The book hangover
Yesterday, after reading only the first few pages, I knew this book would leave a profound impact. Immediately drawn to the main character, I reached for a pencil and notebook to scribble a sentence that caught my attention. On the next page, there was another sentence. I was certain there would be more. I went to my desk and got a small pad of Post-it notes so I could quickly mark passages without losing my reading flow.
I read last night until I could not keep my eyes open. This morning, before even making a cup of coffee, I picked the book up from my nightstand and finished it.
Not every book makes an indelible impression. But occasionally I reach the last few pages and I am reluctant to finish the book, having made an emotional commitment to a character.
I am just not ready to say goodbye to a female character who deeply touches my heart. I worry about her. I want to know what happens next in her life, what choices she will make. I need to know how she finds the strength to continue. And often, I want to hold her in a tight hug and tell her everything will be okay.
I am left with a book hangover. I am still living in another world which I am not yet quite ready to leave.
These days, it is usually an older female character facing adversity—heartbreak, loneliness, illness. Women making impossible choices. Women finally putting themselves first. Strong, resilient women.
These women can be mirrors for the lives we have lived, the women we have known, and the lives we might still imagine for ourselves. They not only help me revisit my past; they may give me a glimpse of a life or choice I have not yet imagined for myself.
Books have always been my companions. I recognize parts of myself in the characters. I see younger versions of myself. I meet versions of my mother and other women who have touched my life. I am introduced to women who live versions of my life I am not brave enough to live myself. I encounter women radically different from me. Sometimes, a character becomes almost like an old friend. At times I am so drawn towards a character that saying goodbye is surprisingly difficult.
So what book set off this particular hangover? A few months ago, someone - I can’t remember who, maybe one of you - recommended The Wife Tree by Dorothy Speak. My library did not have a copy. I ordered it through the inter-library loan system and a battered copy arrived from the Penticton Regional Library six weeks later.
I had no idea what to expect. If I had to describe the novel, I would say it is a starkly Canadian novel in the tradition of Elizabeth Strout, reminiscent of books by Canadian authors such as Martha Ostenso, Margaret Laurence, and Alice Munro. In her mid-seventies, Morgan Hazzard, has been diminished by life. For the last forty years, her angry, unhappy husband, William, has taken it out on her and her children. When a stroke silences her husband, and he no longer dominates the emotional landscape of her life, she slowly begins to emerge. She finds peace in the quiet of her home, becomes comfortable exploring her growing world, and draws on her inner strength to deal with challenges.
What pulled me in were the life stories she shared with her daughters in a series of letters she never mailed, her personal reflections, and conversations she had with relative strangers about life, love, and marriage.
The best books stay with me after I turn the final page. I may close the book on the women I have met but they remain with me for a very long time.
What was the last book that left you with a book hangover?
