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

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

The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
Audiobook performed by Jeremy Irons
3***

This is Coehlo’s international best-selling classic tale of an Andalusian shepherd boy’s quest to find his own Personal Legend. Santiago is tending his sheep when he is puzzled by a recurring dream in which a boy says that there is hidden treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt. A gypsy woman offers to interpret the dream in exchange for a promise of one tenth the treasure. Santiago agrees, but feels no closer to a solution. The next day he encounters an old man, who says he is king of Salem, and tells him he must seek his own Personal Legend. And thus Santiago’s quest begins.

On his travels he also meets a thief, a crystal merchant, an alchemist, a desert woman, tribal chieftains, and a caravan leader, all of whom help – in some fashion or other – Santiago on his quest. But his ultimate discovery is that one’s treasure lies close to home.

This fable has captured the attention and imagination of a worldwide readership. And the story of how it came to be published, somewhat parallels the story told. The message is simplistic, even as the images are somewhat unrealistic, even fantastic. I can see why it became such a gigantic hit – it’s an allegorical fable about finding one’s true self, wrapped in an adventure and with a little romantic interest added for good measure, but it really didn’t do too much for me. I found it entertaining but not particularly inspiring.

Jeremy Irons does a magnificent job performing the audio version. He is a great actor and gives life to these characters. From the innocent boy, to the Crystal merchant and the Alchemist, each character comes to life with his performance. Irons’s performance was mesmerizing and engaging, but at the end I felt as if I had missed something. I think that is the fault of Coelho’s writing, though, not the narrator’s performance. I would rate the audio performance 5 stars.


LINK to my review

First published in 1961, this passes the 50-year mark ... not sure it's widely read any longer, but it's still fascinating.



The Making of the President 1960 – Theodore H White
3***

Subtitle: A Narrative History of American Politics in Action.

About a year before the November 1960 election, Theodore H White began studying the likely candidates. He focused on a handful of men with aspirations and/or apparent qualifications: Humphrey, Kennedy, Stevenson, Johnson, Nixon, Rockefeller. He travelled from state to state reporting on the primaries or state caucuses / conventions. (In that era, there were only sixteen states that held primaries!) He attended the Democratic and Republican national conventions. And he closely followed the candidates as they campaigned for the presidency.

I was fascinated to learn some of this history, and the first-hand look at the “political machines” that produced these two candidates, and ultimately President John F Kennedy. I also found this a surprisingly nostalgic book … It was published in 1961, shortly after Kennedy’s inauguration, so there is no hint of what is to come in November 1963.

It’s somewhat dated – the process is different more than half a century later. And yet, there is something timeless about this story. Serious issues of race, the economy, potential for nuclear war, etc still plague our country. Good men and women still struggle to find solutions. My face-to-face book club had a fascinating and spirited discussion of this work.

Double Indemnity - James M Cain
Digital audiobook performed by James Naughton
5*****

Walter Huff is an insurance agent who heads out to a Spanish mansion in the hills above Los Angeles to renew – and hopefully upgrade – an automobile policy for Mr Nirdlinger. The client is not at home, and Mrs Nirdlinger asks Huff to return the next night, but before he leaves she also asks about accident insurance. Huff knows the woman is trouble – with a capital T – but he lets himself get reeled in and before you know it …

Cain is a master of the roman noir. His writing is every bit as seductive as the temptress at the heart of his story. You just know this is going to end badly but you cannot tear yourself away, you just HAVE to continue. His short declarative sentences and first-person narrative give an immediacy to his writing, and make the novel difficult to put down. And just when you think you’ve already gone over the cliff …. You find that Cain has one or two more surprises in store for you. The ending of this one is nothing short of chilling.

James Naughton does a superb job voicing the audiobook. His clipped delivery is perfect for Cain’s writing style.


LINK to my review

Living To Tell the Tale - Gabriel Garcia Marquez – 3***
This is the first in a planned three-volume autobiography, taking the reader from Marquez’s birth in 1927 to his young adulthood in the mid 1950s. In recounting his early life, the author also tells the history of Columbia – the politics, culture, troubles and triumphs of the people. Magical realism is a style that is ingrained in the oral story-telling traditions of Latin America, and I loved those little hints of magical realism in this work. Reminded me of listening to my grandparents recount tales of their own childhoods.
LINK to my review

Dracula - Bram Stoker
Digital Audiobook performed by Simon Vance
5*****

Does anyone really need a synopsis? If you’ve seen any of the movies, you know the basic plot, but the original novel is so much more!

Stoker wrote the work as a series of journal or diary entries, letters and newspaper clippings. This could easily become disjointed, but in this case, it serves to give a certain immediacy to the writing. It also builds suspense, as we leave one character to jump to another’s perspective, frequently with a disconnect in terms of what each of the characters knows about the full situation. The danger they are in is frequently a result of not having the full picture, of not truly understanding the force against which they are pitted.

But the novel is more than just a horror story. There are several themes which would be great for book group discussion.

To begin there is the typical Victorian theme of strong men coming to the rescue of pure damsel in distress. However, Stoker turns the tables a bit when he gives Mina the intelligence, foresight and courage to fight the evil forces in her own way. Yes, the men do the actual fighting, but it is Mina who first puts together all the individual notes into a coherent chronological story, and ultimately gives the men what they need to go up against Dracula. The woman has steel!

Stoker also includes a fair amount of sexual – or at least sensual – tension. Bosoms heave, blood quickens, breathing is rapid, and people are completely overcome and overwhelmed by desire. They are simply helpless in the face of their base instincts … or are they?

The novel is wonderfully atmospheric; from the delights of a new culture as Harker first experiences the loveliness of Eastern Europe, to the growing sense of doom when surrounded by howling wolves, to the creepy, skin-crawling scene with the hordes of rats (I feel squeamish as I type this), and finally to the “pure-white” snow of the mountain blizzard, time and again Stoker puts the reader smack dab in the middle of the scenes.

There are several different audio versions. For my second listen I managed to get the Blackstone Audio version narrated by Simon Vance. I liked this audio even better than the first one I listened to. But then, I would probably listen to Simon Vance read his grocery list.


NOTE - This is a re-read and review has been updated from original.

LINK to my review

Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie
Audio book performed by David Suchet
4****

Christie is at her best in this mystery starring Hercule Poirot.

Linnett Ridgeway has everything – beauty, youth, intelligence and incredible wealth. When her dear friend Jacqueline de Bellefort asks her to please give her fiancé, Simon Doyle, a job so that they can get a start in life together, Linnett agrees. But a few months later it is Linnett and Simon who are on their honeymoon, though Jackie seems to turn up everywhere … even aboard their cruise ship up the Nile. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!

When Linnett is found dead in her cabin, the obvious suspect is Jackie. But at least five people can swear that she couldn’t possibly have done it. So who is the murderer? And why? Hercule Poirot may be on holiday in Egypt, but his “little grey cells” are working overtime. There are plenty of suspects and almost as many motives.

David Suchet is perfect in his performance on the audio. He reads at the brisk pace a mystery requires, and seems to effortlessly handle the many different voices required for the large cast of characters. I could listen to him all day.


LINK to my review

Lamb In His Bosom - Caroline Miller
5***** and a ❤

Cean Carver weds Lonzo Smith on a fine Spring day in 1832, and they leave her parents’ home for the six-mile journey by ox cart to their new homestead. This 1934 Pulitzer winner deals with a backwoods country existence in rural Georgia, following the Carver / Smith families until shortly after the Civil War. Over the course of several decades, the book explores what life was like for these farmers of pre-Civil War America. They battle weather, wild animals, disease, and injuries. And, when called, the men leave to fight a war they never wanted, and have no stake in.

It takes a little while to get used to the language and style, but it’s a wonderful book. At times it’s plodding, but there are extraordinary moments of brilliant writing. Descriptions so vivid you can feel the heat, smell the blood, hear the birds or the wail of panthers. It is a simple story, of simple people, but their lives are anything but simple.

Cean Carver Smith is the focus of much of the novel. Over the course of the book she gives birth to fourteen children, mourns the death of several of her family members, endures moments of panic, and perseveres with courage and dignity. She is steadfast in her resolve to provide for her family, to love her husband and parents, and to endure.

What is so special about the book is that it gives voice to the majority of rural farmers of this era. People with limited education, no slaves, many children, and a deep faith that hard work would reap rewards. Miller was the first Georgia writer to win the Pulitzer, and the success of this novel prompted the publisher to go seeking other Southern writers. Thus, was Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind discovered. That book quickly surpassed this one in popularity, and more’s the pity in my opinion.

(NOTE: Review updated on second reading, Sept 2017)



LINK to my review

Eventide - Kent Haruf – 5*****
Continuing the story of the residents of fictional Holt, Colorado, the novel features some of the same characters that readers came to love in Plainsong . Life can be hard in Holt. Accidents cause injury and death. Alcohol fuels violent tendencies and foolish behavior. Then again, some people rise to the occasion and help one another, moving forward with courage and grace. I came late to the party when it comes to reading Haruf. But better late than never.
LINK to my review

Glad to have you joining us, Laurie.

CLASSIC Science Fiction (first published 1965)


Dune - Frank Herbert
3***

From the book jacket: The novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family – and would bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

My reactions:
Okay … science fiction epics are just not my thing. That being said, I do recognize and appreciate what has made this such an enduring classic in the genre. Herbert has created a complex world, with warring factions, political intrigue, and a great main character in Paul Muad’Dib. The action moves the plot forward at a consistent pace, and there are scenes that just stopped me in my tracks (those worms!). But despite all that I was just “meh” about the book. I liked it okay, but it’s not special to me. I think if I had read this when I was in high school or college I would have rated it higher, but it just doesn’t appeal to my reading tastes at this stage of my life.

The audio is probably part of the reason I was lukewarm to the book. It is narrated / performed by a variety of talented voice artists. Simon Vance is the main narrator, with the characters each voiced by a different actor, including Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, and a full cast. That would probably have been fine, adding drama and making it easier for the listener to identify the many different characters. But the producers also added sound effects and a soundtrack of music that just irritated me no end. I particularly hated the “thrum” of a large engine that was used as background in several scenes; the first time I heard it I thought there was some problem with my car engine!


LINK to my review

The Member of the Wedding – Carson McCullers
Digital audiobook performed by Jena Malone, Ruby Dee and Victor Mack (Recording of a live performance of LA Theatreworks)
4****

Twelve-year-old Frankie Adams is bored with life and longing for adventure, for a sense of belonging to something “bigger.” When her older brother comes home on leave from the Army, to marry his girlfriend Janice, she becomes obsessed with the wedding and what it may mean for her own future.

Carson McCullers has a way of writing her characters that draws the reader into their very souls. Frankie’s journey through this phase of adolescence is at once painfully distressing, funny and charming. I was, in turns, afraid for Frankie and amused by her. I was – with some wincing – reminded of my own foibles at this age. That headlong rush to “grow up” to be part of an adult world that I didn’t quite understand but SOOOoo wanted to join. That in-between age when I still enjoyed the games of childhood and younger cousins, but also wanted to be accepted by the older teens and included in their dances, parties and secret societies.

I listened to the audio which I got through my library’s Overdrive connection. It is wonderfully acted by Ruby Dee, Jena Malone and Victor Mack, however, it’s an audio of the PLAY, not of the novel. I immediately picked up the text of the novel and read it through in a day.


LINK to my review

Under This Unbroken Sky – Shandi Mitchell – 5*****
This debut work just about broke my heart. Mitchell’s writing is luminous and poetic in places, making the landscape and weather central characters in the drama that unfolds in the last 1930s on the plains of Northern Canada. The novel touches on the immigrant experience, the harsh realities of prairie life, domestic abuse, faith, friendship, charity, pride, survival and forgiveness. This is a book, and an author, that deserves a wider audience.
LINK to my review

Hamlet – William Shakespeare
BBC Audiobook performed by Michael Sheen (Hamlet), Kenneth Cranham (Claudius), Juliet Stevenson (Gertrude) and Ellie Beaven (Ophelia), and a full cast
4****

I’ll dispense with the summary for this classic tragedy by William Shakespeare, but as I’ve said before, I really dislike reading plays. I much prefer to see them performed live by talented actors, the medium for which they are written. The next best thing to a live performance, however, must be an audio such as this one, with talented actors taking on the roles and really bringing the play to life for the listener.

There are hundreds of editions of this work, and I recommend that readers get one that is annotated. The text copy I had as an accompaniment to the audio was published by the Oxford University Press, and included several scholarly articles, appendices and footnotes to help the modern-day reader understand Shakespeare’s Elizabethan terms and use of language, as well as historical references. One appendix even includes the music to accompany the songs!

LINK to my review

Jane Steele – Lindsay Faye – 3.5***
Lindsay Faye’s re-telling of Jane Eyre , is an imaginative romp. Readers of the classic will recognize many plot elements, but Faye has let her imagination run wild. The story is still set in the same era as Bronte’s classic novel, but this Jane is a serial killer. If that makes you gasp is horror … well give the book a chance. It’s great fun to read
LINK to my review

Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Book on CD narrated by J.O. Sanders
3***

Satire about the futility of war, and particularly about the inanity of military bureaucracy.

I definitely see why this is on its way to becoming a classic. Heller’s story of one unit fighting in Italy during WW2, could easily be updated to today and still ring true in many respects. It’s funny, irreverent, and disturbing. While I recognize the absurdity of some of the scenarios, it hits close enough to the truth to make one take notice. And that’s what satire should do.

Still, satire is not my favorite genre. I appreciate it, but don’t necessarily like it. So, I’ll give it three stars – a good read, a worthy read, but it’ll never make my top-ten list.

Jay O. Sanders does a fine job performing the audio. He brings all the characters to life, but I really liked his Yosarian.

LINK to my review

This made for a GREAT book club discussion ...



We Are Called to Rise – Laura McBride – 4****
McBride’s debut novel tells the story of four different people whose lives intersect as the result of one split-second choice. The novel is told by each of these four characters in turn. I was immediately drawn into their personal stories. McBride does a great job of writing these characters, making them real to the reader. I thought the ending was a little too contrived, but that was really my only complaint. I look forward to reading her next book.
LINK to my review

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zavin – 3***
One snowy December evening A.J. Fikry finds that someone has left a baby between the shelves in his bookstore. This is a fable about second chances and the redemptive power of love. It’s a somewhat quiet story, as novels go, but it is full of the drama of every day existence. I also loved all the literary references.
LINK to my review

First published in 1940, this is "classic" detective fiction.


Farewell My Lovely – Raymond Chandler
Book on CD narrated by Elliott Gould
3***

From the book jacket: Marlow’s about to give up on a completely routine case when he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time to get caught up in a murder that leads to a ring of jewel thieves, another murder, a fortune-teller, a couple more murders and more corruption than your average graveyard.

My reactions
I came late to Chandler’s series about P.I. Philip Marlowe, but I sure am enjoying them now! The action is non-stop, and the characters so vivid they virtually jump off the page. Chandler’s sentences are short and crisp, but he still has time to employ some of the most colorful metaphors and descriptions in the English language. There are plenty of twists in the plot to keep the reader guessing, and Marlowe is a marvelous lead character. I’ll definitely keep reading the series.

Elliott Gould does a fine job of voicing the audio version. He has great pacing and is a marvelous actor. I was a little concerned when I first noticed that he was the voice artist for this book; his voice is distinctive and I thought I would be picturing him throughout the book. But that was not the case at all.

LINK to my review

Columbine – Dave Cullen – 4****
Gripping, fascinating, and horrifying. Cullen has done extensive research and made every effort to remain an impartial journalist, ferreting out facts and revealing them without judgment. The result is perhaps even more disturbing than what I thought I knew about it.
LINK to my review

I haven't read this one ... but I just love the Hercule Poirot series.