Scan barcode
A review by pattydsf
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
3.0
“Because Wade had thrown everything away - drawings, clothes, toys - each accidental remnant loomed in Ann's mind with unspeakable importance. Four moldy dolls buried in the sawdust of a rotten stump. A high-heeled Barbie shoe that fell from the drainpipe. A neon toothbrush in a doghouse. Then, finally, the half-finished drawing in a book. Artifacts heavy with importance they didn't deserve, but which they took on because of their frightening scarcity; they built up against her, making stories of themselves, memories inside her head that should have remained in Wade's.”
Once again, I pick up a novel because of the ToB. This one threw me for a loop. I try not to read too much about ToB books before I start reading and so I had no idea what Ruskovich’s story was about. I was a bit startled when I learned how Wade’s life had taken a drastic turn and that Ann was not his first wife. Although I was uncomfortable with the violence in this book, I was able to keep reading at least for awhile.
I think the quote above says so much about this novel. Ann has “memories inside her head that should have remained in Wade’s.” That was the sticking point for me, the place where I had to put down this story and consider whether I could go on. So much has happened to Wade and as the book opens he is losing his memory. Why does Ann want to take on those memories? And what about Jenny? Does she want to remember what has happened? How do the actions of the past continue to reverberate through the story? I have so many questions and not nearly enough answers.
I would not have gotten past the violence of this book without the ToB. I would have put it down for something easier, simpler, happier. I would have missed something worth reading, worth thinking about. I wish I could get my book group to read this. However, what might have turned me off would cause the women in my group to run the other direction.
Once again, I pick up a novel because of the ToB. This one threw me for a loop. I try not to read too much about ToB books before I start reading and so I had no idea what Ruskovich’s story was about. I was a bit startled when I learned how Wade’s life had taken a drastic turn and that Ann was not his first wife. Although I was uncomfortable with the violence in this book, I was able to keep reading at least for awhile.
I think the quote above says so much about this novel. Ann has “memories inside her head that should have remained in Wade’s.” That was the sticking point for me, the place where I had to put down this story and consider whether I could go on. So much has happened to Wade and as the book opens he is losing his memory. Why does Ann want to take on those memories? And what about Jenny? Does she want to remember what has happened? How do the actions of the past continue to reverberate through the story? I have so many questions and not nearly enough answers.
I would not have gotten past the violence of this book without the ToB. I would have put it down for something easier, simpler, happier. I would have missed something worth reading, worth thinking about. I wish I could get my book group to read this. However, what might have turned me off would cause the women in my group to run the other direction.