End of the Line: Frequency of Souls

The Frequency of Souls by Mary Kay Zuravleff (F ZUR Main)

Reviewed by Nancy

There are so many reasons to read a book:
--someone suggests it to you and simply will not leave you alone until you read it;
--you're in school, it's an assignment and you have no choice;
--it covers a subject that you are interested in;
--it's by an author you have enjoyed in the past;
--the cover looks cool and so you can't resist it (this happens to me; I am sometimes a real sucker for slick packaging - books or food.)

Then there’s the crazy notion reason. I sometimes get these ideas in my head, and this one began to overtake me recently. What is the last book in fiction? In the alphabetical A to Z arrangement in our library, what is the last Z?

I traveled to the end of the alphabet where I discovered The Frequency of Souls by Mary Kay Zuravleff. The plot centers on George Mahoney, an engineer who has spent his professional life designing and redesigning refrigerators. George is bored with his job and complacent about his life. This sets him up perfectly for a mid-life crisis which begins when his new office mate, Niagra Spence, moves into his cubicle.

I love a good story, and this IS a good story, but there's an additional factor here. Mary Kay Zuravleff is an editor of books and exhibition texts for the Smithsonian Institution and she really knows how to turn a phrase. Her book is full of gems and nuggets.  In offering this review, I don't want to give too much away and spoil the plot for you, so I thought I might just offer you a sampling of some of the wonderful phrases:

So, here we go. Nuggets:

". . . the one story he enjoyed telling, which George remembered like an earache."

".  . .extracted a filament of hair from the temple of her glasses, where broken strands often hung like fishing line"

"George was lulled by her quiet percussiveness, the tapping and flapping of her flyswatter hands accompanied by the jingling of her earrings."

". . . his mother's eyes, baggy and sad as her ironing pile. . ."

". . . shoe-polish eyeliner he so adored. . ."

Maybe it's because I've read the book already, but even just the snippets without the benefit of the plot make me want to laugh out loud, especially that thing about the fishing line.

If you're in the mood for a good story with some great laughs try "The Frequency of Souls." It will give you a lift.

I'm also hoping that this review gets posted fast, just in case someone whose name starts "Zz" writes a book and unseats Frequency of Souls. I'd like it to retain its distinction as the last book for awhile.