"Ours Isn't The Kind Of Brotherhood I Would Wish On Other Men, But We Are Blessed With A Single, Simple Gift: In These Rare Moments Of Happiness, We Can Share Joy As Passionately And Single-Mindedly As We Do Hatred"

I sure loved that quote used as the title of this post when I read it. It seems so accurate of families in general - you can have so much drama and fighting but then also share joy and good times together in a way that is specific and unique to your tribe. 

Wells Tower is a tremendously talented writer, there's no doubt about that. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned is a collection of 9 of his short stories (one of which was the story included in the New Yorker Fiction Podcast, entitled Leopard, that first introduced me to him). His descriptions of even the most straight-forward, simple details are so eloquent and unique; some funny, some heartbreaking, some belonging to the very observant eye who expands on a moment. The stories are very broad in topic (ranging from traveling carnivals, to a young man dealing with his father's dementia, to pillaging of Nordic warriors) which I loved. Oftentimes when I read a collection of short stories by one author, after a while they all seem to have the same feel to them as far as topics being similar and vibe of the writing being the same (see post about Dorothy Parker as an example). And Tower's writing is 100% NOT that. I think if I had even been introduced to all of these stories separately and not told they were the same writer, I wouldn't be certain that they were (a few I would have grouped together but some others, definitely not). So if you're looking for short stories that are exquisitely written and that deliver such subtle messages and themes on life, here ya go. I'm kind of bummed that there doesn't appear to be much else available from him.

But back to the book lists I go. On to Howard's End by E.M. Forster. I've never seen the movie, but I'll add it to the ever-growing list of movies I'd like to watch based on books I've read recently (see The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Sophie's Choice, and on and on). This book was part of the haul during our used book shopping spree mid-pandemic last year. I'm making my way through them and trying to quench the very overwhelming desire to go to a bookstore and buy more books. The struggle is real.