Book/Audio Review #56 - These Is My Words

Way back in the day, before I had ever joined a book group, before the world knew about blogging and before I began keeping track of the books with reviews, I read a book I loved called These Is My Words. I know I loved it all those years ago, and have told countless friends and acquaintances to read it based on that memory of loving it but, if you want to know the truth, the details about the story have become...err....a bit sketchy.

Oh, I remembered that it involved pioneers and a romance and a woman whose English skills improved with time, but beyond that, I was as clueless as the person who has never read it. Time and a poor long-term memory will do that.

Following spring break, I went to the library to pick up some holds that had become available. As I looked at the titles, I realized that at some point, I must have looked at a list of recent Pulitzer or Booker prize winners and nominees because each of them had some kind of acknowledgment on their cover. I sighed at the prospect of only having these options in the forthcoming weeks. Nothing against prize winning literature, but they tend to lean towards the heavier side of life. And I needed a break from heavy.

With books in my arms, I decided to browse through the shelves of fiction, hoping I might find something on the lighter side as a diversion. As I came to the "T"s, I noticed the book Sarah's Quilt, which is a sequel to These Is My Words.

At that moment, the only book I wanted to read was These Is My Words. Of course, the library didn't have a copy available, but the audio book version was on its shelf. 12 CDs and I left that library together.

I imagined listening to the story in my minivan as I drove around from errand to errand, but was quickly reminded that although the story is "clean" it isn't really for young children. There are descriptions of some rather brutal happenings as Sarah Agnes Prine and her family trek from Texas to the Arizona frontier to become homesteaders. Indian skirmishes, dying children and men taking advantage of scared young girls kept my listening a private affair.

I imagine most people who regularly listen to audio books have some kind of system that allows them to upload them to an ipod or something similar. My little ipod shuffle doesn't have that kind of memory, so I was forced to either play the CDs through my computer or listen to them on the portable DVD player we bought for our kids to use on trips. Again, I disliked the exposure of the computer speakers and after one disc, exclusively used the unwieldy DVD player.

Portable or not, holding onto something the size of a large book doesn't lend itself well to getting much done. On day one, I reserved my listening to lying in bed before I went to sleep. But, as anyone who has ever read/listened to These Is My Words before, it wasn't long before it consumed my thoughts and I couldn't help but put the next disc in....and then the one after that.

I did manage to iron a few things during one CD, but it was awkward. the cord of my headphones wasn't very long, and I found myself crouching next to the ironing board with my head bent in order to listen. In addition, if I was ironing a pair of pants and needed the entire board, I had to rig the DVD player underneath my armpit, and after a few times of the machine falling to the ground and pulling my neck with it, I gave up ironing:)

Oh...I loved this book! The reasons why came flooding back into my thoughts. I love Sarah and her no-nonsense strength. I loved her honesty, as a daughter, as a sister and especially later as a wife. I love how she mothers. I love how she tolerates her circumstances, celebrates her victories and mourns her trials. I just loved her.

Throw in Captain Jack Elliot and one of the greatest love stories in literature and you've got yourself the makings of a great book. No wonder I remember liking it so well.

The audio version had its advantages and disadvantages. I liked the narrator. She had a drawl that influenced my speech and thoughts for days afterward. I found myself using the phrase, "Fit to be tied" when I became frustrated. I may have even said it out loud once. And I'm still hoping my mother-in-law didn't notice too much when I over-enunciated my "r"s. I caught myself before it became too big a problem.

The one minus was that she also narrated for Captain Jack. I don't care how great a voice you have, a woman's voice lowered to sound like a man's still sounds like a woman's voice. Every time she spoke Jack's lines, I thought, "Nope...still you."

I am so glad I reconnected with this book. As soon as I finished, I ordered a copy off of Amazon.com, just so that I could have it handy whenever the mood strikes again. While certainly not "light" and definitely not "fluffy", I enjoyed Sarah's Prine's story of life in the Arizona territories during the end of the 19th century. If you're one of the few who haven't read it yet, I highly recommend the experience.