I Did Like the Walk
By Shane Timson
For High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club, I'm Shane Timson in Colby, Kansas.
Today we're talking about the book Florida by Lauren Groff. This is a book comprised of several short stories.
Now, I have to confess, I'm not really a short story guy. I felt like just when I was getting into the story and the flow of it, it was over. So, I kind of feel like some of these stories could have been a little bit longer, could have had a little bit more character development.
But overall, it's not too bad. They do kind of flow well. There is some strong language and there's even some sexual violence in here. I would say if there's a story that I relate to, it's the very first story in the book. The very first story is basically a woman on a walk and she's just telling you what she's thinking about as she's on the walk. And I can relate to that because I love to walk. And when I go out, I'm very reflective. I'm looking at my surroundings, taking it all in from what the temperature is, what the wind is, what the smells are, to the people that I encounter on my walk. And that's basically what the woman in this first story does. She encounters different people and she explains what that's like and the different smells, so you really feel like you're on a walk with her.
There is I think one common theme that all of these stories have. Well okay, there’re two themes. One they all take place in Florida but two, a lot of these stories convey a sense of loneliness and isolation. A lot of people think, ah Florida is this wonderful,
beautiful place, which I'm sure it is. I've never been, but I'm sure it is.
But we have to realize that just as sometimes we feel isolated and alone out here, you can feel that anywhere. And a lot of people think Florida is this great place. But after reading this book, Florida can be just as hard to live in as anywhere else because the same isolation happens everywhere.
So, there is a lot of isolation and heaviness and kind of a sense of depression but at the same time, there's also a sense of triumph. A lot of these characters in these stories went through terrible things, but a lot of them also found a way to rise above and not let their circumstances define them. And they found ways to improve their life. And I think that that also needs to be known.
It takes a while to figure that out. Full disclosure, I had to read this book two times in a
row before I felt like I could do the review because the first time I read it, I had no idea --
absolutely no idea how to talk about this book. I had to read it a second time before I could kind of figure it out. But maybe this book is still hard for me to review because I'm not really a short story guy. I like the longer novels. But like I said, I do think that the storylines could have been a little bit... more drawn out. Character development needs to be there. I wasn't a fan of the profanity and the sexual violence, but at the same time, there are still some good things in this book. It's kind of a mixed bag if you will.
So, if you read it, I hope you enjoy it.
For High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club, I'm Shane Timpson in Colby, Kansas.
