2.17.2009

Oh, Annie Freeman, you fictional you.

My book club just finished and discussed a book by Kris Radich. "Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral" was the book. I'm not a professional book reviewer so my report will not be as up to snuff as, say one that my friend(s) could write, but this is my impression.

This book felt like two bodies of writing to me. One is an essay on women's relationships and the emotional journey of grief. The other is a nice novel about women on a traveling funeral.

I thought it was a nice story as far as the band of women rallying around in their grief to fulfill their dead friend's wishes. I don't know that I believe the depth at which all of the women were able to delve into their emotions, identify and classify them and discuss their feelings with such well written and intricate dialogues. That was a little much. Maybe it's because I'm not in my mid-fifties. Maybe I'm too straight forward and practical. Maybe I never bought the line about women having a special bond that the other sex doesn't get. I don't believe it still. I don't have that bond with women, anyway. Not that I know of. Sure, childbirth, menstrual cramps, and being the weaker sex are all things we have in common. I just don't think that gives us an instant connection. What does give us a connection is our experiences. Sharing them and letting others become a part of our existence. That's where bonds come from, not our sex. I also don't think people talk that way. At least, no one I know does.

Read it with a grain of salt, a hankerchief, and a glass of wine. Also, read it in two frames of mind: essay and novel.

1 comment:

  1. I wouldn't argue with any of that. Was nice to see you again! - T.

    ReplyDelete

Go ahead and tell me what you think, but in the words of the great Wil Wheaton, "Don't be a dick."