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February 03
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Linda
gave
to:
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories (Hardcover)
by Miranda July
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my rating:
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read in February, 2008
Linda said:
"Let me just get it out there: I'm a sucker for the short story form. I know a lot of people hate short stories because they are sort-of leaving you hanging. But I think that's precisely why I love short stories. For me, they are the art form that ...more
Let me just get it out there: I'm a sucker for the short story form. I know a lot of people hate short stories because they are sort-of leaving you hanging. But I think that's precisely why I love short stories. For me, they are the art form that most closely resembles life. You get to spend time with a person as they make some choice or at some crossroad.
Miranda July is perfect in the short story. Her quirkiness comes through but you don't have to stay with her so long that it ends up all becoming annoying.
When I first read Miranda July, I thought she was the is like the white woman's answer to Haruki Murakami (with a splash of Silver Lake/Echo Park). But I think that cuts her a bit short. In many ways she's the voice of a generation. My generation. And I don't mind. I quite like what she has to say. So read it, enjoy it. My only recommendation: savor it. It's so easy to gobble up short stories. ...less
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Linda
gave
to:
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Michael Chabon
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my rating:
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read in December, 2007
Linda said:
"I think it's very telling that on the cover Michael Chabon's name is bigger than the title of the book and it also mentions that he was the author or "Cavalier and Clay." It was like this book didn't have enough merit on it's own so the pu...more
I think it's very telling that on the cover Michael Chabon's name is bigger than the title of the book and it also mentions that he was the author or "Cavalier and Clay." It was like this book didn't have enough merit on it's own so the publisher had to use Chabon's star power and the residual good will people have from "Cavalier and Clay."
In all, this book is only "Eh." It wasn't noir enough or Chabon enough for me to make it a success. ...less
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Linda
gave
to:
Atonement: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Ian McEwan
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my rating:
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recommended for: serious literati (who secretly romantics)
read in December, 2007
Linda said:
"You should know: I love books about aristocratic women running around the countryside in dresses crying over the men that have ruined their lives. Needless to say, I expected to like this book. However I was not expecting to LOVE this book. (And t...more
You should know: I love books about aristocratic women running around the countryside in dresses crying over the men that have ruined their lives. Needless to say, I expected to like this book. However I was not expecting to LOVE this book. (And to the degree that I absolutely love.) It was so subtle and intelligent! It blew me away.
With some books, you know you are reading a great book. Authors want to (gently) remind readers that they are holding a MASTERPIECE! So they try to knock you out with style, imagery, or crazy turn of events. But when I was reading Atonement, it was always so delicate and measured. One beautiful element was layered on top of another, on top of another until you are really in this other world.
Another testament to the power of this book became apparent to me when I saw the movie starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as the lovers. In the crucial scene at the library; I completely, wholeheartedly believe in the what's going on as I read it. But as a viewer of the film, I had to take a level-five leap of faith as to what was happening between the two onscreen actors. (And yes, I know it's not a fair comparison between pages and celluloid but it's just further evidence of how careful McEwan sets up the stage for all the action to happen.)
I really appreciate art mediums that transport me. This book did that, no doubt. But what I was surprised about was how much I loved the characters and how sad I was to leave them. I just cared about them so much... Now I'm really sad. And I need to go get a beer....less
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Linda
gave
to:
Women: A Novel (Paperback)
by Charles Bukowski
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my rating:
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read in December, 2007
Linda said:
"This book was about 85% done and then... I just put it down. It was beginning to seem like a waste of time and energy. So many women, so much booze, and one stinking degenerate to tell me about it all.
But then I came across an LA Times Book R...more
This book was about 85% done and then... I just put it down. It was beginning to seem like a waste of time and energy. So many women, so much booze, and one stinking degenerate to tell me about it all.
But then I came across an LA Times Book Review of "Pleasure of the Damn: Poems, 1951-1993" (which was going to released the following week). The reviewer said some really harsh things about Bukowski and his place in the literary pantheon in LA. After that, I was inspired to finish reading this book. I wanted to assess for myself Bukowski's strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
And... I found myself loving the book, almost in spite of myself. Yes he's an alcoholic and complete filth. But it doesn't, in any way, come between him and his art. I felt like I always understood where he was coming from even if I didn't agree with it. That's quiet an accomplishment! There are some writers I love and I love their characters completely but it's not always clear what's going on in that world. Not so with Bukowski. I really appreciated that.
Another word about the writing style: very "male."
And lastly, Bukowski gives a sense of place. (I notice that with Angelino writers and American writers in general more so that their European or English counterparts.) There is a definite time and setting where it all happen. LA in the 70's, Venice Beach. I love that!...less
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November 08
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Linda
gave
to:
The Almost Moon (Hardcover)
by Alice Sebold
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my rating:
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recommended for: Someone Who Really Really Loves Alice Sebold
read in November, 2007
Linda said:
"What I learned? That some lines can make you cringe so much you are unwilling to read any further. (That line went something like this: "I killed her and a shot of lust went up my body as pure as a baby's hunger." Seriously that's just s...more
What I learned? That some lines can make you cringe so much you are unwilling to read any further. (That line went something like this: "I killed her and a shot of lust went up my body as pure as a baby's hunger." Seriously that's just so gross and stupid... Like, what are we suppose to think of Helen after that? Not to mention, taking seriously an author who could write such a line?)
Anyway, I made it into the book about 60+ pages and couldn't go any further. (Some couple pages after the line.) The book is totally incoherent.
I don't think Alice Sebold can write the most beautiful prose but she has a way with creating scenes that are deeply affecting. But that's not evident at all in "The Almost Moon." Pass, pass, pass. Spend your time elsewhere! ...less
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Linda
gave
to:
The corrections (Hardcover)
by Jonathan Franzen
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my rating:
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read in October, 2007
Linda said:
"I'm aiming for the highest superlative I can think of. And so I will have to say it. Perfect. People joke all the time about "the" Great AMERICAN NNOOVVEELLL! And quietly, beautifully Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
This is a very ambitio...more
I'm aiming for the highest superlative I can think of. And so I will have to say it. Perfect. People joke all the time about "the" Great AMERICAN NNOOVVEELLL! And quietly, beautifully Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
This is a very ambitious book about "the family." All the characters are crazy. And they drive me crazy. Sometimes I really don't like them. Alfred can make me so mad or Enid making me cringe. I don't always like Denise or Gary or Chip (and their parents) but I understand them... They are so real!
What I love is how Franzen takes his time unfolding these characters. He's into the book some 75% of the way and it feels like he still introducing the characters. There's no rush in this book. Characters come out to us little by little. They are beautiful and funny and bitter and always always they're alive and complex.
I'm exactly half way through. I'll let you know if I still feel as strongly at the end. I think I'll still feel the same. Yup, this book is amazing. I'm going where ever this book takes me. I totally believe in this journey.
Okay I'm back and I'm done now. Yup the book delivered. And even to the end, he gives us all small insights into who these people are. Loved it.
And ps. if you read my post on Lovely Bones, the critique may have been unduly harsh probably cause I started reading this book right afterwards. And while LB is good, in comparison to a giant like this book LB seems total noraml in comparison. ...less
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Linda
gave
to:
The Gravedigger's Daughter (Hardcover)
by Joyce Carol Oates
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: English Lit Girls
read in August, 2007
Linda said:
"This book was created to be read in a book group.
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October 31
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Linda
gave
to:
The Lovely Bones (Hardcover)
by Alice Sebold
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my rating:
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read in October, 2007
Linda said:
"I know three stays is kind of skimpy for this book. I can't decide if this book is great or if I think it's juvenile. A part of my difficulty in classify my experience with this book is that it was so usual. Clearly one of the oddest experiences I...more
I know three stays is kind of skimpy for this book. I can't decide if this book is great or if I think it's juvenile. A part of my difficulty in classify my experience with this book is that it was so usual. Clearly one of the oddest experiences I've had reading a piece of fiction.
This book isn't cheap. It doesn't take easy melodramatic turns or easy answers either. Which I think would have been really easy to do given the premise of the book. Main character is a little girl who at fourteen is raped and murdered. So narrates from heaven. Interesting right? So, sounds like that would make it novel. Alice Sebold's writing has lots of cool phrases and a distinct voice. And often I was moved to physical tears with the beautiful narrator's voice on family and youth and violence and sadness. Absolutely without a doubt it was moving.
But some parts of the book were irratating at the same time. The characters were either good, or "real", or frail, or "complex". Like I can imagine Sebold at her desk thinking of the ways people are made complex and extending her ideas characters in her book. That's where they stay. Only as characters because I could never believe they are actual people.
So I think I will just keep it at that. Reading this book was one of the oddest experiences I've ever had with fiction....less
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September 04
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New comment on Rachael's review of
Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood
(see all 3 comments)
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August 14
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Linda
gave
to:
The Autograph Man (Paperback)
by Zadie Smith
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: People Who Are Sadists
read in August, 2007
Linda said:
"I love ZS. I don't love this book. Couldn't even finish it even though I love LOVE LLOOVVEE "White Teeth." You would think that I could too since:
1. I am of the asian persuasion
2. Fame is very interesting to me
3. Huge ZS fan. ...more
I love ZS. I don't love this book. Couldn't even finish it even though I love LOVE LLOOVVEE "White Teeth." You would think that I could too since:
1. I am of the asian persuasion
2. Fame is very interesting to me
3. Huge ZS fan. (Basically I will buy anything that she is associated with.)
But this book was wooden, boring, and the characters seem to aim out in her world kind of without purpose. Or if there was purpose it was lost on me since I really didn't give a crap about her characters. 200 pages in and I couldn't finish it. It was that bad....less
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