Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category

Incendiary, Chris Cleve

Friday, February 25th, 2011

After reading Little Bee (see my review below), I was excited to see this book at the bookstore, which I mistakenly thought was new.  This is actually Chris Cleve’s first novel.   Mostly though, it doesn’t matter.

The subject matter is dark.  It is set in London after a terrorist attack during a soccer game in the city and in the year following said attack.  The protagonist is an unnamed woman who lost her husband, a member of the bomb squad, and her son in that attack.  The story is told as a letter to Osama bin Ladin as she tells him about her life the few days before and the year following the attack.  We don’t really get to know her husband and son as they die so quickly.  What we learn about her though, is that she is a troubled individual and a habitual adulteress.  She is engaging in an affair with a Jasper Black right before and during the times of the attack.  Jasper starts out being a sympathetic character and even though their relationship should have ended after the attack, he actually stays and plays a part in her life as well as his live-in girlfriend, Petra.  The woman tries to put her life back together, and then it all falls apart.  Personally, I didn’t really care for any of the characters much, but maybe it was because of the situation in which I met them.  Perhaps Jasper and Petra were really awesome and cool people before the attack and before the woman enters their lives.  Maybe the woman was too, cheating aside.  But that wasn’t what the book was about.

My big gripe with this book though, was the lack of commas!  I understand the woman wasn’t the most educated person in London, and that it is totally possible that an actual letter she wrote to Osama could have been written without commas.  However, people do not talk or think without commas.   The lack of commas made it very difficult for me to get started on this book, but once I got a feel for the flow, it went better.  Then on page 155, commas started magically appearing in the dialogue of the other characters.  At first, I thought it was just a mistake by the author, because he would have used commas in those instances.  But no, they kept showing up inconsistently.  I think that was worse than using no commas at all.  The first 155 pages, there were no conversational commas, then we start reading them.  Very confusing.  I wish the author would have just used the commas to make it easier on us.

But despite the dark subject matter and the difficulty in pacing of the narrative, I really couldn’t put the book down.  Honestly, if I had read this before Little Bee, I probably would not have bothered with it.  I am very glad I read them out of order.

Grade:  4 stars out of 5

Posted in Fiction, Literature, Terrorism | No Comments »

True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse Series Books 1-8, Charlaine Harris

Friday, February 25th, 2011

A very popular series of books, I had to read them myself to see what all the hoopla is about.  Yes, I just said hoopla.  I decided to review the first eight books together since I felt pretty much the same about each book and they are all pretty much the same. In fact, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the first book, so I had to read the second and by the third, I had decided that I still didn’t know.  :)  At amazon.com, you can find reviewers that absolutely love the books and others who can’t stand them at all.  I fall in the middle.

As for the plot lines of the individual books, you can find those out at amazon.com as well as other booksellers and review blogs.  The basic storyline is about Sookie Stackhouse, a human and telepath, and her adventures into the supernatural. The first book introduces us to Bill and Eric, the main vampires in the series.  As the series progresses, we are introduced to all the other creatures of the night: werewolves, were-other-animals, shapeshifters, witches and fairies.

Surprisingly, I do like the story lines.  The adventures are pure fun.   I love the fact that the vampires are out and trying to integrate into human society.  There is always something going on with the vampires, or the were-animals or witches.  Conventions, territory battles, humans wanting to kill the vampires, people wanting to kill Sookie.  There is also romance and humor.  It is very light reading.

However, I sometimes have trouble getting through a book.  And why is that?

Because the books are poorly written.  If I hadn’t known better, I honestly would have thought the books were written by a ninth or tenth grader.

The first example of that is character development.  Ms. Harris writes the books in a first person format from the point of view of Sookie.  Sookie is a very scatterbrained individual and sometimes it gets loud in her brain.  Unfortunately, we have to listen to her babble on about not only the actual storyline, but such matters as what she is wearing, her size and what she thinks of other people. I just get tired of listening to her, and find it at times hard to like her.  I really cannot figure out how the men in this book are madly in love with her, she is just not believable in that sense.   We could have a lot more substance in the actual plots if we didn’t have to hear Sookie’s every waking thought.  With lines like “I went into the bedroom.  I put on my pink pajamas and my bunny slippers.  I went to kitchen to get tea”.  I mean really, come on.  Some editing would be nice.

A friend of mine suggested that she would have liked the books better if they were written in third person.  I will have to agree with that.  A third person style would allow for a more neutral narration and let us get to know the other characters a whole lot better and without prejudice of what Sookie thinks about everyone.  Even better would be to have different books written from the perspective of different characters, based on the storyline.  If the books are about Bill and Eric, let Bill and Eric tell it.  Although I doubt Ms. Harris has the talent to pull that off.

The absolute worst part of these books for me are the sex scenes.  Yeah, yeah, I KNOW sex is huge in vampire culture.  I can handle that.  However, remember I said that these books feel like a 14 year old wrote them?  That goes double for the sex scenes.  And when there are no active sex scenes a.k.a. the better parts, we still have to hear Sookie talking about sex!  It’s painful!  I guess I should have highlighted some of these quotes, but I put the books away, very away, so I don’t have them in front of me.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rolled my eyes reading those parts.

I kept hoping that with each successive book that the writing would get better, but alas, it did not.  I am not saying the books are awful.  Just saying that the writing is bad, the sex is corny and if you can accept those things, and you really enjoy vampire books, then by all means, read them.  But I kind of felt like I was reading Twilight* at times.

Grade:

Stories:  B+

Writing: D

*I’ve never read the Twilight series, I am only stating what I imagined what they’d be like.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction | No Comments »

True Colors, Kristin Hannah

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Kristin Hannah is becoming one of my favorite authors.  I really loved Firefly Lane.  Comfort and Joy was cute.  True Colors did not disappoint in the slightest.  One thing I admire about Ms. Hanna is that she will take on serious issues and that nobody is safe from death or tragedy.

True Colors is the story of three sisters, Winona, Aurora and Vivi Ann.  When we meet them, as teens, they are living together, close as can be on their father’s ranch.  Then their mother dies.  We follow the story, told through the eyes of Winona and ViviAnn, through early adulthood.  Typical for a middle child,  Aurora tends to be the peacemaker, and we don’t get her point of view.

The girls grow apart, fight, come back together again.  There are plot twists.  It’s a love story at heart, love between three sisters, and the men who love them.  It’s not easy, as Winona watches both of her sisters get married, while the love of her life leaves town after being in love with and engaged to Vivi (you see that coming).  Vivi ends up falling for Dallas Raintree and has a son with him.   Aurora is there too, married with children.  Trying to keep peace with the other two sisters who always seem to fighting.

But it’s not completely a love story.  There is also a murder mystery thrown in there!  I will not spoil it for you here.  There are other places that can do that for you.

The way Kristin weaves the stories together will leave you breathless, and keep  you turning the pages long after you had hoped to stop.

Highly recommended.

Posted in Crime, Family, Fiction, Literature, Mystery | No Comments »

Now & Then, Jacqueline Sheehan

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

I was so excited to find this book at Half Price Books, after reading Lost & Found last summer (which I reviewed here).

Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to the story line on the back of the book.  I read the first line “Anna O’Shea has failed at marriage, shed her job at a law firm, and she is trying to re-create herself when she and her recalcitrant nephew are summoned to the past in a manner that nearly destroys them” and the final words “and one unforgettable dog named Madigan” from the back cover.  On the front cover is a cute dog being hugged by a blonde woman.  I did not read any more of it, nor process that line entirely.  I bought it based on the fact that there was a dog on the cover (as there was in Lost & Found) and on my past experience with the author.

When I got home and read further,  I see that it is not what it appears.

Summoned to the past … what does that mean?  I thought that it would mean through photographs, memories, tales something like that … but no, it’s actually being summoned to the past.  Over a hundred years ago … to Ireland.   Anna and her nephew really are transported to the past.   I’m getting ahead of myself.

The basic plot is that Anna is travelling home from overseas with a friend, when she is summoned to an out-of-town hospital where her brother Patrick has been admitted after an accident.   Patrick was on his way to pick up his son Joe from jail when the accident occurred.   Since Anna lives near the jail that Joe is being held, she is the one who goes to bail him out.   At this point, Anna is sleep-deprived and tired of driving, so she and Joe spend the night at her apartment, and promises Joe that she’ll take him to see his dad the next day.

During the night, Joe awakens, and for some reason is compelled to look through Anna’s luggage, and become enraptured with a piece of cloth that he finds in there.   Anna hears him, and when she gets up and finds him in her luggage, she gets mad and she tries to take the cloth away.   They tug with it and the next thing they know, they have been swept to Ireland, 164 years ago.  They are separated when they get there, Anna is found by a simple, poor family and Joe is taken in by a wealthy man and his family.    Anna immediately starts searching for Joe, and Joe, well… you know teenagers.

Yes, it’s a bit far-fetched.  But see, Ms. Sheehan pulls it off.  She is such an incredible writer.  The language she uses, she just pulls you in.  She makes you forget about the implausibility of time-travel, and sucks you into the story.   You really start to care about these two people.  You feel like you know them.    It’s interesting to see how two 21st century people adjust to life 164 years ago.  How they have to be careful not to reveal that they are really from the future.

The dog you ask?  Yes, there is a dog.  Is he unforgettable?  Probably not.   I had to revise this review after I remembered that I forgot to mention him.  Unlike in Lost & Found, Madigan is just a background character, he does not play a central role in the story.  At least that is how I felt.   He is important to a central character, however.

Will their actions affect the future?  Of them?  Their families?  What about the people they are staying with and have grown to care for?  The future?  Is it affected?  Read the book and find out.  Because although the book wasn’t what I expected, I still loved it and highly recommend.

Rating:  3 out of 4 stars.

Posted in Animals, Fiction, Literature, Romance, Strong women | No Comments »

Little Bee, Chris Cleve

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

When I walked into my local Border’s, I encountered a display with this book as one of their “Recommends” or whatever they call it.  Every time I have bought a book (and read it) from this collection, I have totally enjoyed the book.  Once again, I was not disappointed.

Here is what the jacket to this book says:

We don’t want to tell you what happens in this book.  It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it.  Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women.  Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face.  Two years later, they meet again — the story starts there ….

Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it.  When you do, please don’t tell them what happens.  The magic is in how the story unfolds.

Let’s break this down:

This is the story of two women.  Yes, Little Bee and Sarah.  Little Bee’s age is not stated, but I don’t think she is of age yet, and Sarah is a young woman in her early 30’s.   Sarah’s son, Charlie a.k.a. Batman is also a central character.  There are two adult men who figure prominently in the book as well, Andrew and Lawrence.   But the central characters are Little Bee and Sarah, and they tell the story, in alternating chapters.  This is sometimes not done really well, but Chris pulls it off.  However, I did sometimes get confused on who was talking to me.

Their lives collide one fateful day, If you believe in fate, that is.  I was pleased that we find out what happened that day within the first third of the book.

and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. I can honestly say that for 99% of us, we will never have to make this choice.  I’d also like to think I would make the same decision Sarah made.

Two years later, they meet again — the story starts there …. Not quite.

The magic is in how the story unfolds. I think this might be an overstatement.

But I won’t tell you what happens either.  What I will tell you is to read this book.

The story of Little Bee and Sarah is a fantastic one.   It is mostly a dark tale, but like life, it has its moments of humor and brightness.   If this book was twice the length, I would have still enjoyed it.  Mr. Cleve could have started the book from the first meeting, instead of telling it through flashbacks and the book would not have lost one bit of its essence, but I think it had to end exactly the way it did, even though it left me wondering what will happen next.

I highly recommend this book and give it a 3 out of 4 stars.

Posted in Fiction, Literature, Mystery, Strong women | No Comments »

Last Night in Twisted River, John Irving

Monday, February 8th, 2010

There is nothing I like more than a long novel, with a good plot.   Add in a multi-generational story, and I am hooked in.  In that regard, this book did not disappoint.

The simple storyline is about a father, Dominic, and his son, Daniel, and their friend Ketchum.  One night, Daniel mistakes the local town’s sheriff’s girlfriend for a bear and kills her.  The rest of the story deals with the actions they take immediately afterwards and for the next 50 years as they flee from Twisted River.  Irving takes us on a journey, from New Hampshire, to Boston, to Iowa, to finally, Toronto.  Along the way, we meet many interesting characters who played a part in Dominic and Daniel’s lives in all of the cities.

A friend of mine once told me that all of John Irving’s books had a bear and wrestling in them.  Now, I don’t know if that is true, as the only books I’ve read prior to Twisted River was A Cider House Rules, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Fourth Hand and A Widow for One Year.  I loved the first two of those books and I was fairly disappointed in the latter two, although they weren’t horrible.   There is wrestling in this book, but the bear is more metaphorical.

Twisted River is definitely more on par with Cider House and Hotel, though.   One of my main criticisms of the book was the lack of development of the female characters.  I would have loved to have gotten to know Carmella better, for instance.  It’s true, yes, that the women weren’t in the story line for long, but they could have been developed further.  And why the obsession on size?  Don’t we get enough of that in the media?

The other problems for me were the extensive use of both names, the 9/11 and political ranting, Lady Sky’s storyline was a bit contrived and there was unnecessary dog killing.   Irving used the name Dominic Baciagalupo many, many times instead of just one or the other.  Let’s face it, that name doesn’t just roll off the tongue as easily as John Smith.   And as the characters changed names it got worse.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book and I recommend to anyone who has ever read John Irving.  If you haven’t then don’t start with this one.

Verdict:  B;  borrow or buy in paperback unless you are a die-hard Irving fan

Posted in Family, Fiction, Mystery | No Comments »

The Best of 2009

Friday, January 29th, 2010

I have not reviewed most of these movies and books and probably won’t.  The fact that they are on my top of the year list should be good enough.  :)

Now for my Top Movies of 2009, in no particular order:

Note:  I have not seen the following movies that are up for all kinds of rewards, so they are not on my list for that reason:  500 Days of Summer, Inglorious Basterds, Hurt Locker (which I can’t imagine I’ll ever see), Invictus.

1.  Zombieland (I do think this was my favorite)

2. The Informant!

3.  Up!

4.  Monsters vs. Aliens

5.  The Hangover (no, this was my favorite)

6.  Up In the Air

7.  Coraline

8. Avatar

9. Ponyo

I guess I don’t have a #10.

Best Books of 2009.  My top 10 of the 77 I read this year.

(Note:  These are books I read this year, not necessarily the year they were published)

1.  Under the Dome, Stephen King

2.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson

3.  The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson

4.  The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein

5.  Homer’s Odyssey, Gwen Cooper

6.  The Story Sisters, Alice Hoffman

7.  Lost & Found, Jacqueline Sheehan

8. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski

9. Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult

10. Shanghai Girls, Lisa See

Posted in Best of, Fiction, Films | No Comments »

Lost & Found, Jacqueline Sheehan/Good Grief, Lolly Winston

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Two books.  Same underlying premise.  But very different.  The premise being woman’s husband dies, she has grief and the way to get over that grief is to move north, get a simpler job and fall in love again.

Jacqueline Sheehan’s Lost & Found takes place in Peak’s Island, Maine, where the protagonist, Rocky, a psychologist, moves to after her husband suddenly dies of a heart attack.  This is obviously a big shock and unexpected and Rocky finds herself unable to help her patients, so she takes a leave of absence and heads north.

She keeps her tragedy to herself, looks for a place to live and for a job.   The first friends she makes are Tess, a retired physical therapist with synthesia and her neighbors Elaine and her daughter Melissa.   She is given a shot at being an Animal Control Officer for the island, a job she is not really qualified for.    But with the friendships and the job, she begins to find a place of comfort and safety.

One day, she finds a black labrador with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.  She calls him Cooper, and takes him in instead of taking to the shelter.  Cooper then becomes the main character, as he helps to heal Rocky and also Melissa, who has a secret of her own.  Rocky looks for the owner, trying to determine who it was who hurt the dog.  This mystery is also one of the themes of this book, and yes, the mystery does get solved and Rocky does fall in love again.

In Good Grief, Lolly Winston managed to describe grief so well that you felt it.  If you’ve lost anyone close to you, you will FEEL this book.  The main character in this book, Sophie, pretty much breaks down in a way we all fear we will if this would happen to us.   I have to admit being close to shedding a tear. Although a book can affect me profoundly,  I don’t usually cry openly when reading.

Sophie, a public relations executive in Silicon Valley, was no stranger to grief. Her mother died when she was 12, and now she had the unfortunate chance to watch her husband die, as he battled cancer.   When he died, she couldn’t function.  Before she actually got fired, she took a leave of absence and headed north to the small town of Ashland, Oregon, to stay with her best friend Ruth, and Ruth’s daughter, while she dealt with her grief.

Sophie struggled a lot more than Rocky, and after being unable to perform her job as a waitress in a cafe, she gets demoted to salad girl and then eventually to pastry, where she discovers her true passion.    Sophie also, as a result of the loss of her mother and having those emotions resurface, becomes a Big Sister to Crystal, a troubled pre-teen.  Their relationship changes both of them, which is surprising considering they are both a mess.  And they don’t have a dog to help them!

It’s only a few weeks after Sophie moves to Ashland when she tries dating again.  I cannot understand that part at all, as I cannot even imagine that in real life, Sophie would be ready to date again.  She is really having trouble dealing with the death of her husband.  Sophie does find love again at the end of the book, and it all takes place within a year.  I guess because its a novel, we have to let go of rationality and allow the time frame to be as such.  Although I do think it could have been written in two parts.  Part two being “Three Years Later” or something that would be more realistic.

Lost & Found had mystery and Good Grief had humor.  Both books were very good and very quick reads.  I highly recommend them both.  I give Lost & Found the edge, as I found Rocky’s “love story” a little bit more believable.

Verdict:  Lost & Found A; Good Grief B+

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Posted in Fiction, Grief, Literature, Post Divorce, Romance | No Comments »