Taking Amtrak to New York tomorrow for some fun--yippee! Preparing for the jaunt has been so time-consuming, especially arranging all of Sophie's care. I'm exhausted from the planning and preparing (I'm the tour guide of our duo) and will heave a sigh of relief when we're chugging south tomorrow morning.

I do hope I'll be able to post a blog entry or two while I'm down there, if I can grab the time. I've been searching for interesting bookstores. If you know of one I should check out, please email me.

Now for a stunner of a book--I'm so glad I checked out Mrs. Sartoris by Elke Schmitter. This brief novel, almost a novella, was published by Knopf last year after having been published in Germany in 2000. What I love most--if I pick just one element--is the flawless structure of the story. Having made numerous stabs at fiction writing in my life, none of them notable, I am in awe at the tight construction of this plot. And the characterization of Margarethe is so well done, especially the way that Schmitter engages sympathy for a psychologically wounded, amoral woman who commits a heinous act. My knuckles were white turning the pages! I'll definitely be reading this one again and again.