I love southern fiction, and I was especially interested in reading this book as the setting is in southeastern Mississippi, which is close to where I live now in Mobile, Alabama. I use to read a lot more mysteries than I read now, particularly in the early 1990s, but I'm not a fan of gritty content, so I've drifted more into literary fiction over the years. I was pleasantly relieved, when, for the most part, this book turned out to be more character driven and written in a literary style without the typical gory descriptions of many modern novels. It's a page turner and I read it pretty much straight through.
The two main characters are Larry (white), called 'Scary Larry' by the locals, and Silas (black), the local policeman. Growing up, the two were friends for a time when they lived in close proximity to each other. Then when Larry was in high school, he was accused by the community of killing a girl after a date, although the body was never found and Larry was never formally charged. Due to all this, Larry lives a lonely life in almost total isolation, with only his books (mostly horror) to keep him company.
Fast forward about 20 years and now another girl is missing. Naturally, the police consider Larry 'a person of interest' in the case, and Silas, his old boyhood friend, must get involved in trying to solve the girl's disappearance.
This book is about a lot more than just the mysteries of the two girls' disappearances. It's about race, class, friendship, and family. I enjoyed it and would definitely read another book by this author, especially if Silas were one of the characters.
Crooked Letter Crooked Letter
is on the shortlist for the 2011 Edgar Awards.
It was fun to read both
The Hunger Games
and
Catching Fire
back-to-back for the read-a-thon. I'm glad I didn't have a long wait between the first two books of the trilogy, but obviously I'll have a longer wait for the third book to come out. The bad part is, the cliffhanger between 2 and 3 is quite a bit greater than from 1 to 2 in my opinion. I do look forward to reading the next book.
I liked this sequel about the same as the first book and both books received a rating of 4 stars. As I said in my post about
The Hunger Games
, though, I still feel there are some better written young adult dystopian books out there. However, this series, though a bit dark and violent, will definitely keep you going until the very last page.
2009, 391 pp.
Disclosure: I received this book from a promotional company (but after I had already purchased
The Hunger Games
).
Avi's Newbery-winning book of an orphan boy known at first only as 'Asta's son' is a familiar one, but it is also entertaining. When his mother dies, 'Asta's son' soon finds himself on the run and is forced to flee the only town and home he has ever known. Leaving with only the clothes on his back and his mother's lead cross, he does find some people who are willing to help him, but are they truly friendly, or do they only want to find out who he really is and why he's being tracked?
This book contained adventure, mystery, and history, and I really enjoyed it. Both of my sons read the book a few years ago, and I know they really liked it as well.
I read this book because I needed an 'I' author and another book that fit the Canadian Challenge. This short novel is essentially about two sisters' obsession with Yoshi Takahshi, their Japanese concert pianist neighbor. I love classical music so I was hoping music would play a big part in the story. Although music obviously plays a role, the bulk of the plot centers around the girls' adoration of Yoshi.
The girls use every excuse they can to visit him and even start to decorate their rooms in a spartan, Japanese style. Yoshi encourages the girls and even invites them to accompany him on an overnight trip to one of his concerts. As you can probably guess, a s*xual situation develops. The book flashes back and forth from when Jean and Collette were young teenagers and both had crushes on Yoshi to the present in which they are now grown. Even as adult women, their obsession continues.
I most enjoyed the parts of the book where it concentrated on Jean's struggle to continue on with her own music -- especially the conversation she has with her father, also a musician. This book was the basis for a Canadian film called
The Pianist
(different than the film with the same name starring Adrien Brody).
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
.
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.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (
John 13:34-35
,
ESV
)
I love southern fiction, and I was especially interested in reading this book as the setting is in southeastern Mississippi, which is close to where I live now in Mobile, Alabama. I use to read a lot more mysteries than I read now, particularly in the early 1990s, but I'm not a fan of gritty content, so I've drifted more into literary fiction over the years. I was pleasantly relieved, when, for the most part, this book turned out to be more character driven and written in a literary style without the typical gory descriptions of many modern novels. It's a page turner and I read it pretty much straight through.
It was fun to read both
The Hunger Games
and
Catching Fire
back-to-back for the read-a-thon. I'm glad I didn't have a long wait between the first two books of the trilogy, but obviously I'll have a longer wait for the third book to come out. The bad part is, the cliffhanger between 2 and 3 is quite a bit greater than from 1 to 2 in my opinion. I do look forward to reading the next book.
Avi's Newbery-winning book of an orphan boy known at first only as 'Asta's son' is a familiar one, but it is also entertaining. When his mother dies, 'Asta's son' soon finds himself on the run and is forced to flee the only town and home he has ever known. Leaving with only the clothes on his back and his mother's lead cross, he does find some people who are willing to help him, but are they truly friendly, or do they only want to find out who he really is and why he's being tracked?
I read this book because I needed an 'I' author and another book that fit the Canadian Challenge. This short novel is essentially about two sisters' obsession with Yoshi Takahshi, their Japanese concert pianist neighbor. I love classical music so I was hoping music would play a big part in the story. Although music obviously plays a role, the bulk of the plot centers around the girls' adoration of Yoshi.
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.
I loved this book, perhaps even more than
