Book #40: Bound on Earth

Title: Bound on Earth
Author: Angela Hallstrom

A series of vignettes and short stories about three generations of an LDS family in Salt Lake City, which, when taken together highlight the LDS views about the eternal nature of families.

I tend to put books in two categories-- easy reads and books I learn from. Rarely do I find a book that I can put in both categories. Bound on Earth is a refreshing exception. I read it in about a day (it's only about 200 pages), yet several weeks later, I still find myself thinking about the characters and the struggles they face. In contrast to much of current LDS fiction, Hallstrom presents "real" flawed characters, who ultimately find that their family ties that hold them together eternally also bring them both the most joy (and pain) while here on Earth.