Orcas Issues is pleased to associate with the blog from former Orcas Islander Maurine Barnett, MaurineTalksBooks. Excerpts from her monthly reports will be republished here on Orcas Issues and readers are invited to go directly to MaurineTalksBooks for more reviews and recommendations.
The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck
Here is another example of a classic I did not read until recently. Yet I remember staring at its cover in my family’s bookshelves for years as I was growing up, and having my mother praise it again and again. It is a more quiet novel, the story of an ordinary peasant family in pre-revolutionary China–farmer Wang Lung and his obedient and hard-working wife O-lan.
The story starts with their wedding day (sometime before WWI), and follows his life’s ups and downs to the end when he finds that the land he worked so hard to acquire and farm during his lifetime is to be sold by his sons, who are the inheritors.
A common enough story, yet more poignant and beautiful because of the culture and times in which it is set. Buck won the Pulitzer Prize for this in 1932, and it was a runaway best seller for the first two years after being published. Just lovely; told in simple, unadorned language which makes it all the more unforgettable.
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
My first introduction to Dickens was seeing the movie (in black and white) when in junior high school. Even then it charmed me, as most of Dickens can charm me 
because of his unique characters. His books are long and kind of windy, which makes sense since he was often paid by the word. But he is the author I seem to return to when nothing else appeals. What Dickens does, and does best in this particular novel, is to capture everything a reader could want in a 400 page book and rarely produce a dull moment. Set in London and Paris prior to and during the French Revolution are the stories of two very different men and the events that cause them to intersect. Dickens gives us melodrama, memorable characters, smart pacing, emotional depth and great humor and satire. As I write this, it makes me want to pick it up and start it all over again! Which I am sure I will.
Thanks, Margie and Orcas Issues, for extending the reach of my blog to others who love books! For the record, my full name is Maurine Barnett, and I worked at Darvill’s, our outstanding local bookstore, for 11 years, retiring last April. Please continue to support our local bookstore, where Jenny orders and displays copies of the books I review each month.
I love Maurine’s blog! Reading her reviews of books is sometimes just as fun as reading the book! Whenever I need a good book, I always know I’ll find one on the blog. And she has such a wide variety of interests – something for everyone. Highly recommend MaurineTalksBooks!