I guess my summer reading schedule is coming to a close. Phoebe was talking about reading 52 books in 52 weeks. I'm at 26 books for this year, so I'm a bit behind. I don't dare start another book until after school starts - I have a tendency to get wrapped up in a book - and I read when I should be doing other stuff!!
So I finished Bel Canto this morning. I have started this book 3 or 4 times - and just never seemed to be able to get into it. Then I read 3 other books by the author - and they grabbed me right away. So that gave me the resolve to stick it out - and the 3rd or 4th time was a charm!!
One of the elements of this novel that is so compelling is the role of language. One of the characters is a translator - and after the group of hostages is finalized, it turns out that they speak several different languages. The translator becomes essential to all of them - and the story seems to grow from there.
The fact that they are in small groups that cannot communicate well with one another impacts the development of the story - and the inter-relationships of the hostages. Two romances that develop have characters who cannot speak each others languages - love grows through shared experiences - in one case the love of opera and in the other the desire to learn not only a new language, but to learn to read and write.
If you haven't read it - give it a look-see - and let me know what you think!!
For now I'm going to start re-reading Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - I noticed that on the cover of my copy there is a quote from Ernest Hemingway, "I recommend Forester to every literate I know."
Seems like a pretty good recommendation!!
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