Corduroy Mansions

Week 7: Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith

I may have fallen off the blogging wagon, but I have still been reading! I went on my brief hiatus due to lack of internet, but am now plugged in again.

I indulged in the latest Alex McCall Smith book, because as a rule I read allllll of his books...and he cranks them out like potato chips. Corduroy Mansions is the first in yet another series, by this self-proclaimed serial author. I currently read The #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, the 44 Scotland Street series, and the Isabel Dalhousie series. As sad as it makes me, I won't be reading any more Corduroy Mansions books.

This particular book was about hundred pages longer and about a million times more annoying than McCall Smith's other books. You have to believe me when I say that it pains me to write this, because he is one of my favorite authors. His books, to me, are like a favorite pair of pjs (or something equally as comforting). Corduroy Mansions failed to deliver. McCall Smith has a penchant for getting sidetracked in his novels, and going off on tangents. This was pretty much a book of rambling.

Please read The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, but stay away from this book!

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

Week 4: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

I was pretty excited to start afresh, and try to read something I enjoyed more than my two failed attempts last week. I can't say that this book really did it for me. I actually feel like I got tricked by Barbara Kingsolver (who I have mentioned before). As I mentioned, she has written a few of my very fav. books (she has also written several I didn't care for). Anyway, when I glanced at the cover of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, her name jumped off the front of the book, raving about the author. After I was finished with the novel, I was sort of thinking....um, did Barbara actually read this book? Then when I read who the author thanked at the end of the novel, numero uno was none other than B.K. her "hero". So, flattery can get you places, and maybe someone awesome will say something awesome about something mediocre that you did.

Ouch, that was kind of mean. But this book was only a two star for me.

It follows the adolescence of a young bi-racial girl (her mother is white, and Danish, her father is Black), who ends up orphaned (sort of), and living with her black side of the family. She then goes through an identity crisis, trying to find where she belongs. It's a fantastic topic to write about. But if you are interested, I would recommend the memoir The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. McBride goes in his book where I wish Durrow would have. Maybe I would have liked it better if I read Girl before I read Color. But probably not. As a side-note, I just got a novel by James McBride today at the library, so I will be posting what I thought about it soon! I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing.

Back to Girl. Here was the problem...everything was underdeveloped. The characters...allllll of them. The plot. The conflict. It just wasn't enough. If you are going to tackle a novel that deals with race, hereditary achoholism, domestic violence, murder/suicide (think parent killing kids/self)....you better be ready to go there. Back. It. Up. This book had no back. I don't know how else to say it (this is why I don't write books). It's like the story starts with this ghastly event (think of the title), then sort of tries to ride on it without adding anything else to the mix the entire book. It's weird.

I already finished my book for this week, but I'm blogging at the library cause we're having internet problems, so I don't know when I'll get around to posting it. Hopefully this week!