Okay, I did like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I love Kenneth Branaugh in PBS' Wallander, and I like shopping at IKEA, but that doesn't mean everythingOkay, I did like Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I love Kenneth Branaugh in PBS' Wallander, and I like shopping at IKEA, but that doesn't mean everything from Scandinavia is equally good. Headhunters is Exhibit A. It IS a fast-moving, competently written mystery, but the first-person character is unlikeable (which he knows! and trades on!), and the scene in the outhouse is among the most disgusting I've ever read. The ending? Unbelievable--and I mean that in a bad way....more
I wanted to love this book, because I highly value Nancy Kress' books on writing--I use them a lot. But based on this novel only (it's the only one ofI wanted to love this book, because I highly value Nancy Kress' books on writing--I use them a lot. But based on this novel only (it's the only one of hers I've read) she's showing the "John Gardner" syndrome--when a writer's books about how to create good fiction are, in fact, superior to her fiction.
Here's what dismayed me: in this story set in the nearish future, an alien race of "Atoners" recruits Earthlings to visit various planets on which they, the Atoners, stranded human beings 10,000 years ago. Okay, I'm in. The Earthlings are to space travel as Witnesses, witness some terrible thing the Atoners did that they're sorry about now, then return to Earth and tell everyone. They go. SPOILER ALERT: the terrible thing turns out to be the Atoners removed our human gene that lets us communicate with the recently dead. The Witnesses see humans on other planets demonstrate this trait, so they know it's real--and that we can't do it.
Back on Earth, they report this and chaos breaks out--in some quarters. (Lots of people don't care). Here's where the book falls apart for me. The author doesn't answer the So What? question. I couldn't get worked up one way or the other--about the Witnesses (their personal lives fall apart), about the rest of Earth (society hasn't gotten any smarter, alas), or about WHY IT MATTERS. Clearly, an afterlife or lack thereof is a Big Deal--but there isn't any exploration of WHY in this book. Nor do I feel much identification with the characters, perhaps because Kress uses a ton of viewpoints (more than she needs, which she'd be the first to tell you is a no-no), or perhaps because none of the characters is all that likeable.
So I'm bummed. I can, however, highly recommend her "Beginnings, Middles, Ends" and her "Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint" books for fiction writers. Excellent. And if you wonder how someone's coaching can be better than their actual performance, remember Caruso's voice teacher couldn't sing a note. Or so I read....more
I loved the tension and compelling suspense of this debut novel; the tone of the writing and focused, detailed characterization were very well done. CI loved the tension and compelling suspense of this debut novel; the tone of the writing and focused, detailed characterization were very well done. Catherine/Cathy Bailey leads a promiscuous party life you'd hate to think your daughter would try, but once I accepted that, I was compelled to keep reading to see what happened. I don't remember ever encountering the narrative device the author uses here: date-labelled alternating sections, both in first person, one set from Catherine Bailey, hard-drinking party girl who gets involved with and almost killed by a handsome abusive psychopath cop (!), and one of accounts set four years later by Cathy Bailey, frightened, damaged OCD-crippled girl who can barely get to work because of the exhausting safety-checks she must repeat for hours. Once I realized this was the same character at different periods, I was hooked. This device avoids distancing, dreaded flashbacks, which aren't as interesting as present story. Clever, and it works well here.
The reasons I can't give it more than 3 stars are these: when Cathy finally gets the psychiatric help she needs, she cures herself so fast it strained my belief to the breaking point. (SPOILER ALERT) Her shrink and her boyfriend do such a good job helping her deal with her fears that even though she is quite correct that her attacker will hunt her down once he's released from prison, and even though she HAS PROOF that he's been in her apartment and left little clues in her laundry, silverware drawer, etc., that he knows she will recognize, Cathy--who's seemed pretty smart up till now--doesn't buy a gun, call the cops and tell them, or even convince her new boyfriend (who's also a shrink and should know better) that the Psycho is indeed back. No, she does deep breathing and then GOES INTO THE APT or down the stairs or to the meeting with her old friend, when she KNOWS he'll be watching her. Sheesh. I don't mind her being terrified, but I did mind her getting stupidly brave at all the wrong moments. Still, very entertaining. Author to watch.
I wanted to love this book, since the bestselling author gave interviews ahead of time saying NY pubishers wouldn't touch his latest book out of fear I wanted to love this book, since the bestselling author gave interviews ahead of time saying NY pubishers wouldn't touch his latest book out of fear of blowback/bad publicity (can there BE bad publicity in book sales?) from readers outraged that a white man would try to write from the POV of black Americans--an argument I find absurd. But I couldn't love it. The book is a very long homily--racism bad (and rampant), Black people saints, white southern Christians evil hypocrites in police uniforms who worship Trump. (The main white character IS a saint who only needs absolution for being a successful Harvard grad.) I would bet the reason at least some of those publishers wouldn't publish it was the heavyhanded writing, not the topic itself. ...more
So far I've used this book to kickstart my job search and really do the tasks; help my mother-in-law articulate her real reasons for moving from her bSo far I've used this book to kickstart my job search and really do the tasks; help my mother-in-law articulate her real reasons for moving from her big house to an apartment (they aren't what we thought); and help a client organize his office. Now he's using the same technique to help his law clients discover their true motives for settling out of court, staying married, being civil to each other, etc. In my teaching days I could have used this to draw from students their own reasons why they wanted to learn, instead of telling them why they'd better--it would have saved me work and they'd have learned more.
Some reviewers question the repetition. I found it invaluable. Instant Influence may sound simple, but doing it effectively is NOT simple, at first. The author's true-life examples show you surprising venues where this works, and useful ways to customize it. The phrasing of the questions, the importance of WHY, the need to reflect back your client's words in positive ways--these aren't intuitive. You'll want practice.
And don't let the straightforward tone and cheesy cover fool you: we're talking profound human psychology here. Helping others help themselves change--which is what this lets you do--is bound to improve your character. If you crave recognition--if you're human--using this method will force you to suppress that ego so your "influencees" can hear their own motives to change. If you're in sales or consulting, the ego boost will come from your colleagues or boss--you don't have to be a saint. I suppose this method could be abused. (Do drug dealers read self-help books?) But so can water or air. Used in good faith, Instant Influence is a powerful tool for constructive change. Michael Pantalon deserves enormous credit for making his life's work so accessible to the rest of us. ...more
This is the second Renault title I've read, and I might like it even better than the Mask of Apollo. I remembered only a few generalities about AlexanThis is the second Renault title I've read, and I might like it even better than the Mask of Apollo. I remembered only a few generalities about Alexander the Great. I certainly didn't know about his devoted eunuch Bagoas, and how fascinatingly detailed and human a king's story told through a loving servant's eyes can be. I'll never think of eunuchs the same way again--or Alexander, for that matter. This is a love story, and a most moving one.
Things that stood out: the well-deserved love and respect Alexander commanded for his just and generous behavior; the huge differences in culture and manners between the Persians and the Macedonians & Greeks; once again, the miniscule role played by women in the disposition of countries at this period (I have to read about Cleopatra next, to balance things out). Anyone who thinks ancient history has to read Mary Renault. She could make the phone book interesting--you have to see for yourself what she can do with the colorful material she starts with, and the additional bits she imagines. Really liked it....more
Another one of those books I loved as a reader, years ago. These days I re-read this as a writer to see how Stewart pulls off a first-person narrativ Another one of those books I loved as a reader, years ago. These days I re-read this as a writer to see how Stewart pulls off a first-person narrative that holds a shocker at the end. As with all these suspense/thriller/romances from her early career (as opposed to her Merlin books, a different genre), our heroine is a decent, resourceful, well-adjusted young woman who has to cope with danger. The set-up is that Mary Grey of Canada is a dead ringer for the missing English heiress Annabel Winslow. When Annabel's cousin Connor spots her visiting near the family farm in Northumberland, he persuades her to impersonate his (surely) dead cousin in order to swing an inheritance his way. She agrees. We think we know everything that Mary Grey/Annabel Winslow knows--she's the one telling the story, after all. But, it turns out, we do not. Yet as a reader, I never felt manipulated or cheated. The author puts in just enough subtle clues throughout to lead the reader one way but still play fair. By the time you realize you've misled yourself, you HAVE to (well, I had to) read it again from the beginning and underline just where she was most artful. The setting, as always, is beautifully and precisely rendered. Here it is the English countryside and farm community of Northumberland in the 1950s. The author's knowledge of local plant/herb lore expertly invokes a tranquil, nostalgic atmosphere that is effectively disturbed by the hints of violence and decay that keep us spellbound. If you like a tightly constructed plot, characters to root for and villians to fear, and an intelligent, often lyrical authorial voice(you can skip the long passages of description the first time around, if you must), don't miss The Ivy Tree.
Not often enough, a writer comes across books she wishes she'd written. Her only recourse is to study such a book so as to steal, as invisibly as possNot often enough, a writer comes across books she wishes she'd written. Her only recourse is to study such a book so as to steal, as invisibly as possible, that writer's techniques. THE HUNGER GAMES is such a book for me. I read it in three hours, took time to pee, then went back and read it again. A few days later, again. How did Collins force me to turn the page from chapter to chapter? I needed to know, because I was writing my own mystery and needed any tips on how to make it compelling. I discovered--as most readers of this series do, consciously or not--that at the end of every chapter we either learn a new piece of information, see another key character in danger, watch the stakes get even higher (which I kept thinking was impossible, but wasn't, not for Collins), or see Katniss do something that demands we read on to see the reaction. Etc.
I learned that my own story UNACCOUNTED FOR had plenty of events in it, but the pacing could be improved. Also, my hero needed to take a tip from Katniss and keep thinking about his immediate goals, to remind the reader why things are important. I re-ordered it a la Hunger Games--it ratcheted up the excitement enormously. I'm not claiming my book's as riveting as Collins', but I owe her a big debt. Not only did she give me three books of tremendous entertainment value, but she stuffed them with serious issues that demand thought of serious readers--the kind of readers you hope will savor your own work. (Or just sit next to you at dinner.) A must-read series for any mystery writer, or any reader in search of a compelling tale....more
I thoroughly liked this consistently fascinating and funny account of a smart, compassionate entrepreneur committed to starting a battery business in I thoroughly liked this consistently fascinating and funny account of a smart, compassionate entrepreneur committed to starting a battery business in Ghana, Africa. The founder is Whit Alexander, but his brother Max comes along for the ride, which is lucky for us. Max's journalism and sharp eye for the interesting and absurd (to Western eyes) detail makes us want to read all about it.
Whit, a co-inventor of the game Cranium, is convinced that Africa needs businesses that sell effective, essential products to people who earn $1-2 dollars a day. His research tells him rechargeable batteries sold on a rental plan by local agents fit this model. He'll turn out to be right, but nothing in Africa is easy. Max's wonder at Ghanian driving habits/road conditions (deadly), restaurants (the menu has nothing to do with what's actually available, and watch out for cat dishes), languages, schooling, business practices, and pretty much anything else you can think of, is rendered in a wry, understated tone that's bemused and gradually, charmed.
It's this on-the-fly description of the culture and history of Ghana, interwoven with a readable business primer on the manufacturing/sales/marketing twists and turns the Burro company takes to better reflect Ghanian reality, that makes the book so valuable. The business lessons are great for those wanting to start a business overseas, or those who'd like to fight poverty more effectively and permanently than massive infusions of aid have done. (It's clear that most entrepreneurs would quit at any one of the obstacles Whit encounters; but he just figures out an alternative approach and goes on.) But the details of individual people and their daily life in Ghana--the food, medicine, advertising, manners, customs--are what will earn this book a wide general audience. It's great preparation for eager entrepreneurs packing to go save the world. But it's mind-expanding, too, for those of us who wish them well from the comfort of our air-conditioned, flush toilet-equipped homes. ...more
I read this the same day it came out, having impatiently waited the requisite year after CATCHING FIRE. Immediately, I was bummed. This was depressingI read this the same day it came out, having impatiently waited the requisite year after CATCHING FIRE. Immediately, I was bummed. This was depressing! Katniss is messed up! And events moved so fast it was hard to keep everything straight. If Book One and Two were 5 stars, this concluding book in the trilogy was a 3.5. Not a strong finish, I felt.
BUT--I read it again a few months later and had to revise my opinion. This time I read more slowly, paying attention to each sentence. All these books are tightly written, and maybe Collins overdid the succinctness in this one, but by reading closely I saw I'd missed some things first time around--including the inescapable, relentless reasoning behind Katniss' horrific action at the end. (A big thing to misunderstand...reader error!) Now I'll raise my rating to 4.5 stars. Collins did a good job fulfilling the initial promise of this series--that it not only entertain, but examine in a responsible way one person's credible reaction to the inhumanity of the Games. Katniss has had all the experience anyone could demand of an informed participant. When she violates certain moral givens in order to prevent worse injustice, and is prepared to pay the ultimate price for doing so, no one can argue she acted irresponsibly. We can only wonder if, in those circumstances, we'd have had that same kind of courage. (I do love moral dilemmas, and this one's a doozy.)
An ultimately satisfying, sobering, conclusion to an important work....more
I was intrigued by the title and the recommendation from a review in the WSJ. Alas, I was less impressed than I'd hoped with the actual book. Ms. HoltI was intrigued by the title and the recommendation from a review in the WSJ. Alas, I was less impressed than I'd hoped with the actual book. Ms. Holt has a smooth and elegant writing style, and the way she mines her premise (based on the true event of an American middle-schooler writing a letter to a Russian leader that gets answered) is unusual. Her viewpoint character is not the girl Jenny, but the girl's best friend Sarah. Which is lucky, because Jenny soon dies in a plane crash. Half the book takes place when Sarah is in her 20's and goes to Russia when she gets evidence that her friend Jenny is not dead after all, but has become a Russian citizen. The description of Moscow, the Russians Sarah meets, this is all good stuff. Not riveting, but it held my interest until I could find out whether this mysterious Russian woman is in fact the long-lost childhood friend, Jenny. (SPOILER ALERT) We never find out. Turns out the main character, Sarah, is more interested in "finding herself" than in actually finding Jenny or the truth of what really happened, so before she can prove who Jenny is--and she has the means--she packs up and goes back to America. I wanted my money back. I found Jenny more interesting, both in childhood and later in Russia, than I did Sarah, the narrator. Sarah is an observer, and so involved with herself, her sadness over her own family situation, her envy and bitterness over getting dumped by Jenny in a typical childlhood spat (when it was HER idea to write the letters anyway), that she is much the less engaging personality. Take Jenny, fake or real, out of the equation, and the book falls apart--for me. I can see where this would wow the MFA crowd but out here in the real world, we like plots and resolutions that mean something--style isn't worth much if there's no substance behind it....more
While I enjoyed the snappy writing and the send-up of high-achievers in Seattle (a city I know little about), it got a bit old as I realized I dislikeWhile I enjoyed the snappy writing and the send-up of high-achievers in Seattle (a city I know little about), it got a bit old as I realized I disliked the main character, Bernadette. This certified architectural genius suffered a career disappointment and has done no work for the last 20 years? While managing to frustrate and disappoint her husband, alienate the neighbors, and demonstrate to her young daughter myriad ways NOT to behave? The genius and her daughter's love are things I had to take on faith--I didn't actually see them in action. This story felt more like a long TV comedy with clever lines but ultimately, very little heart. ...more
I have liked other Emma Bull books, but this one disappointed. Same intriguing authorial voice, which is the ONLY thing that got me through the whole I have liked other Emma Bull books, but this one disappointed. Same intriguing authorial voice, which is the ONLY thing that got me through the whole book. I kept thinking, something big will happen very soon now....but it never did. The author went into too many characters' minds--it diluted our identification with the main two people (Jesse and Millie), so that we didn't know who we were supposed to care about. No romance consummated, and no clear description of what the actual magic or fantasy WAs that was occurring. I never did end up caring about any of them. Also the truly interesting stuff happened offstage. Subplots would surface fast, then never arise again. We find out one character who's passing as a boy is a girl--but nothing is made of this. It doesn't matter in the end. Which could serve as an epitaph for the whole book. In fact, this felt like an unrevised work they publish after a best-selling author dies, something they find when they're clearing out her office. (Emma Bull isn't dead, is she?) It won't stop me reading her next book, but it might stop me buying it--more of a library reserve now....more
This is the most lucid, compelling, and flat-out readable account of why Islam is not a religion of peace that I can imagine, frankly. (Although thereThis is the most lucid, compelling, and flat-out readable account of why Islam is not a religion of peace that I can imagine, frankly. (Although there were a few paragraphs I had to skim, being squeamish.) Ayaan Hirsi Ali does her readers the difficult service of telling a clear-eyed yet balanced, never vindictive, account of her extraordinary life: raised Muslim first in war-torn Somalia, then Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya; escaping from an arranged marriage by fleeing to Holland and eventually, being elected to its Parliament. She is stunned to see first-hand what an orderly, humane, country is like, in contrast to the failed societies she’d experienced. Gradually she realizes that the common factor in the failed societies, one absent in Holland’s rule of law, is Islam: the violent, misogynistic behavior of too many of its men, and the internalized helplessness of its women. 9/11 was a wake-up call to the world—and to the author—but to her horror, it was also a logical execution of the same Quran teachings she grew up with—not a “misinterpretation” or an aberration. Even though her determination to call attention to the harmful effects of Islam has cost her dearly in personal terms, I’m deeply grateful she continues to do it. This book should be required reading for every American politician of any party (and teenagers, for that matter). Our world is changing; Muslim communities in America will only grow larger. We need to help the newcomers integrate effectively into this country by respecting its laws and values, without sacrificing the freedom and safety we count on. ...more
It's hard to pin down why I like this book so much. Maybe the sense that I've walked into the 3rd or 4th book of a series, because the backstory and hIt's hard to pin down why I like this book so much. Maybe the sense that I've walked into the 3rd or 4th book of a series, because the backstory and history of the Borderlands setting is so deftly, unobtrusively suggested at. (Though this is the only one IN the series, as far as I know.) I'm not a big fantasy fan, but the magic in this book is woven in matter-of-factly, even the elves are so recognizably human, and the sexual tension between our hero Orient (he has an odd talent for finding things or people) and the cop Sunny, is well-depicted. (Bull is especially good at romantic scenes that end in sex, but it's tasteful as well as erotic.) But so is Orient's friendship with the elf Tick-Tick, and I liked that very much, too. The mystery of a mysterious drug that promises to turn humans into elves but alas, kills them instead, is nicely complicated and could only happen, seemingly, in this setting of Borderland. Anyway, it's a book I don't mind re-reading when I want to steep myself in an atmosphere of plausible, seedily romantic fantasy....more
I've re-read this one several times over the years. The best Smiley book and the best overall book by Le Carre, in my opinion. There's much here to enI've re-read this one several times over the years. The best Smiley book and the best overall book by Le Carre, in my opinion. There's much here to engage an espionage fan, as well as a suspense writer looking for great models of craft. George Leamas is an action figure, and act he does, and though there's plenty of moral introspection to let the reader guess why he does what he does, it's presented so deftly and sparingly that it never feels like the navel-gazing you often get in self-billed literary fiction. This is good, suspenseful, character-driven fiction, transcending genres.
The author uses omniscient POV throughout, with a focus on the two main characters of Leamas and the girl (whose name escapes me) but with quick dips into other characters' heads that help characterize the main two. The plot is challenging and comes close to being too complex--but isn't. As with any Le Carre novel you can't let your attention drift. The alert reader will be well-positioned to catch the tiny, subtle shifts the author uses to make his story. The world of international intrique hasn't gotten any simpler since this was written, though writers of this kind of life-or-death moral complexity continue to emulate Le Carre. Usually they fail....more
I just discovered Joseph Kanon's new book, Istanbul Passage, so now I'm reading his earlier books as well. Alibi did not disappoint. I adore books wheI just discovered Joseph Kanon's new book, Istanbul Passage, so now I'm reading his earlier books as well. Alibi did not disappoint. I adore books where the suspense comes from the moral dilemma of the protagonist, so I figured this would be up my alley. Or canal, as it's set in post-WW II Venice. But in Kanon's work there's never just one dilemma to worry about--every character has a secret. American Adam Miller has just left the army after being an investigator of war criminals in Germany. His widowed mother has settled in Venice, where she'd once lived, and he goes to stay with her until he figures out what's next. Unlike most of Europe, Venice appears unchanged by the war's horrors. On the surface. By the time Adam meets his mother's new fiancee Gianni, and the pretty Italian Jewish Claudia fresh from a concentration camp, he realizes everyone in Venice has been affected by the war in some way. With the best of intentions (to protect his mother from a fortune-hunter, and show Claudia that love and life can still be hers), he gets caught in currents much murkier than anything he's read in a German case file. Soon he's up to his eyebrows in a murder investigation, and alibis, and not knowing who to believe--and realizing he himself is not to be trusted. About one-third through there came a scene that made me yell out in surprise. I had to put the book down and to absorb it before I could keep reading. And even then the revelations come so quickly yet unexpectedly, and subtly--the dialogue is a model of tight precision--that I had to use a blank piece of paper to read line by line, so my eye wouldn't be tempted to skip ahead before my brain caught up. I was dazzled, though by the end, tired. Maybe one or two shocks too many. Or perhaps my complexity meter isn't used to being stretched by such elegant, layered plotting. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is, I really, really wanted a character--just one!--to believe in and root for. But such is the murky moral climate here that no one emerges without stain, or complicity in some very bad acts. For these people, the war will never be over. ...more
American Leon Bauer is mourning his mad wife and the end of the war as he goes about his daily business as a tobacco rep in Istanbul in 1945. He's agrAmerican Leon Bauer is mourning his mad wife and the end of the war as he goes about his daily business as a tobacco rep in Istanbul in 1945. He's agreed to perform one more covert errand for a friend in the American consulate--these harmless missions help Leon feel involved in the war effort (he failed the physical to actually serve). When this last one goes wrong and he ends up killing the agent who hired him, he's launched on a roller-coaster of choices that must be made in an environment of intrigue and betrayal, where people might be who they say they are but they're many other things as well.
I loved it. The post-war atmosphere, the exotic Turkish setting, and especially, the clipped prose and dialogue as compressed as poetry that forces close attention-- it all works beautifully to convey the moral instability Leon experiences politically and personally. He juggles brutal Russians and Romanians and Turks, while he lovingly visits his wife in her clinic while paying a local hooker for sex and then, sleeping with a colleague's wife in what they both think might be the last, real love of their lives. He keeps thinking each choice he makes, while never a good one--there are no good choices here--is at least a choice he can live with, without becoming one of "them." But the reader realizes the line separating Leon from the players and killers he sometimes protects, sometimes betrays, has blurred. If your choices define you, Leon has become as murky as the depths of the Bosphorus. PS--there's an explicit sex scene that's pretty darn good. If you miss the spy novels of John Le Carre, you'll enjoy Joseph Kanon's Istanbul Express....more
Our book club chose this, and I delayed reading it till the last minute because I always feel manipulated--and bored--by "heartwarming" racial storiesOur book club chose this, and I delayed reading it till the last minute because I always feel manipulated--and bored--by "heartwarming" racial stories. But this was better than I expected, and different. Ron Hall is the white, wealthy Texan art trader whose wife is divinely inspired to get them both involved in a homeless shelter in downtown Ft. Worth. Denver Moore is a black former sharecropper in his sixties who never learned to read or write, and lives on the street. They all meet, Denver lets them get close to him, they become friends, and then (SPOILER) the wife gets cancer. Because she's been so helpful to the mission, everyone starts praying like mad, but God has His own agenda. I don't mean to sound flip--much of this book is very touching, and if you don't tear up at the chapters surrounding Deborah's illness, you're tougher than me. As a true story, it's interesting and surprisingly matter-of-fact, not preachy. And it certainly made me feel like a selfish bum for not doing as much as the Halls. Yet I wonder how relevant, as a life lesson, this book is to those of us without the leisure, money, or nerve to spend 20+ hours/week helping the truly down & out. So far as I could tell, the shelter didn't teach its attendees any skills that would help them lift themselves out of their rut. Which is the only thing that offers lasting, systemic change. But I was one of the few with any criticisms. The rest of the book club loved it....more
I read this a few years ago when our book club did it. It does feel a bit dated now, but once you get into it this story of academic jockeying in EnglI read this a few years ago when our book club did it. It does feel a bit dated now, but once you get into it this story of academic jockeying in England is hilarious and endearing. How could you not root for Jim to triumph over the pompous, insecure (and rightly so) academics he's competing against? Alas, that university tenure battle doesn't seem to have changed much since....more
Just finished on Audible. Confirms my opinion of CS Lewis as an impressive polymath, whose learning and beliefs led him to write (and think) widely. FJust finished on Audible. Confirms my opinion of CS Lewis as an impressive polymath, whose learning and beliefs led him to write (and think) widely. For science fiction written in the '30s, this still packs a punch, more in terms of the author's speculation about what any meeting with extraterrestials would mean for, and say about, us Earthlings, than for any scientific astuteness, since his knowledge of space travel had to be wholly invented. Which in my opinion doesn't detract from the value of his story. What Ransom experiences and observes on Mars/Malachandra are so credible in terms of human behavior (good and bad), that his character forces the reader to reflect on what other species in other spaces COULD be like, and on the many achievements/atrocities humans would do well to be humble about. Now I have to read the rest of trilogy....more
This was a compelling and exotic read (can't remember the last book I read about Ethiopia!). The plot had plenty of melodrama, which is okay when it'sThis was a compelling and exotic read (can't remember the last book I read about Ethiopia!). The plot had plenty of melodrama, which is okay when it's as well-written as this was. Identical twins, pregnant nuns, 9-fingered surgeons--I bought it all, that's how convincing the author is.
Didn't like: the explicitness of the medical descriptions, especially the surgeries. There's a reason I never became a nurse and it's because I am squeamish. An adroit writer--and Verghese is very adroit--can suck me into the gory details before I even realize I'm there, but then I'm sorry. Still, for those of stronger stomach, it's probably fascinating.
Also: I'm all for connectedness of plot, but the way the whole story came full circle so neatly just before the relevant characters died, felt contrived. Everybody got punished for their sins in one way or another--and I like that--but the pattern repeated so relentlessly I was bothered. A bit.
Definitely held my interest and respected my intelligence. So--a good book....more
Eh. Had to skim most of this, as the language was a bit pedantic and I was only interested in certain sections. Didn't like it much.Eh. Had to skim most of this, as the language was a bit pedantic and I was only interested in certain sections. Didn't like it much....more
Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko books do two things very well that I'm a sucker for: they give me fast-moving, intelligent and darkly humuorous mysteMartin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko books do two things very well that I'm a sucker for: they give me fast-moving, intelligent and darkly humuorous mysteries, and they feed my interest in history and foreign locales that I'm too lazy to satisfy via nonfiction research.
In HAVANA BAY, Russian senior inspector Renko is recently widowed when he receives a faxed message from someone in the Cuban Embassy that his old friend Sergei is in trouble. That's an understatement, since when Renko flies to Cuba the next day, the Cuban police have just fished something that is almost certainly Sergie out of the bay. There follows a trail of intricate sleuthing and a cast of Cuban and Russian characters (a sexy, staunchly communist Cuban policewoman is especially well-drawn) that do a better job than any documentary of showing, in a few quick strokes, the frustrating, heartbreakingly stupid results of dictatorship in everyday life. The scene with the school teacher and the "stolen" banana is brilliant. All the characterization becomes relevant in the final solution of the mystery, and in turn add up to much more than their parts. Impressive.
I had to order this book from Amazon/UK, as it wasn't available in the States. And yet, reading about what ex-Muslims go through as they wrestle with I had to order this book from Amazon/UK, as it wasn't available in the States. And yet, reading about what ex-Muslims go through as they wrestle with the enormous, life-altering consequences of leaving the religion of their families and community, was so eye-opening I'm surprised it's not more read. Leaving Islam is nothing like switching Catholic parishes or declaring yourself an atheist is, for most Americans. Becoming an apostate is dangerous--it could get you killed. Which is why so many of the people interviewed for what the author calls the "first sociological study of apostates" insist on remaining in the closet, so to speak, not even admitting to their own families how they've come to doubt the religion of their birth. A typical Westerner of Christian or Jewish or atheist background will have trouble appreciating the courage it takes to leave this particular faith. The books sheds a lot of light on Islam, and gives you more evidence (in case you need any) as to why this is a religion sorely in need of reform--from within....more
Normally I shy away from books about racism--too much emotional manipulation, unless they're VERY well-written--like, say, To Kill a Mockingbird. Now Normally I shy away from books about racism--too much emotional manipulation, unless they're VERY well-written--like, say, To Kill a Mockingbird. Now I'd add The Help. Anyone who can write a book about racism that's funny (in spots! I'm not saying racism itself is amusing!)is a genius. Three first-person female narrators, each so distinctive you can tell within one sentence who is speaking. This book reads so smoothly and effortlessly it's hard to believe it's a first novel. Well-done, Kathryn Stockett. ...more
I didn't finish this book--got 50 pages in, failed to find the enchantment so many other people have (including a good friend who highly recommended iI didn't finish this book--got 50 pages in, failed to find the enchantment so many other people have (including a good friend who highly recommended it), and after incurring overdue fees, returned it to the library. I do like Walker Percy's work, and was very impressed by the foreword he wrote to this book comparing it to Cervantes' Don Quixote. Alas, if he is right, I missed it. O'Toole's writing felt rough, almost experimental, and I found the main character more pathetic and dislikeable, than hilariously outspoken. But so many readers I respect loved it, I'm allowing I could be wrong. Will give it another try one of these days....more
I read this out loud years ago to my children, who adored it (though I'm sure we mangled the Lapine pronunciation). Am re-reading it for a book group.I read this out loud years ago to my children, who adored it (though I'm sure we mangled the Lapine pronunciation). Am re-reading it for a book group. I'm struck again by how much this writer can make me care for the characters, who are, after all, rabbits. But they act and think like humans, so I can identify. By showing us hitherto unsuspected (by me) details of the rabbit's world and in particular this specialized time and place, from the viewpoint of Hazel the Chief Rabbit, Adams makes the business of Watership Down as riveting as the lives in Downton Abbey. And by the way, it is NOT a "children's book." It's a study in leadership and group dynamics that is suitable for children, but particularly valuable for adults, and recommended for anyone who likes a rousing adventure story. A deserved classic. ...more
I was charmed by this book that by all rights should be YA--the main characters are 15, they act exactly like 15-year-olds do, it's set in and around I was charmed by this book that by all rights should be YA--the main characters are 15, they act exactly like 15-year-olds do, it's set in and around high school--but is decidedly NOT YA. The plot here is really the least important thing, in my opinion. It's the pitch-perfect voice of the narrator and his school, brother, girl-friend, parents, etc., that blew me away. The depiction of high school drama club members had me laughing out loud. Tons of swear words but never used just for effect. It's hilarious in such a sneaky, disarming way you're tempted to think the author doesn't know how funny it is. But something this skillful is no accident. Wish I could do it more justice with this review, but D.C. Pierson writes better than me. Read it....more
The basic premise--that the United States would pass a law allowing parents to terminate their kids at a certain age, if that kid has proved unsatisfaThe basic premise--that the United States would pass a law allowing parents to terminate their kids at a certain age, if that kid has proved unsatisfactory--is absurd, and not rendered plausible in any way by the author. Anyone who finds the book "disturbing" has apparently suspended logic or judgment. What I find disturbing is that this exploitative attempt to shock has resonated with many librarians and YA readers. It gives "Young Adult" a bad name....more
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