No one has kissed anyone yet, or made any big revelations, or blown anything up (although there was a mysterious shock that left two people jittery). But people have moved, they've made moves, and they've been pushy. People aren't being dishonest, but they aren't being forthright, either. Things aren't as bad as they could be, but no one is really satisfied, and everyone realizes this situation isn't permanent...
Meanwhile, I read a book this week that BLEW MY MIND! I only picked it up because my friend Leia said that she was "having ALL of the feelings." The reason I might never have picked it up is the title. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. By Ben Fountain. It sounds like a YA sports book for boys, doesn't it? Something along the lines of the movie Hoosiers, or Rudy, both of which I love, of course, but once you've experienced a couple, do you really need anymore?
But that isn't what this book is about. Oh, no. It's a stream of consciousness book about a boy (19 years old) who has been in Iraq, and done a courageous deed that was caught on camera. So he and his buddies are home for two weeks on a "victory tour" to boost the war effort. They are at the end of the two weeks at the beginning of the book, headed to Dallas Stadium to watch the Thanksgiving Day game between the Cowboys and the Bears, and they are to have some kind of role in the halftime show, although they don't really know what, yet.
That's the setup. But the delivery is a gut-wrenching, mind-blowing experience of emotional trauma as we live in Billy's head for a few hours. My life will never be the same. I highly recommend it!
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