Snow falling on cedars

by David Guterson

I've had more reading time than is typical in the last few months, which has been awesome. I've had this book for a while but I've been avoiding it. I vaguely recall the film, which was high in the romance aspect.

The book takes place in a quiet Puget Sound island community. Farming and fishing sustain it and it's populated with immigrants of many types, the most recent pre-WW11 Japanese. There is an ill-fated romance, a mystery and feelings of distrust and regret.

It's a beautifully written book, elegant in its prose but not overly lush. I realize I've been reading a lot of books set in the Northwest lately. Not sure why but I have been enjoying them tremendously.

Border Songs

by  Jim Lynch

This is a mystery book. I have a whole shelf of books I haven't read yet, a product of my overestimation of how much I can read or gifts. I don't know which this is. It may have been a suggestion from the independent book store in Redmond. 

No matter. It's a character-driven, sense-of-place book, probably my favorite type. The book's 'hero' is a bit off, maybe autistic, or maybe just a genius. He lives in a town bordering the Washington/Canadian border. What it means to live in a border town is a major theme and plot point of the book but really it is about the characters. None are wholly good, or bad, smart or stupid. They just are, like all of us. 

This book snuck up on me. At first it seemed very plain but in fact could be quite lyrical.  I enjoyed this writer's style very much.