non-fiction

Really now, I need to change this idea of a "Book Review" to "Mom Chose This Book and I Read It Review." This is another of Mom's selected books. I think I'm nearing the end of her pile. That just means, however, that I'll start in on my pile, which is significantly bigger than Mom's pile, to be sure.

This book is the story of a woman's journey around Indonesia, with her saying "Yes" to every adventure that presents itself. Elizabeth Pisani had previously worked in Indonesia, a couple decades before, so knew much about the country, and had lived through much of its recent turmoil. As she describes it, her journey was much like trying to show everyone why your bad boyfriend deserves a chance, look at his many good qualities.

While reading this book, I contrasted the history telling of this book to the history telling found in the Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Mao. The latter was much richer in its telling, while Pisani's travels were much broader and more flavorful at the local, individual level.

I was surprised that I enjoyed the book, picking the book up more frequently than I thought I would. I had checked in with Mom when I first started the book, having discovered that Mom disliked one of the books we both read, and wanting to see if she had finished this book and liked it. She said, she had started the book, but had been distracted by another, so hadn't finished it yet. I think it's worth finishing if you'd started it, and an entertaining read if you're interested in a woman's year-long adventure in the world's largest nation.

Okay, really now, why I am reading this book, I don't know. It is so far outside of my normal reading patterns that at this point you need to shake your head and say, "Because it is on your mom's reading list?" and I answer, "YES! THAT IS IT."

The Oregon Trail is the recounting of the author's and his brother's recent (like 8 years ago) traversing of the United States in a covered wagon along the (you guessed it) Oregon Trail. And while you did guess "the Oregon Trail" you'd be only mostly right, since parts of the trail don't exist and longer, parts were only hand-wavy sketchily defined, and part have been obliterated by the Mormon marketing machine for their own money-making history-cleansing needs.

I tend to read fiction books, and I read far less biographical material than history, and I don't read much history. Which is changing, I'll admit. I'll also admit the only reason I actually read this book is because it is the last of the books from Mom's recent reading list.

I really enjoyed this book.

I liked how history lessons of the Oregon Trail were interwoven through Rinker's and Nick's travels.

I appreciated how Buck didn't stick to a chronological telling of the Oregon Trail history, but explained important parts of history as they related to the part of the trail they were on.

And I enjoyed learning about the growth the two brothers had on their journey. A reminder, perhaps, that a complete shift away from the mess one has made of one's life, coupled with a stupidly hard goal, is just the thing needed to accept one's past and move on.