Rural Routes, Blog Version

“Moral Disorder” – by Margaret Atwood. McClelland and Stewart, 2006. 1^st edition.

I purchased this hardcover book at Black’s Book in Winnipeg during their 80% off closing sale in June.

While recognizing her undisputed talent and international success, I have never loved Margaret Atwood in the same way that I love the writing of Margaret Laurence, Carol Shields or Alice Munro. I’m not sure why.

Certainly in the cases of Laurence and Shields, I relate to the Manitoba connection, a sense that the authors are writing about places I know and the kind of people I know well.

Many years ago, I read “The Handmaid’s Tale” and found it chilling. A friend borrowed my copy and never returned it. So now, when the novel enjoys a resurgence in topicality and popularity, I bought a new copy, but haven’t yet reached it in the pile.

“Moral Disorder” is a compilation of linked short stories that span a lifetime. The stories are not told chronologically, although there is a seamless quality to the way in which they bridge present and past.

QUICK TAKES:

“Gone Girl” – by Gillian Flynn, Broadway Books, New York, 2012.

This paperback was purchased at a yard sale.

I had seen the movie, but never before read the book. It was difficult now to envision the male character Nick as anyone other than Ben Affleck. My imagination was blocked by what I had seen on-screen.

That said, I enjoyed the book more than I did the movie.

“The Last Kind Words Saloon” by Larry McMurtry, Liveright Publishing, New York, 2014.

This one was my husband’s recommendation. The only McMurtry book I had previously read was “Terms of Endearment” and that was a long time ago.

A relatively short read, “The Last Kind Words Saloon” takes a look at Wild West figures Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, tracing “the last days of a cowboy lifestyle that is already passing into history”.

Wyatt’s brother Warren carries the “Last Kind Words Saloon” sign with him from town to town. It was the name of his bar in Long Grass, Texas. No one knows what the name means. It is a mystery that is never solved.

The book is at times funny, sometimes farcical, at other times almost wistful. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, the Wild West ended “not with a bang, but a whimper.”

INTERRUPTED SLEEP

The news feed tells us that there may be a link between interrupted sleep and alzheimer’s.

“Guess we have to do something about the dog,” I told my husband.

Every night, our dog wakes me to be let outside. He comes to the bedroom and stands in the doorway. Often he doesn’t even have to make a sound, he has me that well-trained.

Ten minutes later, he’s at the patio door, barking for re-entry.

“I guess you may have to take over,” I said to K. But then I rethought the idea. Far be it for me to force Alzheimer’s on anyone.

“Look at it this way,” K said. “You already have Alzheimer’s, you might as well keep on doing what you do.”

Ha ha.