Flesh and Blood

Michael Cunningham has been a favorite of mine since I first read The Hours. His books are some of the deepest and darkest I’ve ever read, but they are so incredibly beautiful. Flesh and Blood is no exception to that.

Flesh and Blood tells the story of a family living in the New York area (Long Island, NYC, Connecticut). It spans three generations, from 1935-1995. The thing I love so much about Cunningham is that he wraps the entire human experience into his stories, and no subject is barred, nor any character. LGBT characters are often the primary people in his stories, and this book is no exception to the rule. Because of the timeline, you will see all of the prejudices, struggles, stereotypes, etc thrown at the people in this book over and over and over again, and if it doesn’t infuriate you or make you want to sob…well…I don’t have much to say to you. AIDS and drug addiction also run rampant in the pages, along with suburban infidelity and general family dysfunction.

There is real emotion, love, desire, really every kind of feeling you could have, written into this book. Make sure you have ample Kleenex. This isn’t a friendly read. This is a heartbreaker, a battle, but well worth it. I would compare it to Middlesex, maybe.

Ok, I need some brain candy. Time for something easy.

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WWW Wednesday 11/19/2014

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham

 

 

What did you just finish reading?

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

Fairies by Skye Alexander

My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco by Joan Dale

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

I Grew My Boobs in China by Savannah Grace

A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

WWW Wednesday 11/12/2014

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Fairies by Skye Alexander

 

 

What did you just finish reading?

My Days with Princess Grace of Monaco by Joan Dale

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Tolkien by Devin Brown

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

The Iron Locket by Samantha Warren

Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham

Trees of Reverie September Readathon Daily Bookish Challenges Day Thirteen

If you could choose one relatively unknown, underrated or under appreciated book to share with others, which book would you recommend to others?

Another one of my favorite books is The Hours by Michael Cunningham. I watched the movie before reading the book, and I watched this movie over and over again. I was in love with the characters long before picking up the book, and so I instantly fell in love with the writing.

Cunningham hosts three women in parallel–along the plot of Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Brown, and Clarissa Vaughan all live very different lives, separated by time and culture, but their worlds are so similar in many ways, and they all circle back around each other.

I love the darkness that hides in the corners of this book. Depression and madness were like a shawl that Woolf wore every day, and the other two women constantly try to shrug it off.

What really causes me to recommend this book though, are what Cunningham writes about Woolf. I always tell people who want to read Virginia Woolf’s work to read this first, and then read Mrs. Dalloway. Woolf’s work is really jarring to read sometimes, but this will give you a (admittedly dramatized) look into the end of her life and you will understand more of where she comes from. Her work is so personal, and I think it’s important to understand her state of mind to really appreciate her writing. Reading her journals are another step as well. Woolf’s mind was incredibly brilliant, and incredibly tortured. She’s one person I would really love to discuss the world with. And I know she would find me absolutely ridiculous.

Favorite Author

What is my favorite author?

Is that a trick question?

I don’t have one.

Yes, I’m serious.

Source:  The Relentless Reader

I don’t have one. I have several. Austen, Hemingway, Wolfe. Michael Cunningham. Regina McBride. Ann Patchett. Wilde has now been added to the list. Countless authors who I’ve only read one of their books but I loved with a passion, and they are on my Goodreads list to read more and I just haven’t gotten back to them yet. John Green up there is probably on that list too now.

Why can’t I narrow it down to just one? Geez. They all have different qualities that I love. Every book is different and each means something to me at a different point in my life. And every time I reread them, I love them in different ways.

It would be like picking a favorite topping on my pizza, or a favorite beer.

And yes, I know some people like ONLY pepperoni, and ONLY Bud Lite. That is so totally not my style. Sometimes I want mushrooms and a Belgian. And sometimes I want hot peppers and a red ale. Or maybe a porter, or a triple or….dammit now I want a beer.

It’s almost the long weekend folks!