Monday, March 26, 2012

Musing Monday...By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea


Yep, it is Monday, so let's check out this week's Musing from Miz B at  at Should Be Reading.

This week’s musing asks…

Have you ever found a book out of the blue, read it, and then had it be surprisingly good — one that stuck with you for years? If so, what book was it?

I think, unlike a lot of people answering this question, the book I thought of is not one that I read when I was a kid. Although I must say that The Hobbit had a lasting effect on my imagination...I still want to live in a hobbit house with those round doors.
No, when I read that question, one book, a book I read just last year, popped into my mind. It is Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye, his debut novel. I am not sure were I heard of it. It might have been another review, it could have been an ad online or a recommendation from Amazon or Library Thing. And I must say that I was encouraged to by it, as we have mused about in previous MMs, by that cover. Yes, I do love books about the sea, on the sea, about people who love the sea..

But actually, this book does not take place on the sea. Water yes, sea so. The majority of the book is set in two places, both past and present, on Lake Superior and at a cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota.
"Set against the powerful lakeshore landscape of northern Minnesota, Safe from the Sea is a heartfelt novel in which a son returns home to reconnect with his estranged and dying father thirty-five years after the tragic wreck of a Great Lakes ore boat that the father only partially survived and that has divided them emotionally ever since."
I liked this book a great deal.
In fact, it was actually one of my favorite books of the year.
But what about it sticks with me? I have to assume it is the way the places in the book are described. That cabin at the lake is an image that actually comes to my mind from time to time to this day. Not that it is so spectacular..no, it's not, but something about it just struck something in me. A really good book.

Of course, that raises a point I have discussed before, about the 'memories' from all the books we have read in our lifetime. I have read thousands and thousands of books, each adding just a bit more, a little bit or a bigger bit, to me. To my brain, to my consciousness, my unconsciousness. It is a little odd when you think of it...maybe you remember something and then it occurs to you that it might be something you once read rather than something you actually experienced. Personally, I still consider it my experience, just a slightly different sort of experience.

I must say that I am happy to see that Mr. Geye has another book coming out this year in October, called The Lighthouse Road. Golly, does that sound like a book I might like?
Maybe..lol
By the way Mr Geye, if you should happen to read this and you want someone to read your new book and help get some early reviews out there, let me just throw my hat in the ring!

And now, for a musical interlude, Mickey and his Friends with a nautical tune...




14 comments:

  1. Love your choice! I haven't heard of this one before, but it's definitely now being added to my TBR list. Thank you for sharing! :)

    Here's mine:

    http://amylunderman.blogspot.com/2012/03/musing-mondays-and-upcoming-release.html

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  2. Lighthouse Road? He wrote it just for YOU! Put this little cabin in Maine and it's definitely a winner in my book!

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  3. Another enjoyable MM post. Thank you. Your point about reading so many books is why I had a difficult time with this question. I answered from an author rememberance.

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  4. I haven't heard of these books either, but sounds like something I may enjoy reading.

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  5. Sounds like it could have been a tear jerker, sometimes it's good when people reconnect. Great pick. Here's my Musing.

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  6. Nice post and nice pitch for the next book.

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  7. Wow! I've come close to picking that one up two or three times. It sounds like I need to next time.

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  8. Hi Caite,

    This is definitely a new author for my reading list. I checked out his website and both the books you mention and I'm hooked, so thanks for the recommendation.

    If we are taliking about childhood books which stay with you forever, mine would have to be anything by Enid Blyton, I was an avid reader.

    Adult books which stay in the memory are much more difficult, as there are some great ones out there, although Agatha Christie would have to be at the top of the tree, I think.

    Yvonne

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  9. Sounds like Mr. Geye might be targeting you as his ideal reader!!

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  10. Sounds like an interesting book. Isn't it amazing how certain lines in books keep staying in your mind?

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  11. OH I am so with you! It is totally amazing the memories involved! I had the same thing happen to me this week and wrote a diatribe... err longer post!

    MusingMonday

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  12. I haven't heard of this before, definitely need to check it out! :)

    Thanks for sharing, and thanks for stopping by!

    Monaliz @ Mind Reading?

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  13. Hi! Thanks for dropping by my blog!

    Great post as usual. :-)

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