Friday, May 12, 2006

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America I recently finished "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. In this short and well-written nonfiction title, Ehrenreich goes undercover in Florida, in Maine and in Minnesota and describes what it's like to work low wage jobs. She works at Walmart, as a maid, as a waitress, and in a nursing home to see if it is possible to get by on $7.00 an hour. This is a quick and interesting read -- a fascinating book that pulls you along and afterwards you really want to talk about it. I can see why this was a popular title for community reading projects in Kalamazoo and other cities, and why it has been selected for Muskegon's One Book, One County community read next fall. MF 12:45:24 PM     The End of the Affair My daugher recommended The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. She had read it for a college course on modern British Literature, and thought I'd like it. She was right. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book has been made into a movie twice: in 1955 with Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, and John Mills; and in 1999 with Julianne Moore, Ralph Fiennes, and Stephen Rea. The story, told by Maurice Bendrix, is about his affair with Sarah Miles, the wife of Henry Miles, and how it ended. It takes place in London during World War II. Bendrix and Sarah are in his apartment when it is hit by a bomb. Bendrix is trapped under a door and Sarah, believing him to be dead, makes a deal with God that she will give him up if he is alive. He is alive, and she doesn't want to go back on her deal with God, so she ends the affair, but doesn't tell him why. He finally finds out why she left him, but by then it is too late. As my daughter said, you may figure out the ending, but you still want to know the details between the beginning and the end. Good Book. 11:00:48 AM

© Copyright 2008 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 11/18/2008; 2:45:52 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien