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.

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.

22. The School of Essential Ingredients

Thank you to G. P. Putman’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. This is the author’s debut novel and I think it is very successful. I particularly enjoyed the format of the book with each chapter focusing on one of the characters while continuing to move forward the story line.

Lillian is the central character of the novel and runs a successful restaurant and cooking school. This comes as no surprise as she has had an intimate relationship with food from a very young age and she seems to intuitively know what food experience each person needs. We are introduced to the eight students who have found themselves enrolled in Lillian’s monthly cooking class. Each of the students has a secret need and story that seems to be evoked by the lesson of the month. In many cases, the stories become intertwined much like the mingling of foods in a well-thought out dish. To add further reader interest, the author provides very interesting information about the ingredients of the month as well. I did not want this book to end, even as I enjoyed the ending.

TITLE: The School of Essential Ingredients
AUTHOR: Erica Bauermeister
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 240
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: Delicious, just the right touch of spice.

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.

3. Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz

Rena Kornreich was the 716th Jewish female to arrive at Aushwitz and this is her story and the story of her sister and friends. It is a story of survival, love, friendship and sharing. It is a beautiful story in all of its brutality. Rena was only 21 in 1942 when she left her home in Poland to live in Slovakia, hoping to escape the fate of Jews in her native land. Instead she was on the first transport of Polish Jews to the death camp.

Her goal throughout her captivity was to protect her younger sister, Danka who arrived at the camp a few days later. Rena's story is brutal in its detail and heart-warming in its sincerity. The two young women lived to tell about Aushwitz and the deaths there, being moved to Birkenau, and finally marched from camp as the war came near to its end.

Written with the assistance of Heather Dune Macadam, the following sentence describing the suicides of prisoners who threw themselves at the electric fences is full of meaning and sadness:


They hang, charred, in the electric wires of humanity. (p. 144)

It reminds me that this story does belong to all of us. To learn more about the author and her story visit The History Place: Writer's Corner. The authors point out that Rena's Promise is important because it is one of the few narratives from a survivor who was imprisoned so early and also female.

TITLE: Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz
AUTHOR: Rena Kornreich Gelissen with Heather Dune Macadam
COPYRIGHT: 1995
PAGES: 275
TYPE: biography
RECOMMEND: Certainly to help us remember

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.

36. Snail Mail, No More

I thought that Martin and Danziger had a great premise on this book for children ages nine through twelve. Unfortunately, at times, the technology and the changing nature of the two correspondents, get lost in the other issues which are being added to the key story. Tara and Elizabeth were best friends when Tara moved away. After corresponding via snail mail, the two girls get email and eventually chat. Their correspondence via snail mail is chronicled in P. S. Longer Letter Later also by Martin and Danziger. This book was good enough that I will probably try to find the earlier story to complete the series.

The girls’ lives are changing rapidly and they are both making new friends. Even with email, it is hard for the girls to maintain their friendship without jealousy or anger. There are plenty of opportunities for the girls to support one another – a baby is born, someone dies, divorce, and illness – all of these things happen. Perhaps the strength of the book is how the girls do manage to handle their changing lives and relationship.

TITLE: Snail Mail, No More
AUTHOR: Ann Martin & Paula Danziger
COPYRIGHT: 2001
PAGES: 320
TYPE: fiction, Ages 9 - 12
RECOMMEND: I am a little on the fence on this one! Worth the read.

LibrarysCat

32. So Long at the Fair

Thank you to Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review this galley of So Long at the Fair.

Author Christina Schwarz, who also wrote Drowning Ruth, tells the story of a marriage and an affair. Jon and Ginny struggle with the minutiae of their relationship, while each of them also struggles with the past which has shaped their future. Two things make their lives even more difficult – Ginny is trying to get pregnant and Jon is having an affair with a co-worker. While this might be enough drama for some, the author tells us another story. It is the story of Jon and Ginny’s parents – told in alternating chapters of the book. Does the past dictate the future? Is the marriage on the brink of disaster?

To be honest, I found this book a little confusing. Even so, I enjoyed it. And I liked it enough to read it again with a who’s who chart! Why? Because the emotion and struggles are so well developed by Schwarz that the novel is worth a second read for full understanding. The characters are likeable and the suspense builds to a satisfying conclusion.

Here is a short excerpt from the book from USA Today. Or here at the Random House author/book page.

TITLE: So Long at the Fair
AUTHOR: Christina Schwarz
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 244
TYPE: fiction
RECOMMEND: Um, very good, but make a family tree.

13. The Patron Saint of Liars

This first novel from Ann Patchett begins with a lie of omission. The consequences of that lie and how the characters deal with them is at the heart of the remainder of the book. Which is laden with lies. The story is told from three perspectives: Rose, who left her husband who did not know she was pregnant and traveled from California to Kentucky to stay at a Catholic Home for Unwed mothers to deliver her child and give it up for adoption. Son, the older man who is a maintenance man for the home who eventually marries Rose and serves as a father to Rose's daughter. And Sissy - the daughter who wants a mother to love her. No one in this story really gets what they want. Actually it was the side characters that I really enjoyed in this book - a young girl whose baby dies at birth, a nun who can see the future for the unborn babes, and the other girls who wind up at St. Elizabeth's.

I enjoyed the book as it was told from Rose's and even Son's perspective. I did not care for the daughter's perspective which included an ending that was too abrupt although somewhat expected.

TITLE: The Patron Saint of Liars
AUTHOR: Ann Patchett
COPYRIGHT: 1992
PAGES: 335
TYPE: Fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, it is worth the read especially if you are Catholic

LibrarysCat

7. The Break-up Diet

TITLE: The Break-up Diet

AUTHOR: Annette Fix

COPYRIGHT: to be published Feb 2008

PAGES: 279

TYPE: Non-Fiction

RECOMMEND: Yes, anyone who has ever been on the down side of a break-up would relate to and enjoy this book.

Annette Fix found herself on the bad side of a breakup. She was raised believing in the “kiss a frog, marry a prince” and “happily ever after” theories of relationships. A single mother trying to raise her son and pursue her dream of becoming a writer, Annette finds Mr. Right at her night job at a strip club. He is in the process of divorcing his wife and they move in together. Then it happens – he breaks up with her. This memoir is her journey of recovery. Written in diary form, Annette outlines her pain and slow steps toward a new life. The writing is very candid and sometimes even graphic. The reader empathizes with the author and rallies as Annette sorts out her emotions and day-to-day challenges.

I read this book very quickly and found it to be entertaining although I suspect a younger crowd will better appreciate the circumstances and lifestyle portrayed. To tie in with the title, the author provided recipes of disaster throughout the book. I read the first few and found them amusing, but I must admit after three or four, I stopped looking at them. Still, I thought the writing was sound and wanted to finish the book with hopes of a happy ending. The Disney desire does not fade easily!

Other nice touches, and ones I have not seen in other Early Reviewer books, were a letter from the author and her signing the front of the book. She clearly wants to connect with her readers and I think she just might be successful at that aspiration.

Flusi Cat

2. The Story of Forgetting

Block provides readers with an engaging story of two people searching for answers surrounding the genetically transmitted disease of early onset Alzheimer's disease. A young man is seeking answers from relatives he does not know exist to help his mother. An elderly man remembers too much and seeks his daughter. The two families find what they are seeking and the transformations which occur are sadly sweet. For a first novel, Block has done a wonderful job of providing the technical backdrop to the disease while engaging the reader with the characters. I read this book in only two days and recommend it for anyone who has questions about the disease or just wants an interesting read.

TITLE: The Story of Forgetting: A Novel
AUTHOR: Stefan Merrill Block
COPYRIGHT: ARC, 2008
PAGES: 310
TYPE: Fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, a beatiful mix of science and story

Flusi the LibrarysCat