Did I mention it snowed up my way yesterday? Did I also mention I was without power for two hours last night? Not fun.

On the other hand, spending the blackout reading by flashlight with the iPod going and candles flickering is kinda cool.

Yes, believe it or not, I do pick up a book and read once in a while. ;)

At the moment I’m reading Unless by the late Carol Shields. It’s quite the interesting read. Written in the first-person singular, it’s about a middle-aged Canadian author and mother named Reta who is dealing with the fact that her oldest daughter Norah has quit university and left home to beg and live in the streets of Toronto while holding a sign reading “GOODNESS”. At the same time, Reta is working on her second book of fiction and living her life–including raising two other daughters, Christine and Natalie.

I’m a little over half-way through the book. To me, so far, it seems like Reta is almost consumed by what her eldest is doing; and that, every time she mentions doing something else–chatting with her friends, recalling conversations and writings of author and feminist Danielle Westerman, discussing how great the sex is with her partner Tom–it all goes back to Norah.

I “discovered” this book online quite a few years ago, when it was still only in hardcover. I wasn’t really looking for it. The title Unless just kinda jumped out at me. Then when I saw what it was about, I became even more intrigued. How does a mother cope with a daughter choosing to leave everything about her life behind to become a homeless person?

I’ll post again when I’ve finished it. :)