"If she could have written more things she would have: how we do things we do not mean; we do evil things; if we see an open door, we will dart through it, before we lose our guts, no matter who is left behind, we will move at the chance to be free."
-Mirella's thoughts, from the novel
This will likely be short since I didn't really care much for either main character nor did I identify with the setting. I am not sure why I finished the book but it seems to be a curse of mine "to finish what I start." I will give a rating of 2.
Penelope Grand, an aspiring artist without much success, moves from Pittsburgh to Brooklyn to spend more time with her ailing father, Ralph. Not only has Ralph suffered an accidental injury, he is seemingly depressed over the loss of his record shop and is drinking too much. The family home on Halsey Street is in a neighborhood being greatly changed by gentrification.
Woven into Penny's story is that of her mother, Mirella, who abandoned the family some years before. When Penny receives a letter from Mirella, now living in the Dominican Republic, seeking reconciliation, she struggles with a response.
I found both Mirella and Penny to be pretty self-absorbed which is the main reason I didn't get emotionally involved. Also the author used quite a bit of Spanish without always providing translation or even context to help with meaning.
It WAS ironic that I just saw the play "In the Heights" a couple of weeks ago and it centered around a main character longing to return to his homeland of the DR---Dominican Republic. There was Spanish spoken in the play, too, but the viewer could always get the gist. Thank goodness I enjoyed the play since I really didn't like Halsey Street.
Friday, October 5, 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018
Vinegar Girl (The Taming of the Shrew Retold) by Anne Tyler
"In my country they have proverb: 'Beware against the sweet person, for sugar has no nutrition.'"
-Pyotr, from the novel
"Well, in my country they say that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
-Kate, from the novel
" But why you would want to catch flies, hah? Answer me that, vinegar girl."
-Pyotr
This book was recommended to me and, at only 237 pages, it was a short and simple story. I enjoyed it on its own merits. A 4 is my rating.
Since I had no recollection of Shakespeare's play (see subtitle), I had to read a summary of it. I found very little to compare to Vinegar Girl, I must say. The Taming of the Shrew features ill-tempered Katherine while this novel stars Kate Battista, a strong-willed, out-spoken woman, an eldest daughter taking care of her eccentric scientist father. Her father, Louis who is on the verge of a breakthrough in his research, proposes Kate marry Pyotr, his valued assistant, whose visa is about to expire. Kate is reluctant, as is the bride in Taming... but the marriage does take place and the ending is pleasantly surprising. Would you expect the line "Kiss me, Kate"? You won't be disappointed.
-Pyotr, from the novel
"Well, in my country they say that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
-Kate, from the novel
" But why you would want to catch flies, hah? Answer me that, vinegar girl."
-Pyotr
This book was recommended to me and, at only 237 pages, it was a short and simple story. I enjoyed it on its own merits. A 4 is my rating.
Since I had no recollection of Shakespeare's play (see subtitle), I had to read a summary of it. I found very little to compare to Vinegar Girl, I must say. The Taming of the Shrew features ill-tempered Katherine while this novel stars Kate Battista, a strong-willed, out-spoken woman, an eldest daughter taking care of her eccentric scientist father. Her father, Louis who is on the verge of a breakthrough in his research, proposes Kate marry Pyotr, his valued assistant, whose visa is about to expire. Kate is reluctant, as is the bride in Taming... but the marriage does take place and the ending is pleasantly surprising. Would you expect the line "Kiss me, Kate"? You won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi
"Men treasure their manhood as God's greatest gift
Because without it, justice is brutal and swift.
What good is a woman's telling of truth
When nothing she says will be taken as proof."
-Zeba, from the novel
When I checked this book out, I had only a week to read it before our book club meeting to discuss it. Not to worry---I finished it in less than 3 days. In fact, I could hardly put it down!
The story is compelling. First readers meet Zeba, an Afghan woman, who is found with her brutally murdered husband and is quickly assumed to be his killer. Next we are introduced to Yusuf, a native of Afghanistan brought to the U.S. as a youngster, who becomes a lawyer and follows his dream to return to his native land and work for justice. One could easily predict that Yusuf would end up defending Zeba. Indeed he does, and he has his work cut out for him since his client refuses to tell him what happened.
Gradually, we become acquainted with the women imprisoned with Zeba, as well as her family members. Her mother, Gulnaz, is particularly intriguing since she is known as a jadugar, or wizard, described by some as a "green-eyed sorceress." The reference to her haunting eyes reminded me of the very famous photograph of an Afghan woman in National Geographic years ago. In fact, when Yusuf meets her he "felt himself pulled by the crystalline green of her eyes. How exotic, he thought, feeling fully Western as it occurred to him. These were the kinds of eyes that foreign photographers would plaster on magazine covers." The reader soon becomes aware Zeba has inherited her mother's "gift." As she shares it with her cellmates, she is treated with reverence and awe. The women are also taken with her self-expression in couplets. (See above.) One of them, Latifa, composes her own near the end of the book:
"These hardheaded men from their pulpits won't budge.
How the world would be different if a woman could judge!"
I thought I would be comparing this novel to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though the setting is the same, I was relieved to find this book is not as graphic in its portrayal of violence toward women as …Suns. The fact that women are "second-class citizens" at best comes through loud and clear, however. I am reminded how blessed I am to be an American!
I feel A House Without Windows is very well-written. This was the first I've read by this author but won't be the last. I am rating it a 5 and I look forward to the meeting on Thursday to hear what the other Page Turners think!
---------------------------------------------
Our Page Turners' meeting today produced a very good discussion even giving cause to compare the plight of women in Afghanistan with that of American women of the past and even the present. The group appreciated the book overall, with an average rating of 3.7. We used questions from Savvy Reader which were the same as in the book club edition of the novel but hardly needed them since many had ready comments and questions. We first addressed who we thought killed Kamal and it was amazing how many different directions our minds had gone in predicting. The author, we felt, had planned it just so. We agreed that Gulnaz was an interesting character and we sure wouldn't want to get on her bad side! We also liked Timur for finding creative ways to get the neighbors to come forward in Zeba's behalf. We felt he had known of Kamal's evil nature and perhaps had witnessed his abuse. There was agreement that the judge was pretty wise and progressive. We liked Yusuf and some of us wanted to believe he and Sultana would later become a couple. The possibility of a sequel came up. I have to wonder about a film adaptation, as well. Hmmm....
Because without it, justice is brutal and swift.
What good is a woman's telling of truth
When nothing she says will be taken as proof."
-Zeba, from the novel
When I checked this book out, I had only a week to read it before our book club meeting to discuss it. Not to worry---I finished it in less than 3 days. In fact, I could hardly put it down!
The story is compelling. First readers meet Zeba, an Afghan woman, who is found with her brutally murdered husband and is quickly assumed to be his killer. Next we are introduced to Yusuf, a native of Afghanistan brought to the U.S. as a youngster, who becomes a lawyer and follows his dream to return to his native land and work for justice. One could easily predict that Yusuf would end up defending Zeba. Indeed he does, and he has his work cut out for him since his client refuses to tell him what happened.
Gradually, we become acquainted with the women imprisoned with Zeba, as well as her family members. Her mother, Gulnaz, is particularly intriguing since she is known as a jadugar, or wizard, described by some as a "green-eyed sorceress." The reference to her haunting eyes reminded me of the very famous photograph of an Afghan woman in National Geographic years ago. In fact, when Yusuf meets her he "felt himself pulled by the crystalline green of her eyes. How exotic, he thought, feeling fully Western as it occurred to him. These were the kinds of eyes that foreign photographers would plaster on magazine covers." The reader soon becomes aware Zeba has inherited her mother's "gift." As she shares it with her cellmates, she is treated with reverence and awe. The women are also taken with her self-expression in couplets. (See above.) One of them, Latifa, composes her own near the end of the book:
"These hardheaded men from their pulpits won't budge.
How the world would be different if a woman could judge!"
I thought I would be comparing this novel to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though the setting is the same, I was relieved to find this book is not as graphic in its portrayal of violence toward women as …Suns. The fact that women are "second-class citizens" at best comes through loud and clear, however. I am reminded how blessed I am to be an American!
I feel A House Without Windows is very well-written. This was the first I've read by this author but won't be the last. I am rating it a 5 and I look forward to the meeting on Thursday to hear what the other Page Turners think!
---------------------------------------------
Our Page Turners' meeting today produced a very good discussion even giving cause to compare the plight of women in Afghanistan with that of American women of the past and even the present. The group appreciated the book overall, with an average rating of 3.7. We used questions from Savvy Reader which were the same as in the book club edition of the novel but hardly needed them since many had ready comments and questions. We first addressed who we thought killed Kamal and it was amazing how many different directions our minds had gone in predicting. The author, we felt, had planned it just so. We agreed that Gulnaz was an interesting character and we sure wouldn't want to get on her bad side! We also liked Timur for finding creative ways to get the neighbors to come forward in Zeba's behalf. We felt he had known of Kamal's evil nature and perhaps had witnessed his abuse. There was agreement that the judge was pretty wise and progressive. We liked Yusuf and some of us wanted to believe he and Sultana would later become a couple. The possibility of a sequel came up. I have to wonder about a film adaptation, as well. Hmmm....
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
"Having a grandmother is like having an army. This is a grandchild's ultimate privilege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details. Even when you are wrong. Especially then, in fact." -from the novel
I selected this book for our Page Turners because we had really enjoyed A Man Called Ove by this author and because I was intrigued with the title. I must admit if it had not been a book club selection I probably would not have gotten past the first few chapters.
Protagonist Elsa is a precocious almost-eight-year-old who is bullied at school. Her Granny is her number one fan and protector. Granny is outrageous and wacky but also wise and loving. (See quote above---as a grandmother myself, I totally get it!)
Granny has created a fantasy world for Elsa called the Land-of-Almost Awake where there are dragons, cloud animals, knights, snow-angels and other odd beings. I am not a big fan of fantasy and some of these references were confusing to me. When the neighbor known as the Monster and a creature called the wurse were added to the plot, I was pretty frustrated. What was real and what was fantasy? I forced myself to keep reading, fortunately; I must admit the ending was rather touching. My rating is 3.
Elsa is charged by Granny to deliver letters of apology to various family members and neighbors. (see title) As Elsa carries out the deliveries, she starts to understand more about each character. The theme of family relationships rings true.
The author's style is unusual but worked fairly well considering the story is from a child's perspective. I did enjoy the references to the Harry Potter series. Elsa is a big fan, as am I. Yes, I said I don't love fantasy, but Harry Potter is an exception to the rule!
--------
Page Turners met without me to discuss this one, as I was out of town. Their average rating was 3. From what I heard, a few people loved the book.
I selected this book for our Page Turners because we had really enjoyed A Man Called Ove by this author and because I was intrigued with the title. I must admit if it had not been a book club selection I probably would not have gotten past the first few chapters.
Protagonist Elsa is a precocious almost-eight-year-old who is bullied at school. Her Granny is her number one fan and protector. Granny is outrageous and wacky but also wise and loving. (See quote above---as a grandmother myself, I totally get it!)
Granny has created a fantasy world for Elsa called the Land-of-Almost Awake where there are dragons, cloud animals, knights, snow-angels and other odd beings. I am not a big fan of fantasy and some of these references were confusing to me. When the neighbor known as the Monster and a creature called the wurse were added to the plot, I was pretty frustrated. What was real and what was fantasy? I forced myself to keep reading, fortunately; I must admit the ending was rather touching. My rating is 3.
Elsa is charged by Granny to deliver letters of apology to various family members and neighbors. (see title) As Elsa carries out the deliveries, she starts to understand more about each character. The theme of family relationships rings true.
The author's style is unusual but worked fairly well considering the story is from a child's perspective. I did enjoy the references to the Harry Potter series. Elsa is a big fan, as am I. Yes, I said I don't love fantasy, but Harry Potter is an exception to the rule!
--------
Page Turners met without me to discuss this one, as I was out of town. Their average rating was 3. From what I heard, a few people loved the book.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
"I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me."
-Anne Frank from The Diary of a Young Girl
Anticipating a trip to Amsterdam, including a tour of the Anne Frank house there, I chose to read this book. I can't actually remember having read it in my youth although I probably did. I had seen the film and stage adaptations so I was quite familiar with Anne's story. I had hoped to finish the book before our tour but had only completed about a quarter. As it turned out, the tour greatly enhanced the reading of the remainder. Seeing the "Secret Annex" as it was called, was very profound. It was hard to imagine being exiled with 8 people in such a small space for close to 2 years.
Anne Frank, a precocious and high-spirited girl, receives a diary for her 13th birthday and it will become her best friend, in a sense, as she and her Jewish family are forced into hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. Anne names her diary Kitty and shares her deepest feelings about her father, mother, sister, the Van Daan family and Mr. Dussel (Fritz Pfeffer). The reader learns that Anne feels great affection for her father but has a contentious relationship with her mother. She lets it be known she feels mistreated and under-appreciated by the others. She gradually forms a strong bond with Peter Van Daan. I recently read that Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, excerpted portions of the diary which referred to Anne's sexual feelings and conflict with her mother, before publication of the book. This edition had all the original material. It was interesting that such feelings weren't revealed in our tour of the "Secret Annex" at Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, even though a number of exhibits in the museum come straight from the book.
It is so sad to be reminded that all these refugees are caught just before the end of WWII and sent to separate concentration camps where all perish except for Anne's father, who finds her diary and thankfully, passes it on to the world. I will rate the book a 4. It was the perfect time for me to read it.
-Anne Frank from The Diary of a Young Girl
Anticipating a trip to Amsterdam, including a tour of the Anne Frank house there, I chose to read this book. I can't actually remember having read it in my youth although I probably did. I had seen the film and stage adaptations so I was quite familiar with Anne's story. I had hoped to finish the book before our tour but had only completed about a quarter. As it turned out, the tour greatly enhanced the reading of the remainder. Seeing the "Secret Annex" as it was called, was very profound. It was hard to imagine being exiled with 8 people in such a small space for close to 2 years.
Anne Frank, a precocious and high-spirited girl, receives a diary for her 13th birthday and it will become her best friend, in a sense, as she and her Jewish family are forced into hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. Anne names her diary Kitty and shares her deepest feelings about her father, mother, sister, the Van Daan family and Mr. Dussel (Fritz Pfeffer). The reader learns that Anne feels great affection for her father but has a contentious relationship with her mother. She lets it be known she feels mistreated and under-appreciated by the others. She gradually forms a strong bond with Peter Van Daan. I recently read that Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family, excerpted portions of the diary which referred to Anne's sexual feelings and conflict with her mother, before publication of the book. This edition had all the original material. It was interesting that such feelings weren't revealed in our tour of the "Secret Annex" at Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, even though a number of exhibits in the museum come straight from the book.
It is so sad to be reminded that all these refugees are caught just before the end of WWII and sent to separate concentration camps where all perish except for Anne's father, who finds her diary and thankfully, passes it on to the world. I will rate the book a 4. It was the perfect time for me to read it.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Here's to Us by Elin Hilderbrand
"It's not a house to us. It's a home. And it's not a home, it's a way of life. Our summertime happens here. This house is part of our past, it's our present, it'll be our future. It's who we are."
-memories of a home on Nantucket
I admit I selected this book because it was a bargain but I also thought I was familiar with the author. Either I confused her name with another writer OR this isn't her best work. I will rate Here's to Us a 2.5---I finished it but it is far from memorable.
The story centers on DeaconThorpe, a celebrity chef who, after the prologue, is deceased. He has left behind a beloved but heavily mortgaged Nantucket beach house and a wife and two exes to "fight" over it. Most of the story takes place over a 3-day period as the family gathers to memorialize Deacon and spread his ashes. There are "intermezzos," or flashbacks to give the reader insight into the love stories behind each of 3 marriages. The prologue involves Deacon as a boy enjoying a perfect day with his father at Nantucket while the epilogue, appropriately, describes his last moments in the same locale. The plot centers on the revealed secrets, jealousies and resentments between the women---Laurel, Belinda and Scarlet---and their children.
Unfortunately I didn't find any characters with whom I truly identified or cared about. After the last few books I have read, this one was pretty superficial. My husband would say it's "chick lit" but to this "chick" it left a lot to be desired.
-memories of a home on Nantucket
I admit I selected this book because it was a bargain but I also thought I was familiar with the author. Either I confused her name with another writer OR this isn't her best work. I will rate Here's to Us a 2.5---I finished it but it is far from memorable.
The story centers on DeaconThorpe, a celebrity chef who, after the prologue, is deceased. He has left behind a beloved but heavily mortgaged Nantucket beach house and a wife and two exes to "fight" over it. Most of the story takes place over a 3-day period as the family gathers to memorialize Deacon and spread his ashes. There are "intermezzos," or flashbacks to give the reader insight into the love stories behind each of 3 marriages. The prologue involves Deacon as a boy enjoying a perfect day with his father at Nantucket while the epilogue, appropriately, describes his last moments in the same locale. The plot centers on the revealed secrets, jealousies and resentments between the women---Laurel, Belinda and Scarlet---and their children.
Unfortunately I didn't find any characters with whom I truly identified or cared about. After the last few books I have read, this one was pretty superficial. My husband would say it's "chick lit" but to this "chick" it left a lot to be desired.
Friday, August 3, 2018
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while...People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long years." -Frank McCourt
Anticipating a visit to Ireland I wanted to read something with the flavor of the Emerald Isle. I began one novel titled Ireland but it started out slow and I gave it up. For some reason I thought of Angela's Ashes, an older book but one that I had heard of and thought to be set in Ireland. When I checked the library, no print copy was available but there was a recorded version on CDs. The library clerk suggested ordering the print copy to be delivered when available and in the meantime, listen to the recording. What a wonderful surprise this turned out to be! The book is narrated by the author, with his delightful Irish brogue. He changes his voice for different characters and even sings. Listening was a pure delight!
When the print copy came in the mail, I began reading and was several chapters in before I realized there are NO quotation marks and often no dialog tags like "he said" and such. In the narrated version, the dialog was obvious and, apparently, I was so used to the style, I had no confusion with the print copy.
Angela's Ashes is a memoir taking Frank McCourt from around four years old, when his family left New York for Ireland, to his late teens, when he finally achieves his dream to return to America. This reader's emotions ran the gamut---from profound sympathy for the abject poverty to anger focused on the alcoholic father to sadness over deaths in the family to the humorous perceptions of a child, especially regarding the Catholic faith and sex. One of my favorite laugh-aloud parts is Chapter IV in which Frank receives First Communion. The quote above, from the very first page, is illustrative of Frank's youth.
I was quite amused by the references to Presbyterians, seen by the Limerick folk as lower than low. I am Presbyterian and not used to being treated with scorn. An example is when Grandma is trying to get Frankie ready for First Communion, complains about this hair and says, "If your mother had married a proper decent Limerickman you wouldn't have this standing up, North of Ireland, Presbyterian hair." Seemingly, Presbyterians, North of Irelanders, the English and Americans are all seen in a very bad light.
It tickled me that each time Uncle Pat is mentioned, the reader is reminded he was dropped on his head as a child. I am going to borrow the expression "I don't give a fiddler's fart" from the novel though I don't remember which character used it.
I am sure I don't have to tell you I am rating this one a 5. It has me really looking forward to visiting Ireland. I enjoyed Angela's Ashes immensely and can't wait to read another by Frank McCourt. 'Tis has been recommended.
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