It’s time for #6Degrees (and for the first time, I’m hosting – that’s code for you absolutely must join in, please)!
We begin with Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge. The story is set in a small town in Maine, as is John Irving’s beautiful saga, The Cider House Rules.
The Cider House Rules was made into a film in 1999. I was nervous, as anyone is when one of their favourite books is made into a film but my worries were unjustified – the movie was brilliant.
Which brings me to Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates – another book I love with an equally good movie to match.
My reading year began with Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety. It’s the first Stegner I’ve read and I found his style similar to that of Richard Yates – a happy discovery, indeed.
Much of Crossing to Safety is set in a ramshackle apartment, in a university town. It brought to mind a similar arrangement in Susan Choi’s My Education.
I read My Education a few years ago but one of the secondary characters, Dan, stood out. Likewise, the character of Melanie, from The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie, plays a small role but I’m quite sure that it’s her I’ll remember in years to come.
An important element of The Portable Veblen is the main character’s conversations with squirrels (‘conversations’ because the squirrels ‘talk’ back). Similarly, in Erland Loe’s Doppler, the main character has lengthy dialogue with an elk.
From small town Maine and great contemporary writers to campus life and conversations with animals, all in six moves.
Next month (March 5th, 2016) the chain will begin with the first book in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, My Brilliant Friend.
I wonder where other chains will lead? Join in and link up!
