110 - Room; Emma Donoghue

  
















ROOM is the book everyone seems to be talking or blogging about lately, so I had to see what all the hype was about.  Here's the story -- Jack is the narrator of this story, and he has just turned five. He and Ma live in "Room", a 11' x 11' foot converted shed with a skylight.  Jack was born in "Room" and has never seen the outside world, except through the skylight overhead.  You see, Ma was kidnapped by sick in the head, Old Nick, seven years earlier and has been held prisoner ever since.

Jack is a bright, inquisitive chatterbox. He sleeps with his Ma in bed, but when Old Nick comes for a visit, he hides in the wardrobe, and "counts the creeks on the mattress".  Ma keeps Jack busy most of the day reading to him, teaching him language games, and watching the television that Nick has provided for them. On Sundays, they get to request special treats.

On Jack's 5th birthday Ma begins to educate him about the outside world he has never known except from what he has seen on television. Little by little she is teaching Jack what he will need to do, if they are ever to escape. She makes him understand that he is the one who will have to trick Old Nick. Neither Ma nor Jack is truly prepared for what life on the outside will be like for them.

MY THOUGHTS - I liked this book a lot.  I generally enjoy children as narrators, but for some reason I had a tough time with the dialogue in the first (50) pages of this book.  Finally, I was able to go with the flow, and enjoy the rest of the story.  What made this novel work for me was the strong mother-child bond, despite the horrific circumstance. Even when Ma was so depressed she couldn't get out of bed, she did what she needed to do for her son.  I don't want to give any spoilers, even though most of you already know what happens, since the book was based on a true story which took place in Austria involving Elizabeth Fritzl.  I did find two parts of this story unrealistic; both occurred in the second half of the book.  Overall, I think the author wrote a terrific story: imaginative, touching, funny and sad. This story is likely to appeal to most readers.  Recommended

 Rating 4.5/5 Stars

Review Copy
9/13/2010 -  Little Brown and Co

109 - A Secret Kept; Tatiana de Rosnay

A Secret Kept, is a story about family, and about the skeletons of the past. In this story, Antoine Rey, a Parisian architect, wants to make his sister Melanie's 40th birthday extra special. He plans a trip to Noirmoutier Island, a vacation spot that held  fond beach memories for Antoine and his sister, as children. All those vacations ended when their mother, Clarisse, died a tragic death some 30 year's earlier in 1974. He has never gotten over the death of his mother, who he adored. As an adult Antoine is lonely, divorced, still in love with his ex-wife and has rebellious teens to cope with as well. He is hoping that this trip will be just what he and Melanie needed to stir happy memories.

What happens is quite the opposite. While at the Island, a disturbing memory surfaces for Melanie, about their last summer vacationing there as children, and while driving back to Paris, she shares with her brother what she remembered. She is so upset by the memory, that she crashes the car while driving and is hospitalized.  While Melanie is recovering in the hospital, and pretty much is absent from the rest of the story, Antoine is learning more about his mother's secret past and trying to cope with what he has learned.

MY THOUGHTS - Not having read Sarah's Key yet, I have nothing to compare this author's writing to, which in some ways is a good thing. The novel is a quick read, but the protagonist, Antoine was not a likable character, in my opinion. I found him emotional weak, to the point of being annoying at times.  I totally lost interest in parts of the story when Antoine meets a sexy mortician who helps him cope with his issues at hand. Although I was anxious to get to the "secret", when it is finally revealed, it did not seem like such a big deal after all. The storyline started out good enough, but by the end, I was disappointed. 

Rating - 2.5/5 stars - Review Copy

Wordless Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday; Clara and Mr. Tiffany; Susan Vreeland

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

 

I love with Tiffany lamps and well this cover is just great, don't you think?

Random House - Jan./11/2011

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

During the Gilded Age just before the turn of the twentieth century, Tiffany forged his reputation in stained-glass. His highly recognizable style blended Art Nouveau, the exoticism of the Aesthetics Movement, and his own adoration of nature.

Until recently, it was assumed that he was the designer of the celebrated leaded-glass lampshades. However, two collections of letters reveal that an unrecognized woman, Clara Driscoll, designed the floral shades as well as many of the bronze bases. 

Clara and Mr. Tiffany presents these two figures--one the giant of American decorative arts, the other unknown--as they engage each other, collaborating, probing and frustrating each other, stumbling over their passions.

Driven by the Tiffany Family Imperative to honor his father, owner of Tiffany & Co., by surpassing his elder's fame and financial success, Tiffany confronts the central issue in the Arts and Crafts debate: art versus industry, and its concomitant, creative indulgence versus financial restraint. 

Yearning to establish herself as a creator of exquisite pieces of art, and to be recognized publically, Clara is a vibrant, intelligent, wry woman, a leader whose challenge, like that of many women, is to decide what makes her most happy--the professional world of her hands, or the personal world of her heart. 

The novel interprets her creative and personal life, her loves, losses, triumphs, and her startling decisions.

108 - I Thought You Were Dead; Pete Nelson

I Thought You Were Dead; Pete Nelson 

(a WONDERFUL audio book experience)

Paul Gustavson's life seems to be going in the wrong direction. Paul's a writer of the "For Morons" series; his wife has divorced him, his girlfriend is seeing someone else, his sex life has more downs than ups due to recent impotence problems, and his father has suffered a serious stroke.

Depressed, he eats too much junk food, is getting seriously out of shape, drinks a little too much, and spends a little too much time in a dirty, smelly bar called The Bay State, located in western Massachusetts. Even his dog Stella thinks this bar is too dirty and smelly to spend time in.

You see Stella, is Paul's aging Lab and Shepard mix dog; she is wise beyond her years, and has a masterful vocabulary.  A dog with amazing insight and sensitivity, Paul's furry therapist of sorts, discusses issues about, relationships, life, death, and whether dogs are smarter than wolves.  Stella's insight, is exactly what Paul needs when he is feeling lonely, unloved and depressed.  And, it is Stella that causes Paul to get his life back on track, and to sort out his life and mend his relationships with his father, brother and find joy in life once again.

MY THOUGHTS - Josh Clark is the most amazing reader. Your heart will melt as you listen to Stella's calming dog voice. It is pitch-perfect, and it is the banter between Paul and Stella that makes this book so special.  I think this book would be good if you chose to read the print version, but if you enjoy audio books -- seek this one out.  Dog lover or not, it is a story to be enjoyed -- funny, touching, heartfelt and memorable.

DON'T MISS IT!

5/5 stars - Library audio book

It's Tuesday - How the Heck Did I Miss That Book?

Still more books that never hit my radar until now!

A Gracious Plenty; Sheri Reynolds

(1999)

I really enjoyed  LOVED Rapture of Canaan by this author and Firefly Cloak was good too, but somehow missed this one.

(AMAZON)......Badly burned in a household accident when she was a child, Finch Nobles grows into a courageous and feisty loner who eschews the pity of her hometown and discovers that she can hear the voices of the people buried in her father's cemetery. Finally, when she speaks to them, they answer, telling their stories in a remarkable chorus of regrets, expla-nations, and insights. A Gracious Plenty is like an extraordinary amalgam of Steinbeck and Faulkner, Spoon River Anthology and Our Town. It is a reading experience that you will not soon forget. 

 Slammerkin; Emma Donoghue

(2001)

AMAZON.....Donoghue shows her mastery of eighteenth-century England and epic storytelling in this first novel about a young woman named Mary Saunders, who was born poor and destined to remain so. Taking as her premise the true crimes of the real-life Mary Saunders, Donoghue paints a colorful and complex life led amid the dirt and filth of lower-class London streets. While her mother sews dull-looking quilts, Mary spies the lewd women dressed in bright, vibrant colors that work the streets for their bread and butter. Determined not to be a maid or a seamstress, Mary yearns for a better and easier life. Too young to learn other trades, too poor and uneducated to be a governess, but just the right age (14) to start in the oldest profession, Mary takes to the streets in order to survive. This serious but suspenseful and even entertaining novel examines and juxtaposes the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of women without means, showing the intricate relationships between women of limited power. What is most amazing is Donoghue's capacity for tackling weighty issues (prostitution, crime, and slavery) while avoiding didacticism.

Kaaterskill Falls; Allegra Goodman

(1998)

AMAZON.....Kaaterskill Falls is a small town in upstate New York, summer home to Orthodox Jews who come from their tightly knit community in New York City carrying family memories and long friendships. They also carry a stifling adherence to the Jewish religion and obedience to Rav Elijah Kirshner, who is near the end of his life and struggling to reconcile his feelings for his two sons. The women of the community are bound by traditions that dictate their dress, manners, and preoccupations. Elizabeth Shulman, driven by ambitions beyond raising five daughters, opens a store with the Rav's approval and later runs afoul of the son who succeeds him when she violates a tradition. The men are not immune from the restrictive environment. Isaac Shulman yearns for a more learned place in the religious community. Jeremy, the Rav's scholarly but rebellious son, is haunted by his father's disapproval. Goodman, author of the best-selling short story collection The Family Markowitz (1996), renders a finely drawn portrait of an insulated community in this debut novel.

Has anyone read these? What are your thoughts?

Mailbox Monday - August 23

Mailbox Monday in August is hosted by Chick Loves Lit. 

Thanks for hosting this popular post.

  This week (4) books arrived in my mailbox.  They all sound good, but I am really looking forward to (2) of them. I'll keep you guessing as to which ones they are.

• Salvation City; Sigrid Nunez (Sept. 16, 2010 - Riverhead)
• The Cailiffs of Baghdad Georgia; Stefaniak (Sept. 6, 2010 - Norton Co)
• Loco Motive; Daheim (Sept. 7, 2010 - Wm. Morrow)
• You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know; (October 14, 2010 - Riverhead)

Hope your mailbox made you smile this week!