The Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck

For whatever reason, I was never required to read this book in high school, so I read it now for the first time as an adult. It's really a masterful work, very emotionally powerful and heartbreaking. The grotesque plight of the disenfranchised Oklahoma tenant farmers is told through the eyes of the Joad family. The story recounts their struggles as they are forced to leave their land and seek work in California, where they experience the cruelty of poverty and the futility of hard work and hope in the face of an oppressive system.  I am not surprised the book was so controversial in its day, the politics are very progressive and pro-labor. The book can be graphically disturbing but it is  an important story that remains very relevant today.

Great Harry - Carrolly Erickson

Another tremendous biography by Ms. Erickson. Like Bloody Mary, Great Harry is a vibrant, engaging portrait of life in 1500s England, both the intrigue and lavish splendor of the court, and the violence, ignorance, and squalor of the poor. Ms. Erickson is a master storyteller - King Henry VIII is convincing portrayed as a highly intelligent and ambitious (though flawed) ruler, who is here shown in all his facets and stages - charismatic, handsome, idealistic and beloved in his youth, irascible, peevish, and self-important in his old age, always majestic and awe-inspiring. Hundreds upon hundreds of contemporary quotes are seamlessly woven into this tale, giving it a very rich and authentic flavor of the period and of "Great Harry," as he was called by his adoring subjects in the early years of his reign. A brilliant work, and I can't wait to read more Erickson!

A Delicate Truth

This most recent book by John Le Carré continues his trend of indicting, by relating a gripping episode, new practices in the confluence of international relations, espionage, commerce and crime.  Le Carre's fury at these developments is barely contained and the books are generally tense with the burden of impending doom.  This one addresses undercover operations contracted to companies similar to the now defunct (or, more accurately, re-named) Blackwater Security Consulting.  Le Carré  knows this world like the back of his hand - or at least continues to have access to people who can provide insider information.  And his characters are vivid - very likable and attractive or the complete opposite.  Terrific reading!   And, surprisingly, this one ends on what is almost an up note. (Though it seems clear that an additional 50 or 100 pages would have destroyed this temporary relief!)

Ethan Frome

This painting, Home at Montclair by George Inness (interestingly, from the collection at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown), is shown on the front cover of the Signet Classic edition of Ethan Frome and is a perfect image for the setting and events of the book: bleak, cold, dark and offering little hope for momentary joy, let alone release.  Well, what the heck - it's Edith Wharton!  

Starkfield (!), Massachussetts is a rare departure from Wharton's usual metropolitan world of wealth and privilege, but the theme is again how chance circumstances of life can crush the hopes of an individual, in this case, Ethan Frome, an admirable and likable character who meets and accepts an inexorable and cruel fate.  The book is simply and beautifully written - and very sad.