Book update

I realise that writing a book update after only reading one book is a bit much. The thing is, I have to write about it, now. I finished it a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it. To be perfectly honest, that's only part of it. I'm afraid that if I don't write about this book now I'll end up thinking about it and start crying. That would be uncomfortable, especially at work.

The book is The Brothers Bishop by Bart Yates. I had never heard of it before but somehow stumbled upon it on Amazon. I was purchasing a few other books and on my way to the checkout bit I found it. The recommendations were good and I read a little bit about it. Still I didn't know much of the story before I started reading it. Which is what I prefer. For the most part I'm surprised in the good way.

This is a story about two brothers who were raised by their father in a small city on the east coast of the US. Their mother died when they were very young and their father was a really mean man. Because of this the two brothers grew very close and it wasn't until after their father died that they started to drift apart. The older brother gets a call from the younger brother telling him he's coming to stay with him for a week with his boyfriend and this couple friend of his. That's when the story starts.

It's the older brother Nathan telling the story and he admits that he tends to remember the bad stuff and forget the good times. It's funny, it's engaging and it triggered something in me that made me cry, I could hardly read the end. It drags you into the universe and I was almost responding by saying things out loud like "Oh no you don't!" and "Yeah, keep telling yourself that". The best thing about that, is that he calls you on it. Completely deflating the arguement you are having in your head.

There was two sentences that keep coming back into my mind. I was sitting at work today writing a letter to our attorneys and they popped into my mind. The tears started to make their way up towards my eyes and I could feel my eyes becoming moist. Thankfully I managed to stop it. The sentences are

"He said 'Nathan and Daddy hurt other people when they are sad. It's the only thing that stops them from hurting themselves.'"

When I read that it completely floored me. But enough about that. This is one of the best books I've ever read. I think it surpasses previous favorites, like A Density of Souls and The Snow Garden both by Christopher Rice. The only thing that bothered me was after I had read it, I looked at the next page and there were "Discussion Questions". It made it feel a little bit like school. I never thought much of "Discussion Questions", I always felt like it took away the pleasure of reading.