The commute from hell? Hardly. Here are some titles that have turned my long bus commute into reading heaven.
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins introduces us to Ray and Luz. In the not so distant future, this couple lives in a water hungry southern California town. Living on their own in an abandoned mansion, each day is spent in the shadow of decadence that no longer exists. As they make their way to collect rations, a little girl catches Luz’s eye and the idea of a better life starts to bloom in her. As the child, Luz and Ray make their way out of town, obstacles get in their path and separate them. While hope is all but lost, Luz clings to the little girl and the makeshift life they start to have in a desert oasis. But all is not what it seems…this book was amazing!
Piece of Mind by Michelle Adelman gives us the wonderful story of Lucy. At the age of three, Lucy suffered from a traumatic brain injury that would affect her for the rest of her life. Now at 27, living with her father and being protected and loved by him is her only guide. When tragedy strikes again, Lucy is forced to move in with her younger brother and must make her own way, while discovering strengths she never knew she had. It was a wonderful read, simple and sweet.
The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt takes us on a tale of a woman in crisis. After her husband asks for a separation. Mia Fredrickson finds herself in the psychiatric ward. Once released, she decides to spend the summer in the town of her childhood. She rents a small home and, without realizing it, surrounds herself with women. The friends her mother has made in the nearby nursing home (known as “the five swans”), the girls in the poetry class she has offered to teach for the summer, and a mother of two who lives next door with her volatile husband mold and shape her summer and give her the strength to find herself again.
