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BEST REVIEW CONTEST (Spring 2012)
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I am Forbidden by Anouk MarkovitsI read this book in about 36 hours, and yet I had an entire relationship with it that ran the gamut of an emotional continuum. By the time I received it, I had almost forgotten that I had entered the giveaway. I did not remember what it was about, and frankly, the title did not help. I had entered because I am interested in reading about other cultures, and being a non-charedi Jew but still a Jew, I was interested when I read the details for the giveaway. My only contact with Satmars was while in Israel over 10 years ago -- I was with a Hadassah Young Leaders Tour. I noticed a traditionally-dressed man across the street in the Old City, who spit when we passed by. Our tour guide told us he was a Satmar, who did not believe in the modern state of Israel nor in modern women of Jewish descent. (He would not consider us actual Jews, we were told).
But I digress...
Well, one more thing: I live in a city where the small Jewish community shares space, a JCC and interacts across the belief lines, if you will. I know Lubavitch families, have studied with more than a couple Lubavitch girls, and went with a group for a Shabbaton in Crown Heights. While Lubavitchers are known as the proslytizing branch of the Ultra Orthodox, they are still a different culture than what I grew up with. The women have a much more free culture than Satmar, but the "modern" woman would find their culture limiting. I find it beautiful, if not the way of life for me. I continue to be fascinated, which may be one reason I was led to this book -- same, but different.
So, the book. It sat in my To Be Read pile, til I finally picked it up out of obligation. I thrilled to the first page, remembering why I wanted to read it in the first place. I gritted my teeth through the Nazi-era history. (My son and I just finished reading Night by Eli Wiesel. It has been a very Holocaust spring for us). The more I read, the more immersed I became. When Josef was returned to his Jewish brethren, leaving his adoptive mother Florina, who also was casually anti-Semitic, I felt uneasy. Markovits never takes the easy route -- at least not in most of the book. The contradictions that probably led her to leave her Satmar life (we are told she was raised as a Satmar and left at 19 to escape an arranged marriage in the "about the author" page) comes through every step of her characters' lives.
Zalman, the patriarch, who does not seem to ever falter in his belief, is both unlikable and yet demonstrably empathetic. He goes back to recover the remains of the dead Jews Hitler left behind. He wants to reclaim the poor orphan boy living with the peasant woman who rescued him. He is not kind to her, and is relentlessly manipulative to get the boy from her. Is his bigotry of her excusable because of all he has suffered? Or that she is herself anti-Semitic and complicit in some ways of the war crimes? She is also a contradiction: she looked down on and disliked the Jews as a group, yet she saved Josef -- to much danger to herself. As my sister would say, what do I do with that?
I am not sure if my eventual disenchantment with the book (not total -- it was still a great read) was influenced by the lack of happy endings for any of the characters. The narrative insisted, even if my own inner literary compass did not (and it did), that consequences were not to be avoided. Well, not for the main characters, anyway. I knew the story of the escape of the Satmar rebbe from the Nazis. This book explains the conspiracy behind it: a deal made with Eichmann -- let the Rebbe out, and the other Jews in the area will go quietly. Is this true? i have no idea, although my guess is that the author thinks it is. Why else include such a heavy accusation, even in a novel? There were many other ways she could and did illustrate the unavoidable misogyny inherent in this fundamentalism, as all the patriarchal religions inevitably must reveal.
The Rebbe leads a long life of glory in his court in America. The pious but cruel Zalman suffers losses but never admits to himself that to follow his proscribed piety may not be the kind choice. (The Nurmeberg trials and the excuse of following orders is rather clumsily inserted numerous times in juxtaposition.)
Josef, the saved little boy who witnessed the murder of his biological family and his own abandonment of his adoptive mother, marries for love and finds out he is infertile. His wife, Mila, finds precedent for sleeping with someone other than her husband to conceive. Not only does she never have more children, nor any intimacy with her husband ever again, but also suffers estrangement from her granddaughter who eventually commits suicide, and the premature death of her husband.
Atara, the adoptive daughter of Zalman after her own parents are killed trying to "catch" the Rebbe's train that will lead him to Switzerland instead of Auschwitz, gets to see her mother one more time before her mother dies. Her father never accepts her again. She is left with rueful dissatisfaction and loneliness. She risks it all to be true to herself. I did not see her finding spiritual redemption, Jewish or otherwise. I wonder if that lack of closure, or at least satisfaction in it, is what the author feels as well. Can we escape who we are born to be and become who we want to be? And is it worth it?
, The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg4 Stars
I can honestly say that I have become a huge fan of the Scandinavian crime fiction that has swept into America this past decade! Set in the small Swedish west coast town of Fjällbacka, Camilla Läckberg's birthplace, we readers quickly learn some secrets should never see the light of day. Something very dark lies beneath the idyllic setting waiting to shatter the carefully constructed silence that could kill the souls of many of Fjällbacka's residents.
Biographer, Erica Falck has returned to her parents’ home to sort their things after their fatal accident. She also hopes to work on her latest book. Adding to her despair is the rift between her and her little sister, Anna. Lucas, Anna’s domineering husband, wants to sell their childhood home to Stockholm tourists that are now flocking to the small inlet town. Erica wonders if things could get any worse. The answer is yes. She is the second person to find her beautiful former childhood best friend dead of an apparent suicide.
Seeing Alexandra Wijkner among the floating ice in the bathtub with her wrists slashed, Erica is devastated. She will never know the woman Alex became after she abruptly cut her ties with Erica shortly before the Carlgrens sudden move from Fjällbacka 25 years ago. Erica’s obsession with finding answers to her questions about Alex becomes fever-pitched when the Police determine Alex Wijkner was murdered and decides to write about her. Policeman (and inevitable love interest Patrik Hedström welcomes Falck’s involvement and they soon find solving the case will not be easy in a small town that prefers to silent about buried secrets. Everyone in Fjällbacka could to be a suspect.
Läckberg’s pace is like a gentle wave ebbing your feet while walking on the beach. The main plot has several small story arcs told from several POVs are not overpowering or confusing. A few add comic relief to an already suspenseful plot, while many further the resolution of Alex’s murder culminating in a totally jaw dropping ending. Yes, my jaw hit my chest when the murderer and all of Fjällbacka’s long held secrets are revealed. Unlike other popular Nordic Noir writers like Stieg Larsson and Jussi Adler-Olsen, Camilla Läckberg is more concerned with the "why" Alex was murdered than "whodunit", which is unusual in a police procedural. But the focus on the "why" works here. I just bought the 2nd Patrik Hedström novel, The Preacher and am looking forward to reading it in the summer.
City of Bones by Cassandra ClareWhen you're able to write a lengthy essay of your feelings towards a book, it generally means that you were invested in some way in the story. I went through a rollercoaster of mixed emotions concerning this book.
The Ups
Clary recently opens her eyes to a whole world that already exists within her world. It is not a parallel universe, but rather a whole different kind of society, culture, creatures, and conflicts that occur everyday unbeknownst to mundanes (read: muggles). This world has demons of different levels and intelligence, warlocks, witches, vampires, fae, werewolves, and even though they are not mentioned, I would feel safe to throw in every other mythical being into that lot. To do battle against those that are all the way demon, there are Nephilim, who are like half-angel, half-human. They utilize powerful runes on their skin and on items to add to their otherwise average (but of course, always good looking) bodies. I liked the use of the runes. It was different than what I have read before and it presented some questions.
I liked Alec and Isabelle. They are brother and sister and de facto friends of heartthrob Jace. They go through real development and at the end of the story, they ended up in a different place than where they were at the onset. You grow to learn about them and like them. The same goes for Luke, a character that goes largely unsung for most of the book.
The Silent Brothers were interesting, and I would have liked more of them.
In a positive way, the book had me drawing parallels to the show Supernatural.
The Falls
I did not like Clary. As the main character, this was unfortunate. Who is she? What does she actually want? Perhaps some metaphor can be drawn from the fact that while she has gained the sight to see these otherworldly beings, she is utterly blind to those around her. But even that is selective--she can be acutely aware about Alec's feelings to Jace, but completely blind to Simon. I wouldn't have minded it so much, if the blindness didn't feel forced and fake.
Simon--what was his purpose for being in the story? He felt like a device more than a character through most of the story, which isn't fair because he most definitely is a character. You get to really see him through some nice scenes, but it still doesn't explain why he is tagging along or being allowed to tag along other than to cause drama to happen to force the plot along.
And in what is likely an unfair comparison (I'm being honest, it is unfair), I was thrown out of the book by the parallel of mundanes and muggles, Valentine and Voldemort, the Circle and Deatheaters, and the plight to have one race rule over all.
Conclusion
I will likely read the next book in the series because I'd like to see if I get more closure over what is going on. The book ended very dependent on the sequel and I would like to know what happens to the human and mythical races in the fight against evil! (...bum bum buummm!)
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
REVIEW
Five stars
This book was the logical next step for me after reading Mistakes Were Made But Not by Me and Thinking, Fast and Slow. Those both spoke about cognitive dissonance and cognitive illusion, and this one was about what to do about it.
This is how the book breaks down:
Introduction. Here, Chip and Dan introduce their concept of the rider and the elephant. The rider is our rational side, and the elephant is our emotional side. (You can also think of them as the ego and the id or the planner and the doer.) The rider steers the elephant, but if there's a conflict between the rider and the elephant, the elephant's going to win every time. They make it clear, however, that the elephant isn't necessarily the bad guy. The elephant gets us to try new things ("Hey, wouldn't it be cool to...") and helps to calibrate our moral compass ("That's wrong!").
Direct the Rider. The rider can get overwhelmed with too many choices or a lack of clarity. Chip and Dan lay out, very clearly, the steps you need to take to keep everyone's rational sides engaged in change. You need to focus on what's going well and replicate that and also define the goal clearly.
Motivate the Elephant. You can't just rely on rationality when trying to push for change. People might agree with you that you have the best course of action, but that's not going to motivate them to act. Chip and Dan talk about why it's important to make people feel the need for change and how to go about doing it.
Shape the path. Once you provide clear direction and motivate, you can also make the change easier. Eliminate all roadblocks to a specific behavior (or as many as possible), and the rider and elephant will find it much easier to do it. Chip and Dan use the Amazon one-click button as an example.
All in all, this book was well-researched, invaluable to anyone who needs to lead a change, and witty. I laughed out loud multiple times. As soon as I finished, I adjusted my communication plan for a change I'm proposing at my company. The lessons learned here are immediately applicable.
My only criticism (and it's a small one) is around the placebo effect. There's a very small section discussing a study about the placebo effect in which Chip and Dan state that the placebo effect only impacts how someone feels. This is categorically untrue. Placebo effects have also shown to impact ulcers, swelling, and even coughs.
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Side note: I also had the pleasure of seeing Chip present this book, and I even got him to sign my copy (by running up to him like a crazy person as soon as he left the stage).
(Insert fan girl squee here.)
His presentation was highly enjoyable--Chis has a dry wit that appealed tremendously to the crowd. If you get the opportunity to see him speak, I highly recommend that you take it.
I rated the book beforehand, so I promise that my review and rating were not colored by the killer presentation.
Review located here.
Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance BarsBeautiful Thing is a non-fiction book written more as an informative reporting about Leela, a young girl working in the dance bars of Bombay. The author reports on Leela's life, and in doing so highlights the absolute destitution and despair that exists in the lower castes of India. The style of the book is such that the reader follows Leela through various incidents in her day-to-day life. The book does not provide a lot of information about the history of India, the class system, or Leela's childhood, but by the end you realize that the author's choice to leave these things out enhances the book because it makes you realize none of those things matter to these young girls because they have to live in the here and now just to survive another day. The book does not provide closure or follow-up on Leela or any of the other individuals in the book and I've since found myself wondering what happened to them. I give this book 4 stars and would be interested in reading more about the lives of the people in the book.
My review of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.Things Fall Apart is a simple little novel with a fable-like voice that packs a real punch. The main character is Okonwo, a leader in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia. He is extremely industrious and strong, but also brusque and ambitious to the point of harboring a lot of anger toward those who don’t fit into his vision. The first half of the novel is a fascinating background about Okonkwo, his family, his village, and their indigenous cultural and religious beliefs and practices. The second half shows just how “things fall apart” (Chinua Achebe took the title from Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming”).
Achebe touches on many themes in just 180 pages. Umuofia’s culture is described in detail and it’s rituals and beliefs are connected throughout to the larger themes of gender, religion, history, and mythology. While all of this is fascinating and serves the novelistic purpose of building believable and interesting characters, for me Achebe’s crowning achievement comes in the second half of the book.
Achebe takes a situation that could easily be oversimplified in a novel (that of the destruction of African culture due to the influence of white men, specifically Christian missionaries) and allows it to have its inherent complexity and truth. For example, Okonkwo is no romanticized version of a native African man – he is overbearing, angry, and completely inflexible and all of these qualities contribute to his downfall as much as the influence of Christianity. In turn, the two white men who spend time in Umuofia are not stereotypical villains, but have distinct personalities: Mr. Brown is benevolent and aims to convert many people to Christianity by letting them dabble in its teachings; Mr. Smith is hard-edged and sends away anyone who does not bend completely to the will of God as he lays it out.
Things Fall Apart is a stern warning about the destruction that can happen when two cultures come into contact. It’s clear in the novel (and in Africa’s history over the past 100 years) that the influence of white culture has been forceful and destructive, but Achebe very interestingly points out that no one is perfect and Okonkwo himself could destroy the life he built for himself. In other words, the individuality that we as humans each have plays an important role in strengthening our societies – perhaps an even more important one than culture itself.
11/22/63by Stephen King
5 stars
I hadn't read a King book in over 20 years, but 11/22/63 made it worth the long wait. For likely King, too, since he first started writing this book in 1972 but stopped because Kennedy's assasination had devastated the author to the point where he lacked the strength to tell the story. Moreover, King wanted to do much research before writing this book. I'm glad that he waited to finish the story until last year, because the amount of information around the assasination that has developed since then made this book a richer experience for me as a reader.
The book presents the classic question about whether if someone had the chance to go back and to change history would he or she? The more specific question that King brings to the table resolves around stopping the assasination of John F. Kennedy. However, King just doesn't focus on this aspect of the story. There are many layers to the story and many questions about time travel and history that King tackles head on and in a contemplative way. I very much appreciated the thoughtfulness that King brought to the subject matter, identifying many details that one might lose track of when traveling back to the 1960s, such as how to use a pay phone. The plot is also well-thought out and crafted, which made the story not only plausible, but also exciting to the reader as King answers the "what if?" question.
The ending was satisfying to me but I didn't feel that King knocked it out of the park like he had the rest of the book. In my reading of the Notes, I learned that King changed the ending based upon input from his son, Joe Hill. I like reading Joe Hill, but now I am curious to know what King's ending would have been without Hill's input.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It's neither standard science fiction nor standard King, at least not the King that I knew 20+ years ago.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
11/22/63 (other topics)Things Fall Apart (other topics)
Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars (other topics)
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard (other topics)
Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Cassandra Clare (other topics)Camilla Läckberg (other topics)
Stieg Larsson (other topics)
Jussi Adler-Olsen (other topics)
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