Anne LeClaire
Do you remember the very first book you fell in love with, the one that evoked a deep response in you and became imprinted in your memory? Mine was “Beautiful Joe” by Marshall Saunders. Set in Maine, the novel is told from the point of view of the dog. It’s the fictionalized story of an actual dog that lived in Southern Ontario and it was published in Canada in1894. It was the first book to sell more than a million copies in that country.
My parents gave it to me one summer to take with me when I went to Boston for a week to visit my grandparents. I suspect their intention was to give me something to keep me occupied. It worked. During that week, I read the novel over and over. Each time I read it – even though I knew the story of animal abuse, rescue and redemptive love so completely I could have recited parts from memory — I cried so hard my grandmother finally threatened to take the book away from me.
Titcomb’s Bookshop in Sandwich
Last month when I was at Titcomb’s Bookshop, our February Featured Bookstore, I asked Vicky Titcomb if she had ever heard of “Beautiful Joe.” She said, “I don’t think there was a home at the turn of the last century that didn’t have a copy of that book on the shelf.” And still it sells. A quick online check reveals copies from multiple publishers available in soft cover, hard cover and a variety of illustrated editions.
What makes a classic? What makes a book memorable? I think that books that stay with us often have one thing in common: They hold stories that reveal the mysteries and contradictions and passions of the heart. In short, classics are books that move our emotions.
Passion was very much in the air during a lovely luncheon hosted by Nancy and Ralph Titcomb, for me and the staff of Titcomb’s Bookshop. We spent several hours talking about the books and authors we love and what it is about the writing that moves us. You can read more about our conversation and the staff’s book choices in next week’s Cape Eye on Books.
Passion was also the topic when I talked with this month’s Featured Author Dawn Tripp whose new book is about Georgia O’Keeffe. Much of our conversation focused on the twin passions of writing and art. Dawn and her book picks will be featured later this month.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, my five book pics are all novels that, like “Beautiful Joe,” touch the heart. What books from both adult and children’s literature touched your emotions? And why? What are you currently reading?
Please join the conversation in the comments section below.
“Beautiful Joe’
ANNE’S FEBRUARY PICKS:
“WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR” by Paul Kalanithi – This astonishingly beautiful, brave and ultimately up-lifting memoir about illness, mortality and love was written by a neurosurgeon-scientist when he was dying of lung cancer.
“THE READER” by Bernhard Schlink – A “mesmerizing novel of love and secrets, horror and compassion” the book explores the power of shame and speaks directly to the heart.
“A LESSON BEFORE DYING” by Ernest J. Gaines – Gaines writes from a deep well of understanding of the human heart and a deeper well of compassion.
“ROOM” by Emma Donoghue – A work of tenderness about maternal love and the life-saving capacity of imagination told against a backdrop of horror and abuse.
“THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG” by Muriel Barbery – The Chicago Sun-Times review summed it up perfectly: “This story, like all great tales, will break your heart, but it will also make you realize – or remember – that sometimes the pain is worth it.”
I was just talking about Beautiful Joe the other day with my daughter. How I cried like a baby almost couldn’t finish it. I have a hard time when it comes to abuse of animals and other helpless creatures.