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July 17
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Mariela
gave
 
to:
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise (Paperback)
by Ruth Reichl
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mariela said:
"this book was sort of silly. i'd suggest skipping to the part where she talks about restaurants and her meals. that's really reichl's talent. and i do want to make some of her recipes. it was interesting to see the lengths critics go to to get an ...more
this book was sort of silly. i'd suggest skipping to the part where she talks about restaurants and her meals. that's really reichl's talent. and i do want to make some of her recipes. it was interesting to see the lengths critics go to to get an unbiased meal, but i was bored by all that talk of disguises....less
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July 09
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Mariela
gave
to:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Hardcover)
by Junot Díaz
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Mariela said:
"junot is super talented. he reminds me of the writers of "the wire," a show i couldn't get into but could totally appreciate how they wrote real, of-the-streets dialogue. diaz's book follows the de leon family who has been cursed (fuku) b...more
junot is super talented. he reminds me of the writers of "the wire," a show i couldn't get into but could totally appreciate how they wrote real, of-the-streets dialogue. diaz's book follows the de leon family who has been cursed (fuku) by a strong dominican curse that sometimes shows up as a man with no face (similar imagery as in drown). you meet oscar, a tragic fat loser kid who really lives in his own fantasy world but gets balls at the end; his mom, who's life was similarly tragic but survived for longer than expected; the proud and strong grandmother, la inca, that reminds me of a million latina abuelas; and his sister, lola, the real survivor who somehow broke the curse. it's interesting that it's narrated by yunior, lola's sometimes boyfriend and oscar's friend, if you can call him that. it allows the narrative to have a detached and funny vibe, despite the decidedly unfunny circumstances.
i learned a lot about the history of the dominican republic and its dictator trujillo that has made me eternally curious....less
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June 15
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Mariela
took the never-ending book quiz.
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June 14
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Mariela
gave
to:
The Namesake (Paperback)
by Jhumpa Lahiri
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mariela said:
"i don't think lahiri stands out as a great writer, necessarily, but she does stand out as a great storyteller. the namesake is a review of the life of one gogol ganguli, a child born of bengali immigrants in the U.S. who grows up not quite comfortab...more
i don't think lahiri stands out as a great writer, necessarily, but she does stand out as a great storyteller. the namesake is a review of the life of one gogol ganguli, a child born of bengali immigrants in the U.S. who grows up not quite comfortable in either culture. we see him as a kid clinging to his unique name and unsure about his field trip to the graveyard; as a young adult distancing himself from his family, and going so far as to adopt a new name; and as an adult returning to his roots by falling in love with an equally culturally resistant bengali woman.
lahiri powerfully captures the immigrant experience in this country. her style is subtle, direct and relatable and an important read for anyone interested in this multicultural world....less
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May 28
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Mariela
gave
to:
The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Paperback)
by Jeannette Walls
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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May 19
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Mariela
marked as to-read:
Shakespeare's Wife (Paperback)
by Germaine Greer
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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May 15
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Mariela
marked as to-read:
Then We Came to the End (Hardcover)
by Joshua Ferris
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Mariela
marked as to-read:
Travesuras de la nina mala / Mischiefs of the Bad Girl (Paperback)
by Mario Vargas-Llosa
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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April 17
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Mariela
gave
to:
The Feasting Season (Paperback)
by Nancy Coons
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in February, 2008
Mariela said:
"Not worth the read. Chic lit at almost its worst and all it does it make you hungry. coons' writing is nothing special and her imagery is way too obvious.
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Mariela
gave
to:
Drown (Paperback)
by Junot Díaz
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Mariela said:
"i picked up this book because i really wanted to read "the brief wondrous life" but it was still in hardcover. drown it was, and i loved it. it's not this terribly deep read. what it definitely is is a very realistic account of the immig...more
i picked up this book because i really wanted to read "the brief wondrous life" but it was still in hardcover. drown it was, and i loved it. it's not this terribly deep read. what it definitely is is a very realistic account of the immigrant experience, in this case, the dominican experience. diaz creates very vivid and memorable characters surviving in harsh conditions in their homeland or in the promised land of the U.S. because the characters appear across most stories, you end up getting to know them from many angles and at many points in their lives -- the four-year-old whose dad abandoned him to move to the U.S. and doesn't visit him when he returns to the homeland with his new wife, the guy in his early twenties who's now a drug dealer with girl problems, the 9-year-old who just wants to impress his older brother, the faceless boy who you meet as a neighborhood legend, a victim of intense bullying, and a friend to a priest. i can't wait to read "brief wondrous life."...less
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