Whenever I have a good book on tour the memories of the performances and the places we visit become inextricably associated with the literature. A few of the books that have that sort of resonance with past travels are Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove”, Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible”, Paul Auster’s “Brooklyn Follies” and “Oracle Night”, and “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen.
Franzen’s latest book “Freedom” is my companion on this trip. It is a terrific book. You can tell a brilliant author by their ability to propel the reader though a difficult, sometimes painful story in a flurry of page-turning as if it were detective fiction. This one is an amazing commentary on life in America in our time: oh so contemporary. Having a great book is the only thing that can make me look forward to a long airplane flight!
Paul