sadly, Lila realizes too late she should have not married him.

Elena continues with her studies and excels with her educational pursuits. While she has a bit of envy about Lila's financial stabilty and standing in their community, Lila in turn has some envy about Elena being able to continue school and escaping the life in the neighborhood.

Jealousy, barbed comments, love and more in this novel.

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I also finished Fever by Mary Beth Keane.

This is a historical fiction relying heavy on facts about Mary Mallon,  an Irish woman, also known as Typhoid Mary.  She was arrested in 1907 because she was suspected of spreading disease.  The story details historical facts about her incarceration, testing ad nauseum, her employers and more. After her arrest she was held at a hospital for medical testing then moved to North Brother Island where she remained in quarantine for decades.

It's quite an interesting story and the author keeps you engaged with the personal details about Mary's life. 

Other books I have read by Keane are Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon.  Looking forward to The Walking People.

As for watching, we have finished season one of Landman and Billy Bob Thorton is fantastic in the lead role.

It's spin time at the Classics Club so I will get my spin post up or scheduled before the weekend. I'm hoping for one of the British authors such as Graham Greene, Ann Bronte, Forester or Hardy.  We will see.

As I write we have two more nights in our home and then off to a hotel with Loki, then closing on the new place. Catch up with you later :-)

Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Roddy Doyle and Elena Ferrante {Armchair travel to Ireland and Italy}

When it rains I end up inside reading quite a bit.  No complaints about that!  First up is a trip to Ireland with Roddy Doyle's book of short stories titled Bullfighting.

In this collection of short stories the meandering stream of consciousness of an older man dominates the narrative.  I can see things from the female point of view when he wonders at what point in time did his wife move to another room.  When did certain things occur when he was, apparently, not paying attention.

The stories take you into a middle aged man's life in Ireland.

Getting older wasn’t too bad. The baldness suited Martin. Everyone said it. He’d had to change his trouser size from 34 to 36. It was a bit of a shock, but it was kind of nice wearing loose trousers again, hitching them up when he stood up to go to the jacks, or whatever. He was fooling himself; he knew that. But that was the point—he was fooling himself. He’d put on weight but felt a bit thinner.

The story Bullfighting is about four male friends in Spain and their honest conversations.  They are all middle aged and facing the realities that life is half over for them.  Admitting loneliness and being honest...for once.

Not my favorite book by Doyle by a longshot but a nice respite to read something short between anything else I am currently doing.  Themes of aging and loneliness with some humor and a great deal of Irish culture. 

*******************

Next up we visit Naples Italy in the 1950's with My Brillant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  This was an enjoyable buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.

This book starts off in Turin Italy, present time with Elena getting a frantic phone call from Rino, her best friend Lila's son.  His mother is missing. Lila and Elena had been friends for over 60 years and more than 30 years ago, Lila had confessed to Elena she wanted to disappear one day.  Leave without a trace. Apparently this is what happened.

The book is about Elena's account of friendship with Lila growing up in 1950's poverty stricken Naples. Lila was from a poor family, her father a shoemaker with little money to spare on a girl's eduaction...or anything else.  She was very intelligent and headstrong, teaching herself to read and educate herself  despite being held back by her family and financial standing.  That said, she never let anything dampen her spirit for life and learning.

Elena and Lila crossed paths in school at a young age but it wasn't an immediate or tender friendship. In the era described, their lives were filled with misogeny and violence, something they didn't find appalling as it was predominent in their culture and upbringing.  It was just life.

I think each girl challenged the other to do better.  Possibly from Elena's point of view she was motivated by Lila's  strong will and refusal to conform to the norms of their society.  Lila was intrigued by Elena's stubbornness and her refusal to capitulate to her bullying.  Not many stood up to Lila's strong personality.  That is my opinion on the ongoing relationship.

If you have read the synopsis this won't be a spoiler - it ends with Lila's wedding.  I was half expecting it to end with her appearance in the story, finding out where the 66 year old went and some resolution to her disappearance.  Book 2 will no doubt continue the story and I am looking forward to that eventually.

This would make a good series of books to read in August for the Women in Translation month/project but I can't wait that long to tackle books 2 and 3.

Currently I am working on a list of bookish goals for next year and hope to post about that next week. Happy reading to you all!

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. and Joy's Book Blog for Britsh Isles Friday for Long Island and The Life Impossible.