When
my sister-in-law closed out her summer
this year with a trip to the beach, I gave her a copy of Valérie Perrin’s “Forgotten on Sunday” to take along. That book, and an earlier Perrin novel, “Fresh Water for Flowers,” were fixtures at our house this summer, something I’ve mentioned in an earlier column.
Valérie Perrin: A Global Sensation
Perrin is a common name in Louisiana, so readers might assume she’s a local. But Perrin hails from France, where she’s gained a global readership for smartly observed novels about ordinary folks finding hope and possibility through provident connections with others. “Forgotten on Sunday” tells the tender story of a nursing assistant at a retirement home who becomes friends with a resident, a relationship that changes them both.
Embracing Fall Reading
Even the paper books I take on summer beach trips can be a chore to read because of the glare. I prefer reading outdoors in fall, when the light is more companionable and the air less sweltering. Patio reading is best of all, the happenings of the page sharpened by whatever might be stirring in our garden just beyond the book on my lap.
Ellen Wayland-Smith's Patio Musings
Ellen Wayland-Smith is a patio reader, too, as I’ve learned while reading “The Science of Last Things,” her new collection of essays about her life as a writer and teacher in California. As the title suggests, she touches on loss in her reflections, whether it be the death of a parent or the prospect of her own mortality. But this isn’t a uniformly dark book. One of its abiding insights is that life is precious precisely because it’s fragile.
The Wisdom of Turtles
I especially liked Wayland-Smith’s description of reading in her backyard while, in a nearby water garden improvised from a metal tub, her pet slider turtle climbs onto a paving stone to take in the day. That leads to a discussion of various origin myths about turtles — some of which portray the creature’s shell as a punishment, while others cast it as a blessing.
Embracing Adventure in Fall
One of the strange predicaments of being human is that we sometimes struggle to decide which is best, staying home or getting away. Turtles get the best of both worlds, getting about and seeing the world while carrying their homes on their backs.
In this way, turtles might have struck a bargain that’s hard for the rest of us to beat. It’s something I’ve been thinking about as autumn officially arrives, closing out the summer travel season. What’s the best way to keep adventure alive in autumn? I do it on my patio, turning the page to see what happens next.