Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: 5 Current Book Reviews
Hello,
December! Where the heck did this year go? We may be a few weeks away
from winter, but the weather here has definitely taken a downward turn.
It's been windy, a little icy, and cold.
We haven't had
any major snow yet, so that's something to be grateful for. I'm also
glad we took the time to get the deck ready for winter. We didn't finish
with the yard work -- but there's always next year, right?
Another
thing I'm happy about is that it seems as if my workload is finally
under control. It's crazy how busy I was. My reading suffered horribly,
but I plan to make up for lost time in December.
I'm
not going to review everything I read or listened to over the last month
(or however long it's been since I did a Monday post). Instead I picked
five books to talk about.
I assume everyone has read Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea
(Doubleday, Nov. 5). The premise of this book hit a ton of my buttons: a
fantasy set in modern times involving stories and books and an
alternative world with portals to our own. Unfortunately, Starless Sea
didn't totally work for me. Here's the good: I loved the stories within
stories, the blending (in the book's reality) of truth and fiction, and
the nonchronological plot threads. I also liked the alternative world,
with its caves and library and kitchen and, yes, starless sea. However,
despite so many positive elements, I was left, at the end, with a vague
feeling of being unsatisfied and maybe even thinking (just a little),
"So what?" On the other hand, the audiobook (Random House Audio;
18 hr, 37 min) is absolutely beautifully narrated by a full cast, and it
was the fabulous performances of Dominic Hoffman, Dion Graham, Bahni
Turpin, Fiona Hardingham, Allan Corduner, and Jorjeana Marie that kept
me going. Bravo to the narrators; I hope they win some awards. (digital
and audio copies provided by the publisher)
Here's a novel you may have missed. Heddi Goodrich's Lost in the Spanish Quarter
(Harper Via; Sept. 10), takes place mostly in Naples near the end of
the twentieth century and is told in retrospect after our protagonist
hears from her college lover after a long silence. The book is billed as
fiction, though much of the main character's life mirrors the author's
including her name. Heddi moves from America to Italy on a high-school
exchange program and ends up staying in the country all the way through
college. When living in the Spanish Quarter of Napels, finishing
university, she meets Pietro, and the two fall for each other hard. The
novel is a love story to the ancient city, Mount Vesuvius, and all
things Italian as well as the story of a group of young people facing
their futures, full of hope and opportunity, yet still very much
influenced by their families and their past. Heddi and Peitro's
relationship and the pain and trials of their transitioning to full
adulthood are universal enough to draw you in and unique enough to keep
you interested. Goodrich wrote Lost in the Spanish Quarter in
Italian and translated the book to English herself. Recommended to those
who like character-driven novels. Warning: you'll be planning a trip to
Naples even before you finish the book. (audio copy provided for a
freelance assignment)
Do you read the New York Times
column "Modern Love"? If you don't, you've been missing out.
Fortunately, you can read about 30 of the essays in the collection Modern Love, Revised and Updated, edited (with others) by Daniel Jones
(Broadway, Oct. 1). Each of the essays reprinted here really shine. I
can honestly say there were no misses for me. The stories cover all
kinds of love from romantic relationships to parent-child relationships.
Some are funny (as in dating mishaps), some are sad (those that ended
in death), and others are almost unbearably moving. One of my favorites
involved an Evangelical woman who loved her church and her god but was
later surprised to realize that she loved a woman from her Bible study
class even more. Another one is about a man who meets some of his many
children for the first time: he was sperm donor when he was in college
and one of his sons finds him through a DNA/genetics site. There are
also stories of adoption, dating when you're disabled, and much more. If
you're an audiobook lover (Random House Audio; 8 hr, 9 min), you don't
want to miss this all-star cast performance. Each narrator did a
credible job, bringing out the many emotions without going over the top.
(audio copy provided for a freelance assignment)
A few weeks ago, I included Wild Life by Keena Roberts (Grand Central, Nov. 12) in a nonfiction round-up.
I really enjoyed this memoir of a girl growing up divided between a
remote research camp in Botswana and a Philadelphia Main Line private
school. Keena's parents are well-known field primatologists who studied
baboon communication and social behavior in a colony of monkeys who
lived on a string of islands a long way from any kind of town. Keena's
story is a fascinating look at life in one corner of Africa, with its
incredible beauty, haunting sounds, and many dangers. She was curious,
level-headed, smart, and self-sufficient at an incredibly young age.
Despite her impressive Africa skills, Keena found it difficult and
sometimes frustrating when she had to adapt to America. Even sitting in a
classroom all day was hard for her. Add on the fact that she had missed
out on television and other pop culture, and you can see why it wasn't
always easy for her to fit in. Still, because she returned to the same
school each trip home, Keena was able to make some lasting friends who
helped her survive the mean girls. The audiobook (Hachette Audio; 9 hr,
42 min) is read by Chloe Cannon, who picks up on Keena's personality and
her obvious love of the wild places of her childhood. (audio copy
provided by the publisher)
Another book I featured in my nonfiction round-up was Gareth Russell's The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era (Atria, Nov. 19). I'm one of those people who have been fascinated with the Titanic
story since I was a child. I don't really know why, but I've never
gotten tired of learning more about the tragedy. Russell's take is a
little different from others. Although he does give details about the
actual night of the sinking, the loading of the lifeboats, and the
sights and sounds of that horrible night, he places the passengers and
the whole phenomenon of the luxury liner in the contemporary global
context. He talks about immigration, old versus new money, various
prejudices (ethnic and religion), political issues, social conventions,
and other concerns of the fading Edwardian Era. He focuses on a handful
of passengers to make his points of how various people were treated
and/or expected to be treated in the years leading up to World War I. He
also paints a much more realistic picture of the evacuation of the Titanic than sensational movie scenes have led us to believe (for example, third-class passengers were not locked below decks). This is as much a history of the mid-1910s as it is a story of the Titanic
and its passengers. I tried the audiobook (Simon & Schuster
Audio; 12 hr, 35 min), but I didn't click with narrator Jenny Funnell.
Her performance was fine, but a few mispronunciations and odd pauses
sent me to the book. Your mileage may vary. (audio and digital copies
provided by the publisher)
