reading the journals of Emma Lion

 I've been reading "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion". I kept running into glowing praises of the "journals" here and there online over the past few months, until finally I began to wonder why we don't have them at our library, and why none of our patrons have asked me about them. But then I suddenly became interested. 

I asked Suzy Q, the director, to buy them - there are eight, and we didn't know if we should, so she ordered the first four. If you don't know, they are quite slim, so four isn't much to invest in - not like it would be for a usual book series. 

So they came, and I got them ready and into the computer; then I thought I may as well give the first one a try. Amazon says this: "Readers have compared Beth Brower's writing to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse and L.M. Montgomery."  I would say "no" to all of the above. But that doesn't mean I am not liking it.

So, volume one. I was skeptical, but it was cute. And short, so, painless to read, which I felt I should, since I'd asked Sue to get them; I thought I should know firsthand what they were like. And it grew on me as I read. It's witty, and I think diverting would be the best word. I had all four volumes home with me, so I immediately picked up volume two.

In the second one I was getting more used to Emma, and the author is smart, in that she didn't lay out all of Emma's past, her family, her situation, etc., all at once - you are learning it a little here, a little there. So, like Hansel and Gretel, there are the crumbs that you pick up and follow. (Well, I guess Hansel and Gretel had the intention, but it didn't work out that way.) I would say the second "journal" is more interesting, but that may be because I was resisting all the laudatory stuff until I could make up my own mind. 

Volume three is where I am now. It's light reading, but hard to put down, mostly short "entries", clever remarks, very entertaining, with several appealing characters; original and surprising situations arise and you get drawn into Emma Lion's world. I was reminded of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury mysteries for some reason, with all the witty dialogue and so many characters, but Beth Brower keeps them under better control than Martha, I think. (I gave up on those years ago - it dawned on me that Jury and Melrose Plant didn't seem to be aging - nobody was growing. They were all stuck, and I guess that's her intent, but why?) 

Anyway, what I'm getting at is - I'm going to tell Suzy Q to buy the rest, and I'm going to tell several of my co-workers they will probably enjoy these cute books. They're not new - the first was published in 2019, so word of mouth seems to be doing its work. There's something nice about that. 

In short, if you're looking to be amused, diverted, and even laughing at times at something light and pleasant, pick these up. That must be why they're getting popular, in this difficult world.