TrishNYC's 75 Book Challenge.

Hello all. I did the challenge last year and I figure I should do the same again this year. So here I am. I loved the 75 community from last year and look forward to seeing many old faces and meeting new people. I have read more than just the one book mentioned in this post but it will take me a few days to review them all and post here.

1.Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun. Miles From Nowhere tells the story of 13 year old Joon who runs away from a troubled home. With her father abandoning the family, her mother becomes mentally and emotionally absent. As Joon tries to find her place in the world, she increasingly feels no connection with her mother. She eventually decides to run away from home and the book details her life on the street and her struggle for survival.

Shortly after leaving home, she ends up in a homeless shelter where she meets some very colorful characters by the name of Wink and Knowledge. The way in which these two character were introduced, I assumed that they would be an integral part of her life. But just as quickly as they are introduced, they are out of her life without much explanation. Joon then drifts from place to place and situation to situation without finding any permanance. She works as a dance hostess, an Avon lady and a bevy of other random jobs. Somewhere along the way Joon picks up a nasty drug habit. She tries to quit but finds herself drawn back by her boyfriend and continues to spiral deeper and deeper into a narcotics fueled existence with its attendant consequences.

This a heartwrenching story because Joon is a victim of neglectful parents. One is exceedingly moved by the things that such a young child is forced to undergo all because her parents are lost in their own worlds. Her childhood is destroyed and she is forced to raise herself into adulthood. The vast majority of Joon's life is spent in hopeless and bleak conditions.

One of the main flaws of the book is that it is told in an episodic manner and this literary device eventually weakens the story. One is never able to fully connect with the story because just as you begin to get into some area of her life, you are immediately thrust into another chapter that deals with something unrelated. I think that the book may have also benefitted from having each chapter dated so that we are able to tell when exactly in her life the tale being narrated fits in. At the conclusion, the book just ended. There was no real wrap up, it was just over. But as much as the end left something to be desired, I appreciated the fact that Joon does not have a rags to riches end. Her future is uncertain but hopeful. You see that she is beginining to make strides into a better life but she is still perched at the edge.

My Rating: 3.5

Ah Ha, I have found you now. Consider yourself starred! Looking forward to keeping up with what you are reading this year.

Good to see you back again, Trish. I enjoyed your reviews last year and would have missed them this year if you had not come back to us!

Welcome back.

You're here! You're here! Now, she says with great satisfaction, the 75 group is complete.
After reading your review of Miles from Nowhere I think I'll take a pass. Looking forward to book number 2.

I am so glad you are back and reviewing again. This years challenge group has rocketed away from me with so many new faces and so much activity. But I am glad to see you here again. Thanks again for passing along a copy of The Weight of a Mustard Seed. I finished it off before the first of the year and gave it a fair review. Interesting book but it felt disjointed and unfocused, a little.

Good review there of Miles from Nowhere. I think I was looking for that book but after your thoughts, I may not look as hard for it.

Hey you guys, thanks for the welcome. Nice to be back. I missed you all. I have my pen and paper and I am taking notes as I peruse all your threads.

2. Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein. A man disguised as a fireman sets off an incendiary device in a hall way. As it fills the air with smoke, he knocks on the door of one the inhabitants of the building, Tina Barr, and when she lets him in, he attacks her. After he leaves, she locks herself in her apartment, refusing to let in the police and other law enforcement agencies who come to help. Alexandra(Alex) Cooper, an assistant district attorney, finally convinces her to unlock the door and seek medical help but just as soon as the paramedics take Tina to the hospital, she leaves and disappears. The police cannot officially look for her because she left of her own free will and is therefore not a missing person and she never actually reported a crime was committed. Eventually Alex's boss receives pressure from outside sources and demands that she find Tina. A few days later Tina is found, dead and wrapped in tarp in Bryant Park.

The questions surrounding Tina's death are many. Was her death related to the work she did as a restorer of rare books for the library and for private clients? Did Tina know something or see something that led to her brutal slaying? Was Tina involved in the loss of millions of dollars worth of rare books and maps that were missing from donated collections in the library? Was her death related to that of another woman found murdered in her former apartment?

This book is fascinating in the way that it turns the main branch of the New York Public library into a fascinating backdrop for a thriller. Interesting facts about history, book binding, legacies to institutions are topics covered in great depth. It is quite fascinating what you learn as you read the book. It gave me an interesting insight into the city I call home and its numerous cultural institutions.

Like many books, Lethal Legacy sometimes fails to capture the ways in which real human beings interact. For example. right after the body of Tina Barr is found, the head of the library is leading the detectives back to the library's interior. As they walk pass the giant sculptures of the lions in front of the building,one of the detectives makes a comment about the lions and the head of the library proceeds to give him a mini lecture on the lions. She tells him that they attained their names, Patience and Fortitude, because the then Mayor of New York felt that these were qualities that New Yorkers would need in order to survive the depression. A woman was just killed, what normal human being would be discussing stone sculptures at such a time? Another weakness of the book was it tendency to sometimes go on and on and on about historical events and incidents in a way that almost detracted from the story. Luckily the author was able to rein herself in before this became an absolute distraction. It is obvious that the author did a lot of research into the literary and artistic world of New York. This hard work pays off as we end up with a tale that keeps you interested from start to finish.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely seek out more by Ms. Fairstein in the future.

My Rating: 4

Hi Trish! Welcome back and well done on missing the INSANITY of the new-year joining frenzy.

Two of my friends are rare book librarians and I have had to restrict myself to sending them just one quote from your review - thanks :)

You probably know this, but Linda Fairstein was an ADA herself, with something of a specialty in assaults on women, before she quit to write mysteries. She prosecuted some big cases here in NYC.

#7 Trish: I got a copy of the ARC of Lethal Legacy from the publisher but have not yet had a chance to read it. I am a fan of the Alexandra Cooper books and know I will get to it eventually. Thanks for the review! I am looking forward to reading the book even more now.

It takes real skill (and restraint) to properly insert all that interesting history into fiction. If you're not careful you can totally ruin the story. I guess the real skill comes in knowing when to just not do it. Good review, Trish.

Hi Trish...
I was hoping you would re-join us...
A hearty welcome back to you!

Awww-you guys are so sweet. Thanks for the welcome back Whisper1, Flossie and Blackdog. Sorry I missed your comment Blackdog, I came on here to post book two and somehow totally did not see it. I started reading The weight of a mustard seed and stopped because I found it a bit disjointed. I plan on going back but I am unsure when cause your thots on it do not inspire me to rush back as I am still in that 50-75 page range. I absolutely love your review. Very, very well written.

Rebecca-I actually did not know that Ms. Fairstein was an ADA herself. Presents an interesting insight into her portrayal of Alex Cooper.

Alcot--I did not realize that there were more Alex Cooper books. I will definitely be on the look out for them. I already have a deep fondness for Alex and her co-workers, Mike and Mercer.

3. The Reader by Bernard Schlink. I read this about two weeks ago but I have needed time to properly formulate my thoughts on it. Its one of those books that leaves you with a myriad for feelings when you are done. On the one hand I was repulsed but on the other hand there was a certain something about the story that was very interesting.

The story centers around fifteen year old Michael Berg who stricken with hepatitis falls ill on his way home from school. His neighbor Hanna sees his plight and after cleaning him up, takes him home. He is sick for months and cannot return to school and spends his time reading and bored. When he gets better his mother sends him back to Hanna's house to show his appreciation. So begins Michael's affair with Hanna who was at the time about thirty six years old. This affair would continue for a few months during which Michael was happy most of the time except when he and Hanna would argue, with Hanna always ending up the victor. I mention this element of their relationship because it shows the emotional and phycological hold that Hanna exerted over him. She would almost always end up "the winner" not because she was right but because her attitude toward Michael always seemed to say that his place in her life was not of much value to her. Early on the in the relationship, Hanna makes this fact clear to Michael and with this in mind, Michael is constantly looking for her approval. And just as suddenly as their relationship began, it is over. One day Michael goes to visit her and she is just not there. He is heartbroken and feels lost and disconnected from the world.

Years later Michael is in law school when his class is tasked with studying the trials of those who committed war crimes during the second world war. He was surprised to see Hanna on trial and discovers that before he met her she has had been a guard at one of the many concentration camps. She and her co-defendants are accused of leaving a group of women and girls to burn to death in a church. Just like during their relationship, Hanna seems to have this odd hold over him. She clearly sees him in the stands but never acknowledges him. She is stoic throughout much of the trial and never really seems to offer a good enough defense for her actions. It becomes clear to him that she is hiding a secret from the judge and one that he only discovers as he watches the trial play out. I cannot tell you exactly what the secret is because I do not want to mess it up but I will say that to me it was a flimsy secret. If my life was at stake and someone was accusing me of things that I knew I did not do, believe me, I would tell them every detail of my life including my social secret number and DNA. But Hanna just sits there and allows herself to be accused and maligned by the defense attorney, the witnesses and eventually her co-defendants. It just did not make sense.

I cannot begin to express how appalled I was when Hanna begins her relationship with Michael. He is a child and I do not care if he was 6 and a half feet tall and looked like a grown man(which he didn't) he was a CHILD. I would like to know why it has somehow become more acceptable in society today that when a woman is sexually involved with an underage boy, somehow that is okay. I see it all the time with these teachers who sleep with their underage male students and I feel like the justice system just gives them a slap on the wrist and tells them not to do it again. WHAT!!?? If a man tried the same thing, we would all be lined up outside his house screaming obscenities that would make a sailor blush. I find it extremely annoying and makes it look the justice system is gender stilted. A pedophile is a pedohile, whether your victim is male or female and wether the perpetrator is male or female. Hanna was not Michael's first love, she was his abuser, plain and simple.
(Jumps off soap box and continues with review)

One of the oddest things about this book was that I found that as much as I realized early on that I did not like Hanna(I did not virulently hate her either), I was surprised that by the end, I did not form any emotional attachement to Michael either. I did not dislike him but oddly enough, I did not feel anything positive toward him. I cannot pinpoint why this is but he just seemed like he was emotionally dead. Its like the affair with Hanna and her sudden abandonment had rendered him devoid of feelings(he intimates as much in the book).

Another thing that I found out of place was this supposed struggle between the older and younger generation of Germans. The author seems to be trying to say that the younger generation of Germans has judged their parents and grandparents harshly for many of the decisions that they made while under the Nazi regime. I totally get that arguement but it was out of place in this book. It just seemed thrown in and I did not get why it was really there as it wasn't a key plot in the story. Are we supposed to excuse Hanna's part in the Nazi effort because of her "secret"? And is that secret supposedly representative of the older generations inability to break through their inadequacies? Sorry I personally think not and do not even understand the attempted correlation.

All in all it was an interesting read. Something tells me that the language used would be even more captivating in the original German.

My rating: 3.5

4.Death of a dustman by M.C. Beaton. Just another day in Lochduh. Nothing much different from any of the other Hamish Macbeth books but entertaining none the less.

I read The Reader recently too, and also found it hard to define. I actually liked the bits about the older Germans and the younger. Not sure I can articulate it, but somehow it made the story have more soul, and it was in this subplot(?) that I found more accessible and understandable. Can't identify personally with Michael, nor with Hanna, but definitely get being pissed off the the failures of those authority figures who so pitifully failed to protect me and show me "the way I should go." I wonder, how will I fail my own children? I'm sure its right there in front of me (thousands of books lying around the house?) but I'm totally blind to it.

Did I meander too much? Sorry.

Trish,

The list of the Alexandra Cooper is as follows:

Final Jeopardy (1996)

Likely to Die (1997)

Cold Hit (1999)

The Deadhouse (2001)

The Bone Vault (2003)

The Kills (2004)

Entombed (2005)

Death Dance (2006)

Bad Blood (2007)

Killer Heat (2008)

Lethal Legacy, which you have already read

TrishNYC, another great review. I am working only with my knowledge of the movie version, as the wife and I took it in a couple of weeks ago. The one thing I might offer, and I don't have a lot of personal experience here, is that the secret in this case, while seemingly trivial for you or I, is often seen as a huge matter of self doubt and insecurity, whether rational or not. So, it didn't bother me as much that she kept the secret, even in the face of such dire consequences.

Hey Alcot, I just got Bad Blood. I haven't read it yet but I am looking forward to it.

Blackdog--I totally agree with you that her secret was nothing to trivialize and could be a source of much anxiety and insecurity but I guess for me the seriousness of what she was being accused of would have made me loose all shame and fear and confess my secret. Maybe her general personality made her a less sympathetic character to me.

Alcot--You are right, I did find that part of the story about the older Germans and the younger Germans to be very interesting. It felt a bit thrown in but I did find the reasonings and logic behind each generations decisions to be interesting.

5. American Rust by Phillip Meyer. Reading this book was like taking a wonderful but sad journey through the life of people you have just met. The book starts off with Isaac English and Billy Poe, two young men who are a well of lost and wasted opportunities. Isaac has just stolen $4,000 from his father and is leaving town to chase a better life for himself. Poe decides to walk him a short distance but intends to return home shortly. Unfortunately, nothing turns out as planned for both boys and a man ends up dead.

Isaac possesses the intellect of a genius and everyone in town expects that he will end up in a great college and excel even higher than his older sister who attended Yale. But his mother dies, his father is crippled by a job related accident and his sister leaves for college. For reasons which seem unfathomable, he chooses to remain at home rather than go to college. Billy was once a star althete with scholarship offers from top universities. But he squanders all these opportunities by choosing to remain in his small town practically doing nothing with his life. He seems to spend the rest if his time unemployed, getting into fights and being a source of worry to his mother. But as different as both boys seem from each other, they form a friendship. And though Billy seems from the aforementioned description to be a bad seed, there is something about this character that is intensely sympathetic. Billy like the rest of the characters in the book all make bad choices and tries to make the best that the town and its surroundings has dealt them.

The town had once been a giant of the manufacture and sale of steel. But like many of such towns in America's rust belt, the factories had not been properly updated and had become less competitive in the market place. A vast majority of the men in the town had once worked in one of the many steel plants only to have their source of income taken away when most the jobs went overseas. The town is now a shell of its former self and half the population seems to be receipents of section 8, welfare benefits and other forms of government assistance. In addition, there is a good part of the population that is involved in ingesting Meth or cooking it for sale or private use.

The author is amazing at describing the pyhsical decay of the town amidst the natural beauty that surronds. You feel the breakdown of the town and the despair that its inhabitants experience as they try to just make it from day to day. Their pysches are broken and he is able to capture it in a very palpable way. He discusses contemporary American life and its problems without it sounding like he is preaching to you or fulfilling an agenda. His style is slow without being boring and detailed without meandering. I will say that his writing does take a bit of getting used to but I believe that the effort expended is repaid in full. There were parts of it that I felt were randomly thrown in without any real purpose but the substance of the novel makes you forgive this. The story will transport you from your chair to an economically devasted landscape whose inhabitants dramatic lives will entertain, horrify and saddened you. I would highly recommend this book.

My Rating: 4.5

WOW! What an incredible review of 5. American Rust by Phillip Meyer! I will definitely read this book in 2009.

Thanks for such a well-written description.

>7 TrishNYC: I've listened to several Fairstein mysteries as audio books and enjoyed them mostly for the details of various NYC institutions. I'll listen (or used to) to thrillers but I won't read them (of course, I no longer have the commute I once did).

My favorite was Bone Vault which gave a lot of behind-the-scenes information on the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum.

>18 TrishNYC: I have an arc of American Rust here in the pile. Your review is terrific but I will hold off on it as I just read a slowish, melancholy book . . .:-)

#18: I'm on board with American Rust, too. I will definitely be on the lookout for it. Thanks for such a great review and recommendation!

FYI- American Rust is being offered as a January's bonus batch for the ER program.

Signed up for American Rust bonus.....got my fingers crossed after your review!!!!

Sheesh...maybe its just me but lately I have been feeling like there are not enough hours in the day.

Thanks guys for all your kind words. I really enjoyed reading American Rust and I hope you guys are able to get your hands on it.

Avaland---I've missed you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you in the 75 this year? Hope you end of year was great and you got enough rest.

Definitely not enough hours in the day, at least for reading. I have so many great books on my nightstand right now, and my current audiobook is also a grabber. (I know it's good when I'm sitting in the car in the garage, not wanting to stop listening.)

Its good to know I'm not the only one who does that Cariola!

I don't think Avaland is here this year, Trish (not yet anyway). I found her here http://www.librarything.com/groups/clubread2009 at Club Read 2009

Indeed Avaland is with the group you mentioned above. I check in on her periodically because I miss her here on the 75 challenge!

Cariola, you and some of the other ladies from last year's group introduced me to the joys of audio books. If the narrator is good, audiobooks can be amazing.

Fourpawz--Thanks for the heads up on Avaland. I miss her and will definitely go check her out on the other thread.

6. Sin in the second city By Karen Abbott. Minna and Ada Everleigh operated one of the most successful and well known brothels in Chicago from 1900-1911. Their success stemmed from their insistence on treating the women who worked for them as ladies complete with couture gowns, large salaries, sumptuous meals and an exclusive clientele. In order to be an Everleigh butterfly as they were nicknamed, you had to be extensively interviewed and provide proof that you were of the age of consent. If you passed the rigorous screening process, you were then schooled on the art of being a lady, proper etiquette and on the ways to please a man . The Everleigh club would play host to many famous dignitaries including John Barrymore, Jack Johnson, Theodore Dreiser, Marshall Field Jr. and Prince Heinrich of Prussia. What was it about this brothel that made it stand above all the others in the district?

According to the author, the vice district of Chicago's south side was prior to the sisters arrival a place that offered little dignity for the women who exchanged their wares for monetary compensation. Most of the houses of ill repute treated the women who worked within with little regard and did not screen their clients, letting anyone who could pay gain entrance. The women were subjected to whippings for any perceived bad behavior and many a customer lost their belongings after they had been drugged by a woman who was supposed to be entertaining them. It was a lawless atmosphere rife with enormous danger.

Into this chaos stepped the Everleigh sisters who sought to reform vice and make it more respectable. The sisters acquired a property from its former madam, dismissed all the women currently working there and began to change the face of prostitution in Chicago. They made it clear from the start that theirs would not be a club into which any drunk sailor would stumble and be entertained. The Everleigh Club they insisted would be one that required an introduction by influential and well trusted friends in order to gain admittance. They applied the well oiled economic principle that by making something exclusive, you attract more business because everyone wants to see what the fuss is all about. Apparently, to have made it into the Everleigh club left you with a sense that you were special. The sisters spared no expense in building their dream brothel, from the beautiful women to the grand piano to the dinner hall that flowed with mounds of food, mirrored ceilings, thirty expensively furnished boudoirs, etc, etc, etc. Indeed, the sisters changed the face of flesh trade.

As expected the sisters made some enemies of the old madams who had ruled the vice district before their arrival. Notable amongst their enemies was Vic Shaw who had an iron grip before their arrival. She was incensed at these upstarts who muscled in on her territory and she never ceased planning ways to bring about their downfall. But the Everleigh sisters enemies were not limited to the other madams. They also had to contend with the religious reformers who sought to close down all the brothels for what they saw as their role in the spread of sin. Prominent amongst the reformers was Rev. Ernest Bell who maintained a nightly vigil outside the Everleigh club calling on all who could hear to repent of the sins of the flesh.

The sister thrived for eleven very prosperous years but would eventually fall victim to the wind of change that would sweep the city. The reformers and dedicated law men would eventually pressure the mayor to institute a crack down on the vice district. The sisters would not escape this time as they had done on previous occasions. This time they were forced to close down and begin their lives no longer as madams but as private citizens far from the trade that had made them famous.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I personally found it to be extremely entertaining. The characters were explored in depth and you couldn't wait to see what was coming next. With a cast that included characters with names like "Hinky Dink" Kenna, "Bathhouse" John and cursory mentions of the young gangster Al Capone, I knew I was in for an interesting ride. The narrator Joyce Bean is a good and engaging reader who draws one into the story quite easily. But as enjoyable as one may find the book, one must somewhat doubt the accuracy of the tale. On many occasions the author makes assertions to or alludes to conversations that unless she was standing right there when they happened it would have been impossible for her to have known that one of the speakers furrowed their brow, or pursed her lips or wondered about so and so. The author did this frequently enough for one to doubt or discount some of the things she claimed occurred. If one is writing non fiction then the matter should be treated as such and flowering the prose with one's imagination should be avoided. Unless the author is able to provide factual proof for many of these assertions, one is left to conclude that she took certain aspects of the character's lives and dramatized and directed it to suit her story. This is too bad as the story of vice in Chicago in the 1900s and beyond was interesting enough without any need for flights of fancy. But all in all, I think it was a most entertaining read.

My Rating: 4 stars.

#29: Trish, Sin in the Second City is on my 'must read' list for this year. It will be interesting to see if I like it as much as you did.

On many occasions the author makes assertions to or alludes to conversations that unless she was standing right there when they happened it would have been impossible for her to have known that one of the speakers furrowed their brow, or pursed her lips or wondered about so and so.

I so dislike it when non-fiction writers pull that, but over all Sin in the Second City sounds like a good one, Trish. Onto the giant wishlist it goes.

Trish, the audiobook is Blindspot. I think I am in love with the male reader . . . that Scottish accent had me at hello. It's John Lee, the same wonderful reader of The White Tiger. He's truly a master of accents!

Trish, Stasia and Fourpawz.

I read Sin in the Second City last year. Trish, thanks for your great review! It really is an interesting book. Your review reminded me how much I liked it when I read it last year.

Sin in the second city was certainly a fun read.

Alcot--I can't wait to see what you think of the aforementioned.

Fourpawz--I too really hate when someone claims to be writing non-fiction and feels the need to embellish. So as much as I liked the book, it makes me doubt its historicity.

7. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely. Isabel is riding home on her bicycle when she is struck by a car. She had elected to be an organ donor and once she was declared brain dead, her husband Alex gives permission for her organs to be harvested. The rest of the story takes place about a year after this event with Alex dealing with the intense grief and loneliness that he feels. He spends time with Isabel's mother Bernice and they both are a bit lost without Isabel. Into this dynamic comes Janet, the recipient of Isabel's heart. Despite the fact that the hospitals and all the organizations that handle the transplant process make it very difficult for donors and receivers to connect, Janet had managed to find Isabel's family and make contact.

Bernice welcomes the idea of Janet and her efforts to contact the family while Alex is justifiably angry and reluctant for such a connection. Though he does not necessarily dislike Janet, he resents her efforts to insert herself into his life. Her life meant Isabel's death and that is a fact that he cannot overcome. He deeply feels the unfairness of the fact that Janet lives while Isabel had to die. Alex feels that it is selfish to have Janet continue to force contact with him. When Bernice chastises him for not welcoming Janet with open arms telling him that it would be easier for her to have not called, Alex disagrees and believes that it would have been harder for her not to have called. Its like she needs his forgiveness to feel better about the whole process. Personally, I agreed with Alex's assessment of the situation. I too felt that Janet imposed herself on Alex and did not give him enough time to heal. Alex lost the person he loved most in the world and a year later he is being emotionally blackmailed into associating with the woman who received her heart. Maybe Janet meant well but I found her actions selfish and very self centered. I felt sorry for Alex because he was not allowed his grief but instead made to feel like he was a traitor to his wife memory by not wanting to embrace the woman who was now carrying her heart.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I failed to connect with any of the characters. I did not particularly like Janet though I empathized with her for the illness that made her require a new heart. I felt sorry for Bernice but I was disappointed with her role in forcing Alex to hurry his greiving process and make contact with Janet. And though I understood Alex's plight. I also failed to connect with him past my sorrow at his loss and my understanding of how he felt as regards Janet. I think that especially in the case of Alex I was unable to form a bond with him because of the overarching sense of loss, loneliness, sadness and grief that shrouded everyone in this novel. Everyone was sad (justifiably so) and I never really got to know them beyond this emotion.

The book is very well written and is able to convey raw pain in a way that leaves you somewhat drained. It humanizes the organ donation process from being just another medical process to the real emotion felt on both sides. We see the way in which people who yesterday had ordinary lives today find themselves afflicted by disease or death of a loved one. For them its not business as usual, its devasting and wrenching. I really liked this book. Toward the end I felt that it began to drag a bit but all in all, it was a very good read.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

8. Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper. On November 27th 1582 a marriage license was taken out between a Wm Shaxpere and Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton. On November 28th 1582 there was also a marriage certificate taken out between Willm Shagspere and Anne Hathaway of Stratford. Was this an honest mistake or did Shakespeare marry two different women named Anne back to back? Most scholars believe that this was a simple error but the author disagrees and believes that there were indeed two Annes.

Mistress Shakespeare is Anne Whateley's fictionalized memoir of her life with the poet. According to this account, she was Will's true wife who he married as an expression of their love. Unfortunately for the young lovers, Shakespeare had gotten another woman pregnant, Anne Hathaway, and is basically forced into an emergency marriage to a woman he does not love. The lovers, after a brief period of estrangement, reunite in London where Anne Whateley is basically his London wife and Anne Hathaway is his country wife. Anne Whateley serves as his muse, his great source of support and saves him from many a royal intrigue. They are a good deal of the time happy but their happiness is sometimes marred by Will's jealousy in believing that Anne is unfaithful with other men. With Anne's help, Shakespeare constructs some of the best plays and poems that have continued to delight audiences till present day.

The author is obviously a well of information on Shakespeare and his time and aptly conveys that into the book. The minor caveat to this is that it sometimes seem like too much information and if you are not a Shakespeare aficionado you may find this tedious after awhile. Rich and vivid descriptions of the early Globe theater and the many playhouses where Shakespeare plied his trade abound and delight. You are drawn into a world of drama and secret plots with one of the best stories being the removal of an entire playhouse brick by brick across the river due to a dispute with a land owner. A plague epidemic in London is vividly depicted and transports the reader to the decay and death that overtook the city as the disease raged.

I enjoyed reading this book but I find that I was not as captivated by the story as I thought I would be. I have read many historical fiction novels and was able to connect and be thrilled by them. Even the much maligned Phillippa Gregory manages to pen many historical fiction books that are page turners(even if they are historically inaccurate). Maybe the author had too little to go on in order to craft this tale and the idea that Shakespeare may have married two Annes back to back was not enough to craft a fully captivating story. All in all it was a good read.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

Hi Trish

The 2009 challenge group is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems each time I check posts I see that yet one more person came on board. This is all so exciting, but I've given up trying to read every thread. Yours is one I've starred and want to continue to follow.

I get such great ideas from your reviews.

Hello to you and I hope you are well!

I love your reviews Trish. They are real reviews and dead on. Mine, I am afraid, are only occasionally real reviews. I am prone to trying to skate by with a clever comment or two. Must try to reform.
Both #'s 7 & 8 are on the wishlist now. Especially number 8 - made me drool a little.

Book #7 was an interesting review. You said you couldn't really connect with any of the characters but you still gave it 4 stars. It seems the writing was the real draw on this one, yes?!?! I am somewhat drawn to these novels of loss and the void it leaves in peoples lives. I may try this one out.

Hi Trish - I have finally found your thread and have it starred and ready to go. Great reviews and intriguing books - I have had a nice 20 minutes reading through your thread!!

Hey guys, as always thanks for your comments.

Blackdog---I know its kinda confusing to give Irreplaceable 4 Stars and say that I did not connect with any of the characters. I guess its a bit of a hard one to explain. I truly empathized with them in their various struggles but I think there were elements of it of their characters that detracted from my connection with each. These elements were strong enough that though I thought the book was really good and the story stayed with me after it was over, I sometimes did not feel that certain something for the characters as individuals. I have no idea if that made sense.

9. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Lia's friend Cassie has been found dead in a motel. The two girls had been best of friends from when they were young kids and though their friendship had lasted till their late teens, it had taken on a very destructive element. Both girls are cutters and they are both steeped in eating disorders. While Lia is a bulimic, Lia is an anorexic, starving herself within an inch of her life. Lia feels guilty when she finds out that Cassie is dead because Cassie had called her thirty three times the night of her death and Lia never took her calls. Lia had been angry at Cassie because Cassie had turned her back on Lia a few months before and accused her of being one of the sources of her problem.

This book was captivating and very disturbing. The life of an anorexic is a tragic and painful life where even an apple can be seen as an enemy in the fight to stay thin. Lia's every meal consists of her calorie counting of every item on her plate, right down to the last pea. There were times where it was hard for me to keep reading because I just could not imagine what new horrible revelations awaited. Lia is adept at fooling her parents and those around her with different techniques that insure that when she is weighed her weight seems much higher.

How does one say you enjoyed such a book? It was an interesting read that left me sad because I cannot help but think of all the people in the world for whom this is a reality. There were times when I thought the book went a bit long and could have been shorter but it is very possible that my emotions and feelings had been rubbed so raw that I wanted to get away. I felt that the end could have been fleshed out a bit more as it was a bit rushed. But all in all I am happy there was a glimmer of hope.

My Rating: 4 Stars

10. Age of Orphans by Laleh Khadivi. This is a bit of a hard book to review. There were times when reading it that I nearly stopped because it got a bit hard to swallow. But I persevered and I think the effort was worth it.

Reza Pejman Khourdi is a Kurdish young boy who is violently conscripted into the Iranian army after his father and other male relatives are brutally slain in battle. For two years he drifts in a haze of service to his village's murderers, carrying out their every whim. He is the plaything of the soldiers who use him in every manner imaginable. Through it all he longs for his mother with whom he shared a close if strange bond. But his past life is now dead and buried and he must forge a new existence out of the life he is given. A brotherhood begins to form amongst the young soldiers who are all weapons in training for the shah. They share their loneliness and need to make sense of this new life along side their hopes for the future. But that brotherhood quickly evaporates with one visit from the shah who extols the willing enlistees (usually boys from Tehran) over the conscripts(usually Kurds). The boys go from being allies to being competitors and adversaries.

Reza realizes the status quo very quickly and distinguishes himself as hardworking, brutal and willing to do anything to climb the military ladder. He disavows his Kurdish self, in one instance very violently, and does everything to show his superiors that he regards the Kurds with even more contempt than they could muster. His reward for this is his promotion to the rank of captain and being given charge of Kermanshah, a Kurdish region. He is tasked with controlling the people and bringing them firmly under the yoke of the shah. He gladly carries out the shah's vision of a new nation, Iran, built on veneration of the shah, centralization of the language and destruction of any dissenting voices. But in Reza's later years, there is a softening of his grip, it is as if he loses the struggle between his Kurdish and Iranian self and is lost from both identities.

There is so much violence, savagery and brutality in this book. Women are raped, children are killed and lives are destroyed. The language is many times very crass and that coupled with the aforementioned made me want to stop reading. But despite these facts there is something poetic in the way that the author uses language. You sometimes feel like you are reading a poem written in ancient times. The story is sad and speaks to a loss of identity in the face of a dominant culture. What effect does forced assimilation have on people? At some point after denying your true self for so long, does this destroy you? This is definitely not a book for everyone. Some will take to it and some will be repulsed by it. This book is apparently the first in a trilogy about three generations of Kurdish men.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

Trish
Thanks for your excellent review of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Last year I read Fever 1793 by the same author. It was a very well-written book and if you haven't read it as yet, I highly recommend this one.

I'm adding Wintergirls to my ever growing tbr pile.

Oh I'm SO glad I found someone else who likes to write LENGTHY reviews! I've had comments on my thread about the length of mine and their even shorter than yours!

I didn't have time to go back and read all of yours, but the ones for the books I've been interested in getting I did. I'll be trying harder to get The Reader and I'm going to try to get a copy of Wintergirls.

Thanks for your wonderful reviews!

Hi TrishNYC,
Thank you for pointing me in the direction of Wintergirls. I have been looking for a good YA novel on the topic. I was less than impressed by Steve Levenkron's The Best Little Girl In the World, although his nonfiction books for parents and professionals are top-notch.

I've added Wintergirls to my TBR list. I've read several books by Laurie Halse Anderson, and she's pretty consistently good.

Trish, where have you been? Reading, I hope.

#41 The Reader is a wonderful book. A few years ago, when it first came out, I chose it for the Academic Day book--a book given to all incoming freshmen, which they are supposed to read over the summer and discuss in small groups during Fall orientation. It caused quite a stir. I got a call from an irate mother (who also called the university presideint) complaining that it "wasn't appropriate reading material fro a seventeen-year old Christian young man." She wanted to know if he HAD to read it. No, I told her, but you can bet he'll encounter things much more risque in his four years here. It amazed me that so many people couldn't see the message in the book because they got hung up on the sex. I had to rein in a student group leader whose focus for discussion was that the book was about child abuse!

The Age of Orphans and Wintergirls are both on the list now. You always come up with the most interesting books and you make me want to read them. You enabler, you!

Hi Trish,

It's lovely to see you back too. And I have just learned how to star a forum thread. I have to say, I was feeling really overwhelmed by the number of people here, so I am going to keep track of my favourite few and try and go through as many others as I possibly can.

I have a copy of The Reader which is on my extended TBR pile (not the one by the bed, which is tall enough - its the one horizontal on the bookshelf!) Your review was great. I too have come across books where I simply didn't connect with any of the characters (Perfume was one). Do you find you struggle to keep going with them as I do?

Trish
I echo Fourpawz2's comment. Your do always come up with very interesting books. I added many of your recommendations from the 2008 75 challenge group and now in 2009 I'm doing the same.

Thanks...

Stopping in to see what you are reading, Trish. Hi, everyone. Sorry, I can't be in two places at one time. The unread messages over here accumulates incredibly fast, it's unbelievably intimidating!

Lois
So great to see a post from you! I hope you are well.

Hi all. I tell you I feel like I have not gotten a moment to breathe of late. But things will be slowing down at work in a few weeks so I can finally get back to reading the way I would like.

Tigertwo--So good to see you. Its been awhile. How are you? Doing any marathons this year?

Ambrosia4--Welcome to my thread. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment. When I am done with this post, I am off to play catch up with the threads and yours is one that I will definitely be checking out. As to my reviews, I try to give the person reading an idea of the basic story, what I felt while reading the book and why I liked, hated or mehed a book. Hey if your reviews are shorter than mine and some people on your thread have commented on length, they would really hate mine. LOL :)

Profiler and Allthesedarnbooks(a sentiment that I harbor many a time)--Welcome to my thread. Thanks for your comments and I can't wait to see what you guys are reading.

Whisper, Cariola and Fourpawz---As always you guys give me a swelled head with your nice comments. I promise I will be more active in the coming weeks and can get the full measure of the group this year.

Avaland---Hey Friend. So funny, I was thinking of my minor (yeah right) crush on Richard Armitage and how you have tried to "cure" me by sending me pictures of the man himself. So I laughed out loud when I came on here today and voila, you had been by. I am giving very serious thought to joining your group.

11. The Painter From Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein. The painter from Shanghai is a fictionalized accounting of the life of the Chinese painter Pan Yuliang. The author creates a story that is both stirring and beautiful and paints a picture of a lady whose love of art is her greatest passion. In this imagining of Pan Yuliang's life, she is orphaned at a young age and goes to live with her heroin addicted uncle. Unfortunately for her, her uncle eventually runs out of money for his habit and sells her to a brothel. When she arrives in the brothel, she is apprenticed to Jinling, the most popular and profitable of the girls at the house and they quickly form a friendship. Each girl finds solace in the other, making the terrible life they lead with the pawing hands of their clients seem a little more bearable. Sadly, Jinling dies quite unexpectedly and Pan becomes the top girl. One day while she is entertaining a group of gentlemen, she is struck by the presence of a man who seems at odds with his surroundings. He is not lustily clawing at the girls like the other men and quite frankly looks annoyed to be there. He rejects all her attempts to draw him into conversation or other forms of engagement. This gentleman is Zanhua who would eventually take her as his concubine.

Under Zanhua's encouragement and love, she begins to explore her artistic side more openly. Though he is not at first thrilled with her involvement with the arty circle, he supports her passion. Zanhua also exposes her to politics and its applications by bring home political tracts and newspapers. Their union is a source of much controversy as Zanhua already has a wife and child in another city. But this controversy would pale in comparison to her paintings of nudes. Her exploration of the female form is anathema to China in the early 1900s and many are aghast that any artist would dare be so explicit, least of all a woman. Over the years Pan would continue to inspire controversy and there is culmination of this controversy in a significant scene.

Pan would eventually leave China after being offered an opportunity to showcase her work in Paris. This departure coincides with the Japanese invasion of China and the subsequent revolution that follows. Pan would never see China again but she would continue to identify very strongly with her heritage.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

12.Resistance by Agnes Humbert. In the summer of 1940 Agnes Humbert watches her beloved Paris become overrun by invading Germans. She like most Parisians at the time can hardly believe what is happening and feels demoralized to see her city become a home for Nazis and their supporters. Suddenly French soldiers become the play thing of the German army and the citizens of France are subjected to new levels of humiliation. But Agnes had always been a woman of action and decides along with some of her friends and colleagues to resist in whatever way possible. Since many of them were intellectuals and had always found solace in the written word, they begin a newspaper, Resistance, which they use as an anti Nazi tool. The rapidity with which the paper is formed and takes off is almost hard to believe. Agnes and her friends seem like little children setting up a private club. But since they lack other avenues through which to protest the collapse of their society, the written word becomes their ally.

Unfortunately for Agnes, she is betrayed by one of their number. She is picked up by German soldiers and after spending some time in a French jail, she is deported to Germany. It is in Germany that she faces horrors almost unimaginable. She is fed very little food, given improper clothing and despite the biting cold, her shoes can barely get her around. Brutality and inhumane treatment reign supreme. When human beings are allowed power unchecked, many embrace their baser instincts and this held very true in this prison. She and the other women are forced to work in a factory that had such harmful chemicals that at one time or another almost all the women would lose their eye sight for a few days at a time. The wardresses and soldiers were for the most part cruel and harsh and would find excuses to punish the prisoners. In one incident, the wardress refuses the women water for three to four days because of some perceived offense. The women were forced to drink the water from the toilet.

But despite these horrors, Agnes still manages to find points of happiness and has a biting sense of humor. Once when she had the flu, she asked the wardress for an aspirin. The wardress gives her one aspirin. Unfortunately, Agnes was not cured by the next day and when she asks the wardress for another aspirin, she is punched in the stomach and sent flying down the stairs. Her response: "I spent the rest of the day reflecting on German remedies for flu". She gains a small measure of happiness from sabotaging the products she is forced to produce. The incidents of sabotage may be small but they serve as sources of strength.

The book is generally very well written and keeps you engaged. It is written in the form of a journal with the first part of it written before her imprisonment. The vast majority of the book was written from memory after she had been released. One problem I had with the book was that in the beginning she mentioned so many friends and acquaintances that I lost track of who was who. A very good read.

My rating :4 Stars.

Trish

I hope you get some rest from your busy schedule.

I enjoy your thread and your very insightful reviews.

Take care,
Linda

Hi Trish - thanks for the great reviews. Wonderful insights. I have been debating whether to read The Painter from Shanghai but now suspect that I will HAVE to!

Hope your busy life gets a breather soon - I am also frantic at present and it can cut into the fun!!

Definitely adding Resistance by Humbert to my wishnotebook. Thank you for the great review.

Great reviews as always, TrishNYC. Doesn't it suck when work intrudes on reading!

Hi Trish. I do hope you get a bit of breathing space and reading time. If only we could read all day rather than have to deal with all of the other things life throws at us!

Yes, I am doing 5 marathons this year (Argh!!) My 'season' starts with London in 5 weeks time and my goal is to get a Boston qualifier for 2010. Starting to think audio books might be a way to indulge in two passions at the same time.

I like the look of Painter in Shanghai as well. Ooops, there goes another on to my wishlist.

Adding Resistance to my list. Great reviews, thank you!

Hey friends. I am coming to the conclusion that no one on LT should be allowed to read for another week(except me of course) as every time I come on here you guys have read some very interesting stuff that I feel "compelled" to get. I need a moratorium to be declared so I can catch up with my book buying.

Tigertwo--Gosh that is a whole lot of running. You must be as fit as a fiddle. Must be great fun though. I am trying to work myself into a shape where I can run like that(ha, that is quite awhile away from happening). Audio books are amazing if the reader is good. I am currently reading/listening to Rosemary's Baby as read by Mia Farrow....CREEPY. Mia Farrow is a great reader. I have no idea if her starring in the movie and now me hearing her read it is having an effect of making it even much scarier as its like she is telling the story.

13. The World in half by Cristina Henriquez. Mira had grown up thinking that her father never cared for or wanted to meet her. When her mother falls ill and she moves in to help nurse her, Mira is shocked to discover through old letters that her father had never willingly given her up. With this knowledge in mind, she journeys to Panama, her father's place of origin, to find the father she never knew. While on this journey she makes friends, explores her other half and discovers things about life and herself she may never have imagined.

Mira had always known that she was born from the adulterous affair between her mother who was married to an American service man stationed in Panama and a Panamanian canal worker. What her mother never told her was that her father, Gatun, did not even know that her mother was pregnant before she returned to America. Gatun was devastated by the loss of the woman he loved but also by the child that she was having in whose life he would not share. Through her parents' old correspondence, Mira sees that her father tried to get her mother to return to Panama so that they could have a life together. Mira's journey to find her lost father is one that takes you through the rich landscape of Panama. You learn about the history of the Panama canal and are drawn into the lives of its inhabitants. The most important person that Mira meets in Panama is Danilo, a potty mouthed, trash talking flower seller. He seems to be full of a lot of hot air but you find that there is more than meets the eye as you get to know him better. He joins Mira on her quest to find her father and proves to be an invaluable source of information.

One of the best things about this book is that it never resorts to the melodramatic. It is very quiet in its narration and I think that this is echoed in the personality of our main character, Mira. Mira is not overly brave, overly popular or overly daring. She is a young woman who is just trying to make sense of her life and the father she thought never wanted her and a mother whose health will never improve. It is tinged with sadness as you watch Mira's journey and explore her mother's history. Its a book that stays with you long after you are done. It is also not a book filled with predictability and cliches as things may not turn out just how you envisioned. There were moments in the book that seemed a bit far fetched like when she moves in with complete strangers but all in all, I would recommend.

**By the way this book has a really beautiful cover.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars.

Sorry, touchstones don't seem to like me anymore on LT. I doubt the touch stone for The World in half is correct.

Hmm...no books for a week? This sounds like the opposite of National TV Turnoff Week. Count me out! ;-)

Trish
The World in half by Cristina Henriquez sounds like a great book.

Adding The World in Half to the Continent.

I am with kidzdoc - count me out of the no books for a week idea. What would I do with my time while I am not sleeping? Watch TV? - I think I would rather read, thank you very much.

Edited because the Touchstone is going wonky.

adding your latest to my lookout list......another great review.

14. Long Lost by Harlan Coben. Myron Bolitar had not been in contact with Terese Collins in years and is surprised when she calls him out of the blue to come visit with her in Paris. The last time he saw her they had a torrid affair with each pouring all the pain and unhappiness that had tortured them into the relationship. But just as quickly as the affair had commenced, it was over and Myron does not have any contact with Terese until she helped get his son out of some difficulty he was having. With Terese's unexpected call Myron is not sure what to make of her sudden reappearance into his life. Eventually he flies to Paris and finds himself drawn into an international mystery involving the French police, interpol and a terrorist.

When Myron arrives Paris, Terese asks for his help in finding her ex husband, Rick, who was working on something secret with far reaching consequences. Terese herself does not know what it is her ex was alluding to but she knows that he is missing and has not been in contact after she arrived Paris. Rick's dead body is found a few days later and Terese is a suspect. At the scene of the crime, Rick's blood was found along side that of an unknown individual. After initial testing it is found that the blood belonged to someone who would have to be Rick's child. The only problem is that Rick's only surviving child is safe and sound and four years old. Did Rick have a secret child that neither Terese nor his current wife are aware of? If yes, what would this child be doing at the scene of his/her father's death?

This book was very, very entertaining. I laughed so hard sometimes that I had to put the book down as people were beginning to give me odd looks on the train. Myron's sense of humor is hilarious yet believable and in combination with his friend Wit you are extremely amused and intrigued. You root for them to get out of whatever scraps they find themselves in and hold your breath when things start to go topsy turvy. The only unfortunate thing about the book was that I felt that the resolution of the story was so-so. I found it to be somewhat unbelievable and though I appreciate what the author was trying to do, it was unrealistic to me. Though the conclusion left something to be desired, the ride there was a delight!

My Rating: 4 Stars.

15. The Long Fall by Walter Mosley. Private detective Leonid McGill is trying to go straight, leaving his less than legal life behind. But honesty becomes challenging as he is hired by Albany private detective Ambrose Thurman to find four young men. The only information that Ambrose provides him with is the street names the young men used when they were teenagers. Leonid finds the men in question but there is something fishy about the whole situation and he is uncomfortable with certain aspects of the case. But the rent on his office is due and he needs the money so he shelves his doubts and hands over the names and addresses of the men to Ambrose. But all of Leonid's fears are confirmed when he finds out that the young men are suddenly turning up dead. In addition to all of this, Twill, Leonid's son is involved in something non too legal, his estranged wife has recently returned to his life and the woman who he truly cares for, is unavailable to him. Worst of all, as the men die, the police begin to look at him as a suspect.

There is much to like about the story. I was drawn in almost from the beginning and intrigued by Leonid's life and dealings. The author has created a character who you know has a very checkered past but you almost can't help rooting for. But one of the first things that really bothered me about the book was the author's constant references to race. Characters were almost always described on a racial basis and interactions had many racial undertones. In a very small way I understand what the author was driving at when he first made certain racial references but after awhile it was extreme overkill. Also the resolution of the story was just not good enough. You spend all this time getting invested but when you find out what really happened you feel cheated. The author tried very hard to give the reader a feel for who Leonid was and brought in other story lines that were not related to the main mystery. Unfortunately, the detours became distractions and as interesting as they may have been, they became hindrance rather than help. But despite these problems I am not averse to reading more in this series(this is the first Leonid McGill mystery). I will definitely look out for the next book as I want to see what Leonid gets into the next time around.

My Rating: 3 Stars.

Okay its official, LT touchstones hate me. I even tried deleting the second review and posting it again and still the touchstone won't work. I give up.

I haven't read anything by Coben or Mosley, but I'm adding Long Lost to my TBR pile. Thanks for the great reviews!

I am adding Long Lost to the Continent, too. I still have not read anything by Harlan Coben!

Thanks as always allthesedarnbooks.

Alcot--I had never heard of Harlan Coben until last year. I believe he was mentioned favorably a few times on last year's 75 thread and I was glad when this book came my way. If the book I read is any indication of his skill then I will definitely be reading more of him.

16. Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean. When I got this book from the publisher, it was billed as historical fiction and quite frankly this book is nothing close to historical fiction. It's basically a story that is peppered with mentions of historical events and people from days past but in actuality there was nothing overly compelling about it. My understanding of historical fiction is one peopled with characters from days past who take an active part in the movement of the dialogue and plot. That was absent here. Historical characters are spoken of and mentioned as being friends with so and so or having done so and so but they never had anything to do with the story. There are mentions of Edward III, Wallis Simpson, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Winston Churchill, etc, etc, etc. Nary a one played any part in the story except what we already know of them from history. It very quickly became an exercise in name dropping.

Delia is a beautiful southern belle who marries a Viscount. Viscount Ivor is a widower and in search of a wife who will give him an heir. Delia is almost immediately taken with him and obligingly falls in love. She returns to England with him and expects that her life will be a blissful fairy tale filled with many children and a loving husband. What she gets is a husband who never had any intention of being faithful to her as he already had a mistress who he had been in love with even before he married his deceased wife. What ensues is melodrama and social functions followed by more melodrama and more social interactions. And just as quickly, events and time frames are breezed through. Delia has two children and by Part II of the book(about 117 pages in) we are now focused on the life of her elder daughter Petra.

The book was like an episode of Dynasty with all the backbiting and machinations of the supporting cast. Apparently back then no one was faithful to their spouse and everyone was having an affair with everyone regardless of the married status of both parties. The key was not to get caught or cause a public scandal.

Though I began the story feeling sorry for Delia over her husband's treatment, in all honesty, I just got bored with her as her emotions are never fully explored and developed enough for me to care past the injustice that was done her. In my opinion there was no real character development here. The characters did things in a very mysterious fashion that left you guessing as to their real motives.

There is nothing new or fresh in this book. If you have ever seen a soap opera then you pretty much have this one covered. Please don't get me started on the attempts at southern dialogue. Lets just say Scarlet O' Hara comes to mind(and not in a good way). But despite my criticisms of the book, I think that this book will certainly appeal to some. There were seeds of what could have been a very good story. Unfortunately, it did not bear out well. I did not hate the book but I will be honest and say that I was glad when it was over. I almost gave it a 2.5 rating but because I think that it has certain elements that will appeal, I give it a 2.5-3 rating.

Ugh, sounds like a bad Harlequin novel.

Trish
I hope your next book is a better one for you.

OK, one not to add to the Continent. Sorry the book was so bad - hope the next one is better!

17. Retail Anarchy by Sam Pocker. Sam Pocker is a self described "stand up" economist which means he has no formal training in economics but believes himself qualified to make assessments about consumer habits. Mr. Pocker starts out being hilarious but his routine gets really old by the time you have to read 218 pages of it. He states many things that are true about American consumer behavior like spending ridiculous amounts of money at Starbucks for a cup of coffee, the exceedingly poor state of customer service and the gobs of money you could save if your use coupons. But all in all, Mr. Pocker comes across as a smug and snarky individual who believes that his way of retail shopping is the right and only way of making purchases. He is quick to tell you that retail store employees are rude, obnoxious. lacking in proper training and many times have no idea of what services the store they work for offers. While many of us can sympathize with this feeling as we have all had customer service experiences that have been less than encouraging, his response and reaction to this behavior is to act equally as obnoxious and annoying as the very people he criticizes. He proudly tells of buying things that he does not really need with coupons,rebates or whatever other money saving strategy he can employ and throwing the stuff away. I am truly at a loss as to how this makes sense. To him it is better that he, an educated shopper, buys all these needless quantities and then throws then away than a shopper who pays full price for just one or two units of the same product. For him the payoff is whatever coupons he earns from making these meaningless purchases that he can later use on other things. Its a bit bizarre and I think very few people will walk away from reading of his exploits in retail with a sense of admiration for the author. Yes, we should all clip coupons and use rebates whenever available. This is indeed sound advice. But traveling three states away because there is a sale on pudding or Kikkoman teriyaki sauce and making my entire house and car look like it is a grocery store warehouse is not in my opinion very smart.

My Rating: 1.5-2 Stars.

#71: OK, not buying that one, especially from a 'smug and snarky' individual!

Plus has he calculated the cost of all that driving, and wouldn't he save more money by making the pudding himself?

Trish...I laughed right out loud re. your comments of book #17. I so agree with you regarding those "smug and snarky" people who make comments that reveal they think themselves oh so superior and judgmental...while being hypocritical.

I'll stay away from this book, but I did enjoy your comments!

LOL Rebecca, Alcot and Whispers!! Thanks guys. I really dislike it when people walk around with an attitude like they know it all. Like you said Rebecca, save all that money on gas and make your own pudding. I am sure it will be healthier and certainly cheaper. I just don't see the sense in bulk buying if you do not have a large family. Many times you end up throwing all that stuff out and just creating unnecessary waste.

18. Rosemary's Babyby Ira Levin. I had seen parts of the movie but I think something happened and I got distracted by something else and never got back to it again. I have heard so much about this book and was a bit worried about how it would turn out. I think that everything that can be said about the book has already been said but I will just add a few sentences.

As I stated earlier I listened to this as an audio book and it was read by Mia Farrow who played the part of Rosemary in the film version. She does an incredibly excellent job with this as you feel every emotion that you ought. Even before the problems start and you begin to realize that all is not well as there is a certain creepiness that permeates the whole environment. The neighbors friendliness started to grate on me very early on and it felt invasive. I really enjoyed the book and it probably rates very high in the echelons of horror classics. BUT I have to say that I was disappointed by the end. It was just over. In some books such an ending is genius but not here. It was too inconclusive for me and I was kinda bummed by that. I was not even sure that it was over until the ads for other audiobooks came on and I realized it done. This could have been my first 5 star book for the year but that end did it in for me.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars.

Quite a few of his books have been turned into movies, as I know you are aware because you are like me.....movie and book buff. But, I quite enjoyed The Boys from Brazil in written form!

Hi Trish--I have to LOL at your Rosemary's Baby comments, because several years ago my daughter took a film appreciation course where the film was shown as part of the curriculum. She called me to say it was the scariest film she had ever seen, outside of The Exorcist. The ending had really hit her hard--and she was not at all amused by my observation,"But sweetheart, you never see the baby." Levin did write a sequel, but I never read it, so you could check it out. At the time of publication of Rosemary's Baby, his original ending worked very well.

It's also interesting to read about a non-Easy Rollins book by Walter Mosley. Of course, that series is heavily oriented in race and racial relations in the late forties onward in Los Angeles. That period of time was dominated by race and politics, especially in police activity, where Easy is conducting business. Your note sounds like something to check out--thanks.

Did you know that Walter Mosley has written a number of science fiction (or scifi lite meaning there's not a lot of heavy science in them) books that are quite enoyable?

Hey guys its been awhile. Blackdog, I never heard of that movie but I will certainly be adding it to my netflixs queue.

Whoa Prop, I feel likes its been ages since we spoke. The sheer volume of the group has kinda kept me away but I am missing all you guys. LOL on your exchange with your daughter. I guess I see how that end worked especially since its set up early in the story that Rosemary has a very pliable personality.

Aruba--No I actually did not know that Mosley has written Scifi stuff. He seems to be a very accomplished writer covering a wide range of topics. Good for him.

19. Memory in Death by J.D Robb. The first time I read a couple of the "in death" series I was far from impressed. So I decided to give it another whirl with other books in the series. I felt that the story ran a bit long after awhile but it may have had more to do with the fact that I figured out the killer very early on and so kinda got bored. But Eve is very slowly growing on me. Her husband is made to order: devilishly handsome, loyal, kind, killer sense of humor, one of the richest man in the universe and formerly had some less than legal dealings(which he has of course now given up). Just the kind of man I am looking for ;) Will continue to read more of the series over time.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

20. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Whoa!!! This is one of the best books I have read this year!!!! To say that I LOVED it would be an extreme understatement. From the moment I turned to page one I was hooked. I only stopped in between to get a bit less scared.

On September 24th 2010 a commercial plane lands at JFK. In the control tower someone notices that the plane never taxied to the final runway to off load its passengers and all contact with the plane has been lost. Efforts to reach the pilot come to naught and even more mystifying is the fact that the plane has gone dark. Is it terrorism? Is it some sort of biological attack? What exactly is going on? Emergency services rush to the scene and find everyone to be seemingly dead. They begin to investigate and cannot understand what has happened. Dr Ephraim Goodweather along with his partner Dr. Nora Martinez, both from the Center for Disease Control, are called in to investigate the disease angle. But nothing in their medical training can prepare them for how this story will unfold. They quickly discover four survivors whose memory of the landing is absent and provide no clues as to what has happened.

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan have managed to weave a tale that melds science and myth in a way that I personally have not seen done in a long time. Though they draw on certain long established vampire lore, there is definitely a different slant to the way they lay out the story. The horror that this is taking place in modern times serves to make the story even more terrifying. The way in which scenes are laid out and the masterful descriptiveness will have you on the edge of your seat and almost screaming out loud.

One of the things that I noticed as I read the book was that it was very much like a movie. I began picturing how this story would appear on screen and maybe even what actor would play what part. It is very possible it seems this way because of Del Toro's contribution to the story(Del Toro directed Pan's Labyrinth). For the most part the authors stayed away from the usual mistake of having their main characters make stupid mistakes that propel them into dangerous situations. Except for one instance where I was forced to roll my eyes at the sheer carelessness of Ephraim, characters found themselves in danger not out of their own making but from the unfolding horror. By writing smart characters, they created people who were believable and sympathetic. There was a refreshing lack of melodrama between the characters and there was no beautiful woman that everyone is trying to save(Thank goodness for that). The vampires are evil, ugly and dank. These are not the sexy vampires of Anne Rice or the clean cut vampires that I hear populate the Twilight series. No, these vampires want to feast on your blood in a most horrifying way. Gosh I almost scared to ride the subway home tonight.

This is book one in a trilogy and I cannot wait to read what comes next.

My Rating: 5 Stars.

#79: Hey, Trish! Glad to see you back.

I love the In Death series, a series I read not for the mysteries, but because I love how the characters and their relationships change and grow.

I will have to look for the Del Toro book. Sounds like a winner!

The Strain sounds pretty good, Trish, but I couldn't find the Touchstone--the closest I came was carpal tunnel and hernia strains.

Are Angel and Spike in it?

Trying this for the touchstone.

The Strain SPA by Guillermo del Toro. This took me to the correct book with Trish's review.

I am definitely adding this book to the wishnotebook. Thank you for the great recommendation.

>82 profilerSR: Okay, so the touchstone didn't work after I posted it. "The Strain SPA" is how it's listed, strangely enough.

The Strain has gone on the wishlist. Sounds really good.

Link to the bookpage for the Del Toro book since the touchstones won't co-operate. Have you seen his movie Pan's Labyrinth ?

Ahh Laytonwoman and ProfilerSR, you saved the day. I am not sure why but touchstones have not been kind to me lately. I have no idea if it has anything to do with the fact that some of the books I am posting have not been released yet but its kinda annoying. Oh well, there are worst things that could happen in life :)

21. The Blue Notebookby James Levin(again, wrong touchstone). This was a hard book to read and review. The subject material is bad enough but as the story unfolds you almost want to shield your eyes.

Batuk Ramusdeen is a 15 year old prostitute who was sold by her parents when she was only 9 years old. It is obvious that she is a bright, funny and imaginative child who if she had been allowed would have had a very different trajectory than the one we find her inhabiting at the start of the story. But for reasons best known to her parents, they sell her off to a life that is unfathomably cruel and brutal. She is initiated into her new status after being raped by one of the "uncles" who wins the bidding war on her virginity. From here on, she is taken to a brothel where she sleeps with a minimum of ten men a day. In this life of abuse, she has one close friend, Puneet, a boy who is considered a favorite of the madam as the customers can't seem to get enough of him. Batuk takes up writing in her notebook as a way to escape the life that she is forced to inhabit. She is an astute observer of her life and the situations around her. She also surprising manages to retain her sense of humor and display a resilience that is hard to fathom. Words are the only outlet from the tragedy and unending violence of her life and they are her friends when all else fails.

I will warn that this book will definitely be very hard to take for most people. None of the brutalities that Batuk suffers are glossed over but instead they are relayed in specific and excruciating detail. It is very hard to imagine this kind of treatment being meted out to anyone but worse still to a child. The idea for this book was conceived of when the author, Dr. James Levin, was in India doing research and happened upon a girl in a brothel who was writing in a book. He spoke to her about her experiences and that encounter inspired this work. His writing is stunning in part because of the subject matter but also because he is a first time writer who has managed to produce an amazing story. A poetic and poignant tale that shines a light on what is a sad reality for many children.

All US proceeds from the sale of this book are to be donated to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children(www.icmec.org)

Trish
What a great review!

Oh, that one is on its way to me as an Early Review book. I knew from the description that it would be difficult but important reading.

You should look for the documentary "Born into Brothels." An American photographer who is shooting Calcutta prostitutes befriends a group of their children, gives them all cameras, and works to better their lives. It, too, is hopeful yet sad; some of the kids do get to go to school but others' families refuse, and some of the girls are sold into prostitution.

I'm putting this one on my list and given the worthy cause it benefits I'll buy it new.

ditto what Charlotte said

Whoa!!!! great review on your last two. On the last book, I am interested in looking for a copy and reading. Sadly, my work has given me a view of some the types of things you describe from the plot of the book. I am so glad to see someone take a raw view of some of these problems, especially with the proceeds going to such a great cause. Thanks for putting me on to that one.

On the Del Toro and Hogan book....that's quite a pair. Del Toro, of course, of movie fame and Hogan is a writer that King recommended. I've picked up acouple of his titles and was planning an all new author TBR stack next with him in it. heard lots of good things about him. I have both of these noted now as recommends from you!

As always you guys are giving me a gigantic head. It is a really good book but it really breaks your heart. It would be hard to take if it was something that was now in the past but the idea that this stuff is still going on all over the world makes me so angry and leaves me feeling powerless as well.

BDB--When I was reading The Strain, the first thing I thought was "Mac would love this book". It reminded me of some of the stuff that you read. Get it when it comes out cause its really great(in my opinion). I would give you my copy but my friend ran off with my copy because I raved and raved about it. Her house is a black hole so it may be a very long time before I see it again.

Cariola--I remember hearing about Born into Brothels. I will definitely be adding it to my netflixs

22. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This has to be one of the most frustrating books that I have ever read. The first 100 pages made me want to pull out all my hair because though interesting in general, it was long winded and could have been 50 pages shorter.

In 1920s Barcelona, David Martin is a young man who has been orphaned at a very young age. But he is lucky in his patronage as his mentor is Pedro Vidal, one of the richest men in town. Through Vidal, he gets a job at the local paper where he soon excels writing a pulp fiction serial. His stories are an instant hit and widely embraced by the populace. Unfortunately, his success turns friends at the paper into foes and he is eventually forced to leave. He finds another job and is contracted to a long term deal with two unscrupulous publishers, writing under a pseudonym. One constant through this period is the presence of a mysterious man, Andreas Corelli, who wants David to come work for him. Through a confluence of different events that break David's heart and spirit, David would eventually agree to a contract with Mr. Corelli. Shortly after he makes this agreement, his former publishers suffer brutal and mysterious deaths. David has nagging doubts about Corelli but the money that he is offered and the freedom that comes along with it prove to be temptations that cannot be passed up.

But as David writes this book, his doubts continue to grow. Who exactly is Andreas Corelli?What kind of publisher pays an exorbitant amount of money for a book that he never intends to publish? Also what is the relationship between Corelli and the former occupant of David's house?

This book is beautifully written and melds elements of mysticism, the supernatural and features very intelligent debates/discussions of the nature of religious belief, faith and the human search for meaning. The author is obviously a very talented writer whose love for the written word is apparent. In his writing he pays tribute to the masters like Dickens, Bronte, Wilde, etc. His writing is lyrical, magical and in his hands, Barcelona becomes a dreamlike locale that I am now dying to visit. But before I could get to the place where I could say all this about the book, I had to survive the first section of it which just seemed to go on and on and on. Honestly, I believe that many people will get so frustrated with this first section that they may give up and therefore miss out on a truly great book. I wish that this portion of the book was trimmed down because it detracts from the overall work. Another problem with the book was that I felt that too many characters were introduced that sometimes I lost count of who each person was. This could have easily been a 5 star book but these two factors made me rate it lower.

But all in all, it is a very well written book that does not leave you with easy answers. By the end of the book you are unsure of who is victim or villain. You do not walk away with a clear sense of who the hero is or if there is even one.

My Rating :4 Stars.

23. Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead. In the summer of 1985, Benji is a fifteen year old left with his younger brother Reggie to fend for themselves while their parents work in the city during the week. By following Benji's musings, we get to experience the pressures of a somewhat typical upper middle class American teen. Benji is hilarious in his many observations on life and he is a very likable young man who has you rooting for him as he traverses the landscape of the teenage years. But interspersed with all of these seemingly trivial details, he talks about the racial divide that existed even in his summer community and engulfs the larger society. Benji also struggles with his two selves, the one who attends an all white prep school and the one who spends his summers in an all black summer community.

This book failed to grab me but I am not sure if its totally the fault of the author. I did not realize that this was a memoir type book and I generally avoid most books in that genre. The writing style is very good and there is nothing bad about the book as a whole but it just failed to engage me.I found it overly descriptive in many parts and somewhat disjointed as a whole. Also his parents were kept on the periphery of the story to the extent that their absence seemed unrealistic. Not for me but not a bad book either.

My Rating: 3 Stars

#92: I think your assessment of the first part of The Angel's Game is why after getting so stoked about receiving the ARC, I was able to put it aside and read Villette instead, a very good trade off. I will go back to Zafon some time this week, but I sure wish he would get on with it!

Trish, my dear...
Congratulations on your "hot review" for The Angel's Game.

The 75 challenge folk are on a roll. Today's home page reflects a hot review for you, for girlunderglass, Cauterize, JoycePA and for Cait86!

I think this is great! I'm feeling very fortunate to have found this wonderful group!

>92 TrishNYC: & >93 alcottacre: can one appreciate The Angel's Game without having first read The Shadow of the Wind? I soooo nearly grabbed a copy off the shelf at work yesterday but hesitated as I was unsure whether I should read the other one first (plus I don't know what your ARC is like, Stasia, but this copy is one hefty trade pb!!)

Thanks for thinking of me with The Strain. I am going to read a Charlie Huston in my next pile, so I'll see if I like his writing but I've already put the book on my look for list. Don't you hate it when you lose a book that way. I am reminded of the story told about Finch-Hatton in the movie version of Out of Africa. He got really angry because he loaned a book to someone and they didn't return it. A close friend said, "You aren't going to ruin a friendship over a book are you?" Finch-Hatton replied, "No, but he has."

Congrats, I saw you on the *Hot Review* spot!!!

#95: Rachael, thus far, I have no reason to think that The Angel's Game cannot be appreciated on its own without having read the earlier book. I am not all the way through it yet, though.

Alcot--Give it another chance as it really does improve. But gosh it really takes its time getting there.

Flossie--Alcot is totally right. I do not believe that you need to read The Shadow of the Wind. I had never even heard of the aforementioned until I read The Angel's Game

Blackdog--I really hate losing my books that way. I have a friend who would borrow so much of my stuff and I had forgotten about all the stuff she took. Well once I was helping her move house and I was coming across purses, bracelets, dvds and other things that had disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle she called home. I love her to death but I never lend her anything unless I am prepared to never see it again

Thanks guys for the congrats. I never remember to look at the main page and so I usually miss the "hot reviews".

24. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. From April 5th 1992 to February 29th 1996 the city of Sarajevo was surrounded by the Yugoslav People's Army and bombarded daily by sniper fire, mortar shelling and deaths in the thousands. The Cellist of Sarajevo chronicles the life of four people who are living through the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. They go from living regular lives filled with the daily worries and triumphs of normal human existence to fighting for their lives on an almost daily basis. The unnamed cellist had watched as a mortar fell and killed twenty two of his neighbors as they queued up to buy bread. Before the war he had been an accomplished cellist and in a move that is part bravery and part insanity, he chooses to mourn and honor his fallen neighbors by going out daily at 4pm to play Albinoni's adagio in G minor. Albinoni's adagio is a composition that was/is attributed to Tomaso Albinoni and said to have been found in the ruins of a library in Dresden after the city had been firebombed by the allies in WW II.

With the cellist's vow to play everyday for twenty two days, the army defending the city receives intelligence that the invading army plans to have him killed by a sniper. They dispatch their own sniper nicknamed Arrow to spot and kill any would be assassins of the cellist. But Arrow is not a mindless drone who follows orders without a conscience. She questions her superiors and eventually finds herself forced to make decisions as to how far she is willing to go in support of "her side".

Kenan and Dragan are the other two characters highlighted in the book. They both find themselves making road journeys and choices as to how to continue to survive the war. One heads out to find water for his family and his ungrateful neighbor and the other struggles to get to his job as a baker. With each journey, both face deadly intersections that are constantly being targeted by snipers on the hills.

This book is by no means a comprehensive study of the actual siege of Sarajevo. There are many who will complain that it leaves out key incidents of the siege but I do not believe that Galloway ever intended to cover every scintilla of the war. As dark and sad as this tale may be, it offers hope as its final message. At the end of the day it is the humanity of the characters that makes you believe that though the horrors may continue, they have all chosen to live on in whatever way that they can. They will sprint across the street as their heart beats furiously and when they get to the other side without being shot, they will experience a feeling of elation that they have lived to see another day.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Below is a clip of Albinoni's Adagio. Its really beautiful (in my opinion).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz4dpbk8YBs

Catching up on the many threads here - you have lots of interesting books and discussion here. I've put The Strain on my tbr list and The Angel's Gamewas already there.

I'm simply stopping by to see what you are reading and say that I hope all is well with you.

IMHO, Albinoni's Adagio is right up there with Pachelbel's Canon.

#98: Trish, thanks for the link! I had not heard the music before, although I read (and loved) The Cellist of Sarajevo earlier this year.

Hello TrishNYC! Its been awhile...Glad to see that you're still here and reading!!! Great reading choices....I feel like I'm so far behind, as I've only finished 15 books......however..I am determined to get to all 75 books this year...Last year I was just shy of it...I can't wait for this dreary weather to stop..i'm so sick of the rain in NYC....yuk..oh well it does make the flowers grow...Have a happy reading day!!!

mamachunk :)

mamachunk
It is making the grass, the weeds, the flowers and the trees grow in NE Pennsylvania. The forecast is rain through Saturday. I cannot let my grand daughter play in the yard for fear she will get lost in the grass...(I'm kidding) but it is very lush back there!

It's raining in the Pacific Northwest as well. Three inches in two days and it's windy too. We're more than ready for some nice weather!

#103 Well, here is south central PA, we have had flood warnings, and I'm having to pay a professional lawn cutter for the second week in a row. The first time was my fault; I let it go too long. But in the week since, we've had nothing but rain. We finally got a break yesterday, but the grass is so lush and wet that the mower conked out after six feet. The cut grass was wadding up in the blades instead of blowing out.

I don't have any weather to report, but I have put The Cellist of Sarajevo on my wishlist.

Hi all. Work got has gotten less busy but it feels like other things have since taken its place. But Summer is coming so I must be hopeful that there will be more reading in store.

Mamachunk--So nice to see you. It has indeed been awhile. The weather last week was miserable. The rain could go from zero to ten in minutes. But this week has been very pleasant so far.

Hey Aviatiakh, good to see ya. Are you on the 75 thread this year? This place is so big this year that I cannot fully remember who is where and doing what any more. I will go look for your thread.

25. Secret Son by Laila Lalami. Youssef El Mekki is a son of the slums where he grows up with his widowed mother and hopes for a better future. When we first meet him, he is about to graduate high school and hopefully head for university. Both he and his mother look to his higher education as a bridge to a better life and possibly out of the ghetto. But by chance, Youssef discovers that his father who he was brought up to believe died in a tragic accident is in fact alive and quite a rich and influential member of Moroccan society. He is whisked into a world of power, privilege and money and its truly like a whirlwind romance for a boy who finds his fairly tale of leaving the ghetto becoming a reality.

As Yossef gets acquainted with his father, he begins to change both physically and mentally. He begins to scorn his mother who he believes is trying to deny him access to greatness and embraces the limited admittance he is granted into his father's life. He eventually abandons his university studies, believing that his father will assure his future and along with that go his old friends from the neighborhood. But as his mother warned,all is not as it may seem and Youssef is again relegated to the ghetto. The resulting sadness and feelings of rejection that follow set into motion a tragic set of events that will taint and scar almost everyone involved.

The author's quiet comments on Morocco and the country that it is becoming are evident. There is a sense of nostalgia that is palpable all through the book, be it a return to the ghetto for a former resident or the return of a favored daughter to the Morocco she used to know. The sights, smells and sound of Morocco are a constant and help draw in the reader. There are so many themes apparent in this book, from the lies that we tell the ones we love to protect them and ourselves from certain harsh realities, to the lies we tell to cover our past mistakes. There is the theme of the presence of social classes and its pervading evidence in all facets of Moroccan life. The resulting effect of this being young men who lose hope as they find that because they did not win the birth lottery that allowed them to be born rich, they will remain low and subject to the will of the rich and powerful. And most dangerously, there is the theme of what happens when hope is lost and messengers of death promise an outlet. A very interesting book that I enjoyed reading.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

26. Death of a celebrity by M.C. Beaton. Just another satisfying cozy. People are killed in a delightful Scottish village(Gosh that sounds bad doesn't it).

#107: I have another Lalami book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, on hold at my local library. Have you read that one of hers? I am adding Secret Son to the Continent.

Ahhh Trish, you've made me fill out another 3X5 card with your name and a book on it. I believe you have added the most to my lookout list this year! What a great sounding book and the Morrocan tie had me right away.

Just for fun, say the authors name ten times fast!!!!!! It's a cool name!!!!

Alcot--No, I have not read Lalami's other book. I would like to read it in part because its really arresting name and also because I like Secret Son.

Blackdog--How are ya? Hey I feel the exact same way as you and have come to the conclusion that you guys are going to drive me to an empty bank account with all the wonderful books your read.

27. Guernica by Dave Boling. While many may have heard of Guernica as the Basque town that suffered the horrific bombing that decimated its population and inspired Picasso's haunting work, this book attempts to show what the lives of these people may have been before that event. Their lives, loves, struggles and the day to day interactions that were rent apart by war are represented in captivating detail.

At the heart of the book is Justo Ansotegui who is forced into the role of parent after the death of his mother and his father's inability to overcome his grief. Justo single handedly raises his brothers with one becoming a fisherman and the other a priest. Justo is also lucky to find love in a neighborhood girl by the name of Mariangeles. Their daughter Miren is just as lovely as her mother and she too would eventually settle into a happy marriage with her husband Miguel. These are simple people who go through life meeting and facing challenges and enjoying a life full of love, family and the daily grind. But their happiness is to be destroyed by the rumblings from the outside. Franco and his supporters everyday pose new threats to the Basques and all attempts for independence or even recognition from the Spanish government are met by repression and reprisals. Any grievances they may have felt toward the government pale in comparison to what follows. On April 26, 1937, their village would face near extinction as the German Luftwaffe bombs the town mercilessly. Boling describes this scene in such vivid and heartrending detail that it feels like we are witnessing it for ourselves. The burning buildings, burning flesh, bombs falling all around even as one tries to rescue trapped loved ones, the people in the bomb shelters wondering if they will ever see the light of day or if the shelter they sought would become their graves are all described in tear inducing details. The loss of life and property is mind blowing and the sheer devastation of the people makes one question man's humanity.

But with loss comes grief, acceptance and the inevitable rhythm of life which forces you to move on whether you want to or not. As one sinks back into the routine of survival, cooking, cleaning, catching fish for dinner, milking the goat, the pain remains ever present but just a little more bearable. This is what the survivors of Guernica must do as they try to make sense of this new phase of their life.

One of the greatest weaknesses of the book was the author suddenly introducing elements that seem to come out of nowhere. For example, one minute the town is going about its business, happy and normal and next thing we hear of food scarcities and people are said to be drastically loosing weight. What precipitated this event is never explained and one is just left to guess and wonder. The bombing of the town of Guernica while horrific seemed to come out of nowhere as well. What really led to its choice as a target for the German Luftwaffe?I did not realize until I did my own research that at the time Guernica is bombed, Spain is in the middle of a civil war. I spent a sizable portion of the book confused about which faction was which and never really understanding what was going on in that respect. I realize that the Spanish civil war and the politics that surrounded it must have been very complex, but a bit of explanation on its key facets would have greatly helped in my appreciation of the book. Also, (and I hate myself for saying this) I sometimes felt like there were too many happy coincidences. Its like the author was afraid to leave us with sadness.If you are writing about such horrifying events, its okay not to make everyone get a happy end. But despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed this book and was pleased to have read it. Also not being a connoisseur of the art world, it was nice to finally know what that Picasso painting that I have seen in passing but never bothered to research set out to depict. A very good read that I would recommend.

My Rating: 4 Stars

#110: I may give Guernica a try despite the reservations. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Trish!

Trish
Thanks for the great review of Guernica. I've added the book to my list. Before it was returned to Spain in 1981, I saw the Picasso painting at the Modern Art Museum in New York City. It is a powerful art work.

I saw the paining many times in NYC, but I also saw it in Spain in 1989. I think the Spanish hadn't quite figured out what to do with it, because although it was at the Prado in Madrid, you had to go out of the main building into a little annex-like space to see it. After its dramatic placement in MOMA, it was a bit of disappointment. But perhaps by now they've arranged a better location for it.

A print of the Picasso hung in my school library when I was a teenager - not full-scale, but maybe half-size. I used to have to pick a seat where I couldn't see too much of it as I found it just too disturbing.

Thanks for the review - think I may look for a non-fic to give me some background before I attempt it...

#110 I've been noticing this book in various bookstores and wondered about it though haven't been tempted enough to buy it. The Picasso painting is now in the Reina Sofía National Museum Art Centre in Madrid. I visited last year with my youngest two children mainly to see the Guernica with them. It has its own room on the top floor and the gallery is full of great art.
Last year I read an older YA book about the Spanish Civil War and Guernica that was really good The Freedom Tree by James Watson which I recommend.
Ghosts of Spain is quite an interesting look at the legacy of the Spanish Civil War in present day Spain. I've just started reading a nonfiction book Kiwi Campaneros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War which chronicles the stories of the many New Zealand volunteers to the Civil War and looks very interesting.

edit: spelling & touchstones

Whoa, thanks for the recommends Avatiakh. Those sound amazing. Honestly, I remember hearing of the Spanish civil war but I never really knew much about it so its very interesting to know the wealth of books that are out there especially in the fiction category.

Alcot---How are you? How is your dad?

Rebecca, Whisper and Flossie--You ladies really know this painting well. That's why I feel so lucky to have found LT, you guys are well versed in the most instructing stuff.

28. Why Shoot A Butler by Georgette Heyer. I had never read any Heyer mysteries and picked one up because they were recommended by Alcottacre. She was right, there is something very entertaining about Heyer mysteries.

Barrister Frank Amberley is by his own admission one of the rudest men in England. He is irritated by stupidity and finds the local police to be plodding idiots most of the time. But one evening while driving to his uncle's house on the faulty directions of his cousin, he comes upon a very odd scene. He finds a young woman standing by the road with a dead man in the car beside her. She denies any wrongdoing and Amberley believes her though he is sure she is not telling all she knows. This scene sets in motion a series of interesting events of which Amberley insures that he is involved. For starters he finds out that the dead man in the car was the butler of one of his uncle's neighbors. Also the young woman found by the offending body, Shirley Brown, and her brother seem to be caught up in a something that is way bigger than them with additional troubles approaching.

Though Amberley's initial demeanor is one that I would normally scorn in a character, for some reason, I really liked him. He is brash, rude but also very kind and possessing a delightfully dry sense of humor.

The mystery turned out to be a bit so, so but the trip there was very enjoyable. There were parts of the book where I felt that it dragged but not enough for me to be bored. I also found the romance angle to be a bit far fetched as the two people who end up together had so much adversarial contact and not enough affection to have ended up together. But all in all, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more Heyer mysteries.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

29. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. Ralph Truitt, a fifty something gentleman living in 1907 Wisconsin places an ad in the paper for "a reliable wife". He is not looking for love but someone that he can have companionship with in his later years. He had been married twenty years previously but had since lost his wife and their off springs. His ad is answered by Catherine Land a woman who begins to lie about who she is right from the beginning. First off she sends in a picture of another woman because she fears that Truitt will be turned off by her beauty if he knows of it before hand. But this turns out to be one in a long line of deceitful actions. Her motives turn out to be pretty base; poison her husband and inherit his wealth.

I found parts of the book to be extremely repetitive and it sometimes felt like the author had run out of material and so just went on and on. For example Truitt is obviously obsessed with sex and it is constantly on his mind. His sexual yearnings are described and rehashed ad nausem, ad infinitum. We get it, he was sexually frustrated and he was in serious lust with his new wife. I did get the sense he was this obsessed in part because of the loneliness he felt in the cold dry environs of his community and the lack of a loving home as a child and in later life. But the constant repetition of these thoughts got tiresome after awhile. Almost everyone in the book was obsessed with sex and there are explicit sex scenes described in exact detail and often enough for me to roll my eyes and go "not again". But despite these criticism, I did enjoy this book as it presented the hopelessness, desperation and survivalist thinking that characterized the lives of these characters so well that you cannot help but empathize with them. They have been hardened by life and its challenges but they are also suffering the effects of their life choices. There is an odd love story here that would normally not work for me but for some reason does in this context. And I found the end to be surprising in an unrealistic way. With all that had happpened between them, Truitt's response just did not seem human. But all in all, I liked the book even if it definitely had its problems.

My Rating: 3.5-4 Stars.

Hi Trish,

I'm catching up on lots of threads and had 100 messages to read here - eek... Have added quite a few books to my pile, with Resistance at the top. Thanks for the great reviews. And thanks for the reviews of not-so-good books - very useful!

#44 Cariola that is dreadful about the complaint from the student's mum over The Reader. I'd love to make all our first year students read a book, but pigs would be airborne first. I have enough trouble getting them to read the stats textbook!

#116: Trish, my father is improving daily. Thanks for asking!

Glad to see you enjoyed your first Heyer mystery. I hope you find some others you like just as well.

Ooh, sorry you didn't care much for A Reliable Wife. I thought the author did an awesome job of creating an atmosphere and giving the characters psychological depth.

Hey CMT, you are a very patient soul to take the time to read all those messages!! But I am honored that you think that my thread is one that deserves such attention. By the way, are you on here? Please forgive me if I have asked you this question 9 times before but there is just so much going on here that I can hardly keep track of what is going on.

Alcott-I am so glad to hear about your dad. I will be checking on your thread to see what you are reading these days.

Cariola--Oh no, I really enjoyed A Reliable Wife, there were just some parts that did not really appeal. And you are absolutely right that the author plumbs the psychological depths of his characters.

30. The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon. This turned out to be a very disappointing book. There were so many elements that should have made it work from its rich historical setting, to the war going on and the general human dynamics that were taking place. But it fell short in both plot, execution and will win prizes for unsatisfying endings if they give out such awards.

Mariella is the quiet and dutiful daughter who is the complete opposite of her cousin Rosa who she spends a very memorable summer with when they were little girls. It is their lifelong friendship and devotion to each other that sets the basis of this book. With the 1854 Crimean war in full swing, Rosa and Mariella's fiance, Henry, set off to do their part in the war effort. Though Mariella remains home that will soon change due to the illness of her fiance and Rosa going missing. Mariella sets off in search of both and supposedly discovers a strength that she never knew she had in being able to withstand the rigors of war and the grief of loss.

The author managed to create characters who were hard to relate to or truly like. Rosa is held up as this revolutionary who wants to change the face of nursing, one woman at a time. I have to say that I personally could not stand her and her know it all attitude and quite frankly found her to be reckless and dangerous. Her idealism while admirable in the beginning was annoying after awhile. She wanted the whole world to adopt her notions of how things should play out and when that did not happen, she lost patience and moved on. I found Mariella's journey into a war torn region to find her cousin to be so unrealistic that it was almost funny. It would be one thing to have a man going into the war zone to find his loved one but a young woman doing same armed only with her maid is just ridiculous and unrealistic. And please lets not even mention the smug, I-am-so-great-cause-I am-a-doctor, Henry. What a piece of work he turned out to be. The only character I ended up liking by the end was Max Stukeley and he was not even a major character.

The ending was just as bizarre as the rest if the story. I thought I had bought a copy that lost its last chapter and had to go online to make sure of the number of pages in order for me to know that that was indeed the end. It was abrupt and felt like the author had stepped away to get a glass of water and her publisher came in and stole the manuscript before she could conclude. The writing was good but the unlikable characters made the book feel like a chore and by the end I was racing to the end so it could be over and I could read something else.

Thanks, Trish, for the detailed review. That's one less crappy book I have to worry about. *Charlie ceases worrying*

Charlie, can I just say that you are one hilarious guy!!!

Sure, go ahead.

I semi-enjoyed McMahon's previous book, The Alchemist's Daughter, and I had this one on my wish list. However, after listening to an audio excerpt and reading a few reviews, I scratched it. Seems you would agree!

A little late here, but nevertheless, I found your review of A Reliable Wife interesting. There seem to be so many books where a character is obsessed with sex and you get that creepy vibe...I thought it was interesting that you liked it despite the shortcomings. I'm trying to decide if I want to read it.

And I'll definitely be adding a Georgette Heyer mystery to my reading list :) Sounds like a fun relaxing read.

Hi Trish,

Yes I'm on here but I am so behind on posts - am trying to catch up but getting into War and Peace isn't helping...I'm probably on page 3 by now.

Thanks for the health warning on The Rose of Sebastopol. That's pretty bad about the ending!!

Thumbs up on The Rose of Sebastopol review, Trish. I hate reading bad books, but I really like reading reviews of bad books. There should be a reading group devoted to bad books. I think that they, like bad movies, should not be tackled alone - bad for one's mental health - and so much more enjoyable if done with other people.

LOL Brian. You slay me!!!

CMT-I can totally understand about being behind. This time last year, I believe I had read twice the number that I have this year. Guess life just happens sometimes.

Cariola--Yeah I would advise giving this one a skip especially since you have so many other books to read and enjoy.

Ambrosia--I really enjoyed the Heyer mystery. Infact, I think that reading Why Shoot A Butler gave me more of an appreciation for Heyer as I did not totally love her last book that I read(Charity Girl).

Fourpawz--I absolutely agree. I also wish we could have a book club on books that we have read and are dying to discuss with others and can talk about them in depth and cover things that would be considered spoilers in a review. The book I am about to finish is driving me nuts with certain elements that it has thrown in from nowhere as a secret. I wish I could discuss them with others but alas.

31. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. Connie Goodwin had her summer all planned out. She would spend it doing research for her PhD dissertation and whatever time she had left over she would use up with her friend Liz. But her mother asks her to clean out her grandmother's old house (located close to Salem Massachusetts) and prepare it for sale. The house had been in a state of disrepair and disuse for about two decades and would require a lot of time, time which Connie cannot spare. But Connie decides to carry out her mother's wish and while cleaning out the house, she comes across an old key. Alongside the key is an aged piece of paper that has the word "Deliverance Dane" inscribed on it. With the help of Liz and a handsome steeplejack, Sam, she sets out to unravel the mysteries that seem to surround Deliverance Dane and how that secret may tie right back to Connie herself.

As the story shuffles between past and present, we discover that Deliverance Dane was a woman accused and tried as a witch in 1692. Deliverance is portrayed as an innocent woman whose medical tinctures have healed many ailing and sick members of her village. Unfortunately for her when the mass hysteria associated with witchcraft breaks out, she is a prime candidate, accused both by the preacher's daughter and a local man whose daughter died despite her ministrations. Like most of the accused, there is very little that Deliverance can do to clear her name.

While I found the book entertaining, there was something very predictable about the whole thing. There were no revelations that I personally found surprising as I saw them coming a mile away. Something that also bothered me a lot about the book was that for a supposedly smart person, Connie was unusually dense. Here is a young woman who is a PhD student in American Colonial History and yet she does not suspect witchcraft when she notices certain odd elements in her grandmother's house. Mandrakes, belladona vines, and all the various assortment of items that litter her grandmother's house should have been enough to at least awaken the thought in her head but somehow, its all one big surprise to her. Even a casual reader of Harry Potter would have some suspicion if they saw those items. Granted this book is set in 1991 so I am sure she could not have read any of that series but even before Potter and his witches, anyone who has read a little about witchcraft would begin to suspect something. I know one is supposed to suspend reality when reading a book like this but it was just hard to believe that a person as accomplished as Connie is supposed to be could be so slow on the uptake. And certain things about the book were just downright unrealistic. For example, when Connie and her friend Liz first arrive at the house they turn on the tap and voila, there's running water. I know this is 1991 but seriously the county or municipality or whoever was in charge of providing water would have long shut the water off when they did not receive payment for services provided. At least Connie or Liz should have commented on that fact as it was out of the ordinary but they just carry on like that is normal.

The author certainly does a good job drawing you into the narrative with her descriptive writing. For me the most interesting parts of the book were the parts set in Deliverance's time. The interplay between her and her daughter was touching and very telling of the person of Deliverance. The sections on the witch trials and their outcome are very well written and evidence of good research on the author's part. Sadly the same cannot be said of the modern section with Connie and her goings on. Every character in this section was adequate but never compelling. The "bad" guy is oily and very obvious and there was precious little complexity to his character. But despite my critcisms, I think the book was entertaining in its own way. Though I personally would not read it again, it would provide for an entertaining summer read.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

Why do we (the collective we) always recommend crappy books for summer reading? I mean, notice how you didn't say, "it would provide for an entertaining spring read"?

And boy, do I dislike oily guys--I guess I've known too many of them in my lifetime.

But despite my criticisms, you wrote an excellent review, Trish.

I enjoyed your review of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I finished it last week and I agree that the the sections about Deliverance and the witch trials were the best. Too bad there wasn't more of it.

LOL!!! LOL!!! Brian you had me on the floor with that comment. You know that is a very good point. Maybe we do the whole "its a good summer read" because it is assumed that people are more tolerant of faulty literature over the summer because they have more free time? I wonder. You have made me question my own thought processes on that(in a good way). But was still can't stop laughing about that one though. So true.

Ahh Lorie, I am happy that someone else thinks along the same lines about this book cause most reviews for The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane seem to be glowing with everyone saying how amazing and original they thought it was. I am not saying it was a bad book, not by any stretch of the imagination, but at the same time it wasn't exactly compelling.

32.A Thousand Veils by D.J Murphy. Fatima Shihabi is an Iraqi poet and journalist who finds herself on the wrong side of Saddam Hussein and his Bath party loyalists. She had already been imprisoned once for her writings and again the government has cause to be annoyed with her work. With her life in peril, her brother, Omar, contacts a high powered New York lawyer, Charles Sherman, to help get her out of Iraq and possibly to the US. Charles feels that he has better things to do than getting caught in an international intrigue but he finds himself drawn into this case almost against his better judgement. Charles is finally able to arrange, after much negotiation, safe passage to France.

When Charles and Fatima meet in France, they fall in love as they try to figure out her next step. Fatima is concerned for her daughter that she left back at home and the reprisals that Saddam and his minions may visit on her. Charles is furiously at work trying to figure out how to get her to a safer place because they soon realize that they have been followed to Paris. Tragedy strikes and Fatima is determined to return to Iraq to get her daughter.

I found the characters to be melodramatic and it sometimes felt like I was watching a movie or play where the actors were overacting. The sense of urgency that was applied to certain things seemed odd and unrealistic. For example, Charles leaving a very important meeting because there is a call from Fatima's brother. Could he not have taken a short break and returned, finished up what he was doing and then handled whatever Omar was calling for? I just find it hard to believe that multi million dollar deals will wait for this one man and his outside emergencies. Also it was sometimes hard to like Fatima as she emotionally all over the place. There is a scene where she is screaming at Charles not long after she meets him and I was floored by her behavior. This man is trying to help you and is gaining precious little in return and you are getting snippy with him? Odd, very odd. Also a lot of the dialogue between Charles and Fatima felt very wooden and forced. It was preachy and quite frankly, people just don't talk like that. Many times it felt like someone was standing on a soap box and making a speech on American/Mid East relations, immigration, women's rights and politics in general. These scenes made the book less credible for me. But the scenes that finally did me in was when they return to Iraq and suddenly Charles Sherman turns into Jason Bourne. He is taking on the Iraqi guards, one man at a time and coming out on top. I am sorry but that was too much to take. If this book set its self up to be an action/adventure thriller with mid east undertones, then that is one thing but the fact that its supposed to be a serious book made it hard for me to understand this detour. I think that my biggest problem with this book is that it cannot decide what it wants to be. One minute we are discussing middle east politics, the next we are in high speed races for our lives. Its all became a bit much after awhile.

The love story between Charles and Fatima was also something that I found hard to understand. I can totally understand a growing respect and growing platonic love between them but this sudden and undying love after a few weeks just seemed to come out of nowhere. And all while Charles has a long time girl friend back home of whose existence Fatima is aware. Men and women can meet and develop a relationship that is devoid of romantic attachment.

Some of the best scenes in the book were the descriptions of Fatima's home life especially as a child before the bad marriage, abuse and later arrests by the police. In those moments we get to know the true heart of this woman and her thirst for freedom and unquenchable hopes for her country. Her individuality and quest for justice in a land ruled by an oppressive dictator make her even more admirable.

All in all, I can't say I came away in love with the book. I respect the author very much for writing the book because its something that is close to his heart. Also the fact that he is donating part of the proceed to the UN High Commission on Refuges is most admirable and inspiring.

Hello there Trish!

Aww Whisper, its truly an honor to know you as you always make me feel so special. I LOVE my little card. Its so cute and colorful. Winnie just has a way of making everyone smile. Thanks Linda :)

Hi Trish, just popping in to catch up on your thread. As you say, life gets in the way sometimes. I often wonder if a six week stint of nothing but books and LT would catch me up, but I know that the more I read on LT, the more I must read in real life! So I don't think I would ever catch up!

Anyway, I have A Reliable Wife awaiting me, so I should really go and read . . . .

Will not be putting A Thousand Veils on the wishlist. Thank you much, Trish for taking the bullet for this one. Always nice to avoid a turkey.

#135. "Taking the bullet . . ." That's a good one. Trish is busy sorting out the summer reads for us so we don't have to suffer from them.

You're due for a good one though, Trish.

Charlie, a/k/a Brian

Thanks for takikng some for the team!!!!! I probably won't pursue the two you just finished because of your luke warm feelings on them but good reviews, as always.

Hey Guys. Its been awhile. Thanks for all of you who have stopped by. Its been a pretty busy year that has not allowed me to read as much as I would like.

And yes, I will continue to take one for the team. That's just the kind of great person I am ;) Below is another one for the team. All hail me!

33. Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts by Laura Benedict. Roxanne, Del and Alice had been friends since childhood and this friendship carries into adulthood. As children, their relationship was many times characterized by evil pranks, destructive lies and acts of cruelty. But nothing they did was worse than the lies that lead to the defrocking of a young priest at their school. Though the priest is not at all an innocent bystander, the manner in which the girls destroy him and their reasons for doing so almost makes you sympathize with him.

About twenty years later, the girls are now women and still friends. But the same traits that characterized their friendship still remain and seems even more harmful now that they are adults. As a child, Roxanne is mean spirited and uses her intelligence to manipulate and use those around her. As an adult she is pretty much the same, using others and taking things from others just because she can and not even because she really wants or needs what she has taken. When they were children, Alice is the "hanger on", constantly trying to make Roxanne happy and do whatever she can to please her. As an adult she still seeks to please Roxanne and she marries a man who obviously does not love her but is looking to cash in on her family's money. Del though the supposed "moral" one of the pair is just as despicable but manages to coat it behind a shell of niceness. What makes her almost worst than the other two is that she has a conscience that speaks very loudly but she chooses to ignore it.

There was certainly plenty of potential in this book but it never quite lived up to it. The book turned out to be boring in parts, slow in others and sometimes it was actually interesting and a bit of a page turner. When you are reading a book and the one person who you are being forced to root for is a cheating husband who despises his wife but uses her because of her money, then you are reading a really bad book. But all of this would have been a bit easier to take if I felt that the book managed to break new ground. What could have been an excellent Faustian tale becomes a story that took so many wrong turns and eventually led to an unsatisfying end.

My Rating: 2 Stars.

Well I certainly hope that your next read is better!

How sad that when you have so little time to read, you get stuck with a loser book! I hope your next opportunity is more fruitful for you!

Oh, I think that title would have been enough to warn me away! Sorry you wasted your time on it.

You're our hero!!!!! But we'll allow a good one now and then.

Hey Guys, your good wishes has brought me some great luck. After all that bad reading, I have recently read two really good books. I am only posting the review of one of the good ones, the other will follow. And Cariola you are so right, that name should have warned me off but I was trying to be open minded and see where it got me :)

34. Mother Teresa's Secret Fire by Joseph Langford. I think that my biggest issue with this book was that when I requested it from the ER selections, I believed that it was a biography of the life of this woman who did much to help the most forgotten members of society. Unfortunately, I did not find this to be very biographical in its scope and felt that it dealt more to do with one man's interpretation of what the life of Mother Teresa was and what this could mean to a practicing Catholic today. I wanted to know more about the woman behind the legend. What was her childhood like, were her parents religious or did she come to religion on her own? What were her views on broader issues outside that of her main focus? Answers to these sort of questions were not found here. There is much on meditation and what the author Joseph Langford believes were calls from God to embark on the life she chose. This made it hard for me to read through the book because in some ways it felt like a devotional. I learnt much about her theology or at least Langford's idea of what it was but I got little on the person of Mother Teresa.

I can't say I enjoyed reading this book but I am not sure that that is the author's fault. I expected one thing and got another but that may be more my mistake than the author's.

35. The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha. Irene Stanley is startled when her husband Nate walks in one day and announces that he has gotten a new job in another city and the whole family is to move. Irene is confused and somewhat perplexed by this move and cannot understand why they must leave her childhood home, a home that they own mortgage free, away from all that they have known and their family and friends. Despite her misgivings, she packs up her children, Bliss and Shep and they leave home with her husband. But not long after they move and just as they are beginning to get settled into their new home, Shep is brutally murdered. This horrifying act forms the backbone of the whole story and asks many fundamental questions about the nature of the parent/child relationship and how it plays out when a child does not meet a set expectation.

There is so much darkness and pain in this book but you cannot help but be drawn in by the narrative. As those left behind process their grief and anger toward each other and the killer, you discover the unspoken themes that can lie unsaid in any family. It is true that the murder of Shep was a major devastation on the family, but what becomes apparent is that there are many emotions/feelings that have been buried and would probably been left so but for Shep's death. If Shep had not been killed maybe the family would have remained "happy" but his death forces them to confront many issues that lay below the surface. Irene's grief is the most prominent in its expression and she spends many years after her son's death in a state of perpetual sadness and depression. But one day on Shep's birthday, she decides to write to his murderer as a way to free her heart from all the anguish she has been feeling. To her greatest surprise, he writes back and this launches a secret and very odd but interesting relationship between Irene and Shep's killer. Forgiveness is an overarching theme in this book and its presence or lack thereof affects each character differently.

There was a surprise twist that seems to come out of nowhere and I am not sure how I feel about it. In some ways it adds another emotional tug on the whole story but I almost wish that element had been added earlier (or left out as a whole) to the story and one was able to fully explore its significance on the story as a whole.

I really enjoyed this book and it is one that hunts you long after you have put it down.

My Rating: 4 Stars

I had to add The Crying Tree to the wishNotebook. What a great review!

I am adding The Crying Tree to Planet TBR. Thanks for the recommendation, Trish!

Thumbed ya!!! Great review and an interesting book............again.

36. Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin. I was born in New York and shortly after my introduction into this world, my parents moved to Nigeria. I spent most of my formative years over there and moved to America a couple of years ago. Reading this book was like a return to my other home. From the mannerisms of the different characters, the regional use of elements of the English language, everything was a trip down memory lane right down to the brand of butter used(Blue band margarine!). I laughed out loud in recognition of many scenes and nodded in comprehension at certain scenes that probably hold more meaning for someone who knows Africa. It was amazing to me to see the similarities in African cultures though separated by plains, rivers and different colonial masters. This book was a delight and I am almost sad to have finished reading it.

Angel Tungaraza is a Tanzanian who now lives in Rwanda with her husband and grandchildren. Her business as a cake maker has earned her many friends and the confidences of many of her customers. Through her interactions with her customers and her neighbors, we gain insights into life in Rwanda post genocide. We see the orphans created by the war who live with the scars of what they witnessed, we learn about the domestic going ons in various homes and how important a male child remains in many cultures and we see the choices that some are forced to make in order to survive in a country that is recovering from ethnic purges. As Angel serves tea and cupcakes she comforts, shares similar stories and gently stirs her friends in the right direction. Through Angel, we also learn of the AIDS epidemic plaguing Africa but not just in that CNN news report sort of way but from the perspective of a mother who has lost a child to AIDS and now must mother her grandchildren when she should be contemplating retirement. But Angel and her husband,Pius, must take care of their grandchildren while fighting their own grief for their lost children. Both take it in stride and provide for the children the best they can under the circumstances. There are so many colorful, hilarious, emotionally and physically wounded characters. One of the most painful lessons that some of the characters learn is the harshness of survival. What does it do to you when the ones your love are killed by a ruthless genoicide? My first response would be acceptance at surviving and sadness over the lost of loved ones but a drive to go on. But for those who experienced it, it goes deeper than that. One of the characters summarizes this best " Let me tell you something about survival. People talk about survival as if its always a good thing; like it's some kind of a blessing. But ask around amongst survivors, and you'll find that many will admit that survival is not always the better choice. There are many of us who wish everyday that we had not survived. Do you think I feel blessed to live in this house with ghosts of everyone who was killed here? Do you think I feel blessed to go in and out through that gate where my husband and child were killed? ...Do you think that I feel blessed in any way at all? ...There are many who survived who would like to make the other choice now" (suicide).

But in the midst of the pain, there is reconciliation and hope. For these people the future is not certain and what it holds must be scary. But they have survived to see today and they will chose to make the best of the present. A very, well written book that at first seems to contain disparate stories but soon brings them together in a very satisfying way.

My Rating: 4/4.5 Stars

Sounds like a wonderful book, Trish.

Great review Trish. That puppy went right on the ol' wishlist.

I'm adding it to my TBRs too. Thanks Trish.

Ditto what Cariola, Fourpawz and akeela said...
sounds like a great book and it is a wonderful review!

I read The Crying Tree about a month ago (review is on my thread) and felt the same way about the surprise twist. That said, I read it in one afternoon and couldn't put it down... but yes, that part was a bit frustrating. Sigh.

Also, quick question... I'm assuming you received it as an ARC as well... do you ever send your reviews to the publisher after you read the book? I find only some publishers ask for them directly, so I'm hesitant to send mine if I'm not sure they want it. On the other hand, I appreciate receiving the book, and I wonder if sending an unprompted review would be a good way to show that...

>147 TrishNYC: what a fantastic review, Trish. I'd passed right over Gaile Perkin's book as it didn't sound like my kind of thing - it still doesn't, but on the other hand, it sounds absolutely perfect for my mum. She spent a year doing VSO (kind of the UK equivalent of the Peace Corps, I think) in Nigeria after she finished university, so if it rang bells for you, I'm guessing it will for her too. (Oh, and she loves the Ladies' Detective Agency books too.)

Thanks! You got my thumb too.

Great review of Baking Cakes in Kigali. I'm adding it to my tbr list.

Thanks Trish, it's going on my library and mooch lists.

Great review of Baking Cakes, Trish!

Thanks for the great review of the Parkin book. It sounds very intriguing.

Interesting to hear you were bought up in Nigeria. I cannot imagine the cultural shock of moving to the US. I assume you were educated in a US school over there?

> 147 I recently finished two nonfiction books about Rwanda. This novel sounds like a great addition to those books. What a great review!

Hey friends. Thanks for all your kind words. My friends are beginning to complain that I am getting awfully arrogant with all the nice things that you guys keep saying about me.

Dk_Phoenix--Yes I did get it as an ARC. Generally, I try to send my reviews to the publisher if they included a letter that contains an email. This one did not have a letter on a separate sheet but I think that it had a letter included in the the book. Unfortunately, I lent to a friend and I am not expecting to get it back to sept cause she is reading other things. I try to send reviews to publisher for books that I did not get from ER cause I want them to know that I fulfilled my end of the bargain.

Flossie--I believe that if your mom loves The ladies detective agency, she may feel same about this one. I have never read The ladies detective agency but I have seen the HBO series and really enjoyed it. Baking Cakes in Kigali has a very similar feel to it.

Kiwi--I was an IMMENSE culture shock. And my siblings took me to Times Square on my first day here. Not a good idea as I got even more overwhelmed. Oh and I saw Silence of the lambs on my first night here. I was ready to get back on the next plane home as I was convinced all Americans were insane. LOL!!! But it has been an adventure and though I don't have a Nigerian accent anymore, I sometimes find people smiling at certain things I unknowing say(like pronunciations and certain phraseology) that lets them know that I could not have grown up in the US.
PS: I actually did not go to an American school over there. There were none in the state that I lived but I went to a very good private school.

Profiler--I think that this book will be a good complement to the books you read about Rwanda. I know you read We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families. This book is a lighter picture of the whole situation and obviously takes place after the horrors. Its domestic in its essence but entertaining all the same.

37. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Three Pines residents Olivier and Gabri are awoken by a ringing phone that brings horrifying news, a body has been found in their bistro. They head down and indeed there is a dead man with his head bashed in lying on their floor. The man is unknown to both(or at least that is what they claim) and they cannot understand why and how he came to die in their place of business. The police are called and Chief Inspector Gamache and his team arrive to investigate this mystery. One thing becomes clear very quickly, there is not enough blood in the surrounding area to indicate that the man was killed there. So where was he killed and how did he get to this location? Also no one seems to know who he is, why is that?

I expected a straight forward mystery with a dead body, intrigue, an investigation and then the big reveal. But this novel provided much more. As the mystery unfolds, you suspect a variety of people, you are sure your are right and then something happens that makes you realize otherwise. At the heart of this murder is obsession, greed and running from the past. As the lies and half truths that many of the characters tell begins to unfold and engulf them, the truth begins to emerge. When you finally discover who committed the crime, you cannot help but feel a bit sad and sorry because this person has grown on you. But as sorry as you may feel for the villain of this piece you cannot believe the depths and cruelty that this person sunk to in order to fulfill their aim. Its like having two people inhabiting one body, one kind and loving, the other greedy and avaricious.

The author is able to brilliantly transport the reader to Three Pines village with her beautifully descriptive passages. Despite the murder, you want to visit this place and eat at the bistro and see the odd poet and her well dressed duck that waddles alongside her as she walks the streets. As I read I sometimes felt that the book ran a bit too long and could have been cropped a bit shorter. But if it had been shorter I suspect that some of the details that did not necessarily add anything to the story but were interesting non the less may have been lost. I will definitely seek out more from Chief Inspector Gamache as he is a fascinating man and a great detective.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

I have read the first two in the Three Pines series, Trish, and they are pretty good. Nothing earthshaking mind, but all in all, solid mysteries. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

38. Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon. Whoa, I really enjoyed this book. I started reading it this morning in between reading other books but all the other books got put aside as I had to see where this was going.

It starts off with three different story lines that seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with each other. One story begins with a young man, Ryan, whose father assures him that he will not bleed to death as they rush to the emergency room with his severed arm in a styrofoam ice cooler. We later learn more about Ryan, he is Northwestern student who is failing all his classes and is undergoing an identity crisis of sorts when he discovers that the people he grew up with as his parents are actually his adoptive parents. Story number two is of Miles Cheshire who has spent most of his adult life looking for his brother Hayden who had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic when they were teens. But is he really? And finally we have the story of Lucy Lattimore who runs off after her high school graduation with her teacher George Orson.

All these stories are seemingly removed and unconnected and I kept wondering what they had to do with each other. But each story is interesting on its on and that draws you in and keeps your reading.

One of the most intelligent devices that the author employs is the fact that he never tells you the chronology of each story. You are never sure if the stories are taking place simultaneously, weeks/months apart or a few years apart. This makes for a very interesting story telling device as you try to find the connection between the characters. The author is also excellent in his descriptiveness. As the various characters make their way through America and beyond, you are caught up in their worlds and imagine what it must look like. From the decaying Cleveland suburbs, to the Bates motel like inn and accompanying house in Nebraska to the hustle and bustle of a busy African city, you find yourself lost in these worlds and their presence adds to a certain creepiness that permeates the whole story.

I think that one of the most surprising things about this book is that despite the fact that there are mysterious and sinister events happening in this book, the book turns out to be more than just a thriller. At the center of these converging stories is the search for identity and the pursuit to reinvent oneself. As characters interact and intersect it becomes clear that many times you cannot escape yourself no matter how long it takes.

PS: This is not one of those books where you are necessarily rooting for any of the characters. Precious few of the people that populate this book are admirable or without some sort of character flaw that is almost unforgivable. It is the stories as a whole that draws you in and keeps you around.

My Rating: 5 Stars

39. Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation… by Eboo Patel
In Acts of Faith, Eboo Patel seeks to outline what he believes draws many youths to extremism and the ways in which this can be combated. He relates his reaction when he heard of the bombings in London and how he could identify the similarities between himself and those young men who decided to kill not just themselves but also take other innocent bystanders with them. He feels that he could have ended up like those men but for the influences of his parents enrolling him into his local YMCA. Though it may have seemed odd, here he was a Muslim boy with Muslim parents spending his free time in a Christian organization, he credits this organization with most likely saving him from extremism and its lure. Not only was he occupied during his free time, he was trusted with responsibilities and felt like he was genuinely cared for by people outside of his family. He was taught to serve others and while he did this he forgot to be self conscious as he did everyday at school. Patel believes that the support he earned from the people he met at the YMCA helped draw him away from the streets, gangs and other adverse influences.

As the son of immigrants, he talks of trying to explain to his parents the bullying that he was suffering at school and the feeling of being an outsider. His mother's response was to tell him to study hard and if he did better in his maths, the other boys would not bully him. To a westerner that may see like an odd response, but this is an attitude that is very familiar to many immigrant children. One may deride this line of thinking but you have to remember that for most immigrants, they are told that in America you can achieve anything as long as you work hard. Education for them is the key to all success and if you did well, then all should be well. So imagine if he did not meet a group of people who embraced him and made him feel safe and accepted. He could have been lured into a gang or gotten seduced by an extremist group.

Patel goes beyond advocating the co-existence of religions, he believes that people of different religions should actively engage with each other. By engaging each other and truly talking to each other rather than just being politically correct with one another, then people can really understand those from faiths foreign to them. He believes that the group most in need of this dialogue are young people whose impressionable minds are ripe to be planted with seeds of hope so that they can resist the alternate messages

I really enjoyed this book as it was both personal to Patel but universal to all of us. He is honest about the problems facing religion and its adherents but he is optimistic that there is change in store. There were times that I felt that the book got a bit dry but all in all, I think it is a very important read and will be useful reading material in colleges and high schools as they educate the youth on religious pluralism.

My Rating: 4 Stars

40. After You by Julie Bauxbam. About a hundred pages into this book, I was wondering how I got caught reading chick lit (nothing against chick lit) and one with a very unlikable main character. BUT somewhere along the way, I was pleasantly surprised by the turn the book takes and I found myself engrossed.

Ellie's best friend Lucy has just been brutally murdered while walking her daughter to school. Ellie flies out to Notting Hill to comfort her husband Greg and daughter Sophie. She is overcome with grief at the death of her closest friend and she deals with her grief by wrapping herself in Sophie. They read The Secret Garden together as Ellie tries to get Sophie to begin speaking again, something she stopped doing after her mother's death, and as a way for Sophie to lose herself in a world outside of her present one that contains mostly grief and the violence of her mother's death.

My problem with Ellie was that as admirable as her flying half way around the world to help her dead friend's family may have been, she abandons her husband under the guise of "Sophie needs me". I found myself rolling my eyes through at least 100 pages as it was hard to believe that this devotion to Sophie was totally selfless. There was something in there that felt very self centered and exceedingly selfish. What kind of person abandons their job and husband for an untold amount of time and expects everyone to just understand?

But somewhere along the way as Ellie becomes more honest with herself, I began to understand her better and feel more compassionate toward her. It was obvious that she idolized her friend Lucy and in her mind Lucy had the perfect life: beautiful, rich and handsome husband, intelligent daughter, fabulous job and living in one of the best parts of London. But as Ellie begins to get a grip on the life she is loosing by her choices, she begins to examine herself and discovers things about her friend that she may never have allowed herself to see before now. Ellie begins to see how both she and her husband had lost themselves after the loss of their baby and despite living in the same house, they had become strangers to each other. This book tackles some very hard and compelling lessons about marriage and all relationships in general. While its not a "and they lived happily ever after" kind of end, it is hopeful and leaves the reader pondering it long after you are done.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Nice reviews, as always, Trish. I would put Await Your Reply on my list but it is already there thanks to another LT'er.

I read Await Your Reply as an ER book recently, and I enjoyed it as much as you did!

Nice recent reads, Trish! Like BDB, I already have Await Your Reply on Planet TBR, but I am putting the other 2 there.

41. A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous.
When I first saw this book in the bookstore, I was immediately intrigued. I have always wondered as to the fate of everyday Germans after their country's defeat by the allies in world war 2. This book seeks to answer that and is made even more haunting by the fact that it is a true story.

The author is a journalist before the war and is now unemployed and living on rations at the start of her journal. For eight weeks she details with excruciating accuracy the fall of her city and the consequences on its inhabitants. By the time that the author begins writing, it is clear that Germany is on the brink of defeat despite all assertions to the populace that an upswing is at hand. The author and her neighbors are forced to endure almost daily jaunts into the basements to take refuge from the bombardments of the allies. But this is the life they have become used to and they just take it in stride.

As the war ended, the nightmare of the peace began for the women of Berlin. The Russian soldiers billeted in their neighborhood decided that it was time to claim the spoils of war, human beings(specifically the women) being their chief prize. Whereas the neighborhood had to previously worry about air raids and hunger, the biggest fear now became who and which of them would get raped and how many times. Early on the author realizes that if she is not shrewd, she will end up being violated by several different soldiers. She decides that perhaps it would serve her better to find one soldier, preferably of a high rank, and have him be her constant defiler. It is a horrifying way to think or live but this is her new reality and she must live with it. After reaching this agreement with the officer, she remains relatively protected and the officer also provides food and company for her and her room mates.

When the Russians finally leave and the men begin to return home, the women find that they(i.e the men) do not want to discuss what has happened in their absence. It is obvious that they are ashamed that they have failed to protect their women but some of them seem to blame the women. In fact, one of the only critics who reviewed this book in Germany when it was first published seemed to imply that the author should be ashamed of herself for what he saw as her wanton behavior.

Something that I really wanted to hear the author say was what her position was in regards to the Nazi party and its goals. Was she a supporter? Was she a dissenter? She never says and it seems to me like she purposefully avoided that perhaps fearing that if/when the journal was one day published and her readers were to hear of her sufferings, they would temper it with knowledge of her support for the Nazis if she has been one of them. This is speculation on my part and I have no real evidence to prove her allegiances.

Regardless of whatever side she fell on Hitler's views, no one deserves what she and the other women were forced to endure. It was brutal, degrading and barbaric. This is a haunting book that keeps you thinking long after you have put it down. When will we as a world rid ourselves of self destruction?

On a side note, I have seen some articles that debunk or deny the voracity of her claims. But what is important for me in reading this book is the universality of her story. Even if this particular woman did not experience all that she has detailed, the truth is many women did and many more women since and in other wars have experienced same and worse.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars.

42. Death of an addict by M.C. Beaton.

43. A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman. Latha is a servant girl for the well to do Vithanage family. Being close in age to their only child, Thara, she forms a friendship and a quasi sisterhood that she naively believes endows her with some sense of equality. Sadly, she learns over time that Thara is the beloved daughter and she is just a servant and therefore not entitled to the wealth and privilege that Thara takes for granted. Through some poor decision making on her part(she is a child afterall) she becomes pregnant by Thara's boyfriend/crush. She is banished to a convent where after her child is born, it is taken away by the nuns. She is then returned to her former masters, this time as a servant for Thara upon her marriage.

Biso is a mother of three running away from her abusive husband and the disappointment of her former life. Her story is told in alternating chapters with Latha's and we are never actually told the time frame for her unfolding story. Much of her story takes place on the train that she is taking away from her old life and through this journey we discover details of her life thus far. Her mother, though of a higher caste marries a lower caste man who treats her with love and respect. Unfortunately, Biso's mother dies when she is very young and her father sinks into grief from which he never seems to recover. Biso eventually gets married off to a man who turns out to be an alcholic and very violent. Her affair with a local fisherman would leads to the birth of her youngest child but would bring even more unhappiness for her.

While some have complained that there were few sympathetic characters in this book especially Latha, I personally did not see that. While Latha certainly made many, many bad decisions, I saw her mistakes as occasioned by her particular circumstances. I think that at the bottom of all her pregnancies was the desire to be seen as just another woman, capable of inspiring the love and respect of a man and not just a servant who her society sees as only deserving of its dregs. Unfortunately for her she continues to discover that the men she chooses all present one facade until there is a hitch in the road and then she is discarded. Latha is seen as a disobedient girl because she will not yield to society's status quo and be content with her lot in life but continues to push in subtle and quiet ways for what she sees as her right to live as she chooses. But she is a servant and what would be excused in a rich higher caste woman will never be forgiven of a servant.

Biso also discovers that her dreams of freedom are laced with many obstacles. She may have escaped her husband but can she escape her larger society that sees her as just a poor woman and therefore subject to its disdain and disregard?

While I mostly liked this book, there were some things about it that left me wanting. Despite being only 374 pages, the book somehow comes off as too long. I think that this is because as beautiful and descriptive as the language was, some of the descriptiveness got tiresome after awhile. The middle sections of the book somehow managed to be boring while still conveying parts of the story that would prove integral to the plot. Also there are political rumblings constantly taking place in the background but we are never actually given a clear picture what these agitations are about. Unless you already have foreknowledge of Sri Lanka's political past and present, the mention of them seems to lack its full impact. But the last fifty pages or so got very interesting and I found myself again engrossed as I had been at the outset of the book. A very interesting and sad read about the lives of servants in modern day Sri Lanka.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

44. The Trial of Robert Mugabe by Chielo Zona Eze. Robert Mugabe, the current president of Zimbabwe wakes up and finds that he has died and is on trial in the afterlife for his misdeeds. While he is surprised to be dead, he is defiant and mocking when he learns that his trial is to be conducted and witnessed by victims of his various decisions while in power. Mugabe's life is detailed from his zenith as a hero to his people, fighting for freedom from colonial powers and providing succor to displaced anti apartheid fighters from South Africa, to his descent into dictatorship when he turns on his own people and brutalizes their bodies and spirits with his cruelty. Stories abound of the rape, murder, torture and starvation of men, women and children by Mugabe's well trained fifth brigade army. Captives would be made to dig their own graves and be promptly shot and thrown in or watch the bodies of others be disposed of just as unceremoniously. Mugabe also instituted the killing of his country men who were from a different tribe than himself as a way to suppress any dissent against his rule.

While I did like this book, I was not blown away by it. It was informative enough and detailed the horrors of the lives of political dissidents and anyone deemed to have gone afoul of the Mugabe regime. The fact that the stories are relayed by the actual people that the events happened to makes it even more powerful and heart wrenching. But while reading this book, I was struck by the fact that anyone without a knowledge of African history would be lost as to the significance of many of the cast of characters.

All in all it was informative read and would serve as a good introduction to Zimbabwe's history since independence.

My Rating: 3 Stars

Trish

A Woman in Berlin sound like a very powerful book. Thanks for your great review. I'm adding it to my tbr pile.

Holy cow! You're not messin' around. Good to see you posting!

I am adding A Woman in Berlin to the ever-growing Planet TBR.

If you are interested in African history, you might give Christina Lamb's House of Stone a try. It is nonfiction about the clashes between blacks and whites in Zimbabwe.

Hey Friends, its has indeed been awhile. So good to hear from all of you.

Alcott--I will be on the look out for House of Stone. Sounds interesting.

45.Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Crake, Jimmy and Oryx are products of a new world that is characterized by genetic engineering, plastic surgery, creation of new species and something of a police state. Pages and pages and pages are spent describing this world of science that eventually goes awry and ends with the destruction of all human beings but for Jimmy and the super humans created by Crake.

How I managed to finish this book is a miracle. I was never emotionally invested in any of the characters and despite their sad or horrifying back stories, I was never able to connect with any of the characters or feel any real sympathy for them. When writing a dystopian novel one of the most important factors that keeps readers engaged despite the depressing circumstances is one's investment in the characters. Jimmy's thoughts and actions and thoughts are detailed in excruciating detail and yet I never felt like I knew the character. The story as a whole felt disjointed, too long and for me personally ultimately boring. This is my first Atwood book and I will try a few more of her books seeing as I have heard all these great things about her writing. I sincerely hope that they are better than this one.

My Rating: 2 Stars

#169: Sorry you did not enjoy Oryx and Crake more, Trish. I enjoyed it when I read it earlier this year, but then, I am inclined to like dystopian novels. I hope your next experience with Atwood is better. May I suggest trying The Penelopiad? It is fairly short.

ditto what Stasia said. You might want to try The Penelopiad. It is a small gem.

Trish, I do not enjoy Atwood's dystopian/sci-fi novels, but I've definitely really liked some of her other more realistic novels like The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace, and her book of short stories, Moral Disorder.

And I found your review of A Woman in Berlin fascinating. I have read before about the Russian soldiers raping women in Berlin and the rest of Germany and not to excuse this in any way, because it is inexcusable, the experience of the Russians and the Russian army in World War II was orders of magnitudes more horrifying and barbaric than the experiences of the US army (more than 6 million soldiers killed, etc.), and I don't think they could have been kept from seeking some kind of vengeance, however misplaced.

Hey Trish,

It's kinda hard to do better than The Handmaid's Tale for Atwood. Though I'll warn you, it is also dystopian.

I'd go with The Handmaid's Tale. Yes, it's dystopian, but without all the wacky sci-fi stuff. I enjoyed The Blind Assassin, but I skipped over all the sci-fi-ish sections; I felt they distracted from the story.

I also liked Surfacing when I first read it back in the 1980s. Upon rereading it . . . not so much.

One Atwood that's not scifi but very good is The Robber Bride. I, too, love The Penelopiad.

I'm seconding the recs for Atwood's Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and The Handmaid's Tale. And, I would add Cat's Eye, which was great too. I hope you like some of her other work better than Oryx and Crake!

Thanks so much guys for all the recommendations. I will be adding them to my TBR pile. Interestingly enough, I actually do like dystopian literature. I loved McCarthy's The Road and some others that I can't think of right now. I guess there was just something about this dystopian tale that did not work for me. It felt verbose and its like she was trying too hard to be sciency(not a word I am sure).

Hey Rebecca. How goes the reading of late? You are right, I am sure that it would have been hard not to expect some sort of retribution from the Russians for all that the Germans wrought on them when Russia was invaded. I guess I sometimes wish that we can all go beyond revenge and everyone stops retaliating and breaks the cycle. Reminds me of that saying by Gandhi about an eye for an eye and eventually the whole world goes blind, or something like that. But I think that may be easier said than done.

46.God Sleeps in Rwanda by Joseph Sebarenzi. Like many people, I have seen Hotel Rwanda, seen the PBS documentaries on the genocide in Rwanda and read some other literature on Rwanda. But this is the first time that I am reading anything that is set in post genocide Rwanda.

Joseph Sebarenzi takes the reader on a look through his life from his boyhood to his eventual ascent to speaker of the Rwandan Parliament. Like most children he grew up without a clear understanding of the ties that separate us as human beings. He remembers the first conversation he had with his parents where it was made clear to him that he was a Tutsi and some of his friends and neighbors were Hutus. He also remembers his first memory of running to hide with his mother in a neighbor's house while praying, crying and hoping that the soldiers at the door would not get in and kill them. He remembers the feeling of being protected by his neighbor's sons who were willing to fight and die to protect the Sebarenzi family as they hid under a bed. To Sebarenzi, the genocide that would occur in 1994 was not entirely new, it was just more widespread and more effective than previous tribal clashes.

When he gets older, he is sent to Congo by his parents who realize that because of Rwanda's scarcity of resources and discrimination towards the Tutsis, he would never be able to get an education. Luckily for him he gets opportunities in Congo that allow him to receive an education, marry and eventually establishes a career as a researcher. But things begin to get sour in Rwanda and he and his family escape just in the nick of time. Sebarenzi would watch with horror on TV the decimation of the country of his birth and would realize with sadness that most of the people he left back home would not survive. By the time the conflict is over most of his extended family, including his parents, are all dead. Despite this, he decides that he will return home and try to help rebuild. Through a series of events he becomes speaker of the house and together with every day Rwandans he tries to heal his country.

The most striking thing that I noticed as I read this book was Sebarenzi's criticism of the government and administration of Paul Kagame, the former leader of the Tutsi rebels and later vice president of Rwanda. Sebarenzi claims that though Kagame was the vice president, he was the one welding real power and the president was just a figure head. He says that Kagame is a man that does not broach any opposition to his rule and will stop at nothing to silence dissent. It is this attitude that Sebarenzi believes led to his eventual ouster as speaker of parliament and his continued exile in America.

I found this book to be very informative on the history of Rwanda and its current political, economic positions and its relations with the rest of the world. One critique that I had of the book was that sometimes the author seemed a bit naive in his assessment of situations that were unfolding around him. Despite so many examples as to the kind of men he claims surrounded the Kagame government, he failed to see his ouster coming. He talks about the ways in which he believes that Kagame worked to sabotage the reforms he wanted to introduce into the country and yet he is somehow surprised when they worked to remove him from power? It is however possible that because of Sebarenzi's triumphs and trials he had an exaggerated sense of patience and trust and so was blinded to the less than noble designs of those surrounding him.

Sebarenzi also asks and brings to light so very sad and troubling questions. How do you bring to justice those who took part in the genocide? The ring leaders and people who preached hate on radio are easier to identify but this was not a war where one could clearly point to the armed forces and lay blame at their door. Here everyday people took up arms and killed their friends, neighbors and in some cases their own family. How do you bring so many to justice? Can you bring so many to justice? Should you even attempt it? Also unlike wars fought between countries, internal wars present a unique situation as they call for you to live in side by side with your enemy once peace is upon you. Also as one seeks justice against your neighbor, how do you seeks justice without it becoming revenge? For me the answers are not easy.

A wonderful read over all.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars.

Trish, my TBR list has just got a lot longer!

#177: Thanks for the recommendation of that one, Trish. I need to find a copy.

Your Sebarenzi read sounds very interesting - it can be so difficult to pose moral questions effectively without losing the reader.

Glad I am not the only person who did not love Oryx and Crake. I also did not care for Cat's Eye. I still have a couple of Atwood's other books in my to be read pile. If I don't have a more positive experience with them, I think I'll pretty much be giving up on her. Loved your review of A Woman in Berlin, Trish. It went on the the ol' wishlist right away.

47. The year of the flood by Margaret Atwood. I absolutely loved this book!! And this is coming from someone who hated Oryx and Crake in almost equal measure. But for some reason this book worked for me where Oryx and Crake failed miserably.

The story follows the lives of Toby, the manager of a spa, and Ren a sex worker at an upscale sex club at the dawn of the end of world as they know it. Both women had at one time been adherents of a green cult called the Gardeners with the charismatic Adam One as its leader. The running philosophy of this group was a jumble of Christian beliefs mixed in with a vegan lifestyle and an abhorroence of the corrupt corporate mentality. Though neither woman is really a hard core member believer of the goings on in the group, they each form an attachment to it for a variety of reasons.

One of the main beliefs of the group was always that the earth was going to be destroyed in the coming future. Adam One has been preaching for years that a waterless flood was imminent, one that would wipe out all who are unprepared and he urges his followers to be physically, mentally and materially ready. Everyone is told to build their own "Ararat" where they store up all they will need when the world collapses. But Adam One's preaching is of course not much different from many such movements. But unlike many such prophets, he turns out to be right. The world does indeed get overtaken by a wave of disease in the form of a virulent virus that wipes out most of the population.

By the time of the virus is wiping out the population both women have now been away from the Gardeners for sometime. But each gets saved from the virus by different coincidences. Each recognizes the epidemic once it breaks out and remembers the words of their leader. They each try to figure out survival while at the same time trying to save themselves from hunger, loneliness and when they do finally realize that they are not the only ones alive, how to survive those who are using this disaster to their advantage.

I throughly enjoyed this book and to be honest I was not expecting that reaction. Having just read Oryx and Crake which I was less than impressed with, I was reading this out of duty seeing as I had to provide a review for the free book received than any anticipated enjoyment. Whereas in Oryx and Crake I felt that too much of an emphasis was placed on the outlandish, here the characters were beautifully sketched out and I was fully invested in their well being. As each chapter progresses and you learn about the characters and their past, you empathize and want things to turn out well for them despite the confines of their world. A world where technology reigns supreme and the rich are able to seclude themselves in compounds guarded by a brutal police force. It is a depressingly real place and one where dissenters are quickly silenced in "accidents". Unfortunately, the world outside those walls of the rich is just as bad. Lawlessness reigns supreme, chaos is a way of life and everyone is stealing from one another and high on something or another. This is the world that the mad genius of Oryx and Crake seeks to remove. I do wonder if one has not read the aforementioned that they would be able to understand certain things/references that are made in this book. Characters from Oryx and Crake populate the background of this book and it explains their actions in the previous book.

I enjoyed this book immensely and would highly recommend it.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars.

48. Sylvester by Georgette Heyer. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I have a long standing crush on Richard Armitage. And my glowing review for this book is not totally based on my crush but on the merits on this book ;)

Sylvester the Duke of Salford is twenty eight and decides that he may be in the market for a wife. Aside from the shock that greets this new development, his godmother decides that she has the best partner for him, Phoebe Marlow, a budding novelist. Its turns out that Sylvester has actually met Phoebe in her first London season but she failed to make an impression on him or anyone else for that matter. But the same cannot be said for Phoebe who remembers him quite well and had found him so off putting that she draws up a caricature of him in the form of Count Ugolino, a villian in one of her novels. When the two finally meet it becomes a comedy of errors as Phoebe makes some very rash decisions much to the amusement of Sylvester. Phoebe finds that Sylvester is not at all who or what she thought him to be. And Sylvester finds that though he was at first put off the idea of Phoebe by his godmother's insistence, she is actually a first rate young woman. But of course this is a regency romance and things come together and misunderstandings are resolved and sins are forgiven.

Richard Armitage is an absolutely excellent narrator who made all the characters come alive in a way that may not necessarily have happened if I was reading it on paper. One of the things that I sometimes find hard to get through when reading Heyer is her use of colloquial terms that sometimes confuses me. But with Armitage's reading, I barely noticed this and was really enthralled from start to finish.

My one compliant about this audio book was the fact that it is abridged. When I read a book, I want the whole thing, don't remove one word. Aside from that I loved this book and would recommend.

My rating: 4 Stars.

49. The Rapture by Liz Jensen. Gabrielle Fox is a therapist working with some of Britain's most violent and most disturbed children. One of her patients is Bethany Krall who brutally killed her mother and has till date never given a reason for this behavior. Bethany is rude, crude and is constantly pushing Gabrielle's button. She makes fun of Gabrielle's disability, nicknaming her "Wheels" or "Spaz" and constantly calling her by either name, trying to wind her up. But Bethany's talents are not limited to taunting her therapist, apparently she is also capable of predicting national and international disasters. Of course no one believes her and her former therapist was removed from her care of Bethany for believing her claims. As Gabrielle tries to navigate her interaction with Bethany, she finds that she cannot continue to deny the truth of Bethany's words. At first she wishes to believe its a coincidence and that Bethany's predictions are just a combination of over active googling but she soon begins to believe Bethany. Together with Gabrielle's new boyfriend Frazer Melville they begin to investigate Bethany's claims and try to warn prominent scientists about the coming calamities. They are laughed at, taken for insane and eventually lose all their credibility in their professions. But is Bethany right? Is the world about to be destroyed? And is Bethany the one causing it?

There were many parts of this book that had me totally and absolutely captivated. Gabrielle's interactions with Bethany, her meeting Frazer and their initial quest to warn the world were all very exciting. But there are many weaknesses with this book. First off there were pages and pages and pages and pages of description of scientific data that made little or no sense to me. It made parts of the book too dense and unappealing. Also the writer portrays a world were all Christians are clueless and unintelligent fools looking to the skies like Alice in Wonderland waiting for Godot. I get that its fiction but at least even the most anti Christian of writers manages to throw in a few intelligent people of that faith. But in her portrayal they are all fundamentalists, intolerant and quite stupid.

Initially the budding romance between Gabrielle and Frazer is very interesting and nice to watch but somewhere along the way, it became a high school cliche. Gabrielle sees an interaction between Frazer and another woman that upsets her. But rather than address it like the mature person that I assumed she was, she becomes a fourteen year old girl and proceeds to act like one. Gosh, it was exhausting and made me lose some respect for Gabrielle.

But despite my criticisms, I did enjoy many parts of the book. The author was absolutely brilliant in her descriptiveness of England as a world on the verge. I was truly transported and could not wait to see what was next.

My Rating: 3 Stars

Great Review Trish!

The Rapture sounds like an interesting premise, but one I will probably skip... Thanks for the review!

182: Both of those are definitely going on Planet TBR. Thanks for the reviews, Trish.

BTW - I agree wholeheartedly about abridgements - I cannot stand them!

I'm glad you didn't give up on Atwood - and now I really can't wait to read The Year of the Flood!

hi Trish - Great to hear about the new Atwood book - it is heavily promoted here in Canada with a big discount to buy.

Richard Armitage reading!! Did you download the book?

I'm adding The Year of the Flood to the wishNotebook. Thank you for the thoughtful review!

I already have The Rapture on my list. People have been having very emotional reactions to it; I'm curious to see if I like it or not. Great comments and critique.

I've a feeling that you can listen to the 'hymns' that were composed for the book somewhere.... yearoftheflood.com maybe?

Hey friends. You guys will soon turn me into a really boastful person with your kind words.

Kiwi, I thought you were Australian? I have no idea where I got that from but I think it may be because of your name. Oh and I did not download Sylvester. I bought it from Amazon.com.

Flossie--In an odd sort of way I kinda likes those hymns from the website you recommended. Really seems like something that the people described in the book would be into.

50. Death of a dentist by M.C Beaton. Just another English cozy. Not high art here but entertaining all the same.

My Rating : 3.5 Stars

51. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I LOVED this book. How I managed not to read this book before now is a mystery to me. Its books like this that make me so grateful for librarything.com as I know that this is a book I probably would never have heard of on my own.

Panem is the country that has taken the place of the former North America. The government here is known as the Capitol and they rule with brutal but subtle force. The country had been divided into thirteen sections/districts but sometime in the past there had been a rebellion. The Capitol responds by totally obliterating district thirteen and after subduing the other districts, they come up with a way to remind them of their continued subjugation in the form of The Hunger Games.

In a ceremony called the reaping, two children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are randomly chosen from each district and these twenty four children are automatic participants in the hunger games. They then must fight each other to the death and the winner is welcomed back with great fanfare and wealth by the Capitol. The child returns to his district a hero and the whole district is rewarded with plenty of food. Considering that many/most of the districts are starving, this is a big deal. Into this crazy mix is thrown Katniss Everdeen. She is not actually chosen but volunteers herself when her 12 year old sister is picked in the random drawing. Her life before this consisted of mourning her dead father, her mother's subsequent mental withdrawal and Katniss having to step up as the head of household when she is only eleven. Katniss alongside her friend Gale are forced to live by hunting in the forbidden forest. She is tough, slightly harsh but actually sweet and loving on the inside. Now she must fight to live in a game that is barbaric and unfair as they Capitol continues to throw in unexpected twists and turns. The Capitol not content to turn the lives of these children into sport, further amuse themselves by rigging certain parts of the game just to keep it exciting for the viewing public.

This book has it all. Action, adventure, romance, etc,etc. The only reason why this book took me four days to read was because I kept prolonging it as I did not want it to be over. The language is basic and bare and just tells the story of what is going on. But that is what makes this story so great because there was very little gimmicky splicing and dicing of known animals to create these bizarre hybrids and their accompanying names. The basics were straight forward and I really appreciated the author's creating a story that was both recognizable and foreign at the same time. The author also gives a quiet commentary on our current obsession with reality television. As these young children are forced to kill and mutilate each other, the whole nation is forced to watch in Big Brother style. Bets are placed as the games progress and while the families at home pray for their loved one's survival, the gamblers also pray for their chosen candidate's survival as they stand to win or lose tons of money.

I loved this book and would recommend it to everyone I meet.

Oh and this is book one in a trilogy. I am rushing out to buy and read book two.

My Rating: 5 Stars

52. The Gates of Trevalyan by Jacquelyn Cook. Okay its taken me about a year to get through this book and the only reason why I kept trying and trying and trying to finish was because I had to submit a review or get penalized by the ER program. Fourpawz read this book last year and I agree 110% that this book is total rubbish.

This book is set in 1844 and chronicles the life of newly weds Jenny Mobley and Charles King, her husband, as they settle into his home at the Trevalyan plantation. Their marriage is blessed with a daughter, Camille, and the couple remain happily married. But their happiness is marred by the unfolding of the civil war. Many notable historical characters of that time period are mentioned and seem to have some sort of place in the story. But even their presence cannot save this book from itself. I felt like the focus shifted way too much from the main couple that I never connected with them.

This book was awfully boring and lacked any real depth or focus. The characters and their exploits did little to interest me and though Jenny and Charles were not unlikable characters, they had precious little to add to the story . And the black slaves on the plantation? Oh, they all loved their masters and were loyal a la Gone with the wind. I knew there would be trouble when I read in one of the beginning scenes a description of the two slave boys running after the carriage with the sunlight gleaning off their black faces. Oy vey.

I did not at all enjoy this book and I cannot imagine recommending it to anyone.

My Rating: 1.5 Stars

53. The Boy in the stripped pyjamas by John Boyne. Bruno returns home from school one day to find that he has to move from his beloved home in Berlin to an unknown location. Despite his mother's assurances and instructions that he must do as he is told, he is disheartened by the loss of familiar surroundings and his three best friends. His new home is in stark contrast to the old and he is struck by how sad and unsettling the whole place seems. As he settles into a new routine which includes the constant presence of soldiers in his home, his father's repeated absences and the new servants that the home has acquired,he also notices that his closet neighbors are sequestered behind barbed wire. Both his sister and himself wonder as to who these people could possibly be and why they all seem to be wearing stripped pyjamas. But while his interest in them is more long term, his sister loses all concern for that topic and is more interested in flirting with the young soldier who is always hanging around their house.

One day as he walks the grounds of his home, he wanders close to the fence that separates him from his closest neighbors. He runs into a young boy who coincidentally shares the exact same birth day as himself and they strike up a friendship. Bruno is so happy to have this one friend and he tries to keep his new starved friend fed with goodies he steals from the house. The boys share stories and though his new friend tries to impart to Bruno some of the daily horrors that his existence now consists, Bruno misunderstands and fails to fully grasp the significance in a way that only a child can afford.

It is impossible to discuss the end without giving it away so I will cordially refrain. In some ways this book is very lite while still being heavy at the same time. Lite because of its brevity and language, heavy for its subject material. It is a sad testament to the cruelty of mankind and the innocence of childhood. Yes, its is highly unlikely that such a story could have occurred but I do not believe that the author's intent was possibility, I think he was more concerned with "What If".

I would recommend.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

I noticed that you called both Hunger Games and The Gates of Trevalyan book number 51. So you're at 53 right now instead of 52!

I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas last year. I thought the actual plot of the book was very unique and unforgettable. I agree with you completely that the book had some flaws. I like your phrase, "fails to fully grasp the significance in a way that only a child can afford." Very well put; that captures Bruno's role in the relationship very well. Very good review!!

Trish, your review of The Boy in the STriped Pajamas is wonderful! This is one of my top reads for 2009. I really must read The Hunger Games soon.

Another one to add to the TBR, Trish.

My origin?- well actually born English, teened in New Zealand (kiwis are unique to NZ), married a Canadian. Perhaps my next move will be to Southern France!

Count me in amongst the lovers of The Hunger Games! I put it on my memorable reads list for the year, I enjoyed it so much. I am holding off on reading book 2 though until book 3 is out. I want to read them all together.

LOL DrNeutron, I obviously don't know how to counts. Thanks for the correction.

Ahhh Kiwi, that explains it. You know for some reason I thought that all peoples from the antipodes were called Kiwis. I have no idea where I picked that one up from but it may have been from the same place where I picked up penguins being seals. Yes, go ahead and laugh. Its okay. You have had quite a well traveled life. Do you get back to England a lot? Are your parents English or are they New Zealanders (is that how you say it?) who lived in the UK for awhile? Gosh, sorry I seem to be asking so many questions about your heritage. Oh and when you move to southern France, I assume that I have a standing invitation.

Oh Alcot, I do not think that I have the patience as you do to wait till book 3 is out. I immediately bought book 2 when I finished The Hunger Games. I am on page 125 and I am kinda sad to know that I have to wait till 2010 to read the next book. Suzanne Collins has done a tremendous job with this series.

54. Fallen by Lauren Kate. Okay the whole "I am a teenager, hormonal and in love with a hunk who does not like me very much" has been SO done and I am kinda tired of it all. Why is there always a girl in love with a specimen of manhood and why must he always be disinterested in her? I never/rarely see it the other way around. Also why can't two people just meet and like each other? I guess that does not make for the prerequisite pathos. All the aforementioned were feelings that I had as I got past the first 100 pages of this book.

Lucinda(Luce) Price is seventeen and new to reform school after a mysterious fire that killed her love interest, Trevor. No one, not even her is clear as to what happened that day in that cottage. But what everyone knows is that Trevor ends up dead and Luce is the only one alive. She is sent to reform school by her parents where it is hoped that she will finish out the rest of her education without incident. I have to say that I did like the fact that there was a genuine love between Luce and her parents and there was non of that teenagy, "I hate my parents " spiel. Her parents are not mean or callous to her and are genuine in their affection for their troubled child. There is a scene where her parents come to visit and she literally runs into their arms. It was very sweet and nice to read a book without rancor between parents and children.

When she arrives reform school she has the usual reaction that most of us would to a loss of freedom. She is unsure of how she will fit in with the other students and she like many people who end up in reform school believes herself to be more sane than the people around her. One of the first students that she meets is Daniel. Of course he is drop dead gorgeous and sends the heart a patter. But he wants nothing to do with her. And unlike a lot of the teenage girl in love with handsome boy stuff, he is not unaware of her presence, he almost seems to hate her for no reason whatsoever. But she finds herself drawn to him despite his behavior toward her.

Cam on the other hand is another prime specimen of manhood and unlike Daniel, he has the hots for her. He is sweet, thoughtful, affectionate and wants to be her knight in shinning in armor. But despite the fact that Cam is her dream come true, she cannot get her mind off Daniel and every attempt to befriend him is rebuffed rather rudely. Add to all this the fact that Luce's troubles from the outside world seem to have followed her here. There are mysterious happenings around her and once again, she is the chief suspect in a fire.

I will be honest and say that when I read through the first portion of the book, I really wanted to hate it. As my aforementioned comments stated, I just did not want to deal with the whole angsty teen and her boy wonder. But I have to say that I came away actually really liking this book and turning every page in anticipation. This book takes certain age old tenets of the teen genre and mixes it up with other known stories and makes a very interesting tale. I believe the teenage girls will eat this one up and we may have another Twilight on our hands (jury still being out on whether that is a good thing). But much as I liked it, it definitely had its problems. There were some parts of it that seemed unnecessary and made the story take forever to get where it was going. Also as the puzzles begin to get solved, much of it still remained too vague. Its almost like they were purposefully leaving stuff out for the next book in the series.

But all in all, I enjoyed this book.

My Rating: 3.5--4 Stars.

I've just finished Catching Fire after waiting almost a year since reading The Hunger Games and am happy to anticipate the last of the trilogy. There is always the chance of finding out too much if you wait, as promotional marketing for the next book in a series often gives away vital plot development from the earlier books.

I did not know when I read The Hunger Games that it was the first book in a proposed trilogy. I just decided to wait on book 3 because I heard book 2 ends in a cliffhanger and I absolutely HATE when an author does that!

Gonna check out Fallen, Trish, based on your review (probably to prove my whole problem with the stupid Twilight series isn't an age thing), but will do it through the library. Don't want to get stuck buying a crapulous book again. Noticed that one of the tags used for this book is "biblical" - any clue why this would be?

Hey Avatiakh, long time no see. How are you? I am reading Catching Fire as slowly as is humanly possible but as I was telling my friend yesterday, there is no way I can draw this out till 2010. I am heart broken so far but I will not say anything cause I don't want to spoil if for anyone. Suzanne Collins is just amazing. The pacing, plot and style have all lived up to the first one, something I was afraid would not be the case.

Alcot---Unfortunately, I heard the same thing about there being a cliff hanger.

Fourpawz---Mmmh, I don't know if I can tell you what the biblical part is without giving it away. I kinda figured it out very quickly but I would hate to spoil the surprise for you.

55. Beautiful As Yesterday by Fan Wu. Beautiful as Yesterday chronicles the lives of three Chinese women Genglan, Mary and Ingrid. Fenglan is the mother of two girls, Mary and Ingrid who have since immigrated to the US. Mary is a successful professional working at a fortune 500 company while Ingrid is a tour guide/translator/aspiring writer who lives a very transient lifestyle. The story starts just before Fenglan is coming to America for a visit. The sisters are somewhat estranged from each other due to their varying views on culture, responsibility and duty to one's family. Mary views her sister Ingrid as flighty and lacking in focus while Ingrid sees Mary's life as a wife and mother as boring and staid. As the women interact with each other, we are made privy to their lives both past and present. Through their life experiences we get a window into many important moments in China's history from Mao's regime, the cultural revolution and the Tienanmen square student protests.

There was something that I could not connect with when I first started reading this book. I cannot quite put my finger on it but there was just something that seemed to make the first 60 or so pages seem somewhat tedious. It could be because the book first focuses on Mary and at that point in the story she is not very interesting. Whatever it is, I just found it hard to get through the beginning of the book. But as I continued reading, I did get to some very touching moments between Mary and her mother in a relationship that had always been formal and stiff. As the women slowly inch toward intimacy, they discover some tough revelations and insights that made the book more alive. The women discuss misconceptions that each has harbored toward the other and Mary begins to realize that her parents were not the cold and austere people she always believed them. Each woman grapples with the struggle of assimilation in a new land and the age old questions that trouble foreigners. Fenglan ponders where Chinese life and culture fits in the lives of her daughters who seem so American in their outlook right down to the fact that they have dropped their Chinese names for American names. Mary worries that her son will not have any affinity towards China growing up in America and having a father who is Chinese in name only. Ingrid on the other hand reminisces upon the idealistic notions she once had about China, the father she once scorned and her growing interest in a return to her home land.

But after a certain point, I was again thrown back into awkward writing. Personally, I think that the author may have benefited from less details as sometimes the descriptions of various happenings just made reading tedious. By the end there was just something that was a bit too predictable about the book and I did not come away feeling like I had experienced something new. But I did enjoy the emotions that this book had the capacity to evoke. The relationship between siblings, parents, friends and the changing times, all were experienced and felt in a meaningful way.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

56. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. Those Who Save Us is a powerful and heart breaking tale of the lives of everyday Germans during World War II. Alternating between past and present, we learn the story of Trudy and her mother Anna. Trudy is a college professor who is drawn into a project by a colleague chronicling the lives of ordinary Germans and their feelings about the war, Hitler and the persecution of Jews. While conducting these interviews, Trudy meets a spectrum of Germans. Some excuse their own behavior during the war by couching it in "it was a war, you did what you had to" while some relate stories of how their attempts to help their Jewish neighbors or show any sympathy was severely punished. But what was surprising was the fact that some of the German emigres still harbored intense anti-Jewish sentiments despite everything that had transpired. But while Trudy chronicles these stories she is unaware that her own mother is an encyclopedia of stories to tell of her life in Germany.

Anna was the daughter of a strict and harsh father who used his only child as an unpaid housekeeper. He was a Nazi sympathizer and one who hoped to marry off his beautiful daughter to a Nazi probably hoping that this would elevate him. Unfortunately for him, his daughter falls in love with a Jewish doctor and becomes pregnant. Unfortunately for her, she decides to hide him in her house when the Nazi begin looking for him. This is successful for a while until her father somehow finds him and turns him in and he is sent to a concentration camp. Anna is justifiably horrified and runs away from home, moving in with a local baker.

This book captures you with its excellent descriptions of life in Nazi Germany. The rationing of food, the fear felt by good people who worry about what their government may be doing but cannot do a thing about it. It is an interesting portrait of what happens when you are at your wits end and your salvation comes in the form of your enemy. How does one survive the choices you made in order to insure your survival and that of your child? Before you realize Anna's history, she is described as cold, distant and almost unloving. But as you read of her struggles and the realities of her life in Germany, it explains why she became who we now see.

Anna's story is much more interesting than Trudy's as Trudy sometimes seems to just be going through the motions. Though you know Anna's life does not end up happy, seeing her as a young women is captivating. As she falls in love with the doctor, you want to believe that theirs will be a happy tale. Trudy though the product of her mother's silence was not a character that I really identified with. I can understand that being the child of a woman like Anna must have left many emotional scares but I could not help looking at Trudy's life and character as unfulfilled and alienated both from the other characters and the reader.

I enjoyed this book and kept thinking about it long after I finished. Things are not tied up in a neat bow but the growing understanding between mother and daughter is nice to watch. There were a few iffy moments in the book like getting used to the fact that none of the dialogue has quotations. But as I kept reading, I soon forgot about that. Plot wise I found some of Trudy's relationships somewhat odd and seeming to come out of nowhere. But maybe they were thrown in to show just how dysfunctional she had become over time.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

#201: Those Who Save Us looks terrific! Thanks for the review, Trish. I will definitely be looking for that one.

The Blum book just hit my wishlist too. Thanks for the terrific reviews!

Trish! Your description of Those Who Save Us is incredible! Thanks for this. I'm heading to the library today to see if I can find it. Stasia, aren't you glad you discovered yet another WWII book to read?

I'm also wanting to read this after your review!

#204: Since I just ordered 2 of Saul Friedlander's books, I think this one will be waiting a bit for me to read, but I am always glad to find more WWII books :)

57. Creation in death by J.D. Robb. Okay Alcottacre,I am now officially in love with Roarke. Eve is still growing on me but she is getting pretty high up there. Now Roarke on the other hand is ridiculously intelligent, handsome, Irish, loaded, in love with a strong woman, gosh can he get any better? Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and though I initially could not stand this series, I am really liking it now.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

58. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. What possesses a young man who has all the trappings of the American dream to give it all up to trek the country? This is a question that runs through this book and though it is explained on some level, one is still left with unanswered questions.

Chris McCandless set off right after graduation from Emory University to travel the country. He gave away a large inheritance to Oxfam, vacated his apartment and bits and pieces of his old life would later be found in his abandoned car. On this journey through America, he would meet and befriend many people who would feel their lives devastated when he is found dead in Alaska. Many of these new friends would try to talk him out of his planned Alaskan trip but he would not hear of it. During the two years he travelled the country, he never kept in touch with his old friends and family. His parents were left to worry and wonder as to his whereabouts.

It would be easy to dismiss Chris McCandless as just another fool who thought he would take on challenges for which that he was obviously unprepared. From all evidence, he was not mentally unhinged so what exactly makes a young man take on the Alaskan hinterland when he had no experience of it or its environs? He was a well educated and well travelled young man so why did he think he could survive without proper preparation? I did not come away with admiration for him but neither did I feel scorn toward him. He was obviously troubled by certain family secrets but was that enough for him to wander off and put his life in danger and devastate his family? He was very judgmental toward his parents and their mistakes in a way that I found less than admirable. Maybe I am more of a forgiving sort but I did not understand the vitriol he was able to muster against them when he discovers their failings. I do not at all doubt that it must be devastating to find out that the parents you had held in high regard are all too human especially after they have instilled in you certain ideals. But even keeping that in mind his reaction seemed over the top to me. But I guess his reaction may be part of the surety of youth. A lot of times youth sees in the world in terms of black and white and cannot forgive the gray. This can make for intolerance for anything that deviates.

A haunting read.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

59. Dracula by Bram Stoker. I listened to this as an audio book and I was extremely disappointed to discover after I got the book home that it was an abridged version. The narrator was great but the fact that I was getting a 400 plus page condensed into just three hours left me unhappy. So yes, I read it and yes I know all the salient points but it was like cheating with cliff notes the day before your exam and then getting into the exam and finding nuanced questions that the cliff notes could not prepare you for. I will now go buy the full book or an audio book version that is unabridged.

#207: I knew the In Death series would grow on you, lol. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

#208: As far as audio versions of books go, I prefer Recorded Books because they do not abridge (they have some abridgements in their catalog, but those are not books they have recorded). There is an audio version of Dracula available to rent for $19.50. The website is www.recordedbooks.com.

Trish - I read Into the Wild quite a long time ago, so I really cannot remember the details, but I think I wondered about the mental stability of the man. I wondered if he had some paranoid ideation - schizoid type. However, the reasons elude me now.

>197 TrishNYC:: I share a lot of your thoughts about Fallen! Took too long getting there, I was ready to throw the book across the room, but in the end I thought "man, I can't believe I have to wait a YEAR for the next one!". It certainly redeemed itself in the end, but taking 200 pages to get to the point of the novel was rather excessive. And the vagueness of the explanations for things was very frustrating, I thought at times it was so vague that it treated the reader poorly. Still, I'll read the next one. Sigh.

Hey Trish,

Thanks for the message on Dracula and the kind comments on my review. I can't imagine shortening the story up like you describe the Audio book doing.

I am horribly behind in my reading and it's just getting worse. I have about three or four books I need to read for reviews and I still have about four from the Halloween read I didn't get to.

LOL Alcot, yep you saw it coming.

Thanks for the site where I can rent Dracula. I think I just may do that as I feel so unsatisfied after having read the one I did.

Dk_phoenix, you had the exact same reaction I did. I kept thinking that if she and he did one more looky loo moment I am going to heave open my window and throw out this book. But I remember that this is NY and seeing as the mayor is on the police to fill their quotas for tickets, I may just get a ticket for such an action. I too will read the next one in the series. I want to know what happens.

Kiwi--I got the impression that the writer wanted us to walk away with an admiration for McCandless. It was almost like we should all hail him for his bravery in going for it. Okay I am all for wanderlust but exploration without rhyme or reason is hard for me to understand. Especially when you put your life in danger. And here is the part where his mental sanity comes in to play. But the author assures us that he was mentally sound. Maybe he had some kind of undiagnosed mental issue. I really have no idea.

Blackdog--I know the feeling. By this time last year I had long since reached and pasted 75. But such is life.

59. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. After trying to drag this out for a month since the next book is nowhere in sight, I finally finished it last night. It was amazing and I loved every second of it.

In Catching Fire, Katniss is back from the games with her co victor, Peeta. They settle into a new life of affluence but there is an air of unease all around. Katniss because of one gesture in the arena is hated by the President for what he sees as an act of defiance while she is held up as a symbol of rebellion by the revolutionaries. Katniss is not sure that she is willing or prepared to be such a symbol. But that choice is taken from her when she finds herself and Peeta once again thrust into the games. She vows to keep Peeta alive and will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

Suzanne Collins is a genius in my opinion as she is able to create such vivid and vibrant characters who you root for like they are your personal friends. You worry for them, are moved close to tears by their pain and sit at the edge of your seat unsure of their survival. There was very little slacking off from the previous book to this one. There were a few moments when things got a tad repetitive but for such a brilliant book all can be forgiven.

I almost want to urge people not to read this book right now but to wait till the final book comes out in 2010 so that they do not have to join me in this agonizing wait for the final book. What will happen? Will Katniss make it through this crazy world? Where is Peeta? Can real love bloom between these two? If yes what happens to Gale? Oh the agony.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

60. Spellbinder by Helen Stringer. Twelve year old Belladonna can see ghosts. Despite the fact that her parents were killed in an accident two years before, she still sees them everyday and her mother still prepares Belladonna's meals. But something strange is beginning to happen. Her parents suddenly disappear one day and her father's last words send her on a quest to figure out what is happening and see if she can bring them back. Unfortunately, none of the adults involved take her seriously and systematically shut her out of all deliberations. She is frustrated by this and with the help of her friend Steve and a one of the few remaining ghosts, Elsie, she discovers much about herself, her family and the fact that there exist other worlds outside of hers.

This tale was extremely engaging and I read with anticipation as I delved into this new world of wonder and magic. The language though extremely accessible to young teens is still very engaging for an adult. Though the book has elements of magic, this is not its central focus. Creatures of old populate this book. There are dragons, night hounds, ravens and there is even a wild pack of creatures straight out of hell. I doubt that this book is meant to conclude with just this book cause the end left many unanswered questions.

But as much as I enjoyed this book, it definitely had its problems. It was very slow at certain points and seemed to meander with pointless happenings. I began to lose focus because of this but luckily things began to get interesting again.

I think this would be an excellent read both for adults and teens.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

Hi Trish

Great reviews on your most recent reads!

Nope, not reading Catching Fire until book 3 is out! I will resist :)

Happy! Happy! Birthday to you!

Thanks dear friend. I did have a fun day.

61. Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. On July 24 1984, Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter Erica were slaughtered in their home by her brothers in law Dan and Ron Lafferty. Their reasoning and motivation for brutally killing their sister in law can be traced back to the brand of fundamentalist Mormonism that they practiced. In this book Jon Krakauer explores the ideologies that led these two men to seek out an extremist lifestyle that advocates plural marriage as one of its centerpieces. He traces the history of Mormonism from its founding in upstate New York to its eventual rise as America's most successful home grown religion.

Almost from its inception, Mormon worshipers faced many trials and conflicts first from the hostility of their host communities and from within their own ranks due to the political machinations of different power players. Its is from this dissension in the fold that fringe movements would spring, pulling away from the central Mormon movement. Chief amongst the issues at stake was the belief by some that the decision by their leaders to do away with plural marriage was in direct contravention of true Mormonism. Like all fundamentalists, these Mormon off shoots believe that their leaders have departed from the pure practice of the religion and see themselves as restorers of the faith. To achieve this end, many carry out any form of subjugation and violence that they feel furthers their cause including pedophilia, incest, under age marriages, rapes, etc, etc.

Ron and Dan would eventually come under the sway of one of these fundamentalist fringes. Their murder of Brenda stemmed from what they saw as her obstruction of their brother's (Allen) full involvement in their ideals. They harbored so much hatred towards her that they would not even think to spare her child.

This book was absolutely fascinating and the author's extensive research is evident. The history of a nascent religion is traced in almost painstaking detail and draws you in from start to finish. I really enjoyed this book and was riveted. But I was a bit bothered by some conclusions that the author derived. For example, he claims that Elizabeth Smart who was kidnapped, raped and enslaved for nine months by Brian David Mitchell (a fundamentalist Mormon) submitted easily to him because of her Mormon "indoctrination". He says that Mitchell was able to use the tenets that she had been raised on to manipulate her into submission. He uses Debbie Palmer(a woman who had endured unspeakable horrors as a member of a fundamentalist Mormon movement but had escaped) as one of the supporters for this idea. Palmer states " Mitchell would never have been able to have such power over a non Mormon girl" (47). I beg to differ. There are way too many stories that have occurred before and since Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping that in my opinion show that that idea is less than credible. There have been scores of young girls and boys of no religious persuasion who have found themselves under the sway of monsters who steal them from their homes, family and friends. These victims mentally and physically submit to their captors out of fear for their lives and the lives of their parents and other siblings. Was Patty Hearst a Mormon? Was Jaycee Duggard a Mormon? Was Shawn Hornbeck Mormon? When a sick person like Mitchell has a victim under his control he will use whatever he can to brain wash and manipulate them. Their religious persuasion or lack thereof is only of interest to a person like him in as much as he can use it to manipulate and control them. To make it seem as if Mormonism or religion makes it easier to subjugate victims is misleading. Also referring to people's religion as indoctrination makes me doubt a claim to being fair and impartial when you are writing about that group. I am not Mormon and have no interest in becoming one so my impressions are not borne out of my desire to protect something near and dear to me.

But despite my criticisms, I did enjoy this book and it makes for a very interesting read.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

62. Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Say you' re one of them is a compilation of short stories that tackles the ills facing Africa. Where this book differs from many other books is that it presents Africa from the perspective of children in different perilous circumstances from homelessness, prostitution, genocide, slavery etc. It is a powerful book that speaks to the state of childhood and the destruction of innocence.

The title of the book derives from the instructions given by a mother to her daughter just before the genocidal mob arrives at their house. The daughter is half Hutu(her father) and half Tutsi(her mother). As her mother tries to figure out how to escape, she wants her child protected from the mob and leaves this instruction in the hopes that that a Hutu affiliation will save them.

There is also the story of two siblings sent to live with an uncle as their parents die of AIDS. At first all is going well but suddenly their uncle seems to be flush with cash. He buys a new motorcycle and holds an elaborate party in his church to celebrate his new fortune. But this fortune comes at a price, one that the children will soon discover involves them.

There is also a story of child prostitution with one child sacrificing her body to provide money for her family and get an education for her brother. Another story documents the journey of a sixteen year old boy as he tries to flee northern Nigeria when his own people turn on him. He gets on a bus packed with mostly southerners who are themselves fleeing and hopes to join his southern family who he has never met. He tries to conceal his northern identity by remaining silent most of the time but once in a while finds himself on the verge of discovery. As he interacts and observes his fellow passengers, he realizes how lost he is in his own country. The product of an inter tribal marriage between a northerner and a southerner, he has spent most of his life in the north and has been a Muslim for most of his life. With the outbreak of religious and ethnic violence, he tries to flee the north in hopes of joining his southern family where he hopes he may be shielded from the violence.

The stories enclosed are all heart breaking. Genocide, poverty, war etc are all sad facts but when they are happening to children, they are even sadder. Many times as I read, I found myself getting annoyed at the actions taken by the main characters. But then I had to remind myself, they are children. They are acting as children ought and are naive as to certain evils in the world. They want to trust authority figures, they want to hang on to a kind face but what happens when the authorities betray you and the kind face hides a monster?

The book did tend to get long winded at times but I think that is because it is told from the perspective of children who many times will document everything both relevant and irrelevant. Also as I read, I noticed that there were a lot of African phrases, local patois and idioms thrown. I was left wondering how much a person who is unfamiliar with Africa, African speech and dialects will grasp the full meaning and importance of what is transpiring. Personally I believe that this may in fact hinder the full enjoyment of the book for someone without the aforementioned knowledge but I could be wrong.

I did enjoy this book.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Hi Trish - Say you're one of them is one of my top reads for the year. Powerful and heartbreaking because it's the children telling the story. The youth on the bus was a terrifying read - so much tension.

Sounds like a strong read but worth the effort.

Say You're One of Them was a very powerful read for me also. I agree with avatiakh about the youth on the bus - absolutely terrifying. And sadly these stories are all too common in Afrika.

ok, I will try Say You're One of Them again. It as soooo sad and I had to put it down.

I already have Say You're One of Them in the BlackHole, but I think I will put it off for a bit until I am at a point that I can handle it.

I bought Say You're One of Them after someone (sorry, forget who) recommended it here on LT, but haven't read it yet. I saw recently it's an Oprah's Book Club pick.

It is very strange but Say You're One of Them is one of those books that you can't really describe as enjoying because the subject material is so sad and haunting.

And you guys are so right, the story on the bus was really tense. The people's constantly shifting alliances was also very troubling.

It is very strange but Say You're One of Them is one of those books that you can't really describe as enjoying because the subject material is so sad and haunting.

And you guys are so right, the story on the bus was really tense. The people's constantly shifting alliances was also very troubling.

Re: Under the Banner of Heaven. I enjoyed the book as much as you did. As to Mitchell and Smart. I didn't read Krakauer's theory the same way you did exactly, though I can see that such a reading might be possible. I read him to say that Smart was particularly vunerable to Mitchell because of his knowledge and experience with the Mormon religion. You are absolutely rigth to point out other victims in support of your criticism. But let's take Hearst for a minute. She actually proves his point rather than stands against it. Her background and beliefs actually fit into some of the radical views of the SLA and they used it as a connection to better control her. I simply read Krakauer to be saying that Mitchell used what he had to target and then control someone whom he knew something about, in terms of her beliefs and upbrining, not that Mormon girls are uniquely vunerable or the Mormon religion breeds victims. This is quite common in victimology. Now, I got that because I know something about it already. That it wasn't clear to you makes it likely that he didn't explain himself very well. So, a good criticism.

>225 TrishNYC: The people's constantly shifting alliances was also very troubling

--Don't think you could have picked a set of words to sell this book to me better. Troubling, maybe - but this angle on human nature is endlessly astonishing. Thanks.

I think I'll add Under the Banner of heaven to my wishlist as it sounds like it will give me a good oversight of the religion. I've always been curious about how it all got started.

I just finished Spellbinder a few days ago and thought the same thing... good, but too slow in parts. It took me quite awhile to get through it, because I kept getting bored and leaving the book in random places in the house -- forgetting where it was -- and not wanting to put in the effort to find it again. There were too many pointless meanderings before it got around to the interesting stuff. While in the end it wasn't bad (the last 100 pages or so were the high point), I really don't see how the entire book will hold a child's attention!

Phoenix---Its interesting you said that cause I felt that way many times as I read and I just thought it was me. I ended up liking it but it sure took its times getting where it was going.

Okay I am just trying to round up my reading for 2009. I finished these books last year but was too busy to post the reviews for them. I will post some today and will try to post the rest but if I find myself getting to March and have still not written their reviews, then I will just post the titles and no reviews.

Alrighty here goes:

63. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. The best way of describing this book is short, sweet and cute. One day the Queen happens upon the mobile library on the grounds of Windsor and on a whim decides to borrow a book. This one decision unknown to everyone including the Queen will have far reaching consequences.

When she begins to read in earnest, many are alarmed including her some of her family, most of her staff and the prime minister. They all in one way or another try to quench this desire by all means necessary including sabotage, persuasion and coercion. But all their attempts fail and in fact one incidence of persuasion leads to a very surprising end to the book. Her personal secretary goes as far as saying that reading on the scale that she had embarked on it was not desirable as it was too solitary a task and one that may be seen as exclusionary.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was extremely entertaining. It was very funny and also made me feel sorry for the Queen because in many ways her life though certainly one of privilege must also be very lonely in its own way.

My Rating: 4 Stars.

64. Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Coraline has recently moved to a new apartment with her parents. Their apartment is one of four in a house that contains a kind older gentleman who lives upstairs and who is always talking about his mice and their soon to come show. Her other neighbors are the two older ladies who were once actresses and who have become somewhat eccentric. Coraline is lonely as her parents are very absentminded and sometimes treat her as a nuisance. But she has her neighbors and they are sweet and treat her well.

One day while exploring the apartment, she discovers a door way that opens unto a brick wall. Though this development proves to be unexciting, she on another visit discovers that the door rather than having the brick wall leads into a hallway. She follows the hallway and ends up in an apartment that looks exactly like hers with a few differences and most surprising of all is that the two adult inhabitants like exactly like her mother and father. In this version of her world, her parents are extremely attentive, cooking her delicious meals, allowing her lovely toys and a more beautiful room the one in her world. But Coraline is an unusually perceptive girl and though she is at first impressed with this new life, she wants to go home. Her look alike parents, "the other mother" and "the other father", try to bribe her with promises of all the good things that will be hers, but Coraline insists that she wants to return home. When she refuses all overtures her other mother somehow manages to kidnap Coraline's real parents. When Coraline returns home, she searches all over for her parents but they are nowhere to be found. She then realize what her other mother has done and she vows to rescue her parents.

I listened to this as an audio book and Neil Gaiman does the narration. Gaiman is a very good reader and I was immediately engaged. The story was quite creepy and there were moments where I was not sure how it would pan out for Coraline. Coraline may be a child but she was a very intelligent one who was not swayed by nice things realizing that though her parents were absentminded and sometimes careless of her feelings, they genuinely loved her. She rejects the offer of having whatever she wants and she tells her other mother that life is not supposed to be all about getting whatever you want because when you are denied something sometimes its for your own good. I really, really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by Gaiman.

I am not sure how appropriate this would be for a very young child as it may frighten them unduly. I think it is probably best for the 12 and above crowd.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

65. April In Paris by Michael Wallner. Corporal Roth is a German soldier stationed in France. His primary responsibility is the translation of interrogation sessions of any French citizens believed to be conspirators against the Germans. He carries out his job without much thought to what is asked of him but he longs to return to his former posting which was less gory. In the meantime, he sneaks out of his hotel almost every day and dresses as an every day French man and mingles with the local population(which is against the law). While on these illegal excursions, he meets and falls in love with the local book keeper's daughter, Chantal. He soon discovers that she is a revolutionary and he gets implicated in a bombing that she and her compatriots organized. Unfortunately, his secret is discovered after this incident and he becomes a resident in the prison where he had once translated others cries.

This first part of this book was amazing and I read with real enjoyment. The descriptions of Paris under occupation were absolutely fascinating and gave a sense of what life may have been like for an occupied population. Corporal Roth was a very sympathetic character whose decisions and well being were of major concern to me. But something seemed to have happened somewhere along the way and the book got dull and predictable. The love story was not at all compelling and there was nothing that transpired between Roth and Chantal that made me understand Roth's undying love for Chantal. Chantal seemed to vacillate between what looked like indifference to acquiescence. What was so special about Chantal, a woman he barely knew, that would lead Roth to risk his own safety to save hers. By the end, I was left disappointed. A book that started off so well ended up feeling like its potential was never realized. None of the characters were developed beyond paltry descriptions and I was left in the dark as to who they were and why they behaved as they did. I did not hate the book but I was definitely not in love and its not a book that I would ever pick up again.

My Rating: 3 Stars

66. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I picked this book up because of the Hayao Miyazaki anime film. Having loved the film, I expected to like the book as much or even more. But for some strange reason, that was not the case. While I certainly did like the book, it did not live up to my expectations.

Sophie the oldest daughter of a family of three girls does not expect her life to amount to much. She believes that while her sisters are supposed to go off and seek fame and fortune, she must remain home and tend the family hearth. She is an excellent hat maker and her work is admired far and wide. But one day while on an errand, she meets the wizard Howl. Howl does not have a very good reputation amongst the town folks especially the women as he is believed to steal young girls' souls. Sophie rebuffs his gestures of friendliness and refuses to engage in much conversation with him. And though she puts this encounter out of her mind, she soon finds that Howl will become an important part of her life.

One day close to closing time, a lady comes into the shop and without much provocation casts a spell on Sophie that turns her into an old lady. This woman is an enemy of Howl's and the wicked witch of the Waste. Oddly enough, this sudden descent into old age makes Sophie feel less restrained than she has ever felt in her entire life. She closes up the shop and decides that she will not be returning there but will wander the land. On this journey she meets Howl's wandering castle and takes up residence there.

This story is a sweet and interesting fairy tale that takes you on a journey. It creates so many colorful pictures in your head as you read and you want to be transplanted there so you can be a participant. Sophie as an old woman leaves most of her self pitying behind and embraces life with a gusto limited only by her arthritic limbs. Howl turns out to be a hilarious character whose sulks could sink a ship. His assistant Michael and the fireplace demon Calcifer round up the group and are themselves interesting characters.

But as interesting as I found the book, there were parts of it that I feel did not work as well. For one thing, there seemed to be many convoluted side turns that the story took into the like life of Howl that just overwhelmed the story while not adding as much to the story as the author probably intended. The story also felt very chaotic at times and I did not really enjoy those parts at all.

But all in all, I did enjoy it and will definitely read more by Wynne Jones.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars.

More to come...

Trish, you are reading at an incredible rate!

I felt the same way about Howl's Moving Castle.
I tried to read Say You're One of Them, but it was just too overwhelmingly sad.

Trish, I enjoyed your meaty reviews of books I probably won't read even though you made them sound good. I did just finish An Uncommon Reader and agree it's cute and sweet--but maybe a little bit subversive too? I want to talk to someone from England (Julie?) to hear what they think?