Mutha's Five

I recently read a blog where the question was posed: what five books would you take with you on a desert island?

Finding this an intriguing idea, I wondered what my answer might be. But instead of thinking about books it made me think about the island itself. I figured that, after all I like my life and I don't think I would run away to a desert island on my own accord. So I'm stranded on this desert island now...suddenly I realize reading would be the last thing I would do. Unless there were some conveniently vacated Swiss-Family-Robinson-type dwellings, Disney-esque island creatures that help me gather food, and an endless clean water supply, I believe I would be spending most of my time just trying to survive.

So, skip the panic attack, let's get back to the spirit of the question: What would I do with uninterrupted time? What an amazing idea...what would I do with the time to read and reread whatever books I wanted? So the question changed to what five books would I simply thoroughly enjoy any time, if I had the time (as opposed to the five I would save if the right-wing ran a muck and started burning the lot. Too much pressure. You can write about that on your blog)? hmmm...


Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Very difficult to describe -- but an absolute beauty. Deep thoughts on spirituality, survival, the meaning of zoos, and how one might make friends with a tiger.

Fanny and Zooey by JD Salinger
Lots of folks think Salinger is a hack, but not me. He is a kind of hero to me (or anti-hero), has been since I first read him in junior high. Catcher in the Rye is what gets the attention, but I believe this story about the Glass family and its youngest two siblings is the true treasure. Full of debates on being real, the essence of art, experiencing loss, and how to survive when you've been raised a freak. Plus more cigarettes smoked than in any other work of fiction.

Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
A journey through history from ancient China to modern day San Francisco on the shoulders of women, Hong Kingston's ability to move seamlessly from fiction to nonfiction is true story-telling.

An Open Book by Ruth Gordon
Between Rose Mary's Baby and Harold and Maude, most people would agree Ruth Gordon was a pip of an old lady, but this book helps us understand that this woman was a pisser from the moment she hit air. Ms. Gordon shares a non-stop stream of consciousness on her life through her childhood in Quincy, Mass to her vaudeville days to Hollywood. Criss-crossing the country (and then the globe), broke over and over again, married several times, Ms. Gordon describes everything from what Lawrence Olivier was like in his twenties to the brown corduroy jacket she loved so much as a little girl. The book asks the question: what will you remember about your life when you are 80?

I know this Much is True by Wally Lamb
An unconventional love story, in that it concerns two brothers. Lamb makes damn sure we care about the people he writes about and this book will not leave you alone until you find out everything you need to know about these men.

If there is one thing I find in common about these books it is that they are all so fully realized. They present characters and settings, real and fictional, that are there for the taking. The stories they tell stick around inside of me -- and even better, make my own dreams more vivid. Desert island or not, what more could you ask for?