Weather

I was not going to read Weather as I dnf'd [b:Dept. of Speculation 17402288 Dept. of Speculation Jenny Offill https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367929545l/17402288.SX50.jpg 24237023] and because reviewers with reading preferences similar to mine seemed to really dislike this novel. Weather showed up on the CampTOB list, and it was short. I was determined just to take it down like a bitter pill. Incredibly, I enjoyed the hell out of it. How lovely it was to read about a main character who is over 40 and under 60. Thank you. There are so few literary novels that feature a woman my age. What a nice change. I was, at first, completely put off by how Lizzie was observing life but not really participating in it. Avoidance seemed to be her m.o.but then I got it. She's going through life as one meditates (which is why meditation comes up over and over again in the story). A thought arises, she acknowledged its existence and then it passed. She did not subscribe an emotion or judgment on the thought. It just WAS. The thought was like a balloon scrolling across her mental sky or....like the weather. It just was. And then it is passed. Clever. “You are to some disinterested bystander/ Exert yourself.” (Epictetus) For me, this would have been meaningless if Lizzie did not wake up a bit, and she does by the end. Does she have it all figured out? Heck no. Who does? But she lands on what is important to her, what gives her life meaning. I found this satisfying. Had it gone on any longer, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much.