This piece of literary art, written by the acclaimed writer Julian Barnes, explores the notion of one’s memory in a most deep and philosophical way.  It can be perplexing until the proverbial penny drops, leaving the reader with possibilities of their own past, which she or he might never have imagined.

The novel commences with the narrator, Tony Webster, recounting his time in sixth form when he and his two best mates befriend a new boy, Adrian Finn, who continuously makes simple statements with profound meanings, leaving his friends and teachers simultaneously confused and impressed.  Adrian’s apparent search for the truth provokes us to question the memories we have from our own past.  He quotes Patrick Lagrange a couple times to demonstrate this: “History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.”  This quotation remains with us for the entirety of the novel.  It becomes even more relevant when time skips forward forty years and Tony looks back at the years he spent at university with his first love, Veronica Ford, who broke up with him and subsequently began a relationship with Adrian Finn…..before the unthinkable happened.

Just as the characters in this book seem to set out to purposefully mystify one another, so too does the author baffle his readers with esoteric musings, which can leave one unhinged.  However, by the last page of this short novel, Barnes does give us some sense of an ending, which will likely stay with you for an extended period.

emmasharptv@gmail.com

Linda Sue Park has taken the childhood experiences of Salva Dut and crafted his courageous feat of fleeing on foot from the war in Southern Sudan in the mid-eighties, having lost his family, into a book that reads more like a novel than a biography.  At the same time, she jumps to 2008 to recount the story of Nya, another Sudanese child who must walk miles every day to fetch water for her family.

Park captivates her audience with a story about perseverance and persistence.  She guides us along Salva’s journey across the Nile River and through the Akobo Desert into Ethiopia, crossing the Gilo River twice – the second time swimming for his life to avoid being shot by soldiers or eaten by crocodiles, then back through part of the Abobo Desert and towards Kakuma in Kenya.  Salva does finally bring himself to safety as he arrives at Ifo refugee camp, Kenya, in 1992, seven years after that fateful day in school when his teacher ordered the class to, “Go! All of you, now!”

The vivid writing of the author will almost allow you to feel Salva’s physical and emotional pain, while releasing endorphins as he triumphs over every endured adversity, including extreme thirst and hunger, and ends up in a position to help Sudanese people 24 years later.  Beginning both the story of Salva and the one of Nya more than 20 years apart, Park brings it all together at the end in 2009, when we learn how our past can help shape the future of fellow humans.

An absolute gem to be shared with the entire family!

First comment: Eye-opening!

I would never have known to buy a copy of Lost Connections, nor had I previously heard about it.  However, last week, when I saw it sitting on top of a pile of books that were bequeathed to me by relatives who have recently visited, I decided, in my plight to diversify my reading, to give it a go.  If you recall from my second review this year, I do not ordinarily like self-help prose, but this book is well worth picking up and perusing.

A sufferer of depression from childhood, Johann Hari has done justice to the pandemic problem of mental health by thoroughly researching his topic and laying it out in a most comprehensive and cohesive way.  Traveling extensively around the world, interviewing countless people affected by depression, their doctors and many other scientists, Hari set out to uncover, “The real causes of depression – and the unexpected solutions.”  He has a most engaging writing style, even drawing in the readers who don’t suffer from depression, and he makes you want to share his findings with every person who struggles with mental health, despite being on anti-depressants, along with professionals who prescribe these drugs.

Johann Hari delves into depressed people’s disconnections from their work, other people, meaningful values, childhood trauma, status and respect, the natural world, and a hopeful or secure future.  He discusses the real role of genes and brain changes, and then he brings it all home by showing us how to make the reconnections most people, even the happy ones, have lost in the last several decades.

As I was poring over one page after the other, I’d often be thinking to myself, Okay, but he hasn’t considered x or y.  However, the next thing I’d know, the author would answer my thoughts.  This happens throughout the book, demonstrating to me that Hari is not only thorough when it comes to his work, but he clearly has a capacity to connect to people, one of the very solutions he insists is key to combating depression.

emmasharptv@gmail.com