Reading tips from the beach
So there I was, minding my own business, reading a book and enjoying the peace and quiet. The sun was shining, the waves were high and the holiday was well on the way in that perfect place where you’ve settled into a routine and aren’t worried about going home yet. Out of the corner of the eye, something caught my attention. A book! Someone had gone (swimming?) and left their book on the blanket.Now if you’re a reader like me you know what it means to spot a book. On a shop window, on the train, on a beach… You just have to take a peak to find out if it’s a book you’ve read or a book you might be interested to read, or if it’s just rubbish – in which case you can feel superior by your choice of book (which to the other person probably looks just as rubbish).
The book was called What Alice Forgot and it immediately made me think about Alice in Wonderland. Had she forgotten something in Wonderland? Did she forget to take something with her? Perhaps she’d forgotten about Wonderland all together? Also, I’m one of the people who get lured into a book by an interesting cover (needless to say this is not the best way to spot good books) and this one looked interesting enough. Well, I was intrigued.
I went on reading my own book (funny, for the life of me I can’t remember what it was called) and only after a while realized the owner of the book had come back and was reading it. Now I’m not the kind of person who approaches strange people on the street. At all. Unless in dire need, and even then very cautiously. Not because I’m scared of people but because I think people are entitled to their privacy – especially when reading. But really, who was this Alice? Did she have anything at all to do with that Alice? Was it a good book? Should I read it? So I braced myself.
The woman reading What Alice forgot couldn’t have been nicer. She didn’t mind me bothering her one bit and was very helpful in telling about it. No, it had nothing to do with Wonderland but was a story about a woman who has amnesia and has forgotten about the last 10 years of her life: her children, the divorce proceedings she’s started, her enthusiasm about exercise…
I did like what I heard and so once I was in reach of the internet, I quickly acquired the book.
So did the book live up to the expectations? Surprisingly well, I have to say. Sure, it’s what you might call a romantic book with tons of feelings and crying and unexpected romantic surprises. And, obviously, a happy ending. But as a representative of the genre it was surprisingly well written, an easy read, and the characters felt reral-ish, not the stereotypical romantic novel characters you might expect. So I really am very happy with mounting up the courage to disturb a stranger and even more for trusting their recommendation. I think I will look into other stuff from Liane Moriarty!
