Katiekrug's Club Read 2011, part 2

Books read with (date completed):

January
Still Life by Louise Penny (1 Jan 11) Review
England, England by Julian Barnes (8 Jan 11) Review
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (11 Jan 11) Review
Mirabilis by Susann Cokal (22 Jan 11) Review
Trespass by Rose Tremain (25 Jan 11) Review
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (29 Jan 11) Review
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali (30 Jan 11) Review

February
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (2 Feb 11) Review
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (4 Feb 11) Review
Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney (9 Feb 11) Review
The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns (12 Feb 11) Review
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (21 Feb 11) Review
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (23 Feb 11) Review

March
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (6 March 11) Review
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (10 March 11) Review
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (11 March 11) Review
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (12 March 11) Review
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie (12 March 11) Review
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (13 March 11) Review
Life Studies by Susan Vreeland (15 March 11) Review
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (18 March 11) Review
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (19 March 11) Review
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (20 March 11) Review
The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill (26 March 11) Review
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (29 March 11) Review

April
Something Missing by Matthew Dicks (2 April 11) Review
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (Did Not Finish) Comments
In the Woods by Tana French (11 April 11) Review
And I Shall Have Some Peace There by Margaret Roach (Did Not Finish) Comments
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (14 April 11) Review
How To Be Cool by Johanna Edwards (Did Not Finish) Comments
Disquiet by Julia Leigh (16 April 11) Review
Without by Donald Hall (16 April 11) Review
Room by Emma Donoghue (23 April 11) Review
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (27 April 11) Review
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (30 April 11) Review

May
Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town by Chris Bohjalian (6 May 11) Review
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (7 May 11) Review
The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood (9 May 11)
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (11 May 11) Review
Silk by Alessandro Baricco (14 May 11) Review
Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson (15 May 11) Review
A Window Across the River by Brian Morton (Did Not Finish) Comments
The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie (18 May 11) Review
The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook (20 May 11) Review
Animal Farm by George Orwell (20 May 11) Review
The March by E.L. Doctorow (23 May 11) Review
Soulless by Gail Carriger (28 May 11) Review
The Lion by Nelson DeMille (31 May 11)

June
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat (4 June 11) Review
The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White by Doug Merlino (Did Not Finish) Comments
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (7 June 11) Review
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (12 June 11) Review
Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace (13 June 11) Review
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (18 June 11) Review
The Outlaw Sea by William Langewiesche (22 June 11) Review
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (22 June 11) Review
Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott (22 June 11) Review
Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford (27 June 11) Review
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (30 June 11) Review

July
All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie (3 July 11) Review
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (4 July 11) Review
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (5 July 11) Review
The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill (14 July 11) Review
Partitions by Amit Majmudar (18 July 11) Review
The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig (28 July 11)
Emma by Jane Austen (30 July 11) Review

August
Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter (2 August 11) Review
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (2 August 11) Comments
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich (3 August 11)
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (6 August 11) Review
The Chopin Manuscript by Jeffrey Deaver et. al. (16 August 11) Review
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (16 August 11) Review
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (19 August 11) Review
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (26 August 11) Review
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (31 August 11) Review

September
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan (2 September 11) Review
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (8 September 11) Review
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (9 September 11) Review
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill (16 September 11) Review
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (17 September 11) Review
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George (24 September 11) Review
Burning Bright by Helen Dunmore (27 September 11) Review
Bossypants by Tina Fey (29 September 11) Review

October
Undone by Karin Slaughter (4 October 11) Review
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr (7 October 11) Review
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (11 October 11) Review
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (20 October 11) Review
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (23 October 11) Review
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (24 October 11) Review
When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman (31 October 11) Review

November
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (5 November 11) Review
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (7 November 11) Review
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (15 November 11) Review
Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich (18 November 11) Review
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson (25 November 11) Review
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (25 November 11) Review
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (27 November 11) Review

December
Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman (2 December 11) Review
Persuasion by Jane Austen (3 December 11) Review
The Perfect Elizabeth by Libby Schmais (6 December 11) Review
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy (14 December 11) Review
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (18 December 11) Review
A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz (21 December 11) Review
Jane by April Lindner (23 December 11) Review
12 Stocking Stuffers - Anthology (Did Not Finish)
A Thinking Man's Bully by Michael Adelberg (28 December 11) Review
Felicia's Journey by William Trevor (30 December 11) Review
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (31 December 11) Review
Lady Susan by Jane Austen (31 December 11) Review

That's an impressive list Katie

Thanks, Barry.

__________________________



The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

This is a compulsively readable meditation on the meaning of life, death and identity in the shadow of war. It tells three parallel stories of people grappling with a reality whose very existence calls into question everything they thought they knew about themselves, their city, and their fellow citizens. The cellist of the title is less a character than a catalyst for the internal ruminations and moral struggles faced by the three primary figures. In the end, they each find meaning in the cellist’s commitment to honor the dead and see in him “a certainty that the world still held the capacity for goodness” (page 228). 4 stars

The cellist of Sarajevo looks very interesting. I have added it to my to buy list.

I hope you like it, Barry. Reading it made me realize how little I remember about the conflict in the Balkans in the 1990s. I read an excellent non-fiction book for a university class called The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia by Michael Sells. I still own it and am thinking I should try re-reading it.

Carrying over from your last thread. I added Bright's Passage to the wishlist. Sounded very intriguing.

Thanks, Jane. I hope you like it!

Just checking in - I am still alive. Been traveling for work, had a family wedding, etc. etc. etc. I have been reading, most notably Jamrach's Menagerie from this year's Booker long list. I'll be back with a review sometime this weekend...

The Chopin Manuscript by Jeffrey Deaver et. al.

This thriller was written by several different contemporary writers – one chapter by each, with Jeffrey Deaver contributing the first and the last two. It started off decently enough, but the number of characters, red herrings, and outlandish situations quickly grew unwieldy. The plot surrounds rare musical scores and secret codes embedded therein, and it was really just kind of ridiculous. I was almost glad that I had to skip almost an entire hour of the audio due to constant hiccups and scratches on the tracks. 2 stars

Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch

”He wanted a story. A thing of horror. I have a story, a terrible one. But I’ll tell no tales. He doesn’t understand at all: it’s not that kind of a story, not horror but grief I have to deal with.” (page 276)

I very much enjoyed this book, though I am not entirely sure what to make of it. As an homage to 18th century adventure tales? A tip of the hat to 19th century coming of age novels? A reinvention of contemporary metaphorical stories urging us to reconsider our relationship to the natural world? Ultimately, I saw some of all of these (and more) in Jamrach’s Menagerie, a novel which inspires a host of adjectives – fantastical, disturbing, hallucinogenic, humorous, brutal, life-affirming – but which, to me, suffered a bit from over-ambition on the part of the author.

Carol Birch writes wonderfully evocative descriptions of everything from places to emotions to characters. I flagged many fascinating and beautiful passages. I loved the basic plot of the story – London urchin is taken under the wing of an exotic animal importer, makes friends with another young boy, they both eventually set sail on a whaling ship, capture a dragon, and then are set adrift on the unforgiving ocean after their ship sinks. I also loved young Jaffy Brown’s narrative voice (”I loved my ma. To me, she would ever and always be a warm armpit in the night.”) Through that voice, we see his development from an impish child to a haunted man, and it is a well done transformation. There is a lot going on in the book and parts of it are by turns moving, horrifying, and funny. My only complaint is that the point of the story, the theme of the book, was muddied to me by the inclusion of SO MUCH. I admire Birch’s ambition but wish she had been a bit more focused. 4 stars

A few passages I noted:

”I put my head back and watched the sky along with him. It was black and very starry. Starry out there is not like in London. There, starry is an observable impossibility, and looking up is a gaze into infinity.” (page 248)

”Home. Hope Ma’s all right. She should be, Charley Grant’s a good sort. Home, Ma, Ishbel, never get back, never go home, never again. A burning place in my chest. Something to hold against the terror, a blanket. I’m alive, burning brightly with a head full of everything that ever was, our Bermondsey home, the Highway, the tiger, the birds, the smell of lemon sherbet.” (page 235)

”Long as I live I’ll never be wise. Never understand why it happened as it happened, never understand where they’ve gone, all those faces I see clear in the darkness. There’s no way out of this, it’s stark: live or die. Every given moment a bubble that bursts. Step on, from one to the next, ever onwards, a rainbow of stepping stones, each bursting softly as your foot touches and passes on. Till one step finds only empty air. Till that step, live.” (page 279)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I did it – I caved into the hype, downloaded it onto my Kindle, took a deep breath and turned to it as an easy read on an airplane, and, as predicted and promised, was totally enthralled. Collins has definitely written a page-turner and one I was reluctant to put down. I will not summarize the story but will just say that my biggest takeaways from the book are: (1) I don’t remember YA books being this violent when I was the target audience! I’m not very squeamish, but there were some points where I think I visibly cringed; (2) Collins does a great job of building a dystopian world, including lots of interesting futuristic tidbits but also enough contemporary detail that the reader recognizes to make the story just a little uncomfortable – this future isn’t necessarily all that far away… (3) even with tempered expectations due to the warnings of others, I am very much looking forward to starting the second book in the trilogy – even if it’s only half as good, it will keep my attention. 4.5 stars

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Eli Sisters is a killer with a heart of gold; his brother, Charlie, is a killer with a heart of, well, not gold. Each in their own way has internalized the hardships and violence of life in the “Wild West”. While Eli, our narrator, questions his life as a hired gunslinger and works to improve himself and his lot in life, his brother evinces no such compunctions, at least not consciously. We do learn that Charlie whimpers and moans in his sleep.

There has been a lot of talk about The Sisters Brothers as a western, which it certainly is, but the specific genre was secondary to the story. It could just as easily have been a story about two brothers in a modern-day gang, or a Mafia story. At base, this is a story of family and loyalty and how far one can ever move away from personal history. I think deWitt chose the setting of Gold Rush California to show us how universal and timeless these issues are.

This is a fun, funny story with a serious heart, but I expected a bit more given its selection for the Booker Prize longlist. Still, a good read and one I would recommend. 3.75 stars

Katie - catching up. That was an excellent review of Jamrach’s Menagerie.

love, love, love your last three reads, Katie! :o) Did you see what I meant when I said that in Jamrach's Menagerie the author didn't give us enough backstory with the actual animal importing business in London? I did love the sailing (mis)adventure and especially the capture of the "dragon". Here I think the author could have easily written a 500 page adventure tome!

Thanks, Dan.

Jenny - Yep, I see what you mean. The book could have been really long, but I admire how much Birch was able to pack into about 300 pages while still fully developing her characters and essential plot.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Every bit as good as everyone says it is. There is more here than just a “mystery” – the cases presented are only the catalyst for an exploration of family, grief and mourning. In this way, I found Case Histories similar to The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill in which the crime is almost secondary to the story. Atkinson develops strong characters, and adds just the right touches of dry humor and some lovely writing, to keep the reader turning the pages. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will recognize the struggle to create a new kind of existence around an empty space that once held so much love and joy. 4.5 stars

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

Stewart O’Nan’s novella is the story of Manny, an overweight, eager-to-please manager of a Red Lobster that is going out of business. We follow Manny through his last day on the job as he tries to fulfill his duties and motivate the remaining staff, not to mention puzzle through his relationship with one of the waitresses. It may sound like a dull premise, but it’s not. I love novellas – when they are well done – because an author has to be able to do a lot with very little. O’Nan has produced an excellent portrait of a hard working guy who, despite his best efforts, can’t seem to catch a break. It’s bleak and sad, and yet the pride Manny takes in his work is also moving and somehow beautiful. And it gave me a hankering for a cheddar bay biscuit… 3.5 stars

I'm glad you liked Case Histories. The following books are also good.

And Stewart O'Nan--he's not flashy, but his books stick in my mind.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

This was a rather labored YA science fiction-y read about an angsty teenager (is there any other kind in YA lit?) who discovers a truth about herself that causes even more angst. The book explores questions of identity, humanity, religion, love vs. control, and a bunch of other things that caused the book to feel a bit like a jumble of Very Deep Thoughts. Maybe because I wasn’t an angsty teenager, I have very little patience for the self-pity, drama, and self-importance that seem to go along with it. Also, I didn't find it particularly well-written with a lot of awkward dialogue and phrasing.

I listened to this on audio and found the narrator to be kind of annoying, especially when affecting different voices to differentiate among characters. A teenage girl sounds like a lisping child – it was very distracting. Also, to be fair, the final CD conked out with about 10-15 minutes left to go, so I might have missed some bit that would have redeemed the entire novel for me, but I don’t think so (the big denouement had already occurred). The intended audience would probably see past any number of flaws in this book and enjoy it, as the premise and core of the story is rather interesting. But being a rational, fairly well-adjusted woman in my early 30s, I just couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. 2.5 stars

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

A total slog. I’m kind of upset I spent a week with this book. I kept thinking it would get better, and the premise was promising, so it didn’t need to be as boring as it was.

The basic story: a woman with amnesia wakes up every morning forgetting most of her past and has it told to her by her husband. But is he telling her the truth? She begins secretly seeing a doctor and keeping a journal to record her own history, and it doesn’t quite jibe with what she’s being told. The problem with this is that much of the book is repetitive, and the parts that aren’t don’t really ring true. The ending and explication were just dumb.

I’m sad thinking of all the good books I might have read instead of this one. 2 stars

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill

As the author admits in an interview I read, this is more a novel of voice than one of plot. I won’t try to summarize what little actually does happen because it would sound crazy and turn you off. It’s like when I try to explain to people down here in Texas what I love about New York City – it’s dirty and loud and chaotic and sometimes scary – sure, it might sound awful but you really need to experience it for yourself.

O’Neill has written a dense, genuine, and verging-on-heartbreaking-but-there’s-a-bit-of-hope-in-the-end portrait of alienation, identity, connectedness, and loss. The title has multiple meanings, and I think you could pick whichever resonates the most on a personal level and write a lovely review based on that one piece. But it’s a kaleidoscope of images and voices and emotions. And despite how some people want to categorize it, Netherland is not a book about 9/11. It is, maybe, a book of 9/11 in that I doubt the same story could have been written and had such resonance absent that event. It’s a book about the American Dream, as seen by a Dutch equities trader from London and a Trinidadian crook from Brooklyn. As the old hackneyed saying goes, “Only in New York…” 4 stars

Intrigued by Netherland. You don't give much away katie just enough to make me want to read it.

agree wholeheartedly with Barry-- I've always been on the fence with Netherland, but now I'm sold! :o)

A few weeks ago I planned to read four books related to 9/11, finishing up with Netherland, but after Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, I had had enough and stopped at two. Now I wish I had started with Netherland

Thanks, Barry, Jenny and Steven! Netherland does require concentration and some patience, but it's well worth the effort.

I'm in Jakarta for work - started (and finished) The Last Werewolf on the plane. Wow - lots of fun but definitely not for the faint-hearted in terms of violence and sex. I've brought way too many books with me so I'll have plenty to choose from - once I get some sleep :)

Katie, I can relate to not being able to put down Werewolf. Get some sleep today and then get out and enjoy Jakarta. I hope you have a wonderful time there. :o)

Amazon keeps throwing Before I Go to Sleep at me. Good to know that I can ignore it.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

A wonderfully engaging and entertaining read, especially if one is not bothered by a lot of sex and violence. I read The Last Werewolf on a flight from LA to Hong Kong, and it just ate up the hours. The beginning was a bit slow, but it quickly picked up and turned into a manic ride through a contemporary world in which werewolves and vampires exist and are not quite the romantic heroes Stephanie Meyer would have us believe. TLW is beautifully written with lush, voluptuous language even when describing the down and dirty doings of our beastly protagonist. Very enjoyable but not for the faint of heart. 3.75 stars

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

The epitome of well-done modern British crime fiction and the first in the Inspector Lynley series, A Great Deliverance is a well-plotted, well-written mystery. George’s character development and pacing are spot-on, and the ending is stunning in its details if not in its general outline. I look forward to continuing this series of, oh, about 16 books (gulp!). 4.5 stars

Don't worry. While the first several books in the Elizabeth George series are well worth reading, they do diminish in quality later on. You'll be ready to stop before the series does. On the bright side, those first few books are really good.

Ooh, good to know. Thanks!

Burning Bright by Helen Dunmore

”She didn’t wonder where he’d gone, or how long it would be before he came back. She was unsuspicious. You can’t get it back once it’s gone, that stupor of trust.” (page 110)

Helen Dunmore won the Orange Prize for A Spell of Winter which is one of the creepiest books I can remember reading. Burning Bright, her second novel, is right up there now. Throughout my read, I was accompanied by a sense of foreboding and gently increasing tension as the story of a sixteen year old girl, her older boyfriend, and an old lady unfolded. The perspective and narrative shift constantly, sometimes within the same chapter, and it was difficult to establish a connection with any of the characters. They are all flawed in some way (some more than others), but this story of loss of innocence and establishment of personal identity was very compelling in its own quiet way. 3.75 stars

Bossypants by Tina Fey

If you are at all interested in reading this, do yourself a favor and don’t. Please, instead, listen to it on audio narrated by Ms. Fey herself. It is an absolute delight – very funny, of course, but also topical, timeless and profound in many ways. 4.5 stars

Your reviews are so good that it almost makes me want to go back and read even those books that I didn't love all that much.

What a nice compliment, Bonnie! Thanks!

Undone by Karin Slaughter

A fast-paced thriller with more character development than one might expect from the genre, Undone unfortunately suffered from too much gratuitous violence and a few holes in the plot large enough to drive a truck through. And while the three primary characters had some depth, the rest were little more than one dimensional stereotypes. I’m glad the book read so quickly, and I’m glad to move on to something else. 3 stars

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr

”But there are times when man and earth are one, when the pulse of living beats strong, when life is brimming with promise and the future stretches confidently ahead like that road to the hills.” (page 101)

Tom Birkin is a wounded survivor of World War I and a broken marriage. His trade – art restoration – brings him to a quiet village in the north of England to restore a church mural. J.L. Carr’s novella reads like syrup, and I mean that in a good day. It’s the literary equivalent of the hot and sticky summer days described so well in the book. As Tom works to uncover a lost masterpiece, he slowly begins to find himself again and his place in the world. Not much happens but the story is pitch-perfect and Tom’s re-emergence into himself is rendered beautifully. 4 stars

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey is not destined to be my favorite novel of Jane Austen’s, but it seems almost unfair to judge it against the others, as it is so very different. Written well before her better known works but not published until after her death, it is a witty and surprisingly profound commentary on the fashionable Gothic novels of the late 18th/early 19th century, as well as on the social mores that credited women with little sense or ambition outside of securing a suitable marriage. The novel is full of Austen’s characteristic wit and wonderfully drawn secondary characters. What stood out for me was the unsympathetic portrayal of Catherine, the heroine, for much of the book. This may very well have been by design – Austen commenting on the empty-headed, silly nature of so many young ladies. I found myself not very invested in Catherine’s story for much of the book and only began to root for her once she experienced some hardship and gained maturity. 3.75 stars

Katie, Northanger Abbey is on my TBR pile. I will be interested to read it after your comments.

Thanks, Barry. I am hoping to read at least one of the Gothic novels she is parodying (that spelling doesn't look right?) - probably one of Ann Radcliffe's.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

My LT friend, Jenny (GCPLReader), pretty much nailed this book for me in her comments when she said the writing was flat and the characters one-dimensional. The premise is intriguing but Jordan can’t quite live up to it with her writing. I have not read her first novel, but this is either a case of the sophomore slump or her talent has been overrated. There were some interesting details, but the world-building of dystopian America seemed incomplete – details were provided when they advanced the plot but otherwise remained unexplained or completely hidden. Because of this, I found the plot full of holes or requiring such suspension of disbelief that I became distracted. A disappointing book that I had really been looking forward to after some glowing reviews. 2.5 stars

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

”And it ought to be obvious to us that time doesn’t act as a fixative, rather as a solvent.” (page 63)

I didn’t have high expectations going into this one given all the varied reactions to it, not to mention the controversy surrounding this year’s Bookers. But I loved, loved, LOVED this novella. I think its strength lies in the gorgeous writing but also its various layers and nuances which allowed me to relate to it in a very personal way, and a way different from a lot of people whose reviews I read. I just got lost in it, marking passage after passage and re-reading pages at a time. Sometimes fine writing isn’t enough to save a book for me, so this must have had something more but damned if I can describe it. Just lovely. 4.5 stars

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I listened to this one on audio, as I find YA books work well for me in that format. I had seen The Maze Runner compared favorably and unfavorably to The Hunger Games, which I loved. While TMR is good and certainly held my interest, I didn’t find it nearly as enthralling as THG. Some of the writing was very clunky with really terrible, awful, lame, cringe-inducing similes sprinkled throughout. I kept meaning to write them down and never did, unfortunately… I think the book would work really well for the target audience and for anyone who is a big fan of the genre (speculative YA fiction). I’m just dipping my toes in here and came at it with a critical eye so I may be short-changing the book. 3.5 stars

That reminds me, I must read The sense of an ending

I think you'll like it, Barry!

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

”’Nothing stays forgotten for long, Elly. Sometimes we simply have to remind the world that we’re special and that we’re still here.’” (page 105)

When God Was a Rabbit tells the story of wise and precocious Elly, her brother Joe, and their wonderfully strange family, as well as Elly’s mysterious friend Jenny. It is broken into two parts – Elly’s childhood and adulthood – both of which combine stories of the major and minor, big, historical moments alongside the mundane of the everyday.

I absolutely loved the first half of this book. Winman managed to capture the essential mix of wonder and pain and mystery that we all experienced as children – to such a degree that though she depicted fictional scenes, they rang true to me and made me remember small moments from my own childhood. The writing is, for the most part, lovely:

”I sat on the bed noting her qualities in a way most people would have reserved for an epitaph. My fear was as silent as her multiplying cells. My mother was beautiful. She had lovely hands that lifted the conversation when she spoke, and had she been deaf, her signing would have been as elegant as a poet speaking verse. I looked at her eyes; blue, blue, blue; same as mine. I sang the color in my head until it swamped my essence like seawater.” (page 29)

”You had to translate his actions, for they were seldom accompanied by words, because his world was a quiet world: a disconnected, fractured space, a puzzle that made him phone me at three o’clock in the morning, asking me for the last piece of the border so he could fill in the sky.” (page 183)

I felt that the story lost something towards the end – almost as if Winman had run out of the manic energy that propelled the first part of the novel. But there are books that sometimes just speak to you, no matter their flaws; books that touch something and draw something out of the reader. This was such a book for me and one I will return to. 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book through LT’s Early Reviewers program.

Excellent review of When God Was a Rabbit, Katie.

Thanks, Darryl.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

A short, spare novella detailing the doomed relationship between a man and his wife’s cousin. There are plenty of reviews, so I won’t rehash any of it. What I found most compelling was Wharton’s ability to make her reader invest in a story that does little more than detail the bleak landscape of New England and the icy nature of New Englanders’ emotional existence. A total downer, but a beautifully written and evocative one. I listened to this on audio, narrated by Scott Brick, and will return to the story in printed format at some point, as I think I missed some powerful writing. 3.75 stars

Edith Wharton sure is popular on LT these days! I'm about 100 pages into The Age of Innocence right now. I read Ethan Frome several years ago, and I think it deserves a reread one of these days - I'm not sure I appreciated it the first time around.

Hi Katie, your review of Netherland is beautifully written and has me wanting to get round to reading this book sooner rather than later!

Cait, I liked Ethan Frome but think it might have suffered a bit from my already being familiar with the story.

Thanks, Rebecca. I still think about Netherland at odd times every now and then. I hope you like it!

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

”Armand Gamache was the explorer. He went ahead of all the rest, into territory unknown and uncharted. He was drawn to the edge of things. To the places old mariners knew and warned, ‘Beyond here be monsters.’” (page106)

I will probably not be one of the die-hard fans of this series, though I can see their appeal. And I will keep reading them, but I won’t be waiting with bated breath for the next book to be published. I think I still have three still to get to. These are decent enough mysteries, though in all four that I’ve read so far, I’ve found the actual crime and mystery to be secondary to the excellent character development and lovely descriptions of everything from food to flowers to furnishings. I did find this entry to be more interesting, as it tells more of Gamache’s personal story and I liked very much the relationship depicted between he and his wife. 3.5 stars

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

”…{H}er desire for the impossible eclipsed every piece of science she had ever known.” (page 3)

And here, at the very beginning, the reader is presented with a central tension of the book: science and creativity, the objective and subjective, rationality, emotion, empiricism, feeling… How do we reconcile two sides of a dichotomy? Can we even do such a thing? No plot summary from me (it’ll make it sound boring!), instead, I will laud Patchett’s gorgeous writing and her lush, evocative language.

Describing the air in Brazil: ”The outside air was heavy enough to be bitten and chewed. Never had Marina’s lungs taken in so much oxygen, so much moisture. With every inhalation she felt she was introducing unseen particles of plant life into her body, tiny spores that bedded down in between her cilia and set about taking root.”

Describing the impenetrable darkness before her eyes adjust: ”In an instant the veil of insects lifted and Marina saw nothing as she had never seen nothing before. It was as if God Himself had turned out the lights, every last one, and left them in the gaping darkness of His abandonment… Beyond the spectrum of darkness she saw the bright stars scattered across the table of the night sky and felt as if she had never seen such things as stars before. She did not know enough numbers to count them, and even if she did, the stars could not be separated one from the other, the whole was so much greater than the sum of its parts. She saw the textbook of constellations, the heroes of mythology posing on fields of ink. She could see the milkiness in everything now, the way the sky was spread over with light.”

Where Joseph Conrad’s Marlowe ventures into the heart of darkness and finds brutality, Patchett’s feminist re-telling of the ancient quest myth leads to the opposite. Conrad depicts man’s ultimate power as the subjugation of one to another; Patchett sees ultimate power in the ability to bring forth life and the unstoppable turning of the circle of creation. But State of Wonder is far from an empty paean to the superiority of women, native tribes, and pristine environments. Patchett raises fascinating questions of right and wrong, situational ethics and moral subjectivity, and what it means to see the world in black and white. Good stuff. 4.25 stars

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich

This was mildly diverting, but I have never liked smarty-pants college kids who think it is okay to do something just because they can. The author tries to treat Thad Roberts, the brilliant university student who stole lunar rock samples from NASA (and yes, had sex with his girlfriend on top of them), in a balanced way, but seriously? I’m sorry his home life was messed up and that he was shy and socially awkward, but I have no sympathy for this guy who threw away amazing opportunities and turned his back on people who believed in him. His enormous ego and sense of entitlement landed him exactly where he deserved – federal prison. Some people really are too smart for their own good. 3 stars

Man, nothing I'd read about State of Wonder so far has made me want to rush out and read it, but those passages you quoted definitely do!

Thanks, B!

so glad you enjoyed the Patchett. She writes wonderful sensory details; I just wish her characters made more sense.-- the plot was just a bit too implausible for me

Jenny - definitely implausible, which is why I struggled in the beginning. I finally just let myself go and rode along wherever she wanted to take me.

Fabulous review of State of Wonder, Katie! I downloaded it last month, after it was selected for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize shortlist, and I'll probably read it early next year.

Cooking today, Katie? Hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks, Darryl. Hope you like it!

No cooking for me, Jenny. We are going to my aunt and uncle's and Aunt Liz will be taking care of the food. My cousin takes care of the dessert, and I'm in charge of the booze :)

home brewin' then, i imagine. good for you! :oP we're forgoing wine and desert-- cashed-strapped after the move (and the turkey!) Have a great time!

Happy Thanksgiving, Katie! What booze will you bring?

For beer (mainly for my cousins while watching football), we have Shiner Bock (a Texas favorite) and random craft brews for my husband who is a beer snob.

For wine (my beverage of choice), I picked up a Beaujolais (nice and light for the turkey), a sauvignon blanc for the white wine drinkers (not me!), a pinot noir from Argentina which I have not had before, and one of my favorite pinot noirs from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Benton-Lane.

ETA: And Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Darryl!

Thanks, Katie. My favorite brew is Brooklyn Brewing Company's Black Chocolate Stout, which is anything but light. I do like Samuel Adams's lighter brews, and I have had some lighter brews that I like, but I can't remember which ones.

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

This story of the human war with machines in revolt is told in a fragmented, episodic format that leaves some gaping holes and questions unanswered, but which is a fun ride, nonetheless. There were a few problems with the narrative, especially in terms of clumsy foreshadowing that ended up not being connected to anything later, and the writing was labored in parts. For all that, it was good, mindless fun. And I like the cover art. 3.5 stars

so glad you liked it, Katie. Can't recall the dropped foreshadowing you mentioned. I remember liking the old man's story a lot. Everyone compares it to WWZ. Have you read that one? It's even better.

I haven't read WWZ, though my husband has. I am planning on it for next year :)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Very clever story by a master of the genre, though I was slightly disappointed in the resolution. Still, a solid read that I gobbled up in one day. 3 stars

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

I very much enjoyed this collection of linked vignettes. At turns heartbreaking and comic, these peaks into the lives of people associated with a failing newspaper depict the way in which we delude ourselves and others into believing everything is good and fine and normal in our lives. Just as the paper is barely surviving, so are many of these people about to drown under the weight of misconception, miscommunication and missed opportunity. Rachman is a fine writer, providing surprisingly full portraits of his characters despite the limits of the story format. And he is funny! The chapter about the Cairo stringer is a wonderfully exaggerated portrait of naiveté and egotism. Asked how he likes Cairo, the young wanna-be journalist replies:

”I have a couple of gripes, but they’re pretty minor.”

“Like?”

“Nothing serious.”

“Tell me one.”

“Well, the air is kind of hard to breathe, with all this pollution. Sort of like inhaling from an exhaust pipe. The heat makes me faint sometimes. And the food isn’t all that edible. Or maybe I’ve just been unlucky. Also, it’s a police state, which I don’t love. And I get the impression the locals want to shoot me. Only when I talk to them, though. Which is my fault – my Arabic is useless. But basically, yeah,” he summarizes, “it’s really interesting.”

This book won’t work for everyone, but I appreciated Rachman’s ability to do so much so well in so limited a way. 4 stars

Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman

An engaging study of Jane Austen’s life and works, and their reception and appreciation (or lack thereof) at different times in history. This is not a weighty academic tome, but it is filled with interesting tidbits about Austen’s relationships with various family members; Harman makes a convincing argument for Austen’s acerbity and ambition, two traits that were papered over by her family after her death in favor of a “Saint Jane” hagiography. Not being a scholar, and not having read much in the way of Austen’s biography, I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. I especially enjoyed the section towards the end on various film and TV adaptations of the novels, as well as treatments of Austen’s life, from Becoming Jane to Miss Austen Regrets. Overall, a good survey of some primary questions about Jane Austen for the casual reader or curious fan. 3.5 stars

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I love both Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth; I think Persuasion edges out Pride and Prejudice as my favorite Austen because of the depth of characterization and emotion we see in each, thanks to the maturation of the author. It may be the least overtly witty and most overtly romantic of all of Austen’s work – despite that, or maybe because of it, I find it near perfection. 4.75 stars

I agree with you katie, I prefer Persuasion I think she was at the height of her powers when she wrote this. However I would not say it is near perfection; it is perfection.

Barry, this was my first reading of Persuasion so I wanted to leave room for improvement upon re-reading :)

Katie, perhaps I need therapy. I so envy your delight in reading Jane Austen. What's wrong with me?! I promise to give her another go in say 5 years, ok?!

LOL Jenny. Not at all... different strokes and different folks and all that :) Have you seen any of the film adaptations of her novels? I just wonder if seeing the story first would increase your enjoyment of the reading...?

Yes, that's just it--- love all of the films (Sense and Sensibility my favorite). In past comments I wrote-- writing is just too predictable-dull-circuitous-and florid. (hangs head in shame)

You're too funny. Nothing to be ashamed of :)

I think Persuasion has a slightly different tone to the previous novels due to Austen writing it in a hurry and not revising it - that gives it a more vulnerable, personal feel.

The Perfect Elizabeth by Libby Schmais

This is a book that I’ve had on my shelves since May 2001 – I think my aunt passed it along to me during a visit I made to Texas when I lived in Washington, DC. It then moved with me four years later from DC to Dallas, where it has languished another six years or so. Poor book. The problem, sometimes, with books that have been sitting around a long time is that they reflect one’s reading tastes of many moons ago. I used to inhale this kind of light and breezy “women’s fiction” with less substance than cotton candy. Now it’s just kind of bleh to me. So this story of two sisters trying to figure out what they want out of life struck me as unimaginative and banal. It’s not particularly well-written and doesn’t explore any new issues in any kind of new way. 2.5 stars

I've had this problem lately, books that would have been perfect when I bought them are too light now, and not interesting to me (and then I over-compensate and read something too challenging for me, and then I wonder why I never read anything fun...)

... and then it just goes around and around and you can't enjoy anything....? I too get caught in little whirlwinds of over-analysis sometimes.

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

I have read and enjoyed three of Pat Conroy’s books, and have another three still to read sitting on my shelves. He is a gifted storyteller, and I very much enjoyed this book focusing on his love of literature and reading and the various influences throughout his life that set him on a literary path. I had the audio version of the book, which is narrated by Conroy himself. He’s not the most polished reader, but to hear his own story from his own lips (soft Southern slur and all) was very effective and made the telling more intimate. At turns funny and sad, My Reading Life is both a memoir and a manifesto; a memoir of one man’s life journey through books, and a manifesto on the value of all things biblio – books, libraries, writers, bookshops, etc. While in the middle of listening to the book, I had the opportunity to purchase a gently used hardcover copy of it, which I snapped up to add to my permanent collection. This one gets five stars because how can I quibble over such a passionate articulation of the value of books and reading? 5 stars

I loved this book when I stumbled on it earlier this year. Haven't read anything else by Conroy...not actually sure I will! He may have inspired me to read Thomas Wolfe though, and maybe some others.

Dan - I've liked what I've read of his but he is definitely not to everyone's taste. The book did pique my interest in a few different authors and works, including Thomas Wolfe.

One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

Not quite as good as Case Histories and much more bleak. Atkinson once again tells several different stories and then slowly reels them in and integrates them into the primary narrative. I love how she does this, without relying on cute coincidence or contrived set-ups. I missed the warmth provided to the first book in the series by the presence of Jackson’s daughter – she humanizes him and brings out his softer side. Still, I look forward to the next book. 3.75 stars

A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz

This is a decent, if not very profound, look at the impact of Jane Austen’s novels on one man. It’s kind of a memoir, kind of a literary analysis. I appreciated some of his insights into the texts, but the sections where he connected his analysis back to his own life were often clunky and riddled with cliché. It’s an interesting premise for a book – especially having a male perspective on an author and novels usually more identified with women, but the superficiality and rather banal conclusions ended up making it more of a boring read than anything else. Eh. 3 stars

merry christmas, katie!

Jane by April Lindner

A contemporary re-telling of Jane Eyre for the young adult audience. It wasn’t awful but it definitely could have been better. Mr. Rochester is a rock star; Jane is a college student forced to drop out of school and find work; there is still a mad woman in the attic and suspicious goings on. The biggest failure here, though, is Lindner’s inability to capture the atmosphere of the original – or really any atmosphere at all. It felt neither mysterious nor foreboding. And Jane was incredibly annoying and “woe is me” for most of the book. Despite all the flaws, I am a bit of a sucker for contemporary versions of classics and this one was kind of fun. 3 stars

I think this is the book I recently saw on my library's New acquistion shelf. Thought about picking it up for a moment, glad I didn't.

Yeah, Dan, I can't really see you enjoying this one :-P

Katie - i actually misread your review...or, more precisely, i missed the last sentence. ( Sorry, rushing through posts with limited online time while out of town).

A Thinking Man’s Bully by Michael Adelberg

I found this debut novel to be eminently readable, despite not liking a single character in it. In a series of vignettes, we learn about one man’s past history of bullying and that of his son. The format is not very smooth and feels rather disconnected; the main characters are pretty obnoxious, and I found the ending to be a little too tidy. Despite these flaws, I stayed up late to finish the book, as the writing was clear and succinct and had a definite “voice.” 3 stars

Received through the LT Early Reviewers Program

Felicia’s Journey by William Trevor

”She knows she is not as she once was… The innocence that once was hers is now, with time, a foolishness, yet it is not disowned, and that same lost person is valued for leading her to where she is.” (page 207)

I have several of William Trevor’s novels and short story collections on my shelves, but this was the first work of his I’ve read. What a dark and creepy introduction! Felicia is a naïve Irish teenager, left pregnant by a local boy and abandoned upon his return to England where he supposedly works in a factory. She travels there in search of him but meets up with the helpful Mr. Hilditch instead.

The novel started off rather slowly for me but as the tension mounted and the atmosphere of foreboding and menace increased, I found myself more and more involved in the story. Trevor’s great gift here is to present the reader with “warts and all” portraits of his characters but to stir a sense of empathy for them, as well. The snatches of memory and dreams he describes give the novel a disjointed, uneasy feeling that only adds to the dark atmosphere. It’s all very bleak but also very well-written. I am glad I have more of Trevor’s work to explore. 3.5 stars

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This is the first book in a trilogy concerning a steampunk alternate history of World War I. Utterly delightful and inventive. I listened to the audio narrated by the actor Alan Cumming which was fantastic. The book itself has some great illustrations (I’ll be buying a copy), so either way you can’t go wrong. The characters are wonderfully developed, and I can’t say enough about Westerfeld’s imagination in creating this world. 4 stars

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

I loved this short epistolary novella detailing the selfish and devious nature of the titular character. What an incisive sketch of a horrible woman! Besides providing an hour or so’s entertainment, it has inspired me to seek out the other minor works of Austen. 3.5 stars

2011 Year End Summary

Books Read: 104 (88% fiction, 12% non-fiction)
Novels: 81

Mysteries/thrillers: 24
Literary Fiction: 23
Classics: 12
Young adult: 9
Historical Fiction: 5
Other: 8

Novellas: 8
Short Story Collections: 2
Poetry Collections: 1
Non-fiction: 12 (primarily narrative non-fiction and memoirs)

“Real” books: 75
Kindle: 11
Audio: 18

(Abandoned Books: 11)

Unique Authors: 89
Male: 37 (42 %)
Female: 52 (58%)
US: 53 (59%)
UK: 22 (25%)
Canadian: 6 (7%)
Other: 8 (2 Irish, 1 each Yemeni, Nigerian, Australian, Italian, Haitian, German)

Total Pages Read: 24, 861
Average # Pages per Day: 68.11
Average # Pages per Book: 289.08
Total Audio Hours: 133 hours 19 minutes

Favorite Books
Trespass by Rose Tremain
In the Woods by Tana French
Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter
Partitions by Amit Majmudar
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Thanks to all of you who stopped by my thread here on Club Read over the past year. As some of you know, I've been maintaining three threads - on Club Read, the 75 Books Challenge and the 11 in 11 Challenge. In the interests of streamlining and limiting the amount of multiple posting I have to do, I won't be joining Club Read 2012. If you have an interest in continuing to follow my reading, you can find me HERE.

Best wishes for the new year... and happy reading!

I liked reading reading your thread and have starred your 2012 thread, although it must be said that with 81 books in 2011, you cannot really say any longer that 75 is a challenge...

Happy New Year.

Wow, we have very similar reading taste! Are you doing the 12 in 12 this year? I'll look for your reading somewhere since 10 of your favorites from last year are favorites of mine as well. Happy reading!

Edwin - Indeed, 75 is no longer a challenge per se, but I love the group and the people over there!

japaul - I am doing the 12 in 12. HERE is my thread.

Thanks! I'll follow your thread there.