Reading for Me

My reading slump continues. However, I did manage to read Mercy Street over the course of the last three weeks. I had high expectations for the novel. It was well-written. It was an extremely interesting topic. I am assuming that my failure to connect with the book has more to do with my current mood than the quality of the book. As always, this review is intended to be nothing more than a dialogue about my own experience with the book at this particular moment in time.

Mercy Street is set in Boston and focuses on the daily operation of an abortion clinic and the women who work there. These women do not have all of the answers to life’s pressing issues. They face struggles and uncertainty. Some are even facing their own unwanted pregnancy.

To make matters worse, the staff learns that pictures are being snapped of patients as they enter the facility. When the staff discovers the photographs included on the “Hall of Shame” online, they are certain that their patients and all who work there are in extreme danger.

This was definitely an engaging, exciting read. My problem arose from the numerous storylines that ran parallel to each other. I connected with the women in the clinic. I found the drug dealer and the End Times vigilante to be flat, two-dimensional characters. It wasn’t that I didn’t identify with them. They simply didn’t seem real in my imagination.

I’ve placed Mercy Street in a prominent place so I will see it again this summer. Perhaps I’ll pick it up again and give it another chance. For right now, I have to admit that I was let down by my reading experience.

This week’s prompt in the reading challenge was a book with a twist. That was proving to be a challenging thing to determine without getting too many spoilers, so I decided to use the mammoth novel that I began over Christmas break to fill the gap. Coming in at over 900 pages, The Pillars of the Earth certainly had more than a few plot twists that kept me coming back for more. I needed to read the last 250 pages or so this week to finish the novel, so it felt like a reasonable challenge despite the slow reading pace that the novel required. I got done just under the wire on Saturday evening!

I’ve been told for many years that I needed to read The Pillars of the Earth. I had enjoyed Follett’s Century Trilogy, but there was just something about the prospect of reading a massive novel about the construction of a cathedral in Medieval England that did not excite me. As Christmas break rolled around, I knew that I needed something to lose myself in and decided to give the work a long-overdue try. To put it simply, the novel is beautifully written with an exquisitely developed cast of characters.

The story really centers around three major characters. Tom Builder and his family find their way to Kingsbridge as they desperately search for work. Along the way, the family meets Alaina, a beautiful young duchess who has lost her fortune when her father is falsely arrested. The monastery at Kingsbridge is lead by Prior Phillip who is gentle, wise, and compassionate. However, any good story also must have people that we love to hate……and Follett fills the bill with Waleran Bigod, a nasty priest with a thirst for power and the bloodthirsty Earl-to-be, William Hamleigh.

It would be impossible to provide a plot summary in such a short space. While the cathedral is a character herself, the story centers around the people who are instrumental in the construction process. The cast is vast, but can easily be visualized through Follett’s excellent prose. Although set in the Middle Ages, many of the important themes traced throughout the book are extremely modern and relevant to the 21st century reader. Do yourself a favor and find the time to dive into the enthralling world of Kingsbridge. It’s a journey worth taking.

What’s ahead this week? I’ll continue my reading challenge. This week’s prompt is to read a book that is the source of a 2022 movie. I’ve decided to finally read Delia Owens’ Where The Crawdads Sing. I suppose it’s time to see what all of the hype has been about.