Erika J. Simpson's inventive memoir is a touching tribute to her late mother, who never wavered in her faith despite the challenges of poverty, singleErika J. Simpson's inventive memoir is a touching tribute to her late mother, who never wavered in her faith despite the challenges of poverty, single parenthood, and cancer. From its first lines onward, this debut invites readers to get to know and admire Sallie Carol, a larger-than-life figure who died in 2013. The dual timeline toggles between the final five months of her mother's life and Simpson's memories of her own childhood in Decatur, Georgia and early adulthood in Chicago. Incorporating various formats and voices, the book has verve and lightness that contrast with the family's struggles. Sallie Carol's piety is clear from the language Simpson uses, with chapters titled "Genesis" and "Exodus" and her sayings presented like scripture. The recurrent use of second-person narration draws readers in. (More of a 3.5, really.)
See my full review at . (See also of memoirs about mothers.)...more
A delightful little book that I loved more than I expected to, for several reasons: the effective use of a wedding weekend as a way of examining what A delightful little book that I loved more than I expected to, for several reasons: the effective use of a wedding weekend as a way of examining what goes wrong in marriages and what we choose to live with versus what we can't forgive; Gail's first-person narration, a rarity for Tyler* and a decision that adds depth to what might otherwise have been a two-dimensional depiction of a woman whose people skills leave something to be desired; and the unexpected presence of a cat who brings warmth and caprice back into her home. (I read this soon after losing my old cat, and it was comforting to be reminded that cats and their funny ways are the same the world over.)
From Tyler's oeuvre, this reminded me most of The Amateur Marriage and has a surprise Larry's Party-esque ending. The discussion of the outmoded practice of tapping one's watch is a neat tie-in to her recurring theme of the nature of time. And through the lunch out at a chic crab restaurant, she succeeds at making the Baltimore setting essential rather than incidental, more so than in much of her other work.
Gail is in the sandwich generation with a daughter just married and an old mother who's just about independent. I appreciated that she's 61 and contemplating retirement, but still feels as if she hasn't a clue: "What was I supposed to do with the rest of my life? I'm too young for this, I thought. Not too old, as you might expect, but too young, too inept, too uninformed. How come there weren't any grownups around? Why did everyone just assume I knew what I was doing?"
My only misgiving is that Tyler doesn't quite get it right about the younger generation: women who are in their early thirties in 2023 (so born about 1990) wouldn't be called Debbie and Bitsy. To some degree, Tyler's still stuck back in the 1970s, but her observations about married couples and family dynamics are as shrewd as ever. I can recommend this to readers wanting to try Tyler for the first time.
This has the air of a whimsical religious fable. Narrated by the Pope’s cousin and first assistant, Paolo dePadova, it’s about how the Pope and the DaThis has the air of a whimsical religious fable. Narrated by the Pope’s cousin and first assistant, Paolo dePadova, it’s about how the Pope and the Dalai Lama manage to sneak away from the Vatican for a five-day Italian vacation. Paolo is a former travel agent and his ex-wife and co-conspirator, Rosa, is a hair and makeup artist, so they’re the perfect pair to arrange a last-minute road trip in disguises. They take a secret tunnel from the Pope’s private chapel into town and meet Rosa there, where she and her colleagues work their magic. The Pope (“Giorgio�) is gotten up as a Scandinavian businessman with a blond hairpiece, while the Dalai Lama (“Tenzin�) is a Yoko Ono-type rock star with a long wig and big glasses. Paolo himself gets a new identity, too: as a darker-skinned Gaddafi lookalike, he gets to experience what it’s like to be a despised minority in rural Italy.
At first it seems the trip is just a chance for these two holy men to enjoy ordinary life, but gradually we realize that they are also on a religious mission: they’ve been having remarkably similar visions of a special child whom the Dalai Lama believes could be his successor on Earth. The book contains a number of low-key religious debates, most of them initiated by Rosa, and there are pearls of spiritual wisdom dotted through. I especially appreciated what the Dalai Lama has to say to Paolo about why things fell apart between him and Rosa: “We make up stories about the other person. In our minds we build these stories—she is this way, he is that way; look, she always do this, he always do that—and then these things keep us from seeing this person full as they are in present moment.� Some of the plot felt predictable to me, but the characters� actions and speech are believable.
Merged review:
This has the air of a whimsical religious fable. Narrated by the Pope’s cousin and first assistant, Paolo dePadova, it’s about how the Pope and the Dalai Lama manage to sneak away from the Vatican for a five-day Italian vacation. Paolo is a former travel agent and his ex-wife and co-conspirator, Rosa, is a hair and makeup artist, so they’re the perfect pair to arrange a last-minute road trip in disguises. They take a secret tunnel from the Pope’s private chapel into town and meet Rosa there, where she and her colleagues work their magic. The Pope (“Giorgio�) is gotten up as a Scandinavian businessman with a blond hairpiece, while the Dalai Lama (“Tenzin�) is a Yoko Ono-type rock star with a long wig and big glasses. Paolo himself gets a new identity, too: as a darker-skinned Gaddafi lookalike, he gets to experience what it’s like to be a despised minority in rural Italy.
At first it seems the trip is just a chance for these two holy men to enjoy ordinary life, but gradually we realize that they are also on a religious mission: they’ve been having remarkably similar visions of a special child whom the Dalai Lama believes could be his successor on Earth. The book contains a number of low-key religious debates, most of them initiated by Rosa, and there are pearls of spiritual wisdom dotted through. I especially appreciated what the Dalai Lama has to say to Paolo about why things fell apart between him and Rosa: “We make up stories about the other person. In our minds we build these stories—she is this way, he is that way; look, she always do this, he always do that—and then these things keep us from seeing this person full as they are in present moment.� Some of the plot felt predictable to me, but the characters� actions and speech are believable....more
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