Masterpiece
Just okay
Not for me
Definitely not for me'c' titles
Sunday, April 27th, 2008Review: The Cellist of Sarajevo
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is a moving story based on fact. It chronicles the few days in Sarajevo during 1992 when the real “Cellist of Sarajevo,” Vedran Smailovic, played his cello for 22 days in the exact spot where 22 people had been killed while waiting in line for bread.
In the novel, a counter-sniper, Arrow, is assigned to keep the cellist from getting shot and killed. Arrow is the best at what she does but still wrestles with the moral dilemma of having to take another’s life. She wonders if she is any better than the men in the hills trying to destroy her city.
We also meet Kenan, a man on his way to fetch water for his family, and we follow his life-threatening journey as well as his thoughts, fears, and hopes for the future. Another character, Dragan, misses his family, whom he helped to get out of the country. All of them are waiting. Waiting for help that never comes.
Told in a simple but unforgettable style, Galloway captures this unfortunate moment in history in a way that will break your heart for all victims of war.
This book will be released on May 15 from Riverhead Books.
2008, 231 pp.
Rating: 
Popularity: 70% [?]
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
I loved this book, perhaps even more than The Handmaid’s Tale, which I also rated 4.5. Whereas The Handmaid’s Tale was mostly a cautionary tale about men’s subjugation of women, Cat’s Eye is about girls subjugating and intimidating other girls. Elaine Risley as an adult is a successful artist, but as a little girl she was bullied by her friends and their ringleader, Cordelia. What makes little girls (and big ones!) do this, and why do the ones being tormented let them do it?
In an interview in the back of the book, Atwood states this is her most autobiographical novel, and she states the theme of the book as follows:
Cat’s Eye is about how girlhood traumas continue into adult life. Girls have a culture marked by secrets and shifting alliances, and these can cause a lot of distress. The girl who was your friend yesterday is not your friend today, but you don’t know why. These childhood power struggles color friendships between women. I’ve asked women if they fear criticism more from men or from other women. The overwhelming answer was: “From women.”
In typical Atwood fashion, there were also themes concerning male-female relationships. In one painting of Elaine’s, called Falling Women, she describes what was meant in the artwork:
There were no men in this painting, but it was about men, the kind who caused women to fall. I did not ascribe any intentions to these men. They were like the weather, they didn’t have a mind. They merely drenched you or struck you like lightning and moved on, mindless as blizzards. Or they were like rocks, a line of sharp slippery rocks with jagged edges. You could walk with care along between the rocks, picking your steps and if you slipped you’d fall and cut yourself, but it was no use blaming the rocks.
That must be what was meant by fallen women. Fallen women were women who had fallen onto men and hurt themselves. There was some suggestion of downward motion, against one’s will and not with the will of anyone else. Fallen women were not pulled-down women or pushed women, merely fallen.
Definitely one to read if you’ve enjoyed other Atwood novels.
1988, 462 pp.
Rating: 4.5
Popularity: 36% [?]
Thursday, January 31st, 2008The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is a very fun, unique book to read- especially if you are interested in mathematics and logic. Christopher is 15, has a form of autism, loves math, and hates the colors yellow and brown. He sees the world through logic and those around him can only reach him through logic. One night he discovers his neighbor’s dog has been murdered and sets out to find the killer. This leads him not only to the perpetrator but also to a personal adventure as well.
I really admire this book. Haddon made Christopher a completely convincing character, and I would love there to be a sequel.
2003, 226 pp.
Rating: 
Also reviewed by:
Popularity: 37% [?]
Thursday, January 17th, 2008The Cloud of Unknowing
The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook is a 2007 Publisher’s Weekly Best Mystery. Cook is a favorite author of mine, so I was looking forward to reading this book.
David and Diana are brother and sister whose father had schizophrenia. Diana’s son has recently drowned, and her behavior is becoming more and more erratic. She starts researching about strange ancient murders and starts suspecting her husband in their son’s death. David is worried that she is starting to develop schizophrenia as well. He even begins to wonder if he should put her away for her own good. Was Diana’s son murdered or was it an accident?
I was a little disappointed in this book. My two favorites of his are Breakheart Hill and the Edgar-winning The Chatham School Affair. If you’ve never read Cook before, I suggest you start with one of those two.
2006, 311 pp.
Rating: 
Popularity: 14% [?]
Thursday, December 27th, 2007Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol Vol. 1
I read this quite awhile ago, and I did review most of the stories. I’ll add the rest of the stories in the next few days, but I wanted to get this post up because I have completed 18 decades in the Decades Challenge, and I am ecstatic about it. I’m very proud of myself for that accomplishment. All the stories in this book were published in the 1830’s.
Here are the stories I’ve reviewed so far, and I’ll add the rest later:
“The Fair at Sorochintsy,” a story from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka
A peasant goes with his wife and daughter to a fair to sell wheat. What’s so scary about that? Well, for starters there’s a haunted barn, a devil on a quest for his lost red jacket, and other evil happenings. I wasn’t frightened much at all (actually, I like it that way–I’m a wimp), but it was still a very entertaining story.
“Saint John’s Eve” and “A May Night, or the Drowned Maiden,” stories from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka
All three of Gogol’s stories so far have contained the devil in human form. It seems that Gogol’s mother warned him repeatedly about the evil one’s devilish schemes. I think the stories must have scared him to death when he was a youngster! They definitely had an impact on his imagination.
“Saint John’s Eve” is decidedly creepier than the “The Fair at Sorochintsy,” which was the first story in Evenings. Boy loves girl and uses the devil to obtain her. What the devil requires as payment is a heavy price to pay, but when the deed is done, boy doesn’t remember what he did to obtain girl. After they marry, he knows there is something he should remember, and he is obsessed with trying to figure out what it is and doesn’t even enjoy life with his wife. Does he ever remember? Read it and find out.
I didn’t like “A May Night, or the Drowned Maiden” as well as the first two. I had a little bit of a hard time following the story, and it was also longer than the other two. It is another tale of boy wants girl, but in this one, the father of the boy also wants the girl. Once again, the devil plays into it, as well as a witch with drowned maidens in a pond by a haunted cabin. This story wasn’t that scary, and it even had some funny parts in it.
“The Lost Letter“, “Christmas Eve”, and “A Terrible Vengeance,” stories from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka
Of these three, “The Lost Letter” is the weakest. Grandfather must take a letter to the Czarina. He stops by a tavern, gets side-tracked, and loses the letter. The tavern owner tells him how to get the letter back by going into a certain area of the forest. When he gets there, he has to play a card game with some witches and win the game to get the letter. Impossible task, or maybe not. I wonder who outwits whom. . .
“Christmas Eve” once again has the devil in human form being used to get a girl. This time, though, it is the most pious man in the village “using” (outwitting) the devil to do it. Another witch is involved, as well as a snowstorm, and the Czarina’s slippers. Oh, yeah, and some sacks full of other “devils,” too.
“A Terrible Vengeance” was the creepiest of the three stories. A Cossack and his wife try to fend off the wife’s father, a sorcerer. What the father wants to do is the creepy part, along with some scary cemetery imagery.
1830’s for all stories, 259 pp.
Rating: 4
Popularity: 22% [?]
Thursday, December 27th, 2007Cricket on the Hearth
Dickens’ Cricket on the Hearth was his third published Christmas book, after A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, and it outsold them both.
John the Carrier and his wife Dot are a couple with a new baby. Included in their home is a cricket on the hearth, who might turn out to be more than just a cricket. They are a happy couple until a misunderstanding arises, but of course, all is well in the end. Other characters include a toymaker and his blind daughter; the toymaker’s boss, Tackleton, who is a Scrooge-like character; and a young girl May (who is supposed to marry Tackleton) and her mother.
The book was quite humorous at times and heartwarming. Although I appreciated this novella at the end, I had a hard time getting into this book at first. In fact, whenever I tried reading it, I would fall asleep. That might have something more to do with me than the story, though. Ordinarily I love classics. The book I read the story in also includes A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, so hopefully I’ll get to read those two titles next year.
1845, 85 pp.
Rating: 4
Popularity: 20% [?]
Monday, July 2nd, 2007Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
2006, 163 pp.
Rating: 4.5
I listened to this on CD with my kids. It was narrated by the author, and I must say he did a fantastic job. I will definitely be reading more by Gaiman. I hope to read Stardust before the movie comes out.
Coraline is an only child who lives in an apartment with her work-at-home parents. She’s a bit bored and is always looking for something to do. One day she unlocks a door that has a brick wall behind it–only the brick wall isn’t there anymore. She goes through the door and finds what looks like an exact replica of her apartment–including her parents. I will stop here because I don’t want to spoil the plot. Let’s just say I highly recommend it! Thanks to those in the Once Upon a Time Challenge who recommended it as well.
- 1. Petunia - July 2, 2007
- Gaiman did a perfect job of telling his story. We all really loved it too.
- 2. Joy - July 3, 2007
- I’ve been wondering where to start with a Gaiman book. This may be a good place. Thanks.
- 3. Debi - July 5, 2007
- I simply adored this book! I’ve had Stardust in my hand the last two times I’ve been in the bookstore, but opted for American Gods and then M is for Magic. I’m guessing the third time will be the charm. Of course, I really to need to read the ones I did buy at some point, huh?
Popularity: 9% [?]
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1982, 289 pp.
1983 Pulitzer Prize/1983 NBA
Rating: 4 3.5
I read this for the Banned Book Challenge, and I can definitely see why people would be against it. Some of the themes include incest, rape, lesbianism, language, and drug and alcohol use. I’m not saying it should be banned–just that if I had a teenage daughter, for instance, I would want to read and discuss it with her.
All of the above (and more) happen to Celie, the main character in the book. By contrast, Celie tries to protect her sister Nettie, and Nettie ends up going with a missionary family to Africa. We see Celie and Nettie both grow in different ways through what happens to them. They are separated for 30 years but do keep in contact through letters. It is appalling, really, what men can do to women. This type of novel is always hard for me to read, but sometimes I do think it is necessary for me to venture out of my protected little world into the very unprotected world of other women. If only to appreciate and thank God for what I do have and to pray for and help other women whenever I can.
- Daphne - May 22, 2007
- I read this either right before or right after the movie came out. Even though, as you say, parts of the book are somewhat disturbing, I thought it was a wonderful story about the human spirit.
- Fond of Books - May 23, 2007
- I just finished this book yesterday. I had always loved the movie and I loved the book also. I was surprised to see the relationship between Shug and Celie, in the movie it made it seem a one time thing, but of course in the book it goes on for years. However part of me was happy for her just to find love. And after all that had happened to her, I don’t think she could have ever loved a man.
Anyway, a wonderful book!
~rebecca
Popularity: 18% [?]
Thursday, January 4th, 2007Parchment of Leaves & Clay’s Quilt - Silas House
Both completed in September 2006. I enjoyed these books because they gave me insight into the people where I live. The stories take place in central Kentucky. Parchment of Leaves is first chronologically, followed by The Coal Tattoo, and then Clay’s Quilt. I discussed these as part of a book group. It was interesting to hear their perspectives as most of them are from this area, while I am originally from Colorado. Anyone from Kentucky or with roots in Kentucky should read these books. I plan on reading The Coal Tattoo this year or next.
Clay’s Quilt 2001, 292 pp.
Parchment of Leaves 2002, 278 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5 for both
Popularity: 13% [?]
Thursday, January 4th, 2007The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
Wow, are these books thought provoking! Missionaries in space! Hard questions for God! Can I use enough exclamation points?! I read these in September and October of 2006. Some parts were VERY difficult for me to read because they were more graphic than what I am used to. Highly recommended, but not for the squeamish.
The Sparrow 1996, 408 pp.
Children of God 1998, 438 pp.
Rating: 4 for both
Popularity: 8% [?]