Three More Books Read

20. Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaniel West

 

Miss Lonelyhearts is the Dear Abby of her day during America’s Great Depression. But Miss Lonelyhearts is a he, not a she, and that’s only the beginning of the ways Miss Lonelyhearts deceives her readers. Though he feels pity for his readers and their terrible lives, Miss Lonelyhearts has little to offer to help them.

 

Oddly, the most disturbed character in the book is Miss Lonelyhearts himself. He obsesses over the troubles of his readers but no one is able to help him. His editor doesn’t even try, regarding the whole Miss Lonelyhearts column as a joke, a publicity stunt. His fiancé suggests he quit the job, something he can’t bring himself to do. Miss Lonelyhearts tries several ways to help himself but all fail.

 

This is a very short novel, a novella really, but it is very thoughtful and darkly comedic. I read it twice, the second time after reading some commentary about the novel, and the second reading was a rich reading for me. The commentary says that Miss Lonelyhearts is a Christ-like figure who, in the end, sacrifices himself for his people, but to no end. The author, the commentary goes on to write, saw there was no place for the innocent, the sacrificial, in the evil modern world.

 

21. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

 

Lenny and George are friends who travel together, looking for work during the Great Depression in America. George is world wise and street smart but Lenny is slow and naïve. George and Lenny have struggles finding work and Lenny, because of his limited intelligence, is always struggling to keep from jeopardizing the jobs the men find. Despite their struggles, George and Lenny have big dreams, dreams of getting their own place and living off the “fatta the land.”

 

Lenny and George find work on a ranch, but within hours of arriving, the men are worried about keeping their jobs. The owner’s son is a small man who is always looking for a fight. In addition, the owner’s son’s wife is a flirt, inciting her husband’s raging jealousy and anger. And it is not long before trouble comes.

 

A powerful story, with vivid characters and rich symbolism. One of my favorite reads of all time.

 

22. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman

 

Erdman relates the stories of the two years she spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in the Ivory Coast in Africa in the late 1990’s.  I had to look up the copyright date after I started the book; was the book taking place in the 1990’s or the 1890’s? It could have been either based on the lives of the villagers. No running water, no electricity. Mothers didn’t know the birthdates or even the ages of their children. Very little reading or writing. No knowledge of birth control or ways to combat disease. Little knowledge of the outside world.

 

Where should Erdman, assigned to the little village as a health care worker, start? She begins to teach the mothers about their babies, how to help them gain weight, getting them immunized, and gradually begins to help them learn about ways to avoid getting AIDS and about birth control. In the end, she feels a deep sense of accomplishment in her work in the village.

 

My new favorite travel story.

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