115 - Resurrection in May; Lisa Samson

In Resurrection in May, May Seymour was a young girl without direction. After graduating from college in Kentucky in 1993, and with no job offers in sight, she heads off to Rwanda to work with a mission. While she is there her village is attacked. She is tortured and left for dead, but she is miraculously found, and she is the lone survivor. May is sent back home, a woman forever changed, but the emotional scars run deep.

May ends up spending years on the farm of an elderly gentleman named Claudius Borne. The two met when she was still in college. He picked her up while she was walking home late one night; she was drunk and needed a ride. Claudius has taken May under his wings, now when she is so fragile. She is afraid to leave the farm --her safe haven. Little by little her life improves, and when she learns an old college boyfriend is a death row inmate refusing to appeal his sentence, she is hoping she can convince him to change his mind.

Without giving away spoilers, I'll just say that this book was not what I expected. I didn't realize that this book was in the Christian fiction genre --my fault. The writing was fine, the plot seemed a bit contrived. The plot touches on a variety of topics: genocide, death penalty, PTSD and even college drinking. With themes like faith, hope and redemption, The Resurrection in May is a book steeped in faith, and readers should be aware of that in advance.

RATING - 3/5 (review copy)

Friday Finds

Did you come across any good books this week? I've been eying these (3).

Oh No, She Didn't; Clinton Kelly

(Oct. 12, 2010)

When I was home during the day, I use to love to watch Clinton and Staci and their fashion makeovers on What Not to Wear on TLC. So I was thrilled to see this book coming out soon. Here's what it's about.....

Muffin tops. Scrunchies. Suntan hose. Slut shoes. Visible panty line.

Who hasn’t had the unfortunate experience of witnessing—or (gasp!) actually wearing—one of these fashion disasters?

The atrocities Clinton Kelly has seen—it’s a surprise he hasn’t gouged out his own eyes. Mom jeans? Fancy fingernails? Tracksuits? In the same straight-talking style that has made TLC’s What Not to Wear a smash hit for eight seasons, the cheeky media personality and author of Freakin’ Fabulous shows women how to outfit themselves with confidence and style as he pokes fun at fashion "don’ts." From the most obvious faux pas (Texas tuxedos) to borderline offenses (peekaboo boobies), Clinton offers detailed and entertaining critiques of our top one hundred sartorial slip-ups. He turns his keen eye to wardrobe, color, cut, cleanliness, hairstyle, accessories, and even posture. And because he loves you, he presents easy alternatives and practical suggestions for creating fabulous outfits that will make you forget you ever wore socks with clogs.

Clinton also explains how to use trends to your advantage at any age, from deciding which ones work for you to understanding how to wear them to keep your look relevant. Because if you’re not comfortable in the sequined mini, everyone around you will know it.

A delightful mix of hilarious dish and expert fashion advice, Oh No She Didn’t will turn anyone from fashion victim to fashionista in no time.

 Botchan; Natsume Soseki

Botchan, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Catcher in the Rye, is a classic of its kind, a sly, funny, poignant tale about a young mans rebellion against the system. Since its original publication 100 years ago, it has enjoyed a timeless popularity among Japanese readers both young and old, making it, according to Donald Keene, probably the most widely read novel in modern Japan.

The setting is Japan's deep south, where the author himself spent four years teaching English in a middle school. Into this conservative world, with its social proprieties and established pecking order, breezes Botchan, down from the big city, with scant respect for either his elders or his noisy young charges; and the result is a chain of collisions large and small.

Most of the story seems to occur in summer, against the drone of cicadas and the sting of mosquitoes. And in every way this is a summer book--light, sunny, and fun to read. Here, in a lively new translation much better suited to the American reader, Botchan should continue to entertain even those who have never been near the sunlit island on which these calamitous episodes take place. 

 

Anya, Fromberg Schaeffer

Anya Karinsky's beautiful life seemed like one long and perfect dream that would spin on forever.

But her wonderful world of dances, travel, medical school, and her beloved family ended one day late in the summer of 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland. The bombs that leveled her Warsaw home that day marked the beginning of her soul-stirring odyssey of endurance and escape, through years of horror and Holocaust. Strong when others grew weak, selfless in pursuit of freedom, Anya, once the beautiful, pampered daughter of privilege, turned herself into a survivor whom nothing and no one could destroy.

Wordless Wednesday - Bye Bye Summer

Waiting on Wednesday; Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk; David Sedaris

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. David Sedaris has long been a favorite to look to when I needed a good laugh. This new sounds like just what I need for a lighter, fun-filled read.  What is your pick this week?

 

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk; David Sedaris

(Sept. 28, 2010 - Little Brown and Company)

 Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life.

In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In "Hello Kitty," a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and the Chipmunk," a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.

With original illustrations by Ian Falconer, author of the bestselling Olivia series of children's books, these stories are David Sedaris at his most observant, poignant, and surprising.

114 - Lady Matador's Hotel; Cristina Garcia

Lady Matador's Hotel is written by Cristina Garcia, a new to me author. The novel is written in one of my favorite styles -- omniscient, third person narration. In this story the lives of six individuals become interwoven at a luxury hotel in an unnamed  in Central America capital city. The entire story takes place at the Hotel Milaflor over a period of seven days.

Central to the story is the Lady Matador, Suki Palacios who is half-Mexican and half-Japanese. She has arrived at the Hotel Miliflor from Los Angeles for the First Battle of the Lady Matadors in the Americas. Men view her as an interloper, a "scandalous woman playing at being a man".  For Suki, rituals are important to her; her father instilled this belief at an early age. Prior to a fight she slips a fifty dollar bill into the offering box at the cathedral and light fourteen candles -- one for every year that she and her mother were alive. Fourteen candles for her dead mother, pink stockings first, and one sliced pear. For extra luck, she has silent sex with a stranger two days before a fight. Then right before stepping into the ring she recites three words in Spanish and Japanese: arrogance, honor and death.

Suki also likes to tempt fate and test superstitions when she isn't fighting. She wears yellow, the color of accidents and bad omens, knowing that by doing this she will catch the attention of the journalists who can't wait to interview her. She is a woman who beats to her own drummer and is not interested in traditions or conforming to a certain image.

Another strong female character is Gertrudis Stuber, a German lawyer who specialized in adoptions, calling it her "export" business. Greedy, egotistical and just plain evil, a woman who refers to one of the birth mothers as her "best breeder mother", Gertrudis makes $30,000 for each adoption. The previous year, she processed (17) adoptions. In addition, she receives kickbacks from the hotel as prospective parents are required to stay at the expensive Hotel Milaflor.

The other (4) individuals consist of Won Kim, a Korean businessman, who is staying in the honeymoon suite with his pregnant mistress. All the while he is thinking about ending his life. Then there is the much hated, and arrogant Colonel Martin Abel who committed horrible acts during the country's civil war. The colonel has a romantic interest in the Lady Matador.  Aura Estrada an ex-guerrilla, who is working a the hotel as a waitress, but is bent on revenge. The last two individuals are a Cuban poet and his American wife who are guests at the hotel, while waiting to adopt a baby. Each of these six individuals are dealing with ghosts of their past, and all the while the country is in political turmoil, a hurricane is looming out at sea, and things are heating up as lives are converging for these six hotel guests.

The third person narrator worked well, and I really enjoyed this story.The novel is extremely short, just over 200 pages, however, it leaves the reader with a lot to think about. Each of the characters were extremely well developed; they were also, for the most part, unlikeable. Despite their flawed character traits, I thought each individual was sympathetic in their own way, and for this reason, the author's talent was evident through and through. I'll be looking for more books by this author. RECOMMENDED

 4/5 stars (review copy)

113 - Pillars of the Earth; Ken Follett

Pillars of the Earth; Ken Follett

I've been meaning to read this book for about 10 years now---has that ever happened to you?

Well, I finally took the plunge, by reading and listening to this book. Nearly 1,000 pages in print and 32 discs, unabridged audio version, this epic novel was well worth the time I spent.  The prologue alone, hooked me immediately. For those of you who still haven't read this novel, this is how the prologue began.....

"The small boys came early to the hanging.     

It was still dark when the first three or four of them sidled out of the hovels, quiet as cats in their felt boots. A thin layer of fresh snow covered the little town like a new coat of paint, and theirs were the first footprints to blemish its perfect surface. They picked their way through the huddled wooden huts and along the streets of frozen mud to the silent market-place, where the gallows stood waiting.

The boys despised everything their elders valued. They scorned beauty and mocked goodness. They would hoot with laughter at the sight of a cripple, and if they saw a wounded animal they would stone it to death. They boasted of injuries and wore their scars with pride, and they reserved their special admiration for mutilation: a boy with a finger missing could be their king. They loved violence; they would run miles to see bloodshed; and they never missed a hanging."

Set in 12th century England, Ken Follett has woven a rich and colorful story of people, places and events.   The story spans a period of fifty years, and for the most part revolves around the building of a wondrous Gothic Cathedral in the destitute township of Kingsbridge, after the former dilapidated church burns to the ground.

Some of the central characters are: Tom, a master builder, Aliena, a beautiful noblewoman and daughter of the fallen Earl, Brother Philip, Prior of Kingsbridge, Jack, an artist and stone mason, Eileen, a forest woman who can cast spells. Other characters include, monks, bishops, craftsmen, peasants, soldiers and noblemen --this book has it all. The characters are complex and memorable, and as a reader ,I felt fully transported to another place and time. The author's attention to detail, allows you to wrap yourself up in the characters and their lives. Pillars of the Earth is a brilliant epic tale that tells of love,  war, politics, and even torture and death. I was sorry to see this one end. I hope to get a copy of the sequel, World Without End soon. The reader of the audio version, John Lee, was excellent, and I highly recommend both reading and listening to this novel for maximum pleasure.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - 5/5 stars

(Library audio and personal print copy)

I tend to read multiple books at the same time, so this one took me nearly a month to finish.

Mailbox Monday - Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day 
(yippee one more day off from work)


Mailbox Monday Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Bermudaonion for September (http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/) What book loot arrived in your mailbox this week?

• • The Power; Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books) - I was not a fan of The Secret, so this one makes me nervous! 
  • The Pattern of Paper Monsters; Emma Rathbone (Reagan Arthur Books)
  • The Bells; Richard Harvell (Amazon Vine) - so looking forward to this one
  • Ice Cold; Tess Gerritsen (audio book) - (Paperback Swap)
  • Rich Boy; Sharon Pomerrantz (Amazon Vine) - This one is getting excellent reviews
  
  
  Hope you've had a great week in books.