Book Review -- The French House

The French House: An American Family, a Ruined Maison, and the Village That Restored Them All by Don Wallace

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  4

Source:  A review copy provided by Sourcebooks (I was not compensated in any monetary way for my review)

Genre:  Memoir; Travel memoir

Objectionable material:  None

Buyer's remorse: a term used to describe the feeling of regret or change of heart when making a significant purchase, like a house.

What Don and Mindy Wallace experience isn't so much buyer's remorse as, buyer's "oh my g*% what the Hell have we done?"

Surveying the condition of their French island ruin cottage, the enormity of their decision comes crashing down -- almost literally: they own a house they can't afford, in a place they don't live, and with repairs/reconstruction that needs to be done that is beyond their skill level. Their efforts seem doomed from the beginning.

But over the course of 30 years (this wasn't a property "flip" project) Don and Mindy create a second home where they become ensconced within this special Belle Ile community.

I loved this book. It was charming and witty -- full of hope and despair about this crumbling structure they chose to inhabit and make a home. I loved the friends with whom they associated -- from local farmers to immediate neighbors to vacationers -- it was truly a sense of community. I loved the history of the island from the Druids, to the Romans to the Germans.

I think we all dream about having a second home -- to live in a faraway paradise and to become a "native." The beautiful thing about the Wallaces -- is over the course of 30 years -- they made their dream come true.

View all my reviews

Book Review -- Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars (initially I was going to give it a 3)

Book hangover rating:  1 of 5 stars (I was ready for her journey to end).

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  Memoir

Objectionable material:  Language (including the F-bomb); sexual situations; drug use.

Completely shattered by the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed’s life hits bottom: she embarks on an adulterous lifestyle, divorces her husband (whom she claims to love), battles a potential heroin addiction, and becomes distant with her remaining family members.

In order to overcome her overwhelming despondence, Cheryl commits to hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, a 2600 mile trek through California, Oregon and Washington. In Wild, her successful memoir, she recounts the physical, personal, spiritual, and emotional journey she endures to reconnect with herself, and on many levels, with her mother.

This was an amazing excursion.

Admittedly poorly and underprepared, Cheryl battles horribly blistered feet, a back pack so over laden with supplies it becomes the “monster,” lack of water, late year snowstorms, rattle snakes and bears.

But fortunately, her trip is buoyed by the many strangers (who become friends) who help her along the way.

In times of difficulty, we often think of ways to “reconnect” or “find ourselves.” Most of us can get by with long weekends, or longer sabbaticals. But months long adventures are not possible. Ms. Strayed’s bravery and determination are unmatched. Especially for a woman traveling alone.

In the early days of her trek she recounts, “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me. Insisting on this story was a form of mind control, but for the most part, it worked. Every time I heard a sound of unknown origin or felt something horrible cohering in my imagination, I pushed it away. I simply did not let myself become afraid. Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn’t long before I actually wasn’t afraid…I was working too hard to be afraid.”

That was my favorite passage of the whole book.

The only issue I had with the book:  after weeks (which turned into months) on the trail, I grew a bit weary reading about her hike – it became much of the same -- waiting for supplies at the next outpost, hunger, blisters, setting up camp – same situation, different location.

But it is a bold book about, as Ms. Strayed says, “learning to bear what you cannot bear.”

View all my reviews

Book Review -- South to Alaska

South to Alaska: A True Story of Courage and Survival from the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream by Nancy Owens Barnes

My enjoyment rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source:  Copy received from the author -- my thoughts on this book are my own; I was not compensated in anyway for my review.



What were your dreams growing up?

To be a fireman? Policeman? Princess?

Those are common responses if you were to query a grade school aged child.

I wanted to be a football coach. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

When Melvin Owens spotted a picture of an Alaskan cabin in a 4th grade text book, he knew from that day on, his dream was to live there. After a 50 year journey, his dreams came true.

Nancy Owens Barnes has created a masterfully blended account of her father’s childhood in Oklahoma, her parents’ marriage, her own upbringing, and ultimately his quest to build a boat in land-locked Arkansas, which would take him to his beloved destination.

It took three years of laboring in his “spare time” for Melvin to build the Red Dog in his Arkansas back yard. According to the author,

“The Red Dog surprised many who drove over the rise of the hill by our house to find a large ocean-going vessel sitting high and dry…they couldn’t see that the Red Dog would be my father’s song, and the final unfolding of a dream that had slumbered against his thoughts for many years.”

From that point on, it would take another two years to navigate (primarily alone) the Red Dog thru con-artists, waterways, canals, Gulfs, foreign ports, customs, and finally to its destination – Ketchikan, Alaska.

South to Alaska is part Thor Heyerdahl, Bill Bryson, and Sebastian Junger (and even the prophet Noah!) in scope. With narrative that is equally entertaining as you read Melvin’s folksy mannerisms; agonizing as you experience the many treacherous storms; and educational as you immerse yourself in the geography and botany of the lush Latin American region – it is rewarding on multiple levels.

In the end, I fell in love with Nancy’s parents – people I seemed to recognize immediately from my own background. Two great people, working incredibly hard, and living their lives to the fullest.

I don’t think Melvin ever saw an angel, but South to Alaska is ultimately about a man who was inspired to fulfill a God-given calling and dream.

View all my reviews

Book Review -- A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book source:  Public library

Sensitive reader: Foul language -- what I would consider "locker room" talk.

With bravado and a lot of planning, Bill Bryson sets out on the arduous journey to hike the mythical Appalachian Trail, the roughly 2100 mile trek from Georgia to Maine. He is accompanied by an unlikely partner, affectionately known as “Katz,” a college buddy with whom he traveled (not very harmoniously, we learn) in Europe during their collegiate days.

Bryson’s charming and witty narrative gives us a hiker’s view of the travails and rewards of making this once in a lifetime journey. They experience miserable weather, sleepless nights, small town accommodations, grumblings with other trekkers and with one another – but also spectacular vistas, scenery, and a huge sense of accomplishment (even though they don’t manage to finish then entire trail).

It’s really an inspiring tale, maybe not so much to journey the Appalachian Trail, but to strap on your hiking books and explore the nearest parks and trails within the boundaries of your own state. I was ready to head out to hike one of our local trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park during any number of chapters.

However, the story drags when the author veers from his account of their journey and talks of the many maladies that are affecting the trails – from environmental woes to lack of government funding to neglect. I think we all know that humanity has been an enormously destructive force to our environs – it was just a complete downer that I had to be constantly reminded of how evil we are. It was also dated. Bryson took this journey in 1994 (or was it 1996?) – and the book was published in 1998 – I suppose the trail hasn’t changed much in roughly 15 years (it’s probably worse, considering the above issues) – but somehow it just felt old.

This was also a book that would have benefited from other points of view – I would love to have read Katz’s account of their journey – or of Bryson’s wife, who sat at home with their 4 children while he took a 7 week extended leave of absence. She must be a saint, because if my husband left me to go trek a countryside for an extended period – I’m not sure what he would find when he returned!

Regardless, I still enjoyed Bryson’s writing and would be willing to read his others works.

View all my reviews