All Iowa Reads — The Rope Walk
The All Iowa Reads selection
for 2009 was “The Rope Walk” by Carrie Brown.
“The Rope Walk” is billed as a “coming of age story”, which usually makes me cringe (something terrible seems to always happen in “coming-of-age” stories). But it’s really more of a gentle narrative about a remarkable year in the life of a 10-year-old girl whose world is expanded through two unlikely friendships.
The friendship includes Alice, the sheltered daughter of a college dean, Theo, an adventurous and resourceful boy whose family seems to have forgotten he exists, and Kenneth, a famous artist dying of an HIV/AIDS-related illness. It’s not as grim as it sounds and is liberally sprinkled with bits of humor and endearing characters. Members of my library book club commented that it made them feel nostalgic for their childhood.
All Iowa Reads is sponsored by the Iowa Center for the Book and the program’s goal is to choose a book that Iowans will read together and discuss.
Previous selections:
- 2008. Digging to America by Anne Tyler
- 2007. Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio by Jeffrey Kluger
- 2006. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
- 2005. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
- 2004. Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken
- 2003. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
For more information on All Iowa Reads, see http://www.iowacenterforthebook.org/air
