Book Chat Issue #138
The Things We Never Say
Hello reading friends,
It’s so lovely to have you here. I wish we could have a cup of tea and a slice of cake and chat about books. It’s my favourite thing to do.
Not that I spend all my time reading. I went to a wonderful musical event with my friend Sue last Sunday and we caught up with a glass of wine beforehand. We talked about books (of course) but we also covered a range of other topics including our various aches and pains, (I never wanted to be that person) and what is wrong with the world. It’s easy to go down this rabbit hole, so it was just as well we were able to experience this beautiful musical event to lighten our souls.
As a writer, it can be hard to navigate the space between all that is wrong with the world and all that is beautiful and worthwhile. It sometimes feels unseemly to turn one’s back on the horrors of war, the appalling treatment of women and girls in so many countries, and the poor living conditions of people in our own affluent country, but it also strikes me that if we only focus on bad things, we’ll get sucked into a vortex of negativity and lose our ability to function well.
There’s a lot to be said for keeping your spirits up so you can remain calm and continue to function in a healthy way. I wrote about this a while back on my website. Less news, more puppies: how to protect your mental health
In this spirit, I was pleased to read this lovely article by Christina Patterson.
In the article, Christina talks about making the effort to make the world a better place by taking extra care with things, including relationships. This reminded me of the Covid days when, despite the fear of not knowing what was around the corner, many people rose to the occasion and helped neighbours and friends in a myriad of small ways. A tiny act of kindness or a kind word can make someone’s day.
What I’ve been reading
This leads me to this week’s recommendation: The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. Many of you would be familiar with her books; she’s a prolific author, beloved of many.
The Things We Never Say follows Artie Dam, a beloved Massachusetts history teacher, navigating profound loneliness, a distant marriage, and personal secrets. Set in 2024, the novel intertwines his existential crisis and family trauma with the looming anxieties of a polarising political climate. I read some reviews that said she was too outspoken about her political views, but since I agree with her, this didn’t bother me.
Strout’s writing style is very unfussy; she’s similar to Claire Keegan in many ways. It’s deceptively simple in the same way that all well-crafted things look simple, but my enjoyment of The Things We Never Say relates to the topic (regrets, things left unsaid) as much as anything.
At 57, Artie discovers that a big secret has been kept from him. And once he learns the truth, he has to rethink his whole career and all his relationships.
I found this book to be very thought-provoking on many levels, not least the questions it asks about when you should speak and when you should remain silent. Artie is also profoundly lonely, which can happen in a marriage.
I especially loved the epigraph at the beginning of the book.
Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.
Carl Jung
This book will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered what it means to live a good life - or had to rethink everything when the truth finally emerges. Strout gives plenty of pointers to these revelations, so it’s not really a big surprise. The interesting part is the way she articulates Artie’s nuanced responses. I enjoyed it very much.
What I’ve been eating
I’m very well aware that it’s hot, hot, hot in some parts of the world, but here in Australia it’s freezing. Well cold, I suppose. We don’t actually have snow where I live but our houses are not really designed for cold weather and my house in particular is very chilly.
As a result, I do a fair amount of cooking and last weekend I made Apple Crumble, one of my winter favourites.
I used this recipe from RecipeTinEats, a terrific website.
The flavour was excellent, although I thought the apples were a bit under-cooked. We had some left over and I baked the remainder for another 15 minutes which was a good idea. I also reduced the sugar slightly (I don’t like things too sweet) and added some chopped walnuts to the crumble mix because I like them.
And just for your amusement, here’s a funny photo I found on the internet. It made me laugh. It’s the kind of thing I would do to entertain myself. I especially love the brown edges.
International Book Club
The next Book Chat International Book Club meeting is planned for August 7 in Australia (that’s August 6 in the US and Canada) and we’ll be discussing “Sleepless: Discovering the Power of the Night Self” by Annabel Abbs.
Invitations are going out via Zoom at the end of this week, so look out for that.
We also have a WhatsApp group if you’d like to communicate with other book club members.
That’s all for this edition.
Once again, thanks so much for reading Book Chat. I appreciate it.
Marg xx
Margaret, such fun stuff you always share. It brightens my day. Thankyou!
Marg, your comment about the difficulty of navigating between the daily drumbeat of bad news and our need for beauty and joy is so apt. I feel that divide in my life and in my writing, often asking myself how I dare to write so much about my travels and baking experiments when the world is in such peril. Yet, how do we not strive to find happiness and to share it? To seek joy is human. We all need escape, even as we try to do what we can to make the world better in whatever small ways we can (though it never seems enough).
You spread joy when you recommend books and recipes and share entertaining aspects of your life and thoughts (like Rothko toast and musical interludes!). I appreciate your reading recommendations, often books I might not read otherwise, yet enjoy when I do. I just ordered the Annabel Abbs book and will also check out the one from Elizabeth Strout. I'm a little ashamed to say I haven't read any of her books, though I do have one I picked up long ago and never got around to reading--The Burgess Boys.