Something fun

Oh, dear, I fear I depressed you all with my last post, especially Wise Web Woman. That was not my intent, though it was a depressing day. Still, more than 150 hits and only five comments tells me something. You're reading and then slinking away, feeling worse than when you came here.

This is not what this blog is all about!  I've failed you!

So today I'll change the subject and the mood.  I'll tell you about a lovely book I just read. It's called "Addition," by an Australian writer named Toni Jordan.  A novel. I actually got a little cranky with Doug last night, because he was trying to talk to me while I was trying to finish the book. The book won. (No lasting harm to our relationship; Doug has forgiven me for smacking him on the arm and saying, "Dammit, I'm trying to read!")

The book is about a woman in her mid-30s named Grace, who is sharp, funny, smart, quick, and mentally ill. Mentally ill to the point of being unable to work, and nearly unable to function. The only thing that keeps her going is counting. She counts everything--how many steps to the store; how many bananas in her cart; how many toothbrushes in her cabinet.  She doesn't just tote up the numbers; the numbers have to equal certain amounts. And so when she finds herself in the checkout line with only nine bananas in her cart, she panics. She needs ten! She needs order! She needs to be able to rely on the familiarity and structure and reliability of numbers.  They keep her grounded. They keep her able to live in his complicated and chaotic world. If having ten bananas instead of nine makes her able to cope, then so be it. She has no choice. When the man behind her looks away, she nips the banana out of his basket and into hers.

She feels better.  She gets through the line. She goes out into the parking lot.  And there the man confronts her, bemused, amused, wondering why she stole his banana.  And so the story begins...

Jordan's book is not just about a woman with OCD.  It is, of course, also about fitting in, about accepting ourselves and our loved ones as they are, about coping, about compromise and conformity. 

But mostly it's just a good story, with a highly original character--Grace is about as sharp and dry a character as you'll find. And it has a very cheerful polka-dotted book jacket, to boot. Lots of fun. Go for it.

PS I have not bought the green bag. But I did go back and look at it again.