Lilian Nattel Makes My Day

The older I get the less (certainly) I know and the less I also remember.  (Indeed, I am at work on a memoir now, but for this one, I've taken notes all along the way—proof, I tell myself. Evidence.)  But I do remember (I will swear on this) the first time I ever encountered Lilian Nattel's blog.  She had written about that northern lights phenomenon, aurora borealis.  She had posted (as she will) an extraordinary photograph.  I'd spent a few months in northern Alberta as a kid, fascinated by those night skies, and so I was enthralled by Lilian's post.  We're going to get each other, I thought.

And so we have.  We read with equal fervency.  We opine on the things we see.  We take our cameras out for walks.  We threaten to go ice skating together.  She's a Canadian and I'm a Pennsylvanian.  But there is much that we share.  When I read her novel The River Midnight, I knew we'd be friends for a long time.  When I follow her journey toward publication of her new book, Web of Angels, I feel as though I am preparing for a launch of a book of my own.

And so, Lilian, I am so very grateful to you for your beautiful and loving read of You Are My Only—for settling in with it so quickly, for sharing it with your daughter, for ushering in my yesterday with an early morning tease on Facebook.  The next time I cross the Canadian border, I'm strapping on a pair of skates, heating up my thermos of tea, and looking for you.

(The photograph above was taken at the Philadelphia Art Museum, this past Sunday.)

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Lilian Nattel and The River Midnight

It took months (I don't know why) for Lilian Nattel's The River Midnight to make its way from a warehouse to my home. I took this remarkable novel with me, on a brief weekend respite—read it on the shaded front porch of a bed and breakfast, then finished it here, this morning.

I'd been so eager to read Lilian's book because I'm a huge fan of her blog (subtitled "Curious and Amazed"), which is rich with ideas, opinions, research, and stunning found photography. The first time I visited Lilian's blog she was posting about an aurora borealis. Since then she's written of politics, of neighborhood walks, of science and of illuminating strands of research, of children, of books she's loved and of books she's writing.

The River Midnight was Lilian's first book, published more than ten years ago. It's the story of a Polish village called Blaszka—the story of the strong-minded women and sometimes secretly self-doubting men who tangle up with each other, who defy or who are defined by shtetl culture, and who seem catapulted forward toward some selfish choice, but who mostly opt, in the end, for community. At the center of it all is the midwife, Misha, who collects and keeps the villagers' secrets, and who struggles with her own.

As a writer, I am in awe of the structure of this book—each story getting told, then told again from a different angle, a different perspective. We think we know how a tale turns out; when we are told it again—through another's eyes, from another time—it's richer than we'd first imagined and infused, in subtle ways, with magic. Despite the large cast of characters and percolating conflicts, The River Midnight does not sprawl. It merely grows more concentrated. It is a hugely accomplished novel.

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Elif Batuman and Lilian Natel: Up Next

After reading this Dwight Garner-penned description of Elif Batuman's "The Possessed" in the New York Times today, who would not want this book? I want this book. I'm going to get it.

Elif Batuman’s odd and oddly profound study of her favorite Russian authors is also an exploration of the question: How do we bring our lives closer to our favorite books?

However: I am going to read Lilian Natel's The River Midnight first. She's an impeccable blogger/thinker/writer. I've been waiting a long time to curl up with her book.

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