November 10, 2023 ALIVE AND KICKING

 

Soccer. ECC finals. Double Overtime. Double PKS. What a way to lose a game. That's what happened the other night at my son's soccer game. And he's the GOALIE. Poor Kid. --Almost the same thing happened 10 years ago at my daughter's State Semi-final game. It's a killer. Losing in penalty kicks in overtime?? There's got to be a better way to end a game. UGH. Sports teach kids so many lessons. Commitment--teamwork--discipline--resilience AND coping with failure. No matter what game you are playing--someone has to lose AND YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS WIN. Accepting success with humility and defeat with grace are lessons that are invaluable not only in soccer BUT IN LIFE. The boys have moved on to States--just made it to the QUARTER FINALS. Keeping my fingers crossed and loving every minute of it. I also spent the last week reading National Book Award Finalist, Tea Obreht's book, The Tiger's Wife. This novel takes place in an unnamed Balkan country that has survived many years of war. The main character, Natalia and her lifelong friend Zora, are medical students traveling to an orphanage to give much needed innoculations to the kids. During their journey to the orphanage, Natalia finds out that her cherished grandfather has died. As a child, Natalia was very close to her grandfather and she spent several hours at the zoo with him as he told her fantastical stories of The Deathless Man and The Tiger's Wife. While working at the orphanage, Natalia remembers those stories that her grandfather said--made him a man. The novel shifts back and forth between the tiger and town of Galina where her grandfather grew up, the deathless man, and Natalia's time at the orphanage. This book is part magical realism, part mystery, love story and the tragic consequences of war. It's a lot. I enjoyed the writing and many of the well written characters, but I was a little confused at times because it does jump around a bit. And the magical realism part troubled me a bit too. Magical realism isn't really my thing, but some people love it. All in all though, I enjoyed the book but it is a dense 350 pages. Let me know what you think.