In Focus

Book two of the Book Club has been read and discussed. We are two for two so far for depressing reads.

This month’s book was Fatal Flaws by Connie Lounsbury. It was based on a true story, which made it all the more depressing.

This book was by another Minnesota author and based in Minnesota, set in the early 1900’s. It was a not so pleasant reminder that back then women were less than dirt and their sole purpose was to be pregnant and raise kids. It was okay for the husband to cheat on his wife repeatedly, but when the wife did it, once, out of anger after finding out her husband had been cheating on her, she was taken from her home, essentially tortured for three years before the husband dropped her off at her parents and took off.

This poor girl got pregnant every time she was touched. I think by the end she had seven kids.

But wait, there’s more!

Not only did she eventually learn the husband had her previous boyfriend killed, he was letting the family starve. She divorced him, finally. She lost her mother, her father was sick, her brothers wanted her to sell the farm. Her baby daughter was kidnapped and the local judge decided to take the rest of her kids and essentially sell them to wealthy families who couldn’t have their own kids. She married a douche bag just to get her kids back, and only got one daughter. She went on to have one kid with the douche she married and then the mom died.

There is a lot more. For real. What a crappy situation to be in.

Without giving too much away, the daughter grew up and found all the other siblings.

In the end, it was an interesting read. You felt for the characters to the point you’d love to throw the book across the room into a fireplace. But it also made you feel better about your own life, like a “Glad it’s not me” type feeling. I did like this book better than the first one we read.

I read another book by Jess Lourey, The Quarry Girls, and that book I liked much more than Unspeakable Things. This one took place in St. Cloud in an area called Pantown where the houses were connected by underground tunnels. It’s a thriller with girls being kidnapped and killed, a crooked sheriff, a mentally unstable mother, workaholic father, and a summer that was supposed to be more fun than it turned out to be. This one was set around the 1970s and had a much more satisfying ending. A good read.

The next book on the list is The Long-Shining Waters by Danielle Sosin. Let’s hope this book is a little bit more upbeat.