Donald Duck is my hero. I love his temper tantrums and the way he grumbles under his breath. He can express all of the emotions that as adults we are supposed to keep to ourselves. He does it magnificently.
In thinking about Donald, who can do anything without reprimand, I have thought of a few books that he can handle for me. My first category is “the book that you wanted to throw across the room but you didn’t because you are an adult and you love books.” I would have handed Donald Dream When You are Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg. I really enjoyed this book, but the ending did not work for me at all. It still doesn’t.
Toning things down a notch, my second category is “the book you wanted to slam shut and you absolutely refused to finish reading.” The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski gets my vote. Two-thirds of the way through that book I passed it over to Donald so he could slam it shut for me.
My third and final category is “the book you finished and even thought you liked at the time, but as time passed you realized that you would like to delete it from your mind.” The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst is my pick. I think I’ll let Donald quietly whisk it away. Hopefully “out of sight” will mean “out of mind.”
The next time you are reading and feel your blood begin to boil say, “Aw, phooey” and hand the book off to Donald. He will be more than happy to help.
—Janet
Read it or Weep 