I have linked two readings that have rhymed within me like two verses of the same poem: Cosima, by Grazia Deledda, and The Fragile Lights of Earth, by Gabrielle Roy. These are memoirs by two writers who are apparently far apart in time and geography. I say apparently far apart because, as they are memories of their early years, and given that both wanted to be and were writers, their books have much in common and reading them one after the other has been a very interesting experience.