By the Light of My Father’s Smile

This is the loveliest book I have read for some time.  Alice Walker does what I always dream Toni Morrison or Margaret Atwood will do.  She writes the most difficult things in the most honest language, but she makes it beautiful.  Her books fill me with a quiet hope, a peaceful belief in goodness and beauty.  The apex of this book is not the moment of tragedy, but the moment of renewal.  There is no denying (nor any wish to deny) that this book is about sex and that quite explicitly.  My respect goes to any church-goer who finishes the first chapter.  I couldn’t do it myself without pouncing on my husband.  For all that, I feel like it’s a book I would like my children to read, when they are old enough to appreciate it.  Because I would like the world to believe that sex is beautiful, and that it is good.  The world would be a better place for that belief.  So I thank Alice Walker for this book, a book which I will surely read many times and treasure in my heart.

I haven’t been able to keep up with the book reviews, because my goal to read 50 books this year has required that I read rather quickly.  I’m also still working on a schedule that accomplishes all my goals and maintains my sanity, so wish me luck on that one.  If you want to really keep up to date on what I’m reading, and books I’ve already read and loved, please check out my shelf on Shelfari.  A lot of my quality time waste goes into that website.

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