Wednesday, July 20, 2011

ANNAFEST DAY THREE

Gentle Readers,

We must welcome two new followers. The first is the fair Cinderita. I sent her a message to ask if she has a blog because I couldn't find one associated with her. If you have a blog, Cinderita, you can count on me to laud and magnify you here.

The second new follower is

me

I feel very silly, but somehow I signed up to follow my own blog. I don't know how to get out of it other than blocking myself, and I don't want to block ME. I love ME! Somebody please tell me how to get out of being my own follower, or maybe I should just stay since I love myself so much. Oh decisions, decisions.

Also, yesterday when I wrote about Black and BlueI should have pointed out the excellence of Quindlen's technique. Did you notice how effectively she uses language and repetition in the two small sections I quoted? In addition, there is a made for TV movie of Black and Blue, but as with the movie of One True Thing, it doesn't capture the spirit of the novel and they changed the end.

Now on this, the third day of Annafest, we have Blessings and already my lip is trembling, the tears are in the corners of my eyes, and in another minute or two I'll start the ugly cry. Yes, this is the Anna Quindlen novel that reduces your Lola to tears.

Skip Cuddy lives and works at Blessings, the beautiful estate owned by the elderly well-known grouch Lydia Blessing. Skip has had one darned hard life, but it hasn't made him a hard person -- certainly not hard like Lydia Blessing.

And it's a good thing Skip Cuddy is so kind-hearted because one morning he leaves his room at Blessings and steps outside to get to work mowing the lawn or whatever he has to do that day, and what does he find but a cardboard box -- a cardboard box with a baby in it. Skip takes care of the baby just as well as any good daddy would take care of his little girl. He names her Faith, and eventually Faith becomes the link that bonds Skip and Lydia Blessing. 

For a while.

Obviously, I can't tell you why Blessings makes me sob. I'd give away too much of the story. Just believe me that if you read this book, you'll have a good cry. It's the kind of cry that mixes sadness and happiness and you won't be sorry you read a book by Anna Quindlen -- not ever. 

Cinderita, if you'd like to get to know WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME better, I recommend reading 


I like to concentrate on issues that are important to women (but I don't all the time), and many of the books and movies I review focus on women (but not always). This is definitely not a for women only blog. I welcome your comments. I usually don't spend a week writing about one author as I am this week with Anna Quindlen, but I love Anna so much I decided she deserves her own week. It's really more fun, though, to write about how bad my gas is, how tiny a certain man's penis is, the things that annoy me or the things I love, interesting or unusual issues, and my dogs.

I adore my dogs the way other people adore their toddlers. I hope you love dogs too, but if you don't, it's o.k. Just don't ever fucking criticize MY dogs.

Infinities of love and Anna,

Lola

2 comments:

  1. I agree - great book! Made me cry, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did you do the ugly cry or was it just a few tears and then blowing your nose?

    Love,
    Lola

    ReplyDelete

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