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Reviews
Reviews, Pleeze! - Page 1
Did you just finish reading a novel that you can’t keep quiet about? Are you aspiring to be a writer for the “Sunday Book Review” at the New York Times? Fill out a Reviews, Pleeze! form and let it all out. You may only submit reviews that you have written. Fiction only, please.
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Title: Whose Names Are Unknown | Rating: |
| Author: Sanora Babb |  |
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| Genre: Literary Fiction | ||
| ISBN: 0-8061-3579-4 | ||
| Reviewer: Sandra Shwayder Sanchez | ||
| Vocation / Avocation: x |
The Other Grapes of Wrath
Sanora Babb was born in Oklahoma territory in 1907 and grew up in
eastern Colorado. She moved to Los Angeles to work as a journalist in 1929
but when the market crashed she found herself jobless and homeless, often
sleeping on park benches. By 1938 she was working for the camp administrator
for the Farm Security Administration to help migrant farmers in California.
During that time she took notes and shared these with a visiting John Steinbeck
over lunch but later said she was not sure he ever looked at them.
She submitted the first four chapters of her own novel to Random House in 1939 and Bennett Cerf was so impressed he sent her a ticket to New York to come finish the book. Then in the wake of the huge success of Grapes of Wrath, her book, the title taken from a phrase on eviction notices, was shelved. Mr. Cerf didn't think the market would support two books on the same subject (how times have changed!). The disappointed author put the mss. in a drawer and got on with her life that included the publication of other fiction and poetry and marriage to a Hollywood screenwriter.
In 2004, the University of Oklahoma Press published the hard cover edition and it was a finalist for the 2005 PEN Center USA Literary Award. The author was 97 years old! Sanora Babb died on December 31, 2005 at the age of 98. In an obituary written for the LA Times, Elaine Woo wrote that reviewers were calling Whose Names Are Unknown a forgotten masterpiece and an American Classic both literary and historical, as compelling as Steinbeck's work and in some ways more authentic.
Babb's style combines the best of both worlds of journalism and poetry, clearly stating the facts that a poet is best suited to observe, the facts that matter, that evoke a reader's own memories, dreams and empathies. She puts you there standing next to the dry farmers in Oklahoma waiting for rain, then crowded into olds trucks packed with every paltry thing they own, traveling in a long line of trucks, traveling to California in search of peas, then cherries, then pears to pick, bearing humiliation and asserting their pride.
She ends thus: "It was better to starve than to become a sullen thing who fed his belly and slept in his sweat and forgot about his heritage. Such a man would forget his dream. And everything new was begun in a dream. Man's destiny suspected and unsolved would crash into darkness because he was too puny to assert his soul. These words may not have been on their tongues because the stirrings in a man's mind can be wordless. The man with words is not the only man who thinks and weeps with the deep question of his being. Let no one ever think himself apart in this. Let him sit down and talk to any man and feel his shame; the unsayable things come out as clear and simple as a bell at night in every word he speaks. He wants more than bread and sleep; he wants himself - a man to wear the dignity of his reason." It is the unsayable things that come out clear and simple in Sanora Babb's classic novel.
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Title: Hal Spacejock 3: Just Desserts | Rating: |
| Author: Simon Haynes |  |
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| Genre: Science Fiction | ||
| ISBN: 1921064390 | ||
| Reviewer: im C. Hines |
Space Hijinks from Down Under
Just Desserts is the third Hal Spacejock adventure from Australian author Simon
Haynes.
The best reason to read book three comes from page 234:
"You can't gun a man down just because you suspect him of wrongdoing."
...Hal thought for a moment. "What if he shoots first and misses, and then I shoot him?"
"That's ludicrous."
It's possible I'm reading into Haynes' writing, and this is not a veiled slam on the revisionist edition of Star Wars. But as a firm believer in Han shooting first, I absolutely adored this little scene.
Like the earlier books, HS3 follows the misadventures of Hal Spacejock, intergalactic pilot, and his loyal robot companion Clunk. I've written before that the humor never quite clicked for me. Simon has been very successful with the books, which makes me think it's more a matter of my sense of humor not quite meshing with the books than any actual flaw in Simon's writing. Humor is tricky stuff. Why, one of my beta readers actually wanted me to take out some of the privy jokes in Goblin Hero, if you can believe that. And my nose-picking scene was Hugo-worthy in its--
Ahem. Anyway. I was talking about Hal Spacejock 3, right? Well, it starts out with Hal and Clunk taking a job to deliver food, and as with the other books, things immediately go wrong. Much of the trouble is self-inflicted by our incompetent hero, despite Clunk's best attempts to save Hal from himself. But whereas the first two books felt pretty episodic, this one was more cohesive. Our "heroes" find themselves drawn into a conspiracy involving an "amnesiac robot which may or may not be on a secret mission." While there's still plenty of humor and a bit of slapstick, it all ties together better this time around. (Or maybe I'm just getting more used to Haynes' wacky Australian humour ;-) )
Hal also felt a bit more sympathetic this time around. He's still self-centered and egotistical and a bit of a twit, but I liked him more in this book. He's begun to treat Clunk with a bit more ... well, not respect, exactly. But with an awareness that he actually needs Clunk's help.
I still stumble a little with suspension of disbelief when it comes to Hal's sheer incompetence. It goes a bit too far for my taste. But overall, I think this was the best of the three Spacejock books.
Oh, and I'm told there's a scene on page 218 where a few of the lines can be misinterpreted. After discussing this with the author, I wanted to let you know that if you did happen to read a second meaning into that scene, well, you're a very bad person. Shame on you!
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Title: The Skewed Throne | Rating: |
| Author: Joshua Palmatier | |
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| Genre: Fantasy | ||
| ISBN: 0756403820 | ||
| Reviewer: Jim C. Hines |
Gritty Debut with an Intriguing Heroine
The Skewed Throne is Joshua Palmatier's debut novel, the first in a trilogy
set in the city of Amenkor. The heroine is a girl named Varis, self-proclaimed "gutterscum" with
the ability to sense threats from those around her.
The strength of Palmatier's book lies in Varis. Varis is a bitter girl, hardened by years of living in the Dredge, but she retains a core of humanity. Her ability to slip into what she calls the river, where threats stand out as splashes of red in the currents of the world around her, makes her an intriguing point of view character.
The early chapters develop Varis as a character, and while the pace never slows, it feels like the central plot of the book doesn't really start moving until later. We learn that the Mistress of Amenkor is losing her mind, and it is Varis and her gift who will have to put things right.
This is not a cheerful book. There are at least five or six scenes of rape or attempted rape, as well as a number of killings. Palmatier never glosses over the violence in Varis' life, and it is a violent life indeed. I have a great deal of respect for that kind of honesty from a writer. At the same time, some of the rape and killing began to feel repetitive by the time we reached the mid-point of the book.
The Skewed Throne stands alone as a novel, but you can see Palmatier setting the groundwork for the story to come. The White Fire which swept through Amenkor and apparently gave Varis her gift is never really explained. Only at the end do we receive our first clues, clues which will presumably be explained in the second and third books.
Perhaps the best recommendation is that I like Varis enough to want to read the next book. And I'm very eager to learn more about the history of the Skewed Throne and the origin of the White Fire, things that were only touched on in this book.
While it might not appeal to everyone, if you enjoy grittier fantasy, I would recommend picking up The Skewed Throne.
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Title: Little, Big | Rating: |
| Author: John Crowley | |
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| Genre: Fantasy | ||
| Reviewer: Joe Kempkes |
Harold Bloom's favorite book!
This is a fantasy story for people who don't normally read fantasy stories.
And that is exactly what it is: the most fantastic world imaginable hiding
in plain sight. It will wipe clean all the angst and worry of everyday life
and transport you to a magical realm. And this is from a hard-bitten critic
who usually only reads and writes non-fiction and journalism.
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Title: Over The Edge | Rating: |
| Author: Marc Paul Kaplan | |
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| Genre: Thriller | ||
| ISBN: 978-0-9772081-0-4 | ||
| Reviewer: Keith Wheeler |
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
Does your past, horrors in this case, determine your future? This is the question
Mark Paul Kaplan takes on in this story of a Viet Nam vet struggling to conquer
his demons. Matthew travels to winter in peaceful, snow-covered Jackson Hole,
seemingly as far away from the hot, rancid jungles of Southeast Asia as he
can get, only to find himself thrust into a situation that could rip away
his thin veneer of civilized behavior and turn him back into the killing
monster he fears he has forever become. It is a gripping, fast-paced read,
with characters that seem both so close and real that you can feel the torment,
desires and longings of their souls. Kaplan captures "the evils that
lurk in the hearts of men" as well as Kem Nunn, or any other modern
writer I have read.
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Title: Kockroach | Rating: |
| Author: Tyler Knox | |
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| Genre: Fiction | ||
| ISBN: 978-0061143335 | ||
| Reviewer: Lisa Guidarini |
Metamorphosis Revisited
Tyler Knox's brand new book 'Kockroach' is like a breath of fresh air after
a long, stale winter. The novel is basically a twist on Kafka's classic novel
'Metamorphosis,' turning the premise of that book on its head. Instead of
a man morphing into an insect, in Knox's book an insect turns into a man,
to his dismay and occasional disgust. But, as one of the most adaptable creatures
on earth, the cockroach very quickly learns how to imitate humans in order
to survive and even thrive among them. "Greed and fear, greed and fear" is
a statement Knox repeats over and over as the two primary motivating factors
in a cockroach. Whether it's motivating for just the cockroach is a whole
other issue.
Most people the cockroach meets assume he's foreign-born, trying desperately to assimilate. Knox uses the situation of this bug/man to make comparisons with a foreigner in modern American society. He covers all the bases, including language barriers (the cockroach imitates the patterns, before he eventually learns what the words mean), to clothing, to the inability to find a job due to the fact he can't fully understand these "foreign" humans, etc. Often the humans see the cockroach's strange antics but they tune him out, thinking it's not their problem, so why should they worry? This is a damning indictment of modern society.
The one person to treat the cockroach differently is a small-statured man name "Mite," or Mickey Pimelia. Mite gives the cockroach his name, Jerry Blatta, a name created partly due to the strange noises the man/cockroach makes. Mite is very street-wise. He lost his parents at a young age, forcing him to survive by his own wits. He shares his wisdom with Jerry Blatta, taking him under his wing, teaching him how to work the system until eventually the student surpasses the master.
There's also a love interest in the book,which sounds weird but it's actually developed very naturally. It's not the conventional sort of love interest, but it definitely works in the context of the book. The woman's name is Celia, and with her, Jerry comes about as close to being fully human as he's really capable of being. They share an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the book, providing Knox with an opportunity to explore the universality of love. As with everything in this novel, this is extremely well done.
Knox makes a lot of fairly damning statements on modern American society through 'Kockroach,' playfully using the strange contrast of the cockroach vs. the human as his structure. It's skillful and impressive, never hitting you over the head with a MESSAGE, always staying just this side of preachy by use of his wonderful humor.
The scientific detail in the book is also remarkable. Knox obviously did a lot of research on his subject. Everything from eating habits to social habits to even sex is detailed, sometimes a little more than you want, but that goes with the territory. I had to do a little looking away at times. I don't always have a very strong stomach, but the detail is there for those who do.
This is an extremely rich and wonderful book. I'd give it my highest recommendation as one of the most original, impressive debuts I've read in a while. It's smart, funny and edgy, exactly what a book must be these days if it's going to stay out of the shredder. In the end, Knox throws in a bit of irony I very much appreciated. The cockroach eventually ends up in politics. How's that for justice?
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Title: Great Expectations | Rating: |
| Author: Charles Dickens | |
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| Genre: Literature | ||
| Reviewer: Michael Allan Mallory |
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Great Expectations is a story that stays with you; its images lurking in the
shadows of the mind long after the final page has been turned.
At bottom, Great Expectations is about the aftermath of shattered dreams and how we should learn to move beyond them. In short, your greatest desire is a goal not a final destination. Pip longs to be a gentleman so he'll be worthy of the ethereal Estella, a relationship even he should know is doomed never to happen. And doomed if it actually were to happen! When Pip eventually learns the truth about his good fortunes he's faced with the fact that his life has been a lie. He's a fraud. Miss Haversham, the Machiavellian spinster left at the alter as a young woman, spends the rest of her life engineering the destruction of men. This leads to deep anguish, regret, and her demise when she finally sees her life's creation, the beautiful Estella, crush Pip's hopes to dust. In achieving her dream she finally sees the error of it. Redemption comes too late for her. Not so for Pip, who matures through his disappointments to commit a noble and charitable act for his benefactor. Pip finally puts someone else's best interests above his own. This act alone elevates him to the status of hero, albeit a damaged hero.
Several characters in the book have a secret, some dark, others delightful Jaggers the lawyer, Wemmick his clerk, Molly his housemaid, Magwitch the convict. Not everything is the way it appears on the surface, a theme that plays throughout the novel. As dark as all this seems, there are incidents of great delight in the book, one of the most endearing occurring late in the novel. After a fateful moment for Pip, where he has reached an emotional apotheosis, he sees charm and happiness upon paying a visit to Wemmick, the mild-mannered law clerk, at his home:
I was considerably surprised to see Wemmick take up a fishing-rod,
and put it over his shoulder. "Why, are we going fishing!" said
I. "No," returned Wemmick, "but I like to walk with one."
I thought this odd; however, I said nothing, and we set off. We went towards
Campbell Green, and when we were thereabouts, Wemmick said suddenly:
"Halloa! Here s a church!"
There was nothing very surprising in that; but again I was rather surprised,
when he said as if he were animated by a brilliant idea:
"Let s go in!"
We went in, Wemmick leaving his fishing-rod in the porch, and looked around.
In the mean-time, Wemmick was diving into his coat-pockets, and getting something
out of paper there.
"Halloa!" said he. "Here's a couple of pair of gloves! Let
s put 'em on!"
As the gloves were white kid gloves, and as the post office was widened to
its utmost extent, I now began to have my strong suspicions. They were strengthened
into certainty when I beheld the Aged [parent] enter at a side door, escorting
a lady.
"Halloa!" said Wemmick. "Here's Miss Skiffins! Let's have a
wedding."
This magical sequence is not only typical Dickensian comedy but a moment of grace for Pip, showing him there are rewards for decent, caring people. Dreams can come true, and sometimes happily. I think Great Expectations resonates for so many because there comes a time when we all must stare into the face of our dreams and measure our lives against what we see.
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Title: The Book Thief | Rating: |
| Author: Markus Zusak | |
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| Genre: Young Adult | ||
| Reviewer: Lisa Gray |
Blockbuster hiding in the Young Adult section!
Oh my goodness. Read this book. Read it right now. I mean, set down whatever
you are doing and get in the car and go buy this book. Seriously. So many
people I know and blogs I've read have named this as one of their best books
of 2006. I've never seen so much raving about a single book. Now I'm doing
it too. I told my husband last night that this might just be the best book
I've ever read.
I found the book hiding in the Young Adult section of the library. All three copies were there. Maybe no one knows where to look for it! The first few pages I wasn't entirely sure. I hate it when authors try to do something "different", something "clever" just for the sake of being different. The story is narrated by Death, unusual in itself. But then, every few pages, Death stops the narrative to make an "announcement" - some kind of a statement that he wants the reader to know - in bold writing and with a lot of asterisks around it. It distracted me for about two pages, and by then I was so lost in the book that it never bothered me again. Somehow it seemed to fit. After all, who knows how Death would behave differently than a normal narrator?
This book is set in Nazi Germany and follows a little German girl from about age 10 to age 14, right in the middle of World War II. I won't say more than that as not to spoil it. But this book is highly meaningful and has more depth than most books I've read. I don't know where Markus Zusak has been hiding - and I understand this book is different than most of his -- but, in the style of Death:
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Title: Jane Eyre | Rating: |
| Author: Charlotte Bronte | |
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| Genre: Literature | ||
| Reviewer: Charlotte Cook | ||
| Vocation / Avocation: Publisher |
The "Raised By Wolves" Factor
Masterpiece Theater just showed a new film version of Jane Eyre, with a San
Francisco Chronicle reviewer loving it. A male reviewer who found the chemistry
of the actors/characters irresistible. Wow! I thought the MT version just
short of embarrassing.
The drama of this novel on which most adaptations and reviewers focus is certainly its romantic conflict, but I wonder if it's the romance between Rochester and Jane that holds the reader? When I read this book, three times now (once as a high school student, again as a college English Literature major, then again maybe fifteen years ago ... no, I am not giving away my age) I was held to the page by a female character searching for an ethical, intellectual, even spiritual code that would work for a young woman to whom life had given so few advantages.
Sometimes I think of Jane Eyre as a precursor of Tarzan or Mowgli, children "raised by wolves" and then what happens. Rochester is certainly an interesting character and Jane can be easily appreciated as his salvation but that's "Pretty Woman" -- he saves her and she saves him right back. All that's fun, but I guess I'd tell someone to read this remarkable book for its "raised by wolves" factor.
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Title: Out of Tune | Rating: |
| Author: Lorie Ham | |
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| Genre: Mystery | ||
| ISBN: 1413788416 | ||
| Reviewer: Cindy Chow |
Romance, Humor, and a fun Mystery
Alexandra Walters knew that the California reunion of her gospel singing family
would be stressful, but she didn't count on murder. When Alex discovers that
her grandmother is being threatened, the question isn't who has a reason
for hating the dowager but just who doesn't. What is a surprise is that the
first victim isn't the manipulative Edna Harms but instead the nice Mrs.
Kliewer. Alex soon feels compelled to investigate when she suspects that
the death may be related to the attacks on her grandmother, who has a financial
hold over many in her family. As Alex looks into her own family and friends
she discovers a secret that shocks her to the core and has her questioning
the trust she has in those around her.
Although the single mom Alex is finally settled in a comfortable relationship with Stephen, a private investigator, she's unsettled by her growing attraction to Detective William Knight. As the investigation begins to put her between the two men, Alex realizes that she s going to have to make some choices in her life.
Once again Lorie Ham has created an entertaining and intriguing mystery featuring the very likeable Alex Walters. Ham excels at portraying the realistic relationships between the dynamic Walters family and she always leaves the readers wanting to know more. Readers looking for a novel full of mystery, romance, and humor need to look no further.
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Title: The Inheritance of Loss | Rating: |
| Author: Kiran Desai | |
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| Genre: Literary Fiction | ||
| Reviewer: Lisa Gray |
Disappointing Man Booker winner
*possible spoilers
This book didn't get interesting until page 179, long after when I would normally put a book down in disgust. I kept trudging, because I usually love the Man Booker winners so much, and I wondered if it was just my mood. Also, the writing was undeniably very good, causing me to turn down certain passages to save. But there were several things that I didn't like about the book, and that would cause me not to recommend it.
1. The characters were not very well drawn. You just don't get a sense of them. Eventually, as the book goes on, you get enough snippets here and there to put together why this person is acting this way and why that person is acting that way. But it's a long time coming. You don't get any sense at all of a character's inner world. Also, the book goes back and forth from India to New York and you are never sure when starting a chapter where you are or from whose viewpoint you are seeing the world.
2. The book is set around some sort of unrest between India and Nepal in the late 80's. The author writes the book as if everyone knows what that was all about. I had no idea what the background or issues were in this particular conflict, and I still don't!! There isn't any sort of explanation or development of the setting and activities surrounding the characters. I get some sense the Nepalis were mistreated and that is why Gyan, one of the characters, is tempted to join their side. But I don't really get any glimpses into what the background of that is, except to know that he was poor. If you know anything about this period of history, I think you'd enjoy the book more.
3. It was, quite simply, boring. Nothing really happened. My emotions never got engaged. I didn't care. I think Kiran Desai is a wonderful writer and I feel bad saying my opinion of the book, but it is what it is. So to possibly atone, I'll leave you with a few quotes to show the beauty of her writing:
"Biju stood there in that dusty tepid soft sari night. Sweet drabness of home -- he felt everything shifting and clicking into place around him, felt himself slowly shrink back to size, the enormous anxiety of being a foreigner ebbing -- that unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. Nobody paid attention to him here, and if they said anything at all, their words were easy, unconcerned. He looked about and for the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found that he could see clearly."
"Biju hung on to the metal frame of the jeep as it maneuvered through ridged gullies and ruts and over rocks -- there were more holes in this road than there was road and everything from his liver to his blood was getting a good shake. He looked down over at oblivion, hurried his vision back to the gouged bank. Death was so close -- he had forgotten this in his eternal existence in America -- this constant proximity of one's nearest destination."
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Title: The Asiatics | Rating: |
| Author: Frederic Prokosch | |
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| Genre: Fictitious Travel | ||
| Reviewer: Joe Kempkes |
A unique novel, a genuine masterpiece
Written by a Yale doctoral student in 1932, "The Asiatics" by Frederic
Prokosch has no equal in modern literature. I could go on with superlatives
but suffice to say, if you read it once, you will return to it for years
to come. Reissued in 2005 by Farrar with an introduction by Pico Iyer.
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Title: Travels in the Scriptorium | Rating: |
| Author: Paul Auster | |
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| Genre: Psychological Fiction | ||
| ISBN: 0-8050-8145-3 | ||
| Reviewer: Phillip Smith |
Who am I? Why am I here?
This is a brilliantly bizarre tale of an old man who awakens in a strange room
and has no memory of who he is or why he is there. This Mr. Blank, as he
is called, spends the day piecing together clues that seem to have been deliberately
left in the room for him, searching for fragments of his identity and of
his past. Throughout the day a few visitors provide additional hazy details.
Meanwhile, cameras and microphones are monitoring his progress. This chilling
story is even more poignant in that it could easily be a reflection of our
own lives.
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Title: Too Big To Miss | Rating: |
| Author: Sue Ann Jaffarian | |
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| Genre: Mystery | ||
| ISBN: 0-7387-0863-1 | ||
| Reviewer: Michael Allan Mallory |
Sue Ann Jaffarian finally answers the question: When will I see a novel about a middle-aged plus-size paralegal amateur sleuth? Wait no more, for Odelia Grey arrives big in this debut mystery. After the violent suicide of her good friend, Sophie London, leaves too many unanswered questions, Odelia turns investigator in an effort to make sense out of the death. Surprises await her at several turns as she looks into her friend's secret life. Among the most shocking revelations is Sophie's Internet porn site featuring herself, a woman larger than life whose mantra was that she was too big to miss.
Jaffarian takes the reader on a revealing journey into the lives of overweight women who must cope with a culture too quick to pass judgment on them. At one point the wife of one suspect, a philanderer partial to fat sluts, says to Odelia: "But you really should lose some weight. Fat makes people look dumb, don t you know that? Or is that your cover?"
Yes Odelia is a woman of ample girth, but she's also a woman of substantial humor, large compassion, and immense determination. This book is too good to miss.
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Title: The Pressure of Darkness | Rating: |
| Author: Harry Shannon | |
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| Genre: Thriller | ||
| Reviewer: Marc Brener |
String thriller that makes you think...
As soon as you meet him, you just know Jack Burke (protagonist) is going to
be a great character to be leading this ride. He's smart, witty and great
with the ladies. From steamy sex scenes to gruesome fights between good and
evil, this book keeps you entertained from page one.
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Title: Murder on a Hot Tin Roof | Rating: |
| Author: Amanda Matetsky | |
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| Genre: Cozy Mystery | ||
| ISBN: 0-425-21293-9 | ||
| Reviewer: Michael Allan Mallory |
Some like it hot. Some like it cool. This one's just right if you like a light mystery with lively characters, loads of offbeat charm and spirited hijinks. Tin Roof is the fourth installment in the preposterously named Paige Turner series, which started with Murderers Prefer Blondes. It's 1950s Manhattan and Paige is the only woman at Daring Detective Magazine, where she is ostensibly the receptionist, secretary, copy editor and girl Friday. Here she endures the non-enlightened attitudes of her male co-workers who expect her to make the coffee, do the bosses personal errands and stay within the narrow confines of a single working girl in the Eisenhower era. Secretly, she investigates murders in hopes of writing true-crime articles about them for her periodical. Poor Paige always goes over her lunch hour when interviewing a suspect and has to face the wrath of her clock watching boss for returning late. On top of which she gets no lunch. No one said it would be easy being an investigative crime writer on the sly.
In Murder on a Hot Tin Roof an understudy of the original Broadway run of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is brutally murdered in his apartment over a sweltering July 4th weekend. When Paige and her wisecracking, sex-bomb best friend Abby Moscowitz discover the body, Paige's sleuthing instincts take over. What makes this book fun is Paige's saucy narrative voice sass leavened with massive self-doubt. It's a wonder Paige can speak at all given the frequency with which she bites her tongue at work to avoid mouthing off to her male colleagues. After all, this is the 1950s of Doris Day not the 1960s of Gloria Steinam. However, in her first person narrative Paige cuts loose with her real feelings. Amanda Matetsky invests her heroine with enough pluck, sincerity and charm to make this an entertaining ride.
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Title: Mark of the Lion | Rating: |
| Author: Suzanne Arruda | |
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| Genre: Historical Mystery | ||
| ISBN: 9780451217486 | ||
| Reviewer: Marilyn Victor |
Amazing book-Mark of the Lion
Being an animal lover, I first picked up Mark of the Lion when I learned
the author, Suzanne Arruda, was once a zookeeper. I soon discovered there
were no animal encounters of the cute kind in this book, but the beauty of
the writing and the post WWI era that it captures was enough to off-set any
disappointment on that account. And there are animals, seen through the eyes
of a time when real men went big game hunting and the natives they employed
were little more than pack horses.
The book begins with a careening ambulance ride to the front lines in France and a dying man's wish that sends Jade del Cameron to the untamed savannahs of Africa. There she proves she's a capable, independent woman and refuses to be scared off by the murder of one of the colonists for the laibon, a witch the natives believe can shape shift into the form of a lion or hyena.
This book will captivate you with its sweeping descriptions of Africa and its depiction of the close-knit British society that colonized East Africa. A must-read.
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Title: Winter's Bone | Rating: |
| Author: Daniel Woodrell | |
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| Genre: Literary Mystery | ||
| ISBN: 0-316057-5-5 | ||
| Reviewer: Charlotte Cook |
Winter's Bone took me by surprise. An NPR interviewer represented the book as a "Raymond Chandler-esque mystery," then had Mr. Woodrell read a passage that made me think "Faulkner." I was intrigued. I searched for the book with some distress because first I couldn't remember the correct title or author, then I couldn't find the book. I eventually found a single copy tucked away among a miscellany of mystery books at Powell's in Portland. Was I to be rewarded with a great read? Or disappointed after a difficult search? The answer was that I loved the story, character, and writing. Fresh and poetic, and dark and damning was the range of my experience. I was horrified by some of the incidents in the book and held captive by the wonder and originality of the heroine and other characters. I'd never compare this book with Raymond Chandler. I'd never shelve it in the Mystery section. To me it's a Faulknerian novella. But to you it should be a must read.
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Title: Over the Edge | Rating: |
| Author: Marc Paul Kaplan | |
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| Genre: Outdoor thriller | ||
| ISBN: 978-0-9772081-0-4 | ||
| Reviewer: Richard Cook |
Marc's book is an exciting outdoor thriller that takes on interesting themes of violence and war, particularly through the eyes of two different war veterans, one from Vietnam and the other Korea. But it's the skiing world of 1969 Jackson Hole that makes this a page-turner.
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Title: My Half of the Sky | Rating: |
| Author: Jana McBurney-Lin | |
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| Genre: Contemporary Literature | ||
| ISBN: 978-0-9772081-1-1 | ||
| Reviewer: Charlotte Cook |
I read this book the first time in rough manuscript form and knew that I had a very important find: (1) a wonderful novel of modern China and (2) that book that every Jane Austen fan looks for ... a deeply rich and humorous novel of how families work and don't work, of how bright young women struggle to be whole in eras and/or places where their position in society is quite cleverly constricted to contain them. Li Hui, the young university-educated heroine of this book, can also join that coterie of women about whom George Eliot, Flaubert, and even Margaret Mitchell and Alice Walker have written.
Li Hui can frustrate the reader with her family loyalty and painstaking concern about the old and the new ways evolving around her. But we can't resist the critical nature of her tale. I couldn't even find enduring distaste for her father or the Snake Head. (Much like I've always loved The Reverend Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice.) I would hope that this book would prove to be a diverting and rewarding read to all those who, like me, value a read that makes characters and their struggles something to think on for many years. And I haven't even mentioned the richness of the Chinese folk tales woven throughout Li Hui's story to remind us of the depth and wonder of the Chinese culture.
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Title: My Half of the Sky | Rating: |
| Author: Jana McBurney-Lin | |
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| Genre: Contemporary Literature | ||
| ISBN: 978-0-9772081-1-1 | ||
| Reviewer: Richard Cook |
This novel of modern China captures the inner life of a culture foreign to the ways of thought of the contemporary West. Readers will find themselves immersed in a fascinating world and story.
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