Uncertain Voyage by Dorothy Gilman Book 31/40 of the 2018 Goodreads.com challenge

Uncertain Voyage  by Dorothy Gilman 1966.

An author’s therapy novel

Introduction:

This is book #31 of my 2018 Reading Challenge sponsored by Goodreads.com.  I pledged to read 40 books.  To make a framework for the books I would read, I established a reading protocol early in the year to make book selection easy and organized.  Each book chosen for this challenge must fall into one of the following categories:

     1. Authors recommended by other readers (author must be new to me)
     2. Any recommendations by my fellow readers of our online mystery reading group established in 1993 on Prodigy
    3. The next book in a series I have been reading
    4. The next book in a series I have abandoned (in an attempt to revive my interest)
    5. A book that references a historic event or period that is not in my lifetime
    6. A book that references any historic event or biographs a famous person who lived in my lifetime.
    7. New mystery author with setting in USA.
    8. New mystery author with setting in western Europe.  

This novel satisfies Protocol #4.

I became familiar with Dorothy Gilman by reading her Mrs Pollifax mystery/espionage series.  The series features a bored widow/grandmother who takes a part time job as a CIA operative, travels around the world and somehow avoids getting killed by the obvious state’s enemy

‘bad guys”.  She also raises geraniums and belongs to a garden club.  There is adventure, suspense and humor all rolled into one Mrs. Pollifax. 

Dorothy Gilman also wrote some stand-alone novels that included mystery, strong women facing all odds and surviving, but not as much humor as the Pollifax series.  Uncertain Voyage, published in 1966 and re-released in 1988. while presenting a good espionage story, in this review, I present the reasons I categorize this novel as the author’s “therapy novel”. 

Story Line—no spoilers

A newly divorced female (Melissa Aubrey), who married at age 16, leaves Massachusetts and takes an "around the western world" trip in attempt to find a new lease on life. She starts off on a cruise to Denmark, then her first plane flight to Paris and then onto Majorca.  She meets several men on this trip and she fantasizes each one as the new man in her life. Her trip begins with a cruise to Denmark.  She meets an interesting man but he merely asks her to deliver a book to someone in Majorca (her last stop) because he feels that someone is out to kill him. He is right; he dies on the ship.  She packs up the book and continues on her trip, paying more attention to finding some new man who will give her some feeling of usefulness, romance and bliss. In short, she is eager to fill the "emptiness"; a common feeling post-divorce.   In reality, she discovers that there are older men, boring men, married men and CIA agents who are interested in her.  The “man hunt” is not working out so well, and it becomes obvious to her that possessing that book is dangerous. And she is right.

Why do I call this a “therapy novel”?

In addition to the rather complex espionage spy story, Gilman spends a great deal of time focused around Melissa’s post-divorce depression.  Gilman intertwines this espionage story with Melissa’s understandable feelings of loss, and confusion particularly around the return to single life. This part of the novel goes around in a circle with no resolution or decisive action, and actually becomes burdensome.  This part of the novel mirrored a very personal experience and it was hard not to suspect that Dorothy was writing about her own reaction during her transitional year.  She divorced in 1965, one year before this book was published.

Common elements and behaviors during the post-divorce depression and healing transitional year present in this novel:

·       Melissa:

o   began to pay attention to the conversation she was having in her head.

o   sought out more human touch—she felt deserving of recognition and romance

o   demonstrated that strength is defined in many ways

o   faced her fears and began the fight to establish her new life

o   discovered that she is the only person she can control

o   accepted that there was no sure path to her new life

o   realized that dating is invigorating but being alone is also useful

o   resolved her anger and the impossible became possible--she learned to love herself

o   fantasized male attention as attraction and learned it was not that at all

The Ending

There are a few reviews that discussed the ending as weak.  I found the ending of this novel to be incredibly interesting.  Without a spoiler it is impossible to discuss here.  I will continue to search for more reviews of this novel especially discussions about the ending. At this point, I do not know what really happened at the end.  Would love to hear how other readers interpreted the end.

Without spoiling—I will offer that this novel reads like a Hitchcock movie.   I can easily see Audrey Hepburn as Melissa and Cary Grant as Adam.  It has a very “Charade” feel to it.  Overall, it has a nice blend of romance and espionage.  Both of these best known for being impossible to win.  

The Goodreads.com 2018 Reading Challenge Continues. . .

Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg (2002)  Book #28/40 in the Goodreads.com 2018 Reading Challenge.  Will I make it to Book 40/40 before December 31st???
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 As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, I signed up for the 2018 Reading Challenge promoted by Goodreads.com.  I have recently finished  another Fannie Flagg novel titled Standing in the Rainbow.  This is Book #28.  I am still 2 books behind schedule as determined by Goodreads.com, but the good news is that Goodreads has stopped sending me emails reminding me that I am behind.  I guess they gave up.  That was driving me crazy.

I made some limiting rules for this challenge making my book selection easier and more balanced.  Each book chosen for this challenge must fall into one of the following categories:

     1. Authors recommended by other readers (author must be new to me)
     2. Any recommendations by my fellow readers of our online mystery reading group established in 1993 on Prodigy
    3. The next book in a series I have been reading
    4. The next book in a series I have abandoned (in an attempt to revive my interest)
    5. A book that references a historic event or period that is not in my lifetime
    6. A book that references any historic event or biographs a famous person who lived in my lifetime.
    7. New mystery author with setting in USA.
    8. New mystery author with setting in western Europe.  

Standing in the Rainbow follows category #3.

This book was either a fast read, or maybe I just love reading Fannie Flagg books.  This is the second book in her Elmwood Springs series about growing up in a small Missouri town and the relationship between big and small towns in the Midwest.  It is also the story of big and small relationships, big and small issues and big and small characters. Magically, there is a section of this novel that pertains to every age group and life cycle. Depending on the age of the reader, each will find themselves in this novel.  As I am in the retirement age group, I particularly found the description of the transition away from family life (kids at home) and work responsibilities (daily grind) interesting, insightful and true.

I read this book this past weekend while in Hot Springs, Virginia.  Not the Midwest but a small town where I lived for two years in the early 80's.   I was there this week to attend the funeral of one of my favorite people on this planet.  I met her the first day I lived in Hot Springs, and over the past 35 years, she has remained one of the most wonderful friends I could have ever had.  We kept in touch, visited at reasonable intervals and I will miss her.  As this novel proves, we "never get that time back". 

Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg (2002)

There is no doubt that I am a first class Fannie Flagg fan.  Thinking I had read all of her books with the exception of the Christmas novel, I was pleasantly surprised that I had not read  "Standing in the Rainbow".   Once I got into this book, I wished I had read this book before her most recent novel, "The Whole Town's Talking".  Standing in the Rainbow is about the living cycle of a lifetime in the small Missouri town of Elmwood Springs. Every age group is standing in its own rainbow--has its own colorful characters, its own events, its own adventures and at some point, its own fade.   "The Whole Town's Talking" focuses on how towns change and are affected as generations die.

There were a lot of action, a lot of adventures going on and a lot of characters included in this novel.  Most critical issues good and bad, encountered in a lifetime are demonstrated in this novel.  Once again, as a Fannie Flagg guarantees that the action never ends.   At times its a bit difficult to keep everyone straight and who likes who and who is at odds, when and why.  But all the characters are engaging and it is hard to resist reading to the end even if it is just to know how they all turn out.  This novel clearly illustrates the wins and losses of life, the passing of the years that seem so long at the time, and then in retrospect, went so fast, the softening of differences and the realization that no one ever gets the time back.  That is the way life is and the way this story is told.  It is hard to put this book down.

Fannie Flagg's usual humor is found less often in this novel than the others.  But as a Missourian myself, I have to praise Fannie Flagg for so perfectly  portraying life in the Midwest.  We are generous and kind.  We are accustomed to and really good at creating our own drama.  As kids, we grow up dreaming of getting out of the Midwest and living in places that we imagine are more exciting. but then we get there and find out its just different.   And like people everywhere, we intend to "get together" or "visit" our friends after moving on.  But so rarely is there follow-through,  and many times the outcome is "that it is too late".

Several years ago I left Missouri and moved to the East Coast.  It has been brought to my attention many times that I "am so Midwestern".  I am guilty, and I would never have it any other way.  Maybe that is my Rainbow.  I loved this book.