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Anna Quindlen: Object Lessons

© Irene Taylor

I love Anna Quindlen. Do you know her? Most recently, she is a columnist at Newsweek, writing an every-other week column for "The Last Word" page. That's where I first discovered her, and that discovery has forever altered my reading of Newsweek. I used to read that magazine as most people do, from front to back, perusing the many interesting and noteworthy articles.

But now - I look at the front cover, usually while walking back to the house from the mailbox, but when I sit down to read, I turn immediately to the last page for Ms. Quindlen's column. It doesn't matter whether it is "her" week or not - I always start there to be sure not to miss even one column.

I find her commentary on the events of our lives, from the political to the everyday, to be almost always pithy, succinct and "right-on". She strikes a chord and I almost always find myself agreeing with her and often sharing her latest thoughts with friends and family. She as taken on topics such as the economy, the war in Iraq, the questionable practices of the Bush administration, Hillary Clinton, and many other current and "hot-button" topics.

In one especially poignant and highly controversial article she wrote about the unspeakable horror of the Andrea Yates case (Playing God on No Sleep, July 2, 2001). Her commentary was in no way a defense of that horrible act, but was an attempt to explain the forces that might have been at work in Andrea Yates' mind that could allow such an event to occur. I found it to be very insightful and very thought provoking.

Anna Quindlen has a long history with words - her New York Times column "Public and Private" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 - and she is the author of three best selling novels. She has also written countless columns, several works of non-fiction, two children's books and a number of book introductions.

So, after loving her for several years in Newsweek, I finally decided to give one of her novels a try, her first, Object Lessons. Set in the 1960's this is a coming of age story of a young girl in a highly charged Irish-Italian family. Much of the story is told through the eyes of young Maggie Scanlan, daughter of Connie and Tommy Scanlan, and granddaughter of the family patriarch, John Scanlan. This story works on many levels and explores the complex relationships within the family and how Maggie grows and changes during one fateful summer.