Review: WHAT ALICE FORGOT by Liane Moriarty

Contemporary Fiction
Amy Einhorn Books, 2011
423 pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm a firm believer in judging a book in context with its peers, which is one problem I have with a "star" system. I might have gone to 4.5 stars on What Alice Forgot if it were an option; does that mean I place it in the same category as Dickens? Well, no. But it's an excellent, compelling story, one that kept me up turning pages past my bedtime, and one that didn't have me groaning to myself, Why can't good storytellers learn to write?--because Liane Moriarty can write.

The story follows Alice Love, a successful, well-groomed mother of three who takes a fall and loses her memory--but not all of it. Brittle, driven Alice was once sweet, loving Alice ten years ago, and when she wakes from her accident, that's who she is: She's the Alice of 1998, not 2008--the Alice who still loves her husband, who's expecting her first baby, and who hasn't yet alienated the most important people in her life.

This isn't exactly a brand-new idea for a plotline, but that's okay. The story reminds me of the film Regarding Henry, starring Harrison Ford as a jackass whose memory is completely destroyed, and with it, his awful personality. Alice isn't an awful person, but before her accident, she seemed to have forgotten herself; now, post-accident, she's forgotten her "mature" self, and all to the good, it would seem. But somehow she has to cope with three children, a messy divorce, and the strange life she has adopted. The drama of it pulls you through from the first page to the last. I'm not a fast reader, but I was done with this book in about 3 days.

As to the writing, it's intelligent and not overwrought. The characters are genuine, three-dimensional people. You want to call them on the phone and set them straight. Parts of the book are quite funny, and other parts heart-wrenching. All in all, Moriarty's tale makes for a hugely satisfying read.

Review: THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC by Richard Russo

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I fell in love with Richard Russo when I read EMPIRE FALLS. This is a much smaller book, both in scope and in heft. While it didn't overwhelm me the way EMPIRE FALLS did, it did leave me a lot to think about. In the story, Jack Griffin attends two weddings, and in between them considers his marriage, his parents, and his past.

The first 30 pages or so didn't really grab me, and I might have put it down but for the fact that I was going to see Russo speak at an authors' event here in Kansas City, and I wanted to have the book read by then. I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story really picked up and became a page-turner. It also happens to contain the strangest and funniest story of a wedding rehearsal dinner I've ever read (or seen in a film).

Speaking of films, this book did echo a bit the films of Nancy Meyers (It's Complicated, Something's Gotta Give). Maybe I think that because I just saw It's Complicated, but when reading this book, I did rather feel I was watching another Meyers film!

Pet Peeve: All Ready vs. Already

Okay, grammar fans (usage fans, whatever): This is a misusage I see all the time. The down and dirty of it:

all ready: Completely ready. You couldn't be readier. Or: Everybody in the room is ready. No one's left out.

"Are you all ready to go?" asked Mrs. March.
"Hardly," Amy said. "Beth, as usual, is too shy to stick her nose out the door, so we'll probably miss the fair."

already: Previously. Before. Been there, done that.

"It doesn't matter," said her mother. "After all, Beth has already been out this week. Let's leave her to her piano."

Already is also used to express frustration:

"Just go already!" Beth fumed.

Think of all ready as meaning all set. You'd never write alset, right?

I didn't think so.

image: By Trailer screenshot (Little Women trailer), via Wikimedia Commons

Happy Oscars, Everyone!

via Book Riot

The Life of Dickens in 5 Minutes or Less

An informative and fun cartoon video on the life of Charles Dickens, one of my very favorite authors.  Courtesy of those clever folks at the BBC:

Deal Announcement!

Well, I may have spent three years writing the book, six months searching for an agent, six months revising (again), another month on submission, several more weeks revising (again) ...

But the idea of publication, of my little book going to a printer's and finding a home on a Barnes & Noble bookshelf, still feels very fresh and new to me, especially today. Having polished up our baby and readied it for copyediting, we were ready to formally announce the book to the world. Here's my birth announcement, posted at Publisher's Marketplace by My Lovely Agent, Chris Richman of Upstart Crow Literary Agency:

That means more wine for me!

Pet Peeve: Lay vs. Lie

I haven't written a grammar peeve for a long time, mostly because this blog has been up, down, live, dead--you name it. But this point does peeve me from time to time.

Quick lesson:

To Lie (verb):
1. To tell an untruth : Don't lie to me. You didn't watch the Super Bowl, did you?
past tense: lied : Okay, I lied. I didn't even watch the commercials.
past perfect tense: had lied : If I hadn't lied, you would have made me watch the highlights on the DVR.

2.  To repose in a prone position : If football gives you a headache, why don't you go lie down?
past tense: lay : I lay down for an hour, but it didn't help.
past perfect tense: had lain : She had lain in her room for about an hour before her husband noticed that she wasn't present during the halftime show.

To Lay (transitive verb):
To set an object down: Lay down your book and watch the damned game, why don't you?
past tense: laid : I laid down my book for ten minutes, but the game gave me a headache, so I picked up the book again.
past perfect tense: had laid : If I had laid my book down sooner, I wouldn't have missed that touchdown. Oh well. Big whup.

So yes, I admit, too many of these words sound the same, and the tenses get all mixed up in each other's business. Just memorize a few key phrases that are correct and you'll remember the rule for this verb:

Lay down your weapon!
I must go lie down now, even though I lay down ten minutes ago.

Just remember: You can never "go lay down." Lay down ... what? Lay needs a direct object. You have to lay down a book, a magazine, your gun--something. It means put down, or set down.

And you can never "lie down a book." (Not as many people make this mistake.) Lie down is an intransitive verb; it can't take an object. Just lie down your own damned self and be done with it.

image: Madame Recamier by Jacques-Louis David. wikimedia.org