The Storyteller

I just finished reading one of the most interesting books I have read in a while.  The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult is a bit different than her usual family dramas.  This book stars Sage Singer, a wounded bread maker with a scarred face from an automobile accident that eventually killed her mother.  Sage is recovering from her own grief when she meets Josef Weber and his dog.  Josef is beloved by their community and Sage finds herself opening up to Josef until he asks her to help him die.  Sage's world comes crashing down when Josef confesses he was an SS officer and asks for her forgiveness, since Sage's family is Jewish.  Sage is torn between loving who Josef is now, hating him for who he was during the Holocaust, and wanting to turn Josef into the authorities for punishment.  Sage visits her beloved grandmother and listens as she tells her story of the Holocaust which is interwoven with a story that she wrote while living in Auschwitz and other camps.  The story-within-a-story format is beautifully written in lyrical prose and the story left me spellbound.  This novel is a very personal account of the Holocaust as told through one person and her immediate family and it is magnificent.  Once you start reading this book, you will have a hard time putting it down until you finish it!

The Goddess of Fried Okra

I have to admit, the first time I read this book's title, it made me very hungry! If you like the book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' by Fannie Flagg, you will also enjoy The Goddess of Fried Okra by Jean Brashear. The story's heroine is six-foot redhead Eudora "Pea" O'Brien, a convenience store employee who leaves Austin, TX with everything she owns packed in the back of her beat-up car. She is searching for the reincarnated soul of the sister who raised her after her parents died, based on the advice of a psychic. For Pea, everything that was right in her world took a nosedive when her sister died, and she believes that if she can see her again, and make peace with her, her world will vastly improve. Pea travels along the backroads of Texas, reading historical markers and listening for signs from her sister to point her along the right path. On her journey she picks up some strays--a terrified kitten, a pregnant teen she rescues from her abusive boyfriend and a con man trying to reform. When the car finally dies in Jewel, TX, she meets an unlikely group of folks and the whole menagerie stays for a spell while the car gets fixed, Pea works at the local cafe' to help pay for the car repairs and she meets an unlikely pair of sisters. This book is a wistful, humorous story of a woman who sets out to find her reincarnated sister but ends up finding herself. It is truly a delightful read. I also enjoyed the format of this book, as easy chapter opens with an explanation of a "historical" marker about a person or place that has something to do with the story. The library only owns the Large Print format of this book, so make sure you search for it in the Large Print section when you want to check it out!

Drama at the Dairy Queen

I am blessed to live in a town where there is a Dairy Queen. Well, really, it's a mixed blessing because it is all too easy to jump in my car and drive to the Dairy Queen to satisfy my urge for a caramel sundae or a blizzard pretty much whenever I want to! If you are not one of those folks who have ever visited a Dairy Queen, I recommend you visit one whenever you can. There is just something about their creamy vanilla ice cream that is so wonderful. My mother told me not too long ago that her dad actually managed a Dairy Queen at one point in his life, so perhaps my affinity for their ice cream is not too far-fetched? The title of my latest find, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore really intrigued me when I first saw it. It immediately made me think of the times I have spent at Dairy Queen with my friends, eating tasty treats and talking about our lives--but I am not sure I could say that I have ever had an epiphany while sitting there! This is something that I do not share with Catherine Grace Cline, the heroine of this delightful story. Set in 1970's in the town of Ringgold, Georgia, Catherine Grace is the oldest daughter of Ringgold's third-generation Baptist preacher, who dreams of someday leaving her boring small town for a life in "the big city." Every Saturday afternoon she and her sister, Martha Ann, sit on the picnic bench at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her escape to Atlanta when she turns eighteen. Catherine Grace dreams of a wonderful job in retail, as she and Martha Ann live their lives and long for their mom, who drowned when Catherine Grace was six. Catherine lives her dream until unexpected events occur that force her to return to Ringgold. This book truly charmed me! Catherine Grace is a smart girl trying to live a normal life as a "preacher's daughter" and her depth and knowlege of life is wonderful. The characters in this book are well developed and resemble folks in any small Southern town. If you like this book, try also reading Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe.