Book Concierge’s Comments (group member since Feb 12, 2016)

Book Concierge’s comments from the Who Doesn't Love a Classic? group.

Another non-fiction work that is definitely "historical" ...

Dead Wake by Eric Larson – 4****
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania. Larson uses tidbits found in research materials from a variety of sources to flesh out a narrative tale of a great disaster. Larson shifts perspective from the Lusitania, to the German submarine U-20, to Room 40 (the British Intelligence headquarters). It’s a compelling story, which completely captured my interest despite my knowing how it would turn out. Scott Brick does a good job reading the audiobook. His delivery is rather dry, but this is fine for a work of nonfiction.
Full Review HERE

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
Audio book performed by Nadia May.
4****

Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at conservative girls’ school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. The school has a prescribed curriculum, but Miss Brodie prefers to inspire her “Brodie set” – the handful of girls she has chosen as her crème de le crème – with stories of her trips abroad, posters and favorable remarks about Mussolini, comments about sex, and field trips to museums and gardens. She is, after all, “in her prime,” and she wants to instill in them passion, independence and ambition. The girls adore her and remain faithful followers even after they have progressed in school beyond the grade Miss Brodie teaches. And yet, one of them ultimately betrays her.

Spark moves from time frame to time frame, or from reality to imaginative fantasy, frequently without any transition. One moment we are reading a realistic scene in the 1930s, the next we are far in the future when Miss Brodie is in a nursing home. In the space between end of one sentence and the beginning of the next, the story moves from a real-life encounter between the girls and Miss Brodie to an imagined conversation one girl is having with a character in a book.

I recognized several people I know in Miss Brodie, including parts of myself. She is strong-willed and determined, intelligent and independent, and yet she is vulnerable because she wants so desperately to be loved and revered by “her girls.” There are times when I am simply appalled by her behavior and other times when I want to cheer her on. Miss Brodie cannot – or will not – see the realities of her relationships and situations.

I’ve had this on my tbr since the movie came out in 1969. I have to wonder what my reaction would have been had I read it back then, when I was still a teenager.

Nadia May does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and is able to differentiate the characters. My only difficulty in the audio version came with the abrupt changes in time frame or reality vs fantasy. Until I got used to Spark’s technique I kept thinking I had skipped or missed something important.

Thought-provoking nonfiction. My first 5-star read of 2016!

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers – 5*****
This is a true story of what happened to one family in Post-Katrina New Orleans. I was shocked, stunned, angry, heartbroken, dismayed and completely riveted by the tale. Eggers does a great job putting the reader into the setting – the peace and quiet of no electronics, the heat and humidity, the stench of rotting vegetation, and the unsettling sight of armed men patrolling (?) your once-peaceful neighborhood. Firdous Bamji does a marvelous job narrating the audio book. He has good pacing and his performance enhances the reader’s impressions of Zeitoun and Kathy.
Full Review HERE

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one.

A Passage to India – E M Forster
Audiobook narrated by Sam Dastor.
3.5***

In 1920s northern India an older British matron, Mrs Moore, arrives to visit her son, Ronny Heaslop, who is the British city magistrate of Chandrapore. She is accompanied by Miss Adela Quested, a young, naïve, somewhat repressed school teacher, who is to be engaged to Mrs Moore’s son. When Mrs Moore visits a local mosque she encounters Dr Aziz, a local Muslim doctor, and they become friendly. After a second meeting, he offers to take Mrs Moore, Miss Quested and a group of friends on a day trip to visit the famous Marabar Caves. At the caves something happens to frighten Miss Quested, with the result that Aziz is accused of a scandalous crime.

This classic explores class differences and the clash of cultures. Every character seems to have a preconceived notion of how “the others” should behave (or have always acted), and each reacts based on these preconceived notions. Their strongly held opinions on how “every Indian” or “all Hindus” or “those British” behave, think, and feel color all their interactions, with the result that no one sees clearly what is really happening. Even the “good” characters fall victim to their own prejudices, frequently without realizing it. Friendships are broken, and even when a character realizes his/her mistake there seems no way to undo the damage.

I have never visited India, but the novel gives me a sense of what it might have been like during the era of British Raj. Tensions are high with Indians chaffing under British rule. And yet there is a certain “romance” about the adventure of visiting this very foreign place.

Sam Dastor is merely adequate voicing the audio book. The voices he uses for the women are high pitched to the point of screeching. And several of the Indians don’t sound much better. I suppose he was trying to help differentiate the characters in those long back-and-forth conversations, but it just irritated me. 2** for his narration.

NOT a classic ...

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick – 3.5***
Talk about your gothic mystery! Betrayal, an abandoned mansion, a long-lost son, and the isolation of a Wisconsin winter are just the beginning. The characters employ duplicity, obfuscation, coercion, prevarication, and downright lies. I was completely caught up in the story and surprised by more than one twist.
Full Review HERE

NOT a classic ...

Atticus by Ron Hansen – 4****
While there is certainly a mystery at its core, the novel is more about the father-son relationship, and the failure of both of them to openly communicate and understand one another. In many ways this story echoes the parable of the Prodigal Son from the bible. The plot has several twists and turns that kept me intrigued and turning pages, but the star of the novel, to me, was the writing and the exploration of these characters and their motivations.
Full Review HERE

NOT a classic. Not even great literature. But a delightful and enjoyable read ...


Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter – 4****
What a delightful story! Moving back and forth in time, and with multiple styles and points of view, Walter has crafted a love story with wide appeal. I was engaged and entertained from page one, and was so sorry to see it end. Edoardo Ballerini was simply marvelous performing the audio version. I loved the way he voiced Pasquale, Dee, Michael Deane and the many supporting cast members.
Full Review HERE

Karin wrote: "I'm done and waiting and hope I remember enough ;)."

Karin ... go ahead and begin discussion. I never got to it what with Hubby's surgery in March. I don't think Lara is back from her honeymoon yet.

It's too "new" to be a classic (first published 1976), and time will tell if it continues to be read far into the future ...


Roots: The Saga of an American Family Alex Haley
Book on CD performed by Avery Brooks.
4****

Haley’s blockbuster history of his ancestors begins with the birth of a baby boy – Kunta Kinte – in a small African village in the Spring of 1750, and ends two centuries later in Arkansas.

It’s a gripping tale and Haley is a great story teller. I was engaged from page one and found myself very interested in all aspects of the book – from Kunta Kinte’s boyhood in Africa, to his experiences as a slave, to the continued story of his descendants and how they kept the story of “the African” alive through the generations.

Haley’s narrative focuses on three of his male ancestors. Kunta Kinte’s story takes nearly half the book. His grandson “Chicken George” occupies much of the third of the book. And George’s son Tom, is the focus of the next major section as the family is emancipated at the end of the Civil War. I am struck by the fact that Haley gives little attention to the women in his ancestral line. Not only is Kizzy given short shrift, but Tom’s daughter Cynthia and granddaughter Bertha (who is Haley’s mother) are given less attention than their husbands – Will Parker and Simon Haley. And this, despite Haley’s statements that it was the “old women” – his grandmother, aunts and cousin who passed along the story of “The African” and his descendants. Still, this is a small quibble.

Avery Brooks does a magnificent job narrating the audio book. He is an accomplished actor and really brings the characters to life. His deeply resonant voice was mesmerizing, and despite his naturally deep timber he managed to give a believable voice to even the young girls.

While the book is catalogued by libraries as nonfiction / biography, Haley obviously had to invent the dialogue he uses for much of the book. (I find it interesting that more readers tag this as “fiction” than nonfiction.) When published the book was a runaway best seller, but also somewhat controversial. Haley was accused of plagiarism and he settled the case out of court, admitting that many passages from The African by Harold Courtlander appeared in his book. Additionally, many genealogists have questioned his research and feel that official records do not confirm the story much before the Civil War. None of this information takes away from the great story, however.

First published in 1956, some people might consider this a classic (but I do not) ...


Peyton Place Grace Metalious
3***

From the Book Jacket - When it first appeared in 1956, Grace Metalious’s [debut novel] unbuttoned the straitlaced New England of the popular imagination, transformed the publishing industry, an made its young author one of the most talked-about people in America. [The novel] – which topped the best-seller lists for more than a year and spawned a feature film and long-running television series – reveals the intricate social anatomy of a small New England town.

My Reactions
While I can certainly see that the inclusion of domestic abuse, incest, abortion, teen sex, etc would be shocking and titillating to a mid-1950s readership, I kept wondering “What’s all the fuss about?”.

Many of the characters were too simply drawn to be effective. I did like what Metalious was trying to show – the strength and growing independence of three women in a culture / town that tried to restrict them. I’m not sure she was entirely successful in this endeavor, however. Still, the story line did continue to pull me along, and overall I was entertained.

We LOVE the classics, but it's not all we read!

Please leave your reviews of books that are NOT classics here!

If you read a book that IS a classic (Originally Published BEFORE 1950), please put that review as a NEW topic in the CLASSICS Reviews folder.

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NOT a classic


Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
Audiobook performed by Cassandra Campbell.
4****

From the book jacket: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. When Lydia’s body is found, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another

My reactions:
I love this kind of character-driven novel. Ng explores the nuances of family dynamics – how a parent’s own disappointments may translate into dreams for a child’s future, how a child may feel burdened by those dreams, how siblings may compete for or retreat from parental attention. More importantly, Ng looks at how everyone struggles to understand and love one another. And how large a role open communication (or lack of it) plays in our relationships.

Cassandra Campbell does a fine job narrating the audio version. She has good pacing, and I felt connected to the characters by her performance.

NOT a classic


The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam – Chris Ewan
4****

Charlie Howard is a successful mystery author, writing a series that features a professional burglar, Faulks. As a sideline he – and I guess you could call it research – he also occasionally accepts a commission to steal certain items. When a stranger offers him an unusually high fee to steal a couple of seemingly worthless monkey figurines, his instincts tell him to decline while his curiosity urges him to comply. Before long he’s embroiled in a major intrigue, and a suspect in a murder.

This was a highly entertaining mystery. I couldn’t help but think of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series, but the comparison is a good one. The pace is quick, the characters interesting, and the charms of Amsterdam (a city I have visited) evident. I didn’t really like the way he revealed the culprit; bringing everyone together and having a long speech to lay out the crime and point out the responsible party (or parties) seems a bit tedious. Still, I was charmed by Charlie and want to read more of this series.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Llevinso! (March 24)
I have a card for you but never got it mailed.... well, it will be waiting when you get back from your honeymoon!

The Milwaukee Public Library's Spring Literary Luncheon will feature Curtis Sittenfeld, who has written the "updated" version of Pride and Prejudice - Sittenfeld's book is titled Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

This is part of The Austen Project; publisher Harper Collins invited "authors of global significane" ro reimangine Jane Austen's six novels, and they chose Sittenfeld for this one. Others in the series, so far, are:
by Joanna Trollope
by Val Macdermid
by Alexander McCall Smith

Dear readers,
I'm sorry I've been MIA as a moderator these past couple of weeks. My husband had spinal fusion surgery on March 8 and I've been pretty consumed by being a full-time nurse as he recovers at home.

I checked out the audio of The Red and the Black from the library ... and returned it without listening to a single CD. I'll have to request it again when I'm ready to go back to work and enjoy listening during my hour-long commute!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Spring break / Easter holiday.

Mother Panda is getting married in two short weeks, so we know what SHE's been up to .... what about all of you?

ilikeboox wrote: "I'm reading by Alexander McCall Smith.
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I enjoyed this modern re-telling of Jane Austen's classic novel, Emma

This is actually part of a series of re-tellings ... called the AUSTEN PROJECT.
Joanna Trollope tackled Sense & Sensibility
Val McDermid wrote the modern version of Northanger Abbey
Curtis Settenfeld will have her version of Pride and Prejudice coming out later this year. The modern retelling is titled: Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

Feb 28 – currently reading

TEXT – Just Shy of Harmony / Philip Gulley
AUDIO in the car - Everything I Never Told You / Celeste Ng
Portable AUDIO - Dance Hall of the Dead / [[author:Tony Hillerman|26917]

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A group of us have started reading War and Peace ...

Here's a place to keep track of your progress.

Enjoy!