Oh, to Love One's Opposite: "The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman

As the days become shorter and the air is crisp, my level of crazy is much more apparent. This means my reading patterns change. I always go for the happy, beachy reads, but during the fall and winter, I like to mix it up and throw in some darker-themed books. Sometimes I regret that decision while reading late at night, alone in my bed; but overall I like it.  This week's book was one that I thought might be a little darker than it was, but it made up for it in emotions and themes. "The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman was a book that left me speechless at times and pondering about loving one's true opposite.

Earlier this year I read another book by Alice Hoffman that totally blew my hair back with its dark and twisted theme about a museum of social misfits. (CLICK HERE FOR POST) Alice Hoffman is known for her magical, gothic, dark plots so I expected "The Marriage of Opposites" to have those characteristics. I wouldn't say it was twisted, but it definitely addressed really hard issues such as loving outside of one's race or social station.

The setting for "The Marriage of Opposites" is the island of St. Thomas. The main character is Rachel Pomie. She comes from a family of wealth and good fortune overall. However, she dreams of living her life in a much different way than her parents expect. She has the passion of an artist and spends her nights on the island dreaming of Paris and the many adventures she could be experiencing there.  In spite of her dreaming, she is still forced to abide by her parents' wishes and finds herself married to a wealthy, but much older widower (with children) and she is young and wondering what she's let herself undertake.  This is the beginning of a long chain of events that will tug at your heart strings from every turn. This was the section of the book that I could not put down. I was also sicker than hell so reading 100 pages in a day was about the best I could do for myself.

In Rachel's course to be different she has befriended a beautiful soul who is a different race than her. She is soon faced with the awful reality that race matters at this time in history and she watches her friend suffer a great loss at the hand of her own mother's influence. Nothing reminds a person of their station quite like forbidden love and Rachel promises herself that she will always support her friend and love her for who she is as a human, not based on her skin color.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the beautiful imagery the author used to describe the surroundings. At times I felt like I was on St. Thomas with each of the characters. Alice Hoffman is a champion at imagery and the other book I read was just as spectacular in this department.  She also describes her characters very well so you can have a mental picture of who they are and what they might look like.

I will be honest, this book was a tiny bit disappointing at about the half-way point. Rachel's life takes a very substantial shift and she finds herself in a beautiful love affair after her first husband dies suddenly. I felt like this aspect of the story was so important and didn't get nearly as much plot development as it could have. While it was a bit steamy, it also brought out some really important themes including going for the one you love even when the whole town thinks you're crazy and sticking close to those who matter most. I felt like it skipped over really great opportunities to dive in to these subjects more and moved right along in the plot so the book could span multiple decades in under 375 pages.  In spite of my picky plot expectations, the author did a spectacular job at tying all the loose ends and providing closure for all of the main characters. I definitely didn't lose interest in this book, I just wanted it to be written a little different. Again, a bibliophile snobbery alert for you.

My recommended reading group would be age 18 and above.  It's a solid PG-13 read with reference to sex and adult themes.

The moral of the story: Loving our opposite can be seriously painful at times, but then the heavens part and it's pure magic and we forget about the messy stuff.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R

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You Had Me at Cake: "The Cake Therapist" by Judith Fertig

Last month I went to visit a friend in her kindergarten classroom. While I was there she handed me a box of children's books for my day job and a copy of a book she thought I might like.  At first glance I was totally drawn in because the title had the words cake and therapist in it plus it was a VERY cute cover design and we all know how that floats my boat! So, I made short order of the book I was reading at the time so I could "dig in" and read "The Cake Therapist" by Judith Fertig. This book was pure sunshine and I loved every minute of it! 

The main character of the book is a lovely baker named Neely. Neely has found herself in a place of starting over and leaves the hustle and bustle of New York City to open a cake shop in a small town near her grandmother. She has a bit of a magic in her method of cake-making, in that she tailors the flavor to what her intuition tells her about the consumer's personality. Each time she meets someone new she automatically thinks of what their "flavor" might be. It's adorable. Neely soon realizes that she is stuck in the middle of a town that has a bit of skeletons-in-their-closet going down and she can't quite figure out what that actually means.

One of the best elements of this book is the style it is written in..... also known as my favorite! What is that you ask?? Alternating point of view that connects together at the end like a happy little gift of awesomeness.  Oh, how I love reading books like this! Along with present day, this book takes us to the early 1940s and we are introduced to some characters who are just as complex and deep as the present-day characters. It's amazing! By the end of the book, the author tied up both plot lines very nicely and it made me swoon.  

The theme of this book is we all deserve the opportunity for a second chance.  Along with that, we owe it to ourselves to allow second chances to happen in our life. This is something that I've really had to remind myself of this year because life in "second chance land" is pretty damn hard. However, it has brought a new set of blessings and people in my life that make up for the super shitty, emotional stuff.  This book is about just that and survival with cake.  How could it get any better? Neely learns to maneuver through the messy, emotional stuff while finding a new and improved version of herself and the results are sweet.  

Overall, this book was exactly what I needed to read last month.  It was definitely an uplifting book and I was even more excited to learn there is a sequel. And I'll let you in on a little secret......it's already been ordered from Amazon Marketplace, is sitting in the cozy book nook at Chez Ray Big Sky and I can't wait to read it.  I have not doubt I will enjoy it just as much as this book.  

My recommended reading group would be age 16 and above.  It's a happy PG read with some mild adult thematic elements, but nothing crazy.  

The moral of the story: Anyone can survive the messy world of second-chance-land with lots of cake. 

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!

-R

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Finding Sunshine on the Last Frontier: "O Rugged Land of Gold" by Martha Martin

Last fall my family was introduced to the inter-workings and rich history of Alaskan culture while my Dad spent a week in the Arctic Circle of the Last Frontier for a professional commitment.  From start to finish our entire family was inspired to learn of the culture and grit that is possessed by the people who live there full-time.  It was obvious they make the best of their circumstances including being so far away from food sources out of the lower 48 states, months of darkness and limited resources overall. Fast forward to this summer when my mother shared with me a used book she had purchased for her thrifting ginger because she suspected it would be something I'd really enjoy. It was a book set in Alaska and told a story of a woman who overcame harrowing trials while being stranded (and pregnant) in Alaska.  That book was "O Rugged Land of Gold" by Martha Martin. To say it was moving is definitely an understatement and I'm happy to share it with all of you this week.

"O Rugged Land of Gold" is a fascinating work of writing.  It is 80% factual and 20% fictional.  My mother discovered it because she had watched a movie interpretation of the story and decided to read the book.  The book itself was published in the late 1950s, but the story took place in the 1920s.  The writing style is very much a folksy style and you can tell it was written by someone more in a journalistic style than a commercial authoring style.

Martha Martin is a pen name for the main character, Helen Bolyan.  Helen is the wife of a gold prospector and has found herself stranded at their current prospecting camp. She is also pregnant and winter is setting in quickly.  She embarks on a journey that is absolutely miraculous and heroic.  The book begins with her being injured in a land slide that damages her leg. She is forced to make her own cast and crutch so she can make it back to her cabin where all the food is stored.  Somehow she manages to do all of this and the book is her journal entries of the faith she has that God will help her husband find her and come back before their baby is born.  So many times while I read this book and literally had to stop reading and thank God I wasn't pregnant and alone in Alaska.  Sometimes life can be super sucky and stressful (holy alliterations), but I know that I have it GOOOOOOOD living in the modern age that I do.

Helen shares some really profound thoughts on her relationship with God that I related to so well.  She shared some powerful words about the level of growth and appreciation she found for deity while living in the wilderness of Alaska and being alone.  Quite literally it was her and God on a daily basis.  She would talk to Him and the animals who would come to visit her for scraps. How could anyone survive? Well, she didn't have any other option, but to survive, and she chose to make the best of it.

One particular passage really touched my heart and I shared it on my social media platforms the night I read it.  It's an entire page's worth of text so I will share the photo here for you to read.

Probably my favorite sentence in this passage is, "for me contact with God comes through his creation; air, the creeping things upon the earth and the fishes in the sea, the starry heavens, the loyalty of a friend, love and devotion, faith and work, honor and awe." This is so true for me.  I'm in awe of God's creations every day.  I'm so grateful for spectacular sunsets across the Big Sky of Montana that I can see out my kitchen window that remind me that He is there and He is blessing me with beauty in nature. I'm grateful for friends who give unconditional love and devotion in times when I need it most aka when I'm the conductor of the Hot Mess Express. And most of all, I'm grateful for my faith and honor to a God on high who has kept me safe from my own doubts and fears.

My recommended reading group would be age 16 and above.  It's a PG-13 read with themes of survival and fear while living in the wilderness of Alaska in the 1920s.

The moral of the story: God's creations are all around us. A starry night sky or a breathtaking sunset after a crappy day are his physical reminders that He is there, He cares and He is blessing us all the time.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R

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