Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Currently reading:
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin Kelley (US)
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Ireland)

Books Read in 2009:

January:
2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Chile)
The Illusion of Return by Samir El-Youssef (Palestine)
A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo (Kenya)
Mishima's Sword by Christopher Ross (UK)
Patriotism by Yukio Mishima (Japan)
Does Your House Have Lions? by Sonia Sanchez (US)
Mi Revalueshanary Fren by Linton Kwesi Johnson (UK)
The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso (Chile)
Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami (Japan)
Pinball, 1973 by Haruki Murakami
Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra (Chile)
Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolaño

February:
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (Japan)
Poor Folk by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russia)
The Interrogation by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio (France)
Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Zanzibar)
Novel 11, Book 18 by Dag Solstad (Norway)
A Better Angel: Stories by Chris Adrian (US)
The Cobra's Heart by Ryszard Kapuściński (Poland/Africa)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (US)
The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Australia)
Travelling with Djinns by Jamal Mahjoub (UK/Sudan)
The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt (US)
Metropole by Ferenc Karinthy (Hungary)
A Journey Round My Skull by Frigyes Karinthy (Hungary)
Ül: Four Mapuche Poets (Chile)
The Lemoine Affair by Marcel Proust (France)

March:
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopia/US)
My Floating Mother, City by Kazuko Shiraishi (Japan)
The Oldest Orphan by Tierno Monénembo (Guinea)
Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town by Warren St. John (US)
Resistance: The Human Struggle Against Infection by Norbert Gualde, MD (France)
The United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi (Djibouti)
The Winners by Julio Cortázar (Argentina)
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (US)
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (US)
Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou (Congo)
The Tango Singer by Tomás Eloy Martinez (Argentina)
Autonauts of the Cosmoroute by Julio Cortázar & Carol Dunlop (France)
Golpes Bajos/Low Blows: Instantáneas/Snapshots by Alicia Borinsky (Argentina)
UFO in Her Eyes by Xiaolu Guo (China)
Shyness & Dignity by Dag Solstad (Denmark)
A Strange and Sublime Address by Amit Chaudhuri (India)

April:
Brain Surgeon by Keith Black, MD (US)
The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (The Netherlands)
Cambridge by Caryl Phillips (UK/Caribbean)
Afternoon Raag by Amit Chaudhuri (India/UK)
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo (China/UK)
Breath by Tim Winton (Australia)
Books v. Cigarettes by George Orwell(UK)
Rhyming Life & Death by Amos Oz (Israel)
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (Pakistan)
World Ball Notebook by Sesshu Foster (US)
The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt (US)
Unlucky Lucky Days by Daniel Grandbois (US)

May:
Five Spice Street by Can Xue (China)
The Mighty Angel by Jerzy Pilch (Poland)
The Fat Man and Infinity by António Lobo Antunes (Portugal)
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (Ireland)
Gimpel the Fool: And Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Poland)
Flowers of a Moment by Ko Un (Korea)
W, or The Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec (France)
Voice Over by Céline Curiol (France)
C.L.R. James: Cricket's Philosopher King by Dave Renton (Trinidad/UK)
The King's Rifle by Biyi Bandele (Nigeria/UK)
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (Italy)
Plants Don't Drink Coffee by Unai Elorriaga (Basque/Spain)
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro (UK)
The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)
The Armies by Evelio Rosero (Colombia)
The Bathroom by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (France)

June:
Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun (South Korea/US)
Rose by Li-Young Lee (Indonesia/US)
Frida's Bed by Slavenka Drakulić (Croatia)
In the Falling Snow by Caryl Phillips (St. Kitts/UK)
The Halfway House by Guillermo Rosales (Cuba/US)
How I Became a Nun by César Aira (Argentina)
The Waitress Was New by Dominique Fabre (France)
Ravel by Jean Echenoz (France)
Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
Hoppla! 1 2 3 by Gérard Gavarry (France)
Pilcrow by Adam Mars-Jones (UK)
The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín (Ireland)
The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (Iran)

July:
Ghosts by César Aira (Argentina)
Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures by Richard Barnett (UK)
Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
The Postman by Antonio Skármeta (Chile)
Nostalgic Views of Atlanta {Atlanta History Center}
Mercury Under My Tongue by Sylvain Trudel (Canada)
The Fête at Coqueville by Émile Zola (France)
Flaw by Magdalena Tulli (Poland)
The Observer by Matt Charman (UK)
Literary Cafés of Paris by Noël Riley Fitch
Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi (UK)

August:
Palafox by Eric Chevillard (France)
The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds (UK)
Literary Paris: A Guide by Jessica Powell
Not Untrue & Not Unkind by Ed O'Loughlin (Ireland)
Journey into the Past by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
Harare North by Brian Chikwava (UK)
Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein (Pakistan/UK)
Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne (Sri Lanka/UK)
England People Very Nice by Richard Bean (UK)
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer (UK)
Derelict London by Paul Taller (UK)
Me Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever (UK)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (US)
The Trial of Robert Mugabe by Chielo Zona Eze (Nigeria)
The Country Where No One Ever Dies by Ornela Vorpsi (Albania)
How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall (UK)
Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by Rachel Fershleiser (US)

September:
Summertime by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa)
Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin (Mexico)
Love and Summer by William Trevor (Ireland)
Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine by Roy Porter (UK)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (UK)
Coloured Lights by Leila Aboulela (Sudan)
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua)
The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allan Poe (US)
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan/UK)
At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua)
The Flood by Emile Zola (France)

October:
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt (UK)
Solo by Rana Dasgupta (India)
Shoplifting from American Apparel by Tao Lin (US)
My Men by Malika Mokeddem (Algeria)
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux (France)
The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
"I Live in Darkness" by Annie Ernaux (France)
The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
Dance with Snakes by Horacio Castellanos Moya (El Salvador)
North of Hell by Miguel Correa Mujica (Cuba)
Running by Jean Echenoz (France)
The Possession by Annie Ernaux (France)

November:
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux (France)
A Sorrow Beyond Dreams by Peter Handke (Austria)
Translation is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin (Canada)
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (UK)
City Gates by Elias Khoury (Lebanon)
A Woman's Story by Annie Ernaux (France)
Shame by Annie Ernaux (France)
Creole Folktales by Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique)
Chowringhee by Sankar (India)
Heliopolis by James Scudamore (UK)
Small Memories by José Saramago (Portugal)
Waylaid by Ed Lin (US)

Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2009, 8:54pm.

New thread. Hello. Fresh is good. *Clicks on star to paint it yellow*

Woofie

New thread. Hola Kdoc! Enjoying your read through the Bookers.

Hi Ruth!

¡Hola chrine! I've read four of the shortlisted books so far (Wolf Hall, The Glass Room, Summertime and The Quickening Maze), and I'm currently reading The Children's Book, which I should finish by the weekend (I'm off from work until Monday). I'll finish the shortlist with The Little Stranger next week, and read the other two longlisted books I haven't read, The Wilderness and Heliopolis, by the end of the year.

My next goal will be to revisit this year's Orange Prize longlist. There are 20 books on that list, and I'd like to read 8-10 of them. So far I've only read Burnt Shadows, The Invention of Everything Else, and The Lost Dog. I own but haven't read The Wilderness, The Flying Troutmans, Evening Is the Whole Day, Scottsboro and Blonde Roots, so I'll plan to read those by year's end, along with A Mercy.

My next review will probably be Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America by Ezekiel Emanuel.

Message edited by its author, Sep 15, 2009, 7:38pm.

* Murr throws his paws up in despair.*

Ahem... excuse the parochial noises... but Keri Hulme is a Kiwi!!
Have fun with The Bone People...we gave our unread copy away to a German friend last year, who put us to shame by reading it on the plane home.

Hola Kdoc. Enjoy your time off then and all the reading opportunities that come with it. A Mercy is on my TBR list so I look forward to reading your review of it when you get to it.

I have found Bone People to be one of the most controversy-inducing books ever. I introduced it to my reading group about three years ago, where I loved it and everyone else loathed it. I have recommended it to a number of people who have hated it. And I know there are some people out there who love it. It elicits extremely strong reactions. I just may have to reread it. I am looking forward to your thoughts, Darryl.

Flaw by Magdalena Tulli

My rating:

I reviewed Flaw for the first issue of Belletrista. You can find my review on the magazine's web site:

http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/r...

And an excellent review it is, Darryl!!!!

Thanks, Paola!

:-))

> #9 - Darryl -

Good review. Published on a great new website. Notable. Congratulations. Well done.

The book sounds interesting ... but I don't think that right now is a good time for me to take on a novel with this particular theme. A little kindness and helpfulness would do me a world of good. Just saying. Don't need anyone else taking on setting rules for other folks because of a "costume" they feel gives them that right.

I'm starting a Lifelong Learning Class at FSU this next class period. It will cover a magazine style/sized "book," called Great Decisions 2009 (Published by the Foreign Policy Association - www.fpa.org). This is a fresh new discipline of interest/study for me and will simply be an overview of a huge and important topic. Apparently there is a television series on PBS, that I have no knowledge of, whatsoever. *blush*

Think I'm gonna learn something while reading and listening to this professor-lead class, Darryl. I will become a more informed citizen, I believe.

Don't know why your review made me start thinking about my up-coming class. Democracy? Policy? hmmm?

Your friend,

Ruth

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

My rating:

I found this book length essay and At the Bottom of the River, a collection of short stories by the same author (who is one of my favorites), while going through some older books earlier today. I realized that I hadn't read either book, and started on this book straight away.

The setting for A Small Place, which was written in 1988, is postcolonial Antigua in the mid-1980s, as the narrator speaks to a voiceless North American or European tourist who arrives to her home island of Antigua, "a small place, nine miles wide by twelve miles long", whose beauty is contrasted by its dilapidated buildings and bad roads. The tourist is given an unsparing view of the island's inequality, poverty and corruption, and much of the blame for Antigua's situation is laid on the former British colonists, and indirectly on the unwanted and unloved visitor. The essay ends with a brief love note by the narrator to her homeland, and we are left with a sense of hope for the future.

#13: I'll be interested to hear about your class, Ruth. That reminds me, I should check the "Evenings at Emory" fall catalog to see if there are any classes I would be interested in this term.

The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allan Poe

My rating:

I read The Gold-Bug in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, after I read an article in the Guardian about the 10 best pirate stories. This is a novella about an estranged man living on an island off the coast of Charleston, Souh Carolina, who discovers a mysterious golden bug with the outline of a skull on its back. He subsequently finds a map with the bug on it, which leads him to buried pirate treasure. This was a trivial story that wasn't worth the time spent reading it.

For me, The God Bug scores at least 4, because of the way the document is decyphered, and because of the tension created when the wrong eye of the skull is used to find the treasure.

I found the part about the "wrong" left eye to be very predictable; I knew that was going to happen! And the role of Jupiter as the "stupid darky" was quite tiresome. I lost interest in the story, and found it less than believable by the time of the deciphering, so I'll stick with my two star rating.

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 4:09pm.

It may be predictable now, but 100+ years ago it was unique and new. Some times books must be read with an eye on where it fits into it's time it was written. But I agree not one of Poe's best I would give it 2 or 2 1/2 stars.

>18 - Darryl -

I read this story as a young child, back in the early fifties.

I don't remember that much about it and ... if I could have a sit down with Poe today ... I would hope to give his old brain and way of thinking a newer, fresher way of thinking about his characterizations and complete lack of understanding about who we are as human beings, regardless of the color of our skin or the country of our heritage.

We do have to think about history and the way things were (society, colonialism, slavery, etc.) with the limited connections that people were able to have with each other at that time, and you, of all of my LT friends are most aware of these literary blots and no logic, no brain types of characterizations.

It's Sunday morning. I must think I have a pulpit here today. Sorry ... just couldn't let this slide without someone dear knowing how I feel. Thanks for reading my comment.

We have moved on, Poe. Your character has been dismissed as un-true and proven so time and time again. We will not support this one as a classic or other-wise.

Just saying. IMHO.

Ruth

I loved Poe when I was about 11 or 12; we had an old set of his work that my mother brought from her parents' house, and I devoured the stories, especially classics like "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." This was about the same time that I devoured The Complete Sherlock Holmes, a copy that belonged to my grandfather which I still have.

I am not sure whether I would want to read Poe again, because I might be disappointed for some of the reasons above, but I would like to reread Sherlock Holmes; "The Speckled Band" still gives me the creeps.

#19, 20: I agree that a book's content must be viewed in the time that it was written, so I was willing to overlook, to a degree, the way in which Jupiter was portrayed. However, IMO it was quite overdone, and, again, it became quite tiresome, as did the entire story, which just wasn't very good. The Guardian article claimed that it was one of the 10 best pirate stories; there were no pirates portrayed in the story, which added to my disappointment.

#21: I think I've read two or three other Poe stories in the recent past, and none were memorable or enjoyable. Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I'm done with him.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 11:07am.

I just finished A Pale View of Hills, the debut novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, which was very good, at least four stars. I'll submit a review tomorrow, after I think about it a little more, and especially after I read The Art of the Fiction interview of Ishiguro in the Spring 2008 edition of The Paris Review; one LTer mentioned that he discussed the ending of the book in the interview.

Inspired by your Booker read, I had started on the Orange Prize long-list after completing my "50 book challenge" - already read Burnt Shadows, The Flying Troutmans and Scottsboro. This last one sent me on a detour to read the non-fiction books that Ellen Feldman used for research. The Last of the Scottsboro Boys, autobiography of Clarence Norris, just arrived today.

The first three books have been enjoyable to read. I have attempted The Wilderness, but it seems quite tedious so far. I look forward to your eval of the long-list.

Catarina, I'll probably read The Wilderness in October or November; I'm sorry to hear that it has been tedious, but I think others on the Booker Prize web site's discussion thread have made the same comment. It has been listed for, I think, four major awards (Orange, Booker, Guardian First Book Award, maybe one other?), but hasn't won any of them yet.

I've read three books in the past week or so; I'll submit reviews for them later today or during the week:

#121: A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro (3-1/2 stars)
#122: At the Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid (2-1/2 stars)
#123: The Flood by Emile Zola (4-1/2 stars)

I'm still working on The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, which I should finish by the middle of the week. After that I'll read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, to finish the Booker Prize shortlist. The winner will be announced on October 6th.

Doc, I hear your thoughts on Poe. I have never been able to get into him either.
For the ultimate pirate tale, you should of course read Treasure Island.

There is a distinct lack of conversation on ClubRead these days. Or is it just my imagination?

I thought you might need some more books, Darryl. LOL.

So here, in that spirit of helpfulness, is a list for you:

The top 20 books of the millenium so far, as selected by a panel of experts invited by the blog The Millions.

#20: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
#19: American Genius, A Comedy by Lynne Tillman
#18: Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
#17: The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
#16: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
#15: Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis
#14: Atonement by Ian McEwan
#13: Mortals by Norman Rush
#12: Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg
#11: The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
#10: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
#9: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
#8: Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
#7: Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
#6: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
#5: Pastoralia by George Saunders
#4: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño
#3: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
#2: The Known World by Edward P. Jones
#1: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

The link is here http://www.themillions.com/2009/09/the-b...

>27 Hmmm . . . I think the the panel of experts could use a few experts. A predictable and for the most part mediocre list - relative to all the other wonderful books out there. And Andrushka, yes there is much less discussion on Club read these days. Everyone must have moved to a new forum . . somewhere ;-)

haven't moved on. It's more that i've gotten so far behind on folks' threads that i've a hard time starting back up. Of the 8/20 books i've read (or started and discarded) on the above list, Diaz's is by far the one i enjoyed the most.

I'm in the midst of a long work stretch, so I'll have little to say before Saturday. I'll try to keep up on my thread, though.

I've also noticed that the amount of discussion on Club Read recently has paled in comparison to the 75ers discussions.

#26: Murr, Treasure Island is a classic that I've never read. I will have to rectify that, and I'll try to get to it, Moby Dick and a few other classics next year (whee, more books to buy!).

#27: Andrew, thanks for that list. I've read #2, 4, 11 and 16, own #1, 6, 10, 14 and 17. I'll read the Ishiguro by year's end, for the mini-author theme read, but I'm not sure when I'll get to the others. It's almost devoid of international literature, though.

#28: Agree with you, urania. I'll bet that any of us could come up with at least 10 books from this millenium that would rank higher than most, if not all, of the books on this list.

#29: Agree with you on the Diaz, Bob; it's definitely the best of the four that I've read, too. But, Diaz is a Rutgers alumnus, like me, so my view could be a bit biased.

OK, Urania,

so here is the opportunity to increase the amount and level of discussion:

What ARE ten (or twenty or whatever number you please) other books, published since 2000, that SHOULD be on that list?

No doubt this will engender so much participation that eventually it will need its own thread, but why don't we start the discussion, with Darryl's permission, right here.

Haven't moved but am in the midst of several weeks of off and on travel and lots of work, all cutting in to LT time, but hopefully not to reading time (love those airplane and train trips!).

As for the top 20 list, of the ones I've read, several absolutely DO NOT belong on the list ! Not to mention the ones I've never heard of.

Think the interesting thing is the diffence between the "pro" list vrs the "Reader" list.
There are only have seven in common;

American Genius, A Comedy
Gilead
Cloud Atlas
The Road
Austerlitz
The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Middlesex

Andrushka,

I will have to do some thinking about this. I can, however, tell you which books I would strike from the list.

20: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
#19: American Genius, A Comedy by Lynne Tillman (just ordered on Kindle but haven't read)
#18: Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
#17: The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem (edited - oops just realized I haven't read this one but was basing my writing of early Lethem, which is absolutely awful)
#16: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
#15: Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis (haven't read)
#14: Atonement by Ian McEwan
#13: Mortals by Norman Rush (haven't read)
#12: Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg (on TBR list)
#11: The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (on TBR list)
#10: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (I did, however love this book)
#9: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
#8: Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (haven't read an Per Petterson)
#7: Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald (on TBR list)
#6: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
#5: Pastoralia by George Saunders (have not yet read)
#4: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (have not yet read)
#3: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
#2: The Known World by Edward P. Jones - (Hmmm . . . I have to think about this one. I suspect it's a strike but . . . )
#1: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Message edited by its author, Sep 29, 2009, 11:50am.

The way I see the two lists there are ten books from the "pro" list which are not on the reader list. So yes, there is a wide divergence in the "pro" and "reader".

Here are my favorites, in no particular order (subject to revision):

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (also known as Children of the Revolution) by Dinaw Mengestu
Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas
A Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
Travelling with Djinns by Jamal Mahjoub
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

My rating: 4-1/2 stars

I'll submit a review of this later in the week. It is a historical novel mainly set in and around London, which begins at the end of the Victorian Era and ends just after World War I, a Big (>600 pages) but very enjoyable read. I was glad to finally finish it, as I had been reading it off and on for nearly a month, but I was also not ready to say goodbye to its characters. Highly recommended!

With two days to go until the announcement of the Booker Prize I've finished five of the six shortlisted books, and 10 of the 13 longlisted ones. I won't finish The Little Stranger by Tuesday, as it is nearly 500 pages long, so this is my final pre-announcement shortlist ranking:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
3. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
4. Summertime by J.M. Coetzee
5. The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

I'm still sad that Brooklyn didn't make the shortlist, but have added the chosen books to my wishlist.

I agree; Brooklyn was a far better book than The Quickening Maze, IMO.

The National Book Foundation announced its "5 Under 35" list for 2009, which consists of five young fiction writers deserving of attention. They are:

Ceridwen Dovey, author of Blood Kin
C. E. Morgan, author of All the Living
Lydia Peelle, author of Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing
Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
Josh Weil, author of The New Valley

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves is funny, but I wouldn't put Karen Russell in the top five young fiction writers (not that I am exactly sure of the ages of many writers). Although I enjoyed Russell's book, if this is the best of the upcoming generation, we should prepare for a long reading drought.

P.S. The Children's Book will be released tomorrow on Kindle. My preorder has been placed for several weeks. I am excited.

I should receive it today (in BOOK format, HAH!). Very excited about it.

I haven't heard of any of the under 35 authors in this list, urania.

I hope that you both enjoy The Children's Book as much as I did.

I hope so too, Darryl.
Unfortunately, I still cannot plunge in it, not until I have read at least a couple I MUST review.....:-(

As expected, Wolf Hall is the winner of this year's Booker Prize:

Bookies favourite wins the 2009 Prize

And my copy from the Book Depository was waiting for me when I got home from my trip yesterday! So now everyone on the subway will be wondering how I got a paperback copy when it isn't even out in the US yet!

Nice! I didn't know that it was out in paperback in the UK already. My guess is that it will end up being the all-time best selling Booker Prize winner, as I'm guessing (or hoping) that it will be widely read in the US, Canada and elsewhere.

BTW, a few of us are having an active discussion about the announcement here.

I've really enjoyed your Booker Prize survey. Several have gone on the wishlist for me.

Thanks, Jane! I'm eager to hear what you think of them. BTW, Wolf Hall will be released in the US today.

This is admittedly off topic, but ZoneAlarm, a leading firewall and anti-virus/anti-spyware program, is offering a free download of ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall 2010, which normally costs $39.95, for today only. I have used ZoneAlarm for my PCs and laptops for several years, and am very pleased with this company's products. More information can be found here:

ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall 2010

Wolf Hall is available on Kindle somewhere (not the US), but I haven't been able to track it down. It doesn't appear to be on the UK site. Any ideas anyone?

I looked for a Kindle edition of Wolf Hall too, and also didn't find where it can be purchased; Amazon US just says that it isn't available in the US.

I'm in San Francisco for a medical conference (today), followed by my fall vacation, until the 25th. I have tickets for six jazz concerts, five of them from the San Francisco Jazz Festival. I went to City Lights Bookstore last night not long after I arrived here, and both a few books. I'm currently reading two books, "My Men" by Malika Mokeddem for the next issue of Bellestrista, and "Solo" by Rana Dasgupta, and should finish both of them by tomorrow. So, I'll get back to reading and posting reviews starting tomorrow.

Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 8:25am.

Great reviews and summaries of the Booker list, Kidzdoc. You have really explored the list fully. I am always following your reading, regardless of posting.

WRT 'Best Lists' - it seems to me a fairly dangerous thing to announce a top 20 list. Looking through, it seems fairly Americo-centric so it begs the question - who goes on that website and how international is the panel. I find it astounding that The Corrections is #1.

Solo by Rana Dasgupta

My rating: Solo was selected by readers of the Guardian's Books page as the inaugural winner of the paper's "Not the Booker" prize, for the best book that was not nominated for this year's Booker Prize. This captivating novel is divided into two distinct and minimally related parts, or movements. In the first movement, 'Dream', we are introduced to Ulrich as he approaches his 100th birthday in his home town of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. He is without heirs and nearly penniless, and he despairs that his life's work has been meaningless. Ulrich reviews his life from early youth, and uncovers the multiple external disappointments and personal failures and that characterized his early life. His father throws his beloved violin in the fire, destroying his dream of becoming a classical musician, and he is forced to give up his university studies in Berlin before obtaining his degree, and to say goodbye to the love of his life. He returns to mid-1920s Sofia, where brutal government suppression of dissidents leads to personal tragedy. The country is devastated by World War II and its aftermath, as the communist regime strips Ulrich and his mother of dignity and freedom. He is able to use his chemistry background to eke out a meager living, but unscrupulous apparatchiks thwart and destroy his best efforts. He is given a pittance of a pension, and only the grudging generosity of his neighbors prevents him from homelessness.

The second movement, 'Daydreams', is initially set in post-communist Bulgaria and Georgia at the turn of the century, and features three young people eager to make their mark: Khatuna, a beautiful and ruthless woman who uses powerful men and her own considerable wit and skill to climb out of poverty; her brother Irakli, a sensitive and troubled poet; and Boris, a farm boy and talented violinist whose discovery by a 'Plastic' Munari, a Bulgarian popular music producer working for a major American company, leads to a meteoric rise that threatens to engulf and destroy all four in a post-9/11 America that is both welcoming and fearful of eastern European culture. Toward the end of this movement Ulrich makes several appearances, which provide a linkage to the first movement as this symphonic novel closes.

This novel manages to cover a lot of territory for its relatively short length of just over 350 pages, with rich portrayals of its main and secondary characters. The differences between the first and second movements are quite striking, and it took me quite awhile to get used to the flow of the second half. Once I did, the novel regained its hold on me. This would have been a worthy nominee for the Booker Prize, and it would have made my shortlist had it been selected. Highly recommended.

Message edited by its author, Oct 19, 2009, 9:51am.

Shoplifting from American Apparel by Tao Lin

My rating:

Reading this novella after finishing "Solo" was the literary equivalent of eating a Pop Tart after a fantastic dinner. The narrator of this autobiographical novel is an aimless twentysomething with the maturity of a 12 year old, who works in a vegan restaurant and gets caught shoplifting from American Apparel, then is caught shoplifting again. The characters and dialogue are quite puerile, and even though it is only 103 pages long, I skimmed the last half of the book. Recommended only for fans of 'Beavis and Butthead' and Fox TV.

Message edited by its author, Oct 19, 2009, 6:39am.

#56: Well, I guess the plot delivers on the title's promise...

Congrats on calling the Booker winner ahead of time!

eating a Pop Tart after a fantastic dinner.

Lol. Ouch!

My Men by Malika Mokeddem (4 stars): My review will appear in issue #2 of Belletrista.

Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux (4-1/2 stars): I'm planning to review this for issue #3 of Belletrista.

Message edited by its author, Oct 21, 2009, 6:46am.

I have loved every Annie Ernaux book I've ever read (4 books total), although I will say that she, like Anita Brookner, writes the same story over and over again. For that reason, I would lower her overall score as a writer. And she is autobiographical in her writing. Understanding her work in the context of her life is crucial. Given the situation at the time, for a woman of her class to attend the university was extremely difficult - particularly given her gender. Providing the readers with an insightful view of class in the 1950s is one of her strengths. Her latest book Les Années is supposed to be her best.

Message edited by its author, Oct 21, 2009, 11:04am.

Thanks for the insight on Ernaux, urania. Someone on LT recommended one of her novels, The Possession, recently, and I've picked up Simple Passion and two other books of hers at City Lights so far, "I Remain in Darkness" and Cleaned Out. I'm still looking for The Possession and La Place, which I hope to find in SF or Berkeley later this week.

I thought of you last night, as I picked up three books by Patrick Chamoiseau from City Lights: Creole Folktales, Solibo Magnificent and School Days.

I should finish "I Remain in Darkness" by Ernaux today, and The Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa tomorrow.

Urania, have you found Wolf Hall in e-book format? I haven't seen it in this format in the US or UK.

kizdoc,

I have not found Wolf Hall in e-book format. The whole matter seems a mystery. We can only wait and watch.

I've read several books over the past 10 days, and I'll start reviewing these books in reverse order, starting with:

Running by Jean Echenoz

My rating:

Two quick comments: According to Amazon US, this book is supposed to be released tomorrow, but I bought it at City Lights on Saturday. Amazon US also indicates that it is 1285 pages in length, but it's only 128 pages long!

"Running" is a fictionalized account of the life of the Emil Zátopek (1922-2000), who reluctantly took up competitive running in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia as a young man, and became one of the premier long-distance runners of the mid-20th century, winning gold and silver medals at the 1948 Olympics, three gold medals at the 1952 Olympics, and setting world records in nine different events.

Zátopek's running style was most unorthodox, which Echenoz describes in detail in this brilliant passage:

"Emil, you'd think he was excavating, like a ditch digger, or digging deep into himself, as if he were in a trance. Ignoring every time-honored rule and any thought of elegance, Emil advances laboriously, in a jerky, tortured manner, all in fits and starts. He doesn't hide the violence of his efforts, which shows in his wincing, grimacing, tetanized face, constantly contorted by a rictus quite painful to see. His features are twisted, as if torn by appalling suffering; sometimes his tongue sticks out. It's as if he had a scorpion in each shoe, catapulting him on. He seems far away when he runs, terribly far away, concentrating so hard he's not even there—except that he's more than than anyone else; and hunkered down between his shoulders, on that neck always leaning in the same direction, his head bobs along endlessly, lolling and wobbling from side to side."

Videos of several of Zátopek's races on YouTube are readily available, which would make any running coach cringe in horror.

Zátopek is hailed as a national hero, and joins the Czech army, which uses him as a tool to promote communism. He is restricted from traveling abroad during the Gottwald regime, and his comments to the press are censored and rewritten by the party. However, he has a good life, with a happy marriage to another Olympic champion, and a good career, until public comments in support of Alexander Dubček during the Prague Spring of 1968 led to his dismissal from the Communist Party and internal exile.

The descriptions of Zátopek's running style and accounts of his most famous races were excellent, and the highlights of the book for me, as I ran for my high school's cross-country and spring track teams. His life in communist Czechoslovakia is covered in lesser detail, especially his exile after 1968. I would have liked more detail into his personal life outside of running, but I suspect that these details were not available to Echenoz or were sanitized by communist censors. However, "Running" was a fabulous and quick read, and is highly recommended.

Message edited by its author, Oct 26, 2009, 4:42pm.

North of Hell by Miguel Correa Mujica

My rating: Miguel Correa Mujica was born in Cuba in 1957, and emigrated to the US as part of the Mariel boat lift in 1980. "North of Hell (Al norte del infierno)" was originally published in Spanish in 1984, and received widespread praise. It was translated into English, and published by Green Integer Books in 2008.

"North of Hell" is a collection of short and unrelated vignettes about the lives of ordinary Cubans under the Castro regime. Every day is a struggle for food and other basic items, and only through special connections can anyone hope to escape poverty. The stories are powerful, dream (or nightmare)-like and absurd: a student is kicked out of the university, because the country needs field hands and street sweepers, not engineers or journalists; a man waiting in line for days for soda curses the Party after learning that the store has run out of soda and must buy fish sticks instead; a man is lynched during a political rally.

I may give this another go in the near future, as I was distracted by the annoying couple sitting next to me on the flight from San Francisco to Atlanta yesterday. Despite that, it was still a very good read.

Dance with Snakes (Biblioasis International Translation Series) by Horacio Castellanos Moya

My rating:

This book was wacky as hell; I loved it!

In post-civil war El Salvador lives Eduardo Sosa, a sociologist who is out of work and lives with his sister in her tiny apartment. Eduardo is friendly enough, but "not quite right". The woman who runs the local market encourages him to find out more about a mysterious newcomer, who lives in a beat-up yellow Chevrolet that is parked in front of the market, across from his sister's apartment. He follows the unwashed and bedraggled man, named Jacinto Bustillo, who tells Eduardo that was a successful accountant that was forced into poverty and homelessness by his deceitful wife. The men go to the outskirts of town, where Don Jacinto murders a man who performs fellatio on him. Eduardo then kills Jacinto, grabs his keys, and prepares to take up residence in the Chevrolet. He soon discovers that it is occupied by four poisonous female snakes, who are fluent in Spanish and soon become enamored with Eduardo.

Eduardo assumes the persona of Don Jacinto, and enacts revenge, with the eager help of the snakes, against Doña Bustillo and the husband of his mistress whose affair led to his downfall. Numerous innocent citizens also succumb to the snakes' taste for violence. The entire country goes on alert, as the sensationalist media and panicked law enforcement and government officials fear for their lives and the stability of the country.

"Dance with Snakes" was one of the most entertaining books I've read this year, and as I mentioned previously, it was one of the weirdest, after The Obscene Bird of Night. Highly recommended!

Thanks for the recommendation of Dance with Snakes, kidzdoc. I love weird, and, since I've been to El Salvador (pre-war, actually), I'll be looking for this book or others by the same author. I am so involved in the Salvadoran culture here in the U.S. (my husband and his family are from El Salvador and Honduras) that I think reading books by Castellanos Moya would be fun.

You're welcome, Madeline!

I've finished two short novels that I'm planning to review for issue #3 of Belletrista, both by the French writer Annie Ernaux: The Possession and A Man's Place. I'm still reading the new Thelonious Monk biography that I bought in San Francisco last month. I'll read a short novel, A Sorrow Beyond Dreams by Peter Handke today, and then read Translation is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin, the latest release by Archipelago Books.

Oh, Darryl -

Your review of Dance With Snakes pulled me in with a big ol' shepherd's size hook.

I'm ready to be entertained and I enjoy weirdness when it is the kind that makes you want to read on and is not totally repellent in and of itself. People do weird things, like assuming anothers persona from time to time, but I don't believe it has ever been a feature in the plot or character of any book that I have read (although) I could be wrong!

It is going onto my TBR cyber stack in the Next Up!!! portion of that mythical stack.

Thanks, Darryl.

Is it pretty cold up there in Hotlanta? It's pretty cool here in Tallahassee, FL. Thank goodness for some relief from the humidity.

With lots of love,

Ruth/womansheart

Message edited by its author, Nov 1, 2009, 7:17pm.

A Sorrow Beyond Dreams by Peter Handke

My rating:

In 1972, the author's mother took her own life by overdosing on sleeping pills, after an unremarkable life of 51 years that was marred by poverty, depression, neurogenic pain, and especially the limited opportunities available to her. After the initial "dull speechlessness" he experienced after receiving the news of her death, Handke was proud that his mother had taken the affirmative step to end her suffering. Soon afterward, he decided to write about her life, before the need to do so faded away.

The account of her life and demise is unique, in that he chooses to write about her in relation to other women of her era and socioeconomical status. She is born in a small Austrian village to a struggling family, and is described as a high-spirited child and a good student. She is taken out of school by her parents once her compulsory education ends, then runs away to Berlin as a teenager to pursue opportunities that her village and parents cannot offer her. After bearing a child out of wedlock to the love of her life, she agrees to marry a man whom she does not love or respect, in order to provide for herself and her child in post-war Germany. She sinks back into the life that she had sought escape, and ultimately moves back with her family to her home village. In her remaining days she is an embittered woman who frightens her children and is emotionally separated from her emasculated husband, yet she becomes more independent and full of life before developing the chronic pain and depression that ultimately led to her suicide.

I found A Sorrow Beyond Dreams somewhat difficult and less than enjoyable, primarily because of the author's use of abstraction to distance himself from and depersonalize his mother. We only get brief glimpses into her personality, and into what made her unique from other similar women, which would have made this a much more interesting book for me. The book is well written and brief (76 pages), and sufficiently unique that it may be of interest to a limited audience of readers.

Message edited by its author, Nov 2, 2009, 7:39pm.

I'm glad that you enjoyed my review of Dance with Snakes, Ruth. It was one of the most entertaining books I've read this year.

I'm enjoying this "cool" weather in Atlanta. Considering that I moved here from Pittsburgh, it doesn't feel cold at all. It's now 64 degrees here at about 5:30 pm, which is perfect for me. I like "sweater weather", with highs in the 60s to low 70s, the best. A friend of mine is from Tallahassee (her father teaches at FSU), and spent a weekend with me a few years ago in San Francisco. She shivered like a chilled puppy for most of the time we were outside, poor thing!

La traduction est une histoire d'amour (Translation is a Love Affair) by Jacques Poulin

My rating:

Jacques Poulin is an award-winning French Canadian author who is considered to be "the most North American of the Quebec authors writing in French". This book was originally published as La traduction est une histoire d'amour in 2006, and was published by Archipelago Books last month. It was translated into English by Sheila Fischman.

This beautiful novella centers around two main characters, Marine, a young woman starting her career as a translator, and Monsieur Waterman, a well regarded writer nearing the end of his career. The two initially meet at a cemetery where Marine's mother and grandmother are buried, in a neighborhood in Quebec City. She is fully alone, as she does not know her father and her younger sister died tragically. Waterman is also alone, but after he reads the portion of one of his books that she is translating, he employs her as his official translator, and sets her up in a lovely chalet. The two become close and intimate friends, sharing weekends and frequent phone calls with each other.

The tranquility of this arrangement is interrupted when Marine discovers a young cat in her backyard. Attached to her collar is a note, which the two later discover is from a young girl who appears to be in danger. Marine desperately wants to help this girl, as she was unable to do for her younger sister. She and Waterman find the girl, and photographs taken by him seem to confirm that she is in trouble. They seek to rescue her from the pistol carrying old "witch" that she is living with.

This book was a pleasure to read, with a straightforward, musical style. The art of translation and the ability of words to express emotions and heal wounds is celebrated throughout the book. The tender love that Marine and Waterman share for each other was sincere and heartwarming. The ending of the book was a bit contrived to me, but it was otherwise an excellent read, and is highly recommended.

Nice review, Darryl. I also really enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of the natural world on the island.

I'll defn. have to pick up the bio of Zatopekby Jean Echenoz, have effectively destroyed my feet and lower back by 25+ yrs of excessive running. But i really enjoy good books about sports figures*..the best still being Levels of the Game, John McPhee's terrific account of a tennis match at the US Open between Clark Graebner and Arthur Ashe.

*generally in the more obscure sports - T&F, swimming tennis, but then there's UNC Bball with the wonderful to hate like this is to be happy forever by Will Blythe to document one kid/mans obsession w/ the dook UNC bball rivalry.

Hi, Darryl -

Interesting stopping by your thread as the next one after visiting our friend Rebecca's thread, as I just grabbed Translation is a Love Affair over there, so to speak.

It sounds like I would very much enjoy the translation.

Going in for a CT scan next week. I'll PM you soon. Still not over the UTI.

Love,

Ruthie

Love that San Fran weather!!! Hope we are coming up on some perfect sweater weather here soon. That is my favorite, too, Darryl. I miss San Diego weather, I have to say it once again. Boo hoo.

I finished An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro this evening, which was very good (4 stars); I'll submit a review of it later this week.

Bob, I hope that you enjoy the Echenoz novel. I've read two of his other books, and he's becoming one of my favorite writers. I'm adding Levels of the Game to my wish list...and I also want to read another sports book by McPhee, A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton.

Ruth, I'm surprised that your UTI hasn't cleared up yet. A CT scan sounds like a good idea. Do pick up Translation is a Love Affair, it's well written and heartwarming.

Message edited by its author, Nov 3, 2009, 10:29pm.

Darryl, it is heartwarming to see you use the word "heartwarming" -- it was a favorite of my father's.

Aww! Thanks for that comment, Rebecca. It was, um, uh...

Searching ... searching ......

warms the cockles of my heart?

see link:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/warm_the_c...

You are both funny and adorable!

Ruthie

Thanks, Ruth! I had no idea that cockles referred to heart valves; thanks for the info.

Mes Hommes (My Men) by Malika Mokeddem

My rating:

My review is in issue 2 of Belletrista:

http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue2/r...

An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (4 stars): To be reviewed soon.

A Woman's Story by Annie Ernaux (4-1/2 stars): To be reviewed in issue 3 of Belletrista

City Gates by Elias Khoury

My rating:

In this early novella by the acclaimed Lebanese author, a wandering man travels to a faraway city in order to lead a life of luxury, surrounded by beautiful mistresses and provided with the finest clothes and perfumes. However, when he arrives to the walled city of Beirut he is unable to find a proper entrance. After an extensive search, he eventually encounters several young and mysterious women, each of whom offer to permit him to enter the city alone, and to meet him inside at the city square. After initially refusing these gestures, he eventually agrees to the gesture from the last woman that he meets. Once inside, he discovers that the city is nearly deserted, and that the town square is bare, except for the coffin of the deceased king and the sounds of wailing from an unknown source. He is unable to find any of the women he met previously, and after walking aimlessly in circles, he cannot find a way out of the town or anyone who can help him. He decides to return to the square, where he eventually meets the women and the entombed king, who share stories about what has happened to the town, and themselves.

I found City Gates to be an easy and pleasurable book to read, but I didn't understand the message that Khoury was trying to convey.

It's been a while since I read Khoury's 'City gates' but I think I remember thinking about the same. Of his shorter fiction that's been translated 'Little mountain' which revolves around the Lebanese civil war is his best. His much longer 'Gate of the Sun' which tackles the whole Israel/Palestine/Lebanon issue IMO is a masterpiece. The best thing I've ever read out of the whole Middle Eastern region of the world though Etel Adnan's Sitt Marie Rose comes close.

I agree, Larry; Gate of the Sun is a masterpiece. I haven't read Little Mountain yet, but will add it to my wish list (if I don't already have it). Have you read Yalo? I bought it a couple of years ago, but haven't read it yet. I'll have to pick up Sitt Marie Rose, as I've heard good things about it, either from you or SqueakyChu or someone else.

Yalo is really good as well Darryl--just not quite as good. It's an Archipelago though which is almost another reason to buy it. They make some beautiful books.

I agree with you about Archipelago Books. I've enjoyed my subscription this year, although I've only read four of the nine books I've received so far. I'll definitely subscribe again in 2010 (10 books for $125 with free shipping in the US, which is a very good deal IMO).

Shame by Annie Ernaux (4 stars): to be reviewed in issue 3 of Belletrista

Creole Folktales by Patrick Chamoiseau

My rating:

This is an entertaining collection of folktales that the author, who grew up and continues to reside on the island of Martinique, heard as a child. These tales originated amongst the slaves brought from Africa to the island by the French to harvest sugar cane, and were told by storytellers at night, once the work day was done. Common themes include food, as the slaves were given barely enough food to stay alive, and trickery, by clever Creoles, devils or other spirits. Chamoiseau enlivens these stories with warmth and humor, and they are delightful to read.

Today is Veterans Day in the US. Please keep the troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers today, especially the family and friends of the soldiers that lost their lives at Ft. Hood.

A timely and important reminder, Darryl.

Thank you to all of the men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States military. Your lives and service make a difference to many people in the world. Respect and care for the families of veterans and those currently serving. Blessings and comfort to all and especially the soldiers and families at Fort Hood, TX.

I can only agree with Darryl and Ruthie.

Chowringhee by Sankar

My rating:

I read Chowringhee for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (India), and purchased it at Foyles Bookshop in London this summer, after reading a glowing review of it in the Guardian earlier this year. This novel was originally written in 1962, and is one of the most popular novels of 20th century Bengali literature. A movie of the same title was equally popular and well received. Chowringhee was not published in English until 2007, and the translation won two major awards. This edition was published earlier this year in the UK by Atlantic Books.

The setting of this novel is Chowringhee, a neighborhood in Calcutta, in the mid-1950s. The narrator, Shankar, is an ambitious young man who finds himself out of a job with an English barrister, and is barely surviving by selling wastepaper baskets door to door. As he sits in a neighborhood park, pondering his past and fearful of what the future holds for him, a friend of his passes by, who is shocked by Shankar's descent into poverty. He tells Shankar that he can get him a job at the Shahjahan Hotel, one of the city's oldest and most venerable hotels, as the hotel manager is one of his clients.

Shankar is immediately befriended by Sata Bose, the hotel's chief receptionist, and after a brief stint as a typist, Shankar becomes Bose-da's main assistant and close confidant. The manager, Marco Polo, takes a liking to him as well, and young Shankar is given more responsibilities by both men. The novel revolves around the guests, entertainers, and frequent visitors of the Shahjahan, but several members of the hotel staff get equal billing in Shankar's narrative. We learn about the seamy underside of the elite of Calcutta, whose greed, shady deals, and shameful behaviors are initially shocking to our naïve young man, but he soons become jaded and disgusted by them. The poverty of working and jobless Calcuttans is vividly portrayed, as those not in the upper echelon are only one stroke of bad luck away from living in the streets or in dilapidated hovels. Love is a central theme, amongst the guests and workers, with often tragic results.

Chowringhee was a very entertaining and light-hearted though tragic read, which richly and effectively portrayed the struggles, joys and frustrations of the different strata of mid-20th century Calcutta.

Darryl,

you are trying to kill me. It has got to be a conspiracy.

I stay away from ClubRead for a month, because I have no time and certainly cannot afford to be buying new books. I take a peek today, and the very first book to greet me is the life of Zatopek, who is one of my childhood heroes, and whom I have been quoting to long-suffering friends forever. How can I NOT get that book? A conspiracy, I say!

Andrew, you must get this book if you're a fan of Zátopek. I stumbled upon this at City Lights in San Francisco last month, as I had read a couple of other books by Jean Echenoz that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sending you a PM soon ... probably tomorrow, unless I get a break later on today.

You are a pleasant thought that crosses my mind quite often as a trudge along on my way to a diagnosis.

I will be in touch.

Ruthie

Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Ruth. I will look for your message.

Heliopolis by James Scudamore

My rating:

The setting for this novel is 21st century São Paulo, a dual city defined by its massive skyscrapers and squalid favelas (shanty towns), personal helicopters overhead and horribly congested roads below, wealthy white and poor (mostly) black citizens, and its tightly packed center city surrounded by heavily guarded neighborhoods with European styled mansions and heliports for the country's elite.

Ludo is a boy who was born to a single mother in a favela, where the only opportunities available to escape soul crushing poverty are in the illegal drug trade or prostitution. He and his mother are discovered by a wealthy businessman, Zé Generoso, who controls his family, employees and associates with a ready smile and an iron will, and his philanthropic but detached wife Rebecca. The couple bring Ludo and his mother to their suburban mansion, which serves as their weekend getaway. Ludo is befriended by their beautiful daughter Melissa, and is provided with every opportunity to succeed by Zé, who recognizes his drive and intelligence. He "works" for one of his father's friends in a marketing firm during the day, spending much of his time sleeping off hangovers or thinking about Melissa, who shares her bed with him when her idealistic but neglectful husband is out of town. Despite his success Ludo is restless and unsatisfied, as he repeatedly takes personal and professional risks that threaten to unravel his playboy lifestyle — or endanger his life.

Heliopolis was a far better read than I originally expected it to be. It is taut and fast paced, but also lush and well written, with excellent portrayals of the poverty of lives in the favelas and in the exclusive neighborhoods and skyscrapers, and there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader fully engaged. It deserves its place amongst this year's Booker Prize longlisted novels, and is highly recommended.

Message edited by its author, Nov 22, 2009, 4:12pm.

Small Memories by José Saramago

My rating: Small Memories is a newly translated collection of random and mildly interesting childhood memories by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. There are some scattered gems, particularly the story of how Saramago mistakenly acquired his surname from a drunken clerk, who carelessly wrote the family's nickname ("wild radish" in Portuguese) on his birth certificate. However, most of the memories are easily forgotten, due to their brevity and the lack of a linear progression from youth to adolescence. This was a disappointing read, and I would marginally recommend it only for devoted fans of Saramago.

Waylaid by Ed Lin

My rating: Waylaid is probably my #1 surprising read of the year. I initially regretted buying this book from City Lights last month, as I thought it would be a trivial read, like Shoplifting from American Apparel. I started reading the first few pages, and my fears seemed to be confirmed. However, by page 10 or so, I was completely caught up in the story, and finished it in an afternoon.

This short coming of age novel is narrated by the unnamed son of Taiwanese immigrants, who own a rundown hotel in a forgettable town on the Jersey Shore. His father earned an engineering degree in Taiwan, but was unable to keep his job in the US. He spends his summers, as do most of the residents of the town, catering to young vacationers from North Jersey and New York, who tear up the hotel and town and pollute the beaches with beer bottles, cigarette butts and condoms. During the rest of the year, the hotel is populated by lonely old men and hookers turning tricks. He starts obsessing about having sex, spurred by the porn magazines that he picks up while cleaning the hotel's rooms, and he engages in humorous and mostly futile attempts to get any of girls he meets to sleep with him. Although he is a good student, he despises almost everyone, especially his parents, who eat stinky Chinese food and make him work like a dog, his school mates, who isolate and make fun of him because of his race, and the hotel's guests, who punch holes in the walls and treat him with condescension. There is hope for him, as his scheme to get his cute classmate and girlfriend to sleep with him in one of the hotel's empty rooms may come to fruition before long.

Waylaid is probably the best coming of age novel I've read, as it authentically portrays the daily frustrations and small victories of a teenage boy trying to fit into a town that doesn't want or respect him, and whose parents don't understand him. The regular low-level discrimination he has to put up with as an Asian-American ring true, as do his parents' struggles to survive in an unfriendly town. I did not find this to be an overly depressing read, as the author does not dwell too long on the narrator's negative experiences and frustrations, and humor and honesty are present throughout this well written work. I'll definitely look for more works by this gifted author, and would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in coming of age literature.

i've been out of loops for a while..but: Running - Echenoz was terrific - goes on the list of books to get for some of my fellow members of the "dead runners society" - an online running club since~ 1990; 2. McPhee on Bradley is excellent, though i've lost my ancient copy. I don't think it had quite the tension that inhered in levels of the game, but just a great overview;3. I think you might really enjoy Will Blythe's autobiography of his lifelong passion of UNC BBall and his surprise that (at least a few) dook fans/players turned out to be decent human beings..(My dookie sister in law swears Phil Ford played 8 yrs for UNC). I do often get tired of John Feinstein, uber dookie, BUT the last amateurs his description of a season in the Patriot league (Army, Bucknell, Colgate and other small private liberal arts colleges who have teams that, of course, want to win as much as Pitt, UNC, UCLA et al, but only rarely can recruit a player who could play in the ACC, Big East, SEC, etc, although they're still Div 1.
If you have any interest in sports as the participants age, John Jerome's, Staying with it- a mix of sports physiology and a sensitive retelling of his entry into masters swimming in his 50s is a really superb book. Being an on again/off again life long completive, swimmer whose has since, sometimes, regretted going to college during the prime "hippie era" eg started W&M, '68, i've been sorry i didn't do any college swimming. Never would have made the nationals, but I could have been a decent middle of the pack swimmer at most programs, esp. if i'd gotten off my speedo and worked at what I was best suited for, distance freestyle. (it wasn't till i took up running , where i had minimal talent, but an absurd willingness to work, that i found out just how far hard work could take you (and its limits w/out SOME ability! eg a 2:02 800 m would have been excellent..if i'd been a woman, but meh for a 33 yr old guy, but was curiously successful, given that i'd never gotten under 60 sec for 400 meters...no speed, short legs, good endurance.). There are several wonderful books about football (American soccer) with the grass of another country probably my favorite.

Lastly all the reviews of Andre Agassi's recent autobiography not to mention listening to him discuss his book/career w/ Terri Gross on Fresh Air means I'll be picking that one up...

This looks to be a season for many teams to take out their frustrations on the Heels. oh well - i still get great pleasure out of victories, but losses i've come to shrug off ever since Matt Daugherty's last season as coach.

Seven Stories Press is offering free copies of several of its classic titles, not including shipping. I just found out about the sale 10 minutes ago, and bought five books. The sale ends at 4 pm EST, in less than 15 minutes!

Black Friday Titles from Seven Stories Press

Missed it. :(

Thanks for those recommendations, Bob. I'm putting all of them on my wish list! I used to read a lot of books about sport figures as a teen and young adult, but I haven't read any in awhile before Running. I want to read Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss early next year, as he was one of my favorite players despite playing for the Pirates.

Pitt will probably also have a down year this season, as the team lost four starters, including two All-Americans. However, the Panthers hung tough against #3 Texas in their last game before fading at the end, so they may be better than expected.