Some Light Reading

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl

This is not a feel-good book.  It's well-done, although I think she left a lot to the ending, and it gave me lots to ponder.  Mostly, it made me think about the motivations behind people's actions and the way one decision leads to another and another.

I also couldn't help but think of how we are influenced by our past. . .the effect we have on others.

The Boy in the Suitcase is a strange book, starting with a relief worker discovering, as the title implies, a boy in a suitcase.  It travels through various countries, the plights of impoverished and displaced refugees and young girls selling their bodies to survive, to the desperation of the very rich attempting to secure what money cannot buy.

It's strange and unsettling, but worth reading.



The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I realize my friend Amanda was "underwhelmed" by this book, but I enjoyed it.  It wasn't as good as Big Little Lies, but I am simply enjoying Moriarty's writing style.

It was a little confusing at first as each chapter introduced a new set of characters whose lives would ultimately intersect.  But once I knew the characters, I enjoyed thinking about the storyline and evaluating my own marriage.  What choices would we make if we had such secrets?  How would we handle them?  How well do we really know one another?  And what place is there for forgiveness in our marriage?  Do we dwell in losses of the past?

I also had to ponder the concept of putting friends in a box, assuming we know them and taking them for granted.  I wonder how often we are guilty of doing this.

It was a fun and easy read for this busy baby season of my life.