Faithful Place, by Tana French
Lousy picture, but a great book. In fact, all of Tana French's mysteries are wonderful. This is her best. When I finished it, I was jealous.
This is no ordinary mystery/suspense writer. The woman is a natural psychologist, and writes from a man's perspective better than most men. While the story is moved along by the mystery, the real story is in the characters, the nature of family dysfunction, secrets, and lies. In all of her books, Tana French writes with an air of the surreal or the supernormal; they are haunting.
My rating: one of the best ever written
This book was written in the early 1930's by a cockroach. He crept into the City Room of the newspaper after hours and wrote by jumping from key to key on a typewriter. Needless to say, there is no punctuation; design your own. His name is Archy, and Mehitabel The Cat is his best friend. It is from Mehitabel that I get my favorite inspirational phrase: "Toujours gai, Archy, toujours gai; there's a dance in the old dame yet." Archy records their adventures in and around New York, their sojourn to Paris and their decision to return home. And within the framework of a terrific yarn, deep observations of people and the times emerge. Check out the mummy who comes to life after 3,000 years, only to discover he has awoken in a dry country, and responds to Prohibition by dying for good.
I have started reading books written by MD's, physicists et al on the subject of life after death, or as I like to think of it, continuity of consciousness. Check 'em out:
Physics of the Soul: The Quantum Book of Living, Dying, Reincarnation and Immortality by Amit GoswamiAmazing book. The quantum physics is explained so that I (finally!) understand it and from that perspective, it's hard to argue AGAINST the continuum of consciousness. Goswami makes a few "quantum leaps" in his reasoning that may or may not have merit, but the overall concept is fascinating.
Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences by Jeffrey LongMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay, the skeptics are thinning ranks as they get closer to that magic moment....personally I love the current plethora of books on death and dying, thanks, baby boomers! This one is particularly interesting. Written by a doctor (they're the ones usually closest to near dead people), it is about the Near Death Research Foundation's efforts at gathering thousands of anecdotal accounts of same. Some are quite amazing. Most amazing of all, is that people who are flatlining could have any recollection of anything, since their brains are not functioning. But they do; they not only have personal experiences, they often see what is happening around them. This is not scientifically possible, but like so many things, it just is....
