I Should'a posted!

I did finish some reading on my Christmas break. NJot a lot, but some.

The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larson. A sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, Lizabeth returns to prove that she's smarter than anyone I know. A hacker with perfect memory, she is at at the heart of the mystery surrounding the death of two new characters who were about to publish an expose/thesis about th white slave industry in Sweden. There is a Star Wars-like revelation and and an even more shocking twist. Parts are implausible, but I like that Larson creates stories about strong women, particuarly a strong woman who hates men who hate women. I'm looking forward to the next book. Sorry that there won't be more given Larson's death.

A Death in the Family, by James Agee. A short, but moving book about the death of a father in a car accident. The irony of his having traveled to his parents' house out of fear that hisown father was on his deathbed, only to find that his father was not. And then to be killed on the way home to his family, having promised his family that he would return. The anxious waiting following the call to the man's wife about the accident, without providing information about the condition of the victim. The initial shock and the questions about what happened. The telling of the children. The visit tothe funeral home. All are poetically described. Ultimately, the books serves as a reminder of how tenuous of a grasp on life any given individual has, and how interwoven are the lives of those who love that individual. Life is sweet even when it is hard.