We’ve
come to the third installment of Sheila Seiler Lagrand’s Remembering for Ruth serialized novel, and this one is entitled The
Bark of Zorro.
The
story so far: Paul and Margot Goodharte live in California, and are caring for
Paul’s mother Ruth, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Paul’s
something-of-a-black-sheep brother Matthew turns up, becomes interested in
next-door neighbor Sue, and explains his intention to help care for Ruth. In
The Bark of Zorro, Matthew and Sue take Ruth to visit a friend in the town
where Matthew lives, and Matthew’s estranged daughter Amelia visits at the same
time. Confrontation and tears follow, with lots of unanswered questions. In the
meantime, after a welcome day of eating out and generally goofing off, Paul and
Margot return home to find Zorro, the dog belonging to former neighbors, tied
to their front porch.
Like
the previous two installments, this one includes recipes at the end: chicken in
lovely sauce, egg noodles, cranberry buttermilk coffee cake, cheater peanut
butter kiss cookies, and mom’s meatloaf. (Lagrand likes sharing her recipes; I’m
sure these are all non-fat and low-cal.)
If
you’re interested in serial fiction, Wikipedia has a good article about it,
and points out the following:
It
became popular in 19th century Victorian Britain, and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
(1837) tremendously popularized the form.
It
was equally popular in 19th France, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas ran to 139
installments (if Sheila’s runs this long, that means she will finish in January
of 2024).
The
form stayed popular until the mid-20th century, likely done in by
radio (which also did serial broadcasts) and then television.
Tom
Wolfe published The Bonfire of the
Vanities in serial form in Rolling Stone (27 installments) starting in
1984, and then revised it substantially when it was published a a formal novel.
Other contemporary authors who have tried serial publication include Stephen
King, Michael Chabon, Michael Faber, and Orson Scott Card.
No
surprise: the rise of ebook publishing and the internet is renewing interest in
serial publication, like Remembering for
Ruth.
Related:
Remembering for Ruth, Part 1: Mitchell
Meets Matthew
Remember for Ruth, Part 2: Paul
Loves Snickerdoodles
1 comment:
Thank you, Glynn!
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