One of the great joys of a summer holiday is the chance to read without frequent interruption, and to read a lot of books. Not all are worth mentioning or recommending, but two were my favorites. The first is Ahab’s Wife: Or, the Star Gazer by Sena J. Naslund. Time Magazine named it as one of the five best novels of 1999, and the New York Times Book Review and Publisher’s Weekly listed it as one of the best books of 1999 as well. Sena J. Naslund, the winner of the Harper Lee Award, teaches writing at the University of Louisville and Vermont College and is considered to be a masterly story teller. Those of you who liked Moby Dick will be especially interested in this novel. Naslund’s describes the whaling life in nineteenth century New England through the experiences of Captain Ahab’s wife, Una, and the life of the women who were left behind when their husbands went off to sea, often for three years at a time. She includes references to historical figures of the times: Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, and William Lloyd Garrison. The book is beautifully written. It is filled with rich detail of the 1800s, the importance of the whaling industry in Nantucket, and the life and position of a rich captain’s wife. I could not put it down.

An entirely different book is Saturday by Ian McEwan. This elegantly constructed novel is about one day (February 15, 2003) in the life of a successful British neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne. You are introduced to Henry, a normally happy man, who is troubled about the state of the world, especially since 9/11 in the United States, the imminent war against Iraq, and the threat of terriorist attacks in London. McEwan, who has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction three times and awarded the National Book Award, is a master writer of great talent. He is a keen and precise observer of human nature, and he manages to engage the reader from the opening pages of the book. What goes on in Henry’s mind is the heart of the novel. In addition, the theme of impending catastrophe adds to the book’s pace, tension, and suspense. As one who abhors reviewers who tip the plot, I recommend that you read it.

No. 33, Fall 2005, page 10