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March 12
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Edallia
gave
 
to:
Geisha: A Life (Paperback)
by Mineko Iwasaki, Rande Brown
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in March, 2008
Edallia said:
"I enjoyed this book! Mineko Iwasaki was one of the primary information sources for "Memoirs of a Geisha," but she was so dissatisfied with the sensationalized nature of that story that she was moved to write her own. I haven't read "...more
I enjoyed this book! Mineko Iwasaki was one of the primary information sources for "Memoirs of a Geisha," but she was so dissatisfied with the sensationalized nature of that story that she was moved to write her own. I haven't read "Memoirs," but I remember that the movie didn't hold my attention, mostly due to the fact that it portrayed geishas as also being prostitutes, which made me lose patience with it. (For some reason, I remember learning this in school, with conjunction with what I don't exactly remember. For all I know, the teacher stood up and said "Geisha weren't prostitutes! Class dismissed!")
Ahem. The book. It's written simply, in a straightforward style, appropriate to an autobiography by someone who isn't a writer. Mineko (who was born Masako Tanaka) enters the life of a geisha at age five, out of a sense of responsibility to her family, which was struggling financially. (Five! At that age, I was still carefully arranging My Little Ponies!) She falls in love with traditional Japanese dance, excels in it, and makes her debut as an maiko, or apprentice, at a young age. Over the next few years, Mineko becomes the most popular and successful geisha in Japan. She is adopted by Iwasaki house as its heir, makes a ton of money, falls in love, and basically works her butt off, while getting no sleep and having no social life of her own. Eventually, she realizes that in order to be truly happy, she has to leave her career behind.
Mineko is really something. She is driven to be the best she can, yet she takes the time to take care of the people who depend on her. She didn't leave anyone twisting in the breeze when she made her exit- she took care of her friends and relatives at Iwasaki house, some for the rest of their lives. I am glad she decided to write this story, and to hear of her happy ending. Along the way, she shares so much fascinating information and history- I felt like I really learned something about this unique part of Japanese culture.
Two caveats, one small, one frustrating: she's got four stars because precisely because of the massive amount of knowledge she imparts, but I have to admit that some of the cultural details, the history of the dance, and the nuances of the power structure of the geisha world, got a little confusing at times. The other is that while she repeatedly mentions going to the directors of the artistic district and telling them that reforms are needed, we don't get to see enough detail on that. I wanted her to delineate that a little more- "X isn't working, we need to do Y instead." I would have been very interested in hearing the specifics of these discussions.
Otherwise, highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject....less
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March 08
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Edallia
is currently reading:
Star by Star (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order)
by Troy Denning
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Edallia
marked as to-read:
Texas: A Novel (Paperback)
by James A. Michener
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Edallia
is currently reading:
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Paperback)
by John Irving
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Edallia
gave
to:
Water for Elephants (Paperback)
by Sara Gruen
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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March 06
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Edallia
added:
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues (Paperback)
by Linda Berdoll
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my rating:
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recommended for: Total masochists, people who love laughing at bad books
read in February, 2008, has a copy to sell/swap
Edallia said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
So, my personal disclaimer is that I don't expect these sequel writers to write just like Jane Austen. I don't ...more
...and sometimes, to torture myself, I read sequels to Pride and Prejudice. Hey, it's published fanfiction! How cool is that?
So, my personal disclaimer is that I don't expect these sequel writers to write just like Jane Austen. I don't even want them to *try.* If they do, they will fail. Period. I would just prefer them to write *well.* It covers a multitude of sins!
On the book at hand- this was originally published under the title The Bar Sinister, and I did wonder why the title had been changed- until I read it. Because this book isn't so much about whether or not Mr. Darcy has an illegitimate son (to quote a far superior Austen adaptation: "As IF!") as it is about the fact that people, Mr. Darcy takes a wife. A lot. All over the place. In various non-sexy and increasingly contrived scenarios.
As if that wasn't non-stimulating enough, the prose is positively *florid* and convoluted and actually unreadable in parts. I'm not going to go after specific examples, because I would never *stop,* but I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Ms. Berdoll to the word "between." Honey, no one is torn betwixt two lovers, they're not betwixt a rock and a hard place, and nobody sits betwixt Bob and Sally at dinner. Okay?
If it wasn't for the direct quote from Love and Freindship and the vague allusion to one of Austen's letters, I wouldn't even believe that Ms. Berdoll has read any of Austen's work. I doubt she's read Pride and Prejudice. I think she saw the A&E miniseries 97 times, thought Mr. Darcy was hot, and sat down to write the ultimate self-insertion wish-fulfillment fantasy fanfic.
Which is exactly how this thing reads. Elizabeth gets a thoroughbred horse! Elizabeth gets a huge diamond necklace! Elizabeth gets her portrait painted! And she gets to christen every room of Pemberley with that hot Colin Firth!
Oops, I meant Mr. Darcy.
Then, after all the hot monkey lovin', everyone but E&D start multiplying like rabbits all over the place! Mr. Collins is randomly killed off in some strange Rube Goldberg sequence! Elizabeth fires a pistol at Lady Catherine! Who wets herself! Various characters take off to the Poorly Researched War! And the presumed-dead Wickham rides up over the hill on his valiant steed, like a zombie clawing his way out of the grave in a horror movie!
And speaking of research (No, I'm NOT done yet!), it probably wouldn't have killed Ms. Berdoll to, you know, do some of that. Who the heck is SIR LUCAS? (And on one memorable occasion, LORD Lucas?) You don't have to be an expert on the British peerage to know that a knight is addresed by Sir Firstname, not Sir Lastname. Why, all you'd have to do is consult that pesky source material! Which also would have told the author that Darcy's mother's name was Anne, not Elinor.
Wait a minute, I take that back. Ms. Berdoll *did* do some pretty extensive research. On Regency slang for naughty parts and the sex act. So at least we all learned something....less
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March 05
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Edallia
gave
to:
The Kite Runner (Paperback)
by Khaled Hosseini
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in December, 2007
Edallia said:
"This is a wonderful, beautiful book, and I can't say much beyond "please read it."
But because this is me we're dealing with, I *will* say more.
The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the son of a wealthy man in Kabul, and his...more
This is a wonderful, beautiful book, and I can't say much beyond "please read it."
But because this is me we're dealing with, I *will* say more.
The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the son of a wealthy man in Kabul, and his best friend Hassan, whose father is a servant of Amir's father. I enjoyed the very loving, nostalgic portrait of Afghanistan before the civil war. It wasn't perfect, but it was Amir's (and Hosseini's) home, and the loss if it is a lingering ache for the characters.
The pivotal moment in the story (and I won't give it away) happens during Amir's and Hassan's childhood, and it has lingering ramifications for both men. If you've ever not stood up for a friend when you should have, you'll certainly relate (although maybe not in such extreme terms). Amir spends the rest of his life on a journey towards atoning for this mistake.
Hosseini's prose is minimal, straightforward, and beautiful. I didn't just enjoy the story, I savored the words on the page. Some of the plot twists may seem far-fetched- and you can see some of them coming- but *that doesn't even matter.* And yes, the major villain is one of those "sadists-who-is-just-so-bad" -something I usually rant and rail about- and that doesn't matter either. Because this book approaches epic- it's about Amir's complex emotional journey, and the changes both large and small that take place in his soul.
Because "well-written" covers a multitude of sins. And "believable emotional progression and resolution" covers all of them.
Also? This book made me tear up. That never happens. This book, for all the tragedy it depicts, is ultimately focused on healing, and is quietly, reassuringly *hopeful.*
Well done, Mr. Hosseini. ...less
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Edallia
gave
to:
The Other Boleyn Girl (Paperback)
by Philippa Gregory
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: people in need of brain candy
read in November, 2007
Edallia said:
"I will review this festering mound of shhh....surely quality literature, although I doubt I have anything to say about it that hasn't already been said.
"Historical controvery" aside- I mean, *whatever,* Gregory totally went to the Dan...more
I will review this festering mound of shhh....surely quality literature, although I doubt I have anything to say about it that hasn't already been said.
"Historical controvery" aside- I mean, *whatever,* Gregory totally went to the Dan Brown place, and as someone who's interested in history, I don't entirely appreciate it, but I think we intelligent people all know that this is fiction, despite what Gregory seems to be saying in the "Author's Q & A" thingy at the back of my copy.
This is the story of Anne Boleyn's rise to power, her reign as Queen of England, and her eventual execution, told through the eyes of her sister and fellow courtier, Mary. As a young girl, Mary becomes the mistress of Henry VIII, has two children with him, and is eventually supplanted by Anne.
And hoo boy, is this some fiction. I mean, it was kinda *fun.* It was light and frothy, and not really much of a substantial meal. Gregory gravitated towards one of the more sensational theories about Anne Boleyn and her whole deal, and she really, really ran with it. I felt that many of her narrative choices were made for shock value when she could have spent a little more time developing the characters and motivations of Mary and Anne. Come on, Anne Boleyn was at least an *interesting historical figure!* Here, she's reduced to a scheming witch or a shrieking harridan- pretty much at all times. And Gregory tries to browbeat us into thinking that Mary's making all of these "Empowered Woman!!" decisions, when, truth be told, she lies pretty flat on the page.
Ms. Gregory, honestly, you threw in the gay thing, and the secret midnight birth of witchcraft babies thing, and the saying "whore" a lot thing, and on top of all of that "isn't it just so shocking!" cake batter, you give me the icing of... a milquetoast heroine. Huzzah.
Hell, it's a light, quick read, despite its size, and I enjoyed on the "eh, sometimes I like to read trash" level, so I have to give it two stars, but I feel kinda dirty....less
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February 25
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Edallia
gave
to:
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster (Paperback)
by Jon Krakauer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in December, 2007
Edallia said:
"I first picked this up because my partner couldn't put it down, and I was out of reading material. (This happens frequently.) She said it was very interesting, but I thought she was saying this because she harbors a secret desire to climb Mount Eve...more
I first picked this up because my partner couldn't put it down, and I was out of reading material. (This happens frequently.) She said it was very interesting, but I thought she was saying this because she harbors a secret desire to climb Mount Everest herself.
"Into Thin Air" is a first-person account of what one man saw and experienced during the disastrous 1996 Everest season. Jon Krakauer (of "Into The Wild" fame) was asked to take part in a commercial expedition to Everest with a view towards writing an article about such expeditions. Things turned out very differently when mistakes in judgment were made, bad weather struck, and rescue was rendered virtually impossible.
I enjoyed Krakauer's concise, detailed, blunt writing style (it's rather like reading an extended magazine article) and his extensive research into the history of mountain-climbing and Everest expeditions. This is not a subject I knew much about prior to reading this book, and it was fascinating to learn more about something I wouldn't do even if I was paid exorbitant sums of money.
I'm aware of the controversy surrounding this book, although I believe that Krakauer was telling the truth as he saw it happen. It was an emotionally loaded experience, and I don't think many could have done better in his shoes with such material. The edition I read contained a lengthy epilogue discussing various different viewpoints, most notably the differing memories of Krakauer and fellow climber Anatole Boukreev. Honestly, this was just as highly interesting to me to read as the actual story, and sadly, though the two seemed to be headed towards reconciliation, any true chance of that ended with Boukreev's death. Boukreev had also written a book about that climb, which I would be interested in reading as well to complete the story.
...less
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Edallia
gave
to:
Heartburn (Paperback)
by Nora Ephron
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2007
Edallia said:
"This was my first foray into the "Chick Lit" genre. I have long been indifferent to its charms, but when I moved to Texas, my books were in storage and this book's... pinkness... beckoned from my mother's bookshelf.
I didn't expect to e...more
This was my first foray into the "Chick Lit" genre. I have long been indifferent to its charms, but when I moved to Texas, my books were in storage and this book's... pinkness... beckoned from my mother's bookshelf.
I didn't expect to enjoy it overly much, despite the fact that it was written by a pretty entertaining screenwriter. I expected it to read as though it was about to be adapted into a movie... and I guess it does read that way, but it's pretty amusingly written as well, and that makes up for many ills for me. And I really, *really* ended up liking the main character.
"Heartburn" is the story of middle-aged, pregnant Rachel, who suddenly discovers that her seemingly perfect husband is having an affair. It's pretty apparent that this will end with the dissolution of her marriage, and the event leads Rachel to reminisce about what romantic choices and willful blindnesses brought her to this point. (In addition, Rachel is a cookbook author, and since the book is written as though it's one of Rachel's, there are a number of really appealing recipes scattered throughout the text.)
I read this book a immediately after dissolving my own long-term relationship, which is probably why I burst into tears when Rachel is unexpectedly given the financial means to walk out of her marriage. It was kind of an empathetic gut-punch to me, which I suppose is the point of sharing such a personal story after all, (it's based on Ephron's own divorce) but which subsequently made me feel corny enough not to dip into any similar literary wells too soon, lest I hang myself from the rafters of suffering sisterhood....less
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Nice reviews. You say what you think and don't waffle - always a trait to be admired. :-)