Do You Smell What's Cooking?: Book Review of The Scent Keeper

 

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

Description

In The Scent Keeper, Erica Bauermeister's Reese's Book Club pick, Emmeline has an enchanted childhood—she grows up on a remote island with only her father, the machine he uses to capture scents, and eventually she gets a pet goat. She has never been anywhere but the island--the get most of their food from scavenging and from boxes of staples, which her father tells her are dropped off by mermaids.

One day Emmeline must leave their island and join the outside world, where everything is foreign to her and she has no idea how to manage the senses she’d heightened on the island, which are now overwhelmed by the stimulus of a life with others.

The Scent Keeper is, in part, a discussion of socialization and the ways in which children are taught explicitly and implicitly to ignore their instincts for the sake of fitting in and the approval of others. Emmeline finds herself overwhelmed by all the odors that congregate around humans and the social rules no one explains to her. Her one friend is another misfit who can’t quite fit in, but they fit with each other. 

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Scent Keeper? The Scent Keeper is told in first person, from Emmeline’s naive point of view. There is so much she does not understand about other people and the desires that they have. Her innocence is, at times, as cloying as the scents she describes. In terms of this narration and this outsider perspective, the book is interesting, and invites the reader to question the ways we are socialized, such as at school, where strangeness is often punished. Emmeline’s ability to recognize and eventually pair smells is one that can be used for great gain. Like so many abilities, it can be monetized, and another result of our socialization is how we view and eventually use our talents.

The Scent Keeper has a charm and a wonder that is linked to the story telling, and can certainly offer a rousing conversation. The story telling, however is not remarkable, and moments of the plot seem too farfetched. While it lent to a good discussion in book club, I would most likely not teach The Scent Keeper.

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Mind Over Matter: Book Review of The Institute

 

The Institute by Stephen King

Gratitude 

Thank you to the Montgomery County Libraries for providing Stephen King’s The Institute free for public use.

Description

Stephen King’s The Institute features Luke, a twelve year old kid who is also a genius. He’s about to begin attending two universities at the same time and is excited to begin this next portion of his life. Then everything is upended—Luke wakes up in his bedroom that is not his bedroom, but a re-creation at the Institute. At the Institute, Luke discovers that all the children have ESP or telekinetic powers. None of them know exactly why they’re at the institute. They also don’t know what happens when they leave the intake part of the Institute, but Luke knows it’s nothing good. And while he also knows that there’s no way to escape the Institute, Luke knows he must find a way out.

There are many parallels between The Institute and Firestarter—both feature exceptional children who are kidnapped and tested on. In both, children are separated from their parents. And in both, the children must find a way to escape their captors.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Institute? The Institute, published in 2019, is classic Stephen King, and written in much cleaner and more sophisticated prose than Firestarter, which was published in 1980. The books are similar enough that in my fantasy course on Stephen King, I would probably not teach both. One represents King’s early work, when he was first establishing his presence as a best selling author and the other represents his more skilled work, decades into his career. In considering teaching a class that represents an author’s work, it makes sense to represent different moments in their career.

While The Institute is arguably better written than Firestarter, Firestarter is, again, the classic, and lives in the American psyche in a way that The Institute does not. A book like Fairy Tale might better represent the breadth of King’s work than The Institute. While it is better than many of King’s books, The Institute would not be a good fit for the course I long to one day teach.

I did enjoy reading The Institute--it is a solid Stephen King book.

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Strangers as Friends Not Yet Met: Book Review of Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

 

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

Description

In Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Claire Pooley, Iona has sat in the same spot, riding on the train for many years to her job as an Agony Aunt, as the British call it, or, in the American vernacular, a magazine advice columnist. Every day she sees the same people on the train but never talks to them—until an emergency forces her to speak up. From there, there’s no stopping Iona.

While the chapters of the book are told from alternating points of view, Iona is the star. She is an absolutely fabulous character to get to know—she is dramatic, self-assured, and not ready to be stuffed in the closet with the outdated merch. Although Iona is no longer young, she is quite far from old.

Her backstory is incredible—an it-girl of the 80s and 90s, invited to all of the best parties, and paid to write about her adventures. Also a civil rights activist and performer, Iona is something special. It is difficult not to love her.

The book's ensemble cast is rounded out with Emmie, a young woman in advertising, Sanjay, a nurse, Piers, in finance, and Martha, a high school student. Written in third person, each characters story is mixed and blended with the others.

Much of the book is about Iona fighting ageism and the ways that women are made to feel irrelevant as they grow older. Iona is in an industry in which appearance and being with the zeitgeist is important, and, like other women, she gets squeezed from her place of power by a combination of changing and reducing responsibilities and bullying. As much of culture is shaped around youth, Iona's experience will resonate with many.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting? I read Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting as part of my book club and we had a lively discussion around it. I would have been unlikely to come to it on my own. However, I am glad that I read it. Though there are serious topics discussed, the book does not feel heavy—the ensemble cast and premise give it a light-hearted feel.

Iona Iverson’s Rules of Commuting would fit in a contemporary literature course, perhaps contemporary British literature. I would be less likely to teach it in a creative writing course because the books I generally choose are more literary and daring and don’t follow prescribed plots or characters.


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