traveling, part 4

I'm back in Buffalo after a great trip and good conference, though yesterday was a very long day for me.

I finished Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik and left my copy in the seat pocked of the plane I took from Austin to O'Hare.

I'm glad that I finally got around to read Patty Jane's House of Curl especially since I managed to acquire two copies (in my defense, they had different covers) back in 2006. The novel was different that what I expected. For some reason I was under the impression that it would be more of a comedic novel. I'd never read Landvic before. Her books have interesting titles (like Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons and The Tall Pine Polka) so I guess that's where I got my preconceived notions about the book.

In any case, I thought Patty Jane's House of Curl was a very good book, but also a very sad book despite Landvic's breeziness and humor. The story of Harriet (Patty Jane's sister), in particular, was heartbreaking to me. In Patty Jane's House of Curl, Landvic has created a set of fully realized and memorable characters. The only criticism I have of the novel is that occasionally the descriptions are repetitive (as in the cases when Patty Jane wears dress shoes).

I'm still reading the fourth book I packed for my trip, The Sisters Mortland by Sally Beauman.