The Great Gatsby

In our reading out loud series, Ellen has read Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huck Finn; Percival Everett, James; Dusty Miller, Danger in the Air; Marilynn Robinson, Gilead and Lila, and now she is just finishing F. S. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. I read aloud the entire Gospel of Luke. Quite a variety! We got into Gatsby because this is the 100th anniversary of its publication. We weren't sure about including it in this company, but it is a great book. I think I read it when I was much younger, but I don't think I "got" it then. The times we are in now add another layer of meaning to what is already a complex book. James is a re-telling of the Huck Finn story, but from the perspective of Jim, Huck's companion on the raft, going down the Mississippi. Jim was a freed slave. It is a brilliant book. Dusty Miller is a close friend of Katie and Savanna who in mid-life took up writing mysterys. She is good! Danger in the Air is based on a true story from about 50 years ago when anthrax-laced letters were mailed by an unknown person to politicians and other famous people. It's a thriller! Marilynn Robinson has written several novels which have as a central character John Ames, an elderly pastor in a Congregational church in the little town of Gilead, Iowa. We love her novels, have read two so far, and probably will read two more: Home and Jack. Later:We just finished Gatsby last evening - what an amazing book! It is still relevent to what is going on in our country.

F, Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940).************************************** Monday, May 5th, Mark Kennedy and Cathy Rude stopped by on their way home to South Hero from So. Conn. We hadn't seen them for ages, and they were bursting with news. We were so glad they stopped by. Tuesday we had our summer tires mounted at Pete's, and Wednesday, Mike Mayer spent time with me while Ellen went to Westminster, MA to have lunch with Katie and Katie's old high school friend. Thursday was a quiet day and Ellen started reading aloud a new Dusty Miller book - Danger in the House. Today she has the car at Richmonds and I'm home alone.