What I'm Reading - February 2012

[Lynn]

Then thanks to Jane and Sarah... and even John!

[Ioana]

Ruth wrote: "Tossed in the towel on Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia Here's my review:

I'm a famous physician. Oh dear, I h..."

Love the review, Ruth :)
I guess I should not put everything aside and start reading it immediately, right?

[Book Concierge]

The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Olbreht
3.5***

In an unnamed Balkan country, a young woman tries to find answers to her grandfather’s death. She knew he was ill, but not why he was in a small town far from home when he died. As she searches for answers she recalls stories he had told her over the years of his own youth, and of the tiger’s wife.

When I was a little girl I was frequently mesmerized by the stories my grandmother and her cousin Maria would tell about our family history. They were full of interesting people, foreign (to me) locations and unexplainable magic. Some of these stories were cautionary tales, meant to teach me important lessons. All were told as factual recollections. This book reminded me of those stories, and I think it is what attracts me to magical realism in literature.

Olbreht’s writing is beautifully evocative. I can feel the bitter winds, relish the warmth of a fire, smell the musky scent of the tiger, and taste the bile of fear. If I have a complaint about the book it was that the constant jumping around in time and place made me lose focus. I appreciate that it made the book read much more like the oral traditional stories I heard as a child, but as an adult reader I would be frustrated when I was caught up in one story only to be yanked back (or forward) to a different tale. As a result I was captivated by certain sections, but not by the book as a whole.

[Ruth]

I didn't care much for Tiger's Wife. It's faded enough in my mind now that I can't articulate why, but it just didn't work for me. Maybe all that jumping around you mention had something to do with it.

[Danielle]

Thanks to hearing about it here, I finished "Old Filth" a few days ago and have immediately started in on "The Man in the Wooden Hat." I am enjoying this book as well, but it has not yet grabbed me in the same way. I saw that Gardam, in an interview, said that Filth was a character in three of her books. Can anyone tell me the name of the third book?

[John]

Danielle -- Filth and Veneering are featured in the first story of Gardam's collection The People on Privilege Hill.

[Danielle]

John wrote: "Danielle -- Filth and Veneering are featured in the first story of Gardam's collection The People on Privilege Hill."

Many thanks!

[Ruth]

I'm delighted to find there's another book. Just plopped it on the TBR.

[Peggy]

Ruth suffers bad books the same way I suffer bad movies....

I had planned to be hip-deep in Gone With the Wind by now, but my name came up on the waiting list for Stephen King's 11 22 63 and down the rabbit hole I went. Dude can write, no question, but sometimes I do wish he would just get on with it, already.

[John]

I took my e-reader with me to dinner tonight, and not sure which book to start next, I opened Jan Morris' A Writer's House in Wales. I read about half of it (it's short, more like a long article, or non-fiction "novella"), and couldn't wait to recommend mention it here as it's a piece I think CR folks would appreciate, even those with no particular interest in Wales.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

After immersing myself in India with A Suitable Boy, I moved closer to home with Ireland and Joseph O'Conner's Ghost Light and Brian Moore's The Mangan Inheritance and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.

I also want to watch the "Judith Hearne" movie with the incomparable Maggie Smith.

[Kat]

G wrote: "After immersing myself in India with A Suitable Boy, I moved closer to home with Ireland and Joseph O'Conner's Ghost Light and Brian Moore's The Mangan Inheritance and The Lonely Passion of Judith ..."

Brian Moore is kind of a funny (not ha-ha) author, I find. I thought
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne was good, and I've enjoyed some of his others, but he's rather uneven.

I FINALLY finished A Wild Sheep Chase, God knows what it was about. Continuing with The Chateau and about to begin The Friends of Meager Fortune.

[Carol]

I am reading The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely for the discussion in March.

[Carol]

I am reading The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely for the discussion in March. I am not reading Farewell My Lovely though.

[Rannie]

Kat wrote: "I FINALLY finished A Wild Sheep Chase, God knows what it was about"

I kept thinking, 'if I were Japanese, this would probably be very deep and meaningful.' I have some
random notes that I didn't even try to put into a review - 'Part heroic quest, part dream quest. Beautiful imagery. Emotionally disconnected hero.'
Maybe one of our fellow readers will spin some meaning
for us out of this loose wool.

[Aoibhínn]

I just started reading the second book in the Stephanie Plum series Two for the Dough.

[Yulia]

Rannie wrote: "Kat wrote: "I FINALLY finished A Wild Sheep Chase, God knows what it was about"

I kept thinking, 'if I were Japanese, this would probably be very deep and meaningful.' I have some
random notes th..."

I was very frustrated by the latter half of A Wild Sheep Chase, but years later I learned that it was part of a series of books with the Rat character in it. The story (or st least the quest of the main character) actually continues (and ends) in Dance Dance Dance, which is a much more satisfying novel itself, though you may not wish to give Murakami another chance anytime soon.

[John]

Funny you should mention Murakami, as I started listening to after the quake today. I liked Dance Dance Dance as an audiobook a lot, but have no intention of going back and listening to the first two "Rat" books.

[Kat]

I read on Wikipedia that the first two Rat books haven't been translated into English, and that Murakami doesn't think they were successful. Well, my f2f book group meets tomorrow, maybe others will have some ideas.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

I read A Wild Sheep Chase some years back. I thought the writing was amazing, but I have no idea what the story was about. Wish I did.

Thank you for your take on Brian Moore, Kat.

[Jane]

Reading two new books--Now You See it by Cathy Davidson (about the science of attention). It's really wonderful. Apparently not dense enough for the academic crowd, my son the academic says, but very readable and enlightening. Also About Grace by Anthony Doerr which I am confused by. Beautiful writing, but the protagonist is so disturbed that this is my main experience of the book. Being disturbed. Not sure I'll last.

[Yulia]

Kat wrote: "I read on Wikipedia that the first two Rat books haven't been translated into English, and that Murakami doesn't think they were successful. Well, my f2f book group meets tomorrow, maybe others wil..."

In this case Wikipedia was wrong. Though never published in America, the novellas Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 were translated and published. Geeky fan that I am, I ordered copies of both online. They actually have distinct charms of their own.

[Rannie]

Yulia wrote: " I was very frustrated by the latter half of A Wild Sheep Chase, but years later I learned that it was part of a series of books with the Rat character in it. The story (or st least the quest of the main character) actually continues (and ends) in Dance Dance Dance, which is a much more satisfying novel itself "

Ah, then I'll add Dance, Dance, Dance to my reading list. Thanks!

[Sarah]

Gabrielle, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne hit me hard when I read it some 15-20 years ago. I thought it was amazing. I've tried others of his, but they didn't have the same impact. I recommended that book constantly for a couple of years.

[Lyn]

I'm right in the middle of The Art of Fielding, and for the two days I've been reading it have found it hard to stop and do something productive with my day!

[Danielle]

Lyn wrote: "I'm right in the middle of The Art of Fielding, and for the two days I've been reading it have found it hard to stop and do something productive with my day!"

That book was one of my favorites of 2011 (and I came so close to rejecting it on the bookshelves because I did not think I would like a baseball novel--oh was I wrong).

[Barbara]

John wrote: "I took my e-reader with me to dinner tonight, and not sure which book to start next, I opened Jan Morris' A Writer's House in Wales. I read about half of it (it's short, more like a lo..."

Thanks, John. It sounds right down my reading alley.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Sarah wrote: "Gabrielle, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne hit me hard when I read it some 15-20 years ago. I thought it was amazing. I've tried others of his, but they didn't have the same impact. I recomm..."

Thank you, Sarah.

[Kat]

Had a great discussion of A WILD SHEEP CHASE tonight with my book group. Not all of us were enthusiastic about the novel but I think by the time we were done we'd shed some light on it anyway. A LITTLE light. Amazing how fruitful discussion can be. Hence CR.

[Susan]

Just finished Speak What We Feel: Not What We Ought to Say by Fredrick Buechner. It was wonderful. He looks at works by Gerard Manly Hopkins, Mark Twain, G.K.Chesterton and Shakespeare (Lear) for the way these writers drop their guard and write from the deep sadness in their lives. A short book and very readable, but poignant w/ great insights into some of my favorite literary works (Carrion Comfort and many GMH poems, Huck Finn, The Man Who Was Thursday, and King Lear).

[Carol]

Finally getting around to reading The Ghost Writer.

[Flora]

I haven't posted anywhere in a while now. I got bogged down with 1Q84 among other things.

I am currently about 2/3 of the way thru Fahrenheit 451 and I've just started Blood Bond

[Jane]

I really like Frederick Buechner. Haven't read his work in a long while. I'd love to read the one you read, Susan. It sounds wonderful. Was not taken with About Grace, but finally found a book that is just what I need...sort of domestic, a story about sisters, and growing up and work. The Cookbook Colletor by Allegra Goodman. It is exactly what I can handle right now, and I'm glad to read every time I open it. I think I'll be able to dip back in even when I wake miserable and aching in the middle of the night. Which makes the whole prospect far less awful.

[Cateline]

Flora wrote: "I haven't posted anywhere in a while now. I got bogged down with 1Q84 among other things...."

I read 1Q84 a few months ago, how did you find it? :) "bogged" just might be the right word.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Kitty wrote: "Finally getting around to reading The Ghost Writer."

I LOVE that book, Kitty!

I'm reading The Moviegoer.

[Flora]

Cateline wrote: "Flora wrote: "I haven't posted anywhere in a while now. I got bogged down with 1Q84 among other things...."

I read 1Q84 a few months ago, how did you find it? :) "bogged" just ..."

I liked it but probably not as good as I expected. It was sooooo long and over detailed to the point that it was a bit distracting from the story. I thought I would never get it finished.

[Book Concierge]

Girl in Translation – Jean Kwok
3***

A semi-autobiographical novel of a young girl’s journey from Hong Kong to New York with her mother, and their pursuit of the American dream.

Eleven-year-old Ah-Kim Chang and her mother arrive in Brooklyn in late autumn from Hong Kong. They’ve been sponsored by her mother’s older sister, Aunt Paula, and her husband, Uncle Bob. The original promise is a job for Kimberly’s mother as a nanny to Paula’s two boys, Nelson and Godfrey, and living in the family’s house on Staten Island. But after a week Aunt Paula says that she really needs her sister to help out at the factory, and moves them to an inexpensive apartment in a building owned by her father-in-law. The apartment is lacking windows in the rear, is without any heat, and infested with roaches, mice and rats. Paula does, at least, give them an alternate address to use so that, she explains, Kimberly can attend a better school (but really so that Paula can control their mail and authorities won’t know they are living in an uninhabitable and condemned building). Ma’s job at the factory is piece work and she quickly discovers that the only way to make deadline is for Kim to come to the factory after school and help. Sometimes they do not finish until after midnight. But Kim and her mother pursue their dream – they know that the key is a good education for Kim and she puts all her energy into this.

I was completely caught up in this story at the outset. Kwok uses “phonetic” spellings to highlight Kim’s difficulties with immersion English and how she had to struggle to understand the most basic instructions from her teacher. This was effective at first, but I got tired of it over time. The same was true with her use of Chinese sayings and then “translating” them for the American reader. For Example “Aunt Paula … said, ‘Your hearts have no roots.’ She meant we were ungrateful.”

My main complaint is my disappointment with the last third of the book, especially the epilogue. I was quite engaged in the tale and was telling friends about it and then …. Well, it seems that Kwok ran out of story and the plot descended into a sort of romantic chick lit soap opera. The ending was rather abrupt, followed by an epilogue that one very serious flaw – the time span didn’t add up. Still, I think it was a good effort for a debut novel. I was pulled into the story and interested in the characters. I liked the way Kimberly matured and the strong relationship between mother and daughter.

[Aoibhínn]

I've just began reading The Shakespeare Secret by J.L. Carrell this evening.

[Ann D]

Jane,
I'm a fan of THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR too. I also liked Goodman's INTUITION, which is about integrity or lack thereof among research scientists. The books are quite unalike, but both good.

I am enjoying THE BROTHERS K, which I discovered thanks to this thread. So far, so good. I needed something that could make me smile.

[Book Concierge]

The Weird Sisters – Eleanor Brown
Book on CD performed by Kirsten Potter
4****

The Andreas sisters have a father who is a famous Shakespeare scholar, and so, they are named for great Shakespearean women – Rosalind (called Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy). They’ve grown up in a rather insular college town, where life revolves around the college schedule and everyone knows them as their father’s daughters. And they have always felt that they had a lot to live up to – their parents’ expectations, of course, but also the burden of the great women characters for whom they were named, and their feeling that everyone expects “great things” from each of them. Now they are adults, all back in town to help their mother as she deals with breast cancer. Life has buffeted the sisters and things haven’t turned out quite as they expected, but they seem to cling to the roles they’ve always played and that they feel define them, and this sets up the central tension of the novel.

Brown explores issues of communication, of sibling rivalry, of the dichotomy of seeking independence and yet shouldering responsibility. The sisters have some hard lessons to learn before they can move beyond their disappointments and setbacks, and face the future as true adults.

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the exploration of family dynamic, was engaged in the story, liked that there was no “magic fix” to their self-created problems. Potter’s performance is just about perfect; giving clear voice to the many characters (I particularly like how she voiced the father and Cordy). I would definitely read another book by Brown, and listen to another audio performed by Potter.

[Rusty]

Beginning The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I just finished State of Wonder and if any of you were planning on skipping this one, my advice is don't. I think it's my favorite Patchett yet, and that's saying something. I was originally planning on reading it in 35-page a day segments, but ended up gulping it down almost whole.

[Sue]

I read 3 short classics this week, The Canterville Ghost by Orson Welles, The Red House Mystery by A.A.Milne and the novella, The Yellow Wall-Paper. I enjoyed them all and they were a nice change of pace from the huge 500 pagers I've been reading lately. Currently in the middle of The Poisonwood Bible, which I like very much, and about to begin State of Wonder.

[Ruth]

Ah, The Yellow Wallpaper. That one packs a punch, doesn't it.

[Mia]

I'm almost finished with Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. It was a difficult read in the beginning, but around page thirty it really picked up. I'm really glad I stuck with it and I can't wait to see how it ends.

I also just reread Kate Chopin's The Awakening.

[Ruth]

Mia wrote: "I'm almost finished with Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. It was a difficult read in the beginning, but around page thirty it really picked up. I'm really glad I stuck with it and I can't wait ..."

I read that when it first came out, and remember it as being a tough read.

[Ruth]

Finished Rules of Civility. I know I'm going to disappoint those of you who really loved this book. I apologize in advance. Here's my review.

I found this book an entertaining read, But about halfway through way through it seemed to me it was just spinning its wheels. Round and round it went, dropping names, cycling us through all the things a with-it young woman could possibly do in the New York world and time she moved in, all the stuff of magazines and romances. I was further bothered that we meet the heroine, Katy Kontent (accent on the last syllable, please) sprung full grown from the brow of Zeus. Almost no back story to help us understand why she is the way she is. She comes out of Brighton Beach Russia. What was her name before that obviously phony one? How come she knows so much about good literature? A pretty good read, but it left me unsatisfied.

Just started State of Wonder.

[John]

I'm planning on listening to this one, and appreciate the honest feedback - always like to hear about flaws folks find in books that receive otherwise universal acclaim, so that I'm not the only one who feels he "missed" something.

[Charles]

G wrote: "Kitty wrote: "Finally getting around to reading The Ghost Writer."

I LOVE that book, Kitty!

I'm reading The Moviegoer."

How is The Ghostwriter as a book? I'm assuming this is the original of Roman Polanski's really good movie?

[Carol]

Charles wrote: "G wrote: "Kitty wrote: "Finally getting around to reading The Ghost Writer."

I LOVE that book, Kitty!

I'm reading The Moviegoer."

How is The Ghostwriter as a book? I'm assuming th..."

I don't know but the writing is very good. I like the transition from real to fiction. Narrator I haven't figured out quite yet , but I have ideas. It is worth reading I think.