Samyann's Blog, page 40

Life…

It is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. – George Carlin

Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor – Audiobook Review

Read by Grover Gardner, Andersonville, is close to forty hours of listening. Extremely long, you may find it a bit difficult to hang in with this story. It is not a page-turner, but a gruesome, grizzly accounting of the American Civil War prison in Georgia. Kanter tells the story in biographical snippets about specific soldiers, i.e., a man from Iowa, Vermont, New Jersey, all over the north. Experiences, terror, disease, death. A consistency is a local farmer and his family, and of course, the camp commander, Wirz.

Written in the mid-ninteen-fifties, Andersonville won the Pulitzer for fiction. That and the fact that 2015 is the 150th anniversary of the end of the war, is the reason I’ve listened. In the style of the time, this book is wordy and verbose. An element that is often conveyed is the absolute hatred of the Yankee; it is a visceral, almost tactile loathing. Beyond the cruelty, also of note is the attempt by the Yankee prisoner to bring order from chaos with executions of their own. These men, for the most part boys, were rats in a maze, brutal and savage even to each other in an effort to survive. Hard to believe that Americans could be so hateful of each other, regardless of the politics of the time.

Although I don’t consider myself a historian, I’m pretty well read with regard to American history and I found the book to be historically accurate. Grover Gardner was an excellent choice for this historical novel, well done, nice production.

 

 

Granite and Gravity by Vivian C Elani – eBook Review

Granite and Gravity: In This Life, Prepare For the Next is one of those books that will make you think. You’ll close the book and ponder so many possibilities about your life and the paths you take. Is your life pre-ordained by something you have done before, in another life? Alcoholism? Marriage? Strengths, weaknesses? There are many theories about reincarnation and there are many who believe … like a few billion people. Ergo, I’m not too quick to dismiss them all as delusional. This book isn’t intended to create a convert of you … only to make you think.

I started this book with every intent of taking a few days and found myself staying up way too late to finish; the topic was so absorbing. Cliché, but I couldn’t put it down.

Everyone can agree with regard to cause and effect; cause: leave the milk on the counter over night … effect: sour milk. You might want to stretch your mind to grasp that cause may happen in one life, and effect in another.

The book is well written and an entirely different take on reincarnation. No flashbacks, no regression, nor therapists. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but you’ll learn quickly that a ‘counsel of souls’ is a guiding force throughout your journey. You’ll be well entertained by some history of New York, the Brooklyn Bridge. But, the history is incidental to the real story. Granite and Gravity is character driven, and the the characters are well rounded and interesting … souls.

You’ll enjoy the book, regardless of your personal belief. 

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The Lone Wolf by ED Martin – Review

At the beginning of The Lone Wolf, you’ll be introduced to Kasey Sanford. Within a few words, you’ll immediately relate to a woman leading what is on the surface a fairy-tale life that is shattered by the infidelity of her husband, David. The day-to-day business of living for Kasey is turned upside down as she is confronted with forks in a road she never dreamed of traveling. Understanding her role as a partner through life is the journey a reader will travel with page-turning pleasure and sadness. E.D. Martin expertly brings forth the empathy of the reader with an unusual and wonderful approach, alternating character views with Andrew Adams, the man Kasey will ultimately turn to for healing the ache and confusion of a collapsing life. Carrying a load of his own demons, chemistry draws them together in mutual need.

The Lone Wolf is a character driven story. As with most people, personal history dominates behavior, and the methodology used to reveal the motivations and behavior of Andrew is artfully done. No spoilers here, but you will find the process of this presentation a pleasant read.

I recommend this book, and I’m looking forward to a continuation of this story.

 

10 Cheeky Monkeys

This is a children’s book, teaching to count. But, way beyond simple counting, this little book will teach way beyond counting to ten. The book will also expand vocabulary (there is a wonderful index of definitions) and teach companionship, friendship, colors, facial expression. An absolutely terrific bed-time book. Yikes, what a wonderfully imaginative little book.

I was fortunate enough to review a ‘proof’ copy.

This would make a terrific book as a gift for a new parent or a young one’s birthday. You won’t be sorry!

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A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – Audiobook Review

A Prayer for Owen Meany has been around since 1989 and is written in the style of many authors of the 60s … i.e., wordy and wandering. This story is light on environmental detail and heavy on characters. There is little description, but lots of character thought and behavior. Charles Dickens comes to mind in a story that covers the coming of age of two boys through the fifties/sixties and the Vietnam era. It is also a platform for Irving to weave his political beliefs through the voice of the point of view character,  John Wheelwright. This is common behavior for successful authors, Stephen King comes to mind. At any rate, in my opinion, a fictional story is the wrong place. I don’t care about the author’s politics unless I’ve purchased a non-fiction about politics. But, that’s just me…..

At just under thirty hours of listening, the narration is nicely done by Joe Barrett. If you’ve read the book, you’ll remember that Owen’s dialogue is all caps, an effort by Irving to convey a distinctive voice. The narrator interpretation is a high-pitched and boyish.

There are a ton of reviews on this story, ergo not much for me to add other than a minor opinion. Modern writing is reflective of an immediate gratification mindset, the quick made-for-tv two-hour movie. A Prayer for Owen Meany is of a different era, old fashioned and verbose. If you like this type of elongated prose, it’s among the best. If you don’t, you’ll be bored silly and likely fast-forward or jump some chapters…a lot.

 

A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag – Audiobook Review

Wonderfully read by Karen Peakes, A Thin Dark Line was originally published in 1997, however this audiobook version was released last fall, in September of 2014. The book is a long one, close to nineteen hours of listening. The reading by Peakes is very well done, with a unique voice for each character, male and female alike. Although not a Southerner myself, the dialects seemed right-on.

This story is a who-done-it with a myriad of potential murderers. A female deputy is the first to find the remains of a brutally murdered realtor. The main suspect is released on a technical issue. Preventing another officer from vigilante  justice is a move that results in the deputy becoming a victim of brutal hazing and shunning by the rest of the police department. A Thin Dark Line is one of Hoag’s earliest efforts and, in my opinion, one of her best. Add to this the fine interpretation by Peakes, and you have one of those books that has been improved upon with excellent audio narration, ergo a good book is made better.

You’ll be hard pressed to pick out the ultimate murderer, as there are quite a few viable suspects. I’ll confess to hitting re-wind a number of times to re-listen, or jumping back a chapter or two occassionally as there are so many characters. I also fast-forwarded through some romantic scenes more detailed than necessary. There are only so many ways to ‘do it’ and I often find these scenes boring and gratuitous, no matter how well written. I was more interested in the next twist in the murder mystery, shoot me.

A Thin Dark Line was penned in the mid-nineties, a time when women were pounding furiously on the glass ceilings of all businesses and in this case within the confines of a police department. The main character is a female deputy and victim of a good-old-boy sexist mentality that will make any sane person grind their teeth. But, I suppose, this idiotic behavior happens even today and Hoag has done a good job with airing the scum.

A nice crime procedural. Enjoy!

 

Turning Angel by Greg Iles – Audiobook Review

A Harvard bound high-school girl is found murdered. Her squeaky-clean, cheerleader, darling of the small town image is a faćade. Within a few pages, you’ll learn Kate Townsend is a girl of loose morals having an affair with a married doctor. Bodies pile and a fun who-done-it full of twists and thrills will pull you along. The main character, Penn Cage, is a former prosecutor and childhood friend of the doctor. Defending the doctor is like pulling teeth; he conveys details to his lawyer only in a cover-your-ass reveals, even though he proclaims innocence. Thus is the crux of Turning Angel.

There is a sexual element to this book that will be a complete turn-off to some and make many squirm uncomfortably: overtly sexual teenaged girls and the adult men in their lives. If an author can evoke a reaction from their reader, it’s a good thing, right? My reaction is disgust. Call me naive, but I hope this ugly stuff is primarily the imagination of the author and not close to the way people actually behave.

Good mystery, upsetting in some details.

 

Free Audiobook copy of Yesterday – A Novel of Reincarnation

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FREE AUDIOBOOK!!

 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt – Audiobook Review

Long, close to thirty hours of listening, The Goldfinch is read by David Pittu. The Goldfinch is a coming-of-age tale surrounding the life of Theo, victim of a terrorist attack at a New York art museum. He is left orphaned, mother dead, father a dead-beat alcoholic. During the attack, Theo takes a very old painting admired by his mother, ergo the title. Theo is only a boy, with no criminal thought in taking the painting. The museum is a crumbled mess of broken bricks, dust, dead bodies. Theo simply takes the painting for his mother. Unbeknownst to Theo, many other works of art have gone missing. There are emotions that come to mind with regard to the main character: angst, puppy love, strange obsessiveness for his deceased mother, questionable moral character, drug muddled thinking, stupid decisions. The reader has to be in the right mindset to enjoy this book, i.e., be prepared to let the author ramble…ramble a lot.

The fact that The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer for fiction in 2014 is the reason I’ve read this lengthy tomb. Donna Tartt has joined the ranks of Hemingway, Joyce Carol Oates, Updike, Faulkner, Michener, Herman Wouk, Allen Drury, many more. This particular award seems to be a clear statement indicating a drop in required standards. The story weaves through Theo’s life, straying to irrelevant situations and characters, and at least twice as long as what could be a decent story … but over-written beyond boredom in many sections.

Narration by David Pittu is superb, voices for each character are unique, male and female alike. Lovely reading.

However, after about thirteen hours on the iPhone Audible app, I began to jump forward a chapter here, a chapter there, missing nothing pertinent, and set the player speed up to 1.5.