Currently reading
Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred
Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One
When in French: Love in a Second Language
Beyond the Job Description: How Managers and Employees Can Navigate the True Demands of the Job
Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing
Achieving Your Potential As A Photographer: A Creative Companion and Workbook
Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs (Voices That Matter)
Man's Search for Meaning
Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection
Rain Village
I liked this a lot until the ending, which I felt was weak. Tessa Riley, an unusually small child, is scorned by her family (farmers and she is too small to help in the fields and around the house) and others. Mysterious Mary comes to town as a new librarian and sparks something in Tessa (and most people in the town). Tess seeks refuge at the library, working for Mary, who teaches her to read and tells her stories of the circus and the world. Tessa's father begins to abuse her sexually as she blooms. Tessa does not notice Mary's growing depression. Mary eventually drowns herself in the river, and Tessa runs away from home at age 16. After a stint in factories, living in a boarding house, Tessa finds her way to the circus, where she finds her new life. Eventually she becomes a performer, marries a fellow circus performer and has a comfortable life. Her sister comes to visit her, and she discovers that her father is dead, her sister had also been abused, but made a life for herself outside of Oakley also. Still, Tessa is haunted by Mary's past life in Rain Village, before she came to the circus and the library. When Mary's nephew Kostas comes looking for her on his way to Rain Village, Tessa decides to join him. What she finds in Rain Village is somewhat vague and inconclusive, but she decides that her life is really with Mauro her husband and the circus and she resolves to go back. The ending lacks a lot of closure.But the story is a good read 2/3 of the way through.
