Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel
by Anthony Marra
Hogarth, 2013. 384 pgs.

Fiction This is the best book I have read this year, and in a long time really . This riveting debut novel (it's difficult to believe this is Marra's first) is a gut wrenching, deeply compassionate, and sweeping tale of love, betrayal, death and life set against the back drop of war torn Chechnya spanning several decades. Sonja, the solitary and bereft surgeon spends her days amputating legs of land mine victims in an otherwise empty hospital and continuously searches for her sister Natasha. Akhmed the incompetent village doctor who wishes he had studied art endeavors to save the life of the girl Havaa whose father has just been taken in the night to a prison camp.

Slowly, these and other beautifully wrought characters weave together to form nuanced tapestry that illustrates both the horrors and shared humanity we are driven to in the face and wake of extreme trauma and loss. Marra does not allow the reader to fully condemn or laud any of the characters despite their moments of huge failing and huge greatness. His ability to deliver characters so whole, who you come to know so intimately, is a true gift that left me astounded and moved. This book was not an easy read, it has gruesome, difficult to bear content, but will stay with me a long long time.

ZB

Monday, April 28, 2014

Family Life: A Novel

by Akhil Sharma
W.W. Norton and Company, 2014. 224 pgs. Fiction

Family Life is an intimate portrait of an Indian immigrant family told from the prospective of Ajay, the younger of two brothers in the Mishra family. The Mishra's leave Delhi is 1978 in pursuit of the American dream and land in Queens where Ajay's brother Birju quickly secures his parents love and praise by performing well in school and eventually earning a coveted spot in the Bronx High School of Math and Science. Tragedy strikes though when Birju in involved in an accident diving in a community pool which renders him brain damaged; unable to move or speak. 

The family reels in grief; the father takes up drinking, the mother becomes a martyr celebrity in the Hindu community, and Ajay struggles between guilt, rage, and love for his brother as he tries to earn any attention from his parents who are consumed by care for Birju. Told with deep compassion and stark clarity this is a quick and moving read. The complexities that befall this family as they struggle to survive in a foreign land resonate with the struggles of any family who has tried to navigate the landscape of tragedy.

ZB

Alena

Alena
By Rachel Pastan
 Riverhead. 2013. 320 pgs.

This book was supposed to really give fans of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca something new to enjoy in comparison. I read Rebecca a long time ago, but did not feel Alena  could really live up to that story. It was actually very intriguing and entertaining. Alena is the name of the character that we never meet and who the unnamed narrator will seem to never live up to. There is an underlining of dark stories and emotionally charged characters that lead up to an ending that I had to reread.

A brooding curator hires a new curator for his small art museum on Cape Cod. Everyone talks about Alena and her work done at the museum and the narrator knows her whim of taking the job may have been the wrong decision. Through investigation of her own and the help of the other characters that still love Alena, the main character finds out what really happened to Alena. In a twist, the end is sudden but in a way makes sense, as people are not what they seem in this clever retelling of Rebecca.

EW

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
By Jenny Colgan
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2014. 374 pages. Fiction.

Anna Trent doesn't know that a bizarre workplace accident will completely change her life. Cast adrift after being released from the hospital, Anna takes the advice of her former French teacher, Claire, who is also in the hospital for chemotherapy treatments, and leaves her small, British town to work as a shop assistant at one of the most elite chocolatiers in Paris. As she grows in confidence in her new environment, Anna learns about how to live and love life to the fullest.

Jenny Colgan's books are always good summer reads, much in the style of Sophie Kinsella and Hester Browne, but this most recent outing had a depth to it that was actually very refreshing. I could relate with Anna and enjoyed watching her blossom and grow as she successfully tackles the new and unexpected. Her story is contrasted with Claire's, told both in flashbacks to her teenage experience in Paris with world-renowned chocolatier Thierry Girard, and her contemporary struggles with cancer. The characters are lovely and the stories just a bit heartbreaking at times. (I'll admit, I had a little tear in my eye by the very end.) Colgan's story flows well, without the plot lulls that have sometimes plagued her previous books, making for a very effortless read. The book is mostly clean, although there is some strong language and references to sex, but nothing described in detail.

JH

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Love Life

Love Life
By Rob Lowe
Simon and Schuster Audio, 2014. Biography.

Having Rob Lowe read his own stories is something like sitting with him in his home and hearing them in person. His second book takes a look at other stories in his life ranging from his childhood, his marriage, his sons, more acting of course, and a look at how he loves his life. Lowe takes a look at his alcoholism, his poor choices, as well as his great choices and discusses the lessons learned from each moment in his life.

This second book of his takes more time to talk about his wife and children and the reader gets a great perspective on how Lowe matured after living a wild life in the acting industry. This book has more character stories and small snippets than Stories I Only Tell My Friends did but it is still a worthwhile read- or listen!

EW

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Wake the Dawn

Wake the Dawn
by Lauraine Snelling
FaithWords, 2013. 350 pages. Romance.

Snelling follows the lives of two broken characters as they work together to maintain order through the worst storm their small town has ever seen. Doctor Esther Hanson is struggling to treat the hoards of patients that come streaming through the doors of her under-equipped clinic and keep the panic of her PTSD in check in dire circumstances. Border Patrol agent Ben James has to crawl out of the pit of alcoholism he has fallen into after the tragic death of his wife in order to care for an abandoned baby he finds out in the woods. Each of them soon find, however, that as they lean on each other the pain of the past becomes less overwhelming.

While the book has its flaws, the are generally overshadowed by what is really right in it. The characters are compelling, if sometimes a little overwrought at times, and I was really eager to see if they would be able to pull together in the end. The issues are very contemporary and important as well, and the author is really able to bring God and religion into normal situations without sounding preachy or patronizing, which I really appreciated. There was also a good combination of action, romance, and introspection which kept it from ever feeling stale. A thought-provoking light read.

JH


Thursday, April 17, 2014

In Sunlight and In Shadow

Cover image for In sunlight and in shadowIn Sunlight and In Shadow
By Mark Helprin
Mariner Books, 2012. 720 pgs. Fiction

'In Sunlight and In Shadow' is at once both an epic love story, and a deep contemplation of human mortality. The story begins when Harry Copeland, recently returned from a harrowing experience as a paratrooper pathfinder in WWII, chances to see Catharine Hale on the Staten Island Ferry and immediately falls deeply in love with her. She quickly falls for him, but the romance of this story goes far beyond a surface romance and becomes also a love story between the reader and New York, with humanity and with life itself; all the while contrasted with the frailty of our mortality and the shadow that stands in contrast to the sunlight.

The story weaves around themes of war, love, family, honor, duty and art as Catherine and Harry fight for their love, and Harry fights for his business which is being crushed by mob extortionists. Large chunks of the novel are memories of Harry's time in combat, as well as vivid portraits of a post war New York City. As always, Helprin's ('A Winter's Tale', 'A Soldier of the Great War') gorgeous poetic descriptions and philosophical meditations far compensate for any weakness in over all structure. I actually started reading this, but quickly shifted to the audiobook available on Overdrive, which is very well done.

ZB

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The Dead in their Vaulted Arches

The Dead in their Vaulted Arches
By Alan Bradley
Random House Audio, 2014. 8 hours. Mystery.

Precocious 11-year-old chemist Flavia de Luce is back in the sixth installation of Alan Bradley's charming series. As the narrative begins, Flavia's long-lost mother, Harriet, is restored to the family and a man is pushed under a train. But Flavia's digging may bring out more family secrets than she is prepared to unearth.

Alan Bradley has created an amazingly entertaining character in Flavia de Luce and this most recent installment in the series is no exception. Much more introspective than his previous efforts, the book nonetheless has a lightness to it that makes it enjoyable to read. Flavia is very engaging and the reader is eager to suspend reality enough to view the world from through the eyes of one very intelligent 11-year-old girl. The audio is particularly spectacular, with Jane Entwhistle doing a wonderful job with the narration. A great, light mystery series for anyone who loves great characterization.

JH


One or Two Things I Learned About Love

One or Two Things I Learned About Love
By Dyan Sheldon
Candlewick Press, 2013. 288 pages. Young adult.

Hildy has only been on two and one half dates...and the half date doesn't count. Watching all her other friends with their boyfriends, she knows that no one is ever going to ask her out and she'll die alone with cats. But then, out of the blue, the cute boy at the coffee bar ask for her number and Hildy knows that this will be a summer she'll never forget.

I picked up this book, thinking from the title and the cover description, that this was going to be a typical, cute, and slightly unrealistic teen romance. What I found as I started reading is that Sheldon really is taking the time to teach Hildy, a very inexperienced girl, over the course of the summer what really is and what it is not. Connor is jealous and territorial and Hildy, in all her naivete, just thinks that her constant guilt at upsetting Connor is just what love is supposed to be. All of Hildy's friends can see that the relationship is not healthy; the reader knows even more perfectly how dysfunctional the relationship is; but Hildy herself, while she sees things that bother her, is very good at blaming his actions on her own inexperience, without making the reader annoyed that she's not getting it. Sheldon creates great characters (Hildy herself has a hilarious personality) and explores an important topic for teen girls. This is a romance that falls completely in the realm of reality, somewhere between the extremes of chick lit and Lifetime original movies.

JH

Monday, April 14, 2014

Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away
by Rebecca Goldstein
Pantheon Books, 2014. 456 pgs. Non-fiction.

This is a fascinating examination of the continuing relevance of philosophy in our lives. The author alternates between discussions of Plato and his writings in the context of his times and interesting hypothetical scenarios wherein Plato is alive today and is on book tour, participating in an panel discussion, a guest on a cable news show and a volunteer in a neurological study. These scenarios nicely illustrate how the questions Plato struggled with continue to tantalize and demonstrate how scientific advances do not render philosophic questions obsolete but rather create new contexts within which these questions continue to be debated. I found the imagined discussions with a contemporary Plato to be a fun and engaging counterpoint to the more scholarly discussions of his ideas that precede them. This would be a good read for anyone interested in exploring classical philosophic ideas but find reading Plato's works directly a daunting task.

CHW

Friday, April 11, 2014

Love Illuminated

Love Illuminated: Exploring Life's Most Mystifying Subject (With the Help of 50,000 Strangers)
By Daniel Jones
William Morrow, 2014. 213 pages. Nonfiction.

Daniel Jones, the editor of the New York Times' popular column "Modern Love" explores the nature of love as exemplified by the stories shared by his readership. He touches on ten different aspects of love, including pursuit, destiny, loyalty, and wisdom.

What I found most interesting about this book was its analysis of stories of modern love. We become too used to love as exemplified by Hallmark or romance novels; Jones shows us the reality of love, the hardness of love and the beauty of love, that is found when real people allow love into their lives. And yet the book never sinks into the sappy. Jones examines the hard and the sad, such as infidelity and loss, with equal compassion and understanding as the beautiful and touching. It is a book to make the reader think about their own relationships.

JH

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Night Guest


The Night Guest
By Fiona McFarlane
Faber and Faber, Inc., 2013. 241 pgs. Fiction


Fiona McFarlane's debut novel is a captivating, meditative mystery that examines the process of aging, memory, and relationships through the eyes of Beth; an aging widow living alone, except for two cats and a tiger who she thinks she hears at night prowling through her house. Then Frida arrives, claiming to have been sent by the government, and whips Ruth's world into order, all the while worming her way deeper and deeper into Ruth's life. As Ruth's world begins to slip at the edges with the blur of dementia, it is difficult for the reader to discern reality and the truth until suddenly everything snaps into focus with a stunning and heart wrenching conclusion.

 However, the mystery is not what captures center stage in this book. Much of the text is a beautiful, meditative reverie of a woman in her twilight years slipping between the present day and her past; memories of her childhood in Fiji, past loves, her own children, and her present life all crowd her mind and cause the reader to slide into a similar hazy view. Having lived with my own grandmother as she slipped into dementia I found this book particularly poignant and very accurate in the depiction of the phase of life. It is a fairly quick and thought provoking read. 


ZB

Monday, April 7, 2014

This Dark Road to Mercy

This Dark Road to Mercy 
By Wiley Cash
William Morrow. 2014. 240 pgs.


This book is so well written that I finished it in one day. The storyline is told from multiple points of view and is equally upsetting as it is heartwarming. This book had themes of atonement, redemption, vengeance and blood shed. Set in North Carolina, Cash starts the story with two sisters that have recently lost their mother and never had a father as he gave away his rights when they were young. The father comes in to the story as he wants to start his relationship with his daughters and has come in to some money that could provide a new life for all three of them.

The problem is that Wade is being followed. Not only by the authorities, but by the girls' court appointed guardian and a violent, former baseball player that not only wants to find Wade as part of his paid job but also to take revenge on him and anyone related to him. At times scary and other times heart warming, this book shows there are two sides to stories and often that people are family no matter what may have happened before.

EW

Frozen

Frozen
By Melissa De La Cruz
Putnam Juvenile. 2013. 336 pgs. Young Adult

This new series from Melissa de la Cruz's new series starts off dystopian, goes into a seafaring adventure, and ends with a bit of fantastical dragon magic. It makes for a really entertaining read and I ended it not wanting to wait for the next one. It also helped that the frozen city it takes place in is New Vegas, and my hometown is old Vegas. The author does a great job of building a creative and dark world in this new Ice Age and forming a new government, a group of violent mercenaries, and a world of magic all in the same book.

Nat deals black jack in one of the New Vegas casinos and believes she can find a place where water is still clean, trash isn't piked everywhere, and there is sun. She hires a mercenary, Ryan Wesson to take her there. The characters that are introduced as part of his crew and later as additions to the group are memorable and bring their own clever story line to each encounter. The story is really one adventure to find the Blue and with some romance and  difficult choices to make, Nat is a likable main character that I can't wait to see more of.

EW

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book
By Diane Muldrow
Golden Books, 2013. unpaged. Non-Fiction

Open the cover and a smile spreads across your face.  Read the introduction and your thoughts meander back to your childhood.  This book is a delightful stroll down memory lane for anyone who has owned or read a Golden Book.  You will need to read this short book of wisdom at least twice.  The first time you won't be able to stop yourself from trying to identify the illustrations. (Luckily answers are in tiny print at the bottom of each page.)  The second read will let you absorb the one line gems of "Golden" advice.

This is the perfect book to hug and read whenever you need a 10 minute escape from the present.
mpb