Finally finished!
Some books were good, others so-so. See the blog for detailed reviews. I’m surprised how difficult it was for me to find books to read. I think I’ve previously read most of the books I was interested in. Here is a list of the ten books I read to complete the challenge:
Wild Swans-Jung Chang-British Book Award
The Gates of the Alamo-Stephen Harrigan-Spur Award
The Idea of Perfection-Kate Grenville-Orange Prize
Mariner’s Compass-Earlene Fowler-Agatha Award
Divisadero-Michael Ondaatje-Governor General’s Award
The Mandelbaum Gate-Muriel Spark-James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Get a Life-Nadine Gordimer-Nobel Prize
Finding Nouf-Zoe Ferraris-Alex Award
Homestead-Rosina Lippi-PEN/Hemingway Award
Years of Grace-Margaret Ayer Barnes-Pulitzer Prize
This novel by Margaret Ayer Barnes is the final book I’ve read for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931. I had never actually heard of Years of Grace, or its author. This was a totally delightful and readable book.
It tells the story of Jane Ward Carver. Jane is born to a wealthy Chicago family in the late 1800’s. Years of Grace follows the first fifty years of Jane’s life. She matures from schoolgirl, to debutante, to wife, mother and grandmother. As Jane grows, the world changes around her. Her husband fights in the Spanish American War; her son-in-law in World War I.
The story is told through Jane’s relationships with others. The sections of the book are titled with other people’s names. Jane is a proper young woman, whose life is determined by her parents’ wishes. When her parents disapprove of her first boyfriend, she is allowed to attend Bryn Mawr College for two years; then she must return home and become a proper debutante. When Jane does marry, she spends all her summers vacationing at the summer home of her in-laws. She maintains strong friendships with her childhood friends, and rarely ventures outside her social circle.
Jane is, however, a principled, passionate, intelligent woman. She struggles to reconcile her feelings with her familial and social obligations. Jane is, of course, perplexed by the behavior of her children as they grow older.
This novel is especially interesting in its depiction of a vanished time. It is beautifully written, and I highly recommend it.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Houghton Mifflin-1930
Years of Grace
Homestead is Rosini Lippi’s PEN/Hemingway Award winning book. It is the story of life in the fictional Austrian town of Rosenau, from 1909-1977. Rosenau is small, and isolated high in the Alps. Most of the people who are born there never leave, and few outsiders come to stay.
The story of Rosenau is told through a chronological series of linked stories. Each chapter focuses on one woman from each of three of the local clans. Their stories are intertwined with world events. The first motorized vehicles reach the village in the 1930’s, and the people of Rosenau are changed forever.
This book is quite good. It took me a while to get into it, as the names and relationships can be confusing. Lippi does include clan charts, naming conventions, a pronunciation guide and a glossary at the end of the book. Read it before you start, and keep referring to it.
Each of the chapters is relatively short. Although there are often many years between the stories, they do flow together well. The end of one woman’s story is often contained in the beginning of the next. Lippi spent much time in western Austria, and the people of the fictional town of Rosenau are based on real people she met and interviewed. This is an interesting and effective way to tell a story. I’d recommend this if you are looking for a different kind of reading experience.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Delphinium Books-1998
Softcover edition-Mariner Books-1999
Homestead
I chose this first novel by Zoe Ferraris as part of the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It is a winner of the Alex Award, which is given by the American Library Association to books that are written for adults but have some special appeal to young adults.
Finding Nouf is set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is an unusual detective story. A 16 year old woman from a wealthy family disappears, and her body is found in the desert. Did she run away, or was she abducted? There was no ransom demand, and the official cause of death was drowning. Nouf was found in a wadi by Bedouins after an infrequent desert rainstorm. But why would Nouf run away? She was planning her upcoming wedding, and seemed happy.
Nouf’s brother, Othman, contacts his old friend and desert guide, Nayir ash-Sharqi, to find Nouf. After the body is found, Nayir begins to investigate Nouf’s disappearance and death with the help of Katya, Othman’s fiancee who, conveniently, works for the medical examiner.
This quest for the truth is complicated by the simple facts of life in Saudi society. How could a young woman disappear, when women are not allowed to appear unescorted in public? This is especially true for young women in wealthy families, who have full-time escorts/drivers. How could Nouf have taken a family’s truck, when women are forbidden by law to drive? And how can Katya and Nayir work together on this case, when they are not allowed to be seen together?
Finding Nouf gives us a glimpse of Saudi life, and how the structure of society and the laws of the land keep women undereducated, housebound and, often, miserable. This book was very well written. It is a good mystery, with plenty of red herrings. It will take you a while to figure out who done it. I highly recommend this book.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Houghton Mifflin-2008
Softcover edition-Mariner Books-May 2009 (not yet available)
Finding Nouf: A Novel
Get a Life is a relatively new book by the South African Nobel Prize winning author Nadine Gordimer. Gordimer is known for her spare, yet descriptive and lyrical prose. This novel is no exception. Get a Life tells the story of Paul Bannerman, a 35 year old father of a young son who is diagnosed with thyroid cancer. As part of his treatment regimen, Paul is left temporarily radioactive, and unable to be around his young son. So Paul decamps to his childhood home, to be cared for by his parents and Primrose, the faithful family servant.
This novel follows Paul and his family through his recovery, as well as his parents’ journey towards their upcoming retirement. As in real life, the family’s journey takes unexpected turns; some happy, others less so.
Like other novels by South African writers, the shadow of apartheid, now abolished, underlays much that the family experiences.The book is also peppered with typical South African phrases, based on native languages. Fortunately, there is also a brief glossary.
Gordimer’s writing style requires a bit of adjusting. She appears to skip through events but if read carefully, it is possible to follow the plot. If you’ve never read Gordimer before, keep plugging away. Get a Life is worth the difficulties involved.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Farrar, Straus & Giroux-2005
Softcover edition-Penguin-2006
Get a Life
The Gates of the Alamo is an extremely long novel by Stephen Harrigan. It tells the story of the defeat of the Texian patriots by the army of Mexican General Santa Anna at the Alamo in March 1836. The story is told from the viewpoint of three fictional characters who were involved in the famous siege and battle.
For myself, and I suspect for anyone not raised in Texas, not much is known about the Alamo, other than “Remember the Alamo!” So this book can serve as a lesson in Texas history. While very few Texian rebels actually survived the battle, the Alamo was the decisive factor in establishing Texian independence. In April 1836 the rebels, under the command of Sam Houston, defeated the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto, and drove them out of Texas.
The Gates of the Alamo tells the story of Edmund McGowan, Mary Mott and Terrell Mott. McGowan is a botanist, hired by the Mexican government to explore and classify the flora of the Texas territory. Mary Mott is a widow who runs an inn in Texas; Terrell is her sixteen-year old son. There are many other characters in this book, including the famous Alamo fighters Jim Bowie, William Travis, and Davy Crockett.
As with any novel based on a historical event, the events themselves are real and in this case are depicted accurately. Of course the personal situations and conversations are pure speculation. But this novel does bring the characters to life. It is quite detailed and thorough. The only complaint I have is that is far too long. The paperback edition is 577 pages. So, be warned.
The Gates of the Alamo is the sixth book I’ve read for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It was the Spur Award winner for Best Western Novel in 2001. Four to go!
The Gates of the Alamo
The Idea of Perfection is another book I’ve read for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. Sadly, it’s another award winning book that I just couldn’t like. This novel by Kate Grenville, an Australian writer, won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2001. The truly curious thing is that same year, Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin was shortlisted for the same prize. I had read that long before I started this blog, and it is a far superior novel.
This book hosts the most unlikely cast of characters one could imagine. The principle characters are supposed to be Harley Savage and Douglas Cheeseman. They are strangers on temporary work assignments in the fictional town of Karakarook, New South Wales. Harley is in town to help build a “heritage museum”. She is a textiles expert from a museum in Sydney. Douglas is an engineer, who has been sent to supervise the destruction of an old, worn-out bridge, and the construction of its replacement. They are both incredibly self-involved. They question every move and conversation-who has time for that?
A portion of the book is devoted to the story of Felicity Porcelline, the prim wife of the bank manager. In fact, she seems to be more of a main character than Harley or Douglas. Far too much of the book is focused on Felicity fantasizing about the town’s Chinese butcher/photographer, Alfred Chang. Talk about an unlikely character.
I really had to force myself to read this book all the way through. Is it too much to ask that a book be well-written and have interesting characters that I could enjoy reading about?
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Viking Penguin 2002
Softcover edition-Penguin 2003
The Idea of Perfection
The Wild Swans:Three Daughters of China is the fourth book I’ve completed for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. This memoir won the British Book Awards “Book of the Year” in 1994. Wild Swans tells the story of three generations of women in Jung Chang’s family: her grandmother, her mother, and herself. It spans the years from 1909, when her grandmother was born, to 1978, the year Jung Chang left China to study in Great Britain.
Wild Swans encompasses the personal history of Chang’s family, as well as the tumultuous history of China. At the age of 15 Yu-fang, the author’s grandmother, became the concubine of a warlord. Jung Chang’s mother, De-hong, was born 7 years later. After the war lord’s death in 1933, Yu-fang married Dr. Xia. De-hong was raised in his household, as one of his children. Jung Chang was born in 1952, the second of 5 children born to De-hong and her husband, Shou-yu.
This book details the family’s struggles, as China itself struggles. Some events that impact the family include: World War II; the rise of Mao Tse Tung and the Communist party,;the founding of the People’ Republic of China; the Great Leap Forward; the Cultural Revolution; and China’s eventual opening up to the West.
Chang’s parents are loyal Communists, yet they suffer denunciation, re-education and imprisonment. The entire family is subject to the daily indignities of life in a totalitarian society. As children, Chang and her siblings rarely see their parents. Fortunately, Yu-fang is able to care for them.
Wild Swans is a very long and complex book. The appendices include a brief chronology of modern China juxtaposed with Chang’s family’s milestones. There is also a very helpful family tee and a map of China. I referred to these often. This memoir is quite thorough. I learned a tremendous amount about modern China.
Unfortunately, it did get a bit repetitious. We read numerous times that De-hong was upset that her husband put his very strict Communist principles before his family’s well-being. And the family’s constant struggles with other Communist Party officials, while important, are also tedious after a while. Some of the language seems a bit stilted. Chang did not learn English until her early 20’s, and the awkwardness shows. Overall, this memoir was quite good. It took me a very long time to read it, and I think it would be improved greatly by skillful editing.
In USA:
Published in hardcover- Simon & Schuster-1993
Softcover edition-Touchstone 2003
Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China
The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark is the third book I’ve completed for the Book Awards Challenge. In 1965, it was the winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Muriel Spark is better known for writing The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which was made into a movie in 1969.
This novel takes place in Israel and Jordan in 1961. Barbara Vaughan is a British schoolteacher, and a convert to Catholicism. She travels to the Holy Land to go on a pilgrimage, and to visit her fiance, an archaeologist at a dig in Jordan. Freddy Hamilton is an employee at the British Consulate in Jerusalem. Since Barbara was born half-Jewish, Freddy decides that it is too dangerous for her to travel to Jordan alone. Freddy arranges for her to tour Jordan in disguise. As a consular officer, Freddy travels freely between Israel and Jordan. In 1961, Jerusalem was a divided city so Freddy’s back and forth between counties essentially consisted of walking through the eponymous Mandelbaum Gate between East and West Jerusalem.
At the same time, the trial of Adolph Eichmann is proceeding in Tel Aviv. One of Barbara’s Jewish cousins, an international lawyer, is called to Israel to consult on the case. Barbara meets with him, and attends one session of the Eichmann trial.
And there are many other peripheral characters in this book. Unfortunately when each is introduced, there is no way of knowing if the character will be integral to the story, or not. While the story is interesting, the writing seems dated and stilted. The chapters are quite long, which makes the book seem disorganized.
Now, it’s not that this is a bad book, I just think it was written in a different style than we generally see these days with popular novels. It’s a bit dated sand lightly difficult to get through. The true value of The Mandelbaum Gate is reminding us that what we now call Israel was controlled, not too long ago, by Arabs who hated Israel. The book does refer somewhat to the issue of the Palestinian refugees, but also only in a rather offhand way. I have a hard time enthusiastically recommending this book to anyone, except as a curiosity.
In USA:
Published in hard cover-Alfred A. Knopf 1965
Softcover edition-Welcome Rain Publishers 2001
The Mandelbaum Gate
Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler is the second of ten books I’m reading for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It’s kind of fun trying to find books that I ordinarily would not read. And this is one of them. Mariner’s Compass won the 2000 Agatha Award for Best Novel. I don’t know too much about the Agatha Awards, but I believe they are reader generated for mystery writing, so there are really no standards except popularity.
Fowler has written quite a few books with the same main character, Benni Harper. This is the first I’ve heard of Fowler and Benni Harper. It’s sometimes difficult warming up to a character mid-series, but I had no problems here. Benni Harper lives in the fictional town of San Celina, located on California’s central coast. She is newly married to the town’s Chief of Police, Gabe Ortiz.
As the book opens, Benni receives a phone call from her friend Amanda, who is a local lawyer. Amanda informs Benni that she is the sole beneficiary of the estate of the recently deceased Jacob Chandler, a man Benni has never met. In order to inherit the estate, Benni must sleep at Chandler’s now vacant house alone every night for two weeks.
As soon as Benni takes up the challenge, complications ensue. There are friends and acquaintances of Chandler’s who don’t think Benni is entitled to Chandler’s estate. There is a dog who comes with the house. And of course Gabe, the ever suspicious policeman, does not want Benni involved in this at all. Benni, however, is determined to see this through and discover who Jacob Chandler is, and why she is his heir.
Chandler left clues for Benni, and she follows them in a scavenger hunt fashion. These clues take her all over central and southern California. In fact for me, the most interesting parts of the book are the descriptions of rural California.
Benni (like Fowler) is an avid quilter. Jacob Chandler was a highly skilled woodworker. These two crafts are woven into the story, and also add some interest. Basically, this book was easy and fun to read. it was, however, rather bland and lacked the excitement of a great mystery.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Penguin Putnam 1999
Softcover edition-Berkley 2000
Mariner’s Compass (Benni Harper Mystery)
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