What is the collective noun for ghosts? Apparently, a reunion!
This is a great story, well told. We are told at the start that three sisters are intent on committing suicide all together, as their family has a 'curse' whereby one or more people of each generation dies by their own hand. Interwoven with the story of their last year is the history of the family as the sisters try to grapple with the curse.
The family arrived from Europe after the war, seeking refuge from the killing of the Jews. They are a bright and successful scientific family in Europe, but their dark secrets come to light and it's an intriguing look at how history forms and in-forms families.
I really liked reading this book as it had great characters I cared about. Well worth reading.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
A Mile Down | David Vann
If you love the sea, sailing boats and the life of adventure, this book is definitely for you. BUT if you are not one of those people, reading this will certainly not make you one!!
This is Vann's account of a few years in his thirties when he endeavoured to be free of the trappings of life by buying a boat and running literary chartes in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Islands. The hull was bought and refurbished in Turkey...enough said. Everything that can go wrong does, and more. Vann asks his friend "when does it end?" and is told "it's a boat, it never ends."
What I really liked about the book was the commentary and reflection Vann puts in, about his situation and what he is discovering about himself as things unravel. Underlying all his experiences is the fact Vann's father committed suicide because he couldn't cope with the stress he was under. Vann constantly checks himself to see if he is going that way. It is a brave look at this issue and the fears that assail those who survive a parent's suicide.
A remarkable young man. I really like his fiction, which is better appreciated once this book is read.
This is Vann's account of a few years in his thirties when he endeavoured to be free of the trappings of life by buying a boat and running literary chartes in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Islands. The hull was bought and refurbished in Turkey...enough said. Everything that can go wrong does, and more. Vann asks his friend "when does it end?" and is told "it's a boat, it never ends."
What I really liked about the book was the commentary and reflection Vann puts in, about his situation and what he is discovering about himself as things unravel. Underlying all his experiences is the fact Vann's father committed suicide because he couldn't cope with the stress he was under. Vann constantly checks himself to see if he is going that way. It is a brave look at this issue and the fears that assail those who survive a parent's suicide.
A remarkable young man. I really like his fiction, which is better appreciated once this book is read.
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