register |  login
› ARVADA
Loading Ad
Visit Other Hubs:
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Tower
Blog
Blog Entry 6 of 65 The Front Range Reader
Books, books and more books. In my spare time, I write book blogs/reviews for websites specifically devoted to books and readers. Although I have an advanced degree in Comparative Literature (specialty in Medieval Studies) I love to read all sorts of books from medieval to modern literature, from light reading to literary.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~Merrimonbooks

Suspense, memory & the Vietnam War: What is truth?

Contributed by: Merrimon Crawford   on 3/3/2007

Tess Hudson: Invisible Girl
Publisher: Mira, trade size paperback)
Category: Suspense and Adventure
ISBN: 0-7783-2314-5

Without any hesitation, this is one if the two best books I have read in many years!

To anyone reading my book reviews, you know that I read my first Erica Orloff book, Blood Son (Silhouette Nocturne), as a total fluke. I sent her a message on MySpace.com and discovered that she also wrote under the name of Tess Hudson. This is my third Erica Orloff book and the best. The only thing better would be to have another 500 page hardback from her sitting beside it so I could continue reading another book of hers! This is a 5-star book when five stars means: "This book is so good that it will remain in my personal collection and MY copy will never see a used bookstore or a friend's collection." This book is provocative to contemplate and discuss even after the last page.

In the prologue, a Vietnamese woman named Mai falls off a bridge over New York's East River. To complicate matters, Maggie Malone's less than savory brother shows up at his sister's doorstep beaten to a pulp. The only way for either of them to stay safe is to hunt down the secrets of their father's past as a Vietnam vet and track down the current elusive killers. The more they discover the more secrets emerge.

In Invisible Girl the shifts between several scenes of past and present layer the suspense and the depth of the characters. The deep, eternal love of Mai and Jimmy Malone grows in the midst of the hell fires of the Vietnam war. Maggie's childhood memories of her mother Mai help her to understand her elusive father. In the present, Maggie and Danny try to hunt down the identity of the dangerous shadowy killers.

Why is this my favorite? I have always loved novels that shift between two different time periods. Another long-term favorite is The Eight where Katherine Neville shifts between the French Revolution and the 1970s. In terms of classic French literature, I have always appreciated Marcel Proust's take on memory. Here, the magic of memory creates a truth and a spirit beyond a basic straight plot.

Most of all, Invisible Girl is an important book for our times. Although the past Vietnam war is an axis for the plot, courage and truth are an endless values in any age. I love books that grab me on a spiritual level without preaching. I love American history and politics that do not preach. I tire of the endless slogans and slanted statements of both sides and want something more --- something that speaks to the our identity beyond party and time but to something more substantial in our history, something truthful ---both heroic and not so heroic. In the past, women seemed to provide a moral compass for this country long before they achieved the vote. After completing this novel, I was left wondering about women's literature and whether it speaks to our hearts as Americans in ways politicians never will. It doesn't preach, it doesn't solve our current issues....but it reaches our hearts and souls as Americans in a place beyond politics. Sometimes true love, both for a man and a country, is eternal. Sometimes, our true American heroes are not the most obvious or newsworthy.

Some book club points of discussion:

1.What is the difference between a hero and a heroine? Can a woman be a hero? If so, who is the hero (or heroes) of this novel?

2.How does the invisible girl guide the plot structure?

3. Is Jimmy Malone a patriot? Why?

4. How does memory add to this novel?

5. Where do you see images of ghosts and what do they add to this novel?

6. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial includes the names of all those who were killed during the Vietnam war. What characters does Tess Hudson memorialize in her description of the wall?

7. How does this novel, set in the a specific period of American history, speak to you the reader today?
-----------------------------------------

Note: I am not even sure it is right to classify this book as "women's literature" --- my husband is reading it next. Although he was not in Vietnam, he is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the Navy as a crypto techician. This book will also speak to the hearts and souls of our Vietnam veterans.


SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above blog



Current Rating
Based on 2 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the blog

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Seth Davis
posted on 3/6/2007 @ 10:45:07 AM
Rated Blog Entry
Sounds like an intriguing book!
[Report as objectionable]
Showing 1 of 1 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Merrimon Crawford

Arvada , CO

Merrimon Crawford has posted 65 blog entries and 17 comments since joining on 12/15/2006. Merrimon Crawford 's average blog rating is 4.82.
SAVE AND SHARE THIS BLOG ENTRY
BLOG ENTRY RSS FEEDS
BLOG LIST
WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?
Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is  register,  then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyonewhat events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

Loading Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

This YourHub.com community is produced by The Denver Newspaper Agency
Web Development and Channel Analytics provided by Indigio

terms of use //  privacy policy
the staff //  advertise //  help & faq
buy photos