A Novel Vacation

Sometimes you just need to get away. Real life can be so unpleasant, especially these days with the commenting hordes on the Internet ruining everything. For example, on Facebook this morning a news story reported details of yesterday's  stately funeral service for president George H. W. Bush, held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It was a sober and somber affair, lightened by a few funny stories from his friends and family. One eulogist was his son, former president George W. Bush, who delivered a terrific tribute to his dad. But the trolls on Facebook tore into him, bringing out the hackneyed slings and arrows used on him years ago. So it's come to this: A grieving (Republican) son is a target for some ignorant (Democrat) citizen's decades-old ire.

Average people -- and I do mean average-- have become cruel to the max, plain and simple. Thus, the aforementioned escape. The following novels have transported me to another world, saving me much despair over this one, no matter how many times I have read them. Pick one up and go for it; it's so much more relaxing than scrolling through the Internet.

 The Sweet Hereafter (Russell Banks)

Mildred Pierce (James M. Cain)

Mrs. Bridge (Evan S. Connell)

Mr. Bridge (Evan S. Connell)

The Hours (Michael Cunningham)

White Noise (Don DeLillo)

An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser)

Being There (Jerzy Kosinski)

Into Thin Air (Jon Krakauer)

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer (Steven Millhauser)

Too Late the Phalarope (Alan Paton)

Maus (Art Spiegelmann)

Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)

The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe)