So many books . . .

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

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)

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)

 

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

 

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

 

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)

 

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 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

 

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)

 

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)