Lucky, Alice Sebold (3.5)
‘Lucky’ is the memoir Alice Sebold published prior to ‘Lovely Bones’ and realized that she needed to come to terms with the violence done to her in the past, in writing, so the fictionalized violence did not morph into her own. In ‘Lucky’ she describes in detail how she was violently raped as a freshman in college, the eventual trial, and her struggles from then until the writing of the memoir. While a very painful book to read, it was also compelling. It felt like a primer everyone should read to step closer to properly approaching people who’ve been through trauma. We’ve all had the awkward moments trying to say the right thing, or just not say the wrong thing. You appreciate how strong Alice is, and are appalled when someone actually says (her father!!) ‘If it had to happen to one of you, I’m glad it was you and not your sister.’ The one thing I felt was missing was more detail about how she recovered. Once she likened her situation to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, she seems to have turned a corner. But I struggle with how she overcame the key element mentioned in a book she quotes about PSTS sufferers: ‘they have an elevated baseline of arousal: their bodies are always on alert for danger.’ I can understand that – as any person walking alone in a dangerous area feels that feeling of danger. After the worst case violence has happened to you, how do you go back to ‘normal’? I really struggle with understanding that recovery and would like to hear more. I guess the answer is to read the book she quotes: ‘Trauma and Recovery’ by Dr. Judith Lewis Herman.
The Keep, Jennifer Egan (3.5)
I’ve read two of Jennifer Egan’s books (‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ and ‘The Keep’) and they were very different from one another. The one similarity I found was that all the characters have a relatively major flaw. It tends to keep them more real and believable which makes the atypical drama that much more surprising. I liked ‘The Keep’ more, as it has interesting twists and turns. A book that can keep me churning to figure out where the plot is going, and allows me to puzzle it out (albeit 5 minutes after finishing the last page!) has a definite satisfactory feel. ‘The Keep’ tells two stories: one of a man going to help his cousin, Howard, renovate a castle near Prague, and the other of a man in prison taking a writing class. The cousins share a dark event in their past and you are continually trying to understand why Howard invited his cousin and to what end. Egan’s writing is dark and mysterious, like the castle and Transylvanian-like locale, which fills your mind with many possible evil outcomes. Usually I end up being disappointed in the actual, but in this case I was very pleased with the linkage of stories and the ending. Had I been more gripped from the beginning, I would have given it a ‘4’.
The Lost Gate, Orson Scott Card (3)
This was a quick, relatively light read for OSC. It’s also much more aligned with the Fantasy genre than his ‘Ender’s Game’ series. The story follows a boy who lives with the Mages, or magic people, among us. It was very reminiscent of Harry Potter in theory: magic among regular humans, boy is considered talent-less but has surprising powers. The Mages harken back to the gods of Olympus with skills such as forging, farming, horticulture, etc. They have been cut off from their brethren in another planet/place. It didn’t surprise me that OSC first devised this plot when he was very young. Part of it has this less mature writing style (ala ‘Treason’). That being said, he is a good storyteller and this story flows well with a compelling plot that pulls you along to find out what happens to the boy (for some reason, I cannot remember his name!). He finishes this chapter, but obviously intends this to be the first adventure in a series.
Push, Sapphire (3.5)
Many people have seen the award winning yet painful-to-watch movie, ‘Precious’ which was based on this book. As expected, the book is even more painful to read. While you know in your head that some kids are subjected (by parents, no less) to horrible, unspeakable acts of violence; it is another thing to read the details of these acts as a young woman recalls them. As the main character, Clarisse Precious Jones, tells her story, you feel the kernel of her person is buried so deep under a blanket of ignorance, that it’s hard to understand what will emerge once the blanket is lifted. She begins with such a narrow and skewed understanding of family, school and society that I found the part of ‘blanket lifting’ was not explained well enough to believe the kernel could be revealed. I do believe a great poet could come from someone with that much pain, once her voice emerged. I believe the beginning (the first nurturing adult in her life teaches her to read), but I didn’t see enough in the journey to make the rest of the hard part believable. Oddly, if this had been a true story – as horrible as that would be to imagine – I would have enjoyed it more.
Embassytown, China Mieville (3.5)
I read one other book by China Mieville and I found it very complicated and difficult to follow. I’m not sure if ‘Embassytown’ is better, or if I am more patient, but I did enjoy this book. Mr. Mieville is an award winning Science Fiction author who pushes boundaries in unique ways, which may be why I find his stories harder to follow. His writing assumes you know more than you do about his new planet/culture/beings. As the story unfolds, your confusion evolves into many ‘aha’ moments. It can either be rewarding or frustrating. In ‘Embassytown’ he has created a world where humans are renters, of sorts, on a planet whose ‘Hosts’ communicate in a very unique way. The concept of language and how species communicate is poked and prodded throughout this story. He has shown how a tenuous handle of language can cause events to go terribly wrong to the extent of causing a war. Overall, I liked the uniqueness and the ideas of language that were presented, but I think other areas could have been pursued more to make it a higher ranked Sci-Fi book.
Life, by Keith Richards (3)
In full disclosure, I will say I am not a huge fan of the Rolling Stones. I admire their talent and longevity, and can appreciate their accomplishments, but I have never chosen their songs or albums as my music of choice. Given the time of Rolling Stones’ heyday (over many years), its not surprising that this ‘Life’ has many interesting tidbits. Mr. Richards has an honest, if somewhat addled, voice. His story is told from childhood till present day and is filled with the many musicians he admires. Unfortunately this tale takes 500+ pages and has many lagging bits. It didn’t take me too long to tire of the drug years. It was surprising to read about such hard drug use by both parents with their children present with little to no remorse. It came across as particularly selfish, though little else about Keith Richards comes across that way. If you are a big Stones fan or a guitar player, I’m sure that you’ll find plenty to enjoy. Otherwise, I’m afraid I can’t say it is worth the time.
Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (4.5)
‘Unbroken’ not only got a unanimous thumbs-up from our little book club, but it also inspired one of our longest and pithiest conversations that included a personal story of an uncle who was also a POW in Japan (thanks to Diane for sharing her touching story). Laura Hillenbrand once again brings a true story alive with her telling of the life of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner who becomes a POW in Japan during WWII. While living a harrowing life, Louie manages to exude optimism and a joie de vive through all the worst times. Ms. Hillenbrand shows conclusively that Louie’s unbelievable survival is largely due to his unique attitude and tenacity. His story starts as a child in Torrance, it then takes us through his unlikely Olympic career, and his WWII experiences, including being stranded at sea and surviving multiple Japanese POW camps. Knowing he survives (and is still alive today) from the beginning of the book makes reading the difficult scenes slightly easier, though page after page you cannot believe he will actually survive! We all agreed that Louie’s story brought to life elements of the war that we were aware of, but were still shocking. The two biggest were the poor conditions of the planes and subsequent accidental deaths, and the brutal treatment of the POWs from their captors. A great story of survival and triumph as told by a riveting storyteller has earned this book a 4.5.
Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson (3)
This singularity Sci-Fi book was not unique enough to warrant a higher rating, but that being said, it was a fast-paced, enjoyable read. If anything, I wish it were longer, with more pith added to some of the ideas. It reminded me a bit of ‘Starship Troopers’ mixed with ‘The Terminator’ (without time travel). It follows various groups through the event (i.e. zero hour) when a computer/robot becomes sentient and turns it and other robots against humans. There are some basic ‘what makes us human’ quandaries and some interesting concepts on both sides of the battle. Overall, it is about a battle, but could have included more of many things to round it out. I should also note that some people might not enjoy the writing style – each chapter is written as a look back from various characters’ memory. I found the flow worked, but some might find it hard to follow and a bit disconnected.
Room, Emma Donoghue (1)
This book review was one of the hardest I’ve had to do thus far in the blog. I had seen numerous accolades for the book and it continues to get strong critiques. The problem is that the subject matter is so difficult to read, not only did I almost stop, I cannot think of a single person to whom I would recommend it. The writing is good, the author has done several unique things to make the subject a tad easier – but in the end of the day, it is still a book about a woman who is kidnapped, held hostage, raped repeatedly and has a child by her captor. The 5-year-old child, Jack, narrates the book. All he knows, his whole world, is ‘Room’, which is an 11x11 foot prison. Its contents are his only friends (Duvet, Rug, Wardrobe). The book is told in 3 main parts. The first part is frightening (as you begin to realize was actually has occurred, since Jack does not know), the second is very dramatic and the third is more about the psychology, which is very interesting. I would like Val to read this so we could discuss the third section, but I could never ask a mother to read this – it is just too horrific to imagine and the intimacy of Jack’s voice brings it all in too close. It somehow makes the book more disturbing than a traditional murder mystery. I believe the book deserves a ‘4’ for the quality of the writing and uniqueness of the story, but I have to give it a ‘1’ as a warning to any who may read it – it is very disturbing.The Tiger’s Wife, Tea Obreht (3.5)
Tea Obreht is now known as one of The New Yorker’s twenty best American fiction writers under 40 (she wrote this at 25). It has several unique characteristics. Firstly it is set during and after the Yugoslav Wars. It is not clear where it is set and which ‘side’ the protagonists represent. Which is, frankly, very typical of that time – very intertwined and hard for many in the West to understand who is ‘bad’ and who is ‘good’. It also has the feel of a Grimm’s fairy tale sprinkled throughout. In many of the stories the main character, Natalia, hears, there are bits of fantastical events. Tea interleaves these as Natalia researches her beloved grandfather’s past. The joy in this book is in the poignancy of these stories. My only complaint is that the story of the Tiger’s Wife felt abruptly added. The flow of the book was halted and that story began. It was very important, but you didn’t realize that till the end. Given that, the book is very different and enjoyable. I felt I had gotten a look into every day life in a post war Balkan country along with the flavor of a mystical culture.
A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords: Book Two and Three of the Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin (3)
I decided to group the next two books in the Game of Thrones series together, as it is apparent that they are not significantly different. That can be both a good and bad thing: good in that they each have the escapist quality of the first, bad in that neither book has a satisfactory ending of any of the storylines. As with the first book, no character is safe from the sharp edge of the sword, so to speak, which is a refreshing style. The series is told from the point of view of both good and evil characters who are scattered around the kingdoms. Each chapter reads very quickly, which makes them good ‘dogs of summer’ reads. I gave these two a slightly lower rating than the first book as I feel they are a bit like candy, only momentarily satisfying. In addition, nothing truly new has been added and certainly nothing revealed or concluded. The next two books (four and five) have not gotten as good reviews externally. Apparently they were meant to be one book that got too large. Many of the characters disappear in book four to come back in book five. I may have to wait until Mr. Martin officially finishes the series before I continue. Unless, of course, I get a hankering for some candy!
Islam, The Religion and the People, Bernard Lewis and Butzie Ellis Churchill (3)
After hearing many times ‘that’s not in the Koran’ or ‘only radical Muslims believe that’, I decided I really wanted to know more about the religion that is growing so fast and blamed for so many things. I went to the library and scanned a few titles. I picked this book as it seemed to discuss both the history of the religion compared with other religions and its current state. My first surprise was that Islam is the youngest of the main religions (~700AD) and that it is closer to Christianity than to anything else (it is based on the old and new testaments, but the Jews and Christians ‘got it wrong’. Mohammed was the last and only prophet). Also both Islam and Christianity are considered Triumphalists (fortunate recipients of the message, their duty to spread said message and only they will get into heaven), while Jews and Hindus are considered Relativists (the righteous of all religions will have a place in heaven – more like religions are various languages saying the same thing, no need to convert in order to be saved). There were many other surprises that helped me understand some major elements of Islam as a religion and way of life. I am giving this a ‘3’ mainly because I thought it fell short of helping to define and understand the radical Muslims. There were many contradictions in the ‘how and why’. One clear message the authors made was how many of the current issues of radical Muslims started with the Iranian revolution (with Ayatollah Khomeini) in 1979. If you have a desire to learn more about the religion, this book is a good place to start.
