So many books . . .

The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh (2006)

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:14:49 GMT

Katla, whose mother was a Christian Irishwoman kidnapped in a Viking raid, has grown up a thrall (slave) in Viking Iceland. When her master Einar decides to follow Erik the Red to establish a Norse settlement on Greenland, Katla is taken along. Unfortunately, she finds herself on the receiving end of unwanted attention from Einar's son Torvard, who savagely rapes her. An old seeress, Thorbjorg, accepts Katla into her own home instead, but Katla is pregnant and her tale of anguish is only beginning.

This book was awful, one of the few books I've been tempted to abandon unfinished. The narration alternates between Katla, her daughter Bibrau, and their new mistress Thorbjorg. This style does not work here, and their pretentious, rambling, internal monologues are exceedingly tiresome. I got the distinct impression that the author performed meticulous research in preparation, but then made sure she inserted every single morsel she learned somewhere into the book. This makes for some awkward passages that feel more like a lecture in Norse Mythology. This is a fascinating time in world history, but it could be done so much better.

Rating: 1/5

Further reading:
Lindbergh's homepage

March by Geraldine Brooks (2005)

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:33:09 GMT

In March, Geraldine Brooks takes on an intriguing and perhaps one of the most difficult genres: that of a companion novel to a better-known, well-loved work. In this case, the original is Alcott’s Little Women.

Mr. March, the male head of the family who is absent for most of LW, here gets his own story as he serves as an army chaplain in Virginia during the Civil War and is ultimately severely injured by rebel outlaws ransacking plantations. In between chapters, the reader also learns a great deal about March’s youth before settling down. March is an interesting story on its own, and made more fascinating when combined with LW. Faithful LW readers will definitely find some surprises.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Brooks' homepage
Geraldine Brooks (wiki)

The Hearth and Eagle by Anya Seton (1948)

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:25:03 GMT

Hesper Honeywood’s family has lived in Marblehead and run the Hearth and Eagle pub ever since the town’s founding around the 1630s, and she has grown up listening to her father extol the family’s rich history. Now, at the inception of the Civil War, her simple life is about to change when a local wise woman tells her future for a few coppers: She will have three men in her life, but she will know nothing but heartbreak.

This is definitely not one of Seton’s best works. Frankly, I didn’t buy into Hester’s relationships given the reader’s introduction to her personality in initial chapters – especially with Porterman, whose relationship is particularly disturbing with nothing leading up to their marriage (they are just suddenly together). Seton is talented, but this book was not satisfying.

Rating: 2/5

Further reading:
Anya Seton (wiki)

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation (...) by Harriet A. Washington (2006)

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:22:11 GMT

If your faith in humanity is already at an all-time low, don’t expect this book to be in any way uplifting or to provide any hope for the future. It is, however, very worth reading, bringing to light the many, many medical transgressions suffered by African Americans in the US, from the medical torture of slaves who could not object, all the way up to pharmaceutical company experiments in the 20th century whose objectives, procedures and side-effects were not disclosed to (and, in fact, were purposely kept from) their subjects.

While the subject matter was interesting and, at times, even fascinating, the author seemed to go in circles within the earlier chapters. By midway through the book she finds her stride.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Medical Apartheid homepage

Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras by Jeff Henderson (2007)

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:49:15 GMT

In Cooked, Jeff Henderson recounts his unlikely rise from a crack dealer in San Diego to a well-respected chef in a prestigious Las Vegas restaurant. His ambitions and inspiration came to him while serving a drug-related sentence in federal prison, and upon his release he put 100% of his efforts into educating himself, gaining experience, and convincing influential people in the restaurant business to take a chance on him.

Jeff’s gritty memoir was fascinating to me, someone to whom most of his life experiences are completely foreign, and I had a difficult time putting it down between sittings. One can’t help but admire his strength and resolve in making his dreams come true despite a past he wasn’t proud of.

Rating: 5/5

Further reading:
Henderson's homepage

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (2000)

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:43:32 GMT

In this second book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe is newly engaged to her friend Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Her fledgling detective business in Gaborone, Botswana, is doing well, and she takes on several new cases, including those of a cheating wife and a son who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She also learns that her secretary, Mma Makutsi, has some detecting talents of her own.

What is quickly becoming one of my favorite aspects of the books is the subtle ways the author provides small morsels of cultural information to the reader. Although chances are small I’ll ever be fortunate enough to visit myself, I feel like I’m slowly getting to know Botswana.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
McCall Smith's homepage
Alexander McCall Smith (wiki)

The Translator: A Tribeman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari (2008)

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:39:08 GMT

In 2003, the Sudanese government began systematically terrorizing, attacking and destroying rural villages in the Darfur region. Witnessing the slaughter of family and friends, Daoud Hari, a young Zaghawa tribesman, escaped across the western border to neighboring Chad. Well-educated by Sudanese standards and fluent in English, Arabic and Zaghawa, Hari then began his selfless work as a translator, sneaking international journalists back across the border into Sudan, all of them risking their lives in order to document the genocidal war in Darfur.

Hari’s experiences are told in gentle, simple prose, like that of a favorite storyteller. His story is horrific, heartbreaking and inspiring.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Daoud Hari (wiki)

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (2007)

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:58:15 GMT

Gods are only as powerful as the number of mortals who believe in them. As expected then, in the beginning of the 21st century, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite and the rest of the Greek pantheon are weak as kittens. However, they continue to exist, sharing a flat in London, leading dissatisfying mundane lives and trying to devise a way to regain their lost power and influence. Enter two unwitting mortals, a cleaner and her would-be boyfriend, and the result is a hilarious and crazy adventure, complete with heroic deeds.

I was a little bit bothered that the mortals seemed never to have heard of Greek gods. A lot of time has passed, but we still recognize the names. That was the one disconnect for me. Otherwise, I was impressed with this entertaining debut novel.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Phillips' homepage

God Is Dead by Ron Currie, Jr. (2007)

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:53:52 GMT

In the first chapter, somewhere during the Sudanese conflict in Darfur, God assumes the form of a woman armed only with a bottomless sack of sorghum and is killed by the Janjaweed. Subsequent chapters offer glimpses of how the world reacts in the years following God’s demise -- from child worship to child anti-worship, to a bizarre world scenario in which Postmodern Anthropologists and Evolutionary Psychologists are the factions battling it out in World War ?.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Ron Currie, Jr. (wiki)

World Without End by Ken Follett (2007)

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:49:38 GMT

As in Pillars of the Earth, to which WWE is the sequel, the city of Kingsbridge is brought to life with colorful, boisterous, endearing and occasionally excruciating detail. The story begins approximately 200 years after PotE. At 1,000 pages, it’s a hefty tome to lug around, but it’s a relatively quick and absorbing read.

In several ways WWE was almost like reading the first book over again. The protagonists’ and antagonists’ names have changed, but at times I felt, mildly disappointedly, that I’d read it all before. This was the only reason I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars. Still highly recommended as Follett’s prose is breathtaking as usual, but make sure you read PotE first.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Follett's homepage
Ken Follett (wiki)

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez (2007)

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:29:14 GMT

Debbie Rodriguez went to Afghanistan in 2001 originally as part of a humanitarian group. In Kabul she soon became sought after for her hairdressing background, which gave her the idea of opening a beauty school for local women whose new skills would enable them to earn additional income for their families. The struggle to find funding for the school, in addition to all of the cultural and political hoops to jump through in Afghanistan itself make for a fascinating story. At the end I found myself wanting to know more about what happened afterward, about Debbie’s Afghan husband, their life there, etc.

That said, I fervently regret reading a more recent news article before writing my review as it has dampened my enthusiasm for the book somewhat. As of June 2007, Debbie has apparently left Afghanistan and her husband for good, and many of her former students fear for their lives since the book’s publication. It was a great story, but I now wonder if some of the book’s resolutions weren’t quite as rosy as suggested.

Rating: 5/5

Further reading:
NPR article

The Sex Club by L.J. Sellers (2007)

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:22:27 GMT

On the same day that a bomb explodes at a Planned Parenthood clinic, a local teenager is found murdered. Are the two crimes connected? Detective Jackson has his hands full as clues begin to point in politically unfavorable directions. Kera, a nurse at the clinic who is constrained by confidentiality, begins a little investigating of her own and discovers that the local teen bible study group isn't quite what it appears.

The Sex Club has enough intrigue and suspense that you won't want to put it down, and it's a quick read. My complaints are few: Although Ms. Sellers would find me a friend on the same end of the political spectrum, even I had a hard time swallowing the big fat agenda being stuffed down my throat while trying to remain engaged with the story. It's not subtle. Sellers' primary "villain" is painfully 1-dimensional. It's hard to believe that someone with such intense compulsions could have a genuinely successful semblance of a normal life. Finally, as others have mentioned, the chat room scenes are wholly unbelievable, for so many reasons.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Sellers at Spellbinder Press

The Turquoise by Anya Seton (1946)

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:17:14 GMT

Born of Scots/Spanish parents in 1850s New Mexico and orphaned at a n early age, Fey is raised by poor neighbors. At 17, she hitches a ride out of town with Terry Dillon, a “special-elixir”-selling quack. While traveling the Santa Fe Trail, they marry and eventually arrive in Kansas with enough money for train fares to New York City. Predictably, Terry abandons Fey within days, just before Fey realizes she is pregnant. Alone, pregnant and without a source of income in the 19th-century metropolis, Fey must make some important decisions quickly.

I consider Seton to be one of my favorite authors, but I didn’t care much for this book. Seton’s prose is as usual superb, but there is something lacking in the appeal of the story itself. Fey’s financial aspirations didn’t ring true to me. I didn’t understand why she wanted money so badly, and then why she didn’t seem to care much about it when she did have it. This aspect of her personality felt like merely a plot device.

I recommend nearly all of Seton’s other works, especially Katherine.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Anya Seton (wiki)

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens (2007)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:16:15 GMT

Hitchens, like the recent works of Dawkins and Harris, implores 21st-century thinking individuals to reconsider the traditional views and roles of religion. Hitchens’ angle, however, is to demonstrate the ways in which religious beliefs do more harm on the large scale than good – and he is convincing. Religious influence clearly poisons humanity politically, physically, emotionally and in undoubtedly more subtle ways as well. I recommend Hitchens, as well as the authors listed above.

Rating: 5/5

Further reading:
Christopher Hitchens (wiki)

Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory (1998)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:10:45 GMT

John Tradescant (the elder) was one of the most skilled and famous gardeners in English history. He originally makes his mark creating gardens for Sir Robert Cecil before moving to Essex to work for the infamous George Villiers, favorite of kings James I and Charles I. Eventually, John’s talents are requested once again – this time by King Charles himself. Philippa Gregory brings John’s love for gardening and botany, as well as his yearning to discover and procure new species of flowers and trees, to life in such a way that the reader can easily share in John’s pride and fulfillment in his humble occupation.

My one complaint about the story is that John seems to step wholly out of character when it comes to Villiers, becoming decidedly wishy-washy and taking leave of his senses in a way that seems otherwise incompatible with his personality, even taking into consideration their lord/servant relationship. Despite this, I’m eager to read the sequel, which focuses on John Tradescant (the younger).

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Gregory's homepage
Philippa Gregory (wiki)

Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (2008)

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:05:46 GMT

Having made her way in the world, Janice Erlbaum decides to give something back to the homeless shelter at which she was a resident herself in her youth. While teaching beading classes to the young women, she befriends Sam, a resident who is both brilliant and disturbed. Janice quickly finds herself emotionally invested further and further in Sam’s rehabilitation and deteriorating health.

Have You Found Her takes the reader on an engaging rollercoaster ride. Ms. Erlbaum's husband Bill is either painted in an especially positive light or is an incredibly accommodating individual. I'm not sure I would have been as tolerant in the same situation! I regretted not finding out what the real story/mystery was involving Sam's father, as that may have provided some answers or some kind of closure.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Erlbaum's blog

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns (2007)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:27:49 GMT

While published for children, Tracking Trash is definitely readable by all, and is especially poignant for anyone who thinks that trash/litter just eventually disappears. The discovery of a floating garbage dump in the ocean the size of Alaska attests to the contrary. A few years ago I had a sudden realization myself at how dependent we are on plastics. Look around you right now: What isn’t made of plastic? It’s astounding. Two facts that will stick with me: No organism on earth can digest plastic, and plastic doesn’t naturally break down into anything – except smaller pieces of plastic.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Burns' homepage

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (2007)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:22:23 GMT

On Chesil Beach is a short story about one young couple’s disastrous wedding night. It is the 1960s in England, and Edward and Florence have just tied the knot. In their honeymoon hotel room they’re both nervous, but for very different reasons.

I didn’t find the story entirely believable, especially for the time period. I couldn’t imagine a young couple not talking about any of these things, or even recognizing that there might be a problem! They also didn’t seem to really know each other as intimately as a couple in such a situation should. I had a hard time sympathizing as I was kind of irritated with the absurd level of non-communication.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
McEwan's homepage
Ian McEwan (wiki)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (2005)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:15:59 GMT

Next in line to be executed for murder, Yelena is instead offered a chance to live – only by accepting the potentially lethal position as official food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Rather than face a more certain death, she opts for the only slightly less dangerous choice and begins her position recognition training under the tutelage of Valek, the Commander’s Second. She’s a quick study, but it becomes clear early on that someone is trying to get rid of her.

Although I enjoyed it, this book didn’t quite live up to the potential I thought the premise held. I still intend to read the sequel, though.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Snyder's homepage

Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast (2005)

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:39:30 GMT

On a quest to escort the orphaned New Formorians (children born with wings) back to the land of their ancestors, Brighid, a centaur huntress, discovers a complication she hadn’t anticipated: her quest companion, the warrior Cuchulainn, needs her help as well. Still grieving from the death of his love, it’s begun to threaten his soul.

I enjoyed this series’ first book, Elphame’s Choice, reasonably well, so I thought I’d give this one a try. Unfortunately, it’s too predictable and not especially satisfying. I think I’m through with P.C. Cast.

Rating: 2/5

Further reading:
Cast's homepage
P. C. Cast (wiki)

Never Kiss a Stranger by Madeleine Ker (2006)

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:34:03 GMT

Working as a live-in personal assistant for an author, Laura is awakened one night by the sound of someone breaking into their hotel suite. When she yells for help, the masked burglar kisses her to keep her quiet, then leaves. Who is he and what was he looking for?

Laura is a pretty but empty-headed, naïve and self-deprecating – the most annoying kind of heroine(?). I picked this up because Madeleine Ker is the pseudonym of one of my favorite authors, Marius Gabriel. It was my first foray into graphic novels in which the book is read back to front, which made for an interesting experience but took some getting used to. Disappointingly, it confirmed my suspicion that pulp romance written by a talented author is still empty, unfulfilling, pulp romance, even when “printed in flirty pink ink!”

Rating: 2/5

Further reading:
Marius Gabriel (wiki)

The Original Sin by Marius Gabriel (1992)

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:29:22 GMT

The Original Sin is an amazing family saga spanning three generations of women, beginning in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and climaxing in 1970s Arizona. It is a tale of family secrets, tragedy, war, passion, obsession, addiction, kidnapping, love, money, shame and redemption. This is the book that made me a Marius Gabriel fan. The first time I read it, in my late teens 10+ years ago, it utterly blew me away. This time around, too, I didn’t want it to end. It’s a shame that Mr. Gabriel is no longer writing novels.

Rating: 5/5

Further reading:
Marius Gabriel (wiki)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (2002)

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:08:18 GMT

Lamb is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek depiction of the life of Jesus, as told through the eyes of his best friend Levi (Biff). More than merely a retelling, it fills in the missing years of Jesus’ life between birth and messiahhood. Who knew he’d spent time studying in India and China? All your favorite Holy Family members, disciples and apostles make appearances, including Mary Magdalene (Maggie). It didn't quite live up to my lofty expectations -- i.e. I didn't fall out of bed laughing -- but great fun for anyone with a sense of humor, regardless of beliefs.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Moore's homepage
Christopher Moore (wiki)

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland (1999)

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:00:38 GMT

Girl in Hyacinth Blue is a series of vignettes chronicling the reverse history of a fictional Vermeer painting by the same name. Vreeland’s colorful portraits of Dutch life, from the wealthy to the poorest peasants, spanning several hundred years, are fascinating. I wouldn’t have minded delving further into each of the tales, and the only other thing that could have improved the book was if the painting, which plays a silent, starring role in each of the stories, really existed.

Rating: 3/5

Further reading:
Vreeland's homepage

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (2005)

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 03:52:25 GMT

In this slim volume, Marjane Satrapi gives us a peek into intimate conversations among Iranian women today. Her poignant drawings illustrate that, despite having to dress and conduct themselves conservatively outside the home, these women gossip and discuss sex in humorous, frank, and occasionally crude language with the best of them. Great fun!

Satrapi’s Persepolis books are also wonderful.

Rating: 4/5

Further reading:
Marjane Satrapi (wiki)