I seem to find myself reading books in bunches.
For a while it seemed like every book I pulled from the shelves featured characters in a sexual identity crisis, then it was those with a connection to the Holocaust, then middle-aged women who were newly single.
Perhaps book publishers see the success of one type of novel and then rush into print others like it or perhaps I enjoy one novel so much I'm subconsciously choosing others like it.
Whatever the case, lately it seems the terminally ill have been my focus.
"Souls Raised from the Dead" by Doris Betts (ISBN 0679426213) takes the reader into the family of Mary Grace Thompson, a 12-year-old girl who lives with her divorced father in North Carolina.
When she is diagnosed with kidney disease, old family hurts come to the fore.
The novel raises interesting questions about parenthood and family dynamics.
I know I'll be checking out the Bs on my next library visit for other works by this Southern author.
- Tricia Ambrose