I was surprised that I enjoyed reading Vinita Hampton Wright’s novel Dwelling Places as much as I did. Oh, I picked it up at the bookstore because it looked interesting and I fully expected to enjoy it, but I really expected a quick, read, a short escape, passage of time on the bicycle, something along the lines of typical popular fiction, something that is a great escape for a few hours, but then it is past.
This book has proven to be something else entirely. and there have been times when I have had to take a pause from it, not because it is a bad book, but because I need time to reflect. and absorb. Sometimes Wright’s portrayal of her characters seems so honest, almost painfully so, that I need to distance myself from for a little bit just to come to terms with them. And that, in the end, is what I find so entrancing about this book. It is bleak at times, but there is also humor there, and plain old sheer human-ness. The story is neither saccharine nor overly harsh and foreboding, the characters are fully developed and sympathetic. I found myself caring for these people, and relating to them, but then anyone who has gone through family crises or major changes in their lives can respond to the ways these people attempt to cope with their lives.
Perhaps it is just that we are in the midst of life-changes here, but I believe my thoughts on this book are more than just that…
This one stays on the shelf.