Jane B

This is a history of the people living on the 12 mile straight. Writing influenced more by Carson McCullers or Pat Conroy than William Faulkner, There is a touch of Dickens in the naming of some of the characters. One of the characters, Genus, defines his story. Genus means: a category ranking above species and below family which seemed to nicely sum up his place and influence. Nan is a palidrome which makes her the same going forward or backward. Elma means "she knows". Juke means to move in a zigzag fashion. Henderson tells a good story albeit the pacing seems a bit slow.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts" - Shakespeare. This book is divided into Acts and Scenes rather than chapters to emphasize this point and Shakespeare's words have become a language that the student actors speak to each other in daily life rather than simply on the stage. Shakespeare is quoted extensively as the group performs Macbeth and King Lear. (Shakespeare's Edmund speaks the book title in King Lear.) If you read carefully, you will guess the resolution. There is one more twist at the end. St. Elmo's Fire, A Little Life-minus the abuse, and The Lacuna provide the patchwork around Shakespeare's words forming the story. "Much is the force of heaven-bred poesy".

This is a simple straightforward story about a determined woman with a degenerative disease that lived with her younger brother on the family farm in Maine. When she was in her 40's the woman, Christina Olsen was visited by,a friend, Betsy James and her soon to be husband, artist, Andrew Wyeth. Wyeth became a frequent visitor to the farm and Christina, her brother, their house and the farm itself became Wyeth's subjects. The famous painting Christina's World was one result of Wyeth's fascination with the Olsens. But this book is not about Wyeth,rather it is about Christina, her life's struggles and gains. It reminded me of the books in the school library about famous people. This book would possibly appeal to young adult readers who might have found the painting of Christina's World interesting. The author tells Christina's story "blending fiction and non fiction, filling in the details, illuminating stories that have been unnoticed or obscured" and gives us the story of the simple life of Christina Olsen.