"In truth she did not care. She did not care that the Lakashi were having 3.7 times the number of children as compared to other indigenous Brazilians over the course of their lifetimes. She didn't care where they lived or if they were happy or if they wanted the children they had. What she did care about, cared about very much in fact, was that her employer, who had virtually proposed marriage and then sent her off to the equator after one of Vogel's employees had died there, now refused to share with her the basic information of the research question."
-Marina's thoughts, from the novel
For a number of reasons, I'll rate this book a 2. I found it tedious with its long chapters, some over 35 pages and long paragraphs, often a whole page. I also found the premise rather hard to believe---a drug to extend women's reproductive years into their 70's. Who would want that? And I kept wishing there would be a "little less talk and a lot more action."
Main character Dr. Marina Singh works for a pharmaceutical company which has researchers working on a potentially valuable drug in the Amazon. Chief scientist on the project, Dr. Annick Swenson, will not respond to requests for updates. Mr. Jim Fox, Marina's boss (and lover) sends Anders Eckman, another Vogel employee to locate Swenson, and report on the progress of the research. Later Swenson writes that Eckman is dead but provides no details. Marina is sent to uncover the mystery and hopefully disclose to Fox how the project is moving forward.
Marina finds Brazil both beautiful and potentially dangerous. The insect-infested jungle with anacondas and cannibalistic natives possessing poison arrows would have been enough to have me on the first plane back to the USA! After Marina finally locates Swenson, she finds her challenging to work with, to say the least. Swenson's sarcasm and my-way-or-the-highway attitude is very unpleasant.
Patchett's character development is good. I came to like Easter, Milton and Barbara, especially. I found it very odd that Marina called her boss, and lover, Mr. Fox, whether in a professional setting or not. The Lakashi culture was interesting also. I suppose Ms. Patchett did some extensive research there.
I will stop here rather than risk revealing any spoilers. More after our Page Turner meeting and discussion. I am predicting few in the group will like this one.
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Our group average for this book was 3.2. There were no 5's at all, but only two 2's (one being mine, you may recall). Several members liked the writing style and enjoyed certain aspects of the novel but most of us thought it was slow getting started. We had an interesting discussion about having children later in life but most in our group are retired and were horrified to think of having a baby at our age. I can tell you not one of us was ready to go do research in the Amazon after reading this book! One lady in the group has been on a medical mission in the region and could shed some light on the native culture. She had not encountered cannibals, thank goodness!
Monday, June 13, 2016
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Allapattah by Patrick Smith
"Allapattah. Old long snouts. You may be called allapattah by some, but your real meaning is death. You would like to eat me, heh? You would kill all you touch, like instant death. But in the end you'll die too. You'll see. Only four of you are left, and someday soon there will be none. They will kill you, just as they are killing me, and there's nothing for both of us but death."
-Toby Tiger, from the novel
I am teaching an adult class using Patrick Smith's novel A Land Remembered. Until recently it was the only book by the author that I had read. Earlier this year I read Forever Island which also involves the plight of the Florida Seminoles. Allapattah was a short read at a mere 200 pages and it did get better the more I read. I will rate it a 3, enlightening but no fun at all. If you read it, you will see what I mean.
In the novel, Toby Tiger, a young Seminole is very bitter toward white men. He blames them for the destruction of his homeland and the death of his parents. He is married to Lucy Cypress, a Seminole whose father is a Christian pastor. Toby sees even Christianity as a threat to his way of life. His anger causes him to make some rash decisions and his poor judgment brings on more and more trouble. Even with good friend Josie Billie trying to talk sense into him, he is heading down a road of despair.
Toby's story is sad and one cannot help hoping that it is more exception than rule among these Florida native people. But, alas, I suspect it is all too common. With an elderly grandfather and pregnant wife to take care of, he loses his job and is forced to wrestle alligators and carve cypress figures for the tourists. Luckily Big Jim Bentley, owner of a small café/grocery store and the only likeable white man in the story, gives him a job. Unfortunately, Toby still tries to retaliate for the hurt he's experienced and the law is not on his side.
-Toby Tiger, from the novel
I am teaching an adult class using Patrick Smith's novel A Land Remembered. Until recently it was the only book by the author that I had read. Earlier this year I read Forever Island which also involves the plight of the Florida Seminoles. Allapattah was a short read at a mere 200 pages and it did get better the more I read. I will rate it a 3, enlightening but no fun at all. If you read it, you will see what I mean.
In the novel, Toby Tiger, a young Seminole is very bitter toward white men. He blames them for the destruction of his homeland and the death of his parents. He is married to Lucy Cypress, a Seminole whose father is a Christian pastor. Toby sees even Christianity as a threat to his way of life. His anger causes him to make some rash decisions and his poor judgment brings on more and more trouble. Even with good friend Josie Billie trying to talk sense into him, he is heading down a road of despair.
Toby's story is sad and one cannot help hoping that it is more exception than rule among these Florida native people. But, alas, I suspect it is all too common. With an elderly grandfather and pregnant wife to take care of, he loses his job and is forced to wrestle alligators and carve cypress figures for the tourists. Luckily Big Jim Bentley, owner of a small café/grocery store and the only likeable white man in the story, gives him a job. Unfortunately, Toby still tries to retaliate for the hurt he's experienced and the law is not on his side.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
"We're all of us afraid of many things, but if you make yourself smaller or let your fear confine you, then you really aren't your own person at all---are you? The real question is whether or not you will risk what it takes to be happy."
- Karen Blixen, from the novel
One of the other Page Turners selected this book for our group. I enjoyed it very much and gave it a 5 rating. I confess I read much of it before I realized it was a fictionalized account of a real person's life. The cover says A Novel and I took that at face value, never having heard of Beryl Markham. As it turns out she was a real woman and ahead of her time in many ways.
Beryl's story is sad in parts and inspiring in others. Her mother abandons her when she is very young and she is raised by an emotionally distant father in colonial Kenya, and in some ways by the nearby Kipsigis tribe. It reminded me of "it takes a village to raise a child." She grows up loving her freedom, the land and the animals, particularly the horses they tend and train. She later becomes the first woman to earn an English trainer's license. It was an interesting coincidence that I was reading this novel during Triple Crown racing season.
Beryl's social life is a roller coaster as she gets involved in several toxic relationships with men. When she finally meets her soul-mate, it is someone she cannot have.
Much later in the book she learns to fly a plane and becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, east to west. You would think I would have heard of her! Amelia Earhart, yes; Bessie Coleman, yes; Beryl Markham, no.
----------------------------------
Refreshments at our meeting today? Tasty edibles and delicious faux champagne! (Hey, we meet in a church.) A creative choice since characters were drinking champagne frequently!
I found Circling the Sun a real page turner, but not everyone in our group agreed. The group average was 3.6 with only one rating of 5 besides my own. Many of us agreed that Ms. McLain's writing style is pleasing and she develops the sense of place beautifully to make us see and feel Kenya in the 1920's.
One member who had read Beryl Markham's memoir, West with the Night and Isak Dennison's Out of Africa (story from Karen's perspective, see quote above) thought this book was a "shameless rip-off of the actual autobiographies." One thought it presumptuous of McLain to write Beryl's fictionalized story in first person but others of us found it more personal.
Our group had a hard time relating to the decadence of this society with all the drinking and marital infidelities. But we were reminded of the time---Roaring 20's, and place---British colonial Africa. I said it seemed a bit Gatsbyesque to me. Not a good thing for most of our group since we couldn't identify with those characters either.
Several of us who never heard of Beryl Markham were glad we read the book. Perhaps some who had not read the other two books mentioned above enjoyed it more than those who made the comparison. A few were heard to say they want to watch the film "Out of Africa" again.
One thing's for sure: this one gives you plenty to talk about!
- Karen Blixen, from the novel
One of the other Page Turners selected this book for our group. I enjoyed it very much and gave it a 5 rating. I confess I read much of it before I realized it was a fictionalized account of a real person's life. The cover says A Novel and I took that at face value, never having heard of Beryl Markham. As it turns out she was a real woman and ahead of her time in many ways.
Beryl's story is sad in parts and inspiring in others. Her mother abandons her when she is very young and she is raised by an emotionally distant father in colonial Kenya, and in some ways by the nearby Kipsigis tribe. It reminded me of "it takes a village to raise a child." She grows up loving her freedom, the land and the animals, particularly the horses they tend and train. She later becomes the first woman to earn an English trainer's license. It was an interesting coincidence that I was reading this novel during Triple Crown racing season.
Beryl's social life is a roller coaster as she gets involved in several toxic relationships with men. When she finally meets her soul-mate, it is someone she cannot have.
Much later in the book she learns to fly a plane and becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, east to west. You would think I would have heard of her! Amelia Earhart, yes; Bessie Coleman, yes; Beryl Markham, no.
----------------------------------
Refreshments at our meeting today? Tasty edibles and delicious faux champagne! (Hey, we meet in a church.) A creative choice since characters were drinking champagne frequently!
I found Circling the Sun a real page turner, but not everyone in our group agreed. The group average was 3.6 with only one rating of 5 besides my own. Many of us agreed that Ms. McLain's writing style is pleasing and she develops the sense of place beautifully to make us see and feel Kenya in the 1920's.
One member who had read Beryl Markham's memoir, West with the Night and Isak Dennison's Out of Africa (story from Karen's perspective, see quote above) thought this book was a "shameless rip-off of the actual autobiographies." One thought it presumptuous of McLain to write Beryl's fictionalized story in first person but others of us found it more personal.
Our group had a hard time relating to the decadence of this society with all the drinking and marital infidelities. But we were reminded of the time---Roaring 20's, and place---British colonial Africa. I said it seemed a bit Gatsbyesque to me. Not a good thing for most of our group since we couldn't identify with those characters either.
Several of us who never heard of Beryl Markham were glad we read the book. Perhaps some who had not read the other two books mentioned above enjoyed it more than those who made the comparison. A few were heard to say they want to watch the film "Out of Africa" again.
One thing's for sure: this one gives you plenty to talk about!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
"Wednesday 5 June 2013
134 lb, hours in a day 24, hours required to do all things supposed to do in day 36, hours spent worrying about how to fit in all things supposed to do in day 4, number of things supposed to have done actually done 1 (go to toilet)."
-from Bridget's diary
I fondly remembered Bridget Jones's Diary, both the novel and the movie with Renee Zellweger from years ago so I thought I'd like this one from 2013. I DID enjoy it but my rating is a 3 because it became a little tedious in parts. At 476 pages, it's probably longer than it should be.
Fielding uses a similar style to the original ...Diary in this sequel but along with diary entries she uses texts, emails and tweets to move the plot along. The quote is a great example.
In Mad About the Boy screenwriter Bridget Jones, still grieving over the tragic death of her precious husband Mark, tries to reenter the dating scene with a "toy boy" named Roxby McDuff who is 21 years younger. They call each other Roxster and Jonesy.
I found it difficult to identify with Bridget: she is British, a widow of a younger generation with 2 small children and more involved with social media, especially Twitter in this novel. I did find many of her antics amusing such as the treatment of her children's lice problem. It was a crazy coincidence that I had just watched an episode of "Fresh Off the Boat" on TV about the same subject! I also enjoyed the references to London since I had been there a year ago.
Basically I would recommend this book to women in their 40's or 50's. I don't believe most of our Page Turners group would find it satisfying.
134 lb, hours in a day 24, hours required to do all things supposed to do in day 36, hours spent worrying about how to fit in all things supposed to do in day 4, number of things supposed to have done actually done 1 (go to toilet)."
-from Bridget's diary
I fondly remembered Bridget Jones's Diary, both the novel and the movie with Renee Zellweger from years ago so I thought I'd like this one from 2013. I DID enjoy it but my rating is a 3 because it became a little tedious in parts. At 476 pages, it's probably longer than it should be.
Fielding uses a similar style to the original ...Diary in this sequel but along with diary entries she uses texts, emails and tweets to move the plot along. The quote is a great example.
In Mad About the Boy screenwriter Bridget Jones, still grieving over the tragic death of her precious husband Mark, tries to reenter the dating scene with a "toy boy" named Roxby McDuff who is 21 years younger. They call each other Roxster and Jonesy.
I found it difficult to identify with Bridget: she is British, a widow of a younger generation with 2 small children and more involved with social media, especially Twitter in this novel. I did find many of her antics amusing such as the treatment of her children's lice problem. It was a crazy coincidence that I had just watched an episode of "Fresh Off the Boat" on TV about the same subject! I also enjoyed the references to London since I had been there a year ago.
Basically I would recommend this book to women in their 40's or 50's. I don't believe most of our Page Turners group would find it satisfying.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
"It's a funny thing, hope. It's not like love, or fear, or hate. It's a feeling you don't really know you had until it's gone."
-Rebecca, from the novel
I prejudged this book by its cover----the title aroused my curiosity. Besides, it was on sale!
Main character Rebecca Winter is a photographer with a fading reputation and bank account who sets out to reinvent herself. She seemed very believable as a middle-aged woman----a member of the "sandwich generation"---with a son just beginning a career and aging parents. I could identify with her efforts to find purpose in her life.
Rebecca had been an award-winning artist especially known by a series of photographs called the Kitchen Counter Series, one of which was Still Life with Bread Crumbs, giving the novel its title. In her new life, she makes some mysterious discoveries which become a fresh series of photographs. Could this lead to a second chance at success?
I found the story confusing at times when the author would introduce a new character and suddenly begin narrating background about him or her. Quindlen's use of foreshadowing was frequent and interesting, eg. "Rebecca Winter knew that well, was about to learn it even better." Chapter titles are clever and help to keep the reader engaged, as well.
I am rating Still Life with Bread Crumbs a 3---good, but not great.
-Rebecca, from the novel
I prejudged this book by its cover----the title aroused my curiosity. Besides, it was on sale!
Main character Rebecca Winter is a photographer with a fading reputation and bank account who sets out to reinvent herself. She seemed very believable as a middle-aged woman----a member of the "sandwich generation"---with a son just beginning a career and aging parents. I could identify with her efforts to find purpose in her life.
Rebecca had been an award-winning artist especially known by a series of photographs called the Kitchen Counter Series, one of which was Still Life with Bread Crumbs, giving the novel its title. In her new life, she makes some mysterious discoveries which become a fresh series of photographs. Could this lead to a second chance at success?
I found the story confusing at times when the author would introduce a new character and suddenly begin narrating background about him or her. Quindlen's use of foreshadowing was frequent and interesting, eg. "Rebecca Winter knew that well, was about to learn it even better." Chapter titles are clever and help to keep the reader engaged, as well.
I am rating Still Life with Bread Crumbs a 3---good, but not great.
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
"The rest of the day, Sookie kept catching glimpses of herself in the mirror. She knew she looked the same on the outside. She walked and talked like the same person. But she didn't know who or what she was on the inside."
-from the novel
I have been a fan of Fannie Flagg (pun intended) for years but had somehow missed reading this book from 2013. In reading it I realized how much I've missed the Southern charm of her stories.
The novel begins in Point Clear, Alabama in 2005 when Mrs. Earle Poole, Jr., called Sookie, receives a registered letter which reveals a shocking family secret. This revelation throws Sookie into a serious identity crisis. Sookie's conflict alternates through the novel with a secondary plot involving the Jurdabralinski family from 1928 into the 1940's.
Polish immigrants, the Jurdabralinskis come to own Wink's Phillips 66 filling station in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Spunky Fritzi and her sisters run the station when their father is taken ill and brother Wink is serving in the army, explaining part of the title The All-Girl Filling Station... Ahead of her time, Fritzi learns to fly, becomes part of a flying circus and later joins the WASPs (Women's Air Force Service Pilots), a little-known unit serving gallantly in WWII.
Discovering the intersection of Sookie and Fritzi's stories make the book a page-turner. The interesting characters add even more charm.
"A Conversation with Fannie Flagg and Pat Conroy" in the Reader's Guide section at the end was a treat for me because Conroy is a favorite of mine, as well.
I am rating The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion a 5. I enjoyed it very much and even gained some knowledge and appreciation for women's contributions in WWII.
----------------------
This novel became our March 2017 selection for the Page Turners group. Since I had read it close to a year before, I had to do a little review, including reading this blog post. Our group seemed to enjoy the book with ratings of 4 and 5. The average was 4.3. Several of us had known little about the WASPs in WWII but one member of our group has personally known women who were pilots of that organization. She, too, is a pilot and has flown with some of them. She assured us that Fritzi's character combined many of their attributes. The All-Girl Filling Station.... made for an enjoyable discussion!
-from the novel
I have been a fan of Fannie Flagg (pun intended) for years but had somehow missed reading this book from 2013. In reading it I realized how much I've missed the Southern charm of her stories.
The novel begins in Point Clear, Alabama in 2005 when Mrs. Earle Poole, Jr., called Sookie, receives a registered letter which reveals a shocking family secret. This revelation throws Sookie into a serious identity crisis. Sookie's conflict alternates through the novel with a secondary plot involving the Jurdabralinski family from 1928 into the 1940's.
Polish immigrants, the Jurdabralinskis come to own Wink's Phillips 66 filling station in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Spunky Fritzi and her sisters run the station when their father is taken ill and brother Wink is serving in the army, explaining part of the title The All-Girl Filling Station... Ahead of her time, Fritzi learns to fly, becomes part of a flying circus and later joins the WASPs (Women's Air Force Service Pilots), a little-known unit serving gallantly in WWII.
Discovering the intersection of Sookie and Fritzi's stories make the book a page-turner. The interesting characters add even more charm.
"A Conversation with Fannie Flagg and Pat Conroy" in the Reader's Guide section at the end was a treat for me because Conroy is a favorite of mine, as well.
I am rating The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion a 5. I enjoyed it very much and even gained some knowledge and appreciation for women's contributions in WWII.
----------------------
This novel became our March 2017 selection for the Page Turners group. Since I had read it close to a year before, I had to do a little review, including reading this blog post. Our group seemed to enjoy the book with ratings of 4 and 5. The average was 4.3. Several of us had known little about the WASPs in WWII but one member of our group has personally known women who were pilots of that organization. She, too, is a pilot and has flown with some of them. She assured us that Fritzi's character combined many of their attributes. The All-Girl Filling Station.... made for an enjoyable discussion!
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent."
-Horton, Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
I probably would never have thought to read this book without one of our book club members selecting it. I surely would not have taken on another nonfiction after working my way through The Path Between the Seas. I did enjoy the book, however, and learned a great deal. I am rating it a 4.
Mostly biographical, the book tells the story of Brit James Howard Williams who comes to be known as Elephant Bill. It begins in 1920 when Williams, as a very young man, arrives in Burma to work for Bombay Burmah Trading, the top teak-cutting corporation in the area. He will end up working with the elephants who haul the teak timber. Over time, he falls in love with these huge animals and becomes something of an elephant whisperer.
In the latter part of the book, Bill, also known as Jim by his family, becomes a hero during WWII when he saves many lives---people and elephants---against great odds. I had never heard of him before reading the book, nor did I know elephants had affected the war effort in any way.
Elephant Bill is a very admirable character---brave, determined, caring, smart. His relationship with the elephant Bandoola, who could easily be called the king of the Burma jungle, was very interesting. One often hears the saying "an elephant never forgets" but who knew that along with a good memory they have many other fine qualities: "courage, loyalty, the ability to trust (and the good sense to know when to be distrustful), fairness, patience, diligence, kindness, and humor." (p xii) Williams felt that he acquired some of these virtues from working with the animals. He said, "...the elephant takes a more kindly view of life than we do."
I was familiar with The Faithful Elephants, a children's picture book by Yukio Tsuchiya. It was also set in WWII. I am glad Elephant Company was not so sad!
If you are an animal lover, I think you would enjoy this book.
-Horton, Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
I probably would never have thought to read this book without one of our book club members selecting it. I surely would not have taken on another nonfiction after working my way through The Path Between the Seas. I did enjoy the book, however, and learned a great deal. I am rating it a 4.
Mostly biographical, the book tells the story of Brit James Howard Williams who comes to be known as Elephant Bill. It begins in 1920 when Williams, as a very young man, arrives in Burma to work for Bombay Burmah Trading, the top teak-cutting corporation in the area. He will end up working with the elephants who haul the teak timber. Over time, he falls in love with these huge animals and becomes something of an elephant whisperer.
In the latter part of the book, Bill, also known as Jim by his family, becomes a hero during WWII when he saves many lives---people and elephants---against great odds. I had never heard of him before reading the book, nor did I know elephants had affected the war effort in any way.
Elephant Bill is a very admirable character---brave, determined, caring, smart. His relationship with the elephant Bandoola, who could easily be called the king of the Burma jungle, was very interesting. One often hears the saying "an elephant never forgets" but who knew that along with a good memory they have many other fine qualities: "courage, loyalty, the ability to trust (and the good sense to know when to be distrustful), fairness, patience, diligence, kindness, and humor." (p xii) Williams felt that he acquired some of these virtues from working with the animals. He said, "...the elephant takes a more kindly view of life than we do."
I was familiar with The Faithful Elephants, a children's picture book by Yukio Tsuchiya. It was also set in WWII. I am glad Elephant Company was not so sad!
If you are an animal lover, I think you would enjoy this book.
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