Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler and the birth house by Ami Mc Kay

These are both adult and in the fiction genre. The birth house may fall into the historical fiction genre.

Two great reads!! In the same month!! Anne Tyler has long been a favourite author of mine but I hadn’t picked anything of hers up in a long time. I spotted The Amateur Marriage and had begun reading it before this month’s challenge was even announced and it fis nicely into the”love” theme. Tyler’s works are always a little quirky and this is no exception. She explores the relationship of a couple who marry without really knowing each other very well and fail to mature in that relationship. Told at times from the perspective of Pauline and other times of Michael, you come to quickly realize that they are as unlike as can possibly be. Michael never seems to realize the things that irritate her, such as calling her, “Poll, Poll” when he thinks she is over-reacting. And she is an over-reactor but he, on the other hand is staid and disciplined, and well, let’s face it, just a little bit boring. Children only accentuate the problems and eventually, Pauline tells Michael to leave, and to her amazement, he does. Tyler’s gift is picking up on the little mundane aspects of life, writing about them in an entertaining way where many times you are caught by how real the characters and situations are- where you stop and nod your head knowingly because you have been there, done that. This was a most satisfying read where I did not really want it to end.

The second novel, the birth house by Ami McKay is a new Canadian author for me. I believe this is her debut novel. This is a wonderful story of life in early Nova Scotia, with real insights into midwifery, the superstitions that often surrounded it, and the plight of many women who had absolutely no say over their own bodies. Told in first person narrative from the perspective of Dora Rare, who is being trained to midwifery as a young woman. She is a woman of astounding strength and character as she battles the suspicions of the community and the arrival of a doctor who wishes the women to come to his maternity home where they will have the most modern of deliveries. And are they scary!!

This is an author to watch for.

I did also read Shopaholic Ties the Knot just for some light fare. Good summer beach reading.