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Click here to purchase Snow by Maxence Fermine
 Snow
by Maxence Fermine
Rating: 3.5
Yuko Akita had two passions.
Haiku.
And snow.
Yuko is a poet who loves snow and writes Haiku poetry only about snow. The Poet of the Imperial Court thinks Yuko has great potential but thinks his poetry needs more color. He then sends him on a journey to a blind poetry master named Soseki where Yuko will not only learn about poetry, but also about love.
I really loved aspects of this book and the language is lyrical, but parts of it just didn't sit right with me. It takes only an hour or two to read, though, so I do recommend it as something different from the usual that is not too time-consuming.
1999, 100 pp., translated from the French
Click here to purchase The Gathering by Ann Enright
 The Gathering
by Ann Enright
Rating: 4
The Gathering by Anne Enright won the Booker Prize in 2007. The novel is about family relationships, grief, and memory. Veronica comes from a large family of 12 siblings (plus several stillbirths). Her closest brother Liam has just committed suicide, and as she deals with her grief about losing her brother, the event dredges up some fairly shocking childhood memories. Soon she doesn't know how she feels about either of her families -- either her childhood family or even her husband and children.
The language and scenes are shocking and graphic. The subject matter is dark and depressing. Normally, I would have predicted that I would have hated this book, and I can see why many don't like it. But, Enright's writing drew me in. Veronica's voice is so brutally honest it cut through me. Definitely not for everyone, but it's a book you think about long after you've finished it, and in my mind, that's the mark of a good one.
2007, 261 pp.
2007 Booker Prize winner
Click here to purchase Snow by Maxence Fermine
Snow
by Maxence Fermine
Rating: 3.5
Yuko Akita had two passions.
Haiku.
And snow.
Yuko is a poet who loves snow and writes Haiku poetry only about snow. The Poet of the Imperial Court thinks Yuko has great potential but thinks his poetry needs more color. He then sends him on a journey to a blind poetry master named Soseki where Yuko will not only learn about poetry, but also about love.
I really loved aspects of this book and the language is lyrical, but parts of it just didn't sit right with me. It takes only an hour or two to read, though, so I do recommend it as something different from the usual that is not too time-consuming.
1999, 100 pp., translated from the French
Click here to purchase Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
 Cat's Eye
by Margaret Atwood
I loved this book, perhaps even more than The Handmaid's Tale, which I also rated 4.5. Whereas The Handmaid's Tale was mostly a cautionary tale about men's subjugation of women, Cat's Eye is about girls subjugating and intimidating other girls. Elaine Risley as an adult is a successful artist, but as a little girl she was bullied by her friends and their ringleader, Cordelia. What makes little girls (and big ones!) do this, and why do the ones being tormented let them do it?
In an interview in the back of the book, Atwood states this is her most autobiographical novel, and she states the theme of the book as follows:
Cat's Eye is about how girlhood traumas continue into adult life. Girls have a culture marked by secrets and shifting alliances, and these can cause a lot of distress. The girl who was your friend yesterday is not your friend today, but you don't know why. These childhood power struggles color friendships between women. I've asked women if they fear criticism more from men or from other women. The overwhelming answer was: "From women."
In typical Atwood fashion, there were also themes concerning male-female relationships. In one painting of Elaine's, called Falling Women, she describes what was meant in the artwork:
There were no men in this painting, but it was about men, the kind who caused women to fall. I did not ascribe any intentions to these men. They were like the weather, they didn't have a mind. They merely drenched you or struck you like lightning and moved on, mindless as blizzards. Or they were like rocks, a line of sharp slippery rocks with jagged edges. You could walk with care along between the rocks, picking your steps and if you slipped you'd fall and cut yourself, but it was no use blaming the rocks.
That must be what was meant by fallen women. Fallen women were women who had fallen onto men and hurt themselves. There was some suggestion of downward motion, against one's will and not with the will of anyone else. Fallen women were not pulled-down women or pushed women, merely fallen.
Definitely one to read if you've enjoyed other Atwood novels.
1988, 462 pp.
Rating: 4.5
Click here to purchase Bear by Marian Engel
 Bear
by: Marian Engel
1976 Governor General's Award
1976, 141 pp.
Rating: 0.5
Ummm.....no. No, no, no, no, no. I don't think I can recommend this title. That this book won the Governor General's Award flabbergasts me. A librarian and a bear get kinky on a small Canadian island. That's all you really need to know to realize why I didn't like this book.
Click here to purchase Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
 Penelopiad
by Margaret Atwood
2005, 198 pp.
Rating: 4.5
I love mythology in general, and The Odyssey in particular, so I was hoping to love this book. I did. Margaret Atwood's retelling of the famous myth from Penelope's point of view is brilliant and quite humorous. As she tells the story from Hades, we get Penelope's take on her father, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Helen among others. You probably have to know the story of The Odyssey fairly well to really get the full impact, though. If you're familiar with the original myth, you must read this re-telling.
This was my fourth Atwood, and I'm looking forward to reading even more of her work during the second Canadian Book Challenge.
Click here to purchase Independent People by Halldor Laxness
 Independent People
by Halldor Laxness
Bjartur of Summerhouses has one goal: total independence. After being a servant for 18 years, he finally obtains his own land, and while ever seeking the land's improvements, Bjartur and his extreme self-reliance costs his family dearly. He mistreats his own wife and children, not overtly, but through his unwillingness to accept help of any kind from neighbors. His independence, his dog, and his sheep are of primary and utmost importance. But is it possible to be too independent? What happens to Bjartur when his own children demand independence from him?
Reading a book set in Iceland in January really set the mood for this story. The cold, the coffee, the sheep, and the stubbornness of one man against the world are what I will remember about this book. With themes of materialism, socialism, war, and politics, Independent People by Nobel laureate Halldor Laxness is more than relevant for today.
1934-35 , 482 pp.
Nobel prize-winning author
Rating: 4
Click here to purchase Life of Pi by Yann Martel
 Life of Pi
By: Yann Martel
2001; 336 pages
Rating: 3.5
"Life of Pi" is the story of Piscine Patel. Pi and his family are moving from India to Canada. However, on the way there, the boat they are traveling on sinks. Pi finds himself stranded in a lifeboat with an unusual mix of company.
I had a really hard time getting into "Life of Pi". After a week I was only a little over 50 pages in. So, to me, "Life of Pi" had a pretty slow start. In fact, I almost put it aside with no intention of finishing it. I had heard great things about it, so I pushed through. There were aspects of the story of course that I found fascinating, but it wasn't until I was half way through that I really got into the story and knew I would finish.
I really enjoyed the second half of the book. But, it was an effort for me to get there. I do recommend that you read "Life of Pi". I do think though that "Life of Pi" is geared more towards the young male readers than to 20 something female readers.
When you read "Life of Pi", you'll certainly learn a thing or two about survival.
I decided to join the Pub 2008 hosted by 3M. Here's how it works:
Want to read more books that are published in the current year? You've come to the right place! This challenge lasts all year. The rules are simple:
Read a minimum of 8 books published in 2008. (Library books are acceptable!)
1. No children's/YA titles allowed, since we're at the 'pub.'
2. At least 4 titles must be fiction.
3. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
4. Titles may be changed at any time.
It should be really fun!
Click here to purchase The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
 The Blind Assassin
by: Margaret Atwood
2000, 521 pp.
Booker Prize
Rating: 3.5
I was disappointed in this book. I expected great things after loving The Handmaid's Tale earlier in the year. I was especially disappointed as it was over 500 pages; it could have easily lost about 100 pages of detail. I guess that's my main gripe about it. It just seemed too detailed for me. Also I correctly predicted almost all that happened. Long, too detailed, and too predictable. But still, Atwood does know how to turn a phrase, and that is why it still gets a 3.5 star rating.
Click here to purchase The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
 1997, 321 pp.
Booker Prize
Rating: ??
I finished this book two days ago, and I still don't know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this with my Book Awards group in September, and I have many things I'd like to talk about and discuss with them first before I write any kind of formal review.
I guess I will write one later. Lay Ter. (If you've read this book, you know what this means!)
Click here to purchase The Higher Power of Lucky by John Susan Patron
 The Higher Power of Lucky
by Susan Patron
2006, 134 pp.
Newbery Medal
Rating: 4
This book created a little controversy when it won the Newbery Medal because it contains the word 'scrotum' in relation to a snake bite on a dog. I'm almost conservative as they come, and I don't see what the big deal is. I really liked this book and found it to be very charming.
Lucky is a girl whose mother has died and who lives with a Frenchwoman. They live in the desert of California in a very small (population 43) community. Also in her life besides her French guardian Brigitte are Miles, a cute little boy whose favorite book is Are You My Mother?, and Lincoln, a boy her age who is obsessed with knot tying.
These relationships and the longings of this little girl form the heart of the novel. I really cared about these characters and found myself rooting for all of them.
Click here to purchase The Known World by Edward P. Jones
 The Known World by Edward P. Jones has not only won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but also the NBCC Award and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Jones really knows how to write his characters. Each one was very clearly defined. I won't give away too much of the story here but will write a brief overview.
Henry and Caldonia Townsend are slave owners who are black themselves. Henry's father had freed himself and his wife, and then later Henry. While Henry was still a slave under William Robbins, he became somewhat of a favorite, and was later instructed by Robbins on how to be a proper slave owner. Henry builds up quite a plantation but then dies unexpectedly. How Caldonia, along with her overseer Moses, runs the plantation afterward forms the rest of the novel.
Several issues are presented in the book. Whites' attitudes towards blacks, both slave and free; the function of "the law;" men's attitudes towards women (and vice versa); and the question of how and why blacks could own slaves themselves.
This is a very well-written book, and I struggled on whether to rate it a 4 or 4.5. There is some content in the book that downgrades it slightly for me. Consider it a very high 4.
2003, 388 pp.
Pulitzer Prize, NBCC Award, IMPAC Award
Rating: 4
Click here to purchase Lisey's Story by Stephen King
 Lisey's Story
By: Stephen King
2006, 509 pp.
Rating: 3.5
It had been over 20 years since I had read a Stephen King book. I used to love horror and love his books. I really, really did. That changed and I don't like horror at all now. I like scary, suspenseful stories-just not horror. I think I had convinced myself that surely there wouldn't be that much horror because he put so much of his wife/marriage into the story. I guess there probably wasn't as much as in his other books, but it was still too much for me.
Stephen King had said that he wrote this after considering what could happen to his wife if he had died in the car accident that he had. I do think he put quite a bit of himself and her into this story. I liked the beginning of the book very much, but then in the middle there was a little too much of the horror element for me. Lisey's husband Scott flashes back to a horror-full childhood. There were some crazy things that happen to Lisey as well that bothered me because I kept thinking, "How can he think of these things happening to his wife?"
Anyway, it was a good book for the R.I.P Challenge, but I don't think I'll be reading another King book for awhile. If you know of one that is very tame, I might try it. Otherwise, there's just too much horror in King for this wimpy woman.
Click here to purchase Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
 Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A beautifully told story of a savage civil war, Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun definitely deserved the 2007 Orange Prize.
They sat on wooden planks and the weak morning sun streamed into the roofless class as she unfurled Odenigbo's cloth flag and told them what the symbols meant. Red was the blood of the siblings massacred in the North, black was for mourning them, green was for the prosperity Biafra would have, and finally, the half of a yellow sun stood for the glorious future.
I resisted reading this book because I really just don't like war stories at all. I wanted to give it a chance, though, because so many bloggers had said they appreciated it. They were right; it's a very special book. Based on the conflict in Nigeria in the late 1960's, it not only depicts the horrors of war, it also hauntingly and lovingly depicts the lives of the participants. Apparently many of the characters were based on real people in Adichie's family history, and this authenticity very much shines through.There were some content issues for me in the book, but I'm very glad I read this story. I look forward to reading Purple Hibiscus and other books of hers to come. If you decide to read the book (and I highly encourage it), afterwards you might want to go to her website http://www.halfofayellowsun.com where you can find a lot more information about the true story.
2006, 541 pp.
2007 Orange Prize
Rating: 4.5
Click here to purchase Testimony by Anita Shreve
 Testimony
by: Anita Shreve
2008, 305 pages
Rating: 4
At first, I didn't know what to think about "Testimony" by Anita Shreve. The opening chapter described a sex scene in so much detail that I was unsure if I wanted to continue reading. However, that scene is the basis for the entire novel. After a sex scandal breaks out involving a private school, the lives of those involved change forever.
I was also unsure at first about the narration style of "Testimony". Each chapter is narrated by a different character in the book. And, each character has their own narration style. One character narrates in first person, another in third, one narrates through his journal, and another narrates by putting the reader as the character.
As I continued reading "Testimony", it was in fact the narration style that I liked. I think that the different styles really helped the reader to better understand the characters, and in the end, the story itself.
"Testimony" will be released in October 2008. But, if you'd like a copy sooner than that, click here. You'll enjoy "Testimony". I've heard great things about Anita Shreve, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Click here to purchase Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
 Songs for the Missing
By: Stewart O'Nan
2008, 287 pages
Rating: 2.5
"Songs for the Missing" is the story of Kim and her family. One hot July day, the summer before she is supposed to leave for college, Kim fails to show up for work one day. The story continues as her family and friends go through the process of trying to find Kim.
Based on a true story, "Songs for the Missing" is a book that definitely makes you think. What if Kim were your child? Your sister? Your friend? What would you do to find her? I loved that "Songs for the Missing" is a book that makes you think and sympathize with the characters (I hope you can't empathize).
"Songs for the Missing" will be released in October. I recommend that you check it out. The reasons that I didn't rate this particular book higher is because it never gave me that "can't put it down" feeling. Also, the little "synopsis" on the back gives away the entire story. So, if you don't like knowing how something will end, don't read the back!
Click here to purchase Blessings by Anna Quindlen
 Blessings
By: Anna Quindlen
Rating: 4
Blessings is the family home of Lydia Blessing, an 80-year-old woman with strong opinions about the right way to say and do things. Her new caretaker of Blessings, Skip, doesn't seem to be making the grade in Lydia's eyes. He's keeping strange hours and doing his work at odd times. The reason? He's taking care of a baby. Not his baby, but a little girl that a young couple abandoned at Blessings. Skip doesn't have the first clue how to take care of an infant, but he manages after awhile and even keeps her a secret from everyone for a time. Then, Lydia finds out. Although shocked at first, Mrs. Blessing's heart is warmed by the child as well. Will Skip get to keep Faith, the little girl that has won over everyone at Blessings, including Mrs. Blessing, or will the little girl's mother return to claim her?
Blessings by Anna Quindlen is not just about Skip and Faith, but also about family secrets and relationships. There is an entire back story of Lydia Blessing that adds a lot to the novel as well. I listened to the audio CD narrated by Joan Allen, and she did an outstanding job.
2002, 226 pp.
Click here to pre-order The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
 The Lace Reader
By: Brunonia Barry
2008
rating: 3
"The Lace Reader" is a story of a woman named Towner who is faced with her great-aunt's disappearance, her mother's insanity, and her brother's wedding. Out of all of this comes a story that is laced with mystery, deception, discovery, death, and life.
Barry weaves the story together though the eyes of Towner, but also through the townspeople of Salem, Mass where the story takes place. "The Lace Reader" certainly does an excellent job of promoting tourism to Salem. It is a place I've always wanted to go, but now I want to go even more.
"The Lace Reader" is a fiction novel that brings a bit of the mystery novel into it as well. There is definitely a surprising revelation at the end that causes you to re-think the whole book. The reason I did not rate "The Lace Reader" higher is because I never got that feeling of I-can't-put-the-book-down. I was curious, but never felt so into the story that I couldn't put it down if the phone or doorbell rang.
"The Lace Reader" will be released on July 29, 2008. I recommend that you check it out. It is an enjoyable read.
Click here to purchase Silk by Alessandro Baricoo
 The Mermaid Chair
By Sue Monk Kidd
Rating: 1.5
"The Mermaid Chair" is by the same author who wrote "The Secret Life of Bees". I was really excited when I picked up "The Mermaid Chair" because I liked "The Secret Life of Bees" so much. However, I was really disappointed.
While "The Secret Life of Bees" really appealed to me, I just could not get into the story of "The Mermaid Chair". Perhaps because I absolutely could not identify in any way with the main character. Jessie is a middle-aged woman who is unsatisfied with her life. But she's not willing to take any responsibility for her actions, nor is she willing to try to work things out. She is a blamer.
Anyway, enough complaining about the book. I don't recommend it, and I definitely don't recommend that you try the audio book version either. The reader is not so great.
Click here to purchase On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
 On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
Rating 3
And what stood in their way? Their personalities and pasts, their ignorance and fear, timidity, squeamishness, lack of entitlement or experience or easy manners, then the tail end of a religious prohibition, their Englishness and class, and history itself. Nothing much at all.
Didn't care for it. I liked Atonement only marginally better. I read On Chesil Beach because it was short and I could use it for the Novella and Notable Books challenges. I also wanted to give Ian McEwan another chance.
Edward and Florence are both novices to s*x on their wedding night, and the experience doesn't turn out too well for them. The consequences of this event have serious repercussions for the couple, even life-changing ones. I enjoyed the back-stories of the couple, but the wedding night scene was too graphic for my taste. Really, can't the same thing be said in a more understated, tasteful way? I realize I'm in the minority on things like this, but certain language and descriptions just really don't do it for me. Your mileage probably varies.
Click here to purchase The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
 The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
Rating: 4
"The Thirteenth Tale" is the story of Margaret Lea recording the story of Vida Winter. Vida Winter is Britian's leading author, and has become famous for the made-up biographies she tells reporters. Vida requests Margaret to come and record her true story before it is too late. As the two delve into the past, they must both confront the future.
Although "The Thirteenth Tale" was a bit graphic in some places, I thought the book was very well written. Setterfield managed to capture my attention, and there were times when I absolutely could not put the book down. There was, however, one subplot that I could have done without. Margaret is obsessed with her twin. Obsessed to the point that other people don't really exist. She spends her life up to this point so pre-occupied with herself and her twin that she forgets to live. It seems she should be able to think and feel other things. Her preoccupation with that annoyed me.
I recommend that you read "The Thirteenth Tale". It blends mystery in with romance, past with present, and questions with more questions and some answers.
Click here to purchase Silk by Alessandro Baricoo
 Silk
by Alessandro Baricoo
Rating 3.5
Silk is a novella about obsession, longing, and love. It's the 1860's and Herve Joncour, a married French merchant of silkworms, goes to Japan several times for eggs. While there, he meets a young concubine who is not Japanese but cannot communicate in anything except Japanese. Joncour becomes obsessed; meanwhile, his wife back home waits patiently for him during every trip he takes. Will either of them get what they long for?
Sigh. This was a well-written novella; but again, it was just too graphic in parts for my tastes. I have a difficult time believing that one of the female characters would write a letter such as the one found in this book, but who knows. On a positive note, this is my first book completed for the 1% Well-Read Challenge, so I guess that means I'm 0.1% well-read.
1996, 91 pp.
Click here to purchase The Mayor's Tongue by Nathaniel Rich
 The Mayor's Tongue
by: Nathaniel Rich
Rating: 3.5
Eugene is a mover in New York City whose favorite author is Constance Eakins. While doing a job one day, he runs into a biographer of Eakins who also happens to have a beautiful daughter, Sonia. Everyone else in the world believes Eakins is dead -- that he just disappeared in Italy quite a few years back and never showed up again. He's legally declared dead by the Italian authorities. Sonia's father, the biographer, demands that it isn't so -- that his daughter speaks to Eakins regularly. But, no one has heard from her after her latest trip to Italy. Eugene decides to look for Sonia.
Meanwhile in a parallel story, an elderly Mr. Schmitz, also a New Yorker, is grieving the loss of his friend Rutherford who has just moved to Italy. He receives lucid letters from Rutherford at first, but then they become more and more incomprehensible. Schmitz also decides to take off for Italy to look for his friend.
This was a bizarre story that was unique enough to keep me reading and wanting to find out more. The book has quite a few fantasy elements too, and that was unexpected, but it certainly added to the story. It's definitely a different book.
This is Nathaniel Rich's first novel, and it was released on April 17, 2008.
2008, 310 pp.
Click here to purchase The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber
 The Forgery of Venus
by Michael Gruber
Rating: 3.5
Chaz Wilmot is (by choice) an unsuccessful painter doing primarily commercial work. He obviously has more talent than what he's using, and this fact is a constant source of frustration for his ex-wife and others around him. As part of a medical study, Chaz starts taking Salvinorin A, a drug being tested for its effects on artists' creativity. Chaz is strangely affected by the drug; it not only increases his creativity, it makes him have the memories and abilities of the famous Spanish artist, Diego Valazquez. Is Chaz crazy, or is the drug truly giving him these actual memories and abilities?
Salvinorin A is a real drug, reportedly having real, similar effects as the ones occurring in this book. If you like art and psychological suspense, you may enjoy this book by Michael Gruber. It was a little too graphic for my tastes, but I did enjoy the basic story.
2008, 318 pp.
Click here to purchase Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
 Things Fall Apart
by: Chinua Achebe
Rating: 4
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
Okonkwo commands respect from his community, his three wives, and his children through both hard work and intimidation. He rises to prominence despite and perhaps due to his father's laziness in community and family matters. He stands firm to his culture and traditions. So he is outraged when some of his people start converting to Christianity. A power struggle ensues and 'things fall apart.'
I'm intrigued by Achebe's history and background. I'd like to read the sequel to this book, No Longer at Ease, at some point.
1959, 209 pp
Click here to purchase Belong to Me by Marissa de los Santos
 Belong to Me
By: Marisa De Los Santos
Rating: 4
I was excited to read "Belong to Me" because I read "Love Walked In" (also by Marisa de los Santos) last year. I was even more excited once I realized that "Belong to Me" was the continuation of "Love Walked In". I instantly bought into all the characters because I had already established a connection with them, so I was instantly involved in the book.
"Belong to Me" also interweaves the stories of other characters other that weave throughout the story of the main character. So it's fun to see how all the stories are going to tie together in the end. Everyone has secrets. Some we keep to protect ourselves, others we keep to protect those we love.
The narration style of "Belong to Me" is a bit different from most novels. I'm not quite too sure how I feel about it. It has a 1st person narrative, but it also has a 3rd person narrative (that seems to be the narration of the main character whose chapters are in 1st person). Anyway, I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on "Belong to Me".
Click here to purchase Maus II by Art Spiegelman
 Maus II
by: Art Spiegelman
Rating: 5
The continuation of Maus, and subtitled And Here My Troubles Began (From Mauschwitz to the Catskills and Beyond), Maus II is every bit as outstanding as Maus, and the two books really should be read together. In this book we learn more about the end of Vladek's life, and one of the questions that is posed from the book is:
They were survivors, but did they really and truly survive?
Art's struggles with his father's personality -- made so because of the war -- are clearly shown. He is very honest in his portrayal, even to the point of demonstrating his father's own prejudices -- something you would think would be non-existent in someone who had been persecuted himself.
Again, I highly recommend both books to all.
Serialized from 1973 to 1991, 127 pp.
Click here to purchase Maus by Art Spiegelman
 Maus
by: Art Spiegelman
Rating: 5
Brilliant. Powerful. Poignant. Intensely personal. In graphic novel format and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize Special Award in 1992, Maus is Vladek Spiegelman's story of his survival of Auschwitz during World War II. It is also a story of the father-son relationship between Vladek and Art. In this first book, Art interviews his father about his intense past. Each nationality is represented as a different animal. The Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, and the Poles are pigs. We not only see the absolute horrors of Auschwitz from a survivor's viewpoint, we also see one survivor's son deal with the guilt of just being the son of a survivor.
I first heard about this book through Dewey for the graphic novel challenge. Thanks so much, Dewey, for introducing me to this astounding work.
Highly recommended to all.
1986, 161 pp.
Click here to purchase Beloved by Toni Morrison
 Beloved
by: Toni Morrison
Rating: 4
I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Very uncomfortable reading for me. Disturbing and (literally) haunting. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and written by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, Beloved tells the story of a family's life before and after their escape from slavery. Sethe and her daughter Denver live in isolation at 124 in the countryside near Cincinnati. Also 'present' in the house is the ghost of Sethe's other daughter, nicknamed Beloved, who died when she was two. Sethe fled to Ohio from Kentucky many years before after escaping from her owners at 'Sweet Home.' Also at Sweet Home was Paul D., who has now come to Ohio to look for Sethe. Soon after Paul D.'s arrival at 124, he drives the baby ghost out; however it's not long before a strange young woman is found near the house and who calls herself Beloved.
I had a very difficult time following the story at first, and I'd probably understand it much better if I re-read it at some point. The storyline unravels as it goes along, and we see bit by bit the horrors that Sethe escaped from. Her actions are also called into question. Her mental state is dubious. But whose wouldn't be after undergoing the ordeals she has gone through?
Other people went crazy, why couldn't she?
I didn't enjoy this book, but I don't think readers are supposed to. The subject matter is difficult, and I don't like hearing the horror stories of Beloved or Maus. At the same time, I realize they are necessary and I'll continue to force myself to read them.
1987, 275 pp.
Click here to purchase The Chellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
 The Chellist of Sarajevo
by Steven Galloway
Rating: 4
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is a moving story based on fact. It chronicles the few days in Sarajevo during 1992 when the real "Cellist of Sarajevo," Vedran Smailovic, played his cello for 22 days in the exact spot where 22 people had been killed while waiting in line for bread.
In the novel, a counter-sniper, Arrow, is assigned to keep the cellist from getting shot and killed. Arrow is the best at what she does but still wrestles with the moral dilemma of having to take another's life. She wonders if she is any better than the men in the hills trying to destroy her city.
We also meet Kenan, a man on his way to fetch water for his family, and we follow his life-threatening journey as well as his thoughts, fears, and hopes for the future. Another character, Dragan, misses his family, whom he helped to get out of the country. All of them are waiting. Waiting for help that never comes.
Told in a simple but unforgettable style, Galloway captures this unfortunate moment in history in a way that will break your heart for all victims of war.
This book will be released on May 15 from Riverhead Books.
2008, 231 pp.
Reviewed by: 3M
Romario
Gurruchaga 1493
Corner Gorriti
(multiple locations)
4511-4444
www.romario.com.ar
Large pizza price: US$ 10-15
All major credit cards accepted
Reservations: not necessary, but the place does fill up
Rating: 3
Romario is a fun pizza place that offers diners a choice between 40 different kinds of pizza (most of which are only 1-3 toppings), and one choice of beer (but you can choose between three different sizes). The pizza (and calzones and empanadas which they also offer) are all cooked in a brick oven. The pizza is great! One large pizza is definitely enough for two people to share.
Romario is very bright. I mean that literally. Everything is orange (both inside and out). The atmosphere is a little bit loud, the music is very loud, and the staff is fun and boisterous.
I rate Romario a 3 because it was a bit loud for my liking. The food is good, but it isn't the best pizza I've ever had. Romario does have several locations, and odds are you'll run into at least one of them during your time in Buenos Aires. So, if you do, stop in and grab a pizza and a beer.
for the Eponymous challenge, we had to read four books whose title was the name of a character or a description of a character. We had from March 1st through May 31st to read the four books. At first I thought that that wasn't enough time. But, I finished all four by April 20th. I might add another to the challenge, but here are the four I completed already:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
(I listed them in order of preference.) Post a comment, or comment directly on the books individual page, if you'd like to discuss any of the books. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
As a bonus: I also completed The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway before the challenge ended.
Click here to purchase The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
 The Time Traveler's Wife
By: Audrey Niffenegger
Rating: 5
Very few books have had the privilege of hooking me from the opening line. "The Time Traveler's Wife" is one of them. I first set out to read "The Time Traveler's Wife" because it fit into my Eponymous Challenge, and because I wanted to read the book before the movie came out. (By the way, the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" is in production right now. It stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams and is set for release some time in November 2008.)
"The Time Traveler's Wife" is the story of Henry and his wife Clare. Henry has the ability to travel through time. However, he does not have the ability to control his time travels. This enables him to see his wife Clare as she's growing up, but it also forces him to re-live painful experiences over and over again.
If you've read "The Time Traveler's Wife", I'd love to start a discussion with you. If you haven't read "The Time Traveler's Wife" yet, I am fearful to say too much in my review. But I highly highly recommend that you read the book before the movie is released in (or around) November.
I look forward to your comments / discussion.
Click here to purchase The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
 The Other Boleyn Girl
By: Phillipa Gregory
Rating: 4.5
I think that "The Other Boleyn Girl" is my first novel in the historical fiction category. I honestly don't know why I haven't read more of this genre before. I have always been fascinated with the time frame of Henry VIII. (Ever since "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman" which Jane Seymour. My mom told me that that was the name of one of the wives of Henry VIII. The way she said it made me ask how many wives he had. When she said 6, I was shocked. Since then I've been very curious about it.)
"The Other Boleyn Girl" tells the story of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of her sister, Mary. Actually, the story is more about Mary, but it also gives the reader a different view of Anne. I loved "learning" about the Boleyn family. But, I have to admit that the story was so well written that I don't know what to believe as fiction, and what to believe as fact.
I highly recommend that you read "The Other Boleyn Girl". I loved it. And just so you know, the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" is in theaters now.
Click here to purchase Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
 Jane Eyre
By: Charlotte Bronte
Rating: 4
Jane Eyre is a thick book, not just in number of pages, but also in writing style. My bachelor's degree is in English, so I was "required" to read Jane Eyre many times (at least 4 or 5). I just could never get through it; I always lost interest. So, when I decided to join the Eponymous challenge, I thought that this time I would read "Jane Eyre" in its entirety. And I did.
I enjoyed reading "Jane Eyre". I did know, of course, the entire storyline of the book (since I still participated in class discussions). But now I know what all the fuss is about. There's more to "Jane Eyre" that what meets the page.
I recommend that everyone read "Jane Eyre". It is truly a classic, and with good reason. I am also interested in having a small discussion about "Jane Eyre". So, if you're interested, post a question or discussion point in the comments field, and we can start a book discussion.
Click here to purchase Kanada by Eva Wiseman
 Kanada
by Eva Wiseman
This is the story of 14 year-old Jutka's life before, during, and after World War II, with the three sections of the book dealing with those periods being titled Limbo, Hell, and Paradiso.
The story is heart-wrenching. We see how her friends and neighbors turn from loving her family to despising them. We see the horrors of the ghetto, Auschwitz, and the DP camps. Then we see Jutka and her friends struggle to find a new home for themselves when nothing is left of their old ones. While most want to relocate to Israel, Jutka dreams of being with her relatives in Canada.
The story is compelling, but I did find the writing to be a bit simplistic and choppy, thus the lower rating.
Kanada's author, Eva Wiseman, was born in Hungary and has based this book on her parents' and other friends' experiences during the war. She now lives in Winnipeg.
2006, 241 pp.
Rating: 3.5
Click here to purchase The Sea by John Banville
 The Sea
by John Banville
2005, 195 pp.
2005 Booker Prize
Rating: 2
This was not my cup of tea. I don't need an exciting plot to enjoy a book. I don't mind older men looking back on their lives. In a similar vein, I loved Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, although I hated Roth's Everyman. This was closer to Everyman.
Max is a widower that is overly sensitive to smells who is grieving (I guess?) over his wife. He calls her the "c" word and admits he really didn't know her because he preferred not to know her.
Not one character in the book was likable. I guess I was lucky this was short.
Click here to purchase Kaddish for a Child Not Born by Imre Kertesz
 Kaddish for a Child Not Born
Definition: Mourner's Kaddish expresses love of God and acceptance of God's will, even while the mourner is feeling sorrow over the death of a loved one. [See the actual English translation at the end of this review.]
Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz, survivor of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is a brilliant writer. As I was reading this short work, I found that I wanted to quote almost the entire book for this review. In the story, a man at a writer's conference explains to a colleague why he refused his ex-wife a child because he doesn't want to bring a child into a world where an Auschwitz is allowed to occur. In fact the very first word of the novel is "No," a reference to a question on whether or not he has children. He then expounds on his reasons for that decision, and on his childhood, his marriage, and his survival experiences.
"No!" something screamed, howled within me, immediately and forthwith, and it was only gradually, after many, many years had quieted it down, that my cramp gave way to a quiet but persistent pain, until slowly and maliciously, like a malignant sickness, a question began to take distinct shape with me: "Were you to be a dark-eyed little girl? With pale spots of scattered freckles around your little nose? Or a stubborn boy? With cheerful, hard eyes like blue-gray pebbbles?" Yes, my existence in the context of your potentiality.
I've had family members also question the wisdom of bringing children into the world, and the first time it was put to me, I didn't understand the reasoning behind this stance at all. Perhaps I was too naive then, though, because I do understand it now. I am a mother; I'm grateful to be a mother; but, unfortunately, there is much evil in this world, and while not my choice, I understand why people would question whether to subject their potential children to it.
1990, [1999 for English trans.], 95 pp.
Rating: 4.5/5
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