RE: Echo Park
I enjoyed it, probably giving it a c+. I still haven't gotten over my phobia about not finishing a book I start. I have Connolly's THE OVERLOOK and I start to read it until another book catches my eye but still I keep it on my bedside table.
I read Kathy Reich's BONES TO ASHES in one sitting. I'll review it soon. I wonder what it is that makes me absolutely adore her writing. For those of you who don't know. Reich is the person on whom the character Temperence Brennan of BONES TV is based. The Tempe in Ms. Reich's books is much more to my liking than the one in the TV series. I suspect I like her books because 1) I like the characters she has created and I want to know how they are getting along from time to time 2) I like books with settings that transport me there either places that I recognize and recall fondly or in Ms. Reich's case, Montreal where I have never visited but would very much like to spend some time. 3) Reich usually has a (what is it called) a hot topic that I find interesting -- a hook?
Her last book was about the bones of Jesus family.
When her TV series started I was afraid that I would have no more of her books to enjoy. Bones to Ashes had all the elements of a good mystery and it also had a very satisfying ending. The hooks are both subjects that came to interest me on our National Park Quest: Hansen's Disease and Acadians.
We learned about the Acadian culture and history when we visited Louisiana and saw the statue to Longfellow's Evangalene. In Molokai, my husband and I traversed a 1,000 foot cliff by mule (clinging to the side of the mountain) to reach the leper colony there. This place is so remote that it cannot be reached by car. A plane flies in once a day with perishables and only once a year does a ship dock to bring big purchase items such as washing machines.
Although Hansen's Disease is completely curable, the people were so isolated that they don't want to leave and join the rest of the world. They are free to come and go but choose to stay. The government has said that they have a home for as long as they wish.
It is eerie. The people stay indoors while the visitors are there. (They like having the visitors -- they want their story told -- just want their privacy respected). There are no sounds of autos-- there are none. There are no children. There are lots and lots of pets.
If you have ever watched the opening of Jurassic Park, the opening helicopter shot was from this Leper Colony. Our tour guide and "mayor" of the town said they were excited to have the film crew in residence for the time of shooting.
so, with a double punch of Hansen's info (I learned more than I knew by reading Reich's book) and an Acadian story (I didn't learn more about this culture than I had learned in Louisiana) I literally could not put down Ms. Reich's last book.
I give it a solid "A" ---
Kathy
Last edited by BamaMama; 09/06/07 04:52 PM.
