Until We Reach Home

Until We Reach Home

By: Lynn Austin

428 pages paperback

2008

Russell and I were living at a condo on at least 11 non-stop lanes of Houston highway and excitedly just signed a rental agreement for a charming home built in 1894 and nestled near a park in Brenham, TX… then the deal fell through and I knew on that rainy, sad day a good book would help.  The title, Until We Reach Home, caught my attention in the church library and I recognized the author from the first novel I read in 2011 so I gave it a go.  The story begins in rural Sweden in January of 1897 and concludes in busy Chicago, IL about nine months later.  Three sisters go through noticeable individual change as they journey together, leaving the familiar for the unknown.  The novel had several twists and turns that one can expect to make up a 400 plus page story, and when the last page was turned I was thankful that there was not a sequel as I have read enough of the three of them.  To be fair, there is a good deal of description (and I like how the author threw in some words in Swedish here and there) among the sappiness, preaching and silver- lined clouds.  It did hold my interest as a decent distraction and it was hopeful to read of other sojourners and how they made it.  Maybe one day Russell and I will reach home too.  “We’re going to trust God, just like Mama did.  Even when she was dying, she trusted Him and never doubted His love, remember?  Things might still be a mess right now, but He can make everything right.  He is already making it right.  We thought everyone in our family was gone and that it was just the three of us, but now our family is starting to grow again….”  This optimistic outbreak from the youngest sister is worth holding on to.    If you are looking for a light, journey kind of story, reading about Elin, Kirsten and Sofia could be the book for you. 

Siddhartha

Siddhartha

Author: Hermann Hesse

152 pages; paperback

Originally written in 1922

 Translated into English in 1951 by Hilda Rosner (several others have translated this work at later dates).

While in Branson, MO this summer, we were with Hannah in an antique shop and Russell spied the book Siddhartha and bought it.  He had read it in high school and liked it.  Later, when he and I were traveling I did not have a book to take so he recommended I give it a try.  I started it, lost interest, read several other books after reading the first chapter,  then recently started it again reading through to the conclusion.  Here are my thoughts of Siddhartha.

Born in Germany, writer Hemann Hesse traveled to the East several times before he wrote his novella Siddhartha (in fact his parents were Christian missionaries to India).  Siddhartha, (the name of the Buddha as well as the story’s main character) is a story of the struggles and triumphs of a man in India that lived during the lifetime of Buddha. Concepts of Buddhism, Hinduism and existentialism are touched upon throughout the telling of how one can strive to reach self-awareness, wisdom and ultimately peace that can be attained with the ceasing of seeking, according to Siddhartha.    This dense short story provides much to think about with each page.  However, the telling of the many transitory passages of life (from young boy to old man) is discouragingly sad and in my opinion does not offer lasting hope.  Where is the meaning?  What really matters? 

In the first chapter we get a glimpse of the sadness of a father who allows his son to go on a spiritual quest that will mean he will never see his son again and in the end Siddhartha himself feels this same anguish when his own son leaves him for a life away from the river that became Siddhartha’s greatest teacher.  Hermann Hesse’s character Siddhartha is consistent and authentic in his desires and because of this you care about him as a friend.  I wonder what it would have been like for Sidd to have met Jesus as he was searching for Truth.  I cannot help thinking his life then would have had the meaning he was pursuing all along. 

At the close of the book, Siddhartha, now an old man, again meets his boy-hood friend and he asks Siddhartha for a word of hope, something that will help him as he continues on his quest.  I smile after reading Siddhartha’s several pages of reply when his friend simply says, “I thank you, Siddhartha, for telling me something of your thoughts.  Some of them are strange thoughts. I cannot grasp them all immediately.  However, I thank you, and I wish you many peaceful days.”  Inwardly, however he thought: Siddhartha is a strange man and he expresses strange thoughts. His ideas seem crazy… 

Critics claim that this book is one of Hermann Hesse’s most influential works and that it will linger in both one’s mind and spirit for a lifetime.  I would not recommend reading this if you are in a depressed mood but I do think reading it for the purpose of discussion would lead to many interesting ones.  

The Help

The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
530 pages; Paperback
2009

Many gals have recommended this book to me, so I was really excited when Mint came for Christmas break she had nearly finished the story and said i could read it next (I'm sure Hannah found a day to read it too during the holidays).
This story is written with such wonderful description that I’m not sure I ever want to go back to Mississippi again, but I do hope that many changes for good have taken place since the 1960’s when The Help took place. Set in a very volatile time in US southern history, this novel draws the readers in from the beginning as you meet in the first few chapters three women whose lives intermingle throughout the course of 500 plus pages. Abileen is who I like best as she is kind, honest and brave. She has a wonderful way with children and although her only child, a son, died as a young adult, she has raised nearly 20 children over her life-time as a maid for various families in Jackson, Mississippi. Minnie, also a maid (and a sassy one at that) is a friend of Abileen’s and her tenacity and spunk jump right off the pages. Skeeter, young, single, white and desiring to be an author, embarks on a project that changes her life and the lives of many in Jackson forever.
Richly told in the vernacular and from the point of view of these three women, readers gain insight into the values, fears, families and friendships of those who live on both sides of a very definite line, a line that seldom was crossed. Early on in the story, Abileen describes the woman she works for and concludes with the statement, “But the help always know.” And that is exactly what we discover in the story that turns out to be a book inside of a book and an insightful look at the day to day realities of those that live in a society that was on a brink of important change.
I loved how the ending of this book offers fresh beginnings for each of three main characters and how they grew closer to each other and grew in confidence and courage to face the new unknowns before them. I generally do not like sequels, but I feel like I know the women in this story so well, that I would enjoy reading the next chapter in their lives. Or maybe better yet, to hear from their perspective as they look back to these days from the 60’s when each of their lives is at its end. I would love to hear the difference they saw (and lived) due to their heroic contribution.
First time novelist, Kathryn Stockett has earned the praise of many for her #1 New York Times Bestseller book. She has offered a glimpse into the past with genuine and courageous openness. The fact that she as a child was raised in Jackson, Mississippi, with the help of a maid, adds to the authenticity from which she writes, and I agree with what she sees as the point of the book: “We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.”