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Saturday, September 30, 2006
Books for September
- O Pioneers! -- Willa Cather -- 4
- I actually read this in August, but I forgot to note it in last month's books post. I found O Pioneers! better in some ways than My Antonia, which I read a few years ago for the first time -- it was a lot easier to get a sense of the characters, for example, and the story seemed more straightforward. Perhaps for those reasons, it also felt a bit more shallow than Antonia. Overall I liked this quite well; it was a good quick read with what I think must be Cather's trademark ability to make the physical setting of a novel almost a character in its own right.
- I actually read this in August, but I forgot to note it in last month's books post. I found O Pioneers! better in some ways than My Antonia, which I read a few years ago for the first time -- it was a lot easier to get a sense of the characters, for example, and the story seemed more straightforward. Perhaps for those reasons, it also felt a bit more shallow than Antonia. Overall I liked this quite well; it was a good quick read with what I think must be Cather's trademark ability to make the physical setting of a novel almost a character in its own right.
- Literacy and Longing in LA -- Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack -- 3
(I'm editing this entry to add this book since I forgot it earlier.)
- I got this because the idea of a woman bingeing on books when she had troubles may have resonated with me just a wee small bit, shall we say. I was a bit disappointed in it, though, for three reasons: 1) slightly amateurish writing. 2) slightly inaccessible characters 3) constant casual references to obscure books and also to places in LA, tossed into the story as if of COURSE everyone knows about xyz but really, uh, no. We don't. And you just completely lost our interest there for a few paragraphs, Ms. Kaufman and Ms. Mack.
- Anybody Out There? -- Marian Keyes -- 4
- I'm not sure but I think this might have been from August too. But maybe not. Marian Keyes is known for her humorous not-as-fluffy-as-they-feel novels about Irish women -- sort of a Maeve Binchy without the everlasting sameness or the soap-opera overtones. Or, to be fair, the lyrical prose or livably real bucolic settings. Anyway. Anybody Out There centers around Anna (the sister of Rachel of Rachel's Holiday, Claire of Watermelon, and Maggie of Angels -- I think we can safely assume that Helen's book will be coming down the pike before too terribly long), who, for a reason we can't quite figure out at first, has been brought back to live with her family in Ireland whilst she recovers from some physically traumatic experience. As the story unfolds we find out more about the trauma that brought her home, and we witness her full recovery back in New York which is told with plenty of Keyesian humor and insight. Recommended.
- I'm not sure but I think this might have been from August too. But maybe not. Marian Keyes is known for her humorous not-as-fluffy-as-they-feel novels about Irish women -- sort of a Maeve Binchy without the everlasting sameness or the soap-opera overtones. Or, to be fair, the lyrical prose or livably real bucolic settings. Anyway. Anybody Out There centers around Anna (the sister of Rachel of Rachel's Holiday, Claire of Watermelon, and Maggie of Angels -- I think we can safely assume that Helen's book will be coming down the pike before too terribly long), who, for a reason we can't quite figure out at first, has been brought back to live with her family in Ireland whilst she recovers from some physically traumatic experience. As the story unfolds we find out more about the trauma that brought her home, and we witness her full recovery back in New York which is told with plenty of Keyesian humor and insight. Recommended.
- Digging to America -- Anne Tyler -- 4.5
- This is an intriguing look at the way Americans and foreigners interact, as shown through the eyes of two very different families who adopt daughters from China on the same day. You can't read an Anne Tyler book without learning something about yourself and gaining new insights about people who are fictional but who you would swear could live right down the street from you. She has a way of taking people (sometimes very ordinary and sometimes so quirky you wonder at the genius that makes such unreal people so real) and putting them into odd situations whose oddities you only really realize when you think about them later. The resulting stories are just magical, that's all I can say, and Digging To America -- from its brilliant title to its uplifting conclusion -- is no exception. Can a person win the Pulitzer twice in a lifetime? Anne Tyler ought to.
- This is an intriguing look at the way Americans and foreigners interact, as shown through the eyes of two very different families who adopt daughters from China on the same day. You can't read an Anne Tyler book without learning something about yourself and gaining new insights about people who are fictional but who you would swear could live right down the street from you. She has a way of taking people (sometimes very ordinary and sometimes so quirky you wonder at the genius that makes such unreal people so real) and putting them into odd situations whose oddities you only really realize when you think about them later. The resulting stories are just magical, that's all I can say, and Digging To America -- from its brilliant title to its uplifting conclusion -- is no exception. Can a person win the Pulitzer twice in a lifetime? Anne Tyler ought to.
- Atonement -- Ian McEwan -- 4.5
- This is a disturbing, important, brilliant work. It's a truly masterful novel about the disastrous, life-altering repercussions of a rash decision made by an immature person, and about that person's attempt to redeem herself in the only way she thinks she can. It's a story within a story, and it's the kind of book you think about for months after you put it down. It reminded me a bit of The Life of Pi, even though the subject matter couldn't be more different, for reasons that will be obvious to people who've read both.
- This is a disturbing, important, brilliant work. It's a truly masterful novel about the disastrous, life-altering repercussions of a rash decision made by an immature person, and about that person's attempt to redeem herself in the only way she thinks she can. It's a story within a story, and it's the kind of book you think about for months after you put it down. It reminded me a bit of The Life of Pi, even though the subject matter couldn't be more different, for reasons that will be obvious to people who've read both.
- Little Earthquakes -- Jennifer Weiner -- 3.5
- I liked this pretty well. The characterization reminded me a bit of Jennifer Crusie (as did the TMI nature of some of the sex bits, unfortunately). The cast of characters was memorable, the descriptions of motherhood apt, and the relationships (of every stripe) truly well-done and believable. It's not a book I'm going to go around raving about, but I'm glad to have read it.
- I liked this pretty well. The characterization reminded me a bit of Jennifer Crusie (as did the TMI nature of some of the sex bits, unfortunately). The cast of characters was memorable, the descriptions of motherhood apt, and the relationships (of every stripe) truly well-done and believable. It's not a book I'm going to go around raving about, but I'm glad to have read it.
- Goodnight Nobody -- Jennifer Weiner -- 2
- Almost but not quite a waste of time. I don't think Weiner does whodunits very well, and my goodness did I get tired of being slammed over the head with the woman's politics. If I ever find a popular, well-written "chick book" where a conservative woman appears who isn't either an utter tool or an eeevil villain, I may just have to cry for joy. I admit the ending was a surprise, but that could be because it came pretty much completely out of left field and was as contrived as some of the stuff I used to write in the tenth grade, before I figured out that people who can actually write fiction can write it without having to come up with unnatural twist endings in order to finish a story.
- Almost but not quite a waste of time. I don't think Weiner does whodunits very well, and my goodness did I get tired of being slammed over the head with the woman's politics. If I ever find a popular, well-written "chick book" where a conservative woman appears who isn't either an utter tool or an eeevil villain, I may just have to cry for joy. I admit the ending was a surprise, but that could be because it came pretty much completely out of left field and was as contrived as some of the stuff I used to write in the tenth grade, before I figured out that people who can actually write fiction can write it without having to come up with unnatural twist endings in order to finish a story.
- Sense and Sensibility -- Jane Austen -- 5
- Bliss. Yay.
- Bliss. Yay.
- A Wind in the Door -- Madeleine L'Engle -- 2.5
- When you come right down to it, I'm not much of a sci-fi fan. Or is this more fantasy? It was quite well-written, and I liked A Wrinkle In Time a lot, and it's probably quite Important, but I confess I kept mentally writing a parody as I read it. Or rather the mental parody kept writing itself. When the completely-made-up-words-per-sentence ratio reaches a certain point I just can't stay in the story anymore; I'm bumped right out of the world of the book and reminded quite painfully that I'm sitting (or lying) in a room with pages of words in front of me. Which is not a good place to be. I struggled through this but I don't think I'll go on to the sequel. Which I own, and which I'll keep because who knows, maybe one of the kids will like this kind of thing.
- When you come right down to it, I'm not much of a sci-fi fan. Or is this more fantasy? It was quite well-written, and I liked A Wrinkle In Time a lot, and it's probably quite Important, but I confess I kept mentally writing a parody as I read it. Or rather the mental parody kept writing itself. When the completely-made-up-words-per-sentence ratio reaches a certain point I just can't stay in the story anymore; I'm bumped right out of the world of the book and reminded quite painfully that I'm sitting (or lying) in a room with pages of words in front of me. Which is not a good place to be. I struggled through this but I don't think I'll go on to the sequel. Which I own, and which I'll keep because who knows, maybe one of the kids will like this kind of thing.
- Rose Madder -- Stephen King -- 3.5
- I hadn't read anything by Stephen King since high school. My mother-in-law and I got talking about his books, and she lent me this one, saying it wasn't just your average imaginative horror story. She was right. Rose Madder describes vividly a woman's escape once and for all from the cop/husband who brutalized her for fourteen years. King still doesn't pull any punches -- I distinctly remember feeling so unsafe when I read his books in junior high, because I was not used to authors who would really actually put their characters all the way through what he did without a convenient rescue or at least an averted authorial eye -- but this is a book with real depth and vivid characters. Not that even his -- well, what a snob like me would call his trashiest books -- not that even those weren't well above the level of other horror authors I dabbled in for a time (hey, I was thirteen; people do stupid things when they're thirteen), but really this is a book I can recommend, WITH THE CAVEAT that there are some truly disturbing and painful mental images herein. And swear words aplenty.
- I hadn't read anything by Stephen King since high school. My mother-in-law and I got talking about his books, and she lent me this one, saying it wasn't just your average imaginative horror story. She was right. Rose Madder describes vividly a woman's escape once and for all from the cop/husband who brutalized her for fourteen years. King still doesn't pull any punches -- I distinctly remember feeling so unsafe when I read his books in junior high, because I was not used to authors who would really actually put their characters all the way through what he did without a convenient rescue or at least an averted authorial eye -- but this is a book with real depth and vivid characters. Not that even his -- well, what a snob like me would call his trashiest books -- not that even those weren't well above the level of other horror authors I dabbled in for a time (hey, I was thirteen; people do stupid things when they're thirteen), but really this is a book I can recommend, WITH THE CAVEAT that there are some truly disturbing and painful mental images herein. And swear words aplenty.
- Confessions of a Shopaholic -- Sophie Kinsella -- 3.5
- Fluff. But fun fluff, with a Good Message even (Don't Run Up Credit Card Debt! not that I would know anything about that, of course), and some moments with which I could definitely identify.
- Fluff. But fun fluff, with a Good Message even (Don't Run Up Credit Card Debt! not that I would know anything about that, of course), and some moments with which I could definitely identify.
- Night -- Elie Weisel -- 4.5
- Everything I could say about this book has already been said, often, and better than I could say it. I mean, the guy won the Nobel Peace Prize; you think I'm actually going to come up with anything original to say in a review in my stupid little blog? This book will haunt me for the rest of my life, and it belongs on every human being's bookshelf for that very reason. Go buy it if you don't already own it. Even though it has Oprah's name stuck on the front and I can't get it off.
- Everything I could say about this book has already been said, often, and better than I could say it. I mean, the guy won the Nobel Peace Prize; you think I'm actually going to come up with anything original to say in a review in my stupid little blog? This book will haunt me for the rest of my life, and it belongs on every human being's bookshelf for that very reason. Go buy it if you don't already own it. Even though it has Oprah's name stuck on the front and I can't get it off.
- Little Children -- Tom Perotta -- 3.5
- This wasn't what I expected at all, which is an OK thing. It turned out to be about a man who was trying to reclaim his youth by having an affair, and about a woman who was trying to escape her humdrum life with a detestable husband by having an affair, and if this reminds you of Madame Bovary that's apparently not an accident at all. Throw in a new neighbor who's a convicted sex offender and you have this book, which angered me at times (although it's lighter, on the whole, than I thought it would be) but which overall I'm glad I read.
- This wasn't what I expected at all, which is an OK thing. It turned out to be about a man who was trying to reclaim his youth by having an affair, and about a woman who was trying to escape her humdrum life with a detestable husband by having an affair, and if this reminds you of Madame Bovary that's apparently not an accident at all. Throw in a new neighbor who's a convicted sex offender and you have this book, which angered me at times (although it's lighter, on the whole, than I thought it would be) but which overall I'm glad I read.
Comments
Hi Rachel. I always enjoy reading your comments about books you've read. Forgive me for what may be a stupid question, but what is Librovox? (I'm spelling this from memory, so please forgive me if I've got it wrong.)
I've never read Silas Marner, but recently caught a movie on tv that was somewhat based on the book -- it starred Steve Martin. Have you seen it?
Finally, as regards Stephen King, the only book of his that I ever got very excited about is "The Stand." In that particular book, he does an excellent job with the concepts of evil, good, self-sacrifice for the good of the many. I think it is his finest book. The problem with even the best of King's books is he never fails to go for the gross-out factor and his language is very off-putting to me. Most of his books I find to be tripe. I'll have to check out "Rose Madder" since you recommend it -- I hold your opinions about books in high esteem.
Posted by: Kathy at October 1, 2006 05:55 PM
Kathy, Librivox is a free online... thing... where volunteers (like me) read public-domain books (basically anything published before 1923) aloud, making digital audiobooks which are then compiled and made available to the public. Some of the projects are collaborative -- volunteers take chapters of a given book, so that as you listen to it you're hearing many different readers -- and some are solo projects. There's a link in the sidebar to a page with all the recordings I've done personally so far. Or you can check out the site at librivox.org.
I agree with you about The Stand. My high-school AP English teacher, who was way more of a literary snob than I am, would allow his students to do term papers on King iff they read that book as part of their research; he said King had come close to the Great American Novel with that one even though his other stuff was all trash. :) I read his stuff in the late 80's when it was all still strictly for the shock factor, except for that one book; I guess (according to my MIL) he's gotten deeper and done more Important things in the intervening years. I think I'll just have to trust her on that overall. :) You're especially right about the language. Ouch.
Posted by: Rachel at October 1, 2006 08:49 PM
I loved Atonement! Have you read any of McEwan's other books? I read another of his a few months ago - just can't think of the name right now.
Another good read I just finished is On Beauty, by Zadie Smith. If you plan to read it, read Howard's End, by EM Forster first - it will be well worth it! I'm not a fan of Howard's End - found the characters very difficult to like because Forster exposed so much about them, but it will make On Beauty make a lot more sense.
Valerie
Posted by: Valerie at October 2, 2006 07:43 PM
Wow these are some really good reviews. Now I have to add a few to my fall-winter reading list. Dang you.
Posted by: jenn at October 2, 2006 09:22 PM
I recently read Digging to America and Night. Digging was my second Anne Tyler and I am now a huge fan of her writing. Breathing Lessons is another good one by her--you might try it if you haven't already. Night was an amazing book--quite uncomfortable to read. Mr Weisel has an amazing way of telling his story that is very "to the point", he doesn't beat around the bush in any way.
Posted by: Randi at October 3, 2006 01:51 PM
Randi, Breathing Lessons was my first Anne Tyler book. :) I saw myself so clearly in Maggie Moran that it was uncannily as if Tyler had been writing about me, fifteen years down the road. In most books, you'll come across a trait or two in one of the characters that you can identify with, right? But I AM Maggie Moran. The striking up conversations with strangers, the impulsive acts that end up being silly and embarrassing, the tolerant husband, the feeling clumsy and fat-stomached, the splattering of grease while cooking, the well-intentioned bungling. Me. Which is Tyler's brilliance -- because of course it's not just me; there's a whole nation of Maggie Morans, don't you think? In one way or another.
Posted by: Rachel at October 3, 2006 01:57 PM
"Have I told you lately that I love you?"
Posted by: jenn at October 3, 2006 04:10 PM
Rachel, I know this isn't, perhaps, the appropriate place for this comment... but do you or any of your readers know of any online Bible studies? I am in a Bible study where I work, but I'd like to participate in an online study at home. Thanks.
Posted by: Kathy at October 5, 2006 03:21 AM
