Mon - December 26, 2005

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski


finished 12/25 ............ contemp US ........... rating 6.5

This was a weird book, very different. It's highly literary in that it explores new techniques, uses intertextual references both real and fictional. But it's also in the horror genre due to the subject-matter, a romance due to the ending and a psychological thriller because the issues of Johnny Truant are not associated with the horror film.

The frame is provided when Johnny Truant finds a copy of a manuscript called "House of Leaves" which an old man named Zampano wrote before his strange death. The manuscript is a study of a film about a "haunted" house in Virginia and the family which moves in. IT's supposedly a documentary ala "the Blair Witch Project." Metaphors and symbolism are examined, and there are plenty of psychological analyses within the text itself.

In the text of the main story, the interior of the "haunted" house expands and expands and family and friends explore the insides of it, get lost, re-explore, get rescued, etc. .

There are two stories running concurrently, one is the tale of the house - by far the better story - the other is the story of Johnny Truant's adventures in madness as he reads the first story and chases booze and women. For the most part, the t story of the house and family is on top of the page while the tale of the reader is underneath in a different font. There are copious footnotes are beneath that. This structure doesn't remain true for the whole book; parts of the text follow the explorations and go up and down and backwards on the pages. There are enough juxtaposed text blocks that the reader feels lost and just picks and chooses which one to read next.

Overall it was a fun book for the first third. THen I realized that this was all there was - the book was probably empty as the house. Everyone in the book is trying to escape, some from marriage, some from the house, Johnny from his life. The book gets kind of claustrophobic at times and I wanted to escape too. Not a great book because it's just way too long. THere isn't enough story in Johnny's part to hold it together and there is too much textual weirdness in the house part to keep my interest.



Posted at 08:01 AM    

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón


finished back in February (!) ........... contemp fiction - Spain ................ rating 7 (okay - to good)

This is the story of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and old hatred and how the past influences the present. It's about who is following whom. it's about mysterious love and violent death in a country of romance. The foreshadowing is a tad heavy handed and it gets a little long-feeling but it's a fun book.

Posted at 07:48 AM    

Sun - December 18, 2005

The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall


finished 12/18 .............. contemp fiction (Booker list) ............. rating 8.5

This book was very rough going at times but I'm very glad I had it done ... er ... read it. It's highly stylized and dense but it works because tattoos are also very stylized and dense with color.

Hall is like a tattoo artist where her words are the needles. I did *not* like the experience at the time, (it hurt!) but looking back on the book and seeing it finished, it's beautiful and complete and I love it. I was thumbing through afterwards, remembering the exquisitely written highly detailed prose and I imagined that this was kind of like touching and patting a new tattoo (a rose with a long, windy stem). Hall is a mighty talented writer.

Don't read this if you are squeamish. It's about Coney Island, with all of that, and a tattoo artist who is in love with his incredible best client, Grace. It's about heart and soul, body fluids and love, the sacred and profane. It's about pain and history and all sorts of things, the kind of book that needs to be read more than once.

Posted at 06:55 PM    

Fri - December 16, 2005

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith


finished 12/16 ......... 20th century US ............ rating 7.5

I think I first read this book when I was 12 or 14 or so but I wasn't terribly impressed as the plot wasn't up to my standards. (g) I generally liked mysteries and light sci-fi.

Yes, I was reminded of Angela's Ashes which I looooved and I certainly don't loove ATGIB. It's probably the way both authors portray the Irish Catholics in dire urban poverty at the turn of the century and with a drunken father that reminds me.

I was also reminded of Little Women but for different reasons. I see the strong all-wise women taking care of themselves in the face of serious difficulties. And I see these books as giving strong moral guidance to teen age girls of their generation and on. Neither ATGIB nor LW are romances in the Harlequin sense of the term because in these books, a good life is not to be had by simply finding a good man to take care of you and living happily ever after (although that's not out of the question). These books show men changing or going off to war or dying. In both of these books, women become the primary financial and emotional support in their families they have to be strong and smart and hard working to make it.

This is a book for the moral education of the young women of the post WWII era (1940s - 1960s). It was not well received by the literary establishment at the time, of course, for the same reasons as "Grapes of Wrath." But later, again, like GoW it became a classic.

We read for more than literary value or plot or history and what I found in this book was another reason that people read; to find or validate moral values.

Smith's character portrayals certainly drew me in, but other than that I was not impressed with much in the book. The sense of "Mother knows best" and "poor, downtrodden girl does good," was overdone. (I was really glad I finished!)

And then I realized that this was really for teenage girls and their moms who want guidance in, or validation of, morals and then I saw the book as being really very good. This is not just a coming of age story but one where the "good," intelligent, hard-working girl/woman wins in spite of all the odds. (the whole metaphor)

You stand by your man. And you work very hard scrubbing floors and recycling and you save the pennies in a tin can. You act like a total family unit against the world. The kids work to help out. And education is very highly valued. And if you fall you pick yourself up and you hang in there. I'm sure there are more

This is not bad advice! What advice would you like your 14 year old daughter to get? Paris Hilton's? Brittany Spears? (g)

Bekah

Posted at 10:25 PM    

Sun - December 4, 2005

Voss by Patrick White


finished 12/4 ................ 20th century Australia - Nobel Winner ................ rating 10

Whew! What a totally magnificent novel! It is almost perfect, imo. I wish I had time to reread it because I know I missed a lot.

First, the love story was so powerful I almost wept. The idea of two kindred spirits who recognize each other almost too late (or too late) and are almost, but not quite, too proud to accept each other, was heart wrenching. But the spiritual power of their love is there for both of them in many ways even without much communication. Their love for each other strengthens them and nurtures them and changes them. Voss becomes the loving care-taker of his sick and injured men. Laura becomes the loving mother to the orphaned daughter of her maid. These stories parallel each other and although from some appearances Laura and Voss are opposites, they are made of the same stuff, human arrogance and pride, underneath. (This may be my favorite love story of all time.)


"So the German was despising what he most desired; to peel the whale-bone off he lily stem and bruise the mouth of the flesh." (pg 213) (There was a lily growing in the desert.)

But then, it may be that Voss is sapping Laura's strength with his love and need as he calls on her to help him in the desert. It's possible that she gets sick from his drain on her spirit.

Second, the desert, - wow. The desert is the emptiness within and between people; it's the existential quality of White's writing. Voss and Laura had to deal with their personal and interpersonal deserts. I'm not sure this was developed as fully as it could have been or I missed some details but it's a great metaphor.

"Human relationships are vast deserts; they demand all daring, she seemed to suggest." (pg 192)

Third, the mission - the incredible egotism of man will be his downfall and the humble will survive. Voss had it in his head that somehow he knew and controlled all things (kind of). Judd, otoh, went with the flow. Voss died, Judd survived.

Posted at 06:54 PM    

Sat - December 3, 2005

The Assistant by Bernard Malamud


finished 12/1 ............... 20th century US fiction ............... rating 8

Malamud is a fabulous author and this is a classic tale of a man's search for redemption. Malamud uses a typically Jewish setting and themes of self-pity and love and endurance.

Posted at 07:54 PM    

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu


never finished - got to page 250 or so ............. ancient Japanese literature ............... no rating til finished

This so far seems like one romance after the other which becomes rather tedious. I've read up on some Japanese history of the period and it may be more interesting now. I may finish it, I may not. It depends on how much time I have during the holidays.

Posted at 07:49 PM    

Snow by Orhan Pamuk


finished 11/24 ............. contemp fiction (Turkey) ............. rating 9

I love Orhan Pamuk! I've read The New Life, The Color Red and now Snow. I think of the three, The Color Red is probably the best book however, I liked The New Life best (my discovery of Pamuk probably) and now Snow is really very good, it has aspects to it that are very different from the other books. They are all different though.

Snow is the story of a poet who, after being exiled from his homeland in Turkey, becomes moderately famous and returns. He goes to the small and isolated town of Kars which becomes further isolated by a blizzard. This leads to a number of literary references including Kafka, Doestoevsky, During this blizzard, an attempted coup takes place. Ka, the poet, looks at Kars through westernized eyes until he starts writing poetry and then he becomes just like them. It's not pretty but I appreciate the book even more for it.

I saw love (sex) as being a prime mover of revolution in this book. I think it may have been intended. I'll have to check somewhere. ?????

Posted at 07:25 PM    

Wed - November 23, 2005

Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawe Jhabvala


finished 11/10 ........... Booker material .................. rating 7

This won a Booker Prize a few years ago and then was made into a movie, which I haven't seen, as well.

Tale of a woman who travels from England to India to see where her grandfather and his first wife had their difficulties. The stories intertwine on some levels. This is a distinctly post-colonial work with a few differences.

Posted at 05:44 PM    

On Beauty by Zadie Smith


finished 11/21 ......... contemp fiction/ Booker short list ................. rating 8.5

Really quite interesting. It was nominated for a Booker Prize this year (didn't win) as was White Teeth, her previous best seller, a few years ago. She wrote another one in the middle but it didn't go over too well and I didn't care for White Teeth.

On Beauty is based very loosely on Howards End by E.M. Forster (1910?) and is basically the story of one family as it interacts in its world, particularly with another family which is very different in spite of some surface, academic environment similarities, but there are underlying similarities, too. . Within the racially mixed Belsey family, the members are wonderfully individual and each has his/her own problems to confront. There's a fair amount of graphic, and possibly gratuitous, sex starting about midway. I know I will read this again in paper copy because several reading groups are discussing it and I like to have references handy. It's worth the read though, because I want to know more about the similarities and differences within "On Beauty" as well as when compared to "Howards End." There is a good deal about art and life here but Smith never takes herself or her subjects too seriously or without a good chunk of love.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in literature with an academic setting (Tartt, Lodge, etc.). It's definitely a modernist (not post-modern) "literary" type book in keeping with the 21st century Booker tradition and in the style of Smith. (but she's grown a lot since "White Teeth.)

Bekah

Posted at 05:30 PM    

Sun - October 30, 2005

The March by E.L. Doctorow


finished 10/30 ................... contemp US historical fiction .................. rating 8.5

This has got to be a contender for one of the best books I've read this year. I'll gladly listen again or read the book if it comes up on a discussion list.
The setting is General Sherman's March through Georgia at the end of the Civil War. The characters are the people who come along, former slaves, soldiers, prisoners, a doctor and others. This is historical fiction as it should be written. Using the facts we have it brings the people to life. Wow.

Posted at 12:52 PM    

Howard's End by E.M. Forster


finished 10/30 ................. early 20th cent. fiction / classic ............... rating 9

I enjoyed A Room With a View so much I thought I'd read this and then I discovered that "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith (2005) was based on Howard's End I couldn't resist. It was well worth the effort and I'll gladly read it again if it comes up for discussion on a list. (otherwise I doubt I'd have time).


Posted at 12:50 PM    

Sat - October 29, 2005

Loitering With Intent by Muriel Sparks


finished 10/13 .......... Booker winner, UK ............. rating 7.5

Funny, interesting look at a writer who usurps the memoirs of several people and embellishes them only to find that the leader of the memoirists has stolen her work and the lives are becoming very similar.

Posted at 10:58 AM    

Sat - October 22, 2005

Memoir of a Geisha by Arthur Golden


finished 10/15 ........ contemp US ............... rating 7.5

This is fiction but told like a memoir. It's an excellent tale with such interesting subject matter that I kept wanting it to be true. But no, it's even written by a man, although a man who obviously knows a lot about geishas.

Posted at 11:31 AM    

Sun - October 2, 2005

The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick


finished 10/1/05 ......... rating 9.5

Terrific short story, a classic, about a mother in a Jewish concentration camp. This was lengthened into a novella.

Posted at 01:05 AM    

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf


finished 10/1 ........ rating 9

Extraordinarily interesting series of lectures by premier author. On the necessity of money to buy time and space for women to write.

Posted at 01:04 AM    

A Room With a View by E. M. Forster


finished 9/30/05 ........... rating 8.5

Very nice book. Pre WWI. comedy of manners via neo-classical allusions. Funny, memorable, Forster's a great stylist but not a top-notch author. Actually, I read the book twice and listened to it on Audible. It was wonderful and then got old suddenly.

Posted at 12:39 AM    

The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard


finished 10/1 ......... rating 9

This is a totally beautifully written book but as for characters and plot ..... well ...... it's kinda slow. But there is something that is just so classy about this book! It's slow and rhythmical, slow like a a deep river. Wonderful book.

I had rated this much lower after I finished it but this is the kind of book that sticks to you.

Posted at 12:36 AM    

Return of the Golden Age by Marilyn Peake


finished 9/05 ........ rating 9 (children's book ages 9-12)

The City of the Golden Sun
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
140 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers

A compelling tale of time travel and life in other ages, "The City of the Golden Sun" is the second book in The Fisherman Son trilogy by Marilyn Peake. 

In the first book, The Fisherman's Son, Wiley O'Mara, 19th century Irish boy who is grieving for his mother and essentially abandoned by his alcoholic father, travels by the magical dolphin, Elden, to an ancient world and saves six trapped boys. 

In "The City of the Golden Sun," Wiley has to take care of the rescued boys while they are in his time and place. The boys have their doubts about Wiley but once they meet Lucinda, a fairy woman from the first book, they realize that he might be telling the truth. Lucinda gives the boys another goblet and reminds Wiley of his ultimate quest, to join two worlds. She also reminds them of the admonition, "Drink deeply of earth and sea, Earth comes only once." They are to meet Elden again so they can return to the city of the past.  

So by way of the Elden and his friends, the boys travel underwater back to the ancient city in the days before the catastrophe which ended it. There they live their lives in the splendor of that world but witness a crime and injustice prior to the end.

Again, the incredible realism of the ocean scenes provides a bridge between the reality of life in 19th century Ireland and the near magical ancient city beneath the sea. This is a perfect choice for most children in grades 3 through 5, but "The Fisherman's Son" should be read first.

Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator



Posted at 12:29 AM    

The City of the Golden Sun by Marilyn Peake


finished 9/05 ......... rating (children's book ages 9-12 ... 9)

Return of the Golden Age
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2005
138  pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers


"Return of the Golden Age" is the third and final book in the trilogy, "The Fisherman's Son" by Marilyn Peake. The 12-year old Wiley O'Mara motherless and abandoned by his drunken father, continues the quest and adventures begun in books one and two. He is to "bring the two parts together," whatever that means, and remember "Drink deeply by land or sea . Earth comes only once."  

So far Wiley has discovered a world, (Atlantis?) that was destroyed by meteor thousands of years prior and saved six boys who had been protected by sleep and an air bubble provided by the magic dolphin, Elden. If this sounds far fetched it's because I can't begin to recreate the magical journey that Peake so beautifully and expertly develops. Reading the two prior books, this plot is entirely within the realm of the literarily believable.

As "Return of the Golden Age" opens, Wiley and the rescued boys are deposited on Wiley's island (Ireland?) by a group of friendly dolphins, including Elden. The boys make their way to an orphanage where they find food and shelter and Wiley goes to his own home on the other side of the island where he awaits further instructions from his magical guide, Lucinda. After this the story is full of fantastical adventures in caves with magic rings and powers sure to delight any child or adult interested in good time travel and fantasy books.

But maybe there is more to the book than meets the casual, plot-oriented eye. Perhaps Wiley's real quest is to discover, save and share the very special and ancient heritage of his poverty stricken people. Perhaps he can save them.




Posted at 12:20 AM    

The Fisherman's Son by Marilyn Peake


finished 9/05 ......... rating (children's book - 9)

The Fisherman's Son
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
176 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers


This is the first book in a trilogy of children's books perfect for either boys or girls in the 3rd through 6th grade levels and maybe also for adults who enjoy time travel and books of magic and fantasy. They are definitely best read in order. "The Fisherman's Son" is the first book, "The City of the Golden Sun" is second and "Return of the Golden Age" is third. The books' style is a combination of magical/fantastical and realistic and includes a bit of time travel. All of this combines to make for a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for children as well as adults.

In the first book, "The Fisherman's Son," young Wiley O'Mara, a 12 year old boy of 19th century Ireland, is grieving his mother's recent death and left pretty much to his own devices as his alcoholic father goes off to get drunk. It's up to Wiley to make his way through a deep and dangerous forest and fetch the priest who can give his mother a proper burial. Along the way he enters a magical world and encounters a beautiful and mysterious woman named Lucinda who gives him a strange quest; he must join two worlds. She also gives him a mysterious golden goblet along with the strange and haunting admonition to "Drink deeply by land or sea, Earth comes only once." But then Wiley meets with a fearsome beast and gets out of the forest by only a hair's breadth.

After the burial of his mother, Wiley is swimming with the dolphins near his home when one of them, Elden, magically asks about the goblet. From then on the story is action-packed with fantastic adventure upon adventure as Peake tells of a young boy's courage and love and generosity of spirit. The underwater world through which Wiley travels is lovingly described in breathtaking beauty and realism, while the mission, including a trip to a time and place not unlike Atlantis, is hugely imaginative, daring and fantastic.  

This is a novel of both realism and magic. Poverty stricken Ireland is portrayed probably much as it was. The realism of the underwater ocean voyage is stunningly depicted with all it's abundant and strangely beautiful aquatic life providing a bridge to the fantastic underwater adventures. These scenes give the idea that reality can be as fantastical as magic and that the past is full of wonder and possible treasures.

Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator

Posted at 12:18 AM    

Where She Came From by Helen Epstein


finished 9/15.......... rating 6

Pretty good memoir and tribute to a Jewish mother who lived through the worst of the Holocaust

Posted at 12:15 AM    

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys


finished 9/05 ......... rating 8.5

The story of Bertha, Rochester's crazy wife, who lived in Jane Eyre's tower. Brilliant. I'd heard a lot about it before I picked it up so I was kind of disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype.

Posted at 12:14 AM    

The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe


finished 8/05 .......... rating 8.5

Kafkaesque picture of a man trapped in the sand with a woman. Very reminiscent of Kafka's The Trial. A man is captured and put into a sandpit where he must dig sand away from a house all day. His only companion is the woman who lives in the house in the pit and whom he is supposed to help. He gets angry and tries every way to escape but meanwhile he falls in love with the woman. The theme is repression in a variety of guises from subtle of love to the all-encompassing of totalitarianism.

Posted at 12:12 AM    

Vernon God LIttle by DBC Pierre


finished 9/05 ......... rating 8

Biting satire of life in a Texas town what with a teen-age serial killer and all. A coming of age story in a new world.

Posted at 12:11 AM    

The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley


finished 9/05 ......... rating 8.5

A black historian's search for his identity involves different kinds of methods.

Posted at 12:10 AM    

The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor


finished 9/05 ........... rating 6

Not nearly as good as "Lucy Gault."

Posted at 12:08 AM    

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth


finished 8/05 ........... rating 7

Interesting alternative history, if Lindberg, an anti-Semite, had become president.

Posted at 12:07 AM    

Sat - August 6, 2005

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham


finished 7/29? ............. 20th century fiction ........... rating 8.5

I forgot I'd read this with no entry!

This is the very interesting story of a man in search of spiritual enlightenment. It has a lot of interesting (at least for the mid 20th century) aspects including author as 1st person. The characters are wonderfully well-rounded. The story is quite fun in an old-fashioned sort of way but there is apparently a deeper meaning, a higher reality within it.

Posted at 07:02 AM    

Tue - August 2, 2005

Heir To the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick


finished 8/1 .......... contemp fiction ............... rating 8.5

This is the first fiction I've read by Ozick having been a bit put off by her sometimes very difficult essays. The book is wonderful. It's the story of an orphan girl who ends up as a nanny/aide/clerical assistant in the home of a destitute Jewish family, refugees from Nazi Germany. The father is a scholar studying an ancient sect who believed that the Koran was the literal word of God. He is not in favor with his contemporaries so money for his work is almost impossible to come by. But while the family was living in a temporary boarding house they met James A'dair, the heir to a huge children's book fortune, an obvious take-off on Winnie-the-Pooh. James gives the family money from his inheritance which he despises, in order to help them save their heritage. It's an incredible book and there were a lot more levels and understandings (glimmerings?) than I got on a first reading but I think perhaps these might be more carefully buried in Jewish knowledge than a second reading by me would reveal.

Posted at 09:58 AM    

Sun - July 31, 2005

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell


finished 6/? ........... contemp. fiction. UK............ rating 9

Mitchell is a fabulous author. I tried to read this book but gave up after 200 pages. I then listened to it and was enthralled so I decided to try to read it again. This time I was mostly enchanted. Some of the sections were more interesting than others. The problem was that they didn't seem to link up very well in terms of theme or plot. But I will look for anything I see from him.

Posted at 11:57 AM    

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWItt


finished 7/30 ......... contemp, fiction ........... rating 7.5

I just loved the first half of this book and it was okay well into the second. But then all the variations on the them of finding a father made me dizzy.
It was a fast read for me. One day and over 500 pages (and I did a bunch of other stuff too including listen to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment read by George Guidall.

This is the story of Luri, a gifted boy, and his single mom, Sibylla. . She teaches Luri to read by 3, Latin at 4 and so on. And he reads the classics and learns math and science. He is way too smart and knows too much for traditional first grade so she teaches him at home. Sibylla, his mother, watches The Seven Samurai repeatedly on video and Luri picks up Japanese. But he wants to know who his father is.

The second half of the book is Luri's search for Dad. He finds him right off but continues to seek. I think there is a link to the movie in terms of the Samurai and possible fathers but I didn't catch more than that.

Posted at 11:53 AM    

Sat - July 30, 2005

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera


finished 7/29 ............... contemp fict. Czech................ rating 8.5

I read this back in the 80s and loved it. It feels dated today. This is the way I felt about The Magus, too in the same situation. There were good things about it There was one part where the dog was dying and I felt that Kundera was relating something that he had lived. Kundera's themes include love and desire and the separation between people and freedom. Much of it is political. Much of it is sexual. There is a connection between men taking over women and Communist Soviet Union taking over Czechoslovakia.

There are basically two stories told in seven sections , one story is that of Teresa and Tomas, the other of Sabina and Fritz, although Sabina and Tomas have been lovers. I think each person got his story told, then each couple got their story told, then Kundera wound it up. Kundera has a habit of long philosophical explanations for what each character did. Some of them are absurd, probably pointedly so. I feel like I outgrew this philosophizing about sex and politics the last time I read it.

Posted at 12:10 AM    

Mon - July 25, 2005

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald


finished 7/25 .......... contemp fict. British/ Booker Prize ........... rating 8

This is an interesting fictionalized version of the life of the 18th century poet, Novalis. the pseudonym of Friedrich Leopold, Baron von Hardenberg. There is much more to it than I got on the first reading so I'll probably read it again but I want to wait a couple months to when the 20th century reading group gets to it.

It is magical in a way, or at least it tries hard to be dealing with love and poetry and philosophy.

Bekah

Posted at 10:14 AM    

Wed - July 13, 2005

The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch


finished 7/12............ contemp fiction (Brit) ............ rating 8

Typical Murdoch, a mystery and the introspection of a variety of characters, the moral philosophy of Plato and heavily laced with allusions and symbolism. Easy to read prose but it got a bit longish. Sex and love along with selfishness and decency seemed to be the themes with some characters being "nice" and some being "good."

Posted at 05:57 AM    

Mon - July 11, 2005

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (2nd reading)


finished 7/9 ............. cont, fict. US .............. rating 10

This is such a good book and has so many levels that I had to read it again just to do it any kind of justice at all. I usually try to get everything in a first reading and with some books that's ok. But with the really good books, like some of Rushdie's or Pynchon or a good many others, it's totally insufficient. On this reading, I focused on the disruption of communication, the major theme. I also love his humor which even through themes of paranoia and madness, always stands out in puns and slap-stick situations. I've read 4 of his books, 2 of them twice, the shorter ones. (g).

Posted at 10:36 PM    

The File on H by Ismail Kadare


finished 7/11 .............. contemp fiction - Albania ............ rating 10!

"The File on H" is about two Irish academics who travel to Albania to pursue studies in Homeric poetry. They want to find out how it developed because there are rhapsodics, traveling singers who recite epic verses at banquets, weddings and funerals to the accompaniment of a long-necked, single-stringed musical instrument called the lahuta. who still live there in the hills. These two bring a newfangled tape recorder with them to record the verses. The trouble is that they are suspected of being spies by the local government hacks which proceeds to spy on them. I highly recommend it! It took a bit over a month to get it from Amazon though. Supposedly it's not one of his better works so I went and put two others on my Amazon wish list. I may have found a favorite author!

Posted at 10:07 PM    

Sun - July 10, 2005

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre


finished 7/10............. contem. fiction (English) ........... rating 8

On the surface this is the story of Vernon Little, a 15 year old boy who finds himself accused of mass murder. It takes place in a small town in Central Texas which Pierre, an Australian who has lived in Texas, satirizes with an Exacto knife carving fine slices. Vernon is not a "nice" boy; he's vulgar and mean and not too bright. He loves his mother and her friends but hates Mom's boyfriend with good reason. He knows that he's in deep trouble with this murder stuff and does exactly the wrong thing every time. Pierre does know how to create a character, Vernon is lovable and the suspense keeps building. American reviewers tend to hate this book while Europeans love it. I though it was a kick but not quite up to the hype. This book reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Afternoon.

This is possibly a satire about capital punishment.

Posted at 02:08 PM    

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon


finished 7/6/05 .............. contemp. lit fict. ................ rating 10

This is an excellent book about one woman's search for authentic communication (I think). Oedipa Maas and her husband live on the California coast somewhere between San Francisco and LA. Informed that she is the executor of a rich old boyfriend's estate, she sets out to investigate his holdings. She comes up with strange symbols and words. She finds a conspiracy (or is it?) called Tristero through a play about it. She needs to find the "right words" for a part of the play but they elude her. She does not know if this is real or a joke or if she is paranoid. There are labyrinths of layers and themes in this book and one of the greatest female characters ever created. I read this book through, turned it over and started again. It was just one of those kinds of books.

Posted at 01:59 PM    

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro


finished 6/25 ............. contemporary fiction (England) (sci-fi/dystopian?) ........... rating 8

Haunting. On first reading, this was a moderately interesting and fairly well told tale of a group of clones being "raised" to supply body parts to humans. They are at first the residents of a boarding school in England but they grow up and move during the coarse of this book. The story is told in the first person by Kathy H. remembering her the friends and places of her early years. As she and her friends grow up they learn some information about what is in store for them as "carers" and "donors" but not everything and Ishiguro keeps the suspense up as the story winds its way to the ending. This book is really about the feelings of the exceptionally well-drawn characters rather than the morality or the sci-fi part. I rated it low because it felt kind of fluffy to me, pretty light weight, but I'm not good at judging the empathetic, sympathetic, feelings driven books, poems, etc.

Posted at 01:17 PM    

Small Island by Andrea Levy


finished 6/ 22 ........... contemporary fiction (Orange Prize - women) ........... rating 7.5

This is the story of racism in Britain after WWI. Gilbert Joseph, a Jamaican native has returned to London from WWI and after awhile his wife Hortense joins him. Their landlady is Queenie who has had more than her share of struggles during the war. Much of the action takes place in Jamaica and in a kind of run down boarding house in London. After another while (about 3/4 into the boo) , her husband, Bernard, shows up and the interactions begin. The story is told in the 4 different voices of these main characters and the first half or so is fascinating with the reader discovering the Jamaica and London of the times. The dialects are wonderful, the historical connections very well (not over) done. The trouble with this book is that I got quite bored in the last half and I'm not sure why. Perhaps there were two many characters and not enough action.

Posted at 11:59 AM    

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman


finished 6/19 .............. contemp. fiction (light) ........... rating 5

This is a beach read. It started so fun and I needed a break from Paris 1919. I was kind of charmed up to the middle and then it just sagged for me and I slogged through it.

Posted at 11:39 AM    

Sat - June 11, 2005

Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard


finished 5/ 20 ........... contemporary detective ........ rating 6

Pretty good book for a detective thriller. Elmore Leonard at his best.

Posted at 06:27 PM    

No Second Chance by Harlan Coben


finished 6/1 .......... detective fiction ............. rating 6

This was okay detective book. It had its thrilling moments, and it was unpredictable. But the ending was rather less than satisfactory.

Posted at 06:26 PM    

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell


finished 6/6 ........... contemporary fiction / UK ............ rating 9

This book still sings to me. I read it first but couldn't get past the center section. So I listened to it and was astounded. Parts were still boring but overall it was much better. And then (!) I went and read it again! (whew) Mitchell is a very talented writer. He's fun. The characters were fabulous. I wish the "stories" had connected a bit better and I wish he'd had more themes developed. (were there any?) But it's a wonderful book if somewhat difficult.

Posted at 06:25 PM    

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan


finished 6/10 ............ literary thriller? ............. rating 7

this book pretends to be a thriller. It was pretty good. But the thing that made it great was the appendix. That makes you want to go back and read it again.

Posted at 06:23 PM    

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin


finished 6/2.......... contemporary fiction ........ rating 8.5

I'll give it a 9. I love this book. It's about the New York magic (Athansor ) of timeless love and loss (Peter Lake and Beverly) which, when added to destiny (the karma of Lake with the mission of Hardesty), brings knowledge (the stars in the dome of Grand Central) and redemption (Praeger) and the power (the presses) sufficient for the good guys to win over the evil rainbow bridges of the mad "politicos." In other words, love and evil are timeless adversaries and love always wins. And Helprin's language was fully up to the task of writing a magic tale like this one.


Sad to say that even with all this in place, imo, Helprin aimed too high, trying to gather all possible human themes and storm the gates of heaven with his magic bridge book. And just as the Meade's rainbow bridge failed, so did whatever themes Helprin was wrestling with. But it's quite possible that this "too big to be seen" is the main theme; the book says somewhere (and I think it was mentioned in the discussion) that we have only been given a portion of the full woven fabric, that the whole of human destiny is far too glorious to be seen at one time. I can't remember how Helprin stated it and I doubt I could find it again. Winter's Tale seemed like that. And, I think Susan said this one, the only possible category for this book is "winter tale" (whatever that is), maybe like what Frederick told his fellow mice in Leoni's book of that name?

So yes, it's badly flawed. So what? So am I. I still loved it.

Posted at 06:08 PM    

The Liberated Bride by A.B. Yehoshua


finished 6/1......... contemporary fiction / Israel .......... rating 5

This is the story of a man who breaks boundaries. He is obsessed with finding out why his son's brief marriage fails and snoops around until he finds out. It's not a pleasant read. It's hard. I think that the author was saying that before we can have peace in the Middle East a bunch of boundaries are going to have to be broken.

It is a marvelously well written book and the translation flows.

Posted at 06:04 PM    

The Cunning Man by Robertson Davies


finished 5/15 ........... 20th cent. fiction .......... rating 5.

An aging doctor in Toronto is witness to the murder of a priest. The story is what he tells the journalist (god-daughter in law) who interviews him about it. He can't tell her everything. He edits himself as far as she's concerned, but reveals much to the reader. His thoughts are mostly about the people of the community, the odd medicine he practices, his memories. The philosophy in the book is the duality between holistic and specialist, church message vs church ambiance, and other dichotomies. The main reason that the rating is only a 6 is that it drags. It took me a good 200 pages to get into it and even at that it slipped and slid.

Posted at 06:01 PM    

Mon - April 4, 2005

Saturday by Ian McEwan


finished April 4 .......... contemp fiction .......... rating 7.5

most all of this book was boring. There was one scene in the first section which sets a train of consequences in motion the climax of which is toward the very end. I'm not a big McEwan fan. Too many words for the tale, imo. This could have been a fine short story.

Posted at 09:48 AM    

Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen


finished 3/30......... contemp. fiction (Booker) ....... rating 8

Very hard to read and understand. It would take at least two readings to untangle this one.

Posted at 09:33 AM    

Ficciones by Jorge Borges


finished (see below) ...... 3/05 ........ speculative fiction .......... rating 9

very interesting collection of short stories by one of the top philosophical fiction writers ever! This is more than magical realism because there really isn't much realism there. (g) It's sometimes considered sci-fi, but there isn't much science. A good friend of Umberto Eco. Borges had a great impact on contemporary lit. He's fun but don't read too much.

Posted at 09:32 AM    

Tue - March 29, 2005

I Am Charlotte Simmons


finished 2/? ......... contemp fiction .......... rating 6 (very mixed)

Okay, I admit it. I have a love-hate relationship with "I Am
Charlotte Simmons." (My rating is a 6, see below for the
rationale.)

I appreciate what I believe Wolfe was trying to do in using
non-judgmental naturalism and some stereotypes (or caricatures?) in
the exploration of a contemporary cultural community. The theme of
determinism (genetic and environmental) vs free will interested me as
did the sub-themes of peer pressure and the need to belong or be the
best.

But! I had to really sit back, away from the impact of all that
swearing, drinking, sports and sex, to have any objective sense of
the work because my first impression was pure-d puke. It was only
with great effort that I got through over 30 hours (listening) of
pandering tripe.

I suppose this reaction might be along the lines of what the general
turn of the century readership felt when they sampled Kate Chopin's
works, especially "The Awakening" or "A Respectable Woman." The
average contemporary reader of Chopin was unable to disassociate
from the idea that the basics of "The Awakening" were unfit for
publication.

And her words were so comparable to those of Wolfe. Wolfe has
written more. He has focused more on essays. But they both explored
the American psyche with neither fear nor favor. They said that they
presented it as they saw it with no judgment at all. And that's what
caused some of the problem because readers thought that she at least
should have condemned Edna. But no. And neither does Wolfe. He
lets the college crowd off without so much as a waggling metaphoric
finger.

I also really, really liked Charlotte. I loved Charlotte. I saw her
confusion and She was an earnest underdog, striving and confused.
You know how it is, I had to root for her.

So, overall, I'd give it a 5 for a mixed between interesting and
pukey, but Charlotte tips the scales and I'll give it a 6.

Posted at 06:12 PM    

Sun - March 27, 2005

A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul


finished 3/27/05 .... post-colonial fiction classic ..... rating 9

This absolutely marvelous book is one of the highlights of my reading this year, or for several years. The book is written by VS Naipaul, a native Indian from Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. The island was originally Native American Arawaks, the Indians Columbus encountered when he landed. Then the Spanish settled and they were Catholic, French, free black, and other non-Spanish settlers came also but Trinidad remained under Spanish rule until the British captured it in 1797. There was a short-lived experiment at a Federation with other islands in the area but after its failure, Trinidad (and Tobago and Jamaica) became a part of the British Commonwealth Most of the citizens are of Indian (India) and/or African descent and most speak English although other languages including Hindi and French patois. There are two dominant folk cultures, Creole and East Indian. Creole is a mixture of African elements with Spanish, French, and English colonial culture.

Trinidad's East Indian culture came to the island with indentured servants brought to fill a labor shortage created by the emancipation of the African slaves in 1833. Most remained on the land, and they still dominate the agricultural sector, but many have become prominent in business and the professions. East Indians have retained much of their own way of life, including Hindu and Muslim religious festivals and practices.

This is all reflected in the story but fundamentally, the story is about a man, living in this time and culture, going through his life, never feeling at home or having a place. It could be a universal theme, it could be a post-colonial theme, it could be a personal theme. Naipaul pulled it off brilliantly, but then, he is one of the very best writers in today's world.


Posted at 07:41 PM    

Potshot by Robert Parker and read by Joe Mantegna


finished 3/24/05............. contemporary detective........... rating 6

Over the years Robert Parker has developed a character called Spencer who has adventures solving crimes with some pretty rough elements. The prose is readable and the detective is smart. The plots are tense and believable, the characters well drawn, the dialogue crisp. But these books will never rise above genre and they don't really want to, they do so well within it. So I'll give it a Best of Genre and an overall 6. Read by Joe Mantegna who is excellent.

Posted at 08:55 AM    

Fri - March 11, 2005

Hotel World by Ali Smith


finished 3/6 ........... contemporary fiction - Scotland ............ rating 9.5

This is one of the most clever, interesting and challenging books to come out so far in the 21st century. And it's fun too. :) It's about life and love and death and literary theory set in a world of puns, poverty and capital greed. (lol)

I read it twice and it may take a third go round. Whew! or as they say, Woooo-ooooo! It's a ride, anyway! (Thank goodness it's short!)


Ali Smith (the genius, imo) has written a book that works (!) on many levels. Following the basic story line of a girl's accidental death and life going on, this book is about death and love and memory and the inter-relatedness of life.

On another level, it's a big metaphor with the Globe Hotel posing as (signifying?) big money capitalism and international business being the "big bad guy," vs all the individual characters as the "little good guys." (This is the level on which first web-site deals with explicitly but in post-modern terms.) <http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap1002/transhotel.htm> (not necessarily a good place to start, it's more about the state of postmodernism today and the political leanings involved.)

But on still another level it's about literary theory with Freud and Lacan and Saussure and Derrida and even some Foucault. It's about the unconscious and signifieds and signifiers and what they mean and, probably more importantly, what they don't mean. This is deconstruction as Derrida uses it, as Foucault (history of sex - communication about sex, etc) goes around it and as Lacan plays with it. I think that Smith is having a great time.

And all through these levels the characters shine through, glowing and present to keep the story moving. The book may be more about the characters than it is about any of the other levels. It's a funny, loving and gentle book, a joy to read after the first go-round. (lol)

I am overwhelmed. I am astounded. I am flabbergasted. This stuff is on every single page, there is not a single throwaway scene.

Posted at 07:09 AM    

Mon - February 21, 2005

The Famished Road by Ben Okri


Finished 2/20/05........... contemporary, Nigeria .............. rating 9.5

Written in a style resonant of Gabriel Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude) combined with Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart) Okri has written a masterpiece. The subjectmatter is the violence and poverty of contemporary Lagos, Nigeria and one boy's attempts to escape it.

He is trying to escape through the spirit world and the work reads like someone going in and out of a schizophrenic mind set but he's being visited by the spirits of his home world. They want him back. He does not want to go.

Meanwhile his father is escaping into drink and boxing and politics while his mother has no escape.

Only the barroom madam is really set on improving her lot with some interesting results.

Not for the feeble.

Posted at 05:35 PM    

Fri - February 18, 2005

Regeneration by Pat Barker


finished 2-18-05 .......... contemporary fiction Booker short list 1992 ........... rating 9

I very much enjoy WWI history and the poets have always touched me since I read Rupert Brooke in High School. This is a great book which combines the stories of poets Sigfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen with their time spent at the hospital where they were treated for "breakdowns."

There are many themes in this book including pacifism and the treatment of mental breakdowns. Sex and war is addressed.

Posted at 10:28 PM    

Wed - February 2, 2005

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger


didn't finish ............ US fiction .............. rating 4

I have better books to read, so after 100 pages or so, I put it down and thinking that it was silly and not worth the time.

Posted at 05:12 PM    

NIghts at the Circus by Angela Carter


finished 1/20/05 ............. fiction / UK / magical realism ............ rating 8

Great book! Very fantastical. I wonder if it's symbolic. I don't understand. Definitely magical realism or more likely surrealism.

Posted at 05:10 PM    

The Awakening by Kate Chopin


finished 2/? .......... 19th cent. fiction / US .........rating 8.5

This is a very ambiguous story. It was banned in some places in the US because it was considered "dirty." It's not by today's standards. Chopin is a superb writer. Too bad her talents are wasted playing games with the reader.

Posted at 05:05 PM    

Thu - January 13, 2005

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk


finished 1/12/05.......... contemporary world fiction / Turkey ............... rating 8

I didn't like this one as well as I liked "The New Life." The story takes place in 16th century Istanbul where a man returns from 20 years absence and finds his old flame widowed and her father the leader of a group of miniaturists (the painters who paint the illustrations in the holy books).

One of the miniaturists is killed and then the woman's father is killed. There are three main miniaturists, the Sultan who ordered a book which might be blasphemy in it's concepts (realistic western style paintings) and although it brings much money it is secret and a source of guilt. The miniaturists are all prime suspects as is the main character, the widow and many others.

The theme is the Westernization of art and the loss of true Persian way. But Pamuk's ideas are much like Salman Rushdie's, seeing the whole conflict between East and West as fallacious.

Posted at 10:02 PM    

Tue - January 4, 2005

The Master by Colm Toibin


finished 1/4 ............ general fiction/ British ............... rating 7.5

This work is based quite closely on the life of Henry James and he acknowledges the definitive multi-volume biography by Leon Edel which is based on the 15,000 letters that James kept and thousands more from other sources. Toibin takes this information and sometimes uses it directly as quoted material and at other times fills in the blanks with his own imaginings. This type of work has been called "faction" because it's so mixed.

I don't know if I liked it or not. Not really, although it was very, very good in places. I couldn't get James out of my head. It wasn't a novel without him. Without the historic Henry James, this work is a nice pile of fluff, pretty words on a topical subject with enough structural difference and complexity to the character to be an award winner.

Toibin did do a good job on the characters. I was not at all impressed with the structure. It supposedly takes place between January 1895 and October 1899. But into those chapters, so neathly arranged by month, there is all the world packed in the order that Toibin has Henry remembering it.

I wish I had liked the book as well as I liked Toibin's Henry.

Posted at 07:12 PM    

Sat - January 1, 2005

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf


finished 1/1/05 ............ general fiction English 20th century / classic ...................rating 10

This is the story of an English family and a few of their friends taking holiday on an island off Scotland. The time frame is set in three parts, the day before WWI, that night or the war and then 10 years after the war. Although WWI is the focal point of the novel, it is underplayed. Woolf captures the internal aspects of these characters by using a semi-omniscient narrator and the points of view of about six people. It's a powerful book but I had to read it twice, the second time quite carefully, in order to appreciate the originality and difficulty. I've heard it's even better the third time.

This book lends itself to a number of critical methods including new criticism, feminist, marxist and historical.

Posted at 11:16 PM    

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