Stones From The River by Ursula Hegi. 1994, Poseidon Press. 509 pages.
I am almost to the end of my year-long Oprah Book Club challenge. This is #11 in my year-long, self-inflicted challenge, and this one has turned out to be an excellent read.
This is a book about the life of a woman in pre and post-World War II Germany. Trudi Montag has dwarfism, and was born to a loving father and an emotionally-disturbed mother, who dies before Trudi reaches adulthood.
Trudi learns to use her intelligence to counterbalance the many obstacles of dwarfism, and she is a likeable character with a sense of humor. This is a book about secrets, and Trudi learns at an early age that gossip and secrets will make people pay attention to her. She becomes the go-to person of her fictional village, Burgdorf, for the town gossip, and she works tirelessly to gain the trust and confidences of people. She spends her day tending the family’s pay-library with her father and talking with their many customers.
Most fascinating about this novel, though, is the time period. The chapters are by year, and as the book progresses past the first world war, through the Twenties and on to the Thirties, you feel the dread and anticipation of what you know is coming quickly in Germany. The book gives you a small-picture view of the effects of Nazism and the Hitler era on this small town and its residents. It addresses the question of how the German people could succumb to the influence of a charismatic, unbalanced leader and how this small town’s residents managed to deal with the brutal reality that eventually all were forced to accept.
Ostracism and the need to “fit in” is a major theme in this book. Trudi becomes friends as a child with Georg, whose mother, mistrusting men, dresses him as a girl, complete with long curls. He eventually persuades Trudi to cut off his hair, which begins a series of changes that will bring acceptance for him among his peers, and Trudi sadly watches him distance himself from her, the dwarf.
Trudi experiences a brutal act at the age of thirteen, which colors her feelings and actions throughout her life. She exacts her revenge on most of the guilty individuals by the end of the book.
She finds another friend, Eva Rosen, who ignores her at school but cultivates a private friendship. As the relationship is blossoming, Trudi betrays Eva’s confidence and causes her a great deal of pain at school, ending the friendship. After adulthood, the friendship will resume.
Trudi has a romantic relationship with a man that she initially deceives, and the two fall in love.
The war begins and progresses, and fear, cruelty and shame take over the town. People become suspicious and paranoid, and those who are different disappear or are taken by soldiers during the night. Trudi and her father hide fleeing Jews in their home after digging a tunnel to the house next door. Trudi herself is imprisoned.
This book is simply outstanding. This is one that you will not want to put down, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Because of time constraints, I listened to the book on CD, and, as always, wished I had read the book. I found myself needing to page back and check the names to see who was who, and this is difficult to do with a CD while driving down a highway.
Loved the book. Read it, and you will, too!
Out of five stars, I give Stones From The River….
* * * * *
Showing posts with label Oprah Book Club Selection Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oprah Book Club Selection Reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Oprah Book Club Selection #10 - Here On Earth by Alice Hoffman
Here On Earth by Alice Hoffman. 1999 Berkley, 336 pages.
It’s time for another book review. This is selection #10, with only two more to go from my year-long Oprah Book Club challenge.
This is a very good, well-written, frustrating novel.
The main character is March Murray, who returns to her small town for the funeral of the housekeeper who was her surrogate mother. March brings her teen-age daughter, Gwen, who is struggling with issues and has a bit of an attitude. March leaves her husband, Richard, who also grew up in the town, in California, where he is a college professor. The reader’s initial expectations are that March, as the protagonist, will also be the hero of the story, but these expectations will soon be dashed.
March promises her husband that she will return very shortly, but her long-lost love who broke her heart all those years ago steps in to change her plans.
I found March Murray to be totally unlikeable. She is selfish, narcissistic, seems to care little about her daughter, who she virtually abandons in her old farmhouse and is willing to give up everything, including her friends, husband and daughter, for her high-school sweetheart. Even more shocking, she risks her daughter’s safety while relentlessly pursuing the man of her dreams.
What makes this book mildly satisfying is that her old flame turns out to be a monster, and he and March do not live happily ever after. There are several characters that are much more interesting than March, including her daughter Gwen, March’s alcoholic, hermit brother, Alan and her nephew Hank.
If you like seeing people get their just rewards, and you love richly-drawn characters, then you will likely look past the frustration of your protagonist having few redeeming qualities.
This is a good book, well worth your time.
Out of five stars, I give Here On Earth….
* * *
It’s time for another book review. This is selection #10, with only two more to go from my year-long Oprah Book Club challenge.
This is a very good, well-written, frustrating novel.
The main character is March Murray, who returns to her small town for the funeral of the housekeeper who was her surrogate mother. March brings her teen-age daughter, Gwen, who is struggling with issues and has a bit of an attitude. March leaves her husband, Richard, who also grew up in the town, in California, where he is a college professor. The reader’s initial expectations are that March, as the protagonist, will also be the hero of the story, but these expectations will soon be dashed.
March promises her husband that she will return very shortly, but her long-lost love who broke her heart all those years ago steps in to change her plans.
I found March Murray to be totally unlikeable. She is selfish, narcissistic, seems to care little about her daughter, who she virtually abandons in her old farmhouse and is willing to give up everything, including her friends, husband and daughter, for her high-school sweetheart. Even more shocking, she risks her daughter’s safety while relentlessly pursuing the man of her dreams.
What makes this book mildly satisfying is that her old flame turns out to be a monster, and he and March do not live happily ever after. There are several characters that are much more interesting than March, including her daughter Gwen, March’s alcoholic, hermit brother, Alan and her nephew Hank.
If you like seeing people get their just rewards, and you love richly-drawn characters, then you will likely look past the frustration of your protagonist having few redeeming qualities.
This is a good book, well worth your time.
Out of five stars, I give Here On Earth….
* * *
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #9 - Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. 1948, Charles Scribner’s Sons
This is an outstanding novel by a South African author. It’s the story of a journey and a search. And a story of loss and new beginnings. The story centers around an old Anglican priest, Stephen Kumalo, who pastors a dying church in a small, also dying, South African village. Ignorance of agriculture has caused the soil to become barren and hard and the rivers to dry up, while the village people suffer and starve. The able-bodied men and young people have fled to Johannesburg, where they can find work and survive. These people include most of Stephen’s family, including his sister, Gertrude, his brother, John and Stephen’s son, Absalom.
The book opens with a letter, delivered to Stephen by a small child. Stephen and his wife, unaccustomed to receiving mail, are fearful to open it. When they finally do, they learn that Stephen’s sister is seriously ill in Johannesburg and needs his attention immediately. The cryptic letter is sent by an Anglican priest in Johannesburg, who is to become a central figure in the book.
Stephen and his wife pull out their entire savings, and Stephen begins the long trip to the city, hoping to find not only his sister, but his son and brother as well.
Stephen’s search leads him to all three, but the results are not joyous. He searches fruitlessly for his son, Absalom, hitting “just missed him’s at every turn. When he finally catches up to his son, Absalom has just been charged with murdering a white activist – the son of Stephen’s well-to-do neighbor in the small village.
This is a wrenching story of a man attempting to put his family and his village back together against all odds. It’s the story of a friendship between two men – one whose son was brutally killed by the other’s. The political strife of South Africa plays into the story, as does the difference between South African whites and blacks.
After Absalom is sentenced to death, the family’s hope and prayer is for the boy’s life to be spared through appeal. Stephen returns home to try and repair his tiny village and await word on his son’s fate.
The story ends with a sunrise, symbolizing hope in a dark world.
I highly recommend this book.
Out of five stars, I give Cry, The Beloved Country…..
* * * * *
This is an outstanding novel by a South African author. It’s the story of a journey and a search. And a story of loss and new beginnings. The story centers around an old Anglican priest, Stephen Kumalo, who pastors a dying church in a small, also dying, South African village. Ignorance of agriculture has caused the soil to become barren and hard and the rivers to dry up, while the village people suffer and starve. The able-bodied men and young people have fled to Johannesburg, where they can find work and survive. These people include most of Stephen’s family, including his sister, Gertrude, his brother, John and Stephen’s son, Absalom.
The book opens with a letter, delivered to Stephen by a small child. Stephen and his wife, unaccustomed to receiving mail, are fearful to open it. When they finally do, they learn that Stephen’s sister is seriously ill in Johannesburg and needs his attention immediately. The cryptic letter is sent by an Anglican priest in Johannesburg, who is to become a central figure in the book.
Stephen and his wife pull out their entire savings, and Stephen begins the long trip to the city, hoping to find not only his sister, but his son and brother as well.
Stephen’s search leads him to all three, but the results are not joyous. He searches fruitlessly for his son, Absalom, hitting “just missed him’s at every turn. When he finally catches up to his son, Absalom has just been charged with murdering a white activist – the son of Stephen’s well-to-do neighbor in the small village.
This is a wrenching story of a man attempting to put his family and his village back together against all odds. It’s the story of a friendship between two men – one whose son was brutally killed by the other’s. The political strife of South Africa plays into the story, as does the difference between South African whites and blacks.
After Absalom is sentenced to death, the family’s hope and prayer is for the boy’s life to be spared through appeal. Stephen returns home to try and repair his tiny village and await word on his son’s fate.
The story ends with a sunrise, symbolizing hope in a dark world.
I highly recommend this book.
Out of five stars, I give Cry, The Beloved Country…..
* * * * *
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #8 - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 2006, Alfred A. Knopf, publisher. 256 pages.
This is a book about a journey. A father, known as the Man and his son, known as the Boy, travel a bleak, ash covered road following an apocolypse that destroyed most of the world and most of its humans. The boy's mother, pregnant with him when the cataclysm occured, died by suicide before the story takes place. The father carries a revolver with two rounds - one for him and one for his son. As they walk down the highway headed south, hoping to find warmth and good people, they attempt to allude the others, mostly wanderers and tribesmen, who search for humans to kill and eat.
The journey is harrowing and bleak, and its few happy moments usually involve the pair stumbling upon deserted houses with canned food and supplies. Several cans of peaches provided untold joy to the father and son, who reveled in the sweet and strange tastes in what amounted to a food orgy. But always, the lack of hope hangs over the pair like shroud.
The father is spitting blood and knows that he doesn't have long to live. He hangs on as long as he can for his son, who will be forced to grow up quickly or succumb to the evil forces roaming the countryside.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are some passages that are truly disturbing, particularly one involving a new-born infant. However, it is a wonderful book that will lead you to think about what mankind is doing to the world and how we can improve the situation.
This novel won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Out of five stars, I give The Road....
* * * *
This is a book about a journey. A father, known as the Man and his son, known as the Boy, travel a bleak, ash covered road following an apocolypse that destroyed most of the world and most of its humans. The boy's mother, pregnant with him when the cataclysm occured, died by suicide before the story takes place. The father carries a revolver with two rounds - one for him and one for his son. As they walk down the highway headed south, hoping to find warmth and good people, they attempt to allude the others, mostly wanderers and tribesmen, who search for humans to kill and eat.
The journey is harrowing and bleak, and its few happy moments usually involve the pair stumbling upon deserted houses with canned food and supplies. Several cans of peaches provided untold joy to the father and son, who reveled in the sweet and strange tastes in what amounted to a food orgy. But always, the lack of hope hangs over the pair like shroud.
The father is spitting blood and knows that he doesn't have long to live. He hangs on as long as he can for his son, who will be forced to grow up quickly or succumb to the evil forces roaming the countryside.
This book is not for the faint of heart. There are some passages that are truly disturbing, particularly one involving a new-born infant. However, it is a wonderful book that will lead you to think about what mankind is doing to the world and how we can improve the situation.
This novel won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Out of five stars, I give The Road....
* * * *
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #7 - Songs In Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
Songs In Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris. 1995, Allen Lane. 740 pages.
This one took awhile to grow on me, but when it did, it definitely took hold. Songs In Ordinary Time is the story of the citizens of Atkinson, Vermont in 1960. With the world on the precipice of huge changes, the good citizens of Atkinson were feeling the uneasiness. The book has a huge list of characters, which created a challenge for me while listening to the book on my Ipod. As with other long, detailed books, there were times that I wanted and needed to “page back” and see who was related to whom. The author admits that she had to resort to cards taped all over her walls to keep up with the large number of characters while writing the book. But listening to the book did force me to pay very close attention to every detail until I was able to sort out the people and their relationships to each other, and that’s a good thing.
A major theme in the book is morality. The morality of the times as well as the morality of the individual characters. Marie Fermoyle, the center of the story, is a struggling single mother of three children. Alice, the oldest child, is graduating from high school and holds out hope that money will materialize for her to attend college. The middle child, Norm, is about sixteen and headstrong, but with a strong sense of responsibility to his mother and siblings. The youngest, Benjy, has emotional problems and spends most days in front of the television set.
The Fermoyle family is beset almost daily with humiliations and struggles. They must deal with Sam Fermoyle, the town drunk and ex-husband of Marie (and father of her children). Sam lives with his dour sister and invalid mother and his drunken antics are legendary in the small town. The two oldest children get jobs to help Marie with expenses as she desperately holds onto her pathetic, low-paying bookkeeping job. She manages to buy a ramshackle house, but the house is falling down around them and she has no more money to put into it and no husband to fix it up.
Omar Duvall, an intenerate salesman, enters the town after committing a horrendous crime known only to him. The citizens, all struggling with various trials, accept him as a hard-working, smart man. His silver tongue ingratiates him to the people and especially to Marie Fermoyle. Going against her nature, Marie lets Duvall into her home and into her heart. When Duvall comes across with a pyramid scheme involving selling soap, he sees the good folks of Atkinson as the perfect fools to launch his scheme. To the willing citizens, he is the Messiah that they are seeking.
Mary McGarry Morris has drawn these characters beautifully. The length of the book is understandable when you see the detail she has put into the descriptions of these people. This book’s greatness is in its characters, their constant struggles and their gut-wrenching need to believe in a savior. These are truly ordinary people in ordinary time. The book refers to Ordinary Time in religious vernacular as the time of the year when there are no holy holidays – just ordinary time. These folks are living through the ordinary time immediately before the country and the world undergoes great and momentous change. Their struggles and needs mirror our own. This is a book that I highly, highly recommend.
Out of five stars, I give Songs In Ordinary Time….
* * * * *
This one took awhile to grow on me, but when it did, it definitely took hold. Songs In Ordinary Time is the story of the citizens of Atkinson, Vermont in 1960. With the world on the precipice of huge changes, the good citizens of Atkinson were feeling the uneasiness. The book has a huge list of characters, which created a challenge for me while listening to the book on my Ipod. As with other long, detailed books, there were times that I wanted and needed to “page back” and see who was related to whom. The author admits that she had to resort to cards taped all over her walls to keep up with the large number of characters while writing the book. But listening to the book did force me to pay very close attention to every detail until I was able to sort out the people and their relationships to each other, and that’s a good thing.
A major theme in the book is morality. The morality of the times as well as the morality of the individual characters. Marie Fermoyle, the center of the story, is a struggling single mother of three children. Alice, the oldest child, is graduating from high school and holds out hope that money will materialize for her to attend college. The middle child, Norm, is about sixteen and headstrong, but with a strong sense of responsibility to his mother and siblings. The youngest, Benjy, has emotional problems and spends most days in front of the television set.
The Fermoyle family is beset almost daily with humiliations and struggles. They must deal with Sam Fermoyle, the town drunk and ex-husband of Marie (and father of her children). Sam lives with his dour sister and invalid mother and his drunken antics are legendary in the small town. The two oldest children get jobs to help Marie with expenses as she desperately holds onto her pathetic, low-paying bookkeeping job. She manages to buy a ramshackle house, but the house is falling down around them and she has no more money to put into it and no husband to fix it up.
Omar Duvall, an intenerate salesman, enters the town after committing a horrendous crime known only to him. The citizens, all struggling with various trials, accept him as a hard-working, smart man. His silver tongue ingratiates him to the people and especially to Marie Fermoyle. Going against her nature, Marie lets Duvall into her home and into her heart. When Duvall comes across with a pyramid scheme involving selling soap, he sees the good folks of Atkinson as the perfect fools to launch his scheme. To the willing citizens, he is the Messiah that they are seeking.
Mary McGarry Morris has drawn these characters beautifully. The length of the book is understandable when you see the detail she has put into the descriptions of these people. This book’s greatness is in its characters, their constant struggles and their gut-wrenching need to believe in a savior. These are truly ordinary people in ordinary time. The book refers to Ordinary Time in religious vernacular as the time of the year when there are no holy holidays – just ordinary time. These folks are living through the ordinary time immediately before the country and the world undergoes great and momentous change. Their struggles and needs mirror our own. This is a book that I highly, highly recommend.
Out of five stars, I give Songs In Ordinary Time….
* * * * *
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #6 - Paradise by Toni Morrison
For September's Oprah Book Club challenge, I have chosen Paradise, by Toni Morrison....
Paradise by Toni Morrison. 1997, Alfred A. Knopf. 318 pages.
“They kill the white girl first”. Another great first line, from a compelling book by one of the premier authors of our time, Toni Morrison. I listened to this book, and wished I had chosen the hard copy instead, because I often felt the need to go back and re-read pages. This book can be rather confusing, and not being able to page back makes it even more so.
This is the story of a small Oklahoma town called Ruby, formed in 1950 and inhabited by mostly-African Americans. The founders intended the town to be free of the prejudices and hatred encountered in other parts of the world, and the little town was, indeed paradise, at least for a time.
People being people, of course, Ruby could not be paradise forever. The base, animalistic tendencies of human beings eventually destroyed what the founding fathers of Ruby built, culminating in a bloody 1976 event that begins and ends the book.
As troubles begin to creep into Ruby, the good people of Ruby look for reasons. They focus on the people who are “different” from themselves – a group of down and out women of various colors and ages who, because of their circumstances, live together in an old convent at the edge of town. These women provide support and sustenance to each other, gently caring for the older women and bolstering those who have been beaten down by people and troubles.
This is a book about tolerance and intolerance. Even the African-Americans are intolerant of those not of the same blood (color) as themselves. The book is non-linear – it veers wildly – starting with the ending and moving back and forth through time. Again, I strongly recommend that you read, rather than listen to, the book for this very reason.
I found the ending rather ambiguous, probably by the author’s design. It’s not an easy book to read, but it will definitely keep your interest and make you think.
Out of 5 stars, I give Paradise…..
* * *
Paradise by Toni Morrison. 1997, Alfred A. Knopf. 318 pages.
“They kill the white girl first”. Another great first line, from a compelling book by one of the premier authors of our time, Toni Morrison. I listened to this book, and wished I had chosen the hard copy instead, because I often felt the need to go back and re-read pages. This book can be rather confusing, and not being able to page back makes it even more so.
This is the story of a small Oklahoma town called Ruby, formed in 1950 and inhabited by mostly-African Americans. The founders intended the town to be free of the prejudices and hatred encountered in other parts of the world, and the little town was, indeed paradise, at least for a time.
People being people, of course, Ruby could not be paradise forever. The base, animalistic tendencies of human beings eventually destroyed what the founding fathers of Ruby built, culminating in a bloody 1976 event that begins and ends the book.
As troubles begin to creep into Ruby, the good people of Ruby look for reasons. They focus on the people who are “different” from themselves – a group of down and out women of various colors and ages who, because of their circumstances, live together in an old convent at the edge of town. These women provide support and sustenance to each other, gently caring for the older women and bolstering those who have been beaten down by people and troubles.
This is a book about tolerance and intolerance. Even the African-Americans are intolerant of those not of the same blood (color) as themselves. The book is non-linear – it veers wildly – starting with the ending and moving back and forth through time. Again, I strongly recommend that you read, rather than listen to, the book for this very reason.
I found the ending rather ambiguous, probably by the author’s design. It’s not an easy book to read, but it will definitely keep your interest and make you think.
Out of 5 stars, I give Paradise…..
* * *
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #5 - White Oleander by Janet Fitch
The next book in my year-long Oprah Book Club Challenge is White Oleander, 1999, 390 pages. Published in hardback by Little Brown and Co., paperback in 2000 by Back Bay Books.
This is an intriguing first novel by Janet Fitch. Narrated by 13-year-old Astrid Magnussen, it’s the story of a young girl faced with heart-wrenching circumstances beyond her control. The mother-daughter theme is prevalent throughout.
Astrid lives with her mother, a poet with astounding beauty and considerable skills and fame. Astrid’s mother, Ingrid, uses her beauty to manipulate men. Her emotional problems ensure that Astrid’s life will never be safe and secure, and her huge ego ensures that Ingrid will never be a true success as a poet.
When the mother, Ingrid, becomes obsessed with a boyfriend that proves difficult to manipulate, she finds herself separated from her daughter. Astrid is left in the apartment, alone and terrified. When it becomes obvious that her mother will not be returning, Astrid enters the world of institutions and foster homes.
Throughout Astrid’s teenage years, her disturbed, manipulative mother wields her considerable power over her daughter in absentia.
This is a story of survival, of finding oneself in the worst of circumstances, in understanding who and what you have become, and eventually, in triumphing over what life has offered.
It’s a nice read. Out of five stars, I give White Oleander…..
* * * *
This is an intriguing first novel by Janet Fitch. Narrated by 13-year-old Astrid Magnussen, it’s the story of a young girl faced with heart-wrenching circumstances beyond her control. The mother-daughter theme is prevalent throughout.
Astrid lives with her mother, a poet with astounding beauty and considerable skills and fame. Astrid’s mother, Ingrid, uses her beauty to manipulate men. Her emotional problems ensure that Astrid’s life will never be safe and secure, and her huge ego ensures that Ingrid will never be a true success as a poet.
When the mother, Ingrid, becomes obsessed with a boyfriend that proves difficult to manipulate, she finds herself separated from her daughter. Astrid is left in the apartment, alone and terrified. When it becomes obvious that her mother will not be returning, Astrid enters the world of institutions and foster homes.
Throughout Astrid’s teenage years, her disturbed, manipulative mother wields her considerable power over her daughter in absentia.
This is a story of survival, of finding oneself in the worst of circumstances, in understanding who and what you have become, and eventually, in triumphing over what life has offered.
It’s a nice read. Out of five stars, I give White Oleander…..
* * * *
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #4 - Fall On Your Knees
July's book on my Oprah challenge list is Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. It was a fairly easy read, with less pages than my previous books. Fall on Your Knees is a complicated, sweeping novel that will keep your interest. Will you like the book? Read it and find out!
Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. 2002. 512 pages. Touchstone.
Dark, dark, dark. If you love dark novels, you’ll go crazy over this one. The first line is a big hint – “They’re all dead now.” (That’s a great first line, by the way).
This novel was set in Nova Scotia, which attracted me to the book, since I know very little about this part of Canada. I was disappointed to find that the setting did not figure into the book – it could have just as easily been set in Texas. There were not many elaborate descriptions of wind-swept cliffs and eerie, creeping fog. MacDonald is no Charles Frazier, which is fine, but when a story is set in Nova Scotia you expect the locale to figure into the story at least a tiny bit.
The story is a sweeping account of a family, headed by James Piper. Piper is a complicated man with a number of imperfections and at least one extremely serious fault.
James, 18, marries twelve-year old Materia Mahmoud after a whirlwind romance. One of the enduring themes of the novel is the mixture of different people - different races and different cultures. The culture clash caused by this marriage results in Materia’s family disowning her. A combination of bad fortune and her husband’s abusive nature drives Materia into madness. It’s really difficult to review this book in depth from Materia’s madness forward, since anything else I say will give away some of the twists and turns of the story.
The book covers three generations of the Piper family and all of their troubles and afflictions.
The book explores incest, child abuse, race, religion, prostitution, and several more adult subjects. I can’t say the book wasn’t interesting and well-written, and if that is mainly what you are looking for, then the book is probably worth your time. For me, personally, it was too relentlessly depressing - the final quarter of the book was the only thing that moved it from a two-star book to a three.
Out of five stars, I give Fall On Your Knees ….
* * * (barely)
Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. 2002. 512 pages. Touchstone.
Dark, dark, dark. If you love dark novels, you’ll go crazy over this one. The first line is a big hint – “They’re all dead now.” (That’s a great first line, by the way).
This novel was set in Nova Scotia, which attracted me to the book, since I know very little about this part of Canada. I was disappointed to find that the setting did not figure into the book – it could have just as easily been set in Texas. There were not many elaborate descriptions of wind-swept cliffs and eerie, creeping fog. MacDonald is no Charles Frazier, which is fine, but when a story is set in Nova Scotia you expect the locale to figure into the story at least a tiny bit.
The story is a sweeping account of a family, headed by James Piper. Piper is a complicated man with a number of imperfections and at least one extremely serious fault.
James, 18, marries twelve-year old Materia Mahmoud after a whirlwind romance. One of the enduring themes of the novel is the mixture of different people - different races and different cultures. The culture clash caused by this marriage results in Materia’s family disowning her. A combination of bad fortune and her husband’s abusive nature drives Materia into madness. It’s really difficult to review this book in depth from Materia’s madness forward, since anything else I say will give away some of the twists and turns of the story.
The book covers three generations of the Piper family and all of their troubles and afflictions.
The book explores incest, child abuse, race, religion, prostitution, and several more adult subjects. I can’t say the book wasn’t interesting and well-written, and if that is mainly what you are looking for, then the book is probably worth your time. For me, personally, it was too relentlessly depressing - the final quarter of the book was the only thing that moved it from a two-star book to a three.
Out of five stars, I give Fall On Your Knees ….
* * * (barely)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Oprah Book Club Selection #3 - The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle
Oprah’s Book Club Selection – My Personal Project
If you are a regular reader of All Trails Lead Home, you know that I have set a personal goal for the next year – Read and report on one book from Oprah’s Book Club each month until April, 2011.
The book I chose for June is The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. 566 pages. 2008. Harper Collins/Ecco
I will begin with the ending and get the controversial part out of the way. If you Google this book, almost every discussion or review will spend a great portion of the space lamenting the ending of the book. Most people absolutely hate the ending. They detest it. They abhor it. It disturbs them, it bothers them, it colors their view of the entire book. One person went so far as to say this...."If you want to be furious at a book, read this one!"
C’mon, now….I don’t mind the ending, and I don’t think one should read this book with the dread of eventually meeting up with the ending. Not every story has a happy ending, not every person and dog lives happily ever after. Some do, some don’t. Some do in this book, some don’t. And face it - how many classic books involving dogs end happily? So, jack up your courage and get ready to read a warm, wonderful, beautiful story. It’ll be ok….I promise.
This book is a re-telling of Hamlet, which should tell you something if you know the great Shakespeare play. Set in the late fifties or early sixties, the story revolves around the Sawtelle family who, for generations, have bred and trained a special, fictional breed of dog called the Sawtelle Dog. These dogs are bred for their intelligence, intuition and special ability to problem-solve. The main character is, of course, Edgar Sawtelle, a boy who was born mute. He connects intuitively to the dogs and compares himself to The Jungle Book’s Mowgli.
Edgar’s first memory is of his best friend, Almondine, (Shakespeare would call her Ophelia) the family dog that is his protector and constant companion throughout the book. It’s impossible to read this book and not fall in love with Almondine. Wroblewski even cleverly devotes chapters to Almondine and her thoughts.
Edgar’s parents, Gar and Trudy (Shakespeare would call her Gertrude) are close, loving parents who are totally devoted to Edgar and the dog business. Set in rural Wisconsin, Wroblewski’s lush and sweeping descriptions of country life and the countryside makes a person want to pick up and move there. Edgar’s life is ideal until his father’s mysterious brother, Claude (Shakespeare would call him Claudious) moves in with the family. Things go downhill quickly and the pace of the book picks up considerably.
The book is at once emotional, haunting, colorful, imaginative, mystical and human. The characters are well-drawn, although I would have liked to know more about the motives of some of them. It’s difficult to believe that this is Wroblewski’s first novel. Whether you love dogs or not, you will be mesmerized by this book.
The ending is fast, frenetic, crazy and gut-wrenching. You will be spent at the end of this book, and you will want more.
I loved this book. Knowing Shakespeare’s Hamlet helped me to not be shocked at the ending. If you love the book but hate the ending, maybe you should blame Shakespeare. I hope you will read this terrific book and be as enthralled as I was. I’d love to see your take on it – please comment and let us know what you think of The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle.
Out of 5 stars, I give The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle….
* * * * *
If you are a regular reader of All Trails Lead Home, you know that I have set a personal goal for the next year – Read and report on one book from Oprah’s Book Club each month until April, 2011.
The book I chose for June is The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. 566 pages. 2008. Harper Collins/Ecco
I will begin with the ending and get the controversial part out of the way. If you Google this book, almost every discussion or review will spend a great portion of the space lamenting the ending of the book. Most people absolutely hate the ending. They detest it. They abhor it. It disturbs them, it bothers them, it colors their view of the entire book. One person went so far as to say this...."If you want to be furious at a book, read this one!"
C’mon, now….I don’t mind the ending, and I don’t think one should read this book with the dread of eventually meeting up with the ending. Not every story has a happy ending, not every person and dog lives happily ever after. Some do, some don’t. Some do in this book, some don’t. And face it - how many classic books involving dogs end happily? So, jack up your courage and get ready to read a warm, wonderful, beautiful story. It’ll be ok….I promise.
This book is a re-telling of Hamlet, which should tell you something if you know the great Shakespeare play. Set in the late fifties or early sixties, the story revolves around the Sawtelle family who, for generations, have bred and trained a special, fictional breed of dog called the Sawtelle Dog. These dogs are bred for their intelligence, intuition and special ability to problem-solve. The main character is, of course, Edgar Sawtelle, a boy who was born mute. He connects intuitively to the dogs and compares himself to The Jungle Book’s Mowgli.
Edgar’s first memory is of his best friend, Almondine, (Shakespeare would call her Ophelia) the family dog that is his protector and constant companion throughout the book. It’s impossible to read this book and not fall in love with Almondine. Wroblewski even cleverly devotes chapters to Almondine and her thoughts.
Edgar’s parents, Gar and Trudy (Shakespeare would call her Gertrude) are close, loving parents who are totally devoted to Edgar and the dog business. Set in rural Wisconsin, Wroblewski’s lush and sweeping descriptions of country life and the countryside makes a person want to pick up and move there. Edgar’s life is ideal until his father’s mysterious brother, Claude (Shakespeare would call him Claudious) moves in with the family. Things go downhill quickly and the pace of the book picks up considerably.
The book is at once emotional, haunting, colorful, imaginative, mystical and human. The characters are well-drawn, although I would have liked to know more about the motives of some of them. It’s difficult to believe that this is Wroblewski’s first novel. Whether you love dogs or not, you will be mesmerized by this book.
The ending is fast, frenetic, crazy and gut-wrenching. You will be spent at the end of this book, and you will want more.
I loved this book. Knowing Shakespeare’s Hamlet helped me to not be shocked at the ending. If you love the book but hate the ending, maybe you should blame Shakespeare. I hope you will read this terrific book and be as enthralled as I was. I’d love to see your take on it – please comment and let us know what you think of The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle.
Out of 5 stars, I give The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle….
* * * * *
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Read For Your Health - The Oprah Book Club Selection Challenge
....Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me....Oh - time for another blog post.....
Oprah’s Book Club Selection – My Personal Project
The Book For May, 2010: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
If you are a regular reader of All Trails Lead Home, you know that I have set a personal goal for the next year – Read and report on one book from Oprah’s Book Club each month until April, 2011.
My second choice in this journey was almost more than I could handle – Oprah’s 60th selection - Ken Follett’s epic 12th century novel Pillars of the Earth. Because of limited reading time, I decided to listen to the CD version of the book on my commute and various travels. I have to tell you – if you choose to read this book, it must be a long-term commitment. The book is contained on 32 (yes, 32!) CD’s. 976 pages if you choose to read the old-fashioned way. At least my public library was kind enough to package the CD’s in Part 1 and Part 2 – 16 CD’s each. I took every bit of my 3 week check-out period to get through each part.
First published in 1989, this historical novel pays homage to Follett’s love of church architecture, which I do not share. However, although the building of a cathedral is central to the plot, Follett doesn’t unduly dwell on the details of how this is actually done. The few times he lingered a little too long on something that only an architect could love, I will admit to fast-forwarding a little.
The real stars of this show are the compelling characters: Tom Builder, the, well, builder, who teams with the good and honorable, but wily prior of the Kingsbridge monastery, Philip, to raise the beautiful cathedral; Lady Aliena, the heroine of the story who rose from a horrendous experience to become a strong player in the intrigue and politics of the day; Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge, and the hero Jack, brilliant but unpredictable son of a gentle story-teller and a suspected witch. The evil ones – Brutal William Hamleigh and his strange, crafty mother, the corrupt Bishop Wallerin Bygod, the animalistic Alfred – half-brother of Jack.
Final verdict after 976 pages (32 cd’s)….Pillars of the Earth is a great novel and well-worth the time commitment. Read it and you will not be sorry.
The book begins with a public hanging and a curse, and the frenetic pace slows only rarely. This is the type of book that you hate to put down. The best stories pit good against evil, and Follett’s story, at its core, does just that. The good characters are not perfect and are usually somewhat flawed, but the evil characters are bad to the bone.
Beware – there is brutality in this book, both to humans and animals. I totally skipped over a bear-baiting episode and a cat-stoning. Just didn’t want to deal with them. (Ironically, a friend who is also a Pillars fan, told me later that the cat escaped the stoning – something I would have known had I not taken the easy way out.)
A good companion website to the book is: http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Your-Guide-to-The-Pillars-of-the-Earth-by-Ken-Follett
I made it through the 32 disks and was sad when it finally came to an end. This book was a good and trusted companion on my drives to and from work and the longer treks to visit family. The book was satisfying, even though the really bad guys took way too long to get their just rewards! I didn’t just like the book, I loved it. A true epic, historical tale, and you don’t even have to be a history fan to enjoy it.
There is an eagerly-awaited mini-series based on this book coming up this summer on STARZ. This might be a good reason to subscribe, at least until you see the movie.
Follett has released a sequel to Pillars of the Earth entitled World Without End. A friend of mine read it and loved it, so I’ll probably give it a try when this Oprah challenge is finished.
Out of 5 stars, I give Pillars of the Earth….
* * * *
Oprah’s Book Club Selection – My Personal Project
The Book For May, 2010: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
If you are a regular reader of All Trails Lead Home, you know that I have set a personal goal for the next year – Read and report on one book from Oprah’s Book Club each month until April, 2011.
My second choice in this journey was almost more than I could handle – Oprah’s 60th selection - Ken Follett’s epic 12th century novel Pillars of the Earth. Because of limited reading time, I decided to listen to the CD version of the book on my commute and various travels. I have to tell you – if you choose to read this book, it must be a long-term commitment. The book is contained on 32 (yes, 32!) CD’s. 976 pages if you choose to read the old-fashioned way. At least my public library was kind enough to package the CD’s in Part 1 and Part 2 – 16 CD’s each. I took every bit of my 3 week check-out period to get through each part.
First published in 1989, this historical novel pays homage to Follett’s love of church architecture, which I do not share. However, although the building of a cathedral is central to the plot, Follett doesn’t unduly dwell on the details of how this is actually done. The few times he lingered a little too long on something that only an architect could love, I will admit to fast-forwarding a little.
The real stars of this show are the compelling characters: Tom Builder, the, well, builder, who teams with the good and honorable, but wily prior of the Kingsbridge monastery, Philip, to raise the beautiful cathedral; Lady Aliena, the heroine of the story who rose from a horrendous experience to become a strong player in the intrigue and politics of the day; Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge, and the hero Jack, brilliant but unpredictable son of a gentle story-teller and a suspected witch. The evil ones – Brutal William Hamleigh and his strange, crafty mother, the corrupt Bishop Wallerin Bygod, the animalistic Alfred – half-brother of Jack.
Final verdict after 976 pages (32 cd’s)….Pillars of the Earth is a great novel and well-worth the time commitment. Read it and you will not be sorry.
The book begins with a public hanging and a curse, and the frenetic pace slows only rarely. This is the type of book that you hate to put down. The best stories pit good against evil, and Follett’s story, at its core, does just that. The good characters are not perfect and are usually somewhat flawed, but the evil characters are bad to the bone.
Beware – there is brutality in this book, both to humans and animals. I totally skipped over a bear-baiting episode and a cat-stoning. Just didn’t want to deal with them. (Ironically, a friend who is also a Pillars fan, told me later that the cat escaped the stoning – something I would have known had I not taken the easy way out.)
A good companion website to the book is: http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Your-Guide-to-The-Pillars-of-the-Earth-by-Ken-Follett
I made it through the 32 disks and was sad when it finally came to an end. This book was a good and trusted companion on my drives to and from work and the longer treks to visit family. The book was satisfying, even though the really bad guys took way too long to get their just rewards! I didn’t just like the book, I loved it. A true epic, historical tale, and you don’t even have to be a history fan to enjoy it.
There is an eagerly-awaited mini-series based on this book coming up this summer on STARZ. This might be a good reason to subscribe, at least until you see the movie.
Follett has released a sequel to Pillars of the Earth entitled World Without End. A friend of mine read it and loved it, so I’ll probably give it a try when this Oprah challenge is finished.
Out of 5 stars, I give Pillars of the Earth….
* * * *
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Oprah's Book Club Selection #1 - The Poisonwood Bible
This is the beginning of my new project, reading one selection from Oprah's Book Club each month, and reporting on it in a Wednesday blog. April's book is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
This 1998 novel is set primarily in Africa, The Belgian Congo. It is the story of a fanatically-religious man, his wife and four daughters. Nathan Price, the patriarch, is a Baptist minister who moves his family to Africa in 1959 to save souls and bring the Africans to Christ. This is really the story of the girls, ranging in age from 5 to 15 at the beginning of the novel, and is told in the voices of the four girls and Orleanna, their mother.
The mother and daughters struggle to absorb the cruel changes from their lives in the United States (Georgia), while dealing with their father's unstable fanaticism and rigidity. The Congo's turbulent politics of the 1960's intertwine with the struggles of the women as the girls age and begin to grow up. It becomes obvious that their father, increasingly belligerant, will never leave Africa, and the women are faced with difficult choices as the Congo's government becomes more and more unstable.
The fates of Orleanna and the girls take widely different paths as the 1960's give way to the 1970's, 1980's and finally, 1990's.
If you have read some of Kingsolver's earlier works such as The Bean Trees, you will be surprised at The Poisonwood Bible. Extensive research obviously went into this highly-detailed historical novel, and it appears that Kingsolver grew up as an author with The Poisonwood Bible.
I highly recommend The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver just gets better and better as she ages and evolves as an author. Her latest, The Lacuna, tops The Poisonwood Bible by a hair. If you choose The Poisonwood Bible as your next read, you won't regret it!
This 1998 novel is set primarily in Africa, The Belgian Congo. It is the story of a fanatically-religious man, his wife and four daughters. Nathan Price, the patriarch, is a Baptist minister who moves his family to Africa in 1959 to save souls and bring the Africans to Christ. This is really the story of the girls, ranging in age from 5 to 15 at the beginning of the novel, and is told in the voices of the four girls and Orleanna, their mother.
The mother and daughters struggle to absorb the cruel changes from their lives in the United States (Georgia), while dealing with their father's unstable fanaticism and rigidity. The Congo's turbulent politics of the 1960's intertwine with the struggles of the women as the girls age and begin to grow up. It becomes obvious that their father, increasingly belligerant, will never leave Africa, and the women are faced with difficult choices as the Congo's government becomes more and more unstable.
The fates of Orleanna and the girls take widely different paths as the 1960's give way to the 1970's, 1980's and finally, 1990's.
If you have read some of Kingsolver's earlier works such as The Bean Trees, you will be surprised at The Poisonwood Bible. Extensive research obviously went into this highly-detailed historical novel, and it appears that Kingsolver grew up as an author with The Poisonwood Bible.
I highly recommend The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver just gets better and better as she ages and evolves as an author. Her latest, The Lacuna, tops The Poisonwood Bible by a hair. If you choose The Poisonwood Bible as your next read, you won't regret it!
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