Alright so the title might be a little grander than the reading but this time I've finished two books both of which I enjoyed. First up, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.
This one took me a long time to really get hooked on. It was somewhere around page 306 when I finally said, "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!" Honestly if I hadn't been urged by at least three different people who's book opinions I respect I would've set this one down. The prologue has great promise with an elderly man reciving a pressed flower on his birthday, an event that has occurred for the past
40+ years. The interesting part is the supposed sender, his niece Harriet, disappeared decades ago. The gentleman assumes that its her killer taunting him. Then we get to chapter 1 and enough backstory to qualify as government reading! We find out all about a finacial journalist's downfall and a mysterious girl with a dragon tatoo who does security work. She's asked to investigate the journalist who was just convicted of slander and then the elderly man hires the journalist to investigate his niece's disappearance--a supposedly perfect crime. Somewhere around page 300 this tatoo girl and journalist join forces in the investigation. Before that there is more than enough sadistic behavior directed at tatoo girl (who is named Lisbeth) for me to cringe repeatedly. In the end that sadism helps solve the crime in an ending that I did not see coming. If you can stick out the backstory the novel is worth it. There was a teaser at the end of the copy I read for the next novel in the triology--again a lot of sadism seems to be the theme.
The second novel I read was The Summer we Read Gatsby. I'm not going to lie--I was drawn to it by the title because I love The Great Gatsby. The book started off a little slow again--just can't seem to find that novel that grabs me from the start--but it picked up quickly. It winds up being a romance. Two half sisters who were raised on opposite sides of the Atlantic and have only met in person a half dozen times come together to sort through their beloved Aunt Lydia's things and sell the home they inherited from her when she passed on. Lydia leaves a mysterious message in her will urging the girl to find something of importance in the time it takes them to sell Fool's House--the name she has bestowed upon her home in the Hamptons. The girls--really they're women--spend their time looking for something material of value when its obvious that love and family is what Lydia is alluding to. The chase for material wealth does lead to a bit of a mystery, but all ends well despite an unfortunate end to Fool's House. Along the way you learn a bit about Jackson Pollock, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the artistic traditions of East Hampton. It was a fun read that left me longing for a summer home on a lake and colorful neighbors to drink cocktails with in the sumer sun and shaded porches.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The good, the bad, and the ugly
It has been awhile since I posted about the books I'm reading this summer, but I swear I have been reading. I'm just finding it difficult to stick with a book. For instance, I started reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I had high hopes for it. It came recommended by a woman who's opinion I trust, but I just couldn't stick with it. It is written with a certain amount of sarcastic wit and heavily footnoted with equally sarcastic remarks that I would normally enjoy but it required me to invest too much energy for a summer read so I've abandoned it until another time.
Next I read Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagan. She's a Wisconsin author and the book is set in a blue collar neighborhood of Milwaukee during the summer of 1956. It's told through the point of view of a ten year old girl. This concept works in To Kill a Mockingbird but it is tedious in this novel. However I stuck with it mainly because of the setting. The book is about a neighborhoood that is sort of being terrorized by a serial molestor/murderer. The main character (who's name I've already forgotten) has recently lost her father to a fatal car accident. Her mother quickly remarries an abusive shoe salesman with a drinking problem. Then her mother has to go into the hospital for surgery. The mother winds up having complications and spending the better part of the summer in the hospital. The girls are left in charge of their older sister, Nell, who is more concerned with her boyfriend than her sisters. The stepfather is "getting some" from a woman at the corner bar and can't be bothered with the girls so they are left to fend for the themselves.
Throughout the book the narrator believes that a friendly police officer is the murderer, but it turns out she's wrong. She is right about the fact that the murderer is after her. I thought the murderer was her stepfather but he isn't. He does wind up in prison though. Just in case you have a love of tedium I won't tell you who the murderer is or why the police officer holds a suprise for the narrator that changes the lives of her family.
Finally, the good. I love reading books set in the British Royal Court and I love theater so naturally I loved Jane Feather's novel All the Queen's Players which is about both. Historical fiction is fun for me as it sort of teaches me about historical aspects that aren't necessarily part of classroom study. The traditions and requirements of the royal courtiers are interesting. Imagine having an entire room of women who sit and wait for your command! And imagine being one of those ladies who sits and waits and sews tapestries while doing so. Then think about the fact that it is an honor to do so! I read The Other Boleyn Girl a few summers ago and then a couple more books by the same author. They were all concerned with King Henry's court. This novel concerns Queen Elizabeth I's court and the downfall of Queen Mary of Scots. Queen Mary is imprisoned for her treasonous behavior of remaining true to her Catholic faith in a Protestant country, but Queen Elizabeth refuses to execute her. Queen E's Secretary of State, Sir Francis Wallsingham, privately funds his own secret spy network to trap Queen Mary. It is through this network that Rosamund Wallsingham finds herself at court, but not before her brother Thomas takes her to the theater. It is at the theater that she meets Thomas' lover Kit (Christopher) Marlowe and a casual court acquaintance Will Creighton, an aspiring playwright.
Throughout the novel Rosamund learns to play the games of the court, disgraces herself, and is sent to serve Queen Mary in prison (even in prison a queen gets her ladies in waiting!). Rosamund's duty is to report everything she sees and hears to her cousing Sir Francis. Eventually she has a hand in the downfall and execution of Queen Mary. It appears that Rosamund will get to live her life and continue her secret affair with Will, but in a twist I did not see coming it all falls apart! I truly enjoyed this book.
Up next is The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Every review I've read said you won't be able to put it down, but I did. I put it down to finish reading All the Queen's Players however unlike Oscar Wao I will be picking it up again!
Next I read Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagan. She's a Wisconsin author and the book is set in a blue collar neighborhood of Milwaukee during the summer of 1956. It's told through the point of view of a ten year old girl. This concept works in To Kill a Mockingbird but it is tedious in this novel. However I stuck with it mainly because of the setting. The book is about a neighborhoood that is sort of being terrorized by a serial molestor/murderer. The main character (who's name I've already forgotten) has recently lost her father to a fatal car accident. Her mother quickly remarries an abusive shoe salesman with a drinking problem. Then her mother has to go into the hospital for surgery. The mother winds up having complications and spending the better part of the summer in the hospital. The girls are left in charge of their older sister, Nell, who is more concerned with her boyfriend than her sisters. The stepfather is "getting some" from a woman at the corner bar and can't be bothered with the girls so they are left to fend for the themselves.
Throughout the book the narrator believes that a friendly police officer is the murderer, but it turns out she's wrong. She is right about the fact that the murderer is after her. I thought the murderer was her stepfather but he isn't. He does wind up in prison though. Just in case you have a love of tedium I won't tell you who the murderer is or why the police officer holds a suprise for the narrator that changes the lives of her family.
Finally, the good. I love reading books set in the British Royal Court and I love theater so naturally I loved Jane Feather's novel All the Queen's Players which is about both. Historical fiction is fun for me as it sort of teaches me about historical aspects that aren't necessarily part of classroom study. The traditions and requirements of the royal courtiers are interesting. Imagine having an entire room of women who sit and wait for your command! And imagine being one of those ladies who sits and waits and sews tapestries while doing so. Then think about the fact that it is an honor to do so! I read The Other Boleyn Girl a few summers ago and then a couple more books by the same author. They were all concerned with King Henry's court. This novel concerns Queen Elizabeth I's court and the downfall of Queen Mary of Scots. Queen Mary is imprisoned for her treasonous behavior of remaining true to her Catholic faith in a Protestant country, but Queen Elizabeth refuses to execute her. Queen E's Secretary of State, Sir Francis Wallsingham, privately funds his own secret spy network to trap Queen Mary. It is through this network that Rosamund Wallsingham finds herself at court, but not before her brother Thomas takes her to the theater. It is at the theater that she meets Thomas' lover Kit (Christopher) Marlowe and a casual court acquaintance Will Creighton, an aspiring playwright.
Throughout the novel Rosamund learns to play the games of the court, disgraces herself, and is sent to serve Queen Mary in prison (even in prison a queen gets her ladies in waiting!). Rosamund's duty is to report everything she sees and hears to her cousing Sir Francis. Eventually she has a hand in the downfall and execution of Queen Mary. It appears that Rosamund will get to live her life and continue her secret affair with Will, but in a twist I did not see coming it all falls apart! I truly enjoyed this book.
Up next is The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Every review I've read said you won't be able to put it down, but I did. I put it down to finish reading All the Queen's Players however unlike Oscar Wao I will be picking it up again!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Help
This book by Kathryn Stockett was kind of, sort of recommended to me by a student. She had just finished reading it when we got to the independent book project in my Contemporary American Lit class and wanted to use it as her book of choice. I wouldn't let her because I hadn't read it yet, but now that I have it can definitely go on the list.
The book is about three women. Aibileen is a black woman in her 50s who's only son Treelore was killed in an accident at work. Treelore's father is long gone and Aibileen works as a maid for Elizabeth Leefolt, a member of the junior league.
Minny is a younger black woman--late twenties or early thirties--who also works as a maid for the junior league crowd. Minny has a tendency to speak her mind which often causes her to get fired and then beat by her husband. As the book opens Minny has been fired from her job tending to Mrs. Walters, a deaf old woman who couldn't hear when Minny sassed off. However Miss Hilly, Mrs. Walters daughter and the president of the Jackson Junior League, spreads a rumor that Minny was stealing the silver so Minny gets even with the Terrible Awful thing she does.
The third woman is Miss Skeeter, best friend of Miss Leefolt and the editor of the Junior League newsletter. Miss Skeeter is tall and awkward--not the classic beauty who goes off to college to find love. Instead Miss Skeeter has managed to complete all four years at Ole Miss and much to her mother's chagrin graduates with a degree rather than a husband. Miss Skeeter returns home to afternoon teas and friends with husbands, children and Old South beliefs. What she does not find at home is her beloved nursemaid, Constantine who has mysteriously disappeared under circumstances Miss Skeeter's mother refuses to discuss.
The three women's lives intersect in the midst of the civil rights movement when Miss Skeeter decides to tell the story of the maids and their lives working for white women. Despite it all being done anonymously Miss Hilly figures out who has done the writing and who has done the telling and spreads the news around Jackson until she reaches Minny's story at the end of the book. Minny has revealed the terrible awful and Miss Hilly backtracks to keep it quiet, but not before most of the damage has been done.
The novel was very good, but as is the case with rotating points of view there is one story that I wanted to read more than the others. There were also several incidents taht seemed too convienent. Miss Skeeter goes off to NYC in job all too easily won, Miss Minny finds a job guaranteed for a lifetime with Miss Celia all too easily, and Miss Celia's life is crafted with a certain amount of mystery that is never fully satisfied. I would happily read the sequel if it were to be written about Miss Celia!
All in all though it was a good read laced with historical events and authentic voices that I will add to the independent reading list. Thank you Anna Mae!
The book is about three women. Aibileen is a black woman in her 50s who's only son Treelore was killed in an accident at work. Treelore's father is long gone and Aibileen works as a maid for Elizabeth Leefolt, a member of the junior league.
Minny is a younger black woman--late twenties or early thirties--who also works as a maid for the junior league crowd. Minny has a tendency to speak her mind which often causes her to get fired and then beat by her husband. As the book opens Minny has been fired from her job tending to Mrs. Walters, a deaf old woman who couldn't hear when Minny sassed off. However Miss Hilly, Mrs. Walters daughter and the president of the Jackson Junior League, spreads a rumor that Minny was stealing the silver so Minny gets even with the Terrible Awful thing she does.
The third woman is Miss Skeeter, best friend of Miss Leefolt and the editor of the Junior League newsletter. Miss Skeeter is tall and awkward--not the classic beauty who goes off to college to find love. Instead Miss Skeeter has managed to complete all four years at Ole Miss and much to her mother's chagrin graduates with a degree rather than a husband. Miss Skeeter returns home to afternoon teas and friends with husbands, children and Old South beliefs. What she does not find at home is her beloved nursemaid, Constantine who has mysteriously disappeared under circumstances Miss Skeeter's mother refuses to discuss.
The three women's lives intersect in the midst of the civil rights movement when Miss Skeeter decides to tell the story of the maids and their lives working for white women. Despite it all being done anonymously Miss Hilly figures out who has done the writing and who has done the telling and spreads the news around Jackson until she reaches Minny's story at the end of the book. Minny has revealed the terrible awful and Miss Hilly backtracks to keep it quiet, but not before most of the damage has been done.
The novel was very good, but as is the case with rotating points of view there is one story that I wanted to read more than the others. There were also several incidents taht seemed too convienent. Miss Skeeter goes off to NYC in job all too easily won, Miss Minny finds a job guaranteed for a lifetime with Miss Celia all too easily, and Miss Celia's life is crafted with a certain amount of mystery that is never fully satisfied. I would happily read the sequel if it were to be written about Miss Celia!
All in all though it was a good read laced with historical events and authentic voices that I will add to the independent reading list. Thank you Anna Mae!
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