Happy Bloomsday! Every year on June 16th, people from around the world celebrate the genius of James Joyce. The protaganist of Joyce's
Ulysses was a character named Leopold Bloom - thus, Bloomsday.
I would like to say that I have read Ulysses, but I don't want to lie. I have always found James Joyce to be a little intimidating. I did, however, just finish the most wonderful book in which the main character was named after Leopold Bloom. In celebration of that book, I am honoring this day with a review.
Pat Conroy's South of Broad will not be published for a few more months, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on a galley of the book. I have been a Pat Conroy fan for years, loving both Beach Music and The Prince of Tides. I love his writing and feel that his descriptions of place put you right there. But it has been a while since I read him and I wondered if the older me would be touched by his writing.
The book is truly wonderful. I fall in love with books on occasion and this one has me head over heels. The characters, the setting, the heart-wrenching love between parent and child and husband and wife, the long, long friendships, the beauty of Charleston, the cruelty of people and nature all combine to form that gem of a book that haunts you long past the turning of the last page.
The Open Book's classic bookclub just finished reading Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I have always been a Steinbeck fan, but my admiration has deepened with this odd book. The opening line is " Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem , a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream." From this line Steinbeck goes on to tell a story of the people of Cannery Row, some of whom are down and out, som
e of whom are dreamers, some of whom are whores. It is a beautiful mish mash of a story held together by the glue of the Chinese grocery owner and Doc, the collector of marine and other specimens. Some of the other memorable characters are Mack, Eddie, Dora (the town madam) and an enigmatic character known only as "The Chinaman". Steinbeck once said that he wanted the book to have the qualities of a tide pool. I think that he succeeded, because the stories change as the time passes and you read on. This is a great book to read on a lazy summer afternoon. 
