It is time once again to fit the newly read books onto the bookshelves, always a challenge here as we by no means live in a book-free zone.
In doing so I have been faced with a bit of a conundrum. The books I think I want to save are stacked neatly, ready to be interfiled with their future shelf-mates and I find I must pause. What do I do with the book I just read, The Tortilla Curtain. As you recall, I said it was worthwhile reading, and the writing was good. In fact it was a rather namby-pamby review because I didn’t really say what I thought about the story itself, except that it made me think about myself and society in a different way. And herein lies the problem.
The book was good. I do not regret reading it, in fact I am probably even glad I did. Initially I put it on the "to be saved" list, but now I have doubts. Is this the kind of book I really want on my shelf? I don’t save books because they are uplifting. I even have been known to save books I don’t agree with but which make me think and look at the world in different ways. This book might meet that criteria, as it has made me look at myself and my society and the ways our lives and our values are often in conflict. But it is also a novel, and it is a novel in which one character, Delaney, runs down another character, Candido, gives him $20.00 in payment for the severe injuries he has incurred, and then later feels he (Delaney) has been "taken" by the Mexican, whom he later tries to kill. In many ways I find Delaney to be despicable, even though I can understand how his view of life has turned down the path to destruction. Is this a book I will ever read again? Is this a book I want my grandchildren to read?
Well, I think I have answered my question.