I have always been a huge fan of Anne Tyler. I remember the moment when I first discovered her, way back in a college lit class. The professor offered a summer reading list, and Dinner at the Homesick Restuarant was one of the choices. I liked the sound of that and made a mental note to read it. A few weeks later I noticed a friend reading that The Accidental Tourist. She asked me, "How do you pronounce this name, Macon--is is 'Ma(k)on' or 'Ma(s)son'?" I almost didn't read the book because of the uncertainty of the name pronunciation. I am strangely affected by words I can't pronounce easily.
Fortunately for me, I read The Accidental Tourist and then proceeded to read all of Tyler's past books and every single one since (except for her newest one, Digging to America. But that's on my TBR list.) The Amateur Marriage was familiar, as all Anne Tyler novels are, because Tyler's novels depict ordinary people living ordinary lives. Tyler's forte is delving into families and the various relationships involved in maintaining and surviving in a family: as an individual, a couple, a parent, a child, etc.
The Amateur Marriage is the story of a doomed marriage. Michael and Pauline slide into marriage almost by mistake, and they never manage to quite get the rhythm of a good marriage. They never quite click, never quite fall madly in love, never give each other exactly what they need. Sounds ordinary enough, maybe even trite, but Tyler is anything but trite. Her language is precise and smooth; her dialog is always perfect. The characters are wonderfully developed because you know people exactly like this.
As I often feel with Tyler novels, I wished for more. While Michael and Pauline are certainly the central characters, I wanted to know more about their children and grandson. I'd love another book or two devoted to these more minor characters. But so far Tyler has resisted taking any of her amazing novels and turning them into a loose series, and, really, I'm glad. She is perfect as she is.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Book Review: The Namesake
I first encountered Jhumpa Lahiri in her newest collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth. My review of this stunning collection is here. It took me awhile to finally get to The Namesake (OK, it took me five months) although I had it in my actual TBR stack. Dr. H. got to it before I did and gave it a lukewarm review ("I liked it, but it wasn't fantastic"), so I wasn't in a huge hurry to get to it.
But I'm glad I finally did. The Namesake is Lahiri's first novel, and it doesn't hold a candle to Unaccustomed Earth; however, that collection of short stories was, as indicated in my review linked above, phenomenal. The Namesake dragged a bit and left me feeling sometimes wishing for more. Nonetheless, Lahiri's writing is excellent and her powers of perception amazing.
Gogol Gungali, the son of immigrants Ashoke and Ashima, despises his name. "Gogol" was a name indicative of neither his Bengali heritage nor his American birth. In fact, the name (which carries a story that he never hears until adulthood) was meant to be only temporary, until a better name was chosen, but Gogol goes through life being burdened by a name that hangs like a heavy chain around his neck. He obsesses about his name and eventually changes it.
The novel is essentially one of cultural identity, heritage vs. home, personal identity, and family ties. Big themes, but Lahiri handles them well and, for the most part, in a satisfying way. I think the novel works best in conveying the tremendous struggles in making a life in a new country, leaving behind deeply ingrained traditions and culture, as well as expressing the difficulties of the children of these immigrants.
Next on my list is Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. And although I've read so-so reviews, I'm also going to look for the movie version of The Namesake.
But I'm glad I finally did. The Namesake is Lahiri's first novel, and it doesn't hold a candle to Unaccustomed Earth; however, that collection of short stories was, as indicated in my review linked above, phenomenal. The Namesake dragged a bit and left me feeling sometimes wishing for more. Nonetheless, Lahiri's writing is excellent and her powers of perception amazing.
Gogol Gungali, the son of immigrants Ashoke and Ashima, despises his name. "Gogol" was a name indicative of neither his Bengali heritage nor his American birth. In fact, the name (which carries a story that he never hears until adulthood) was meant to be only temporary, until a better name was chosen, but Gogol goes through life being burdened by a name that hangs like a heavy chain around his neck. He obsesses about his name and eventually changes it.
The novel is essentially one of cultural identity, heritage vs. home, personal identity, and family ties. Big themes, but Lahiri handles them well and, for the most part, in a satisfying way. I think the novel works best in conveying the tremendous struggles in making a life in a new country, leaving behind deeply ingrained traditions and culture, as well as expressing the difficulties of the children of these immigrants.
Next on my list is Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. And although I've read so-so reviews, I'm also going to look for the movie version of The Namesake.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Sunday Salon: Christmas Books That Make Me Cry
The mark of a good Christmas book, for me, is that it makes me cry. We have a good number of children's books for Christmas, and I try to add a new book each year. We have some of the popular ones like The Polar Express and some silly but sentimental ones like Mercer Mayer's Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad, starring Little Critter. Some of the books we give the obligatory seasonal read and then put back on the rack.
But I have my favorites. These are the books that, without fail, make me cry at some point. My voice catches, a child's head pops up and looks at me and says, "Mama! Are you crying again?" I can't help it.
1. The Tale of the Three Trees (retold by Angela Elwell Hunt): This book ties it all together—Jesus' birth, life, and death—in a simple but eloquent story. I get choked up on almost every page.
2. The Story of Holly and Ivy (by Rumer Godden): This one takes us a couple of reading periods to get through, but it is so well worth it. This is the story of an orphan who wants a grandmother, a doll who wants a home, and a woman who wants a family. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
3. The House Without a Christmas Tree (by Gail Rock): I loved this TV special when I was a kid, but I'm not sure I'd ever read the book until a few years ago when I picked it up at a yard sale. Now my daughter and I read this story annually of a girl who begs her father for a Christmas tree, and I always cry at the end.
4. A Wish for Wings That Work (by Berkeley Breathed): Is it weird to get weepy over a book about a penguin named Opus? I can't help it; there's something about Santa saying, "Ho, ho, ho, go!" to a penguin whose wings don't work that brings tears every time. Also, this was one of the books we bought for our oldest for his first Christmas, so it's extra sentimental.5. The First Night (by B.G. Hennessy): This short book starts off with one of my favorite Bible verses: "And the World became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14) and proceeds to tell the birth of Christ in simple but poetic text. I especially love the rustic look of the paintings, done on butternut wood and shaped with a jigsaw. It's the simplicity of a birth—of a new life—that gets me every time.
And so those are my Top 5 favorite Christmas books. Do you have one that makes you cry? If so, leave a comment and I'll check it out!
* In other news, be sure to check out the Book Review Carnival that is just up at Maw Books. With over 80 book reviews to peruse, you're sure to find a few books to add to your TBR list! The next Book Review Carnival will be in 2 weeks; you can submit your review here.
* To join in The Sunday Salon, click here and start joining in!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Book Review: When the Emperor Was Divine
This is a small, unassuming novel, just short of 150 pages, but it is absolutely exquisite. This is Julie Otsuka's first novel, and I hope there are many, many more to come. Everything about this books is—dare I say it?—perfect.
The story is of a family—a girl, a boy, and a mother—who, like thousands of other Japanese Americans in 1942, must pack up all their possessions and become enemy aliens in a desert internment camp. Their father, a dignified businessman, had already been sent to a different camp for "dangerous" enemies, where his letters are heavily censored.
I have read several novels about the Japanese-American experience during World War II, and this is, without a doubt, the most powerful. (My review of Sandra Dallas's Tallgrass lists several of these books.) Otsuka's prose is stunning. She has a gift of giving the reader an unusual intimacy with each character with the briefest of words. The mother, for example (and this is just one of many short passages that round out the mother):
Otsuka knows when to give details (the pan of cold water in the sink) and when to leave them out (she didn't give the orange-and-white striped cat named Tippy who was the girl's favorite to the nasty neighbors next door in the white house). As a voracious reader, I admire and appreciate her clean and compact writing style immensely. I don't want to read extra stuff, but I appreciate the art of poetic details that add depth and impact—and texture.
A brilliant pairing of their life back in California with their life in the desert. There is so much power in what seems to be a simple passage. This isn't a novel full of plot and action; it is a heartwrenching novel in its lyrical prose and surface-level simplicity. This is a not-so-distant part of America's past that is quietly swept away, with a line or two in history books. If you know nothing of this episode in American history, I strongly urge you to take some time reading this book and others (listed in my Tallgrass review). Also, this book is totally appropriate for high schoolers studying American History.
Other reviews of When the Emperor Was Divine:
Natasha at Maw Books here
Rebecca at Reading Rants and Raves here
(If you've reviewed this book, leave a comment and I'll link to your review!)
The story is of a family—a girl, a boy, and a mother—who, like thousands of other Japanese Americans in 1942, must pack up all their possessions and become enemy aliens in a desert internment camp. Their father, a dignified businessman, had already been sent to a different camp for "dangerous" enemies, where his letters are heavily censored.
I have read several novels about the Japanese-American experience during World War II, and this is, without a doubt, the most powerful. (My review of Sandra Dallas's Tallgrass lists several of these books.) Otsuka's prose is stunning. She has a gift of giving the reader an unusual intimacy with each character with the briefest of words. The mother, for example (and this is just one of many short passages that round out the mother):
"It was the fourth week of the fifth month of the war and the woman, who did not always follow the rules, followed the rules. She gave the cat to the Greers next door. She caught the chicken that had been running wild in the yard since the fall and snapped its neck beneath the handle of a broomstick. She plucked out the feathers and set the carcass into a pan of cold water in the sink."
Otsuka knows when to give details (the pan of cold water in the sink) and when to leave them out (she didn't give the orange-and-white striped cat named Tippy who was the girl's favorite to the nasty neighbors next door in the white house). As a voracious reader, I admire and appreciate her clean and compact writing style immensely. I don't want to read extra stuff, but I appreciate the art of poetic details that add depth and impact—and texture.
"Always, he would remember the dust. It was soft and white and chalky, like talcum powder. Only the alkaline made your skin burn. It made your nose bleed. It made your eyes sting. It took your voice away. The dust got into your shoes. Your hair. Your pants. Your mouth. Your bed. Your dreams. It seeped under the doors and around the edges of windows and through the cracks in the walls. And all day long, it seemed, his mother was always sweeping. Once in a while she would put down her broom and look at him. 'What I wouldn't give,' she'd say, 'for my Electrolux.'"
A brilliant pairing of their life back in California with their life in the desert. There is so much power in what seems to be a simple passage. This isn't a novel full of plot and action; it is a heartwrenching novel in its lyrical prose and surface-level simplicity. This is a not-so-distant part of America's past that is quietly swept away, with a line or two in history books. If you know nothing of this episode in American history, I strongly urge you to take some time reading this book and others (listed in my Tallgrass review). Also, this book is totally appropriate for high schoolers studying American History.
Other reviews of When the Emperor Was Divine:
Natasha at Maw Books here
Rebecca at Reading Rants and Raves here
(If you've reviewed this book, leave a comment and I'll link to your review!)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Book Review: Twilight
I'm in that "last person to read it" category here with Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. And now I've read it!
Um, it was a fun read? I can see why teenagers like it?
I guess I'll just have to say that I totally don't get the Twilight phenomenon. I kept thinking that something amazing would happen as I was reading it. Isn't it supposed to be breathtaking and addictive?
I keep thinking that maybe I just need to be 25 years younger to appreciate this story of vampires with ethics and sex appeal, but I have adult friends who also love it.
What am I missing?
Um, it was a fun read? I can see why teenagers like it?
I guess I'll just have to say that I totally don't get the Twilight phenomenon. I kept thinking that something amazing would happen as I was reading it. Isn't it supposed to be breathtaking and addictive?
I keep thinking that maybe I just need to be 25 years younger to appreciate this story of vampires with ethics and sex appeal, but I have adult friends who also love it.
What am I missing?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Book Review: The Echo Maker
I was drawn to Richard Powers' The Echo Maker not because it was a National Book Award Winner or a Pulitzer Prize finalist but because it is about a man who sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI). I didn't read the novel for its prose or plot but, truly, to read about fictional character with a TBI.
I found Mark Schluter, the injured man, familiar in many ways. Six years ago my oldest brother sustained a TBI as a result of a bicycle accident. The days that followed were touch-and-go, and then the long process of rehabilitation began. My brother has lived on his own for at least 4 years now and seems remarkably well. Like Mark in the novel, my brother was quirky before the TBI; the injury exaggerated some qualities that were already there.
Powers certainly did his research. Here is something that I wrote on my other blog a couple of years ago about my brother:
I was startled, and strangely comforted, to read this echoing paragraph in The Echo Maker:
And so I came to this novel with an agenda. I read with a thirst for shared experience and illumination, and for that, the novel was satisfying. A short glance at the amazon.com reviews tells me that this novel is about the search for self, the destruction of an ecosystem coupled with a broken mind, etc. I was, frankly, distracted by myriad subplots. Woven throughout the book is a fight between wildlife preservation and urban development, and also a doctor's midlife crisis and fleeting fame. Powers' writing is beautiful, his prose poetic. The whole story of Mark was interesting enough, I think even to a reader who has no vested interested in brain injuries; however, the subplots were overbearing and tedious. Still I'm glad I read it.
I found Mark Schluter, the injured man, familiar in many ways. Six years ago my oldest brother sustained a TBI as a result of a bicycle accident. The days that followed were touch-and-go, and then the long process of rehabilitation began. My brother has lived on his own for at least 4 years now and seems remarkably well. Like Mark in the novel, my brother was quirky before the TBI; the injury exaggerated some qualities that were already there.
Powers certainly did his research. Here is something that I wrote on my other blog a couple of years ago about my brother:
"It's hard to describe what James is like now. Someone who doesn't know him well might not notice anything terribly odd. He may just seem a bit clumsy or distracted. You could even get used to him the way he is now. But truthfully, there is a whole person who was lost in the three short seconds it took for him to lurch off his bike and hit his head on the pavement. There was this brilliant, arrogant, selfish, generous, irritating, gentle, sharp-witted man who was my oldest brother--and now there is this brother who is like a broken statue glued back together."
I was startled, and strangely comforted, to read this echoing paragraph in The Echo Maker:
"Mark still limped and contusions still lined his face, but otherwise he seemed almost healed. Two months after the accident, strangers who talked to him might have found him a little slow and inclined toward strange theories, but nothing outside the local norm. … His days were laced with flashes of paranoia, outbursts of pleasure and rage, and increasingly elaborate explanations."
And so I came to this novel with an agenda. I read with a thirst for shared experience and illumination, and for that, the novel was satisfying. A short glance at the amazon.com reviews tells me that this novel is about the search for self, the destruction of an ecosystem coupled with a broken mind, etc. I was, frankly, distracted by myriad subplots. Woven throughout the book is a fight between wildlife preservation and urban development, and also a doctor's midlife crisis and fleeting fame. Powers' writing is beautiful, his prose poetic. The whole story of Mark was interesting enough, I think even to a reader who has no vested interested in brain injuries; however, the subplots were overbearing and tedious. Still I'm glad I read it.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Book Blog Tour: The Raucous Royals, Day 3
On this final day of The Raucous Royals book tour, I'll just whet your appetite with a few more details about the book itself. I mentioned on day one that this books is subtitled: "Test Your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce which Royal Rumors are True."
These rumors are ones we've probably all heard:
* King Richard III murdered his nephews
* Queen Anne Boleyn had six fingers
* Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake."
* Catherine the Great was crushed to death by her horse
* and nine others.
But are they true or false? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Author and illustrator Carlyn Beccia has a fantastic website. I subscribed immediately. I was thinking that The Raucous Royals would make a great gift paired with some kind of card game, like Authors, that highlights various monarchs. I didn't find such a card game but I did find two other possibilities: Royalty word game and the Sleeping Queens card game. I also found a coloring book of Kings and Queens of England and a Queen Elizabeth paper doll.
If you missed the first two days of this blog tour, you can see them here:
Day 1: Introduction to The Raucous Royals
Day 2: Interview with Carlyn Beccia
And that finishes up this blog tour, brought to you by KidsBookBuzz.com and these bloggers:
These rumors are ones we've probably all heard:
* King Richard III murdered his nephews
* Queen Anne Boleyn had six fingers
* Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake."
* Catherine the Great was crushed to death by her horse
* and nine others.
But are they true or false? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Author and illustrator Carlyn Beccia has a fantastic website. I subscribed immediately. I was thinking that The Raucous Royals would make a great gift paired with some kind of card game, like Authors, that highlights various monarchs. I didn't find such a card game but I did find two other possibilities: Royalty word game and the Sleeping Queens card game. I also found a coloring book of Kings and Queens of England and a Queen Elizabeth paper doll.
If you missed the first two days of this blog tour, you can see them here:
Day 1: Introduction to The Raucous Royals
Day 2: Interview with Carlyn Beccia
And that finishes up this blog tour, brought to you by KidsBookBuzz.com and these bloggers:
01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, The Friendly Book Nook, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maw Books Blog, Never Jam Today, Our Big Earth, Quiverfull Family, Reading is My Superpower, SmallWorld Reads, SMS Book Reviews
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