THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

The following is a book review I wrote for our mobile home park magazine. We have a small library at our clubhouse, and when I don’t have the time or inclination to go to the public library, I’ll go there to see what might be interesting. Recently I picked up a Readers Digest Condensed volume, and this story was in it. I had not heard of this author before.

THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE
by Kristin Hannah
A book review by Don Meyer

Ms Hannah has written a novel that touches many aspects of love, and what we do as a result of that love. This is not a romance novel, though there are aspects of that. It is also love within a family, the love that can come from helping someone, love that is lost, love that perhaps was never there, love of nature - sun, wind, rain - and even love of food.

Kristin Hannah lives in the Pacific Northwest, and it is there that this story is told. She has a knack for building multi-dimensional characters that stand out in one’s mind. For instance, there is the Italian mother who gesticulates wildly even when talking to her deceased husband. There is the determined teenage girl who yearns for the love of a mother. There are the divorced couple who still love one another, but find it difficult to connect. And there are others.

I found this tale so engrossing that after reading it in the Readers Digest condensed form, I bought the novel and re-read it, finding nuance and details missing, of course, from the condensed version. I highly recommend it.

Fun -

BEING THANKFUL: A rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night? Very commendable. What does she say?" The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"