Sooooo. I'm reading for school. Sigh. But it is an interesting book. Very quick read and I may be done with it after today.
The narrator, Caro, has been placed in a "home" due to her old age, health, and recent forgetfulness. Her brother and his much younger wife have "dumped" Caro off at the home. At least that is how Caro feels. Caro spends her days floating through old memories and trying to sort out how her life became what it is now, here at the home. Her caretakers do not seem to really care. Helpless and hopeless. It feels like existential angst as I read it. But I do love getting swept away in Caro's memories and the little things where she finds joy. Such as just being outside and just being. She gets so caught up in existing with the sunlight, she forgets to read her paper. I don't know if the purpose of the book is to demonstrate the singularity of death (at least death's personal process), how elderly are not valued in America, or as a caretaker, how we should not judge and must always treat people as a real and deserving human beings. Maybe it is all of the above. I'll report more when I finish. I have to write a huge paper on one of these books I read. Maybe I'll post the paper or an abridged version. One thing I know about the book already is I love the narrator. I love that she has lived more than many of us ever will, and I hate that she is treated as if none of that matters. Because she did not get married or have kids of her own - society says she has no one to care for her - she is left in this home essentially to die, as if her life never even mattered.
When I was reading one section about Caro and her European love affair, I quickly thought of Beth. Even though Caro has not, or has yet, to get into extreme detail about her one love, I know the possibilities would excite you, Beth! Other readers out there, if the possibilities excite you also, you should check out some Cedar Falls vignettes on Beth's page. Maybe Beth can post us a link to one to start the Cedar Falls virgins off right...
What are you reading now?
