SmallWorld Reads: 2012

Saturday, December 29, 2012

2012: The Year in Books (The Sunday Salon)

In 2012 I read and reviewed 47 books here on SmallWorld Reads, and probably read a total of a dozen others (juvenile fiction read aloud to my youngest).

(I've been doing this for five years now. See my other Best of the Years posts.)

Top 10 Books Read in 2012

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. From my review: "This was our book club's read for June, and, for perhaps the first time ever, everyone not only read but loved this novel!"

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. From my review: "The Distant Hours is a gothic novel full of mystery, suspense, romance, and hauntings. … This is one of those books that I thought about during the day and couldn't wait to get to in the evenings."

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. From my review: "It was just, well, it was everything I could possibly want in a novel. A mystery with a ghost story feel. Romance, lost love, found love, familial love, orphans, good guys, villains, a manor, a secret garden (and speaking of that, well-done cameos with real life figures), fairy tales, and did I mention suspense."

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. From my review: "I'm really quite astounded by The Invisible Bridge. The last 50 pages or so I read in a doctor's office while waiting for a friend, and I embarrassingly wept now and then. I was slightly numb when I closed the book, stunned by human resiliency as displayed in the character but also stunned by Orringer's ability to craft such a novel."

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. From my review: "Genova has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, so her novels, which deal at one level with complex neurological issues, feel so completely believable. But it isn't just the medicine that's good: Genova is a fantastic writer. She can get spot-on into the heart and soul of her characters."

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. From my review: "This was a beautifully written, lovely novel about Ernest Pettigrew, a perfectly stuffy English gentleman. This was our book club's November read, and everyone absolutely loved it."

Room by Emma Donoghue. From my review: "Who wants to read a book about a kidnapped woman and her son, who are living in an 11X11 room and visited nightly by "Old Nick"?…But if you don't meet Jack and Ma, you're missing on two wonderful, strong, courageous characters and an unforgettable, powerful, yes—positively gripping story."

The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites. From my review: "I had a hard time putting down this post-Civil War novel. I was even reading during breakfast and lunch, which is quite an unusual feat for this mom who usually saves reading for bedtime. The novel was that engrossing."

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. "I was hooked from the very first line, and I was reluctant to put it down each night to sleep. I carried it with me during the day when I wasn't reading it. I carried the language of Tim O'Brien—the absolutely beautiful poetry, the lyrical longing, the heartbreak."

True Sisters by Sandra Dallas. From my review: "Sandra Dallas has once again written a fascinating tale woven around a unique piece of American history. This time her subject matter takes us out of Colorado mining country to the Mormon Trail in the mid-1800s."

• FAVORITE BOOK(s) of 2012
I'm going to have to call a tie between Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I can't really compare the two: one is sort of a Gothic romance/ghost story, and the other is a gritty, heart-breaking story of war. But they were both absolutely beautifully written.

* Don't Forget the Classics!
I read several classics this year. I don't count these on my Top 10 list because, well, somehow they seem to be above such things. Here are my beloved classics from this year:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
My Antonia (Willa Cather)
O Pioneers! (Willa Cather)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Watership Down (Richard Adams)

• I added 38 books to my Ever-Growing TBR list, and I marked off 19. That means that my TBR list continues to grow faster than I can read, and it also means I read a lot of books that aren't on my TBR list. I learned about books from posts on The Sunday Salon, Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books, from various internet sources, from personal recommendations, and especially from other book bloggers.

• Below is the total list of books read, minus the juvenile fiction. Each link leads to a review or, rarely, to amazon.com if I didn't get a chance to review it. My star-ranking system is as follows: 5 stars--must read; 4 stars--highly recommended; 3 stars--enjoyable; 2 stars--ick; 1 star--no, no, no.

Linked up with Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books Best of the Year edition

Book Review: The River Wife

So, I had this novel listed by "J. Agee" on my TBR list. I assumed it was by James Agee and was distressed to see, upon finding it at the library, that the author of The River Wife is actually Jonis Agee. I nearly put the book back on the shelf but decided to take a chance. After all, I must have added it to my TBR list because of someone's great review.

The novel starts with a young wife, Hedie, who finds an old diary one night while waiting for her husband to come home. The story then shifts to Annie Ducharme and her river bandit husband, Jacques Ducharme. Eventually we get to Ducharme's second wife, and then, well, I got mixed up, honestly.

I really liked the story of Annie. And I liked the stories of Omah, Laura, and Maddie, although I'm not sure I could tell you what relation they were to Jacques, Annie, and each other. The story of Hedie was also interesting. The problem for me was that I couldn't quite piece together all of the connections these women and their stories had to Jacques. I kept feeling like something was missing, that all would be revealed just around the corner.

There was so much unsaid in the novel—so much reading-between-the-lines that needed to be done. I tried, I really did. Again, I really loved Annie Lark's story, and I wish the novel could have been just about her and Jacques. This first third of the novel was beautifully written, rich in character and language. In the end, though, I felt sort of unfulfilled and a little dumb. What did I miss? How did I miss it? Ever feel like that at the end of a novel?

Monday, December 17, 2012

Book Review: O Pioneers!

"We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it— for a little while."

I'm teaching Willa Cather's My Antonia for American Lit right now, and I realized that I've never read her other most discussed novel, O Pioneers. I downloaded this copy free for my Kindle app, although I'd gladly buy it in hardback.

Such a lovely, lovely little novel. O Pioneers has the same wistful, yearning mood as My Antonia, and the main character, Alexandra, reminds one of Antonia. Both are stories of the power of the land and the struggle of immigrants, taking place in Nebraska at the end of the 19th century. Of the two, O Pioneers has the happier ending. (My students are just now reporting that "My Antonia ends so sad!")

O Pioneers centers on Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of a Swedish immigrant who becomes a wealthy landowner because of her own business acumen and foresight. Her older brothers are hard workers but lack creativity and ambition. Her younger brother is her pet—her hope for integrating into America. He goes to college and does well, and Alexandra has great hopes for his future. Of Emil, Cather writes:

"Out of her father's children there was one who was fit to cope with the world, who had not been tied to the plow, and who had a personality apart from the soil. And that, she reflected, was what she had worked for. She felt well satisfied with her life."

Things don't end up quite the way Alexandra hopes. Cather portrays Alexandra as an incredibly strong, multidimensional woman. She is well respected for her business dealings, yet loving and tender with her younger brother, the neighbor women, and Carl, her childhood friend who comes back to her in middle age.

Cather is a beautiful writer, and her descriptions of the simplicity and power of the land are amazing:

"She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects down in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring."

O Pioneers! is a sad but beautiful novel, the kind that makes you strangely yearn for a time long ago, in spite of the hardness of the life. Highly recommended.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Book Review: Girlchild

This debut novel by Tupelo Hassman is not for the reader looking for a warm and fuzzy beach read. This is hard stuff—and really, really good stuff. If you've read Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina and Emma Donoghue's Room without ending up in a fetal position, you can read Girlchild. But be prepared.

Rory Hendrix comes from a long line of bad seeds. Her family portfolio is filled with abuse of all sorts, poverty, poor choices, drug use, unwed mothers, welfare, alcoholism, gambling, and dead ends. But Rory is resilient and, shockingly to everyone, brilliant. But is her smartness enough to save her?

She has a lot to contend with in this novel, which positively oozes poverty and desperation. Her life is hard, and her mother, though loving, makes poor choices which almost kill Rory—and certainly take away any innocence she may have had. Rory is friendless, practically parentless, and even terrified of living. But she keeps on surviving, determined to be the one to change the family cycle.

Hassman's prose is simply beautiful. She has a haunting voice, sad and cracked but determined, filled with poetry. I can't say I felt uplifted after reading Girlchild, although perhaps I felt hopeful. But to think that Rory's story is played out day after day in every town in the U.S. is heartbreaking. If you are a reader who appreciates a candid look at life below the poverty line, pick up Girlchild.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Book Review: The Rebel Wife

I had a hard time putting down this post-Civil War novel by Taylor Polites. I was even reading during breakfast and lunch, which is quite an unusual feat for this mom who usually saves reading for bedtime. The novel was that engrossing.

Augusta Branson is a new widow, thrown into a world of chaos and confusion just when she thought life might be returning to some semblance of normalcy after the Civil War. Born into a wealthy, well-respected Southern family, Augusta lost seemingly everything during the war: her father, brother, and her lifestyle. She is forced by her mother to marry a Eli, a man hated by her society for his political standings.

When Eli dies of a strange sickness, Augusta quickly realizes that she knows absolutely nothing about anything—that, as a rich southern woman, she has been kept in the dark her entire life. The Judge, who has been a father figure of sorts to her, informs her that she has no money—that her husband was scoundrel. But her husband's trusted servant, Simon, has a different story. Can she trust a former slave, whom she has believed to be vastly inferior, over her kin and mentor, the Judge?

Augusta begins uncovering all kinds of truths she doesn't want to believe. She'd like to just exist in the oblivion that the doctor-prescribed laudanum brings—but can she really trust the doctor to know what's best for her? Are her servants hiding something? And most of all, how will she and her young son survive?

Polites is an excellent writer, and this story of life in a violent time of upheaval after the war is mesmerizing. Highly recommended.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Book Review: The Bungalow

I had great hopes for my next foray into Sarah Jio's writing after reading The Violets of March. I really liked my first encounter with Jio with Violets of March. The Bungalow was enjoyable but lacked the excellent writing in Violets of March.

The story follows Anne, who narrates the story, beginning in 1942, to her granddaughter. Anne's an a upper-class girl who decides to postpone her engagement to a boy she's known all her life in order to join the Army Nurse Corps in Bora Bora during WWII. In Bora Bora, she soon falls in love with Westry. Through a series of miscommunications and interferences, they ultimately end up apart. Seventy years later, Anne goes back to Bora Bora to figure out what really happened between her and Westry.

This was a nice in-between read. I felt like parts of the story were missing or not told particularly well, but Jio does an excellent job of drawing rich and memorable characters. I'll read more of her novels.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Book Review: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

In this wonderfully warm debut novel, Helen Simonson introduces Ernest Pettigrew, a perfectly stuffy English gentleman. As the novel opens, Major Pettigrew has had a shock: his brother dies, and suddenly the Major, a widower, is terribly aware that he is alone in the world. His grown son is spoiled and selfish. Although he has always been proud of his own sense of duty, honor, tradition, and decorum, his life seems drab and predictable. And he can't seem to get Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper, out of his mind.

He finds himself going out of his way to see Mrs. Ali, who is a widow, first by sharing snippets of books and then sharing rides and walks. But as the villagers sense what is going on, they are shocked and talk quietly amongst themselves. The Major, one of their own, with a foreigner? And a shopkeeper at that?

For Major Pettigrew, being honorable is not a facade. He is appalled by the people that he considered his friends and neighbors, and his son's selfishness fills him with a mixture of despair and disgust. As various events and side stories unfold, the Major again and again chooses what is right, both for himself and for society.

This was a beautifully written, lovely novel. Simonson paints the Major and Mrs. Ali so clearly that I can perfectly imagine them. I highly recommend this witty and thought-provoking debut novel! This was our book club's November read, and everyone absolutely loved it.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Sunday Salon: October in Review

Books Read in October
The Tea-Olive Birdwatching Society: From my review: "I want to either love a book club book, or I want to hate it. Either way makes for great discussion. But this one? I don't really have a lot to say about it, certainly nothing passionate."
The Violets of March: From my review: "This is just a lovely little book with all the right ingredients: family secrets, a mystery, romance, and great writing."
True Sisters: From my review: "Sandra Dallas has once again written a fascinating tale woven around a unique piece of American history."
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (Multiple re-read.)
The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots by Tamar Myers. (Not yet reviewed.)
Frankenstein. (Abridged version with 11-year-old.)

Best Book of the Month:

I really enjoyed both The Violets of March and True Sisters, but Violets wins by a bit.

Currently Reading
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (LOVE!)
Ethan Frome (multiple re-read, teaching for American Lit class)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (re-read, teaching for literature circle class)

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
The Bungalow by Sarah Jio.
Deadline by Randy Alcorn
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
The Rebel Wife by Taylor Folite
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Mortiarty.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Book Review: True Sisters

In True Sisters Sandra Dallas has once again written a fascinating tale woven around a unique piece of American history. This time her subject matter takes us out of Colorado mining country to the Mormon Trail in the mid-1800s.

This group of Mormon converts, including four women whose stories are told in alternating chapters, is anxious to get to the Promised Land: Salt Lake City. They set off from Iowa City for the 1,300 mile journey, and under the instruction of Brigham Young, take their few belongings (17 lbs per person) in handcarts rather than wagons.

The Martin Handcart Company is headed for disaster. They are led by an arrogant, self-righteous man, Thales Tanner, who insists that anyone who decides not to make the journey is a heretic. Although many of the people believe that they should wait until spring to make the journey, they follow him anyway, terrified that their faith would be questioned.

The people face incredible hardships on their four-month journey. The novel centers around the stories of these four women and their struggles and ultimate triumph. They lose spouses, children, health, and all their possessions, but they make it to Utah ultimately. They also lose their idea of marriage and face plural marriages, and I really liked the way Dallas handled this.

I don't love reading straight history necessarily, so I tremendously appreciate Dallas's presentation of snippets of American history told in narrative form. As always, I look forward to her next novel. Below are the ones I have read and reviewed thus far:

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Book Review: The Violets of March

I wish I knew whom to credit with suggesting this novel by Sarah Jio. I absolutely loved it! It isn't anything earth-shattering nor headed for classic lit status, but The Violets of March was beautifully written and mesmerizing.

In her 20s, Emily Wilson was a best-selling author with a husband formerly on the "most desirable bachelors" list. Now in her 30s, she is a one-hit wonder author who is about to sign divorce papers. She has no idea what to do to reclaim her life until she receives a postcard from her Aunt Bee, requesting that she come to Bainbridge Island in Washington. Emily hasn't been to the family's summer spot in years, but she is hit with memories of the idyllic times she spent on the island with her aunt.

Emily commits to spending a month on the island, and on her first night, she finds an old diary. She doesn't know who wrote it, but the story captivates her. In the evenings she reads the diary, but during the day she finds that the island people, including her own family, hold a trove of secrets. She also meets and old love and possibly finds a new one.

This is just a lovely little book with all the right ingredients: family secrets, a mystery, romance, and great writing. I added several Sarah Jio books to my TBR list after reading this!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Book Review: Tea-Olive Bird-Watching Society

I once read a post by a blogger listing all the things on his no-no list about posting reviews, and one of them was: "Starting a review with 'I really wanted to like this book.'" He went on to say that we all want to like a book—that's why we read them, right?

But here's the thing: some books we want to like more than others. Some books we have some kind of personal relationship with before reading—it's on all the best-seller lists, your friend recommended it with highest praise, etc. Or, in this case, it's your book club's next book.

So, I really wanted to like Tea-Olive Bird-Watching Society by Augusta Trobaugh. I want to either love a book club book, or I want to hate it. Either way makes for great discussion. But this one? I don't really have a lot to say about it, certainly nothing passionate.

Tea-Olive is the tiny southern town. The bird-watching society party, a group of widowed or never-married women, was never developed much beyond the first couple of chapters and the mention of a bird sanctuary. It is in this sanctuary where the ladies spy on their newly married friend, who is in a terrible, abusive relationship with her thieving new husband. Right off the bat, I had a hard time identifying with the characters, who were all named from hymnals: Sweet Bye-and-Bye, Beulah Land, Marching to Zion. They automatically seemed goofy with such names.

I predict, however, that this book will be a big hit with my book club. It's cute. It's portrayal of domestic violence is polite—enough to make the reader sympathize with Sweet, but not so graphic that we feel outraged or contaminated. In fact, the whole book is too polite for my taste, too unrealistic.

If you liked the Miss Julia books by Ann Ross, I recommend this one for sure.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Sunday Salon: August and September in Review

Books Read in August or September

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer: "This novel is simply brilliant, although there is nothing simple about it."
The Healing by Jonathan O'Dell: "If you liked such novels as The Help and The Kitchen House, you'll love The Healing!"
Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman: "if you can handle a grisly murder and the frightening possibility that we aren't who we say we are, you should read it."
The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis: "Author Amy Franklin-Willis knows tiny towns in Tennessee, but rather than make her characters fat, dumb, and full of snappy comebacks—which happens all too often in books about the south (as opposed to Southern Lit), she made them real."
Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott: "Some books are so hard to read, not because they are poorly written or tedious but because the subject matter is just plain frightening."
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Multiple re-read. Taught this to my American Lit class in September.

The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harmon (not yet reviewed)

Best Books of the Months
August: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
September: Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott

Currently Reading:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (multiple re-read for American Lit class)
Tea-Olive Bird-Watching Society by Augusta Trobaugh

Movies-from-Books Watched:
The Scarlet Letter: Excellent movie version of the book! My students found it hilarious in some ways, but they had a great time watching it.

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
The Quilt Walk by Sandra Dallas
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
Slaves, Women & Homosexuals by William J. Webb

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Book Review: Imperfect Birds

Some books are so hard to read, not because they are poorly written or tedious but because the subject matter is just plain frightening. David Sheff's Beautiful Boy —a memoir of his son's meth addition—comes to mind. Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds, though a novel rather than a memoir, had the same effect on me, that uneasy mix of "there but for the grace of God" and "what do I really know?" (And, to be honest in full realization that this is illogical thinking, "whew! I'm glad I am not raising kids in California!")

Elizabeth knows her 17-year-old daughter, Rosie, isn't perfect. Rosie has toyed with all kinds of typical teenage things: drugs, drinking, partying, sex. But Rosie's grades are fantastic and she always reassures Elizabeth that those were things she "tried once," but never again. Rosie convinces her parents that they are way off track whenever they express suspicions about her behavior. Elizabeth believes that she herself is way too suspicious and even borderline crazy. She tells herself that her own battle with alcohol and prescription meds makes her an ultra-vigilant, overprotective, suspicious parent.

Elizabeth doesn't trust her own instincts and continues to bury her fears, and Rosie's drug use continues to escalate. This isn't a shocking, "that could never happen to us" novel. Elizabeth and James are regular parents, trying to figure out the balance between being authoritative and permissive. Rosie is a master manipulator, and yet the reader always really likes her and is even lured into believing her—just as her parents do.

Lamott is a beautiful, insightful writer and a wonderful storyteller. If you have teenagers, this book will probably scare you and leave you wondering what kind of secret life your own teens have. Highly recommended.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Book Review: The Lost Saints of Tennessee

This was one of those books I pulled off the "to be shelved" shelves in the library—the first place I always check at the library. Living in Tennessee, I was attracted by the title. Books about Southerners can go either way: they can be unbelievably beautiful, or unbelievably stereotypical and tacky.

The Lost Saints of Tennessee definitely is not on the tacky end of the scale. Author Amy Franklin-Willis knows tiny towns in Tennessee, but rather than make her characters fat, dumb, and full of snappy comebacks—which happens all too often in books about the south (as opposed to Southern Lit), she made them real.

Zeke Cooper is a sad middle-aged man who had never recovered from his twin brother's death. His ex-wife recently remarried, his daughters are drifting away from him, he is utterly estranged from his mother, and he feels like an utter failure. He just can't figure out why he should go on living. But his suicide attempt is thwarted, and he tries a different angle.

After his failed suicide, Zeke drives from Tennessee to his cousin's house in Virginia, where he spent a happy semester while he was in college. It is there that Zeke finds healing, reconciliation, and redemption.

Much of the story takes place in flashbacks to Zeke's high school years, through both his mother's eyes and through Zeke's point of view. I loved the whole story of Zeke and his brother Carter and how different the stories are from the two points of view.

This is the author's first novel, and I look forward to what she has next.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Book Review: Blue Diary

Why haven't I read more Alice Hoffman? She's a prolific writer, and I have loved everything I have read so far, but somehow she just isn't on my radar. I need to change that.

Recently a friend said that I must read Hoffman's The Dovekeepers. It was checked out at the library, so I pulled Blue Diary off the shelf instead. And wow! Alice Hoffman can tell a story. First off, this is a slightly gory and pretty disturbing book; but if you can handle a grisly murder and the frightening possibility that we aren't who we say we are, you should read it.

Ethan Ford is the town's sweetheart. Everyone loves him. He rescues kids from burning houses, coaches Little League like no one else, is incredibly handsome, and is madly in love with his wife and son. And then his face shows up on America's Most Wanted one evening, and everything changes instantly. Who is Ethan Ford? And did he really do it?

The novel mainly focuses on Jori and Collie, his wife and son, as they try to figure out the truth—and if there can possibly be two truths. Or one Ethan. Or no Ethan. And can you—must you—keep loving someone who may or may not exist?

Highly recommended but definitely a bit grisly.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Book Review: The Healing

My friend Julie, who ranks high on the coolness factor, said I must read this book ASAP. Amazingly, I had "go to library" on my to-do list for that day, went to the library, and actually found the book on the shelf! It was a very good library day.

Jonathan O'Dell's The Healing is a can't-put-it-down kind of book. The story flashes between old Granny Satterfield and an orphan girl she inherits, and Granny's life as a slave, first as a pet to the grief-stricken, crazed landowner's wife and then as the plantation's reluctant healer.

Old Granny tells the traumatized orphan girl the story of her life in bits and pieces, hoping to bring healing to her through words and connections. Old Granny was torn from her mother's arms as a newborn at the demand of her mistress, whose own daughter had just died. Mistress dresses the girl, whom she names Granada, in her dead daughter's outfits and keeps her by her side. She doesn't love Granada but needs her as some sort of comfort item or plaything. The mistress also insists on keeping a monkey as a pet, and she becomes a laughingstock of the community, with her slave girl dressed in frills and her pet monkey climbing on her shoulders.

The young Granada, however, is convinced that the mistress sees her as a daughter. She is bewildered and horrified when she is yanked from her comfortable life in the big house to become the new healer's apprentice. The master purchases Polly Shine to cure his slaves of a terrible disease, and Polly immediately sees a kindred spirit in Granada. She insist on having her as a helper, and Granada's life becomes a nightmare. She does learn from Polly, in spite of herself, but her obstinate nature causes more than one disaster.

As Granny narrates her stories to the orphan girl, she finds healing in herself and release from the burden of the poor choices she made during her days as Polly Shine's apprentice.

If you liked such novels as The Help and The Kitchen House, you'll love The Healing! Highly recommended.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Book Review: The Invisible Bridge

Stunning, sweeping, heartbreaking, uplifting: these are the first words that come to mind as I review Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge. This novel is simply brilliant, although there is nothing simple about it.

Based on the author's own family story, The Invisible Bridge begins in 1937 with a young and excited Andras Levi, who is on his way from his home in Budapest to study architecture in Paris. The world is wide open before him. He quickly rises to the top of his class, and he falls in love with an older woman with a mysterious past. The reader gets as wrapped up in Andras and Klara as they are, not realizing the incredible danger that surrounds them. Andras and Klara are Jewish, and the war is about to change their lives forever.

The novel takes Andras from Budapest to Paris, back to Budapest and then to the horrors of labor camps. But I don't want to reveal too much, so let me focus on Orringer as a writer. First, there is the poetry of her writing, the striking images that I had to read over and over:

"He felt the stirring of a new ache, something like homesickness but located deeper in his mind; it was an ache for the time when his heart had been a simple and satisfied thing, small as the green apples that grew in his father's orchard."

"The hills east of Buda had come into their young leaves, insensate to the dead and the grieving. The flowering lindens and plane trees seemed almost obscene to Andras, inappropriate, like girls in transparent lawn dresses at a funeral."

And I was constantly amazed by Orringer's attention to detail—to following each story through to its end. Orringer's characters are so vivid, so multidimensional, I could swear I really know them. And what a tremendous amount of research the author has done as far as the WWII itself. Unbelievable.

I'm really quite astounded by The Invisible Bridge. The last 50 pages or so I read in a doctor's office while waiting for a friend, and I embarrassingly wept now and then. I was slightly numb when I closed the book, stunned by human resiliency as displayed in the character but also stunned by Orringer's ability to craft such a novel.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Sunday Salon: June and July in Review

Books Read in June and July
The Inquisitor's Key (Jefferson Bass): "So, I loved Body Farm book #1 and found Body Farm book #7 to be tedious and poorly written."
Left Neglected (Lisa Genova): "I loved everything about this novel."
Arranged by Catherine Mackenzie: "… too much was missing for this to be particularly memorable and engaging for me. Maybe you'll like it more."
Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman: "As it is, it's a nice beach read that will take you back to your own coming-of-age days."
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks: "The novel brings up an array of issues: the European conquest of the New World, the role of religion, gender, race, education, societal and cultural expectations, and even child rearing. Brooks is a beautiful writer and captivating storyteller."
The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen: (Haven't yet reviewed)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer: (about 50 pages left to read!)

Best Book of the Month(s)
No question: Caleb's Crossing. Left Neglected would come in second.

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength by Laurie Helgoe
Prairie Tale by Melissa Gilbert

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Book Review: The Inquisitor's Key

Before I had a chance to read this newest Body Farm novel by Jefferson Bass, I loaned it to an older gentleman—an archeologist— who needed something to read. He devoured it in about one day and absolutely raved about it. I then passed it on to my father, who also was between books. He enjoyed the premise of the book but wasn't crazy about the writing itself.

The real Body Farm is quite close to where I live; you can take a virtual tour of it here with Dr. Bill Bass. I am fascinated by the forensic science presented by writing duo Jefferson Bass. The only other Body Farm book I have read is the first one (there are seven), Carved in Bone, which we read for book club. I really liked Carved in Bone and was excited to have the opportunity to read another one.

Unfortunately, much of the appeal of Carved in Bone was lost for me in The Inquisitor's Key. Carved in Bone was set locally in a neighboring county here in East Tennessee. I loved the characters. But The Inquisitor's Key is set in France and flashes between present day and medieval times in a completely disruptive fashion. I just was annoyed with that whole thing. And the dialogue was rather dreadful. But again, the older gentleman to whom I loaned the book absolutely loved it, stating that it was one of his favorite books ever.

So, I loved Body Farm book #1 and found Body Farm book #7 to be tedious and poorly written. That said, I love the forensic science so much and the character of Dr. Bill Brockton that I will probably read at least another of the novels—but only one that is set in East Tennessee. And I still really, really want to visit the Body Farm!

*FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Book Review: Left Neglected

Lisa Genova's first novel, Still Alice, was terrific. I have been waiting to get my hands on her second, Left Neglected, for quite awhile now and was thrilled to find it on the library shelf. Genova has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, so her novels, which deal at one level with complex neurological issues, feel so completely believable. But it isn't just the medicine that's good: Genova is a fantastic writer. She can get spot-on into the heart and soul of her characters.

Left Neglected centers on Sarah Nickerson, who is barely hanging on in her dual roles: as a high-powered business exec who thrives on her job and as a wife/mom with three little ones. Her dreams (done amazingly well!) reflect her inner turmoil and call out warning to her that she is about to crash, but she shoves them aside each morning. One morning, though, she really does crash. While talking on her cell phone on her way to work, she has an accident and ends up with a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The rest of the novel focuses on how Sarah and her family deal with the new Sarah. She suffers from a condition called Left Neglect, which causes the left side of her brain to ignore everything on the left—including her body. Sarah is Type A to the max, so she is determined to get over this condition. She has conquered everything in her life: why can't she conquer this? Ultimately, though, her victory comes in learning to readjust her priorities and reconsider what is really valuable in this life.

I loved everything about this novel. I found reading about Sarah and Bob's pre-accident life so painful yet so well done. It was like the life that Randy and I deliberately decided, early on in our parenthood, not to pursue. Still, I felt these moments if panic thinking: what if we had chosen that life? Yikes. And the sections after the accident were amazing, as Sarah realizes that she has tremendous worth outside of her expertise in her field.

Highly recommended!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Book Review: Arranged

Catherine McKenzie's Arranged explores the possibility of arranged marriages, American-style. Anne Blythe is in her 30s and desperate to get married. She has been in several long-term relationships is crushed knowing that all those men are now settled down and happily married. What is wrong with her?

She finds a business card at her feet one day for a marriage broker and decides to give it a whirl. This is more than eHarmony or other matchmaking websites; this is a thorough, incredibly expensive brokerage service. (How does a woman in her mid-30s who writes for a magazine come up with $10,000 to pay for this, by the way? I do not live in that world.) The story takes off from there when she meets Jack, her guaranteed husband. The book description alerted me that there was a "but..." to their happily-ever-after. I wish I hadn't known that because I never took their relationship seriously, waiting for him to be a serial killer or something.

Does Jack turn out to be a serial killer? Do they live happily ever after? Should you read this book and find out? Well, if you need something to fill the time and happen to come across this is a used book store, sure. The novel isn't throw-against-the-wall annoying. Anne and Jack's story is kind of sweet. But too much was missing for this to be particularly memorable and engaging for me. Maybe you'll like it more.

*FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Book Review: Saving Ruth

Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman (not to be confused with Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwartz) was a fun coming-of-age novel about a girl who has finished her freshman year in college and returns home for the summer.

Do you remember that feeling? I do. You've been away from home for 9 months, and when you come back, everything has changed. Your world has slipped. You are caught between becoming someone new, and readjusting to who you were.

It occurred to me after reading the novel that I had somewhat of an opposite life as Ruth Wasserman. She is a dark-haired Jewish girl raised in the midst of blond Baptists in the south; I was a blond Protestant raised among scores of dark-haired Italian Catholics in the north. She headed north for college; I headed south. She was a slightly overweight girl who became a skinny girl at college; I was a skinny girl who put on the freshman 10 in college. But those are just accessories to the real story, that of 19-year-old who is finding her place in the world, and being constantly shocked by the revelations that unfold as she goes along.

I liked the novel. It took me back to that place and time quite easily—Fishman does a great job of capturing the thoughts of a 19-year-old. The rest of the characters were rather flat, but this was really all about Ruth, anyway.

I also enjoyed this novel as the parent of two teens because it reminded me about how much our words can affect our kids. In Ruth's eyes, her mom was "always" commenting on her daughter's weight. In her mom's eyes, she made a few comments here and there. This made me think about what I say to my kids regarding their shyness, for example. I don't ever want to make them feel like I don't love them exactly how they are. It's a tricky balance, and so often in comes down to perception.

The book could have had a lot more depth had Fishman revealed other stories that she barely touched upon: the troubled marriage of Ruth's parents, her brother's struggle as an artist, the issue of growing up Jewish in the south. As it is, it's a nice beach read that will take you back to your own coming-of-age days.

*FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Book Review: Caleb's Crossing

Geraldine Brooks, how I love you. If I were to play that game "which celebrities would you have dinner with," I would for sure pick Geraldine Brooks and Kate Morton. We could just write to each other across the dinner table, spinning stories and weaving words. We'd play Story Starters: I'd write the first phrase, and then they could just take off with it.

But I digress. This is a review of Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. This was our book club's read for June, and I am happy to report that, for perhaps the first time ever, everyone not only read but loved this novel! This is an astonishing accomplishment for this highly opinionated, somewhat diverse group of women.

We had a fantastic discussion of the novel, guided by this excellent set of questions provided at Penguin Books. Of course our discussion branched off from the guide at nearly every question, but we did actually get through it in our 3.5 hour meeting.

Caleb's Crossing tells the story of Bethia, a young Puritan girl and daughter of a minister, and Caleb, the son of a Wampanoag chieftain. The two forge a steadfast but secret friendship that carries them through terrible tragedies throughout several years. The novel is loosely based on the true story of Caleb, who was the first Native American graduate of Harvard. The "crossing" refers to Caleb's decision to, in many ways, cross over from his world to the white world. But it is also Bethia's crossing, as she straddles the world that she is destined for—that of a quiet and submissive Puritan—and the one she desires, that is full of intellectual stimulation and education.

The novel brings up an array of issues: the European conquest of the New World, the role of religion, gender, race, education, societal and cultural expectations, and even child rearing. Brooks is a beautiful writer and captivating storyteller. She does everything well, touching on the issues but allowing the reader freedom to draw her own conclusions. We could have discussed the book for hours and hours more.

I'd been looking forward to reading this novel for such a long time, and now I'm sad that I have read all of Brooks's novels so far:
March
People of the Book
Year of Wonders

Highly recommended—and a fantastic book club choice.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Sunday Salon: May in Review

Books Read in May
In the Bag by Kate Klise: "What a fun novel—well written, witty, and insightful."
How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway: "This is an interesting view on post-WW2 through the eyes of a Japanese woman, adding still another perspective to the WW2 experience."
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: "…everything I could possibly want in a novel."
Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman (not yet reviewed)

Favorite Book of the Month
No question: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This could well end up being my favorite book of the year. I loved it so much!

Books Read Aloud (to 11-year-old)
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor
The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok

Now Reading
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Friday, June 1, 2012

Book Review: In the Bag

I love being surprised by a book. When I read the premise of Kate Klise's In the Bag, I thought it would probably be trite and maybe silly: " A European vacation. A luggage mix-up. A note from a secret admirer." But Kate Klise's debut adult novel (she writes children's mystery books) is anything but trite and silly. I loved it.

Single dad Andrew and his son Webb and single mom Daisy and her daughter Coco are all traveling to Europe, and the teenagers get their bags mixed up. That's the part that sounds silly, right? But oh-my-goodness. Klise has an incredible knack for dialog, whether it's the characters speaking or sending emails.

The teens find contact info in the bags and begin emailing each other in an attempt to exchange bags. (One is in Madrid, the other in Paris.) They hit it off immediately via email.What they don't know is that Andrew, Webb's dad, spied the pretty Daisy on the airplane and, in an out-of-character gesture, dropped a flirty note in her bag. Back in her hotel room, when she finds the note, she is appalled and shoots off an angry email to him.

Predictably, the teens find a way to meet, and ultimately their parents meets, and they all end up together. I am sure I'm not spoiling anything by revealing this. But what happens in the middle is so worth reading. How does written communication (email) stack up to meeting in real life? I find this especially interesting because I am so much better at communicating in writing that in speaking in person.

Klise knows teens. She knows how they think and talk and panic. But she also knows adults, and she has created four incredibly real characters in this novel. The novel alternates among the viewpoints of the two teens and their parents, so we get a tour inside all of their heads. There are all kinds of missed cues and misunderstandings that are so familiar in that we've all been there (even if not in Paris or Madrid), and Klise does it all so well.

What a fun novel—well written, witty, and insightful. No, it's not Pulitzer Prize winning, but who cares. Get it, read it, and pass it on!

*FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Book Review: How to Be an American Housewife

"America consists primarily of Caucasians. It is understood without explanation or question that in the United States a Japanese person will not be considered as equal. … Therefore, you must work as hard as you can to prove yourself more than equal—the most polite, the best worker, an adept English learner, the most well-turned-out Housewife your husband could ever ask for. This is your duty, to both your home country and to your new one."

Margaret Dilloway's How to Be an American Housewife is first the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and secondly the story of her daughter Sue. Shoko knows who she is: she has made deliberate choices throughout her life to get to where she is. But Sue lives in a fog of identity crisis, mostly due to the complete lack of communication between her and her Japanese mother. Sue craves an American mother who offers praise and warmth; Shoko is surprised to learn, when her daughter is an adult, that Sue perceived her as critical and cold.

Although Shoko closely followed the guidebook How to Be an American Housewife when she came to America, she is truly Japanese, and she learns early on that she will never be American enough. But she is tremendously tenacious in the face of life-long assimilation. She recognizes that her adult children are miserable, but she doesn't sit around bemoaning her failure as a parent. She did the best she could, and it is up to them to get their lives together.

But Shoko is very ill and requires a serious surgery. Her biggest regret is that she never made amends with her beloved brother, Taro, who completely disowned her when she married an American. She asks Sue to travel to Japan with her and carry a message to Taro. From here the story shifts from Shoko to Sue and her teenage daughter, Helena, as they journey to Japan.

Sue's story is just as enjoyable as Shoko's story. We can't help but root for this woman who has tremendously low self-esteem as she discovers her roots in Japan. As she discovers who her mother was and meets her Japanese family, her whole world makes sense. She has, for the first time in her life, a positive sense of self.

I really enjoyed both Shoko's and Sue's stories. I loved how the book wrapped up all the stories in the end, drawing the two cultures together in a hopeful way. This is an interesting view on post-WW2 through the eyes of a Japanese woman, adding still another perspective to the WW2 experience. (See my reviews of WW2 books here, including a few on the Japanese-American experience.)

Friday, May 18, 2012

Book Review: The Forgotten Garden

Oh, Kate Morton, how I love you!
The House at Riverton was wonderful.
The Distant Hours was simply delicious.

But The Forgotten Garden? It was just, well, it was everything I could possibly want in a novel. A mystery with a ghost story feel. Romance, lost love, found love, familial love, orphans, good guys, villains, a manor, a secret garden (and speaking of that, well-done cameos with real life figures), fairy tales, and did I mention suspense?

Well, and then, of course, Kate Morton is a writer of astounding grace and perspicacity. I mean, I know that no one is perfect and all that, but quite possibly, Kate Morton is a perfect writer. Really.

OK, so here is the story in a nutshell: a little girl is lost on a big ship while waiting for the Authoress to come back to get her. But the Authoress never does, and when the ship lands in Australia, the little girl, assumed to be an orphan, is adopted by the dockmaster and his wife. When she is grown, the dockmaster tells Nell the truth—or as much as he knows of it. Chapter by chapter, the truth is gradually uncovered, sometimes by Nell and sometimes by her granddaughter, Cassandra. Who is the Authoress? Who is Nell? Why was she left alone on a ship bound for Australia?

The cast of characters reaches far back into the life of the Authoress. You'll meet a man in a black suit, a Dickensian harridan, an obsessive uncle, a kindly old fisherman, a beautiful invalid, a wicked aunt, and, of course, a garden maze that follows many twists and turns and dead ends.

Please read this book. And please, Kate Morton, MORE!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Sunday Salon: April in Review

Books Read in April

You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark: From my review: "I apologized profusely to my book club for having it on my list."
More Like Her by Liza Palmer: From my review: "Liza Palmer is chick lit without the fluff and feathers."
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I haven't reviewed this yet but it was amazing.
Watership Down by Richard Adams. Multiple re-read. Taught this in British Lit class.
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: From my review: "Morton is a superb writer and mesmerizing storyteller." (Actually read in March but reviewed in April.)

Favorite Book of the Month
Watership Down. I love this book so much. I first read it 30 years ago when I was in high school. It is the first novel I can remember my father and I sharing as reading peers. My students were "eh" about it. Some of them loved it, some said "It's a book about rabbits!"

Books Read Aloud (to 11-year-old)
Heidi by Joanna Spryri
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Added to My Ever-Growing TBR List
The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
True Sisters by Sandra Dallas
Introverts in the Church by Adam McHugh
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens

Now Reading
Norah: The Making of an Irish-American Woman in 19th Century New York by Cynthia Neale