A TWO-FER

Having nearly drowned in a tsunami of out-of-town guests during the past week -- such a flood that we had to house the overflow at a friend's -- I come to you sleep-deprived, on the edge of a cold and with a neck spasm that does not permit head-turning to the left. And you wonder why I feel this way about Christmas...Nonetheless, I am all excited about the last two books I've read.

One is The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones (and if you haven't read that one, HURRY UP!). The story begins with the narrator killing her aged mother and the events that unfold afterward, and also shows us pieces of her earlier life with her mother that give some clues about why she did it. It's a vicarious exploration of what it's like to do something really terrible that you can't take back. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but Sebold isn't one for a nice, neat conclusion. If you can tolerate the plotline, I think you'll enjoy the writing.

And then Ann Patchett's got a new one out titled, simply, Run. Patchett writes these characters with such skill that by book's end, I felt like I knew what it was like to be the adopted black son of a wealthy white politician -- and she explores each of her characters with that same kind of depth. The book takes a look at what makes a family: is it blood or devotion or presence? Can you still be family if those elements aren't there? Can you make a family from fragments of those elements? I was so wowed by the writing, I want everyone to read it.

I'm off to the airport to pick up guest #7, then to the chiropractor. Happy New Year, everybody!

Michelle