Adam & Eve: A Novel

First, I would like to thank William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers for sending me this uncorrected proof. In return, I am providing an unpaid review of the book containing my personal opinions of Naslund's newest novel Adam and Eve. In her two previous novels, Ahab's Wife and Abundance, the author brought a fictional character to life - Ahab's wife (from Moby Dick) and took a real life character - Marie Antionette, into a fictional world. In her latest novel, Naslund wraps her characters around ancient religious symbols and texts - moving from Amsterdam, to Eden (somewhere in the Middle East), to France.


Lucy Bergmann was in Amsterdam when her husband was killed. Shortly before his death Thom, an astrophysicist, had given Lucy his flash drive with the quip that it was the keys to the kingdom. And the kingdom included extraterrestrial life! He could prove it. At this point, I was thinking, oh brother ~ another one of these stories ~ but I persevered! And I loved this book.

The book bounces back and forth in time, but is easy to follow. We meet people who are to help Lucy, like Adam who finds himself adrift from a war he never believed in - adrift in Eden. Alone until Lucy ~ his Eve ~ crashes a plane nearby. Together they look for a case Lucy was carrying ~ holding ancient biblical texts. Lucy and Adam are not the only people searching for them and the two find themselves in the center of a battle between the three main ancient religions.

I was glued to this book from beginning to end. I had to hear what the ancient texts said, I had to follow Adam and Lucy in Eden, I had to know who the bad guys were, and was there a happily ever after? I hope that you will grab this book and spend some time with it. I plan to read it again as soon as I can and check out the author's previous two books as well.

TITLE: Adam & Eve: A Novel
AUTHOR: Sena Jeter Naslund
COPYRIGHT: September 2010
PAGES: 335
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I found this to be a beautiful book that provoked joy and deep thinking about our place in the universe. A perfect blend of mystery, faith, and beauty.

Room

Jack is only five years old.
He lives with his MA in ROOM.
Everything outside the ROOM is pretend.
ROOM is all Jack has ever known.

But one day MA tells Jack that
There is another life outside of ROOM.
MA has lied to him.
But can they leave ROOM?

If they do leave ROOM
How will they live?
Will Old Nick find them,
And take them back to ROOM?

Will MA's family care
Care that they have been in ROOM
Such a long time
Only to finally reappear?

Can Jack and MA escape from Old Nick?
Will the love between MA and Jack sustain them
Outside the ROOM?


Thanks to Little Brown and Company, I had the privilege to read this fascinating book. Five year old Jack is the narrator and author Emma Donoghue has done a magnificent job in giving Jack just the right voice for his age and experiences. One would think this book, limited in range to one small room and two people, would be flat and boring. Instead Ma and Jack's story is a testament to love and ingenuity. With very little to assist her in her efforts, Ma provides Jack with as many "normal" childhood experiences as she can, using what she has, and providing loving care for her son. Still she knows things have to change. And they do! Ma thinks of a way that she and Jack can fool Old Nick and escape Room. Will they succeed and will they find greater happiness? You will have to read the book to find out!

TITLE: Room: A Novel
AUTHOR: Emma Donoghue
COPYRIGHT: September 2010
PAGES: 321
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I loved this book, as a reader, as a mother and as a child. Fantastic novel!

If my recommendation is not enough, Room is on the Man Booker Prize short list! If you have read this one, let me know how you felt about it!

Growth of the Soil

Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun and translated by W. W. Worster is an excellent and thoughtful book I read for the Scandinavian Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by The Black Sheep Dances. If you would like to participate, visit her blog.

First a bit about the author. Knut Hamsun (1859-1952) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920 for this book. The review on the Nobel Prize website made sense to me -





Hamsun's work is determined by a deep aversion to civilization and the belief that man's only fulfilment lies with the soil. This primitivism (and its concomitant distrust of all things modern) found its fullest expression in Hamsun's masterpiece Markens Grøde (1917) [Growth of the Soil].

Which leads me to my review of the book. First, I should explain that it has always been a standard silliness at my house that my goal in life is to be a Slovak peasant (and I say that with a sincerity that might be difficult for some to believe or understand, but I think of it as a simple life unencumbered by the rush of daily life here). There would be hard work to be sure, but also a sense of accomplishment in living by one's own hands. So, you can only imagine my delight with this novel.

In the beginning, Isak starts out in the wilderness seeking a place to build a home and till the soil. He is alone and seeks a wife to help him. After some time, Inger comes to him and agrees to be his wife. She was born with a harelip and could not have hoped for a better situation. The two live a long way from a town and together they make improvements to the land and have children. But life is hard in Norway at the turn of the century, especially in the wilderness when a man and woman must work very hard. And things can change very quickly. Things change dramatically when Inger gives birth to a daughter who has a harelip and Inger kills her. She goes to jail leaving Isak and his younger son to take care of the land. The older son has gone to town and is too sophisticated to come back to the farm. While she is gone Inger has surgery to repair her harelip and she returns a little different causing even more disconcerting scenes on the farm. There are other characters who come in and out of the story, but this is Isak and Inger's story of building a life on the frontier in Norway in the early 1900s. I absolutely fell in love with this family.

Just as an aside, there was a small focus on women's issues in this book. Did a woman have to give birth to a baby just because a man got her pregnant? Should the woman be punished if she killed an unwanted, or even disfigured, newborn? How was the man punished?

I find it interesting that it is possible to read this novel online. Click here for the book and an essay by Worster.

TITLE: Growth of the Soil
AUTHOR: Knut Hamsun
TRANSLATOR: W. W. Worster
COPYRIGHT: 2006 (English translation), original 1917
PAGES: 435
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: This was a phenomenal story of a family and the people they knew in the wilderness of Norway. I really enjoyed getting to know and understand the people who worked hard to bring a home into the wilderness and deal with civilization as it came nearer to them.
AWARDS: Nobel Prize for Literature (1920)

What I Loved

For me, the mark of a great book is one that, while I am reading it, I say to myself "This is the best book I have ever read." Now granted I am prone to saying that with some frequency, but for me, What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt was just such a book. I loved every part of it - the mundane, the excitement, the familiar, the unknown, the art, the critic, the loneliness, the camraderie. This book has everything and then some. The focus is clear as we have a single narrator who leads us through his twenty-five year friendships in New York's art world. Before I delve any further into the plot, let me tell you a bit about the author.

Although Siri Hustvedt was born in Minnesota, her early life was steeped in Norwegian culture. Her mother had moved from Norway the year before she was born and her father was third generation Norwegian American. Siri's first language was Norwegian and she had her first visit to Norway at the age of five. Her father was recognized for his work with the Norwegian American society and taught the language and literature at a local college. Siri spent her last year of high school in Norway and graduated there. Her novels have been translated in twenty-nine languages. Visit her website for more information about her other works.

Now on to my review of What I Loved. The sole narrator of the novel is Leo Hertzberg who is a middle-aged art historian who teaches at a New York college. Through his memories we meet the other major characters. Because we come to know them through Leo, the novel is character driven with our opinions spinning out from Leo's encounters. Initially we meet Leo's wife Erica who is a writer. Leo's life changes when he purchases a painting by Bill Weschler. Leo befriends the artist, Bill's first wife Lucille, and his second wife Violet - the woman in the art Leo purchased. The two families bond and the novel recounts their intertwined lives for twenty-five years. With Leo, we struggle with what is real and what is really only remembered - altered for psychological reasons unknown even to ourselves. We witness joys and sorrows, loves and betrayals.

My favorite parts of the book however were the descriptions of Bill's art work, especially as they came from an art historian and critic (and beloved friend). Further, Bill's work was influenced heavily by Violet's research - first on hysteria in women in past centuries and second on eating disorders of both men and women. One art exhibit was a series of doors which actually opened into variously sized rooms containing multi-media art scences. One scene showed Holocaust victims starving to death. The descriptions were fascinating and needed to be read slowly to take in all they had to offer.

As you see, this novel provides the reader with multiple levels of scrutiny. There is the physical, the art, the psychological, and even the meta-physical. I plan to read the novel again and again. My favorite passage is near the end of the book:

Every story we tell about ourselves can only be told in the past tense. It winds backward from where we now stand, no longer the actors in the story but its spectators who have chosen to speak. (p. 364)

TITLE: What I Loved
AUTHOR: Siri Hustvedt
COPYRIGHT: 2003
PAGES: 367
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: This was a deep and expansive novel. The stories and remembrances will remain with me for some time and I will return to Leo's story again and again.
AWARDS: New York Times Notable Books of the Year (WON AWARD) 2003
Galaxy British Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2004
Orange Prize for Fiction (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2003

Dragon Tattoo and Played with Fire

I read this book, the first in a trilogy by deceased author Stieg Larsson, and while the opinions were varied at the book club meeting, I loved this page-turning adventure. Many did not like the violence, but I felt it served a purpose in exposing violence against women. And at times, it was personally satisfying - when you read it, you will understand - let's just say someone had it coming!

In particular, I fell in love with computer hacker, bad girl, Lisabeth Salander ,who is one of two main characters. She is unique and has a nasty past as a ward of the state. She is on her own now and teams up with Mikael Blomkvist, a financial journalist who has been sued for slander. Together they solve a decades old murder mystery under extreme conditions. Blomkvist brings out the best in Salander, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

There are other supporting characters who are equally intriguing. When I finished the book, I could not wait to read the second book in the trilogy.

TITLE: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
AUTHOR: Stieg Larsson
TRANSLATOR: Reg Keeland
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 608
TYPE: Scandinavian ficton, crime
RECOMMEND: I loved it.

Althought this second book had a different feel to it, Ther Girl who Played with Fire, was excellent in its own way. What I liked the best was slowly learning more about Lisbeth Salander. She has been hiding out and spending her secret stash of money for two years since she worked with Blomkvist. But three murders finds her before Blomkvist and she is implicated.

While the first book in the Millenium Trilogy focused on the abuse of women, this book seems to take an indepth look at the sex trade and how women are caught up in this nightmare. Perhaps Salander has too much information. I know that I could not stop reading until the duo figured it out. Sadly, the end of the book finds Salander almost dead with Blomkvist hoping he found her soon enough to save her. I cannot wait until I can run out and get the final book.

TITLE: The Girl who Played with Fire
AUTHOR: Stieg Larsson
TRANSLATOR: Reg Keeland
COPYRIGHT: 2010
PAGES: 630
TYPE: Scandinavian fiction
RECOMMENDATION: I loved it too!

Out Stealing Horses

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson is the first book I read for the Scandinavian Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by The Black Sheep Dances. If you would like to participate, visit her blog. I would recommend this book as a wonderful place to start your exploration of Scandinavian literature and, while they cannot count for the challenge because I had read them earlier, here are two other books that I really loved that meet the criteria: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Astrid and Veronika. I enjoyed all three books and am anxious to find my next Scandinavian book to read. If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment.


Now on to my review of Out Stealing Horses. When I was a teen, I loved Henry David Thoreau's Walden and this book reminded me of how Walden made me think and feel about nature. Even if the story told by Petterson had not been engaging, I would have read on to try to capture that feeling of being one with nature.

The novel begins with Trond Sander, our near seventy year old narrator, working on a cabin in the woods in Norway. He is retired and his wife has died so he chose to leave his life behind and move to a cabin where his nearest neighbor, Lars, brings back memories of his youth with his father. Together Trond and his father visited this same area in the 1940s where they worked with locals to fell trees and float them to a sawmill. The story bounces back and forth between these times and over the course of the novel, the reader is drawn into both.

In the present time, Trond hoped to escape his own life to dwell in peace in the woods and depending only on himself. In the past, the reader learns with Trond that his father is part of a resistance movement smuggling Jews from Norway to Sweden. There are other secrets which I will not share - you will need to read the book to learn them.

In the end, Trond finds forgiveness within himself and welcomes the companionship of his daughter but continues to live in solitude, no longer feeling such pangs of lonliness. I loved every minute of this book.

TITLE: Out Stealing Horses
AUTHOR: Per Petterson
TRANSLATOR: Anne Born
COPYRIGHT: 2005 (English translation)
PAGES: 238
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I loved this book mostly because it reminded me that solitude is not lonely, rather it can be silence for the soul.
AWARDS: British Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (2006), International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2007)

An Unfinished Score

Let me begin this review with thanks to Unbridled Books for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell is the first thing I have ever read that made me wish I had paid closer attention in freshman Music Class! Even so my lack of musical memory did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of this lyrically written and multi-layered novel.

The novel begins as viola player, Suzanne, learns that her lover, music conductor Alex, has died. The drama begins early as Suzanne hears this news over the radio while preparing dinner for her husband Ben and her best friend Petra. Although the adults in her life seem not to notice immediately that something is wrong with her, Petra's daughter Adele who was deaf from birth and loves Suzanne as she loves her mother is more attuned to the nuances of unspoken emotion. Except for Adele, music is what binds this group of people who share a home. As she moves through her grief, Suzanne remembers other losses which led her to Alex and away from her husband and friend.

For Suzanne, the loss of her lover Alex is at the core of who she will be. Even more so when Alex's widow blackmails her to complete a score Alex had begun before his death. The reader reminisces with Suzanne as she remembers her affair with Alex. We also struggle with her as she attempts to complete a score which makes little sense to her, causing her to question what she knew about her lover.

Had I not cared about the characters in the book, I would still have continued reading to experience the emotion of music that is expressed on nearly every page. Not capable of playing an instrument myself, I was mesmerized by the feelings of the composer, player, and listener.

Ultimately to me this is a novel of opposites and how they come together - the past and the future, the composer and the performer, the meaning and the interpretation. The reader is asked to consider these things as the novel comes to a startling conclusion. If I have time this summer, I plan to read the book again with my computer and headphones so I can stop and lister to each composition which is lovingly mentioned by Suzanne, Alex, Ben, Petra, and a wonderful group of supporting characters!

TITLE: An Unfinished Score
AUTHOR: Elise Blackwell
COPYRIGHT: 2009, April 2010
PAGES: 272
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: Music lovers in particular will enjoy this novel, but even without such knowledge it is an enjoyable and quick read

38. Letter to My Daughter

Thank you to Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review the Advance Reader's Edition of Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop. I read this book in just one reading and found myself transported to my own teen years. The scenarios painted by Mr. Bishop were amazingly on target and interestingly intuitive as this was a female story from start to finish.

The book is one very long letter from a distraught mother to her fifteen year old daughter. The two had a fight which ended with the mother slapping the daughter and the daughter leaving the house without telling her parents where she was going or when she was coming back. Haven't we all been there on one level or another? The mother then waits for her daughter to come home and writes her a letter telling her about her own adolescence.

The letter takes the reader back to the late 1960s and the VietNam war. And the angst of being in love for the first time. Beyond the basic story, the author leads the reader to think about the war and the effects on young men who were there. In addition, I thought about the legacy we leave our children, in spite of our best efforts not to repeat mistakes of our parents.

This was a very short book, but I tore through it - needing to hear the entire history of the mother as well as the fate of the daughter. This is a fascinating debut novel and I look forward to more from Mr. Bishop.

TITLE: Letter to My Daughter
AUTHOR: George Bishop
COPYRIGHT: 2010
PAGES: 126
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I am very happy to have read this work and would recommend it to my friends.

33, 34 & 35: Harry Potter 5, 6, 7

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was a very interesting book which served to set the tone for the last two books in many ways. After the Tri-Wizard Tournament in the previous book, Harry alerted Dumbledore the Lord Voldemort had returned. Many of the wizards do not not want to believe this and in fact there is a reason why - many of them support Lord Voldemort in his efforts. In an attempt to thwart Voldemort's plans, Dumbledore reassembles the Order of the Phoenix - a group sworn to protect Harry. But Hogwarts itself is under seige - Dolores Umbridge has been appointed in Dumbledore's place to run the school. She will not allow the children to learn about the dark arts, so Harry begins to teach them himself. And thank goodness, the skills of each pupil will be needed in the end, when the world finally believes that the Dark Lord has returned.

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
COPYRIGHT: 2004
PAGES: 846
TYPE: fiction, Children's literature
RECOMMEND: I enjoyed this book.


In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore leads Harry through memories of the past in which Harry learns who Voldemort really is and perhaps even why he is the way he is. This understanding is necessary as Voldemort and his Death Eaters and dementors are terrorizing muggles and wizards alike. Throw a little boy-girl tension into the mix, and you have a very lively book. A bit darker than previous books, almost as many questions are posed as are answered. Friendships and betrayals rule the day. And as all the world must have known, someone important dies at the end of the book.

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
COPYRIGHT: 2006
PAGES: 672
TYPE: fiction, Children's literature
RECOMMEND: I loved it.

The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an exciting yet rather sad book. Almost every question is answered in a most satisfactory manner. The three friends - Harry, Ron, and Hermione - set off to find all the pieces of Voldemort. The three must solve mysteries, fight for their lives, and still find time to love one another and others who are important to their future lives. Does goodness triumph over evil?

I have heard that the last book will become two separate movies. I can completely see that since so much happens in the book. I cannot wait to see the final film installments.

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
COPYRIGHT: 2007
PAGES: 759
TYPE: fiction, Children's literature
RECOMMEND: I loved it.

27. Songs for the Butcher's Daughter

Songs for the Butcher's Daughter by Peter Manseau was mesmerizingly wonderful. I am so thankful to other bloggers who reviewed it which encouraged me to pick it up. The story is told in two voices and two time periods. It is a story of love and loss, beauty and truth, and faith. It is an old man's memoirs and a young man's thoughts and dreams. The voices and stories are alternated between an old Jewish man, Itsik Malpesh, who has written his life story via the Yiddish alphabet and a young Catholic man who, through translator's notes written as he translates Malpesh's story from Yiddish to English, interjects his own story and problems.

Malpesh's story begins in 1903 in Bessarabia, follows him through the two world wars, and to Baltimore where the collaboration begins between the two men. The younger man is a college graduate with a degree in religions and languages. He has recently learned to read Yiddish and comes to meet with Malpesh. This is the great coincidence of the book and holds the wonder of both men's stories.

The writing in this novel is excellent and I was delighted with the format. Because Malpesh described himself first as a poet, writing love poems for a woman he never really knew, the writing in the novel includes many of his songs for the butcher's daughter, who was present at his birth. The author includes Jewish culture from the "old country" as well as descriptions of the immigrant experience. Additionally, the lives of both men shelter some wonderfully interesting characters which Manseau presents to us in a fullness that brings both worlds into sharp focus.

While I found myself loving both men, I was drawn to the younger man in this novel. Like him, I am Catholic. Also like him, I am drawn to Judaism - the history, the culture, the beliefs, by an unknown force. The translator's life was in some way changed by his interaction with a faith not his own, and I believe that mine is as well. I loved this novel. The focus on languages and hope uplifted me even in the face of sadness.

This is author Peter Manseau's first novel. You can listen to an interview with the author at NPR. Songs for the Butcher's Daughter was the winner of the National Jewish Book Award for fiction and the Sophie Brody Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish Literature. The novel was shortlisted for the Mercantile Library First Novel Prize and was recognized as one of ABC Australia's Best International Books of the Year. You can visit the author's website as well.

TITLE: Songs for the Butcher's Daughter

AUTHOR: Peter Manseau

COPYRIGHT: 2008

PAGES: 370

TYPE: fiction

RECOMMEND: Best book I have read in some time! Please do give this book a chance.

24. Oh!: A mystery of 'mono no aware'

Oh!: A mystery of 'mono no aware' by Todd Shimoda, and beautifully illustrated by Todd’s wife, is a phenomenal experience. The copy I received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program was the final production copy. When I held the package in my hands, I wondered why in the world the package was so heavy. Even its arrival created a mystery! I opened the package and held one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure of seeing – and I work in a library. The cover design is a delight and the pages inside are silky like a fine art book. The chapter dividers are textured to match the beautiful artwork which adds to the story. I could not wait to see how the internal story would hold up to the external package.
I was not disappointed in any way. Shimoda’s story follows Japanese American Zach Hara, a young man who leaves his mundane job and part-time girlfriend in the United States to travel to Japan, hoping to find any emotion within himself. Zack seeks his ancestral past and in the process begins to teach English in a town close to the Aokigahara Forest, which my husband immediately recognized as the place where many people have gone to commit group suicide. Zach’s world becomes wrapped up in one of his students – an elderly gentleman who attempts to help Zach find emotive feelings by focusing on the theory of mono no aware - which might be loosely translated as the sadness of beautiful things. Turning page after beautiful page, the reader is treated to poetry written by Zach, again enhancing the story. Zach becomes immersed in the mystery of his grandfather’s life, the mystery of the disappearance of a young girl, and the mystery of why people commit suicide in groups. Ultimately I think he feels deeply. The writing is exquisite and the last page is as much a joy as the first. I could not put this book down and when I was done I was certain that I understood 'mono no aware'.

The author discusses the evolution of the book on his blog. He also shares how the artwork for the book was chosen. My favorite quote I have seen about this book is from NPR: Oh! was selected for National Public Radio's summer reading list. NPR reviewer Lucia Silva called it "a triumphant kick in the pants for anyone who doubts the future of paper-and-ink books." I could not agree more – this was a phenomenal experience and at the end all I could say was OH! And three weeks later, I am still thinking about it and can’t wait until my friend finishes it and we can talk about it and find our own emotions play all over the pages. Exceptional read!

TITLE: Oh!: A mystery of 'mono no aware'
AUTHOR: Todd Shimoda (beautifully illustrated by Linda Shimoda)
COPYRIGHT: June 1, 2009
PAGES: 310
TYPE: fiction, self-discovery of emotion within
RECOMMEND: Another even more stunningly beautiful book that I cannot forget.

Blessings,
Libraryscat

20 & 21. Harry Potter 3 and 4

I absolutely loved Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Had there been any hesitancy in reading the rest of the seven book series, this book swept that away with ease. Harry's summer vacations from Hogwarts are never fun, but this summer had been particularly miserable until finally Harry snapped. Thinking he would be in big trouble, Harry is delighted when he finds himself in a small inn free from his Aunt and Uncle. But things are not what they seem and Harry learns that a dangerous prisoner has escaped from Azkaban and seems to be after Harry. In finding Sirius Black and solving the mystery from years before, Harry learns about his parents when they were his age and understands what it means to have family. A wonderful book.




TITLE: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
COPYRIGHT: 2004
PAGES: 560
TYPE: fiction, Children's literature
RECOMMEND: I loved it. My favorite so far.


The only way to describe Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is exciting. From the Quidditch World Cup to the Triwizard Tournament, the book is fast paced and funny and frightening and wonderful. Harry and Ron suddenly see the girls as more than fellow students, but as many young teens, the two are not quite sure how to approach girls even with Hermione's help. We are introduced to many different characters in this book as students come to Hogwarts for the Tournament. Harry is challenged in the tournament with his ultimate challenge being Lord Voldemort. Thankfully Harry is prepared and meets the challenge.

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
COPYRIGHT: 2002
PAGES: 752
TYPE: fiction, Children's literature
RECOMMEND: I loved it.

17. Hatchet

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, was a 1988 Newbery Honor Book and after reading the book, I agree that it should have been selected for this honor. Reading the book reminded me of Jean Craighead George’s works which are also wonderful. Hatchet is a at its core a book about ingenuity and survival.

Thirteen year old Brian Robeson knew the secret of why his parents were getting a divorce. While he was not happy about the secret or the divorce, he was going to spend some time with his father in Canada. Unfortunately, the small place crashes and Brian must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. He has only one tool – a hatchet his mother gave him before his flight. The remainder of the story is filled with natural beauty and observations by a young man who learns to live with nature to save his own life.

TITLE: Hatchet
AUTHOR: Gary Paulsen
COPYRIGHT: 1987
PAGES: 222
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: This book was very interesting and would be of interest to young boys who might not enjoy reading – this has a bit of adventure.

16. The Graveyard Book

English author Neil Gaiman is already well known for his graphic novel series The Sandman, which has outsold comic book favorites such as Batman and Superman. Gaiman’s newest novel, The Graveyard Book, is the 2009 Newbery Award winner. Targeting the younger young adult market (grades 5-8 perhaps), Gaiman tells the story of Bod. No“Bod”y escaped from a murderer when he was just a toddler and found himself under the care of a diverse group of ghosts in a nearby cemetery. Unfortunately, the murderer who killed Bod’s family is still looking for him! And growing up in a graveyard has its own set of challenges.


Over the course of the book, Bod grows up and has many adventures with the outlandish inhabitants of the graveyard. He studies just like other children, with help from historians and language teachers, among others. Bod even ventures out into the world where he finds that a little bit of magic goes a long way. In the end, Bod is alive and must go live with the living, leaving behind all of his deceased friends, but holding on to the memories.

TITLE: The Graveyard Book
AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 307
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I enjoyed this book which had just the right amount of fantasy and glee.

10. firefly lane

First, thank you to St. Martin’s Griffen for the opportunity to read and review this coming-of-age novel by bestselling author Kristin Hannah. This book took me back to my youth, reminded me what friends are for, and left me wondering what would be left of me when I am gone. If you are a baby boomer, the references to the music alone will transport you back to the 70s, unleash the dance within you in the 80s, and the woman you wanted to be in the 90s. Then a time to examine every moment in the millennium will make you hope you can remember each moment.

From the eighth grade on, Kate’s life changed. She was a social nobody before hip and aloof Tully moved in across the street. By some miracle, Tully wanted to be her friend. Tullyandkate dream their dreams (mostly Tully’s) and live their lives (Tully in the public eye and Katie quietly supportive and in the shadows). This play on differences, as well as strengths and weaknesses, provides much of the structure of the novel. The young girls come together and move apart. They love the same man. They swear to have no secrets, and then betrayal breaks them apart. Love brings them back together.

I really enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. Interesting to think of this book in terms of Astrid & Veronika, which was also about friendship. Firefly lane took me to a place where I lived and made me think about friends I have known for many years. Astrid & Veronika took me to a place I have never been and friends I hope I meet. What a joy to be a woman!

TITLE: firefly lane: A Novel
AUTHOR: Kristin Hannah
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 479
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: great book.

2. Astrid & Veronika

The only thing more inviting than the cover of this rather short novel is the story itself. Linda Olsson's first novel Astrid & Veronika is beautifully written and the two women come to full life as their stories unfold slowly over the course of four seasons.

This is a story about home; two homes really. Veronika comes to live in one home running from her life. Astrid has always lived in the other home to avoid life. In spite of the fifty years between their ages, the two women come to be just what the other needed. Olsson paints a picture of the two houses, the two women, and the beauty that surrounds them in darkness and light. To add to the wonder of this novel, the author includes translated verses of poems (with references should one wish to read more) throughout.

I read this book in two short bursts and was often surprised at the outcomes when I thought I knew what was coming. We learn about the women in two voices - Veronika's and Astrid's. Often sad and often uplifting, I could not put this book down and cannot wait to read it again.

One passage led me to think about blogging in our often lonely busy electronic world. Astrid said:

I think that if we can find the words, and if we can find someone to tell them to, then perhaps we can see things differently. (p. 153)

I can think of many instances in my life when it was very difficult to find the words to describe an event of great joy or great sorrow. But in considering the event enough to find the right words and sharing them with a friend, the event takes on a new, and perhaps more clear, meaning. Even committing events or feelings to our blogs, we define how we felt and even why. I wish that I could find all of the right words to talk about how this book made me feel. It reminded me of who we are, how we relate to nature, how secrets must be shared, what it feels like to come home.

Olsson's next novel Sonata for Miriam is released this month - I should run to the bookstore to see if I can find it. Her writing is beautiful and will surely get even better.

TITLE: Astrid & Veronika
AUTHOR: Linda Olsson
COPYRIGHT: 2007
PAGES: 247
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: Absolutely

LibrarysCat

46. Sarah's Key

First, thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the Advance Reader’s Edition of Tatiana de Rosnay's first novel written in her native language of English. This accomplished international writer chose a little known historical event as the basis for her novel, Sarah's Key. This was the Velodrome d’Hiver (more commonly known as Vel de Viv) roundup of Jews in occupied Paris on July 16, 1942. While I have spent years studying the Holocaust especially as it affected Eastern European Jews, I had never learned about the roundups in France. I am glad that I loved the book, but I would have been happy to have learned something new about the Holocaust even if I had not been driven to complete the book.

The story begins with young Sarah in her family’s apartment being rounded up by French policemen. Her mother is calling for her to hurry as the policemen were getting impatient. Sarah looks to bring her brother with them and decides instead to lock him in a secret closet in their bedroom. She plans to release him when she returns. Of course, like many who did not want to believe, Sarah thought she would be back home very soon. Her story of survival is emotional and the reader feels her pain as the story unfolds slowly through the length of the novel.

In alternating chapters, we are brought to the current age and introduced to Julia who is an American journalist married to a Frenchman. She is assigned to write a story on the 40th anniversary of the Vel de Viv. She discovers that her life and Sarah’s are intertwined. In the process of unraveling the mysteries of the past, Julia learns about strength and courage; pain and comfort.

In the end the author brings the idea of remembrance into the spotlight. This fits in nicely with my own philosophy. We must find ways to help people to remember or understand what happened during the Holocaust of World War II. Perhaps it will help us to understand the Holocausts we are ignoring in today’s world.

I found the writing to be very emotive and sound. While the following quotes may or may not appear in the final publication, here are two of my favorite lines:

Think of the things you love, of the things that make you happy. (p. 39, ARE)
Her mother had become like a child. (p. 71, ARE)

I enjoyed the alternating chapters and felt the story lines were neatly arranged. Perhaps the story is improbable, but the history behind the story is based in reality. Doing some research myself, I found Occupied France: Commemorating the Deportation which is a picture and text tutorial with more details about the Vel de Viv. Thank you again to Tatiana de Rosnay and St. Martin’s Press. This is a book I will loan to others and ask for it back so I can read it again.

TITLE: Sarah’s Key
AUTHOR: Tatiana de Rosnay
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 293
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I could not put this book down.

LibrarysCat

40. The Condition

I fell in love with this quirky New England family. The author took me to the home of any family, with all of the faults, limitations, love, expectations, disappointments and discontent found within the human condition. While the story centers on the family struggle with Paulette, who has Turner's Disease - a condition which causes a halt to normal physical maturity, each of the family members struggles with their own "conditions" which range from sexual choices, drugs, ADHD, fearfulness, and distrust. As the family gathers for one last time in their previously owned cottage on the shore, I found myself cheering for all of them - please take the time to explore and embrace your own conditions - accept one another. I was quite sad when I turned the last page and it was over.

One of my favortie passages ends like this:
That like a grave illness, adulthood had befallen all three of them. That fortuitously or not, their courses in life had been set, the only lives they were going to get. p. 312-313

This reminds me of what I always tell my four grown children: To be happy in this life, find something you love to do and then do it! It took me forty years to find something I loved to do and I am grateful to come to work every single day!

TITLE: The Condition
AUTHOR: Jennifer Haigh
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 320
TYPE: fiction,
RECOMMEND: I really loved this book.

LibrarysCat

39. All About Lulu

I read a review that said this title was misnamed because the book is really all about Will. In reality the book is all about Will's obsession with Lulu. With a delightful and diverse cast of characters, this is a book to fall in love with - from the beginning where we find Will stranded by the death of his mother leaving him with his champion body builder father and twin brothers who follow Dad's every path. When Dad remarries and brings Willow, a grief counselor, and her daughter Lulu to their home, Will begins to find himself with Lulu's help. He falls in love with Lulu and devotes every waking moment to documenting her every delightful and not so delightful activities. When Lulu turns away from Will, he is devestated. But as we know, life goes on. I fell in love with Will, his brothers, Willow and Lulu. I was left as confused as Will until the very end. Finally, there is redemption and sadness, and finally understanding.

TITLE: All About Lulu
AUTHOR: Jonathan Evison
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 320
TYPE: fiction, coming of age
RECOMMEND: I really enjoyed this quirky first novel.

37. Confessions of a Contractor

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this funny book which mixes home renovation with sexual opportunities, both taken and refused. And before I read the author, Richard Murphy’s bio, I knew that he had renovated a house or two. While I have never wrangled with $20,000 decisions, I have made decisions that ruined my budget and I was generally pleased that I had. And I would have shot my last (or maybe any) contractor before he touched me, much less slept with me.

So add one contractor, two illegal immigrants, two women, one angry husband, an ex-girlfriend, and a slew of well-meaning, for good or bad, friends – you have a Los Angeles contractor’s best nightmare. Henry Sullivan tries to manage all of the above, while completing intricate and chaotic renovations in the two women’s homes. He has a host of entertaining old friends and meets some rather interesting new friends. While most of the relationships have sexual overtones, they are all very amusing. Henry narrates his way through one summer – one that was supposed to be a vacation. Falling in love with two women was not what he had planned. Especially since one is married.

I enjoyed the narrator, Henry, and loved his friends. I was happy to see that CBS is picking up the book for an hour long pilot drama. Check out the book's webpage!

TITLE: Confessions of a Contractor
AUTHOR: Richard Murphy
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 273
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: I loved it.