Carl Sandburg Historic Site

 (The birthplace of Carl Sandburg)

 A recent road trip took the Huz and I through Illinois and we stopped for lunch in Galesburg. I was surprised to discover signs for the Carl Sandburg Historic Site. We made a quick detour and visited the birthplace of Carl Sandburg, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet whose famous "Fog" poems is read by students everywhere.

 There is a visitors center located next to the small home where Sandburg was born. It had a wonderful exhibit (see above) chronicling his entire life. There were also poetry collections and novels by the author for sale at the front.

(RIGHT: Sandburg's childhood home / LEFT: The Remembrance Rock)

 The wonderful staff member took me on a quick private tour of his home. There was also a lovely garden behind the house where Sandburg's ashes are buried beneath the "Remembrance Rock."

 (RIGHT: The tiny home in the 1800s / LEFT: Sandburg meeting with JFK)

I wasn't expecting to stop in Galesburg, but I'm so glad I did! It was wonderful to learn a bit more about one of our nation's finest poets. If you're in the area I'd recommend stopping in for a quick visit!

Photos by moi.

Arrowsmith

Arrowsmith

by Sinclair Lewis

★★★

Martin Arrowsmith is a medical student at the beginning of the 20th century. The Pulitzer-prize-winning novel follows his journal through school, two engagements, marriage, a job as a small town doctor and his pursuit to research cures for different strains of bacteria. Lewis has a distinct skill for writing about the inner workings of a small town life and the inherent pressures that go hand-in-hand with it. He was from a small Midwestern town and so he understood how they worked.

The frustration that many students feel when they take a job straight out of school is the same now as it was 100 years ago. They are idealistic and believe they will change the world, and then they are confronted with the unavoidable mundane aspects of the “real world.” They must deal with people they dislike and they have to face the prospect of doing the same thing every single day. Everyone reacts differently to this prospect, but most people have a hard time letting a few of their dreams go in order to make a difference on a smaller scale.

There is a lot of humor in the book. The scenes with Pickerbaugh, a local doctor who Martin works with, are particularly hilarious. He has a huge family and is obsessed with spreading information about personal health care. Martin quickly realizes he can’t stand him and he’s terrified he’ll become like him if he stays in that job.

As Martin vacillates between the pull of a steady job and income and the desire to pursue his research dream he is tempted by many things. A young woman named Orchid catches his eye, and then the possibility of a higher rank and power at his institution attracts him. Lewis did a great job laying out many of life’s temptations and chronicling Arrowsmith’s battle against them.

The book is truly about one man’s journey to find himself and his purpose in the world of medical research, but the heart of the book is Leora. She keeps him grounded, she gives him purpose. I do think she’s a man’s version of a perfect woman rather than a realized ad fleshed out character, but she is still interesting. Her relationship with Martin was the most interesting aspect of the book for me. There are moments when I just want to smack Martin for the way he treats her and takes her for granted. Her endless support is what keeps him going and yet he seldom acknowledges that. Martin’s other grounding force is his old professor, Max Gottlieb. He has always admired him and he aspires to become a researcher like him, but Martin puts Max on a pedestal and doesn’t try to connect with him as a real man.

The ending stumbled and faltered for me. It was almost as if Lewis was writing and writing and then realized at some point he would have to wrap things up and end the book. It didn’t mesh with the rest of the story and just felt contrived.

BOTTOM LINE: A long-winded look at one man’s struggle between his idealistic goals and the reality of being forced to conform to society’s standards. The plot loses its focused a couple times and that becomes tiresome. The main point is there, but at times it gets lost in the meandering observations of the writer.

“As he had never taught them to love him and follow him as a leader, they questioned, they argued long and easily on doorsteps, they cackled that he was drunk.”

The Yearling

The Yearling
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
★★★★☆

I avoided this one for years because I always thought it would be just like reading another painful version of Old Yeller. It may be a good story, but I’m a softy when it comes to animals and I didn’t want it to break my heart.

I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It’s not that it doesn’t have its sad parts, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the ultimate coming-of-age story. Jody, sweet young boy, grows up with his mother and father on isolated farm in Florida shortly after the Civil War. They struggle to survive harsh weather, the attacks of an old bear named Slewfoot and their wild neighbors who are both helpful and a bit dangerous.

Jody’s father, Penny Baxter, is the essence of a good man. He is kind and loving, but he also works hard to care for his family. Ma (Ory) is a cold woman and at first this is jarring. She seems so bitter and harsh and it’s hard to reconcile that with Penny’s tender nature. But you quickly realize that Ory has been through innumerable hardship and we learn that she has lost many children. We don’t know exactly how many or how they died, but we know Jody is the only child that survived. She’s given up on her dreams and realized that her life will never be made easier. This is her lot in life and she had to become hard to survive. It’s not easy to love a character like that, but I can understand how she has become that way.

It’s interesting that the yearling doesn’t actually show up until almost halfway through the book. This gives the reader a chance to connect with all of the other characters, which is crucial for the story to work.

The Yearling is really Jody’s story. He is such an innocent child at the beginning, but they live in a ruthless world and there’s very little room for playfulness in the adult life of a pioneer. People were completely dependant on the land. If there was a drastic change in the weather there was nothing they could do. Their food source came from what they could farm or shoot. We take so much for granted now. The sheer fact that we can go to a grocery store any time or pick up dinner at a restaurant makes it hard to even comprehend that kind of lifestyle. It’s a powerful story and an interesting glimpse into the life of a pioneer.

“Death was a silence that gave back no answer.”

A Visit From the Goon Squad

A Visit From the Goon Squad
by Jennifer Egan
★★★★★

This Pulitzer-Prize winner has gotten a lot of press for its unconventional format. I was a bit wary of the hype, but decided to give it a shot. The book opens with Sasha, a young woman in New York and I was immediately hooked. In the next chapter we meet her boss Bennie, then Rhea, who knew Bennie when he was young, then Lou, Bennie’s mentor, then Lou’s kids, etc. Each new section gives the story from a different person’s point of view, often flitting years into the past or future.

For me, chapter 4 “Safari,” in which we meet siblings Rolph and Charlie, was the turning point in the book. It showed me the stories were not just fun glimpses into random people’s lives. All of a sudden the book had an unexpected depth and every new chapter deepened the characters’ overall world.

The beautifully drawn maze reveals dozens of interconnected lives. It weaves them together, creating a tapestry that spans decades and continents. The format never seems forced, but instead it enhances each individual story by tying it to someone else’s complicated world.

My brain felt like it actually had to work as I started each new chapter. I wondered who this new person was and how they were connected to the bigger picture. I had to pay close attention to all the peripheral people in each section, because I never knew who I would be getting to know next. Yet with all those layers, the book never loses its feeling of lightness as readers play connect the dots with the characters.

Egan created such a wide web of lives that there is no chance for boredom or a lag in the book. The much lauded PowerPoint chapter lives up to the hype as well. It doesn’t feel gimmicky and works perfectly in the context of that person’s life. She also occasionally reveals flashes of what happens to people 20 or 30 years down the road, which sounds cheesy, but it worked perfectly.

I debated my rating on this, because it's by no means a perfect book, but in the end I really loved reading it and I know it's one I'll want to read again*. The thing that really tipped it over the edge is that I want to talk about it. I finished it and couldn't stop thinking about the characters and how they were connected and where each story lay in the overall chronology and I just wanted to discuss it with someone. And to me, that makes it a great book.

*I read a library book, but bought a paperback copy I found at Half Priced Books the day after finishing it.