The American Heiress

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

As some books sadly are, this was a complete waste of time. Usually I avoid novels that look like sappy romances, historical or otherwise. But the reviews on this one kept saying "if you love Downton Abbey, you'll love this book". And we all know how soapy Downton Abbey is, and I love it all the same. And I needed something to get me through the next three months...so what the hey, I checked it out.

It was a little humourous how silly the book was. Pretty much the same thing would happen in each chapter, until the end of the novel. First: Cora Cash (the richest heiress in America, whose mother hunted for a title by marriage for her daughter over in England) does something to show her spunk, then something to show her naivety and insecurity (and if you don't catch it, the author then spells it out for you, haha), then her husband does something to show he loves her, but then something to show his involvement with a mystery woman (and I use the word 'mystery' loosely, because the author leaves nothing up to chance when it comes to you predicting the outcome of her book), then Bertha, Cora's beloved maid, does something so the reader questions her loyalty (because if she's loyal, the whole novel ends in the first chapter, instead of 300 some odd pages later). Ugh, this cycle just stays on repeat forever.

It had a smidge of the upstairs downstairs quality I was looking for, AND was set in England, similarities with Downton end there.  Some things I did find mildly entertaining were that fact that there were book chat questions at the end of the novel. I read them for a giggle. Also, on the back jacket flap about the author she name drops everyone in her family with a high-profile job (if I remember correctly it was everyone from parents, to uncle, to brother, to husband...I'm pretty sure, but I already returned it to the library so I can't check), and I just thought, all those important/brilliant people in your life, and no one pointed out to you how predictable your story was?

Ok, so that was harsh. But it makes me mad when I waste time on such a book, when there are oh so many others out there to read! And that's why I reviewed it for you, so now you don't have to!

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife

Baby Catcher:  Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent

I absolutely loved this book! If you are interested at all in babies, birthing, home births, or just what the human body is capable of....or if you just want some mind-blowing stories, this is a must-read!  Seriously, the things this woman has seen and done are fascinating. You'd almost think it was fiction, but I don't think anyone could make this stuff up! Peggy Vincent really has run the gamut, and I found her quite an inspiration.  

This is one of my more favorite non-fiction bookies, and I'm going to put it up there with my fav. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  So if you are in the mood for some non-fiction, some of which verges on hippy, grab these two books and get comfy! 

The Cellist of Sarajevo

The Cellist of Sarajevo 

by 

Steven Galloway

LOVED this book.  I had never heard of it until last week when I was at the library and they had it advertised as the Maryland One Book for 2012 (a program put on by the humanities council, encouraging everyone to read the same book). I reserved the book, and went to pick it up Saturday, and by Sunday it was finished. It was that good, a literal 'can't put it down' moment. It reminded me of why I am passionate about reading. To be transported, to open my mind and heart to other experiences and emotions. 

I remembered between the ages of 10 and 13 I read every book I could get my hands on about the holocaust. I read Number the Stars, The Devil's Arithmetic, The Diary of Anne Frank, and my very favorite, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.  Why was I obsessed? Because I had discovered the power of books. What they could do to a person's soul. How they could change me. Books like The Secret Garden and The Lord of the Rings, unlocked magic and beauty....but my holocaust books allowed me to glimpse sorrow and despair and courage that I am not sure, as yet, that I will ever encounter in person in my lifetime. 

Ironically, as I was reading their stories, the city of Sarajevo was under siege. From May April 5th, 1992 until February 29th, 1996 mortars were launched into the city one after the other, snipers hid in the skeletal remains of apartment buildings and picked people off in the street, one by one, as they fearfully made their way through the city in search of food and water for their families. An estimated 15,000 people were killed (1,500 were children), and 56,000 wounded (15,000 were children). 

Maybe somewhere along the meandering route of my formal education I picked up a sound byte or read a paragraph about this city's suffering. But I did not know what happened. What was happening as I laid, stomach down, in the grass of my backyard, turning the pages of my holocaust books wondering how something like it could've ever have happened in the world. 

The Cellist of Sarajevo centers around the true event of a professional cellist who plays at the site of a mortar blast that killed 22 of his neighbors as they waited in line to buy bread. He plays in the open air for 22 days, one day for every person killed. Intertwined are the fictional, but based on fact, stories of several other individuals surviving in the war-torn city. I don't feel as if I can go into too much detail, without making their plights seem trite. I will just say that this book is a must-read, five stars, etc..etc...

Also, if you read this, and can still handle a little more insight into the mentality of war, I would recommend The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien. It's like crawling inside the heads of soldiers of the Vietnam War.

     

The Chaperone

The Chaperone  by  Laura Moriarty

The Chaperone was one of those books that you hope will have hidden depths as you delve in, but midway through you kind of give up on it.  From about the halfway mark, I decided to just enjoy the book as a ‘cute story’ and stop hoping the author would give me more when it came to the main character.  The story line gave her so much potential, but unfortunately she fell flat.  I think the author was trying to reflect the time period, with its sense of propriety and decorum. But because we as readers are privy to the innermost thoughts of the characters, couldn’t we see the hidden passion behind her?

The book follows the life of a woman, Cora, and begins with her chaperoning a young dancer, real-life 20’s actress Louise Brooks, as she attends a dance school in New York City. Some of the critiques of the book I read were disappointed that it wasn’t more about Louise Brooks. But given that the title is called The Chaperone, I wasn’t surprised or disappointed that was whom the majority of the story focused on. Another criticism was how the author was slow at some points, whilst whizzing through others. Yes, she did do that. But it wasn’t too distracting. I didn’t mind the book trailing on and on and not ending till Cora ended. I always am left wondering what happened to my characters after the novel ends, and this book saw them all till death, so I liked that, haha.

The novel tackles some huge topics, like child molestation, homosexuality (and how it was perceived in the 1900’s), adoption, abandonment, racism, and issues that were bigger topics during the time period, like birth control and prohibition. Yet the author manages to throw all that in, and still come out with a fairly shallow novel with shallow characters. I’m not sure how she did it. But she did.

I give this book 2.5 maybe 3 stars, if I’m reaching. It’s not a must-read for me, but if you’re bored and it’s right in front of you, it’s a pleasant distraction.   

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 Kneebone Boy

Week 6: The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

I'm a week behind, so I am posting back-to-back reviews today. Now I think I will be caught up.

My husband grabbed this book last time we were at the library, and read it pretty quickly. I like to read what he reads, and I noticed this book was by Ellen Potter, who wrote the first book I reviewed this year, SLOB. I liked SLOB and I liked this one. I'm going to give it three stars. It's kind of interesting how it is written, reminds me a lot of how she wrote SLOB, also of When You Reach Me, with a little Lemony Snicket worked in.

This style of writing is almost like a new trend in Juvenile Fiction, they are tantalizing, mysterious, page-turners that demand to be read in one sitting, because you just can't put them down! Because of the mystery element, you also can't review them properly, because anything and everything divulged would completely ruin the reading experience. All I can say is read them and enjoy!

Just remember, everything is not as it seems (cue theme music from The Twilight Zone).

A Thousand Acres

Week 5: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

I grabbed A Thousand Acres off the shelf at the library having heard nothing about it. I chose it because of the little gold Pulitzer Prize sticker it was sporting. I can’t say that I like to read Pulitzer winners because they are usually really great books that appeal to me…because usually I don’t like them. I am just curious what contemporary novels are chosen to win this prestigious honor. It’s kind of like watching the Oscars, and then watching the Oscar winning films. Usually they just make you go, “wwhhaaat?” The same is NOT true for the Newberry winners. You can rest assured that if you pick up the medal winner, or an honor book, it is going to be great.

Back to the review at hand; I gave this book two stars. I didn’t care for it. I knew the story would be depressing, because the back cover divulged that it was based loosely on Shakespeare’s King Lear, and we all know how that ended. But that was not necessarily a turn-off for me. But the novel just fizzeled and died for me. It was almost like the author was trying too hard to make her story follow Shakespeare’s plot. I think it would have been so much better if she would have gone her own direction, and I actually did like her writing style.

The story is about an aging, and somewhat eccentric farmer and his three daughters, whom he decides to divide his life’s work amongst, that being his one thousand acre farm. The youngest daughter (a lawyer) expresses some hesitation, and is immediately cut out of the deal. This event sets off a domino effect of basically depressing things happening to the family, at the same time drudging up horribly depressing things from the past. THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT: but when the book finally ends, pretty much everyone but the narrator is dead. And it isn’t like all the heavy stuff is plot thickening, or high drama…it’s just like one thing after another, just endless waves of bad luck for the family. Maybe that is what life is like for some families, and maybe this book would appeal to such people, if anything, to make them feel better about their lives.

However, if you want something enlightening, or meaningful, or upbeat…skip this one.

I wish I had a great book recommendation for you each week, but the fact of the matter is, you do have to sift through some sludge to find the gems. Hopefully I'll have some good ones for you soon!