I don’t have much to say about this book. It was a good waiting for an airplane book. It was full of cliches about men, women, children, marriage. No new ground broken here; I’ll probably give it away.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Spiegel and Grau-2008
Softcover edition-Spiegel and Grau-2009
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything: A Novel
Posted by: admin | 09-02-2010 | 03:09 PM
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The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one of those books that are released to a great deal of fanfare, sell lots of copies, and go on to become even more popular. A year after its release I requested it from the library, and I was number 805 in the queue (previous high about 280). I thought I’d have to buy this book but, through luck and a quirk in the system, I received my copy after less than two months.
Well-I’ve been quite busy. I started this review over a week ago, and have not had a chance to finish it. So this will be the first of a few capsule reviews, since I really need to catch up.
This is a story about a young woman who has graduated from college in Mississippi in 1962, and gone home to live with her parents on their cotton plantation outside of Jackson. She has finally become aware of the plight of “the help”; the African-American (or colored as they refer to them when being kind) women whose services as nanny and housekeeper make the lives of white women easy. In an attempt to let their voices be heard, she tries to write a book full of their stories.
This is a good read, and an uncomfortable topic is handled in a sensitive way. Go for it!
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Putnam-2009
Softcover edition to be published- Berkley Trade-2011
Posted by: admin | 08-16-2010 | 07:08 AM
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Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee is interesting and moving and finely constructed. It tells the story of a young girl from Nigeria who, as the story opens, has spent two years in an immigration detention center in southeast England. She has fled Nigeria after the destruction of her village.
Little Bee has come to England because she believes she will be murdered if she stays in Nigeria. Her only connection to England is a British couple, Andrew and Sarah, with whom she had a brief encounter on a Nigerian beach.When Little Bee and three other illegal immigrant girls are released from the detention center without the proper paperwork, Bee finds her way to Andrew and Sarah’s home in a London suburb.
Andrew is a journalist, and Sarah is the editor of a magazine for young women. They have a young son, Charlie, who believes he is Batman. Andrew and Sarah had taken a vacation to Nigeria in hopes of resuscitating their troubled marriage. When events unfolded horribly on the Nigerian beach, they returned to England, and Little Bee was left to escape from Nigeria on her own.
Little Bee is told from the perspectives of both Sarah and Bee. As the action unfolds in the present, we learn the details of the story from the past, and the past is quite grim. This book raises the hope that Bee can begin a happy new life in England. It certainly seems possible and the book is worth reading to find out.
The characters are interesting and sympathetic. The only part of this novel that seemed off to me was the naivete of Andrew and Sarah. They are both intelligent, educated people and yet they took a vacation to a Nigerian beach resort? Whatever! This book has been a bestseller and a favorite of book clubs everywhere, so read it if you have the opportunity.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Simon & Schuster-2009
Softcover edition-Simon & Schuster-2010
Posted by: admin | 07-19-2010 | 01:07 PM
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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is the third book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. Like most everyone else who has read the first two books, I have been anxiously awaiting my chance to read this final book. The strange and brilliant Lisbeth Salander is once again the girl of the title. When last seen, she was in the emergency room with a bullet in her skull.
Obviously Lisbeth survives, or there would be no book. How she survives and how she avenges the attempt on her life is the heart of this book. This book delves into the mysteries of The Section-the super secret arm of the Swedish intelligence service. The Section gave asylum to and sheltered the murderous Alexander Zalachenko for years. We learn how and why this came about, and who in The Section is responsible.
Lisbeth is still strong and smart and resourceful. She is assisted in her quest for justice/vengeance by the journalist Mikael Bloomqvist, the attorney Annika Giannini, Plague and Trinity, as well as by numerous new characters.
If you have read the previous two books in this series, this is a must read. If you haven’t read the other two books, read them first or this will make little sense to you.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Knopf-2010
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
Posted by: admin | 07-18-2010 | 03:07 PM
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I have never paid attention to Christopher Reich or any of his books. However, I went to CVS to buy some sunscreen that I could take in a carry-on for my recent trip to Florida, and I was looking for an airplane book. Rules of Vengeance seemed to be the most promising of the sad and tiny selection.
It is the second book about Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a physician with Doctors Without Borders who is married to a woman who calls herself Emma. That, of course, is not her real name. Emma is an operative with Division, a secret (fictional) Pentagon department devoted to black ops. Emma has gone rogue after foiling an attempt to blow up a passenger airplane, and is now on the run from Division. Jonathan meets her briefly in London, where he has been invited to speak at a medical conference.
Most of the action in this thriller takes place in London. Lord Robert Russell is murdered, and the hunt for his killer begins. The investigation is headed by Detective Chief Inspector Kate Ford, of the London Metropolitan Police. The next day, a car bomb is detonated. Emma and Jonathan are now being hunted by Division, MI5, and FSB, the Russian secret intelligence agency.
This book is fast-moving, intelligent and interesting. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Doubleday-2009
Softcover edition-Anchor Books-2010
Posted by: admin | 06-07-2010 | 06:06 PM
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Be warned: If you can’t abide an abundance of graphic sex scenes, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Otherwise, go right ahead. This novel by Oscar Hijuelos is a companion piece to his 1990 Pulitzer Prize winning book The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Beautiful Maria of My Soul tells the story of Nestor Castillo’s great, lost love Maria Garcia y Cifuentes. In 1947, at the age of seventeen, Maria leaves her small, poor, farming village in the west of Cuba for Havana. She is poor and illiterate, but stunningly beautiful and ambitious. She mourns the deaths of her sister, Teresita, and her mother. Her papito has taken a new wife, and Maria feels out of place in her own home.
Upon her arrival in Havana, Maria finds a room in a cheap boarding house. She eventually finds work as a dancer in one of Havana’s second-rate night clubs. She meets Ignacio, a small-time gangster who takes her as his mistress. She also meets Nestor, a musician with whom she conducts a steamy love affair. It is after the affair ends that Nestor begins composing The Mambo Kings most famous song, “Beautiful Maria of My Soul.”
In the wake of the Cuban Revolution, Maria and her young daughter,Teresa, make their way to Miami. Starting a new life with no money and no knowledge of English, Maria makes a home for Teresa and a life for herself in America.
The parts of this novel that I enjoyed the most were about daily life in pre-Castro Havana. Hijuelos is the son of Cuban immigrants and there seems to be great nostalgia for their lost life. I don’t consider myself prudish, the sex scenes and constant descriptions of body parts is a bit much.
Many thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for sending me this book.
In USA:
To be published in hardcover-Hyperion Books-June 2010
Posted by: admin | 05-23-2010 | 03:05 PM
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At every movie I went to see last year, one of the previews was for Shutter Island. The trailer looked too scary for my taste so I refused to see it, despite the assurances of a friend that it wasn’t really that bad. Hah! This novel by Dennis Lehane is one of the most complex and frightening psychological thrillers I’ve read. I’m sure the movie would have been too much for me.
The story begins with a prologue written by Dr. Lester Sheehan in 1993. I re-read this a few times throughout the novel, and it was somewhat helpful in figuring out what was happening. The action in chapter one returns us to 1954, where the real drama occurs. Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule are U. S. Marshals. They have been sent to Shutter Island, in Boston Harbor, the home of a hospital for the criminally insane. A patient has escaped, seemingly vanishing through the walls of her cell. She is considered extremely dangerous. There is no way off the island except by boat, but there are many places to hide. A powerful hurricane is approaching, so there will be no boats for days.
When Teddy contracts a migraine headache, he takes some pills given to him by the chief of staff, Dr. Cawley. Thus begin his strange dreams and hallucinations. Teddy is no longer sure if anyone is who they say they are. But he is becoming increasingly sure that he will never leave Shutter Island.
Is there a conspiracy? Shutter Island is experimenting with new psychotropic drugs. Has Teddy been drugged? Is he an experiment? Why? Does he know too much? All important questions.
This book takes many twists and turns. I’m certain that it will leave even the most avid reader of mysteries perplexed until near the very end. Remember-nothing is what it seems to be. Trust no one. Good advice when reading this book, which I highly recommend.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-William Morrow-2003
Softcover edition-Harper-2009
Posted by: admin | 05-08-2010 | 01:05 PM
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The Girl Who Played With Fire is the second book in The Millennium Trilogy, by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. This continues the story of Lisbeth Salander, begun in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It picks up her story about two years after the end of the first book. Lisbeth has spent the past year abroad, much of it in the Caribbean reading books about mathematical theories.
When she does return to Sweden, it is to an expensive apartment in Stockholm which she has purchased with some of the money she diverted from the account of the late billionaire Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Soon after her return, she begins to make contact with some of her acquaintances from the past. She continues hacking into the computers of nearly everyone she knows. Soon, however, she is recognized by someone from her past, and she is accused of the murders of three people.
This book follows the manhunt for Lisbeth by the police, as well as those trying to kill her and, of course, Mikael Bloomkvist, the journalist who befriended her and believes in her innocence. As the plot unfolds, we learn about the events and traumas of Lisbeth’s childhood, and why she is being hunted by some of Sweden’s most powerful people.
Lisbeth Salander is a complex character and totally sympathetic, despite her often violent behavior. She is often victimized, but always fights back. Lisbeth has a powerful instinct for survival, which she needs. It’s actually difficult to discuss Lisbeth and this book without giving too much away. Needless to say I am looking forward to the imminent publication of the final installment in the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I highly recommend this book.
In USA:
Published in hardcover- Knopf-2009
Softcover edition-Vintage-2010
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage)
Posted by: admin | 04-14-2010 | 05:04 PM
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Who has not read and adored Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women? Since its publication in 1868, there has been much speculation as to how much of the novel is based on Alcott’s life, and how much is pure fiction. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, the first novel by Kelly O’Connor McNees, is an attempt to fill in the blanks of Alcott’s life, and to give her a romance which probably never happened.
In 1855 the Alcott family, once again in dire financial straits, accepts the generous offer a relative and moves into an empty house in Walpole, New Hampshire. The Alcott daughters become friendly with other young people in the town. Louisa falls in love with Joseph Singer, the son of a local dry-goods merchant. Louisa feels that she is meant to be a writer, and she has no way to realize that dream and remain involved with Joseph. When Joseph’s engagement to a local girl is announced, Louisa realizes that she must begin to lead the independent life she has long desired.
Louisa’s older sister, Anna, also falls in love with a local young man. Her dream of a happily married life with him ends abruptly, and she leaves Walpole for a teaching position in Syracuse. As in Little Women, younger sister Lizzie (Beth in the novel) struggles with ill health while May (aka Amy, the youngest) is pretty, spoiled, and lazy.
Once again, I have to give thanks to the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program, which sent me this book. I really enjoyed it, although now I am a bit tired of the literary device of imagining the private life of famous authors. Are all the new ideas taken?
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Penguin Group-2010
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
Posted by: admin | 04-10-2010 | 07:04 PM
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I had previously won a book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers that was published by B & H Publishing. It made me realize that I needed to be more selective in the books I requested. For some reason, B & H send me this book unsolicited, and I felt the need to read it.
This is certainly not a book for me. Rooms by James L. Rubart is a “Christian” novel. The protagonist is saved only by surrendering his life, heart, soul and spirit to Jesus. Yawn!
As with other modern “Christian” novels I have read, the plot is simplistic and formulaic. I do not recommend this book at all.
In USA:
Published in softcover-B & H Publishing-2010
Posted by: admin | 04-07-2010 | 07:04 AM
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