crossing to safety

i love books. i was recently asked what defined relaxation for me. the answer was automatic: books. to recharge after a long week, i love curling up with a blanket and a great story. i know kindle is all the rage right now, but i'm not sure i'll ever be a believer. there is just something so timeless and romantic about holding pages of the printed word. ah, and the smell of an old book - they should make a candle of that scent. i would have one in every room.

i'm usually reading a couple of books at once, but sometimes a great piece of literature will captivate me wholeheartedly. so when my nana, an avid reader and a woman whose opinion i respect perhaps above all others, recommended Crossing to Safety as one of her favorite books, i suspected it might prove to be one of those few books, set apart.

and nana, you were right. published in 1987, this story begins in the 1920's, following two young couples throughout their married lives. the plot is simple: life. unabashed and honest. its moments of joy, its mundane tragedies. in just a few hundred pages, the story covers over 40 years and yet the book moves at the sweet, slow pace of normal, everyday life. this is character study at its best.

perhaps what i love most about it is how, as a reader, you are able to see the characters come of age, define themselves, make choices, redefine themselves, be defined by circumstance, and then be redefined through the eyes of their grown children. it made me think of my own parents. i wonder how narrow my own view of them is. what were they like as young marrieds? how has life changed them?

if you aren't currently reading, might i suggest this gem?

image found here