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Winter 14/15 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 14/15
Task 10.5 - Author Achievements:Margaret Atwood
2008 winner – Princess of Asturias Awards - Literature (Letras).
The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood
Lexile 780L
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 430 + 10 = 440
10.4 - Island DreamsRestaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa
The book takes place in Japan
+10 Task
+10 Non-Western (japanese)
Task total = 20
Points total = 65
20.7-18th Century PlusRival Queens: Actresses, Performance, and the Eighteenth-Century British Theater by Felicity Nussbaum
+20 Task
Task total: 20
Grand Total 185
20.1 - RwS Anniversary!Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
I wish I could have read these stories in their original Japanese. It’s not that the translations were bad. They are well reviewed by those who can read them in Japanese. It is that the reviews make a point of Akutagawa’s ability to use the language to express the stories, so I’m just jealous, I guess! I enjoyed the first three stories and the last story the most. They are, “In a Grove”, a set of interviews as part of a murder investigation, “Rashomon”, a story of desperation, “Yam Gruel”, about the joy of anticipation and the possible disappointment of fulfillment, and “Dragon”, a hoax that comes true, at least in the eyes of the beholders. They were all masterful little gems and quite accomplished considering the youth of the author. I was left contemplating how much great prose was lost to his suicide at the young age of thirty -five. I plan to read more of his work and recommend it highly.
+20 Task: 1914
+10 Combo: 20.4 1001?(Rashomon is listed, but not other stories)/ 20.10 - Goodreads Feature
+10 Review
+10 Non-Western (Japanese)
+10 Oldies (1914)
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 865
10.2 - NutcrackerThe Seagull by Anton Chekhov
+10 Task
+10 Non-Western (Russia)
+10 Oldies (1895)
Task total = 30
Points total = 95
20.5 Mystery WomanThree to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
It has been awhile since I have read a Stephanie Plum novel but I felt like I needed something quick and light to read this time around. I enjoyed it, I don’t want to say that I loved it though. There were a lot of funny moments and I really think you have to suspend your version of reality when reading these novels – which is the point of course. They aren’t to be taken too seriously, you are just supposed to enjoy them and not think too much about them. If I was putting too much thought into plot development and character development, well I would likely be throwing the book at the wall repeatedly.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total=30
Grand Total=180
20.8 Exiles and EmmigrantsOf Things Gone Astray by Janina Matthewson
+20 task
+10 review
What a surprising gem this was! I received an ARC from Goodreads this weekend, and devoured it in less than two days.
Of Things Gone Astray is a compulsively readable novel, yet it's also a novel with considerable depth. This is a book about the things we value (or think we value) the most in life - and how we're changed when they very suddenly disappear. We're not talking about losing a wedding ring or a passport or a wallet; we're talking about losing something so essential to one's identity that we don't know how to function without it. This book is about stripping away our security blankets and exposing the things we keep hidden from others in our lives because we're afraid.
An elderly character wakes one day to find the front half of her house is missing (she's then forced to interact with her neighbors, something she has avoided at all costs for most of her long life). Another character - a workaholic - goes to work one day to find his office no longer exists (he's then forced to consider why he spent all his time at work instead of with his family, and to find out what he really wants to do with his "one wild and precious life"). One character, who abandoned her plans to go to graduate school after her mother was seriously injured in an accident, loses her sense of direction - she can't leave the house without getting incredibly lost (she's then forced out again into the world, to discover herself and let her mother regain her independence).
This book manages, in a way that doesn't feel forced, to tie together all these disparate characters (and more!) - to somehow help each other accept their losses, and to not just move on from loss, but to move forward in a way that accepts and nurtures new life. I thought of my own experiences with loss, of how unbearable it felt to lose a parent, a partner, a friend, to move cross country - but how, ultimately, these losses were transformative, shaping me (eventually) into a new, better version of myself.
Janina Matthewson is a lovely writer, and knows how to tell a good story. You have to be willing to suspend disbelief for this to work for you (I'm not a huge fan of magical realism, but still really enjoyed this and managed to not get wrapped up in overanalyzing if any of the scenarios actually make sense), but give it a try. The pay off is worth it.
task total: 30
grand total: 320
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.5 - Author Achievements:Margaret Atwood
2008 winner – Princess of Asturias Awards - Literature (Letras).
The Handmaid's Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood
Lexile 7..."
It's also on the 1001-list (task 20.4), so if you play it in that category, you'd get 20 task points :)
10.6 Foreign LanguageThe Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
Review:
This is real science fiction, of a type that I've rarely read. Thus, I'm the wrong reviewer to compare this book to others in the genre or track any references to Arthur C. Clarke or anyone else. But even though this was far outside my usual reading choices, I found the book exciting and interesting.
The physics concepts are just outside my understanding, but the author does a good enough job explaining and analogizing that I felt I could follow the science even if I couldn't use it to solve the problems myself. I'd never heard of the three-body problem (and actually had to go read the Wikipedia article about it), but loved the way it was played out in this book.
The narrator for the audiobook did an excellent job reading the sometimes technical material in a way that was easy to follow.
I'll be eagerly awaiting the translation of the next two books in the trilogy.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Non-Western
Task total: 30
Grand total: 345
20.10 Goodreads FeatureOrphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Apparently I am getting soft in my old age, because this is the second “feel good” book this season that I have loved. Orphan Train is a story within a story – the frame story is that of Molly, a 17 year old foster child who ends up having to do community service in the house of 91 year old Vivian Daly. The main story is that of Vivian, who as a child rode the orphan trains out west to Minnesota and experienced various hardships and challenges along the way. At first, when I saw where this was going (stories that highlight the connections between orphans/foster care then and now, “overcoming obstacles” narrative) I was just eh about it – but as I kept reading I found that I could not stop myself from caring deeply about what happened to Molly and Vivian. Christina Baker Kline writes her characters well and also writes the history like she lived it herself – to an admittedly low-knowledge reader, at least, it rings true. I really enjoyed this read.
+20 task
+5 combo with 20.8 (Author born in England; lives in the US)
+10 review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 335
10.2 - Nutcracker:A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov
An unnamed officer traveling in the Caucasus mountains strikes up a conversation with a fellow travler, Captain Maxim Maximovich. When bad weather interrupts their journey, Maxim narrates the first tale about his friend Pechorin and Bela, a beautiful Circassian woman Pechorin loved and lost. The second tale is of Maxim Maximovich's brief reunion with Pechorin. The third tale is told through Pechorin's diary, given to the unnamed narrator by Maxim Maximovich. It detail a strange encounter with a near-mythical creature in Taman, a sea town. We next see Pechorin in a spa town, where in a fit of devilish boredom (and a story-telling reminiscent of a cross between Austen's Bath and Les Liaisons Dangereuses), he courts a young Princess to spite a friend while also renewing an acquaintance with a former lover. Finally, there is a short tale about a bet made on whether one's death is predestined or can be chosen at will.
I appreciated the structure, finding the frame story with it's nested stories charming and the individual tales are captivating. But the transitions between them are sometimes abrupt and in the very last story it isn't clear who is narrating until the final few pages. For this novel, I think I lost the big picture due to the focus on the individual pieces. I still can't seem to make a coherent whole out of it (thus the clunky summary above).
+10 task
+10 non-Western
+10 review
+15 oldies
Task Total: 45
Grand total: 255
20.8 - Exiles and EmmigrantsThe Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
I started this audiobook waaaaay back in December in the middle of cookie-baking-week, mistakenly thinking it was a collection of short stories.
It is primarily Subhash's story, beginning in his childhood with the close relationship between him and his younger brother Udayan. As the two brothers mature, they inevitably obtain different interests and gradually grow apart. By the time Shubash leaves India for a doctorate program in Rhode Island, they are no longer able to communicate honestly with each other. The novel mostly follows Shubash (occasionally we see the world through his wife or daughter's eyes), through life's tragedies, bad decisions, and moments of happiness, ending when he is in his 60s.
Lahiri (and the narrator) instantly drew me into the story creating a realistic world detailing both the closeness of the brothers, but also how Shubash felt overshadowed by the bolder, more charismatic Udayan. It was heart-breaking to hear Shubash's narration of how they grew apart as they grew older. But if the book was supposed to have the relationship of the brothers as its core, it lost its heart early on when Udayan was no longer a major part of Shubash's life. Overall it is compelling, but it is not the book purported in the summaries I have seen.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.10 found from The Goldfinch)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 290
20.10 - goodreads feature:Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
This non-fiction book details the events that took place in Memorial Hospital, New Orleans, in the five days after Hurricane Katrina. Memorial Hospital was one of the medical facilities that had a high death toll and one of several that was investigated for possible criminal conduct.
The first section depicts the events of the five days, compiling information from a variety of resources to provide multiple perspectives of the situation. The second part focuses on the legal consequences (or lack thereof) and ethical considerations.
The first section is incredibly compelling and hard hitting. Fink does a good job of laying out the chain of events and using many different view points to get a sense of what was happening in different locations as the situation unfolded. I was impressed with her ability to portray the key figures as individuals with different experiences and reactions, such as portraying Dr. Pou first sympathetically as a doctor that did everything possible for her patients and there was one doctor early on in the book that seems to be an egotistical jerk that, in my opinion, comes out rather well. Fink does something rather smart -- she begins with the key scene, the climax, and then goes back to show how it came about.
I was less interested in the investigation. It felt like, albeit by necessity, the section focused on "did they do it". I can see how it is important to follow the investigation if one of the goals of the book is to foster discussion on the legal and ethical considerations in end of life care and in disaster preparedness. However, I was more interested in what went wrong and what can be done to better prepare for the next disaster. I wished the epilogue, with it's examples of alternate decision-making techniques, had been expanded as the second half of the book.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 jumbo
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 325
10.8 Two for OneLawful Interception by Cory Doctorow (32 pages)
and
The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell by Mira Grant (84 pages)
+10 task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 345
10.7 Black HumourThe Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
+10 task
Grand total 370
20.4 1001 Books2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
+20 task
+5 combo (20.9)
+5 oldie (p.1968)
Task total 30
Grand total 400
Post 456 Tanya wrote: "10.4 - Island DreamsHow I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
+10 Task (over 90% set in UK)
Grand Total = 160 points"
+5 Combo 20.8 - Rosoff born USA, lives in London
20.6 Jewish:Night by Elie Wiesel
I find it so difficult to read anything about the Holocaust. (I was not able to bring myself to visit Auschwitz when I went to Krakow.) But, I know it is imperative to remember and when I saw that Elie Weisel had written his memoir of his experience, I knew this was the book to read. It is a very thorough examination of his survival through several concentration camps- which may have only happened because he was so driven to save his father. There are so few books that make me cry... but this is one of them. It is so difficult for me to imagine that such cruelty did and can exist.
Task +20 (shelved 206 times as Jewish)
Review +10
Combo +10 (20.8 born in Romania & now a US citizen;
20.9 Weisel is 86 years old)
Total= +40
Grand Total= 315
20.9 respect Elders :Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
Lexile 900
+20 task (born 1935)
+10 combo (10.4 – set in UK, 20.8 – born UK, lives in USA)
+5 Oldies (published 1977)
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 865
10.8 - Two for OneGoblin Market by Christina Rossetti
Salome by Oscar Wilde
+10 Task: Goblin Market, 70 pages / Salome, 67 pages
+10 Oldies (1862, 1891)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 885
20.9 - Respect Elders Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
+20 Task: 1904-1991
+15 Combo: 10.4 - Island Dreams (UK) / 20.1 - RwS Anniversary! (1938) / 20.4 - 1001
+10 Oldies (1938)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 930
20.6 JewishMan's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
I think I picked this book up for the wrong reason. I wasn't interested in his introduction to logotherapy, as I have little interest in psychotherapy, but I was interested in reading about Frankl's time in concentration camps. Well, his account of concentration camps was not a particularly literary narrative, and I grew impatient with it at times. He had a point, but he didn't get to it until the second half of the book in his discussion of logotherapy. The second half of the book, the part on logotherapy, really shined, though, and I found myself very interested. He talks about how many contemporary (post war) psychological problems stem from a personal void of meaning in people's lives. How the idea that everyone ought to be content and happy is false, and that the natural instinct is for us to not be content, but rather to strive towards some goal which gives our lives meaning. It was a very interesting counter to Freud's psychoanalysis, and while it offers many ideas relevant to life today, it is interesting to think about it within its historical context. Betty Draper really could have benefitted from logotherapy.
20 pt. task
+10 review
+10 non-western
+5 oldies (first published in 1946 - in German)
+5 combo (20.1)
Task Total 50
Grand total:340
20.9 Respect EldersBy the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder ( Lexile 820 )
No, I never read these when I was younger, different cultural upbringing than perhaps many of you, so this series never came up. I was aware of, but never saw the tv series either.
I have been reading the series over the last 6 months, as the library allows, and have been liking the books better as they go along, probably because the language adapts as Laura ages, ( I hadn't noticed this so much until it was pointed out, but I had found the earlier books frustrating in their simplicity), and the character of Laura herself develops. I kept reading this one hoping, with Laura, that she will not have to go into teaching, because her spirit is too free for that.
I think I would have preferred to read this series when I was younger, but am enjoying it well enough now.
+20 Task : 1867-1957
+ 5 combo: 20.1 - 1936
+10 review
+ 10 Oldies - 1936
Task total : 45
Grand Total: 125
10.4 Island DreamsThe Sound of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan.
Not picked up intentionally, but my audiobook had finished and I couldn't get to the library, so I flicked through the website of the audio library associated with my local library. There wasn't much available that interested me, and I had listened to this narrator before, though perhaps not so happily, and decided to give it a go.
I had troubles with the narrator "doing" and Australian accent, it was always too broad, and when his own accent was not broad I wondered why he felt it was necessary. His European characterisations where fantastic, and I really felt much more comfortable with those characters, although most of them weren't particularly nice, and tended to connect with those better.
A fairly gruelling tale, not for the faint hearted, and quite upsetting at points. Your sympathy is, however, both with father and daughter ( though less so with him, I would think ) as you can very much see the whys of who they become, but still wish that it had never been.
The ending is a happy one. Fitting? Still undecided. Not willing to read the book or see the film. Once with this story was enough.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total : 20
Grand Total: 145
Kath wrote: "15.6 P-MPagan Spring by G.M. Malliet
Task total 20
Grand total 340"
There appears to be an addition error here. In post 310, you had 310 points, add 20 from this post, appears to be 330, not 340.
From Post 183Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.4 Island Dreams The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Australia is on the list of islands. More than 75% takes place in Australia.
Review
I heard about this bo..."
+5 Combo 20.10
Kath wrote: "20.4 1001 Books2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
+20 task
+5 combo (20.9)
+5 oldie (p.1968)
Task total 30
Grand total 400"
+5 Combo 20.8
10.10 - Group Reads:Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
+10 task
+10 combo (10.9 Economical, 20.9 Respect Elders)
Task total: 20
RwS total: 800
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 815
10.4 Sovereign StatesRelief Valve by J.L. Merrow (89,374 words)
Review: After reading Pressure Head, I decided to hang out with Tom and Phil for a little longer. I wish these books were titled differently – they sound much dirtier than they are. Really, they’re super fun, pretty silly mystery novels with a bit of sex and romance. In this one, we find out a little more about Tom and his family – in fact, he finds out things that he didn’t know before – but we don’t learn much about Phil. It’s pretty obvious that while they care about each other, they really haven’t talked about most of the major things in their past that may impede a true connection.
The mystery in this one is relatively interesting, but even though it takes up much of the plot it almost feels like background information. The idea of a writers’ group full of suspects is pretty funny – and I expect Merrow has encountered some of the stuffy types that make it up – but I just wanted more about Tom and Phil and their families and lives. It doesn’t hurt to have the mystery plot though.
+10 Task (set entirely in the UK)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 715
20.4 1001 list bookLa Reine Margot, Tome I by Alexandre Dumas (note, I read an edition with both volumes with 542 pages which GoodReads mistakenly list with only 115 pages.)
Being a Dumas fan, I don't know how this book escaped my attention. While reading the book, I was constantly referring to other sources to verify the history...and of course, Dumas took liberties...but, wow, what an amazing period. Queen Margot is the sister to the new King Charles (IX), her father and older brother having already died as Kings beforehand. Her mother is the evil Catherine de Medici who will do anything to keep the throne in the House of Valois. Charles IX arranges for his next-in-line brother the Duke D'Anjou (and Catherine's favorite) to be elected King of Poland and get him out of the way. The next brother, Duke de Alencon, plots with the Huguenots who are waging a war against the French in Navarre. This all takes place as Charles arranges for the marriage of his sister, Margot to the Protestant King of Navarre, Henri, in an effort to lessen tensions between the Catholics and Protestants. Catherine, however, sees the wedding as an opportunity to slaughter hundreds of Protestants who are in Paris for the wedding. Margot and Henri make a pact to act the happy couple in public ...but each will be free to pursue their own private lives. Margot falls in love with a soldier, La Mole. The romance with La Mole and the efforts to keep Henri alive despite the plots of Catherine are the focus of book. The political intrigue is delicious...and believe it or not, Margot's husband, 4th in line to the throne...does become King of France despite all the efforts of Catherine de Medici...the Valois line ends and the House of Bourbon begins. But that actually happens outside the scope of the novel.
task +20
review +10
oldie +15 (1844)
jumbo +5 (542)
total= 50
Grand Total= 365
20.8 Exiles and ImmigrantsThe Rise of David Levinsky by Abraham Cahan
It isn't especially well-written and the characters not especially well-drawn - I usually require at least one of those elements to be remarkable, if not both. I think the story - a rather typical story of a poverty-stricken immigrant making good - would have been better in the third person rather than the first person.
It is said to be autobiographical, but I think it is only partly so. It comes from the writer's own experiences, certainly, but perhaps as much the Jewish immigrant experience in general as the Cahan's. I did not know the establishment and growth of the New York garment industry would be of interest to me. There is just enough history of it together with the advent of unionism to provide a backdrop.
I seem unable to say why I liked this, and yet it kept me reading. Perhaps it was the late 19th Century time period. This author has a couple of other titles that might prove interesting, and I'll keep them in mind for the future. Almost, but not quite good enough for 4 stars.
+20 Task (born Lithuania, immigrated to US)
+15 Combo (20.1, 20.6, 20.9 [1860-1951])
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub 1917)
+ 5 Jumbo (576 pgs)
Task Total = 60
Grand total = 460
10.10 Group Reads :Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
+10 task
+5 combo (20.10 thanks Cory)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 880
10.4 Island Dreams :Peace, Love and Khaki Socks by Kim Lock
+10 task (set in Australia)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 890
Coralie wrote: "10.10 Group Reads :Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
+10 task
+5 combo (20.10 thanks Cory)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 880"
;) You're welcome!
A-Z15.10 Z,A
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
Task -30 pts
Bonus - 100 pts
Task Total-130 pts
Grand Total - 360 pts
20.8 - Exiles and EmmigrantsVanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
I am in the midst of an interesting convergence of books, some planned and some by chance. I have just finished Vanessa and Her Sister, a wonderful historical fiction focused on Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf and The Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers of which they were a part. The book is told through letters and Vanessa’s imagined diary which I found effective, well-researched and well- executed by Parmar. I am listening to Woolf’s first book,The Voyage Out, which figures into the book as she is writing it during the time period of the novel. This was my planned book connection. On top of that, I picked up by chance a historical fiction book about E. M. Forster, aka Mole throughout the book and a prominent figure in the depicted Bloomsbury Group, Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut, and now am eager to read more about his life and also more of his novels. I also started How to be both by Ali Smith, cracked open the cover, and was met with a quote from The Telegraph, “An heir to Virginia Woolf”, and it does indeed read like Woolf's later works. To top it off, the characters in the book attend and discuss the play, Salomeby Oscar Wilde and I just finished listening to the full cast version. I love when books connect like this! Even if you don’t have this convergence of books going on, though, I recommend Vanessa and Her Sister, especially to those who enjoy historical fiction and novels told through diary and letters.
+20 Task: Parmar grew up in the US and now lives in London:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/b...
+ 5 Combo: 10.4 - Island Dreams (UK, about 30 out of 368 pages in Greece/Constantinople)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 975
Oh, my gosh -- today is Virginia Woolf's birthday!
Ed wrote: "20.6 Jewish:Night by Elie Wiesel
I find it so difficult to read anything about the Holocaust. (I was not able to bring myself to visit Auschwitz when I went to Krakow.)..."
I had a hard time with this one too, Ed (read it for this challenge as well). One of the most devastating books I've ever read.
20.10 Goodreads FeatureAn Untamed State by Roxane Gay
This one was such a disappointment for me, and I'm a little perplexed by it. It always throws me when reviewers and critics I respect (and generally agree with) have a totally different response to a book than I do. I usually chalk it up to the "right book, wrong time" syndrome - you know, when you try to read a book and it's just not the right time for whatever reason, so you put it down, pick it back up months (or years) later, and fall in love with it. I don't think that was the case with this one.
My dislike of this book has nothing to do with the horrific topic - the story is about a woman (Mireille, or Miri) who was born to Haitian parents but raised in America. Miri's parents, who are extremely wealthy, move back to Port-au-Prince when their children are grown. Miri and her husband and their one year old son go back for a visit, and Miri is kidnapped and held hostage for 13 days by a group of men who demand one million dollars from her father in exchange for Miri's safety. Whatever you can imagine happened to Miri during that time - what actually happened is probably worse. This is a difficult book to read because of what Miri experiences during her captivity, and I would caution any trauma survivors to proceed with caution.
My problems with this book were really about two things: 1) the writing, and 2) the characters. I hadn't read anything by Roxane Gay previously, but I have heard such wonderful things about her that I went into this expecting a literary gem. Unfortunately, the writing was some of the worst I've encountered in a while. Admittedly, I can be a bit judgmental about the quality of writing in books I choose to read - I have a low tolerance for a poorly constructed narrative (I blame four years studying English in college for that). I mention this because other readers may have an easier time looking past this, but it's a barrier for me. I get stuck on the flaws and therefore have a difficult time absorbing the actual story. Perhaps if I had different expectations going into the novel, it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but Gay is also an English professor, so I expected a certain level of quality that simply wasn't there.
The second big issue I had with this novel was with the characters. Some reviewers commented on how strong they found Miri to be - I had a pretty opposite response. Miri comes across as self-absorbed, selfish, and immature throughout the novel. I can't count how many times she quite literally runs away from conflicts and fights with her husband (I want to point out that this was before the kidnapping, not after). I kept waiting to learn some back story about why Miri hadn't developed reasonable ways to deal with her feelings as an adult (i.e. childhood abuse, previous trauma, etc.), but she led a pretty storybook life until the kidnapping (Gay reminds us, over and over again, that Miri's life was a fairy tale "before", which might have also contributed to my difficulty connecting with her character). So why was she so annoying? Why did she so distrust men, even before the terrible kidnapping? Was there a reason? If so, we weren't given it as readers, and it would have helped me have more sympathy for this character who just came across as spoiled rotten.
Miri's relationship with her husband, the details of which were woven throughout the novel and shared in flashbacks during her time in captivity, was just awful. They fought, Miri ran away, they made passionate Harlequin romance love, the husband groveled and brought her bouquets. Nothing seemed real about this love, and it didn't help draw me closer to Miri and want to learn more about her or her story.
The final reason this book didn't work for me is that I needed more about the socio-political dynamics behind the kidnapping. While Gay briefly touched on the poor in Port-au-Prince, I kept waiting for more understanding about why Haiti ended up this way - and more on Miri's response to the horrors of the poor who live there. Without this information, it somehow reduced the significance of the rape and violence depicted here.
+20 task
+10 review
task total: 30
grand total: 350
20.2 Persephone :David Golder by Irène Némirovsky
+20 task
+10 Combo (20.1, 20.8)
+10 Oldies (published 1929)
+10 Non-Western
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 940
20.8 - Exiles and Emigrants:The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Review: 8 of the 11 books I have read so far in 2015 have been classics, so I figured I was due a best-selling thriller as light relief! I have read that people who liked Gone Girl and Before I Go To Sleep will also like this one, but I haven't read either of those so I don't know whether I would agree.
The blurb describes the story as "thrilling", "tense" and "a high-speed ride". I'm not sure I would agree with all of those, but it is definitely a page-turner and, although I had kind of guessed how it would turn out, on page 261 I suddenly got cold chills all over and stayed that way for another 20 pages or so.
One aspect I found interesting was that there are three narrators, all of whom are women. There are also three main male characters but none of them get to speak to the reader.
I don't want to give any more detail, because of the risk of spoilers. Just to say that one of my criteria for awarding 4 stars is whether I would give a book to someone as a gift. Yes, I would!
+20 task (from GR author page: "Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since.")
+5 combo (10.4 - Island Dreams: 100% set in UK)
+10 review
Task total: 35
RwS total: 835
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 850
A-ZDeliriumby Lauren Oliver
This is a YA book and it has a lexile score of 920.
Task +15
Grand Total: 140
10.8 - Two for OneChicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi : 84 pages
Yesterday by Haruki Murakami : 25 pages
= 109 pages
Task total = 10
Points total = 105
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Reading with Style
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being (other topics)Dirty Cop (other topics)
Ghosts (other topics)
One Con Glory (other topics)
The Winner (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Milan Kundera (other topics)Kyle Adams (other topics)
Paul Auster (other topics)
Sarah Kuhn (other topics)
David Baldacci (other topics)
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The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
+ 20 task
+ 15 oldies (1766)
+ 5 combo (10.4)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 435