On (and off) The Nightstand

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goodharbor Good Harbor: A Novel by Anita Diamant

She’s the author of The Red Tent, one of my all-time favorite books. In The Red Tent she weaved a beautiful tale of feminine and familial connection and empowerment based on an obscure character in the old testament. I was hoping Good Harbor, a story of two female friends would be similarly enchanting but I was really disappointed.

I could see the effort the author was trying to concoct but the story lacked any real emotion for me. The characters were predictable and their friendship was lackluster to say the least. The bond she created in The Red Tent was missing in this book and since that was what I was looking for, I found little else to enjoy.

onethousandwhitewomen One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Ferguson

I really enjoyed this book and it’s complexities. The book is a work of fiction based on what could have been if the Cheyenne nation were granted the “one thousand white women” they requested of the U.S. Government to help assimilate themselves into modern culture. I thought it’s portrayal of the Cheyenne people was interesting and was pretty impressed over the male author’s ability to write so well from a female perspective. This was one of those books I read slowly, not really wanting it to end and half wishing it were based on a true character. Definitely recommended.

worldmadebyhand World Made by Hand: A Novel by James Howard Knustler

Despite never being sure how to pronounce his last name, I’ve wanted to read this one for awhile. I really like him as a speaker and blunt social critic and support his views on peak oil, as well as some of his proposed solutions. I read a lot of mixed reviews about this book and now I’m going to add one more to that list.

The premise behind the fiction is a post-oil world based on our failure to meet the need for alternatives. It threw in some variables, such as war and a defunct government, and it seemed to imply it was the U.S. that was affected the most – maybe only. I enjoyed reading Knustler’s ideas on how a dentist might continue to practice without electricity and how people were digging up old landfills for materials.

That being said the characters were flat, the dialogue horribly bland, the writing choppy and dull, the plot boring. I thought some of the scenarios were a little outlandish, reminding me of something along the lines of Mad Max or Escape from LA. And being that this is speculative writing, I guess I must add I have a different view of how things would be given the same circumstances.

I loved the ideas behind this book but think the premise would have been better written by someone like Barbara Kingsolver.