“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
15 met at the home of Bonnie Magee to discuss this month’s selection. Many thanks to Barbara Creach for volunteering to review this novel that explores how stories affect each of us in both beautiful and unexpected ways and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might realize. Each of the nine people highlighted in the novel were changed by words as was the author of Theo.
Welcome back Cathy Hernandez and we hope to see you again soon.
Synopsis:
In this uniquely structured novel, Bauermeister explores the impact one book can have on numerous readers. Alice Wein has always wanted to be a writer but struggles to find the story she’s meant to tell until the loss of her brother while she’s in college. That tragedy prompts her to leave school and begin writing a novel, called Theo, about an abused boy who finds solace in swimming and attempts to escape his father's domineering by faking his death only for his father to die. Theo becomes the backbone of Bauermeister’s novel; structured as loosely intertwined short stories, the book charts the writing, publishing, and reading of Theo from the perspectives of 10 people, including Alice, her publisher, a bookseller who forms a relationship with Alice, and readers the book touched in varying ways. Each reader reacts to Alice’s book in a diverse way, but all find the story they need because of who they are when they read it.
About the author:
I understand Erica Bauermeister‘s name is on this book, but I’m pretty sure she has been wandering through my mind in the middle of the night…eerie how many times I nodded in agreement with her characters and their interpretation of Theo.
She lives in Port Townsend, Washington, a charming village-by-the-sea two hours from metro Seattle on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband and 238 wild deer. The area is steeped in history complete with Victorian architecture and a maritime legacy. It boasts of being the perfect place to leave the ordinary behind. One of her friends suggested that every author writes the same book over and over asking Erica, “What is your book?” She writes about the things we don’t pay attention to – our sense of smell, the food we cook, the houses we live in, the way our filters affect our perceptions of the world…she writes about those quiet spaces between words and all that goes on in them, but most of all about compassion because that is what teaches us to see everything else.
She has always wanted to be an author, but it was reading Tillie Olsen’s short story, “I Stand Here Ironing” in college which explored a mother-daughter relationship where the narrator was a teenage single mom reflecting on her eldest daughter’s life – recalling the hardships and neglect because of their poverty, work, and siblings that sealed Erica’s passion and reinforced her desire to write about the unimportant parts of life and give them beauty and shine light on their meaning. At that time in her life, she knew she wasn’t grown up enough to write that kind of book, so she moved to Seattle, got married, and got a PhD at the University of Washington. She continued to write and, in her words, thankfully, none were published. She taught writing and literature, had children, lived in Italy, moved home, renovated a house, stood by friends and parents as they faced death – and through it all, she wrote and learned her craft.
One day she got an idea for a novel about eight people and their teacher in a cooking school which she wrote for herself having given up on the idea of being a professional author, but The School of Essential Ingredients was published a few months before her 50th birthday. And the rest is history – she’s the author of five novels.
She wrote this one during the pandemic – her characters kept her company, learning, exploring, feeling, and thinking. Inspiration and research appeared in a variety of places and people – wandering through a bookstore she found One Breath about a diver that went too far. (Tyler) My Stroke of Insight took her inside the brain that was losing itself – (Madeline) Staging Sex for intimacy coordination expertise (Juliet) Two resources shared audiobook narration; Atlas Obscura – leap seconds for Annalisa’s character, a story in the NY Times about a young man stuck in a ghost town during a snowstorm ended up with William’s story – the magic of fiction. I could identify with this form of “inspiration” as in my novel, A Kind of Hush I read a newspaper article stored in my “ideas” box about a family hiking in the Zoar Valley Gorge near Buffalo, New York when they fell off a shale cliff. The parents died but the two young boys survived. In my latest work-in-progress, Dust in the Wind, in that same box, there was a clipping about Locks of Love in Paris and baby havens in Germany inspiring the beginning of the novel.
Discussion:
The group all read and finished the book, and I received emails from four who could not be at the meeting saying they did so as well. 13 in attendance plus 4 liked/loved the book with 2 saying it was not their cup of tea citing the format (short stories) and/or the progression of the plot as reasons. We talked about how people read the same book differently – some read for pleasure, others critically or in search of a deeper meaning, or simply to enjoy the poetry of the language. Often our opinions are formed by where we are in our lives at that time we picked up the book. Rereading your favorites also brings a different perspective. We talked about the opening line, “Wandering is a gift given only to the lost” and what it means to us and the characters – roaming aimlessly until your direction becomes clear or the realization that what you are looking for is where you started from. One Booker liked J.R.R. Tolkein’s version, “Not all those who wander are lost” which speaks to our innate desire to explore, learn, and grow. We discussed our favorite characters – for one it was Tyler, the diver because of his passion; mine was Nola who was lost only to be found – her go-to book characters evolved into strong brave women who figured out a way to survive in the face of despair; William was a man looking for a place that grief would not find him, ignoring the act that grief is a stowaway, always there and up for any journey. He stood by as his dying wife and daughter fed off each other’s sorrow…standing back as not to interfere. We talked about Juliet and whether there was really such a thing as an intimacy coordinator – maybe not in today’s film environment. We spoke of the connections between many of the characters beyond Theo; how the bits and pieces of the story were scattered between the profiles; and what was the meaning when Alice saw Miranda’s creation – Woman in Pieces. There you are. Here’s the door and you’re going in. Was there more to this symbolism than providing the inspiration for her to write again? The ending with Madeline was discussed, one Booker wanting her to live long enough to give Nola her home. She had a choice to live with her debilitating illness or die…as did Abigail…and William without food or water in the middle of nowhere, although he chose life.
In one poignant paragraph we read Abigail’s message to William about guilt being easier to drown in than any ocean…and in the margin she had written W. “Wasn’t that what marriages were, what love was – to see forgiveness in a single letter of the alphabet.” The author did a masterful job of tying up all the pieces of this puzzle – turning these vignettes into a complex novel.
On the business side:
Unfortunately, PWC Sunshine has been working overtime. There’s a time for pain and a time for healing. Our hope is to all those dealing with health issues that the healing comes soon, and that comfort and strength return. Please know you are in our prayers!
Bonnie Magee will be sending out an email regarding our Christmas fare for the December meeting. Please respond directly to her at bonniemagee@embarqmail.com with your choices. We always look forward to toasting the holiday season with our Bookers’ buddies!
The 3rd annual Cedar Creek Garden Club’s Holiday Tour of Homes is set for December 3rd 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are available at www.cedarcreekgardenclub.com/tour, during business hours at Tool City Hall, and Dogwood Designs in Caney City.
“A great book is one that you love.”
Happy Reading,
JoDee
