Fuzzy Nova

Five Finger Fiction by Brooks Sigler

Lila O’Farrell is merely one small voice in the collective choir that makes up her large Irish Catholic family. Her mother is the tyrannical monarch, her father the quiet peeping tom, her sister the mute sheep merely following the herd. And that’s only her immediate family. Lila’s extended family makes up the half the town she lives in and nothing she does can escape the all-seeing eye that is her mother. Well, almost nothing. Rather than turning to things like sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll, Lila has become a full fledged kleptomaniac. The objects don’t need to be of particular value, just easily slipped into a purse, bag, or pocket.

Lila’s story takes her from 6th grade where she attends a private catholic school, to a public high school with cousins around every corner and an aunt as the principal, to college where the only connection to home is an old classmate from catholic school. We watch as Lila discovers herself and slowly learns to extract herself from her mother’s controlling claws. When times get tough though, Lila’s tendency to knick small items resurfaces. Her roommates in college don’t help either; rather instead encourage her by giving her a list of items graded by difficultly. The only one who seems to be able to help in anyway may turn out to be the most unlikely person of them all.

Brooks Sigler writes the book as a combination of flashbacks and regular narrative. We are told the story from 6th grade on up to adulthood where Lila is engaged and ready to get married. Every couple of chapters is brings us back to the present where Lila is engaged to be married and trying to deal with her mother while fighting the old urge to steal insignificant items just for the sake of stealing them. It’s very interesting to continue following the narration of her life and slowly coming to the realization of exactly who the fiancé is and why he is significant to Lila’s life story.

My main complaint with Five Finger Fiction is the lack of depth given to the sub-characters. It would have been nice to get a little more insight on various members of the immediate family. I would’ve enjoyed seeing a little more climactic action as well. I didn’t feel like enough action or depth was given to the few climaxes. I still enjoyed Five Finger Fiction and seeing how Lila dealt with the hardships that came her way. It is a short book, but a good read despite its few shortcomings.

Originally posted on LuxuryReading.com

Fesenko seems to have gotten himself in a bit of a pickle lately. Despite the fact that he proves himself to be a decent player both on the offensive (getting the basket and making some nice hook shots) and the defensive (weighing in at 300 lbs, he proves to be a match for Yao and Shaq), his behavior off the court is what’s got him demoted once again. Last night against the Clippers, he got deactivated by Sloan due to missing the bus to the arena. Sloan says that he needs to learn a lesson about being accountable for his behavior. He can’t just be running around willy nilly only showing up when he feels like it. Sloan says Fesenko knows what he’s supposed to do but just doesn’t choose to implement them at some of the practices, workouts, and games. (Side note: I’ve actually seen a few of the players enjoying the night life in SLC and had a run-in with Fesenko at a club which made me not like him as far as personality goes. I think a lot of the players would do better if they’d lay off the night life just a hair.) Hopefully Sloan’s latest action towards Fesenko motivates him a bit as he IS a good player when he makes up his mind to participate. The talent is there, but maybe he just doesn’t have the heart for it, which in that case I personally think he needs to find something else to do in life. I want to see players that give it their all and earn that huge paycheck.

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My Section

Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes

“Angel and Apostle” continues the story of Hester Prynne from “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathanial Hawthorne. Because it is written so much later and by a different author, it is considered a companion book rather than a true sequel.

We follow the story of Hester’s daughter named Pearl. Born out of wedlock to the sinful adultress mother, she is not accepted by the Puritan community. Rumors have it that she is truly the spawn of satan as her father’s name was never made public. Hester can’t seem to rise above the depression her life has sunk into and thus Pearl is allowed to run wild without any proper training. Eventually she meets a blind boy named Simon. Simon has led a sheltered life due to his handicapped and is rather dark and gloomy sometimes. Pearl has met the first person that hasn’t shunned and bullied her and is determined to explain the beauty of the world she can see around here to her new dear friend Simon. Eventually, Simon’s family learns of Pearl and they are perfectly aware of who she is. Simon and his family are going to return to London and have nothing more to do with Pearl and her tainted aura. To Pearl’s delight, her mother wishes to leave Puritan Boston as well and soon everyone is on the same ship and heading back to London.

To understand this story, it helps to know history of “The Scarlet Letter” as well as know the mindset of the religious settlers who first came to the Americas. It was expected of the public to behave a certain way and to disobey was tragic. Hester was known as an adultress who seduced a poor man and had a baby out of wedlock. She must wear a sign to let everyone know who she is and what she did. By extension, her child is no better, but perhaps even worse. We watch the community shun Pearl and her mother and watch how both people choose to deal with their situation.

This book was much easier to read than the first by Nathanial Hawthorne. Deborah Noyes keeps with the era and writes with a style that suits it well, but is easy to understand and follow. I loved each character and felt for each of them. I read with much anticipation to see if Pearl would eventually escape the life her mother birthed her into or if she would give up and accept it as life with a mute depression as her mother did.

I think we were all required to read “The Scarlet Letter” in school and probably hated it, but I would very much recommend picking up a copy of “Angel and Apostle”. I think you will be surprised at how much you enjoy reading it. In fact, you might even like it enough to be tempted to go back and re-read “The Scarlet Letter”. Okay, maybe not, but this book was well written and a great read.

Originally posted on LuxuryReading.com