"Hot lights and cold steel. Surgery. The hot overhead lights and the cold steel scalpel. Got to find humor where you can."
-Dr. Liz Mackey, from the novel
There's a story behind the choice of this novel. After I joined the Facebook group of my high school class, I learned that one of my classmates was published author D. P. Lyle. Since I plan to go to the 50th class reunion next year, I decided I should definitely find one of his books. It's somewhat surprising I had not happened upon his writing before since I have read many mysteries by Patterson, Hoag, Clark and others. I enjoyed this one, as well, and will probably look for another.
When I began the book, I admit I thought it might be meant for a male audience---a bit coarse for me. It didn't take long for me to be sucked into the plot. I did wonder why the pages looked as if they have been splashed with dirty water. Never did figure that out. I am rating it a 3.5; it was definitely a page turner!
The novel features Dub Walker, a criminal and forensic expert and writer. He sets out to find the missing daughter of a friend and walks into the midst of some very strange serial killings. In the description of author D.P. Lyle, one can see much of main character, Dub Walker. Lyle is apparently a cardiologist, well-known forensic expert and a fairly prolific writer. He also grew up in Huntsville, Alabama which is the setting of the story. In fact, one of the things I liked the most was frequent mention of places so familiar to me from having lived in Huntsville, Rocket City, during much of my teens.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
"As my Popo used to say, life is a tapestry we weave day by day with threads of different colors, some heavy and dark, others thin and bright, all the threads having their uses. The stupid things I did are already in the tapestry, indelible, but I'm not going to be weighed down by them till I die. What's done is done; I have to look ahead."
-from the novel
I read Island Beneath the Sea by this author quite some time ago. I don't remember it well but I recalled that I liked it so this one jumped off the library shelf into my hand. I enjoyed Maya's Notebook and will rate it a solid 4.
The setting of the story jumps around a bit from Berkeley, California, to Las Vegas to a remote island of Chile, where the main character, Maya, attempts to restart her life, after having been thrown into chaos by the death of her beloved Popo. Most of the novel involves about a year in Maya's life which she narrates. One of the aspects that made the novel a page-turner for me was the mystery of why Maya had been sent from California to this remote location to hide out. What had she done? The reader does not find out for some time.
The author does an amazing job of fleshing out characters. Two of my favorites are Manuel who is providing a home to Maya as a favor to her grandmother who raised her, and Olympia Pettiford who plays a much smaller but crucial role in the story. Other characters are easy to hate---like Brandon Leeman and Roy Fedgewick, or quite loveable like Blanca and Freddy, along with the two I mentioned. Nini, the grandmother, is painted as something of a control freak, illustrated by this passage: "My Nini....assured me....the next swine who dared to insult me was going to have to deal with the Chilean mafia. This mafia was composed of her alone, but Mike O'Kelly and I were so afraid of her that we called my Nini Don Corleone." So, yes, there's some humor in the book also.
I learned a good bit about the culture of the island of Chiloe. Apparently there was sexism, widespread use of natural remedies, hospitality and the "law of reciprocity," in which one good turn deserves another. Allende should really know these things since she was raised in Chile.
Maya's Notebook is very well-written and I will definitely read another by this author.
-from the novel
I read Island Beneath the Sea by this author quite some time ago. I don't remember it well but I recalled that I liked it so this one jumped off the library shelf into my hand. I enjoyed Maya's Notebook and will rate it a solid 4.
The setting of the story jumps around a bit from Berkeley, California, to Las Vegas to a remote island of Chile, where the main character, Maya, attempts to restart her life, after having been thrown into chaos by the death of her beloved Popo. Most of the novel involves about a year in Maya's life which she narrates. One of the aspects that made the novel a page-turner for me was the mystery of why Maya had been sent from California to this remote location to hide out. What had she done? The reader does not find out for some time.
The author does an amazing job of fleshing out characters. Two of my favorites are Manuel who is providing a home to Maya as a favor to her grandmother who raised her, and Olympia Pettiford who plays a much smaller but crucial role in the story. Other characters are easy to hate---like Brandon Leeman and Roy Fedgewick, or quite loveable like Blanca and Freddy, along with the two I mentioned. Nini, the grandmother, is painted as something of a control freak, illustrated by this passage: "My Nini....assured me....the next swine who dared to insult me was going to have to deal with the Chilean mafia. This mafia was composed of her alone, but Mike O'Kelly and I were so afraid of her that we called my Nini Don Corleone." So, yes, there's some humor in the book also.
I learned a good bit about the culture of the island of Chiloe. Apparently there was sexism, widespread use of natural remedies, hospitality and the "law of reciprocity," in which one good turn deserves another. Allende should really know these things since she was raised in Chile.
Maya's Notebook is very well-written and I will definitely read another by this author.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Reading List 2013
This year we have read 9 books. Here are the titles and their ratings, in order from high to low, from the Park Lake Page Turners. There are separate blog posts for each of these.
4.9 A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith
4.2 My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
4.0 Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez
3.9 Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper
3.8 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3.8 Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3.6 Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
3.4 Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi
3.0 The House I Loved by Tatiana De Rosnay
2.9 The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo
4.9 A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith
4.2 My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
4.0 Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez
3.9 Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper
3.8 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
3.8 Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3.6 Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
3.4 Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi
3.0 The House I Loved by Tatiana De Rosnay
2.9 The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo
The Butler, A Witness to History by Wil Haygood
"What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler---a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world's most powerful home."
-producer Harvey Weinstein, speaking of Eugene Allen
Earlier this year I saw the movie called "The Butler" with a group of friends. We all enjoyed it very much and felt as if we had traveled back in time. The movie was a fictionalized account of the story of Eugene Allen, a butler at the White House through 34 years and 8 presidential administrations.
In this book Wil Haygood, first relates the biography of this amazing man, enhanced by the addition of many actual photographs. Haygood, also a writer for the Washington Post,was the first to share the story of Eugene Allen in 2008, just prior to the election of Barack Obama, America's first African-American president. His goal was to show changes in race relations through the eyes of someone who experienced them in a very unique way. I found Allen's life truly inspiring.
The latter part of the book deals with African-Americans, as portrayed through history in the film industry, leading into the making of the film, "The Butler." In the movie, Eugene Allen and his wife, Helene, are played beautifully by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. In this portion of the book, there are color photographs from the movie.
A few years ago our local history museum had a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian called The Working White House." Eugene Allen was featured, of course, and so was JFK's tie which was given to Allen by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Butler is a short and easy read with fascinating pictures. Very worthwhile, I say. My rating is 4.
-producer Harvey Weinstein, speaking of Eugene Allen
Earlier this year I saw the movie called "The Butler" with a group of friends. We all enjoyed it very much and felt as if we had traveled back in time. The movie was a fictionalized account of the story of Eugene Allen, a butler at the White House through 34 years and 8 presidential administrations.
In this book Wil Haygood, first relates the biography of this amazing man, enhanced by the addition of many actual photographs. Haygood, also a writer for the Washington Post,was the first to share the story of Eugene Allen in 2008, just prior to the election of Barack Obama, America's first African-American president. His goal was to show changes in race relations through the eyes of someone who experienced them in a very unique way. I found Allen's life truly inspiring.
The latter part of the book deals with African-Americans, as portrayed through history in the film industry, leading into the making of the film, "The Butler." In the movie, Eugene Allen and his wife, Helene, are played beautifully by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. In this portion of the book, there are color photographs from the movie.
A few years ago our local history museum had a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian called The Working White House." Eugene Allen was featured, of course, and so was JFK's tie which was given to Allen by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Butler is a short and easy read with fascinating pictures. Very worthwhile, I say. My rating is 4.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
"I don't know what this person did to you, and I am not sure I want to. But forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, You're not important enough to have a stranglehold on me. It's saying, You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future."
-Mary's advice to Sage, from the novel
This was an amazing novel, one of the author's best, in my opinion. I rate it a 5; I could hardly put it down!
The multi-layered plot was fascinating to me as the main character Sage Singer, dealing with her own grief and moral dilemma, finally hears her grandmother Minka's story of survival of the Holocaust. It becomes apparent that the excerpts of Ania's story interspersed throughout the novel are excerpts of Minka's writing, begun in her youth and continued through most of her ordeal in Nazi camps. So there is a story within a story within a story.
Many of my readers probably know historical fiction is my favorite genre. I have read other Holocaust stories that have lingered in my mind and heart. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, Number the Stars by Lois Lenski, and, of course, The Diary of Anne Frank, to name some favorites. (Most of those are young adult fiction but powerful stories, nonetheless.)
While my husband and I were in Washington, D.C. in May, 2013, we visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and were profoundly moved by it. Semidarkness, exposed pipes in the ceiling, bars, and many photographs cast a somber mood to the point that even teenagers in school groups were quiet. The distinct path from 4th floor down to 3rd down to 2nd, made one think of being herded as the Jews and other victims had been. A quote near the end of the tour said, "Remember what you saw today." I don't know how you could forget, especially the shoe exhibit! (If you have been there, you know what I am talking about!) The reading of the novel was almost like revisiting the memorial.
Author and Holocaust survivor, Elie Weisel, has said, "For the dead and the living we must bear witness." Books like
The Storyteller surely bear witness in a powerful way!
-Mary's advice to Sage, from the novel
This was an amazing novel, one of the author's best, in my opinion. I rate it a 5; I could hardly put it down!
The multi-layered plot was fascinating to me as the main character Sage Singer, dealing with her own grief and moral dilemma, finally hears her grandmother Minka's story of survival of the Holocaust. It becomes apparent that the excerpts of Ania's story interspersed throughout the novel are excerpts of Minka's writing, begun in her youth and continued through most of her ordeal in Nazi camps. So there is a story within a story within a story.
Many of my readers probably know historical fiction is my favorite genre. I have read other Holocaust stories that have lingered in my mind and heart. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, Number the Stars by Lois Lenski, and, of course, The Diary of Anne Frank, to name some favorites. (Most of those are young adult fiction but powerful stories, nonetheless.)
While my husband and I were in Washington, D.C. in May, 2013, we visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and were profoundly moved by it. Semidarkness, exposed pipes in the ceiling, bars, and many photographs cast a somber mood to the point that even teenagers in school groups were quiet. The distinct path from 4th floor down to 3rd down to 2nd, made one think of being herded as the Jews and other victims had been. A quote near the end of the tour said, "Remember what you saw today." I don't know how you could forget, especially the shoe exhibit! (If you have been there, you know what I am talking about!) The reading of the novel was almost like revisiting the memorial.
Author and Holocaust survivor, Elie Weisel, has said, "For the dead and the living we must bear witness." Books like
The Storyteller surely bear witness in a powerful way!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper
"I cursed him and began to cry. This man did not deserve my tears, my time, my love. It was flattering perhaps, in some perverted way, that he was sometimes jealous of me, but he had no right---no right, but that I loved him and ever would, and he surely yet loved me above all safety and sanity."
-from the novel
After plodding through the mostly depressing A Casual Vacancy, this novel was a breath of fresh air! Although I am no anglophile and my knowledge of Shakespeare is minimal, I really enjoyed the novel.
The story is told by Shakespeare's first wife, Anne Whately, wed to him only days before he is forced to marry the pregnant Anne Hathaway. She tells us that she and Will were friends from childhood and lovers after that until he dies. At the beginning of this fictional memoir, Mistress Shakespeare gives the reader "the rendering of [her] thoughts, emotions, and experiences [which are] part comedy and part tragedy as well as history, for life is such a mingling. And so, [she writes] this report of the woman born Anne Rosaline Whately, she who both detested and adored a man named William Shakespeare." This is the story in a nutshell.
Through half a century Anne and Will again and again disagree, separate and come back together. They survive deaths of friends and family members, political witch hunts, fire and plague, despair and phenomenal success. To Will, Anne is muse, assistant and even rescuer---more than once. It has been said that behind every great man is a woman and in this novel Queen Elizabeth is quoted as saying something similar to Anne Whately. If the premise of the book is to be believed the woman behind Shakespeare was Anne Whately, wife "not of his hearth but of his heart."
I gave Mistress Shakespeare a rating of 4. I especially liked the quotes from Shakespeare's works which made me want to attend a play or at least see the movie "Shakespeare in Love."
When the book club met to discuss the novel, one member went to some trouble to find and prepare recipes from the period, including an odd gingerbread. Along with those items, hot apple cider and apple crisp provided lovely refreshment for the group. We had a lively discussion using questions from the author's website. Members' ratings averaged 3.9. Among the observations and comments were:
-from the novel
After plodding through the mostly depressing A Casual Vacancy, this novel was a breath of fresh air! Although I am no anglophile and my knowledge of Shakespeare is minimal, I really enjoyed the novel.
The story is told by Shakespeare's first wife, Anne Whately, wed to him only days before he is forced to marry the pregnant Anne Hathaway. She tells us that she and Will were friends from childhood and lovers after that until he dies. At the beginning of this fictional memoir, Mistress Shakespeare gives the reader "the rendering of [her] thoughts, emotions, and experiences [which are] part comedy and part tragedy as well as history, for life is such a mingling. And so, [she writes] this report of the woman born Anne Rosaline Whately, she who both detested and adored a man named William Shakespeare." This is the story in a nutshell.
Through half a century Anne and Will again and again disagree, separate and come back together. They survive deaths of friends and family members, political witch hunts, fire and plague, despair and phenomenal success. To Will, Anne is muse, assistant and even rescuer---more than once. It has been said that behind every great man is a woman and in this novel Queen Elizabeth is quoted as saying something similar to Anne Whately. If the premise of the book is to be believed the woman behind Shakespeare was Anne Whately, wife "not of his hearth but of his heart."
I gave Mistress Shakespeare a rating of 4. I especially liked the quotes from Shakespeare's works which made me want to attend a play or at least see the movie "Shakespeare in Love."
When the book club met to discuss the novel, one member went to some trouble to find and prepare recipes from the period, including an odd gingerbread. Along with those items, hot apple cider and apple crisp provided lovely refreshment for the group. We had a lively discussion using questions from the author's website. Members' ratings averaged 3.9. Among the observations and comments were:
- the author's use of quasi-Elizabethan language was annoying
- the story was believable
- hearing such a revered literary figure as Shakespeare called "Will" was surprising and difficult to get used to
- there is interest in reading other works by this author
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling
"6.11 A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred:
(a) when a local councilor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or
(b) when his notice of resignation is received; or
(c) on the day of his death....
Charles Arnold-Baker, Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition"
-from the novel
Whew! I finally finished this one! What a disappointment it was! I have been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series by this author so I was looking forward to reading her first departure. I usually finish a book in a week or less. This one took at least twice as long, definitely not a page turner.
The story revolves around the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother, which leaves a seat on the Parish Council in the small town of Pagford. (This, of course, is the casual vacancy.) Several snobbish, self-absorbed characters become political enemies in vying for the seat. Add in some other small-minded characters who are seemingly at war---rich vs. poor, wives vs. husbands, teenagers vs. parents---and you get a tedious 500-page read. Where Rowling's Harry Potter novels were enchanting and oh, so creative, A Casual Vacancy is quite depressing. It seems as if she is trying too hard to break away from her niche as a children's author with disturbing adult themes, highly dysfunctional families and lots of foul language. I can only give this novel a 2 because I pretty much forced myself to finish it.
I do plan to read The Cuckoo's Calling by Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Her writing is still excellent. The Casual Vacancy is just NOT a good story. As one reviewer said, this novel has a vacancy of heart.
(a) when a local councilor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or
(b) when his notice of resignation is received; or
(c) on the day of his death....
Charles Arnold-Baker, Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition"
-from the novel
Whew! I finally finished this one! What a disappointment it was! I have been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series by this author so I was looking forward to reading her first departure. I usually finish a book in a week or less. This one took at least twice as long, definitely not a page turner.
The story revolves around the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother, which leaves a seat on the Parish Council in the small town of Pagford. (This, of course, is the casual vacancy.) Several snobbish, self-absorbed characters become political enemies in vying for the seat. Add in some other small-minded characters who are seemingly at war---rich vs. poor, wives vs. husbands, teenagers vs. parents---and you get a tedious 500-page read. Where Rowling's Harry Potter novels were enchanting and oh, so creative, A Casual Vacancy is quite depressing. It seems as if she is trying too hard to break away from her niche as a children's author with disturbing adult themes, highly dysfunctional families and lots of foul language. I can only give this novel a 2 because I pretty much forced myself to finish it.
I do plan to read The Cuckoo's Calling by Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Her writing is still excellent. The Casual Vacancy is just NOT a good story. As one reviewer said, this novel has a vacancy of heart.
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