Woman Seeks Self-Identity Through Her Mother’s History
It’s been said that no one is truly an adult while his or her parents are still alive.
Maybe so, maybe no. But it’s a fact that, one way or another, all of us eventually have to deal with what our parents have meant to us.
That’s generally what’s at the heart of “Plain Seeing,” Sandra Scofield’s new novel, from which she will read in Spokane on Wednesday (see reader board below).
Scofield, whose previous novel was “A Chance to See Egypt,” takes us into the troubled world of one Lucy Hambleton. Facing the breakup of her marriage, 45-year-old Lucy seeks to learn more about her enigmatic mother, a woman long dead whom she barely knew.
“My own life makes no sense to me,” Lucy says, “as if, without the history before me - my mother’s history - I cannot begin my own.”
“Plain Seeing” is all about Lucy’s struggle to understand history, first her mother’s, then her own.
By the way, “A Chance to See Egypt” was both a National Book Award finalist and one of the New York Times’ Notable Books.
‘Quake’ in time
One reader sent in this query: “I just read this book,” she wrote, referring to Nance Van Winckel’s short-story collection “Quake.” “It was great. Wonderful quirky characters. Interesting insights into the Gypsy culture. Lots of the stories are set in and around Spokane, Boise and Sullivan Lake. … Has The Spokesman-Review reviewed this book? Maybe I just missed it.”
Van Winckel, a poet and fiction writer, teaches creative writing at Eastern Washington University and is past editor of Willow Springs, EWU’s literary journal. She is author also of the story collection “Limited Lifetime Warranty” and poetry compilations “The Dirt” and “A Measure of Heaven.”
“Quake” was mentioned in this column last April 6.
The reader board
Diana O’Hehir and James McAuley will read from their collected poetry at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore.
Sandra Scofield, author of “Plain Seeing,” will read from her novel at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auntie’s Bookstore.
Guy Vanderhaeghe, author of “The Englishman’s Boy,” will read from his novel at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Auntie’s Bookstore.
Frank Bartel, author of “World That Never Was,” will read from his novel at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Foster’s Crossing in Sandpoint. Bartel’s reading at Auntie’s, which was scheduled for Friday, has been postponed until November.
Tonie Fitzgerald will present and sign copies of her book “Gardening in the Inland Northwest” from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Go West Bookstore in Chewelah, Wash. For information call 935-4467.
, DataTimes