Cait86's Reading, Take 2

The old thread was getting a little long, so here is my new one!!

My old thread can be found here

Here are my tickers:







Here are the books that I read and reviewed on my first thread:
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Maus I by Art Spiegelman
Persuasion by Jane Austen
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Time in Between by David Bergen
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
Gotcha! by Shelley Hrdlitschka
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffen
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Maus II by Art Spiegelman
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Any Known Blood by Lawrence Hill
Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine
Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
A Perfect Gentle Knight by Kit Pearson
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Outcast by Sadie Jones
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Links in this first message take you to the message in which I wrote my review.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
The Tent by Margaret Atwood
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Emily Climbs by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Emily's Quest by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Such is My Beloved by Morley Callaghan
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje
A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso
Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Love and Summer by William Trevor
Greenwitch by Susan Cooper

Welcome to the two-thread club!

Thanks DrNeutron - I can't believe I figured out how to do the links between the thread! LOL I was pretty proud of myself :P

Gotcha!

I've got you starred again. Very nice review of The Cellist of Sarajevo. I'm adding it to the TBR pile.

*waves*

I would not want to lose your thread...
I have the new one starred and will check in regularly.

Thanks for your review of The Cellist of Sarajevo! It's on my TBR list now :)

Hey Everyone - glad to see you all here!

Book #48: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

"Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Custom-House"

This quotation by Nathaniel Hawthorne graces the first page of Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, and is one of the ideas that unites the collection of eight short stories. Lahiri does not always seem to agree with Hawthorne's statement; though her characters are often looking for new places to live, new definitions of the word "home," this movement does not, as Hawthorne believes, cause human nature to flourish. Instead her characters live static, unfulfilled lives, and struggle to express themselves to the people they love.

Lahiri's stories are not about grand adventures or horrible tragedies; instead, she writes about domestic life, and the bonds between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives. Each story in Unaccustomed Earth contains characters of Indian descent who have immigrated to the US, and so the depiction of Indian culture is extrememly vivid. Lahiri writes beautifully. Her prose is descriptive and complex, and the emotions of her characters shine through as though they were actual people in your life.

In general, I love short stories, and Lahiri is exceptionally skilled with this genre. Each narrative is a complete story, and can stand on its own, yet always left me wanting more. The stories contain enough similarities that they form a unified collection; however, these similarities never detracted from the individual stories. Though all alike, they are also distinct. The last three stories contain the same two characters, and could be read as a novella on their own. They are, in my opinion, the strongest stories in the book - though all eight narratives are wonderful.

I went looking for Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies yesterday after reading a favourable review of it here on LT. Alas, my book store did not have it in stock, so I picked up Unaccustomed Earth instead. This proved to be a blessing, as Unaccustomed Earth was a beautiful read that was perfectly suited to my needs yesterday. It was a satisfying way to spend a few hours, and I will be sure to read the rest of Lahiri's work in the future.

4.5 stars

And so, with the purchase of Unaccustomed Earth yesterday, I broke my no-new-books rule :(

To be honest, I also bought Atwood's Oryx and Crake!

I really like your description of Unaccustomed Earth and I'm adding it to be tbr pile.

Regarding breaking the no-new-books rule, I certainly can relate. I vow I should not check the bookcloseouts site. Ugh...I was going to buy one book and ended up spending $58 dollars.

LOL Well I am sure it was $58 well spent! I have never heard of bookcloseouts before.... hmmm

runs to check out the site

Be forewarned, it is a dangerous place. Last summer they had a special -- .99 on hard back books...
It was my introduction and they hooked me right in. Seriously, it is a great place to obtain books...much, much cheaper than Amazon. The downside is that they might not have the particular book you are looking to obtian. The positive is that they have oh so many books at a very reasonable price.

#12 Linda - Here's the solution to your bookcloseouts problem - Move to Japan, where shipping is USD11.00 per book! That quickly throws a damper on the whole experience :)

That does look like a dangerous site - Ian McEwan novels for $5!! And, it looks like they have an outlet about an hour away from my house.... I foresee mass book buying!

Peter, I can imagine that you don't buy many books through the site - $11 per book! Are there websites that ship to Japan at a reasonable price?

Cait - Great review of Unaccustomed Earth. I read it earlier this year, and I really liked it too. I highly recommend Interpreter of Maladies too, although I liked Unaccustomed Earth just a little better. The Namesake, Lahiri's novel, is excellent too, although I think she's best in the short story format.

Thanks porch_reader! I will definitely read both of Lahiri's works. I noticed that one of your favourite authors is Barbara Kingsolver - I always see her books in the book store, but I have never read any. Can you tell me a bit about her, and which of her books you like the best? Thanks!!

Well, I had rather a long week, and read some rather heavy books in the last little while, so I decided to try something a bit lighter. My best friend loaned me her copy of The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, and I started reading it. I know, I know, what was I thinking? To be perfectly honest, I have read and enjoyed both The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance - but I enjoyed them in the way that I enjoy watching a Kate Hudson movie or reading a tabloid. Everyone needs a break now and then, and today I just wanted a book that did not require any brain power. Unfortunately, The Queen's Fool was just so bad that it drove me crazy, rather than provide the break that I desired. Gregory's writing is horrible - way worse than in the other two books - and my English-major-brain just could not handle it. My goodness woman, learn when to use a comma!!

So, this book will be returned to my friend only partially read. What a waste of a few hours.

Now I feel like something challenging, something to remind me that there are books worth reading. I am about to start All Quiet on the Western Front, which I am sure will not disappoint.

#16 - Yes, there are some online book sellers with much more favourable postage rates. One in the UK, that deals only in military books (hoorah!), is exceptionally good at GBP3.95 per order, plus GBP1.00 per book.

#19 - Hope you enjoy All Quiet on the Western Front.

Cait - I've been to the bookcloseouts warehouse in St.Catherines, and let me warn you... only go when you have extra cash to spare!!!! You simply can't get out of there without a truckload of books. The time I went, I only had 10 minutes to browse (I was sooooooo disappointed, because we'd planned for me to have an hour... stupid traffic) and I still came away with 8 books. INSANE!!!!!

So, don't say I didn't warn you. :)

Thanks for the warning Faith! I am going to try to make it there some time this summer - and I will make sure I have lots of time! :)

Cait - Yes, Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorites. I love The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven. Both are about Taylor Greer and her adopted daughter Turtle. Taylor is a wonderful, strong-willed heroine. These novels also include a winning cast of characters and some of the best descriptions of female friendships that I've read in a while.

I've also read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a non-fiction book about Kingsolver's family's quest to eat locally for a year. And I read Small Wonder, a collection of essays that includes several about 9/11, but others that focus closer to home - on Kingsolver's family, her garden, and the homeless community in her hometown. I really enjoyed that one too.

So, I haven't read anything of Kingsolver's that I wouldn't recommend! The Poisonwood Bible is still on my TBR list. I've heard mixed reviews of that one, but think I'll tackle it this summer.

Hope this helps!

The Poisonwood Bible is the only Kingsolver I have read and I really enjoyed it. There are glimpses of the same themes that Gilead features.

Cait, Interpreter of Maladies is on the TBR list for the next couple of months. I'll let you know. My wife raved about it.

Barbara Kingsolver rules!

I've never read any Barbara Kingsolver..I'll give her a try.

#24 + #23 Isn't The Poisonwood Bible stunning and powerful and..........immense. I loved it, I have just never managed to summon the strength to read it again, it took so much out of me.

Have either of you read Prodigal Summer? Its also beautiful, though not as good as the former.

#19 Cait

I feel for sure that All Quiet on the Western Front couldn't possibly disappoint. It is a classic and a must read, but its not stuffy or no longer relevant as some classics feel.

Wow, it's a busy day on this thread! I love it :)

#23, 24, 25, 27 - Ok, you have all convinced me - the next time I buy a new book, it will be one by Barbara Kingsolver!

#24 - BDB, I am looking forward to your thoughts on Interpreter of Maladies.

#26 - Linda, with all the positive reviews for Kingsolver, I think we both need to try one of her books!

#27 - Luna, All Quiet on the Western Front is stunning so far. I have almost finished it, so expect a review later today!

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my thread :)

>27 lunacat: - Luna - I have Prodigal Summer on my shelf waiting to be read. Glad to hear that it is good.

And with a recommendation from both Lunacat and BDB, I'll have to get to The Poisonwood Bible soon.

Cait - I'll look forward to hearing how you like Kingsolver when you read her (and to your review of All Quiet on the Western Front.

Book #49: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

I am not sure whether my humble writing skills can accurately reflect this masterpiece of a book. All Quiet on the Western Front is hideous, but hideous in a positive way. Books about war should not be sweet and cheery, but should realistically portray the horrors that man inflicts upon himself. Remarque spares the reader nothing - he hits us in the face with the gritty details of life in the trenches, waits for us to recover, and then hits us again. Never have I seen such honesty in a book.

You know when you watch an action movie, and all through the fight scenes or the chase scenes, your heart races? That is the reaction my body had while I was reading All Quiet on the Western Front. That's right: this book had the ability to evoke a physical reaction from me. This is a rarity for me - I generally do not cry while reading, nor do I laugh out loud. Reading tends to be an intellectual experience, not a physical one. Remarque's writing is just so honest, so blatant, that I could feel my heart pounding, my forehead breaking out in a sweat, and my stomach churning.

So, if this book had the power to cause my body to react in a negative way, then why should we read it? The answer - because war is around us every day, it forms huge parts of our past, it exists in our present, and that pattern can only lead us to believe that it will occur in our future. We should not hide from the destruction it brings; instead, we should learn from writers like Remarque, who had first-hand experience in World War I, and who strives to share it with others.

All Quiet on the Western Front is written from a German perspective, and one of its greatest lessons is that every soldier, whether German, French, Russian, Canadian, British, or American, is the same. No civilian ever really wants a war, and yet it is the civilian who fights. When the narrator, Paul, kills a French soldier, he has the ultimate realization:

"Why don't they keep on reminding us that you are all miserable wretches just like us, that your mothers worry themselves just as much as ours and that we're all just as scared of death, and that we die the same way and feel the same pain" (153).

All world leaders should read this book; in fact, all people should read this book. It is a vivid portrayal of the things we do to each other - and the regret that we feel.

5 stars

WOW...what an amazing review, one of the best I've read this year. I think you'll convince a lot of us to read this book. Thank you, Cait!

Your review of All Quiet on the Western Front is very convincing and extremely well-written. It is indeed a powerful book. Time for a reread I think.

#30: excellent review, Cait. I read this back in the 60s in high school but you have convinced me that it is worth a reread in the not too distant future. Well said.

Cait
Congratulations on your "hot review" listed on today's home page for your excellent review of All Quiet on the Western Front

#30: I read All Quiet on the Western Front for the first time last year, and I completely agree with your lucid, well-written review. Great job!

Great review Cait! I read that one last year for the first time and it evoked a strong reaction for me as well.

I have not read Prodigal Summer or anything else by Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible was a recommendation from my wife and I am not sure we have any others in our library.

#31-36 - Thank you all very much! I hope that if you haven't read All Quiet on the Western Front in the last few years, that you give it a read. It was an amazing book, one that went straight to my Top Reads list.

Happy Monday to everyone!!

Re:The Poisonwood Bible - I've read it as well, and liked it better than I thought I would. I had been a bit skeptical because it was my first "Oprah" book and its subject is not within my regular reading interests -- but I definitely recommend trying it!

Sorry to skip over the Western Front but...

- amazing review of The Cellist of Sarajevo: this was already on my TBR but I'm even more keen to read it now

- also so pleased you liked Unaccustomed Earth. I loved Interpreter of Maladies, bought on the basis of one of the stories which appeared in the New Yorker during the magic year I actually had a subscription (too expensive in the UK to continue), and enjoyed The Namesake, although not as much as the first book, enough not to give it away. I've just ordered Unaccustomed Earth from the Book People so am really looking forward to it.

- one of my dearest friends loved Prodigal Summer, and in fact I still have her copy on my shelf... I ought to read it soon really. Also enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible, although it suffered a little from my wanting to shake too many of the characters too hard, and the injustice of the fates of some of the characters made me want to hit things with considerable force.

Great reading!

I, too, find Jhumpa Lahiri amazing - short stories really outstanding. Her honesty and directness in dealing with assimilation and attempts to maintain a native culture as generations prosper in a new homeland are so vivid and realistic. Her fiction almost seems to be truth - a telling of real people and their stories.

I think she is much beloved and appreciated - when Unaccustomed Earth came out last year it immediately jumped to the top of the best seller list, which is uncommon for short story collections.

Just gotta add my 'two bits' about Kingsolver. I've read at least four of her books and enjoyed them for the most part, but Poisonwood Bible is the only one I didn't particularly like. It's been a while, but I didn't like how each member of the family stood for various groups/points of view; that made it feel too preachy and formulaic.

Re: All Quiet on the Western Front, I read that book a long time ago and that quote is a perfect summary of what I took from that book.

Thanks Cauterize, FlossieT, Orangeena, and Bonniebooks for your comments! Kingsolver and Lahiri have certainly sparked lots of discussion :)

Book #50: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Book #51: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Book #52: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Book #53: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

The last few days have been a Sookie-mini-marathon for me; I have had these four books sitting on my shelves for months, and finally decided to read them. I was introduced to the first two books in the series, Dead Until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas, earlier in the year, and really enjoyed them. These next four installments were just as pleasant, and they were a nice break from the type of book I normally read.

Sookie Stackhouse is a barmaid from the small town of Bon Temps in northern Louisiana. She has lived with a "gift" her entire life - she is a telepath. Tired of hearing the thoughts of others in her own head, Sookie is overjoyed when she realizes that she cannot read the minds of vampires. In Sookie's world, vampires are out in the open, and live among humans (at night of course). Sookie begins to date Bill, a vampire living in her town, and her "gift" soon draws her into the complex world of supernatural beings.

These four books find Sookie solving new mysteries, meeting new potential love interests, and learning much more about the supernatural world. I really enjoy Sookie; she is strong and intelligent, and can take care of herself. She is also, despite her exciting life, a fairly normal person. Harris balances suspense and humour nicely, and has created an interesting group of supporting characters. Bill, Eric, Pam, Quinn, Jason, Sam, Tara, and Arlene all add to the zany world Sookie inhabits.

These are not literary books by any means, but they are fun, light, and sometimes, exactly what a reader needs.

4 Stars all around!

Book #50: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Book #51: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Book #52: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Book #53: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

Jeez woman, you read fast! Impressive! ;)

Thanks! My secret: I am finished school, I am currently unemployed, my family is generally gone for most of the day, and all my friends live at least an hour away. So basically I am a hermit.

Since I reacently finished the three Harper Connelly series books by Harris I read one of the Lilly Bard series books today. I plan to read the Sookie Stackhouse books as well. You are right, the books are nothing intellectual, but they sure are fun.

I've recently ordered the first Harper Connelly and the first Aurora Teagarden, both by Harris. I haven't read any Harris before, but am looking forward to them thanks to everyone that has been posting about her books! I guess I'll have to try Sookie Stackhouse next (plus, her name is just awesome) :)

>47 neverlistless: LOL Why not? However, I know someone (but 'who' is not in the memory banks) loved the author of one of the books I read and had to get the book... but, sadly, found it only mediocre! May yours be better!

Book #54: Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris

Full disclosure: I am not a non-fiction reader. You may have noticed this, since over the last five months I have read almost exclusive fiction, with only the exception of a few Holocaust memoirs. I am not sure why this is - maybe it is because I am of the internet generation, and so information is readily available with basically no effort on my part, or maybe it is because my many history classes at university subjected me to such dry textbooks that I have a natural aversion to non-fiction. Whatever the reason, it has taken me five months, and 53 books, before I finally read a non-memoir, non-fiction book. To my surprise, I loved it!

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood mixes quite a few of my favourite things. It deals with the 1960s, a decade that I find fascinating, and its focus is on the five movies nominated for Best Picture at the 1968 Academy Awards. I love movies, especially classic movies, and my favourite movie of all time, The Graduate, was one of the five movies up for Best Picture. Basically, if a non-fiction book could have been written with me as the target audience, it would be this book.

Harris' basic thesis is that the five Best Picture nominees - The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Doctor Dolittle - represent a moment of change in Hollywood, a transition from the old Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s, and the new Hollywood of the 1970s. Old Hollywood, represented by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Doctor Dolittle, and actors like Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, meant black and white films that were director-focused. New Hollywood, epitomized by Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, and the teams responsible for the two movies, was influenced by French New Wave films, embraced colour, and wanted to bring serious change to American cinema.

Pictures at a Revolution traces the five movies from their birth until the night of the Academy Awards, detailing scriptwriting, financial backing, casting, filming, and post-production. Harris is very thorough in his research and writing, yet the pace never lags. I was consistently interested in what I was reading, and found it easy to keep the hundreds of people straight in my mind. Harris doesn't judge, or really ever insert himself into the narrative, though he is of course making an argument. He stays away, for the most part, from Hollywood gossip, and gives near-equal consideration to all five films.

Harris' book added to my knowledge of The Graduate, and introduced me to four other movies about which I knew very little. His commentary on the 1960s, and the massive cultural changes of the decade, added to his focus on film; Harris frequently remarkes that this change in film parallels the changes also occurring in music and fashion. Old Hollywood and new Hollywood represent the tension between generations in the world at large, a topic explored in The Graduate.

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood was my kind of non-fiction: written in a captivating manner, it explored one aspect of popular culture as a metaphor for the changing society of the 1960s. Harris' extensive notes have given me numerous books to read in the future, and four movies that are on my must-watch list. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in film, or in 1960s culture.

5 stars

I read Pictures at a Revolution last year and loved it, too! I was most interested in Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, and The Graduate, but found the stories behind all five films fascinating.

Sounds great -- the films are pretty good too. Although I did find Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at bit tiresome, repetitive (banging you over the head with) in the let's not be prejudiced thing. However, given the times it might have been exactly the approach called for.

>51 suslyn: That film was self-congratulatory and embarrassing even at the time, it seems to me - I was very young, but definitely aware of it. Your point is brought out in the book, particularly since Poitier is also stars in In the Heat of the Night and was considered for a part in Dr. Doolittle(!).

You don't actually have to like any of the films to enjoy this book, however. They are all far from being favorites with me. Sixties films in general are hard watch.

#49: I already have that one on Planet TBR, but your review has made me decide to broaden my search for it. Thanks, Cait!

Book #55: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Since quite a few of us are reading this book for the Highly Rated Book Group, I will refrain from writing a review until the end of the month.

In brief, I enjoyed this book - it was a quick, fun read, and was set in one of my favourite periods in history. I would recommend it for readers of mysteries and/or historical fiction.

Cait
I enjoyed reading your comments regarding Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood. I've added this book to my HUGE to be read pile.

I visit your thread often and consistently add books to my list.

Thanks Linda - I hope you enjoy the book!!

Cait - I have Pictures at a Revolution on my TBR already (based on a newspaper review, perhaps?), but hadn't really thought much more about it since it got entered on a line in my spreadsheet. But your review has pushed it up toward the top. Thanks!

Book #56: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Review to come tomorrow - 4.5 stars

I look forward to reading your thoughts on Pictures at a Revolution, porch_reader!

uuh I have the same problem you have with non-fiction. So if you found a NF book you loved, that possibly means I can do it too! Thanks for giving a nonfiction-avoider hope :D

>60 girlunderglass: LOL that about sums it up for me too -- thx Cait

LOL There is definitely hope for us non-non-fictioners. I have a few other non-fiction books on the TBR, so keep your fingers crossed that they work out well too!

Book #56: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Cry, the Beloved Country is listed on the LibraryThing recommendations for All Quiet on the Western Front, which I just read and absolutely loved. After reading Alan Paton's novel, I can certainly see the similarities between the two. Both are honest, raw looks at a tragic situation, and both focus on the fundamentals of human nature. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in 1946 South Africa; Paton uses the story of a minister and his son as a catalyst to a larger look at South African racial issues.

The plot, while interesting, is not really the main feature of Cry, the Beloved Country. Rather, it is Paton's message that comes through. He tackles the complex relationship between the "white man" and the "native," and the abrupt changes to societal structures occurring in South Africa. Interspersed in the novel are chapters containing anecdotes on life in Johannesburg. These segments paint a picture of a country divided, and of a society on the brink of upheaval. Paton includes many political views in his novel, and one of the central turning points in the plot involves a rich white farmer adopting his son's progressive take on race. These views, though articulated in 1946, are nevertheless relevant today - and thus so is Paton's novel.

Cry, the Beloved Country is not an easy book. Emotionally, it takes its toll, and it demands your intellectual attention. Some sections drag, and several paragraphs require multiple readings. This is not a book for a day at the beach, but a book to read carefully, to discuss, and to reread.

4.5 stars

#63: Great review of Cry, the Beloved Country, Cait. It was one of my memorable reads for last year.

Thanks Stasia!!

So, I just want to take the time to say - YAY COLLECTIONS!!!!!

I was SO excited when I saw that little button on the 'Add Books' page - but I can't figure out how to get mine to work :( If I edit my Collections, it says my Wishlist is active - but I can't seem to add a book to it. Sigh. Will have to investigate further.

>66 FlossieT: Just do it from your catalogue ("Your Books") for each book there should be these icons:



Click on the third one (the one that looks like a Play button) and you should get this:



Then you can click on whatever collection you want to add the book. (To remove book from collection click on it again)

Alternately, you can do multiple books at once by going into Power Edit mode (in Your Books the icon on top of the page, to the right of "Style A B C D E" that looks like a yellow lightning bolt)

I had a little mini-vacation this weekend - I went to my friend's cottage near Peterborough, ON, for three days. We played cards, board games, slept a lot, and just relaxed. It was lovely! I also managed to finally finish a book - I think I was in a little reading slump, so hopefully it is over.

Book #57: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I know several people who count this among their favourite books of all time. I, unfortunately, am not one of them. I don't know if I just read Their Eyes Were Watching God at the wrong time in my life, or if the style is not for me, but something about this book didn't hit home. I welcome comments from others who have read and enjoyed it - what did I miss?

Hurston's novel is the story of Janie, a woman of African-American descent who lives in the southern US. Janie recounts the events of her life to her friend Phoeby, and to us, the reader - a life of unhappy marriages, poverty, and fleeting happiness. Much of the novel is dialogue, and is written to look like the way it was spoken. This can be a bit difficult to get used to, though I was able to understand the writing after the first few chapters.

Like I said, this wasn't the book for me; despite being less than 200 pages, it took over a week to read. Hopefully my next read is better!

I hope your next read is better for you, too!

Glad you had a good time on your mini vacation.

There were a lot of unhappy relationships and misfortune as I recall. I think what I liked (it's been a long time!) most about this book is that it is written from within a community of Blacks living on their own--Eatonville, right?

#69 - Thanks, Stasia, it was a great couple of days :)

#70 - Your memory is correct, Bonnie - they did live in Eatonville.

Book #58: Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

Meh. I usually love McEwan's novels - his writing is beautiful. In fact, I think he is one of the greatest writers I have ever read. His sentences leap off the page, his paragraphs contain pearls of well-constructed widsom, and the blandest of moments become inspiring. Amsterdam, however, is lacking this greatness. Yes, the novel is probably better written than many other books, but it does not have that spark of greatness that I have come to expect from McEwan.

The plot is interesting enough - it is a tale of morality, of politics, and of the destruction of friendship. The two main characters are well-constructed, and the narrative contains many twists and turns. But, it is no Atonement - a book with characters that I cared about, and themes that resonated in my own life. I finished Amsterdam and immediately moved on to my next book. I didn't stop to ponder passages, or to reflect on the ending - something that I almost always do.

I still love McEwan - you can't give up on an author because of one mis-step, right?

2.5 stars

#72: I still love McEwan - you can't give up on an author because of one mis-step, right?

In McEwan's case, I would say "Definitely not!"

I agree with Stasia, he is a gifted writer, and has put out too many other fabulous books to give up on him after one subpar effort.

It is odd, though, that Amsterdam, of all of his books, was the one that won the Booker Prize. I would imagine that some people read only Amsterdam, because it won the award, and haven't picked up another book by him because they didn't like it.

#74: Given my track record with Booker Prize winners, I would say that it is not odd that it won. I think they choose the most inaccessible, subpar books and try and tout them as good reading, lol.

I would tend to agree with you, Stasia, and it seems that a number of the recent literary award winners and books have been subpar. I'm waiting for Mario Vargas Llosa to finally win the Nobel Prize, and I continue to be amazed that Elfriede Jelinek won the award several years ago. I found her most famous book, The Piano Teacher, to be vulgar and distasteful.

Sometimes I think they award the Booker Prize based not just on the current book, but on the author's career in general. Amsterdam was McEwan's seventh book, so maybe they figured it was time for him to win, especially since Enduring Love, which was his sixth book, was critically acclaimed but panned by the Booker judges.

I tend to agree that the winners are not great - of the five that I have read, I love two, found one good, and disliked the other two - not great odds!

Book #59: The Tent by Margaret Atwood

The Tent is a slim, 155 page volume of short stories - sketches, really - and a few poems, all of which demonstrate an Atwood who is at the top of her game. These pieces aren't long; most are only two or three pages. In such a short space, Atwood still manages to make the reader think, really think, about life. She comments on childhood and youth, on aging, on writing, and on numerous other topics - yet she manages to somehow link them all together into a collection that makes sense.

The titular story comes near the end of the book, and it makes the preceding pages all make sense. Here, Atwood writes about writing; the reason for writing, the drive to write, and the futility of writing. It is one of the most effective pieces in The Tent, and the one that I immediately reread.

This is a book that, after reading once, I know I will look to periodically for inspiration. It furthers my admiration for Atwood, and shows that a book does not have to be hundreds of pages to make you think.

5 stars

Guess I've just chanced on to Booker winners which were wonderful - thinking of A.S.Byatt's Possession and Remains of the Day. I do agree though ,that like Oscars for actors, it is often the body of work as opposed to one in particular.

#79 - Well, I am about to start The Remains of the Day, so hopefully I can add it onto the "love" list of Booker winners. I've never read anything by Byatt - I guess I should change that!

Book #60: Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

Well, my favourite authors have been disappointing me lately. First, I was underwhelmed by McEwan's Amsterdam, and now I am dissatisfied with Atwood's Surfacing. I have heard from other that Atwood fans tend to favour either her earlier works or her later works, and I guess I fall under the latter category. Surfacing is Atwood's second novel, and while well-written, I feel as though she left a lot of potential territory unexplored.

Surfacing is narrated by an unnamed women in her twenties, who journeys to her childhood home. Her father is missing, last seen in his cabin on an island in northern Quebec. Along with her boy-friend and another couple, the narrator attempts to find clues to her father's whereabouts, while spending a few days fishing the lakes around the cabin.

This book was written in 1972, the same year that Atwood wrote Survival, a book of literary criticism exploring Canadian Literature. Atwood claimed that while the central thematic symbol of British Literature would be the island, and that of American Literature is the frontier, Canadian Literature is defined by survival. Atwood saw characters in Canadian Lit as having to fight for their lives, as needing to survive other human beings, the natural world, or their own inner turmoil. Character against Nature is particularly prevalent in Can Lit, especially in the Modern period, of about 1940-1970. This struggle is often a metaphor for the character's struggle with his or herself, with Nature standing in the place of impending madness. Atwood's own poetry from this period demonstrates this theme, particularly her poems about Susanna Moodie, and "Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer." Since 1972, Atwood's theories have fallen a little out of favour - her book, IMHO, makes sense for its time, but not really for present-day writing.

Surfacing clearly echoes a lot of what Atwood discusses in Survival - and hey, if you are going to define Canadian Literature, and then write a Canadian novel, I guess your novel should follow your own definition, right? So, as Atwood's narrator spends more time in the bush, her mental state begins to decline. The reader sees hints of instability throughout the novel, but the climax really highlights the connection between Nature and Madness. The narrator's thoughts become disconnected, and are often only partial sentences or images. Atwood skillfully traces the narrator's downward spiral, and the reader feels pulled down along with her.

However, at only 195 pages, Surfacing is not all that it could be. Contemporary Atwood novels are long, meaty narratives, and better demonstrate this author's considerable skill. The ending felt rushed and inconclusive - and, while I am not opposed to endings that leave the reader with unanswered questions, I felt that this ending did not do justice to the subject matter. Insanity is a complex state, and if an author decides to tackle this topic, then he or she had better confront it head on, delve deep, and take some risks - which Atwood does in her later novel, Alias Grace. Surfacing definitely has potential, but it is one of those stories that should have been 400 pages, not 200.

Again, this is only Atwood's second novel, and the reader can see glimpses of the author of masterpieces like Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin. It is always interesting to see an author's development over a body of work, but Surfacing unquestionably places me as a fan of Atwood's later novels.

3 stars

#60 - A perceptive, knowledgeable and well argued thesis. I had to give you a 'thumbs up' on it, and I very rarely give 'thumbs up'.

Great and thoughtful review!

Thanks to you both!! I appreciate the "thumbs up" Peter :)

Book #61: The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels

Jess Row, who wrote a review of The Winter Vault for The New York Times, compares Anne Michaels to one of my favourite authors, Michael Ondaatje. Both write in a style called "lyric fiction", which melds the features of the lyric poem with the features of the novel. As a result, the reader is given a book with dense language, vivid imagery, and a focus on time - the mixing of past and present, the importance of history, and the value of that elusive thing called memory.

Michaels' writing is certainly poetic. Her sentences are rich and complex, and the reader may frequently feel as though he or she has left his or her own house, and instead is sitting alongside Michaels' characters. The narrative, like that of a lyric poem, is disjointed; the characters spend a lot of their time recounting their personal histories, and so the story jumps from Egypt to Toronto to Warsaw, from 1964 to 1957 to 1944.

The Winter Vault is essentially, like many other novels, the story of a couple - their happiness, loss, estrangement, and reconciliation. Newly married, Avery and Jean travel to Egypt for Avery's work. He is an engineer working on deconstructing, moving, and rebuilding Abu Simbel, an ancient temple that must be saved from the man-made Lake Aswan. In Egypt the couple suffers a personal tragedy, and back in Toronto they go their separate ways. The second half of the novel follows Jean's relationship with a new man, Lucjan, and her attempt to rebuild her fractured soul.

Row was correct in many ways - Michaels and Ondaatje do have similar writing styles. Because of this, I enjoyed The Winter Vault quite a lot. However, one crucial element separates these two authors. Michaels' prose is extremely dense, and she suffers at times from using 50 words where 5 will suffice. She is obviously invested in her characters, as she knows their every thought, insecurity, and reaction. This can be negative, as Michaels does not leave anything up to the reader. We do not wonder how Jean feels - we are told, in minute detail, how she feels. We are not left to contemplate symbolic parallels - we have them explained to us. Now, many readers may enjoy this, but I am not one of them. What makes Ondaatje such a splendid writer, in my opinion, is his insistance that the reader think. Often his passages require rereading in order to understand exactly what is being said, and two readers can "get" two totally different things from the same scene. Not so with Michaels, who seems to want to evoke one certain meaning from her novel. Ondaatje, like many contemporary Canadian authors, writes works where there is no one meaning, where multiple readings elicit multiple understandings. For Ondaatje, there is no right or wrong; for Michaels, there is.

The Winter Vault is still a beautiful read full of many life lessons. My only criticism would be that Michaels needs to let go a bit, and let the reader do some of the thinking for his or herself.

4 stars

Very good review. I have added Winter Vault to the TBR mountain. Thanks

Going back to your discussion of Booker Prize winners I think that it's best to read the Booker Prize shortlist or longlist because the winning book seems to always be a compromise between the judges. Last year there was an interesting article about it: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/06/bookerprize.40years
The Winter Vault is also on my tbr list though I have yet to read Fugitive Pieces.

Thanks Diane!

That was a really interesting article, Avatiakh - thanks for sharing the link! It does seem as though the winner in often a compromise, so I will definitely read at least the shortlist this year and try to judge for myself.

Hi Cait,

I also gave you a thumbs up about Surfacing. I recently (like a week or two ago) read through a summary of Atwood's views on the main themes of CanLit -- so that is a weird coincidence. I don't really agree with the survival theme now, perhaps with pre-1970s Canadian works, but I don't see it so much now. I'm not a burgeoning expert like you, though! What I'm curious about is whether Atwood still champions that idea, and how much does that affect the works that she supports on the Canadian literary scene. As far as I understand, she wields a lot of power on which books and authors are the new stars, like Vincent Lam's book.

Thank goodness, The Winter Vault is already on my wishlist, or I would be having to add yet another book to it.

#85 - Another excellent review with The Winter Vault. Your insightful reviews are a pleasure to read, despite the fact that I might never actually read the books themselves!

#91 - Thanks Peter - you know, I tend to feel the same about your reviews - I love reading them, and I marvel at the amount of non-fiction you read, but I will probably never read the books myself! That's the beauty of LT - we all have different reading tastes, and yet we coexist so peacefully :)

#90 - I look forward to your thoughts when you eventually read The Winter Vault, Luna!

#89 - Hi Cauterize, thanks for stopping by, and giving a thumbs up! I'm not sure I come anywhere close to a Can Lit expert - just a few university classes! - but I really love reading it. Atwood is one of my new favs, and she is definitely influential regarding Canadian writers. Her new books seem to be less about survival, at least less about Character vs. Nature, though I haven't read them all. I agree with you that survival is a pre-1970s theme - I wonder what today's theme is?

Book #62: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I read this children's classic only because it is on the 1001 list, and I will probably read the sequel for the same reason. I can't say I really cared for it that much, though Carroll does certainly have an interesting imagination. I'm glad I didn't read this as a child - it probably would have scared me quite a bit.

2.5 stars

Thanks, Cait, for posting the easy directions on my thread on how to add a book to my Wishlist w/o being in my library. And thanks to your great reviews, I have added All Quiet On The Western Front to my Wishlist and, due to the need for instant gratification, I have requested The Winter Vault from my local library. This is a dangerous (but interesting) thread. :-)

You're very welcome Donna! I'm glad you found some books from my thread to add to your wishlist - enjoy! I will look forward to your reviews. :)

I loved The Winter Vault, Cait, so much so that I still haven't got round to writing up my comments... when I eventually get to it I'll no doubt be back to discuss as I'm inclined to give it more than 4 stars myself!

This is one of my all time favorite books... probably because I read it just before a trip to South Africa, so was able to interpret it in light of current events there. It was hard to believe that it was written in 1946, could have been yesterday for all the change that has occurred in the intervening years. Or it could have been written in America in 1960. Or the middle east today. The theme of racial tension and man's inhmanity to man and the social upheaval and emotional response that follows is timeless. Thanks for a great review and sparking fond memories of a great book.

#96 - I will be waiting patiently for your review Rachael!

#97 - Thanks for stopping by, mlmahler5004. I'm going to assume that you are referring to my review of Cry, the Beloved Country, which is definitely still applicable today.

Book #63: Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Book #64: Emily Climbs by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Book #65: Emily's Quest by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Despite having read the "Anne" books about one hundred times, this is actually only my second reading of the "Emily" trilogy. The first time I was around 10, and based on the fact that it took me 13 years to read them again, I am guessing that I didn't love Emily nearly as much as I love Anne. While Anne will always hold a special place in my heart, I have definitely warmed up to Emily. Montgomery's writing is as delightful as always, and her two most well-known heroines have quite a lot in common.

Emily, like Anne, is an orphan. Her mother passed away when she was quite young, and her father dies in the opening pages of Emily of New Moon; this event causes Emily to move in with her two unmarried Aunts, Elizabeth and Laura, and her adult cousin, Jimmy. Though only 10 or 11, Emily is a talented child. Similar to Anne, she loves beauty and nature, and has a vivid imagination. Both girls are bright and determined, have a natural tendency for getting into trouble, and yearn for true, lasting relationships.

Emily has her own non-Anne characteristics as well. Though Anne enjoys writing, Emily lives to write. She is highly ambitious, vowing to climb the Alpine Path and reach success. She is more reserved than Anne - though Emily has good friends, she does not seem to have that quality of making everyone love her.

The Emily books are also much darker than the Anne series. This PEI is stormier, as are the characters who populate Emily's life. Cold Aunt Elizabeth is a much harsher version of Marilla Cuthbert, who softened under Anne's influence. Though Elizabeth changes as well, she is much less loving. Emily's life is troublesome, and these books feature serious heartbreak, unrequited love, hints of philandering wives, and touches of the supernatural. New Moon is not sunny Green Gables, though it does have a charm all its own. Montgomery once said that though fans often assume Anne is Montgomery herself, Emily is in fact closer to the author's true personality. This then, accounts for the darkness, as Montgomery was a troubled person with a history of depression, who may have committed suicide.

Though I have made many comparisons between Anne and Emily, I really did enjoy these books for their own story, and only found myself comparing the two heroines on later reflection. Montgomery has the ability to create empathy in her readers, and the Emily books are full of vividly drawn, interesting characters. At times, Montgomery's poetic descriptions of nature can be a bit trying, but her marvelous storytelling ability more than makes up for it. I may never love Emily the way I love Anne, but I can safely say that it will not be another 13 years before I reread these books.

4 stars for Emily of New Moon and Emily Climbs
3.5 stars for Emily's Quest, as it is much shorter than the first two, and feels a bit rushed

Following in the footsteps of a few other 75ers, here is my six-month summary:

Books Read to Date: 65
Books read in June: 11

Fiction: 61
- 20 of which were YA or Juvenile
- 3 of which were short story collections

Non-Fiction: 4
- 3 of which were Holocaust memoirs

Rereads: 10

# of Authors: 46
- Male Authors: 19
- Female Authors: 27

Country of Origin
- South Africa: 1
- Afghanistan: 1
- Czech Republic: 1
- Australia: 1
- New Zealand: 1
- India: 2
- Germany: 2
- UK: 14
- US: 24
- Canada: 18

OK, so July 1st isn't for a few more hours, but since I have plans for tomorrow morning, I just want to take the time to say: HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!

Tomorrow I will be decked out in red and white, enjoying the festivities of my small-town celebration - a parade, a walk along the very crowded beach, fresh fish 'n' chips for dinner, and fireworks at night. :)

In honour of Canada's 142nd birthday, I hearby proclaim July Canadian Literature Month!* Over the next 31 days, I hope to read at least some of these books:

Such Is My Beloved – Morley Callaghan
As for Me and My House – Sinclair Ross
Wild Geese – Martha Ostenso
A Jest of God – Margaret Laurence
The Diviners – Margaret Laurence
The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill
In the Skin of a Lion – Michael Ondaatje
Anil's Ghost – Michael Ondaatje
Beautiful Losers – Leonard Cohen
Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood
The Robber Bride – Margaret Atwood
Cat's Eye – Margaret Atwood
The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields

*Note: As an exception to this rule, I will also read Over Sea, Under Stone for our group read. After all, this is my own self-enforced rule, and I can grant myself a cheat if I want!

I'm reading Robber Bride right now, Cait86! :-)

I hope you enjoy The Robber Bride, bonniebooks - I am really looking forward to reading it this month!

Book #66: Such is My Beloved by Morley Callaghan

Unfortunately, this was not a great start to July. Such is My Beloved is my first Callaghan, and it supposed to be one of his best. I'm sure that if I had been sitting in a Can Lit class back in university, listening to my favourite prof lecture on this book, I would have enjoyed it much more. On its own, I thought it was bland, a bit strange, and for only 173 pages, exceedingly long. All-in-all, a book I am glad to have finally removed from the TBR pile, but not one that I will read again.

2 stars

Book #67: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

I loved this book - so thanks to all the 75ers who have talked about this series, and especially to those who started the group read! I will definitely be reading the rest of the series later this year, especially if we decide to read them all as a group. I have a bit of a weakness for young adult fantasy, and a definite love for all thing King Arthur, so this was a great book for me - I am shocked that I have never read it before!

4 stars!

>105 Cait86:: Since, imo, it's the weakest of the five books in that series, you're in for some good times.

Hello to you Cait.
Thanks for your comments regarding Over Sea, Under Stone. I'm currently reading this book and, like you, I enjoy it!

#107 - I'm glad you are enjoying it too, Linda - I think our group will have fun discussing it!

#106 - Tad, the consensus does seem to be that this is the weakest book, so I am certain I will enjoy the rest of the series. They do become more "fantasy" right? Over Sea, Under Stone just had hints of fantasy - I thought it was more adventure-story.

I think Over Sea, Under Stone is the only one of the series that I have ever read. I seem to think I must have been about 11 or 12 when I read it, and it spooked me a bit so I never read any of the others, or reread it.

LOL, you're killing me! A whole CanLit month to make me feel guilty? That's it... how about I promise to pick up Anne of Green Gables!! AND, a happy Canada Day to you too!

#110 - Reading Anne of Green Gables this month would be a perfect way to honour Canada Day! I had to do something to get rid of the mass amount of Can Lit on my TBR - some of those books have been sitting on my shelves for ages. I hope you had a great Canada Day - and thanks for dropping by, it has been awhile!

Hi Cait -- Happy Belated Canada Day !! (I'm still catching up on threads) I didn't know Canada was only 142 years old. I always thought Canada became a country at roughly the same time that Australia and the US became countries. In honor of Canada Day I'm bumping Dancing Girls into the July book pile.

Hey VioletBramble - thanks for dropping by! Canada did indeed become a country in 1867. We were around for a long while before that, but we were a British colony - well, first we were a French colony, then a British colony. We did not have a revolution or anything; basically we asked British Parliament if we could be a country, they said yes, Queen Victoria said yes, and Canada was born. At first it was only the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick that joined, and the rest of the provinces and territories followed in later years.

I'm sure that is more info than you cared to know, but I hope you enjoy your book!

Book #67: As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross

Sinclair Ross' first novel, As For Me and My House, is considered one of the milestone texts in Canadian Literature, and is often thought of as the definitive "prairie" novel. Set in the small town of Horizon (the province is never named, but in my mind I picture Saskatchewan) during the Great Depression, As For Me and My House is the diary of Mrs. Bentley, whose husband Philip is an unsuccessful minister. Mrs. Bentley is never given a first name, and this is one of the first indications that she is a woman whose life is not entirely her own.

In fact, Mrs. Bentley lives for her husband. Unfortunately, Philip does not live for his wife. He is an artist, a tortured soul, a man with a troubled childhood. Oh, boo hoo. I hated Philip - hated his personality, the way he treated his wife, and most of all, the worshipful way in which Mrs. Bentley loves him.

So, the characters of this book are certainly not the reason I enjoyed it. Instead, it is Ross' sense of place that is the star of this novel. No other author depicts the loneliness and the barren quality of the Canadian prairies the way Ross does. The reader hears the howling wind, sees the dust that covers every surface, and yearns for the day that rain will finally come. Though the prairies are wide open spaces, they feel claustrophobic. The town of Horizon is the same. Everywhere Mrs. Bentley goes, people watch her, and they comment on her actions. Her home is the same way - day in, day out, Mrs. Bentley and her husband circle each other in their tiny house, watching, wondering at the thoughts of the other, and rarely talking. Never has a novel evoked such a sense of strangulation.

This is a tiny novel - only just over 200 pages - but it contains a lot of food for thought. The form of a diary is well-suited to the narrative, and Mrs. Bentley has moments of insight that almost make her slavish love for Philip understandable. As far as Canadian Lit goes, Ross is one of my personal favourites. His short story collection, The Lamp at Noon and Other Stories, is compelling, and contains the brilliant "The Painted Door." His writing is far from cheery, but it showcases a sense of the Canadian West in the 30s and 40s. For anyone interested in the development of Canadian Literature, Ross is a must.

4 stars

>110 Cauterize:: Hey, sorry about that. I wanted to contemplate a bit what I thought our literary "theme" would be... I looked though my library and realized that (of course) I haven't read much CanLit to figure one out and the ones that I had were "survival" themes like Life of Pi. The only things I could come up as suggestions is Multiculturalism or the often cited Not-America identity.

Book #69: In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje

In the Skin of a Lion is, in my world, pretty much the definition of a perfect book.

It is the story of Patrick Lewis, a young man working in Toronto in the 20s and 30s. It is also the story of Toronto itself - the growth of the city, the immigrants who built it, and the business men who took the credit. It is a story of love, loss, and love again, and of revenge. Most of all, it is a story about life, and what it is that makes life worth living.

I read Ondaatje's The English Patient last summer, and loved every second of it. It is definitely Ondaatje's most well-received book, and the one that is most widely read. This, in my humble opinion, is unfortunate. Yes, I love The English Patient, but In the Skin of a Lion is better.

Ondaatje's style is definitely non-linear. Here is a book that jumps through time, and slowly unveils several storylines. The result is a complete picture, but it is told through fragments. The work falls squarely on the shoulders of the reader. It is our job to piece the puzzle together, and to make what we can. Ondaatje's work reminds me of an Impressionist painting - up close, we see what looks like random brush-strokes; step back, and the picture is clear. An individual chapter or instance in this book won't give us the answers, won't make everything clear; in the end, however, the entirity of this story just might shed some light on the confusion.

Practically speaking, if you enjoyed The English Patient, you will probably enjoy In the Skin of a Lion - and enjoy learning more about certain characters who inhabit both books. If you didn't love The English Patient, I would urge you to try In the Skin of a Lion. It is a beautiful book, one that goes straight to the top of my memorable reads for the year. Ondaatje deserves more recognition then he gets - he is, in my mind, nothing short of a brilliant author - one of Canada's best.

5 stars

nothing short of a brilliant author

Big endorsement, have never read or watched The English Patient but will definitely put In the Skin of a Lion on the TRB mountain.

Thanks

Very nice review Cait86. I really liked the way you spoke of how we must put the pieces together in order to get a better understanding.
I liked The English Patient, but found the same thing there. This is not an author that you can just sit down in a cozy chair and expect an easy read with. I had to work at keeping the all the pieces in their proper places.
That being said, I think it was a wonderful story. But it was much easier for me to watch the movie than to read the book; not so much work, you see.
It's good when you have to use the old gray matter when you read sometimes. A challenge is usually a good thing.
Thank you for a thumbs up review.
belva

#117 - I hope you enjoy it, Diane!

#118 - Thanks for commenting, Belva! You are right, Ondaatje requires a lot of thinking. I enjoy his style, but it probably isn't something I would read everyday. Sometimes I need those "easy reads" too - it is nice to take a break with a cozy book. :)

Book #70: A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence

Rachel Cameron is trapped. At 34, she lives with her widowed mother in the Manitoba town of Manawaka, in the same house in which she was raised. She has never married, she has never had a sexual experience, and she has never really opened up to another human being. Rachel's mother controls Rachel with disapproval veiled as love, and Rachel's most constant refrain is "I'm sorry." During the day, Rachel teaches grade two, and is probably more attached to her students than is healthy.

Laurence wrote a series of books set in Manawaka, each dealing with different characters. Her most famous book is probably The Stone Angel, which I read when I was in my last year of high school - and hated. To be fair, I was 18, and The Stone Angel is about a woman in her 80s, so identification with the main character was minimal. I also think that I had not yet learned to appreciate Laurence's style.

A Jest of God is not an epic, but a small, quiet book. The reader is pulled into Rachel's everyday life, and experieces her frustration. To break up the monotony of her life, Rachel begins to date Nick, a man who grew up on the opposite end of Manawaka. Finally Rachel experiences an adult relationship, and learns to open herself to another person. Her growth as a character is the focus of A Jest of God, and as the book is told in first-person, the reader gets a very believable account of a woman's emotional journey.

I found this book in a used bookstore for $1, and it has sat on my shelves for over a year. It has succeeded it changing my opinion of Laurence, and I will certainly seek out more of her works in the future. As for The Stone Angel, well, it just might warrant a reread - something I never thought I would do!

4 stars

I read The Stone Angel several years ago, and thought it was a magnificant exploration of the mind of an aging woman. I can well understand why an 18 year old would hate it. It resonated with me because I was in my 50's and beginning to think about those kinds of issues. I'm not sure if it would have affected me as much if I had been in my 30's or younger.

I do want to read more Laurence, and A Jest of God sounds like a good place to start. Thanks for the review.

#120 Very good review. Both books look good and have been added to the TBR mountain. Thanks

Ditto what Diane said!

ditto what Diane and Stasia said.
Thank you for the recs.
belva

Yay! I am always happy to spread the CanLit love! :) I hope you all enjoy Laurence's novels.

*Waving back!*

Book #71: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Aminata Diallo has seen many lands, and has lived many lives: child in the African village of Bayo in 1745; captive at the age of eleven; slave on an indigo plantation in South Carolina; "servant" to a wealthy Jew; escapee in New York; Loyalist in Nova Scotia; colonist in Sierra Leone; abolitionist in London. Her story is unique, but also representative of the numerous people forced into slavery in colonial America, and around the world. In Aminata, Hill has created a character whose strength and will to survive just may be incomparable.

This is a book epic in proportions - almost 500 pages in length, spanning three continents and nearly seventy years of history. It has received many accolades here in Canada, and rightly so. Hill's research into the lives of African slaves is impeccable, and his writing makes the time period come alive.

For me, the first half of Aminata's life was familiar. I have read many slave narratives in the past, and so the chapters dealing with the horrors of the slave-ships and the harsh conditions on the plantations were slow-moving. Where this book really impressed was in describing Aminata's later life - her life of freedom, and her desire to return to Africa. Here I learned about the Book of Negroes, an actual historical document that lists names of Black Loyalists who were given passage to Nova Scotia following the American Revolution. Aminata had the good fortune in her youth to learn to read and write, and so she found work questioning the Loyalists and compiling this document. In this way Hill places his character firmly in history; later, Aminata records her life story to aid the abolitionists, much like Olaudah Equiano or Mary Prince. We are, effectively, reading a slave narrative, albeit a fictional one. Like literature about the Holocaust, tales of slavery tackle difficult issues and dark periods in our history - but they are stories that need to be told.

I read Hill's earlier novel, Any Known Blood, a few months ago, and found it extremely compelling. The Book of Negroes is just as well-constructed. Hill is a wonderful addition to the Canadian literary scene, and he gives a voice to people whose stories are not often heard.

5 stars

Note: In the US, The Book of Negroes is published under the title Someone Knows My Name.

#128: I have really got to move that one up the Planet!

>128 Cait86:: Funny, but I just finished A Book of Negroes about 3 weeks ago! Sharing the CanLit! I also enjoyed it and you wrote a great review.

>128 Cait86:: I read Someone Knows My Name last year. It was one of my Top Ten and I am still haunted by it. I will be on the lookout for Any Known Blood by him -- what a fantastic author.

>129 alcottacre:: Ditto.

I came on here to see what you are reading and was pleasantly surprised to see your review of The Book Of Negroes. I was reading a magazine yesterday and this book was on a book list and I made a mental note to check out more info on it. Nice to read your very well written review.

And I did read Alice in Wonderland as a child and it kinda freaked me out.

#129 - 133 - Thanks for visiting my thread! The Book of Negroes was a great read, so for those of you who are thinking of reading it, it definitely gets my endorsement. I'm glad so many other people have enjoyed it already.

In other news, I am currently reading Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.

Cat's Eye is one of my all-time favourites, Cait. Will be interested to see what you make of it (even if you hate it!)

Book #72: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

OK, so by now everyone knows that I am a huge Atwood fan. Cat's Eye is the fourth Atwood novel that I have read this year, so it is no surprise, I am sure, that I loved it. I don't need to spend paragraphs extolling Atwood's way with words, or her amazing ability to turn a boring moment into something exciting - I've already done that. What I do need to talk about is this story.

Cat's Eye is about evil - about the harm that one person can do to another, and the deep psychological repercussions that result from that harm. Oh, and it's also about nine year old girls.

That's right, the evil in this story is a child. As anyone who was once a nine year old girl can tell you, girls are cruel. Adolescence is bad enough, but the ages of 8-12 can be worse. Subtle manipulation, humiliation, control - these are the tools of nine year old girls.

Atwood's heroine is Elaine, an aging artist who has returned to Toronto for a retrospective of her paintings. Elaine spent much of her youth living in Toronto, and has since escaped to Vancouver. Back in her old neighbourhood, Elaine starts to remember her past, and slowly unravels it for the reader.

Cordelia is Elaine's best friend - at least, Cordelia is supposed to be Elaine's best friend. However, along with two other girls, Grace and Carol, Cordelia torments poor nine year old Elaine, using those weapons whose usage generations of girls have perfected.

Elaine is a classic unreliable narrator. It becomes clear to the reader that she has repressed much of her past, and is only beginning to come to terms with her childhood. Interspersed with her memories are snippets of her present life - the showing of her work, an encounter with her ex-husband, and her constant preoccupation with seeing Cordelia. Over the course of the novel, the reader gets a full picture of Elaine's life, and her present character is eluminated by her past experiences.

As always, Atwood's attention to detail is extreme, and her skill at weaving together plot threads is unmatchable. Cat's Eye has a simplistic story - it is just a telling of a woman's life - but its examination of girlhood has a ring of truth. Teenagers who fill the roles of "Mean Girls" just might have been a Cordelia growing up - or an Elaine.

4.5 stars

What a great review of Cat's Eye, Cait. I haven't read it in a long time, but I have read it several times. I think Cat's Eye has more memorable phrases, scenes, and atmosphere than any other book I've read (besides Wuthering Heights). Your insightful review did it justice.

Great review, I have added it to the TBR mountain. Thanks

#138 - Enjoy!

#137 - Profiler, it seems we have similar tastes in books - besides both of us loving Cat's Eye, Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite books ever. I reread it every couple of years - might be time for one soon!

Book #73: Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso

The Gare family lives in northern Manitoba - a cold, lonely place. They are ruled by Caleb Gare, the patriarch who controls his clan with cruelty and hard physical labour. Caleb holds a deadly secret over his wife Amelia, a secret that could ruin the entire family. This binds their children, Martin, Ellen, Charlie, and Judith, to a monotonous life working the land. Into the Gares' world comes Lind Archer, a young woman contracted to teach at the local school. Lind brings with her a more delicate way of life, and encourages Judith to break away from her cold existence.

Wild Geese marked a change in Canadian literature. Here, we have the meeting of romance and realism, of the old and the new. Juxtaposing the romantic, idealistic notions of Lind with the raw, gritty passion of Judith, Ostenso moves Canadian writing away from its Victorian past firmly into the modern era. Written in the 1920s, Wild Geese was the first novel by a woman who succeeded in becoming very popular. Ostenso has since fallen out of fashion, and I only discovered this novel through a chance encounter with the clearance shelf of my alma mater's used book store. Evidently, some Canadian Lit grad student had not found Wild Geese worthy of keeping, and so I snagged it for $1. Boy, am I glad that that grad student had such poor taste in literature. Wild Geese truly was an unexpected gem of a novel.

Ostenso's writing is stark, much like northern Manitoba, and the character of Judith is far from the Victorian norm. She is wild, abrasive, and a totally compelling entity. Caleb Gare is a villain worth hating, and the rest of his family, along with Lind, make for an interesting cast.

I love when novels take you by surprise, just as this one did. As a mixture of early and modern Canadian writing, it contains the best elements of both eras. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the development of Canadian Literature.

4.5 stars

What is it about Canadian literature and British "cozies"? I have grabbed more recs this summer in those two catagories than the rest combined. Not complaining, mind you---I just find it interesting.
You have read some very fascinating books over the months and I look forward to being able to find the time to read many of them myself.
Thank you for all the recs and I love lurking and skulking through your thread to see what you are reading.
belva

#140: I love buried treasure of that sort! Now, I have to see if I can get my hands on a copy. Thanks for the recommendation, Cait.

Book #74: Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen

Well, here is a Canadian novel to not add to the TBR pile. Beautiful Losers is easily the worst book I have read all year - and actually, it may be the worst book I have ever read. The only reason I finished it (ok, so I skimmed a lot) is because I had already devoted many hours to it, and didn't want to waste them. So, even though I am sure I injested very little of this drivel, I am counting it anyway!

Beautiful Losers is one of the most experimental novels of the 1960s, and I feel as though it contains everything that is stereotypically 60s - namely, overt drug use and ample explicit sex. Cohen (yes, the musician) uses a stream-of-consciousness style much like James Joyce or Jack Kerouac, but with considerably less skill. Entire pages of this novel are lists of random words, the narrative is extremely fractured, and the language absurd.

The plot, what little there is, recounts the lives of the unnamed narrator, his wife Edith, and their friend F. The three of them live in a sexual love-triangle from hell.

Now, maybe this is just not my thing. Certainly reviews of this book on Amazon are favourable, and so I am willing to admit that Cohen's novel does resound with other readers.

OK, to be honest, I have no idea who would enjoy Beautiful Losers. It was just that awful.

0.5 stars - because 0 is not an option

#143: Thanks for one I do not have to add to Planet TBR! I am only sorry you suffered through it. I hope your next one is much, much better for you.

I hope your next read is much better!

Sorry about Beautiful Losers. If you haven't OD'd on Margaret Atwood, I did really enjoy The Robber Bride. Hey, have you read the Canadian author, Robertson Davies? I read one of his books more than fifteen years ago and was always going to read some more. (I guess that's not a very good endorsement considering I haven't yet, huh?) Another book I liked that was written by a Japanese-Canadian about her experiences during WWII (internment and forced labor) was: Obasan. Such a poignant story. I still can't believe that I didn't hear anything about the American internment camps until I was almost thirty! There are so many good Canadian authors; I hope you have better luck with the rest of your selections. Oh, the main reason I'm posting is that I meant to say that you've made me really want to read In the Skin of a Lion.

Too bad about Beautiful Losers. Sad, because he's one of my favorite musicians.

Leonard Cohen is one of my favourite poets...in his songs. I love "The Stranger" and "Closing Time"

I keep Book of Longing handy for quick reads, and some it is very strange. Here's a random (totally random) sample:

you don't want to go out anymore
it's unbearable alone
just you and the bad news
and the confession of Mother Theresa
G*d bless her for letting us know
that she couldn't take it either

But I haven't read beautiful losers and I think I must. He can't be that bad when he's so good in other venues, can he?

loosha
My favorite song written by Leonard Cohen is Song of Bernadette. Have you heard the Jennifer Warnes cd of The Famous Blue Raincoat? If not, I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Famous-Blue-Raincoat-Jennifer-Warnes/dp/B000024QBF

#149 Yes, I own that wonderful CD, as well as most of Cohen's. Song of Bernadette is a favourite of mine too.

Have any of you heard the CD Blue Alert by Anjani? It is comprised of songs by Cohen and he composed and produced the album. There is quite a story to this CD and it is lovely. I love all of Leonard's stuff and have all of his CDs but I think one of my favorites is the rendition of Everybody Knows done by Concrete Blonde.

Thanks for the tips, I'm very excited...I'm going CD shopping tomorrow! What CD of Concrete Blonde's has Everybody Knows? or is it on Blue Alert?

Concrete Blonde's version is I believe on the soundtrack of the movie "Pump Up the Volume" with Christian Slater in it. Loved that movie!~! I think it is also on a CD entitled Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man. I haven't heard that CD, just about it. But I have the soundtrack and I love it still.
Concrete Blonde does not sing on Blue Alert. That is strictly Anjani.
belva

http://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Bloodletting-Extended-Version-Everybody/dp/B00000DQ...

http://www.amazon.com/Pump-Up-Original-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B000002O8M/ref=sr_1...

Wow! Lots of love for Leonard Cohen - though as a songwriter, not a novelist!

#146 - Bonniebooks - thanks for your comment. I will definitely read The Robber Bride sometime this year - I don't think I could ever tire of Atwood! As for Robertson Davies, I read Fifth Business when I was in high school. I really enjoyed it, but I've never read any of his other books. I should remedy that! I hope you enjoy In the Skin of a Lion :)

Thank you all for dropping by and posting - I do love it when I have new messages to read! Also, I am so glad that Canadian Lit is generating such a discussion.

I started my 75th book, and probably my last book for July, this morning: Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. Hopefully it turns out well - I would hate for my 75th book to be a bad one! At the moment though, I am preoccupied with the first two seasons of Grey's Anatomy, which my best friend let me borrow the other day. I love this show, but the more recent seasons just are not as near as good as those first two seasons!

Oh, but those first two seasons were soooo good! :-) Congratulations on reaching 75!

Drumroll, please....

Book #75: Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

Exquisite, as Ondaatje always is. I was saving this book for my 75th read, because I knew I was going to love it. With Anil's Ghost Ondaatje returns to his own homeland of Sri Lanka, where he lived before moving to Canada. His main character, Anil, is a forensic anthropologist who travels back to Sri Lanka after studying in the UK and US. During the 80s and early 90s, Sri Lanka was in a state of civil war. Anil is part of a UN mission to gather information on the violence. Along with a host of mysterious secondary characters, Anil tries to identify the skeleton of a possible political murder, while also coming to grips with her own past.

Ondaatje's writing is a poetic as ever, and his narrative is fractured. This book requires brain work while reading, but the result is definitely worthwhile.

5 stars

Congratulations on reaching 75.

Looks like a good one to be added to the TBR mountain.

Great job and some awesome reads!~!
belva

glitter-graphics.com

Congratulations on reaching the 75 challenge goal!

Congratulations on hitting 75, Cait! Feels good, doesn't it?

Congratulations, Cait!

Congrats on reaching 75 books already, Cait!

Congratulations on making it to 75!

Thanks everyone! It does feel good to have read 75 books already this year.

Here's what I learned from this "challenge":

1. I need goals. There is no way that I have ever read 75 books in a year, let alone in 7 months. This group really pushed me to turn off the TV and read a book. I used to find that I needed TV after a stressful day, but I think I have substituted brain candy books instead - and any book is better for my brain than television!

2. I am generally not a long-book person. I like finishing a new book every few days, so I prefer books around the 300 page mark. Not always, but a lot of the time. If a book is going to be 600 pages, it had better be good! Often I feel as though a long book just needed a better editor.

3. I have book-buying issues. Serious ones. And I love them!

4. My reading is very "English." I basically read Canadian, British, and American authors. Next year, I am going to choose a continent and focus part of my reading on it.

5. My Can Lit month of July was probably my best reading month - only two clunkers, and the rest were 4, 4.5, or 5 stars. This just reaffirms my love for my country's authors.

As for the rest of the year, I am going to try to read another 50 books. Included in those 50 will be the entire Booker Prize longlist, and as many books from my owned-but-not-read list as possible. First up? The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre.

Cait - Congrats on 75 books, and I liked your insights on reading. I've just been keeping track of what I've read for the past couple of years, and it has really helped me read more and figure out what kinds of books I really like.

By the way, I just read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and really liked it (although I'm not usually a spy novel reader).

Congratulations on hitting 75. I like your summary and welcome you to explore the rich world of English literature from New Zealand and Australia.
http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/the-anzlitlovers-list-of-books-you-must-read/

I think you've spoken for us all with your comments on how LT and the 75'er club changed our reading habits. My wife also read and enjoyed Anil's Ghost this year. Have to move that into one of my TBR stacks.

Congratulations on your 75th book of the year! I've also just reached the 75 book milestone. It takes a lot of reading to get through 75 books in 7 months. Lots of folks in this group are well over 100 and I don't know how they do it!

Congrats on reaching the big 75!!!! I also have found that LT is changing my reading habits for the better, though I'm still way behind most of you guys . . .

2. I am generally not a long-book person. I like finishing a new book every few days, so I prefer books around the 300 page mark. Not always, but a lot of the time. If a book is going to be 600 pages, it had better be good! Often I feel as though a long book just needed a better editor.

You know, I think I've discovered this too!!! When I don't finish a book for a few days, I get antsy... and I'm far more likely to pick a shorter book over a longer one, if I have the same level of interest in them both. Maybe this is why I like YA so much...! But you're right, around 300 pages for fiction or non-fiction seems to be the ideal length, for me anyway. I never thought about it until you brought it up... but it's so true!

Congrats on hitting 75 :)

Your comments are very right on target. I so enjoy this group and my reading habits have grown tremendously.

Thanks to all, and you you Cait because many of your books are now on my tbr pile!

Congrats, Cait, on the 75. You will get a lot of good international reading with the Booker Prize long list. What a good idea! I will be watching for your recommendations from this list and counting on you to weed them out for me!

I have book-buying issues. Serious ones. And I love them!

Great to be with fellow addicts! And what could be a better addiction? It doesn't make you gain weight, and it makes you smarter. And, unlike shoes, you can share books! I have started using the library again, and buying more used books, but I do get the rush of seeing, feeling, and, yes, even smelling all those new books.

#165: porch_reader - I enjoyed The Spy Who Came in From the Cold as well, and like you, I am not a spy-novel kind of girl.

#166: avatiakh - Thanks for that link! I have read a total of 2 books from the list so far (Mr. Pip and People of the Book), so I clearly have a lot of great reading to do!

#170: Faith - I am glad I am not the only one who prefers short-ish books. I always look at the huge tomes I have sitting on my shelf and feel guilty about not reading them. I am woefully behind on Anna Karenina!

#172: Loosha - I can't wait to read the Booker longlist. A few are not available in Canada yet, but I am going to order them from the Book Depository - hopefully I will find some gems!

Thanks to everyone for visiting! I'm glad you all enjoy my thread as much as I enjoy all of yours! I still continue to read every post, so even if I do not comment, you know I am always there :)

Book #76: The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre

This is my first novel by John le Carre, but not my last. I know he has two others on the 1001 list, so I will read at least those. Though spy novels are a far cry from what I normally read, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It might not be my favourite genre, but it was a solid read nonetheless. I will probably reread it one day, as I do not think it would suffer from a reread - and really, that is the danger with any spy/mystery novel.

Alec Leamas is nearing the end of his intelligence career. According to Control, he has one mission to complete, and then he can disappear into the world of retirement (I wonder what retired spies do all day long? Maybe, like le Carre, they write spy novels.). This mission is an important one, and if Leamas succeeds, British intelligence will be all the better for it.

Of course, along the way there are the typical problems - an unexpected love interest, questions of loyalty, and shifting allegiances. Under this typical spy fare is another level - an thought-provoking look at the blurry line between "good" and "evil." Le Carre actually was an MI5 and MI6 agent in his day, a fact that makes his take on the intelligence world all the more interesting.

This isn't James Bond. Leamas is not a womanizer out for a one-nighter, and he definitely is not suave enough to drink martinis. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold contains action, but it much more cerebral than I had expected.

My one main critique is of the ending. Obviously I don't want to give it away, but I found it unsatisfactory on many levels. Since I put a lot of weight on a book's ending, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold lost a lot of points here. Still, a good read, especially for something not within my reading niche.

3.5 stars

Cait - Glad that you liked The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and I definitely agree about the ending. I was listening to the book on my iPod and had to go back and listen to the last few minutes again, just to make sure I hadn't missed something.

Cait--Congratulations on 75. I liked your comments on "the benefits" of participating in this challenge. I'm sure you don't need to be told that having book-buying issues is not a bad thing.

Btw--I tend to like longer books. It always takes me a while to get into a book, but once I'm into it, I usually don't want it to end!

A belated . . .

Cait, Congrats on making 75 books. Sorry you didn't like Beautiful Losers. After the badness that was Book of Longing and your review of Beautiful Losers I think I'm not going to be reading any more Cohen.

Congratulations on the 75! I like reading longer books, but I identify very strongly with your comment I like finishing a new book every few days. In my case, I think the twitchiness and the urge to finish often is partly a product of all that rampantly out-of-control book acquisition: the presence of large numbers of unread books in the house, not to mention on the virtual wishlist, is a constant and urgent reminder that there are so many books still to be read, which will remain unread if I don't speed up...

Also really glad to hear you loved Cat's Eye. This is one of the few books I've re-read multiple times - I think it's just perfect on the way girls behave towards each other. You got my thumb :) I'm planning to go and hear Margaret Atwood read from her forthcoming Year of the Flood in early September, as she'll be doing a reading in Ely Cathedral, which is just up the road from me.

Ohh, when Flossie? I'd love to come along to that. What a fantastic place to see her as well, at Ely Cathedral. Is it ticketed?

luna, yes, it is ticketed - on Monday 7 September, being run by Topping and Company, tickets relatively expensive but redeemable against a copy of the book - but I emailed them a couple of days ago and they said they had loads of space (owing to it being in the Cathedral!). I was thrilled to bits as she's launching it at the Edinburgh Festival - about a week AFTER I come home. Grr.

edit to add date...

#182

Ohh, I'm absolutely going. Even with the price. Want to meet up before hand, at the entrance or something? Will sort out a ticket tomorrow :)

>183 lunacat: that would be nice :) Just looking up trains - will take this off Cait's thread (sorry Cait!) and leave you a profile comment...

Congrats on reaching 75, Cait! I'm just getting back into the group after taking way too long of a break, and I've added a bunch of your Canadian lit recs to my wishlist!

*Waving to all who posted here!*

Thanks for the "Woo Hoo" Stasia - I was hoping I would get one! LOL

Rachael and Luna - no worries about stealing my thread! I am hoping to see Atwood in the fall when she reads at a writers' festival in Toronto. I've never been to an event like that before, but I am sure she will be amazing to hear.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

Book #77: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Everyone and their brother has reviewed this book, so I don't think that I really need to as well. Let me just say that is was an incredibly moving book, and I would recommmend it to just about anyone. As far as Holocaust novels go, it is a departure from stories about Jews, as Zusak focuses on the small resistances of everyday Germans. I expected to be caught up in this story, and I was; what surprised me was the quality of Zusak's writing, which is quite poetic. He really does some interesting things with words, and one of his central themes is the power words have - power that is both good and bad.

4.5 stars

> 187 I'm so glad you liked The Book Thief. I loved it as well. I've heard his other books do not live up to that level, but I am planning on trying one some day to see for myself.

Congrats on reaching 75. I'm almost there!

Way to go!

Book #78: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

This is the second book in Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, and it is just as enjoyable as the first. I read this for the group read we are doing here in 75-Book-Land, and will continue to read the rest of the series. Cooper is building an interesting world, and I look forward to following its development.

4 stars

#189, 190: Thanks very much!

#188: Profiler, I think I will read I am the Messenger at some point; the consensus is that it is not quite as good, although some people, including Stasia I think, liked it more than The Book Thief.

And in other news, I am about to start Dangerous Liaisons for a group read in the 1001 group, and Byatt's The Children's Book, which is on the Booker Prize Longlist.

Oh, and in the last week, I have spent about $250 on books - not. good.

Oh Cait86;
Not you too. I was checking my credit card transactions for the past 3 months and I have spent over $800.00 on books. And I was complaining about having to pay $87.00 for my library card which I let lapse as I was just going to begin reading the 1500 or so books I have here at home that I have never read. Shame on me. Much better off to have paid the $87.00 and been done with it. But it is such fun until the bill comes in.
I wasn't paying very close attention because we were buying materials for fencing and home repairs on the card so I didn't think much of the total until I got to looking at the individual transactions. And then of course, I had to confess to hubby. He says: "You always have had fun spending money."
***hangs head in shame***
later,
belva

Uh oh...I don't want to think about how much I've spent on the 25 or so books I've purchased in the past week and a half. Wait...I also placed two orders with The Book Depository, so add another 5 or so books to that list. No problem; I'm sure I've spent far less than Cait or belva...

#192: Yep, that would be me firmly on the minority side of I Am the Messenger. Oh, well.

#196 - Stasia, I think I Am the Messenger looks really interesting, and since you recommend it, I am reading it - eventually!

#194 - Oh, wow, Belva, $800!! I shudder to think how much I spend in a year. I have a 10% discount card for Chapters, Canada's major book chain, and it costs $20 a year. One of my friends said that it is pointless, because you have to spend over $200 on books for the discount to be worthwhile, and who spends $200 on books? I just looked at her. Clearly she is not a reader! LOL

#195 - I don't know, Darryl, 30 books could be in the $200 range - unless you found some great deals in London. :)

Cait, that really made me grin about the Chapters membership thing.
Darryl, denial isn't a river in Egypt, m'dear. 30 books, eh? hehe

Cait, don't you love when Chapters sends out the renewal notice the month before your card expires, and at the top right of the invoice it tells you how much you've saved with your membership card that year? I usually grin... and then realize what that number means. A bit of horror, coupled with the knowledge that I've only actually read about a quarter of the books I've purchased, tends to follow quickly after...

Yeah, I'm way under US$200; £1 is only 25 US cents, right?

I am really feeling quite ill by about now. Ill and without will power.
But, honest Judge, it "weren't" my fault!~! They just kept up and kept up giving me those awesome recx!~!

****she said as they were throwing her in the poorhouse****

belva


glitter-graphics.com

Ayuyyyyy...do not fear. I just bought a lottery ticket and when I win, I'll share the wealth with you and all LT book addicts....It's only a matter of time.

I'm counting on the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes myself. (No purchase necessary.)

You'd think that those Publisher's would forget the sweepstakes and just send books. Or make you prove you were an avid reader to win. Oh wait. They just do magazines. Never mind.

Publisher's Clearing House always tosses mine out into the ditch somewhere along the line. Or is it the post that does the tossing? Oh well, you get my drift.

>197 Cait86: who spends $200 on books?

I've probably posted this on someone else's thread (and maybe even this one knowing how addled my brain is at the moment.....) but it seems so apt: I took a Random House Readers' Panel survey a few weeks ago and it simply would not allow me to tell it I bought more than 100 books a year. I totted the numbers, punched them in, and it kept giving me the error message "Please enter a whole number".

The same survey also had a radio-button choice of numbers of books *read* per year, with options: 0-1; 2-3; 4-5; 6-7; 8-9; 10+.

Rather depressing, for a "readers' panel".

Quite frankly, I'm way too scared to do the maths on my book purchases. Especially with one book sale in progress and another coming up on Wednesday. New books are now being sneaked through the back door. Don't tell the wife!

Hello everyone! I do so enjoy when my thread becomes a gathering place!

#199: Faith, I have the same reaction. Some how, I still can't resist. I agree with Belva - it isn't my fault. I blame this group, with all your great reads! LOL

#200: Darryl, ah, I forgot about the exchange rate! :P

#202: Loosha, that is really very kind of you - of course, being a fellow Canadian, I get a bigger share, right?

Publisher's Clearing House? Is that the one with the gigantic cheques? Do we have that in Canada?

#206: Rachael, that's a new story for me, so no addled brain! Really, the amount of books read by the average person is dismal. Many of my non-reader friends think I am a total freak - but hey, at least I have all you fellow freaks to hang out with!

#207: Peter, don't worry, my lips are sealed! Now, what are these book sales of which you speak? Are they online book sellers? :)

>194 rainpebble: I'm still trying to digest the idea of an $87 fee for a library card -- I don't think anyone has commented on that. Is this common where a lot of you folks are? At our library, the cards are free. Lots of folks donate money, but I don't think the state allows us to charge a fee for cards, or we lose our state library subsidy.

Not only do I have a library card that is free, but there are wonderful libraries throughout my area. And, the branch librarian is such a wonderful, special lady!

I donate $ because I choose to do so.

I bought 42 books this week. 25 of them cost me $25 (dollar table at Borders had an unbelievable selection) and 11 of them cost me 11¢ (library sale). 4 of the others were 10% off (Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore) and one of the two other Borders books was $3. So I only paid full price for one book. Trust me--this was an exceptional week!

ronincats..
It has been a great book week. Borders had stacks of books for $1 each. I came away with 18!

It feels like Christmas in August!

>#209:
tymfos;
I live in a community that isn't taxed for the Timberland Regional Library that I use. We do not have a local library. We are expected to use the school library. The people who live in the country and most of the communities are taxed for it. So yes, my library card costs me $87.00 a year.
My plan this year was to let said card lapse, which I have done and read my many, many unread books on my shelves and bookcases, which I have not done. I keep seeing books recommended on LT that I simply must read and hit amazon.com and order them. The other day I went online and tracked my credit card purchases and withing the past 2-3 months I have spend over $800.00 on books. I would have been money ahead to have renewed my library card, dontcha think? Hmmmmmmmmmmm???? Argggggggggggggggggg!~!
belva

>#207:
peter;
I have gotten so bad!~! I am leaving for 2 weeks to see my elder daughter in Texas and suggested to the hubby that I just have the mail held at the P.O. until my return and he insisted not. But I probably have 7 or 8 orders out there that will come in while I am gone, so no sneaking in the back door for that duration. I am toast!~! I am dead meat!~! I am pond scum!~! All I can hope for is that they come in the first week and he has the second week to cool off.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, wonder if he will show up at the airport to pick me up when I fly home. LOL
belva

>211 ronincats: & 212
The Borders here had the $1 sale, but it was slim pickings. I ended up using a 40% off coupon and a gift card. So I paid $20 for 5 books.

Belva
You are a funny lady. I can relate to your conundrum.
There was a package on my doorstep a few days ago. As we drove into the garage my husband said "hummmm, now what do you think that can be?" "books????"
Hanging my head, I said no, I don't think so! Luckily it was his medication rec'd. from the Veterans Administration.

Whew!

When I arrived home last week after the Barnes and Noble sale, 18 books in hands, he simply shook his head and smiled.

#208 - Now, what are these book sales of which you speak? Are they online book sellers? :)

One is online, but are you interested in military histories? ;)

#214 - I am toast!~! I am dead meat!~! I am pond scum!~! All I can hope for is that they come in the first week and he has the second week to cool off.

Belva, LOL and good luck :)

LOL, probably not, Peter!

Although, I do have a non-fiction related question for all you non-fiction readers out there: as long as I can save up enough money (hmmm, I may have to stop buying books), my best friend and I are traveling to England and Ireland next summer. My English history knowledge is pretty extensive, but I know zippo about Ireland. Can anyone recommend a book/books on Irish history? I don't think we are going to Northern Ireland, just the Republic. Also, I plan on devoting some of my reading next year to Irish novels as well, so if anyone has recs for fiction set in Ireland, I would be most grateful.

One caveat - please don't recommend James Joyce. He and I do not get along! LOL

Oh, and I am very jealous of both Roni and Linda! Chapters has tables of books that are 4 for $10, but they are always horrible chick-lit titles that I would never read.

For Irish novels I like Roddy Doyle, especially Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and The Barrytown Trilogy. Many of William Trevor's books are set in Scotland. The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen is another excellent Irish book. Molly Keane is another good Irish writer.

Thanks Arubabookwoman, I will check those out! Keep the recs coming, people! :)

Book #79: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

This sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was even more painful than the first. Oh well, another one off of the 1001 list.

Book #80: Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Dangerous Liaisons is another book on the 1001 list, and one that rightfully deserves to be there, IMHO. It is an epistolary novel (a novel composed all of letters), which is one of my favourite forms (Austen's Lady Susan, Shelley's Frankenstein). Written in the late 1700s, Dangerous Liaisons is the correspondance of a group of French aristocrats who have an awful lot of time on their hands. What they spend their time doing is surprisingly interesting.

The plot has two major storylines:

1. The Vicomte de Valmont, a notorious womanizer, has set his sights on the virtuous Madame de Tourvel, a married woman known for her good character. Valmont's plan is to seduce Tourvel and then ruin her reputation. Why? Because it's fun.

2. The Marquise de Merteuil, Valmont's ex-lover and main correspondant, as well as fellow evil-doer, sets her sights on young Cecile Volanges, a fifteen year old girl who arranged marriage to Gercourt is impending. Gercourt used to be the lover of Merteuil, but he left her for another woman. Thus, Merteuil plans to ruin Cecile, and thus embarrass Gercourt.

Add to this Danceny, the man Cecile really loves; Cecile's overbearing mother; and Valmont's well-meaning aunt, and you have a cast of characters who just might deserve the fate Valmont and Merteuil hope to bring to fruition.

Of course, complications arise, conquests are gained, and - shock - someone might actually show some real emotions!

Dangerous Liaisons was quite the ride. If you enjoy Classic Literature, give this one a go. I was surprised at how scandalous it was, and enjoyed it for every juicy moment.

4.5 stars

As a side note, some of you (particularly those of you in your teens or twenties) may remember a movie called Cruel Intentions, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. Dangerous Liaisons is the source behind this movie, though it has been updated to take place in a 1999 New York City prep school. I was surprised at how closely the movie actually followed Laclos' novel.

I discovered a used bookstore about 35 minutes from my house today, and came away with quite a haul. For $45, I bought:

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I've read this, of course, but I lost my copy and this one was only $3
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Life Before Man, Bodily Harm, Dancing Girls, and The Edible Woman - all by Margaret Atwood
The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume I: 1889-1910
Further Chronicles of Avonlea, The Story Girl, The Golden Road, The Blue Castle, Kilmeny of the Orchard, and Jane of Lantern Hill - all by L. M. Montgomery

The Montgomery's were quite the find, especially her journals, as most of them are out of print right now in Canada - sad, since she is a Canadian author.

Of course, I don't have a hope of reading any of these this year, but there is always next year! :)

I love exploring used bookstores. Great bargains to be had.

Great list of books you managed to find.

Ooh, I love used bookstores! I found a good one this week while I was on vacation. I wish I'd had more time to browse, but my husband and son were with me, so I was "on the clock," so to speak! Just as well -- between my short time in that store and the library sales I ran into, I barely had enough money left for the turnpike tolls on the way home!

Cait I had nooo idea that Cruel Intentions was based on Dangerous Liaisons!! (I'm 24) But after reading your synopsis it does seem exactly like the movie! That has all of a sudden really made me want to read it (I have it out from the library but haven't touched it).

I'm with you on Alice. I'm less that 1/4 through the second one and it's been languishing for 6 months.

You have had a lucky find with that bookshop... I've read some of those. L.M. Montgomery and Edith Wharton are two of my favourite authors.

Wow! So many good books! How satisfying.

Jealous of the Montgomery journals... I'd love to read those!

> 222 I don't think anyone's mentioned the movie 'Valmont' which has Colin Firth in the title role with Annette Bening and Meg Tilly. It is also based on Dangerous Liaisons. I've never seen 'Cruel Intentions'. I'll have to check it out.

Congratulations on the haul, Cait!

Excellent LCM haul, Cait. You're right: those are hen's teeth.

There's also another Dangerous Liaisons movie with Michelle Pfieffer, Glen Close, and John Malkavich--it was excellent.

BTW in message 219 I meant to say many of William Trevor's books were set in IRELAND, not Scotland. Duh.

Hello everyone - thanks again for dropping by! I'm glad you all approve of my book-buying habits :) It has been a busy few days and so I am very behind on threads at the moment, but hope to get caught up tomorrow. I've also been reading a tome of a book, which I just finished - see review below!!

Book #81: The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt

Byatt's newest novel has been longlisted for this year's Booker Prize. This nomination prompted me to pick it up, and is my first novel by this well-known author. So, while I cannot compare its merit to that of her previous works, I can say that as my first foray into Byatt's mind was an unequivocal success. I know I have said this before about other books, but this is probably the best book I have read all year.

The Children's Book is a family saga. It centres on the Wellwoods, a large family living in southern England at the end of the 19th century. For over 600 pages, readers grow with the Wellwoods, along with their friends the Cain family and the Fludd family, learning about the changing political and social ideals of the time. Spanning about 25 years, The Children's Book begins in the last years of Queen Victoria's reign, and ends with the conclusion of World War I. This was a time of unrest, of changing gender roles and new political factions, and Byatt's novel is as much a history lesson as it is a captivating story. Her research is meticulous, and her writing demands an educated audience - frequently I found myself reading next to my laptop, so that I could clarify unknown terms or the stories of famous authors, politicians, and suffragettes. This is anything but an easy summer read.

The Children's Book is truly about children - the Wellwoods, Cains and Fludds - but it is also about their parents. Humphry and Olive Wellwood seem the perfect parents, and their seven children live a delightfully pastoral existence. Olive writes children's stories, and some of her tales weave throughout the narrative. Benedict and Seraphita Fludd are much less satisfactory parents. Benedict is a potter, and a genius one at that. He cares for nothing but his art, and Byatt hints that his only relationship with his daughters is a sinister one. Into the life of the Fludds comes Phillip Warren, a runaway with a potter's gift that might someday rival Fludd's. The Cain family is presided over by Major Prosper Cain, whose wife died giving birth to his daughter, Florence. A second Wellwood family lives in London, and frequently visits their country cousins. All of these characters - along with many others - are introduced in the first few chapters, and their lives quickly become entwined.

Byatt outlines the lives of her characters, and that of their time-period, in great detail - and yet, this novel is full of secrets. There is much upon which the reader must speculate, and key scenes or information may never be revealed. While the reader gets minute descriptions of artwork and of pottery processes, we never find out what happened to Tom when he ran away, or why Violet, Olive's sister, never married. These secrets add to the complexity of The Children's Book, and as a reader who dislikes being spoonfed, I enjoyed it all the more for them.

Byatt's book was a surprise for me - I had never really considered reading her before, and was unaware of her beautiful way with words, or her complex narratives. The Children's Book has so many themes - art, love, sex, maturing, politics - the list goes on. I was drawn into the world of the Wellwoods, and after over 600 pages, I only wanted more.

This is the first of the Booker Prize longlist that I have read, and it already is, in my mind, a serious contender for the prize.

5 stars

Oh, you really must read Possession! I also liked Angels and Insects.

Enthusiastic seconds for Possession - Byatt takes her readers through complex journeys of emotion and narrative. She is one of the most amazing of writers, IMHO.
I will look for this one.

Good review, and I second the suggestion to read Possession, which I finally read last year. I also read another good review of The Children's Book on the educating alice blog so it has to move up my tbr pile. http://medinger.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/a-s-byatts-the-childrens-book/

I fourth the suggestion to read Possession and thank you very much for your review of The Children's Book because I've been debating about ordering it.

I am millioning the recommendation of Possession!

Love the review, Cait! I think I'll read The Children's Book in early September.

From the above recommendations, Possession goes on my wish list. It won the Booker Prize, I think in 1990.

The Children's Book is up there on my list, too. Angels and Insects was made into an excellent beautiful movie with incredible wardrobe pieces.

241> Yes--Mark Rylance and Patsy Kensit. Wonderful period film.

The film version of Possession was a little disappointing. Definitely read the book first.

Hello Cait86 I am reading The Children's Book at the moment, it is fascinating. Glad you liked it as well.
I read Possession years ago and it is one of my favourite novels.

Hey, when I logged in, your review of The Children's Book was listed as a Hot Review. Congrats!

Hey everyone - I hope you all get to The Children's Book sometime in the future! I guess I have to read Possession now, since it has received a lot of recommendations. Thanks for pointing out the Hot Review, Tymfos!

I am currently reading The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds, another Booker Prize Longlist novel. So far, so good :)

Your review of The Children's Book is great, and I'm adding it to my list. I too strongly recommend Possession, and I also liked her Matisse Stories very much.

Congratulations for your hot review, listed on today's home page, for The Children's Book!

Thanks Linda!

Book #82: The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

The Quickening Maze is another novel from the Booker Prize Longlist. Foulds is a poet as well as a novelist, and poetry runs deep in his book. John Clare, noted Romantic poet, is one of the main characters, as is Alfred Tennyson, my personal favourite Victorian poet. Clare is a patient at a mental institution run by Matthew Allen, a man of large visions and zero money skills. Another patient is Septimus Tennyson, Alfred's brother. Alfred lives nearby, and is the focus of Hannah Allen's (Matthew's duaghter) teenage crush.

The Quickening Maze is poetic not only in its subject matter, but also its writing. Foulds' prose is beautiful, and often reads like verse. This is the novel's main strength, with its downfall being the plot. In my opinion, Foulds was more preoccupied with how to write than what to write. His novel suffers from almost no plot, and in the end I felt Foulds says very little. Again, his writing is exceptional, and the ramblings of the clearly troubled John Clare was a compelling look at someone suffering from mental illness. Beyond this, however, I felt like the 260 page book contained very little substance.

Perhaps The Quickening Maze sits lower in my opinion having been read immediately following Byatt's excellent The Children's Book - a novel that balances flawless writing with a twisty plot. Nevertheless, I still maintain that it is more poetry than novel - and even as poetry, I'm not sure it has much to say.

3 stars - because the writing was just that good.

...The Children's Book - a novel that balances flawless writing with a twisty plot.

That's a good point. If it had been a while since you had read a book that had both--a good plot and terrific writing, I can see how you might have appreciated The Quickening Maze just for the writing. I reading more books back to back, and I think that has impacted my reactions in much the same way.

Nice review of The Quickening Maze, Cait. In retrospect I agree with you; the writing was brilliant, and it was a great read, but it seemed like a fictionalized historical account of the interaction of these characters, which failed to tell us what happened to them after they went their separate ways.

I noticed that you'll be reading Brooklyn next; I'm interested to get your thoughts about it. I'm halfway through How to Paint a Dead Man, which also features beautiful writing about several linked characters. I'm not sure where this one is going either, but I'm enjoying the ride so far. I should finish it later today or tomorrow.

After the Hall I'll probably read the Trevor, as it is short and can probably be finished in one good day. I'm only working two 12 hour shifts in the first 20 days in September, so I might be able to get all 13 books read by Oct 6, when the Booker Prize will be awarded.

Ooh, I'm a big Byatt fan, so The Children's Book is going right up my wishlist! I agree with everyone who's recommended Possession, and I have to recommend some of my personal favorites, The Frederica Quartet: The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower, and A Whistling Woman.

#252: Since I enjoyed The Children's Book so much, I might focus on reading a lot more of Byatt's work next year. Thanks for recommending some more of her novels!

#251: Hi Darryl, thanks for dropping by. I finished Brooklyn last night, and am just about to post a review. Basically, I loved it up until the ending. It probably would have been a 4.5 star read, but the ending really left me unsatisfied, so I think it will be 4 stars instead. I read it all in one day - that's how spellbound I was.

Next I will finally get to the Mawer, and then either the Harvey or the Waters, depending on when the Waters becomes available at my local library. I'm hoping to read at least 11 by Oct 6 - the Coetzee won't be released until later in Oct, and since I am not a big fan of his writing, I probably won't buy it ahead of time. Also, after your review of Me Cheeta, I'm not too sure if I am in a hurry to read it either!

I'll look for you review of the Hall :)

ETA: Touchstones, which refuse to work today.

250: Bonnie, I think you are right. Reading so much more this year - finishing one novel and immediately picking up the next - I have found that books with just great writing, or books with just great plots, have not been enough. I need both!

Book #83: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Brooklyn is another novel on the 2009 Booker Prize Longlist, and in my opinion, it is a contender for the Shortlist, if not the prize itself. Set in 1950s Ireland, and then Brooklyn, it is the story of Eilis Lacey, a young woman trying to find her place in the world. Employment in Ireland is difficult, and so with the help of an Irish-American priest, Eilis moves to Brooklyn to work in a large department store. Living in a boarding house with other young women, Eilis is lonely and homesick. Slowly she begins to feel at home in America, until she is unexpectedly pulled back to her homeland.

The idea of "home" is one of the main themes in this book - is home where you live? where your family is? does it ever really change? Eilis' struggle to start again in America causes her to grapple with just where she fits in this world. Toibin's writing is clear and dynamic, and his characterization of Eilis was spot on. I always appreciate an author who can create well-drawn characters of the opposite sex, and Toibin excels here.

Unfortunately, the ending left me wanting. Brooklyn ends with a resolution of sorts, but not enough of one to satisfy me. I needed more of Eilis' story, more of the repercussions of her decisions, just more. I guess this wanting is a compliment to Toibin, as he definitely kept me interested, but at only 260 pages, Brooklyn should have been longer.

That said, I am glad that my foray into the Longlist has introduced me to another author, and I plan on reading more of Toibin's oeuvre.

4 stars

255> I totally agree with you about the book's ending. Sort of a "THUNK!" and there it was. And the reasons for Eilis's choice left me rather cold.

I agree with both of you. It was a cracking read, which I started in SFO, read on the flight back to Atlanta without lifting my head, and finished either that night or the next day. The ending was disappointing, sudden, and a bit inexplicable.

I'll definitely finish the Hall today; I'm on page 192 of 286, and it is progressively getting better. It's a deiliberate but delectable read.

The Trevor did come in the mail yesterday, as I suspected that it would. If I finish that tomorrow I'll have read seven of the 13, although the longer ones still remain.

CAUTION: Brooklyn SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

#256 and 257:

I was really rather... annoyed with Eilis by the ending. I mean, did she love Tony or not? She thinks at one point that she doesn't, but then we spent half the book building their relationship, seeing how wonderful he is, and so I'm not really sure. Yes, he definitely wanted to move faster than she did, but did she trick herself into believing she loved him? And then, she does basically the same thing back in Ireland - after only a few days with Jim, she thinks she should be with him, and give up a life in America that she had spent months building.

What happened when Eilis returned to Brooklyn? Did she live "happily ever after", secretly knowing that she does not love Tony, but staying with him anyway, or did she all of a sudden fall back in love with him? Really, I thought that for a character who was rather strong for the first 3/4 of the novel ended up being ridiculously passive by the end.

END OF SPOILERS

MORE SPOILERS!

I agree with your feeling toward Eilis, although I reached this point well before you did. I think I first became annoyed by her when she did not stand up and protest her and her sister's decision to send her to Brooklyn. Even before then, I thought she would stand up to the woman whose shop she worked in at the beginning of the book. On the other hand, I do know people like this, people in a community I grew up in after my family moved to the Philadelphia area, who were very passive and let others and circumstances decide their fate for them, so I wasn't highly annoyed with her. However, my irritation with her peaked when she returned to Ireland, and flirted with the local guy, despite everything she had been through with Tony. Rachael (FlossieT) also wondered whether Tony would have gotten word of Eilis' dalliance through the priest that served as her benefactor, and how this would have affected the relationship upon her return to Brooklyn (if I remember correctly she & Tony were married or engaged just before she left for Ireland).

END OF SPOILERS

This book has generated more discussion and more questions than any book I've read in recent memory. I would love to hear him talk about the book, and if he intended to finish it as he did. I will probably read it again at some point, either later this year or early next year.

Edited to remove strikethrough.

AND EVEN MORE SPOILERS!

I think I saw Eilis' lack of strength near the beginning of the book as a product of her age. I'm not sure if we are explicitly told her age, but I guessed she was around 20, and being only 23 myself, I understood her passivity, to a point. Her job at the shop in her hometown was her first job, and personally, in the same situation, I would probably be scared to speak up too. Her mother and sister were another form of authority in her life, and again, I understand just going along with what they want. I don't think I would move to another country just because my dad told me too, but I do definitely consider his opinion in just about everything that I do - this probably isn't totally a good thing, but I do think it is a common thing for people who have not yet moved away from home. However, once Eilis began her own life in Brooklyn, I would have liked her to grow a bit more backbone.

SPOILERS OVER!

Hearing Toibin speak would be very interesting, I agree. If he wins the Booker, maybe he will go on tour, for publicity? I know he has already been nominated twice, and so he could very well win this time - I feel as though the Booker often goes to authors whose past works were well-received, and that the award is not just based on one single novel.

AND ONE MORE ROUND OF SPOILERS

I agree with both of you that Eilis was a rather weak character (weak in personality, not Toibin's depiction), and the only thing that seemed to give her any kind of backbone was her initial desire to be with Tony, despite her landlady's rules. What REALLY bothered me about the ending was that she didn't really choose either Tony or Jim; it seemed she decided to return to the US only after her landlady threatened to reveal her secret marriage. So she was really not choosing for love but for reputation, that old bugbear of 1950s Irish society. Being a good Catholic girl, it might have been hard for her to get divorced and stay in Ireland; and if she had done so, she would have been an outcast. It's as though her choice was really between being an outcast in Ireland or being loved and accepted by Tony's family and her friends in the US. A rather selfish choice, since she never expresses any great love for Tony in the end (poor guy!), nor does she give much thought to what Jim will feel. I really didn't like Eilis very much by the end of the novel.

SPOLIERS OVER (AGAIN)

That made the thread a lot shorter to catch up on. Nice review.

#261: Deborah, I agree with your disapproval of Eilis' reasons, but I guess she made the only choice that her society really allowed her to make.

#262: LOL, yes, I guess there were quite a few messages to skip over! Thanks for visiting!

Whadda ya mean visiting, I'm always here!

I found this quiz on Luna's thread, so here are my answers!

What were the last three books you bought?
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
How to Paint a Dead Man - Sarah Hall
Not Untrue and Not Unkind - Ed O'Loughlin

What are the next three books you want to buy?
Cities of the Plain - Cormac McCarthy
Small Wars - Sadie Jones
Possession - A. S. Byatt

Which book would you most like as a gift from someone?
Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings - Mary Henley Rubio

Which book would you most like to give someone as a present?
Depends on the person.

Who are your 3 favourite authors?
L. M. Montgomery
Margaret Atwood
Michael Ondaatje

Which three books will you buy as soon as they are published?
The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood
The Blythes are Quoted - L. M. Montgomery
Umm, that's it for now.

Who are your 3 favourite characters in books?
Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables, etc.
Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice
Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights

Which three books did you inherit (not necessarily physically, but as recommendations from parents)?
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
'Salem's Lot - Stephen King
The Thorn Birds - Colleen McCullough

Which three books would you love to pass down to your children?
The Anne series
The Harry Potter series
anything written by Kit Pearson

Which three books do you most often recommend?
The Harry Potter series
Wuthering Heights
Pride and Prejudice

If you were going into hospital, which three books would you take with you?
Anne of Green Gables
Wuthering Heights
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
You need comfort reads in the hospital.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you want to find there?
Anne of Green Gables
The Lord of the Rings
The Complete Pelican Shakespeare

Your house is burning down and you can only rescue three books, which would you grab?
Anne of Green Gables
The Diary of Anne Frank - it is a first edition
To Kill a Mockingbird - the first "classic" I ever read

Which book would you like your children to look at and immediately remember you by?
Anne of Green Gables

Which book would you like to be buried with?
Anne of Green Gables

And finally

What are you reading right now?
The Glass Room - Simon Mawer

Glad to see you're sticking with the Border Triology and plan to buy Cities of the Plain next. I don't think I missed a review of The Crossing, did I?

Cait, I have Brooklyn sitting here tbr. Without having read it, I can't speak directly to the characterisation of Eilis by Toibin so just a general observation about women in the 50s: the pill wasn't available until 1962/3. This was a hugely liberating factor for women and altered forever the kinds of choices we made. When I started high school in '62, girls couldn't wear slacks, let alone jeans, and weren't really expected to go to university (one could still teach without a university degree). Our career choices seemed to be secretarial or nursing.

I see young women today not even thinking about issues which were huge choices for my generation. There was a lot of challenging and pushing back boundaries in the 60s & 70s. Is it possible that Toibin is writing very accurately about the inability of Eilis to make choices within the severely circumscribed circle drawn around women in the 50s, because none of those choices fit her? Maybe she wasn't wishy washy but trapped? I'll have to read the book to find out!

#266: No, Mac, you didn't miss a review of The Crossing. I haven't read it yet, but I do have a copy somewhere, so I just need to buy Cities of the Plain. I absolutely love McCarthy, and plan on reading all of his books in the next year or two.

#267: Tui, I actually think I agree with you. I was less annoyed with Eilis' character than Darryl or Deborah, and I think it is because I saw her as more of a product of her time, which, like you said, was far less liberating than today. Sometimes it is difficult to view characters within their own time, rather than our own - when I read Outlander earlier this year, for example, I had difficulty suspending my modern sensibilities, and so I think I was a bit harsher on the book than I should have been.

Brooklyn Spoilers (again)

267> I'm not so sure I'd lay it all down to choices one could make in the 1950s. For one thing, Eilis had premarital sex. Yes, she had a lot of Catholic guilt afterwards and repented. But she believed she was in love, and she did end up marrying the guy--supposedly for love, not from guilt. Her situation seemed more like a case of "When I'm not near the one I love, I love the one I'm near."

But I agree that she didn't have much choice in the end. Once the local woman threatened to reveal her marriage, she couldn't very well keep carrying on with Jim. Even had she been able to get an annulment, it wouldn't have been looked upon well in her small town.

What bothered me so much was how good Tony was to her, the fact that she loved him until she left him, and that her husband seemed nonexistent as soon as some other handsome bloke showed her interest. Maybe that's supposed to be the modern attitude clashing with the traditional . . . but I think people today still value commitment, despite the divorce rate.

I just picked up a copy of The Orchard Keeper the other day. It's a short one and I may get to it before the end of the year. we should chat before you read Blood Meridian And I would recommend leaving that one for last probably.

#269: Brooklyn certainly has sparked quite the discussion here - maybe it should win the Booker, if only because it seems to be a book we can all debate. I read last year's winner, The White Tiger, and while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure if it really made me think. Brooklyn, and all the discussion we are having about it, is making me consider how I feel about Toibin's writing, his characterization, etc. That is the mark of an award-worthy book, IMHO. Deborah, Darryl, and anyone else - would you have been happier if Eilis had stayed in Ireland with Jim? I think I would have been dissatisfied with that ending too - what really bothered me in the end is that we know her decision, but we don't know how it played out in the end.

#270: You have read Blood Meridian, right Mac? I've heard it is his toughest book, though they are all pretty bleak.

Well you've all made me want to bump "Brooklyn" up the tbr pile, that's for certain. I'm eager to see if I can cess out what Toibin was getting at with it.

what really bothered me in the end is that we know her decision, but we don't know how it played out in the end.

Oh, yes, that, too. I really liked Tony, and I wanted it to work out well for him. I felt badly that he ended up being the "no choice" choice; he deserved better. I would have been happier not if Eilis had stayed in Ireland, but if she had gone back to the US for better reasons and with a better attitude. She seemed to feel it was her punishment or ill fate . . .

I know what you mean about The White Tiger. I also enjoyed it, but when I finished, I just went on to something else.

Good points, Cait. It certainly should make the longlist, IMO, and even though I haven't read all of the longlisted books, I would not be unhappy if Brooklyn won.

I didn't become very annoyed with Eilis until she returned to Ireland and started toying with Jim. So, I completely agree with Cariola's statement in message #269. And I agree that I wanted to know what happened upon her return to Brooklyn. But, I'm guessing that his decision to leave us hanging was an intentional one.

I would have been highly annoyed and upset with Eilis if she had decided to stay in Ireland and marry Jim.

I think I'll look for audio or transcripted interviews of Tóibín about Brooklyn later this week, as I'd love to get his thoughts on the book. With any luck, Michael Silverblatt, the host of Bookworm, will interview Tóibín in the near future.

BTW, I completely agree with the assessments of The White Tiger. It was a unique and pleasurable but not particularly memorable read.

274> The New York Times had a lengthy interview with Toibin a few months ago. The writer spent a day with him visiting places mentioned in the book and talking about his life and his writing of Brooklyn.

>#252:
Marcia;
I have The Virgin in the Garden (unread) in my bookcase without even realizing it was part of a series. I am so glad I decided to catch up on
Cait's thread tonight. I learned something. That I need to buy 3 more books!~! Whoo hoo!~! There goes that promise to myself. Thank you allthesedarnbooks for filling me in.
belva

Thanks, Cariola; I had forgotten about that interview. Here is a link to the article:

His Irish Diaspora

That was a good read, Darryl. Thanks for the link.

>277 rainpebble:, You're welcome, belva! Lol. It's a wonderful series, IMO.

Yep, Cait, I read Blood Meridian and it is edgy. But the reason to read it last is more because he really ponders his biggest themes more carefully - arbitrariness of life and violence; the random in life; and the nature of good vs. evil in people.

I really liked a great deal but I would read some of the others so you get a feel for him first.

I don't find his work bleak, really. For instance, The Road is one everyone says is dark but I found a great deal of hope in it; the relationship between the father and son and the lengths he goes to in protecting his son. It said a lot about the spirit of one man against the forces of evil.

Actually, I think I agree with you, Mac. "Bleak" is the wrong word - harsh, I guess, is what I meant. Life is certainly never easy for the characters in McCarthy's books. But, like you said, there is a lot of hope as well. I really didn't find The Road to be any darker than any other end-of-the-world novel. I love that his characters undergo such difficult times, yet ultimately they keep going. They never give up on life, and I think that shows a lot about McCarthy's world-view. Maybe life is random, but that doesn't mean that you stop living it.

I'll leave Blood Meridian for the end, then - I want to focus on a few authors next year, and McCarthy is one of them.

<<rubbing hands with glee at Brooklyn discussion>>

once Eilis began her own life in Brooklyn, I would have liked her to grow a bit more backbone

AMEN TO THAT.

What bothered me so much was how good Tony was to her, the fact that she loved him until she left him, and that her husband seemed nonexistent as soon as some other handsome bloke showed her interest

And an even more emphatic AMEN to that one.

On reflection, I think even more than her passivity, I was infuriated by the blank, unreflecting nature of Eilis's reactions. The book is full of her 'noticing' stuff - important details - so we know that she's an intelligent girl, with an awareness of what is going on around her and the ability to think about it critically. Yet she seems remarkably short on consideration of her own actions. I would have liked to have seen (and would have found more convincing) a little more thought in there. And the way she treated Tony made me SO cross.

Has been a real pleasure to come on here and read more verdicts of Brooklyn that accord with my own experience - there have been so many glowing and fulsome reviews that I have at times wondered if I read the same book... I do wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read it on paper rather than on-screen though.

#283: Rachael, I did not care for it either. I liked Toibin's The Master so much better!

Oh, oh, I just received both of them in the post and am so wanting to love both of them.
Hi Cait86, FlossieT, BDB, and Stasia!~!
hugs,
belva

***whistles off into the distant threads ignoring everything said regarding Brooklyn***

Hi Cait - waaaaay back before you were talking about Brooklyn, or Laclos (Cruel Intentions is a great film, great to see it checking in there), you mentioned Irish novels and non-fiction. Some suggestions:

Inventing Ireland - Decland Kiberd: really interesting book about "modern" (not very modern, since it was published in about 1995, but still relatively modern) Irish literature. He also has a new book out called Ulysses and Us, which is meant to be not so much about Ulysses as the sort of modern relationship with Irish reading.

The Gonne-Yeats Letters 1893-1938 (no touchstone, but it should be in my library) are well worth getting hold of for a different view on early 20th century Irish history/politics.

Novels:

Anne Enright always name-checked - she has a sort of collected stories out this year, Yesterday's Weather. I haven't read The Gathering myself and it provokes extreme reactions.

Siobhan Dowd - A Swift Pure Cry is wonderful, and she won this year's Carnegie Medal (UK children's award, roughly equivalent to the Newbery) with Bog Child which sounds fantastic.

Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture is one of my personal favourites, although it's not to everyone's taste - I hear that he's consistently very good, although I haven't yet read any of the other books of his that I've acquired.

I know you said "novels", but I would also highly recommend the plays of Brian Friel - especially Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa - and poetry of Seamus Heaney. There's a new collection of conversations with him by Dennis O'Driscoll, Stepping Stones, which sounds fascinating.

Just a few off-the-top-of-my-head ideas, and I'm sure I can come back with many more if you're interested. A very good friend of mine is a fluent Irish speaker (in fact, she's an old Irish academic!) so I'm sure can reel off a list of Books You Ought To Read!

Moya Cannon's poetry: Oar, The Parchment Boat, Carrying the Songs
Sean O'Caseys plays
oh yes to Seamus Heaney
Paul Muldoon's poetry (he's written a ton)
I'll keep thinking...

Hey Cait... Congrats on hitting 75, I'm catching up on your thread. I, too have gotten the, "you know you have to spend over $200 on books for that Chapters card" line of conversation. Meanwhile, my parents pushed to start getting it many years ago because they knew my habits. Also, wanted to let you know that I did read Anne of Green Gables for your July Canada month, and I loved it! Call me a convert!

Wow, lots to get caught up on. It has been a particularly stressful week for me, but the good news is that I officially have a teaching job starting in February! I will be teaching English at the high school level, but that is all I know so far. There might be an earlier opportunity in October or November, but until then I will just supply. For those of you who are not in Ontario, this probably does not sound like that big of a deal, but it is actually very, very difficult to get a teaching job in Ontario right now. It is a very desirable career - I think there are lots of people who like it for the excellent pay, fantastic holidays, and a pension and benefits plan that anyone would like, rather than for the students, which is sad - and so there are wayyyy too many qualified teachers right now. Plus, anyone who doesn't get accepted to teachers' college in Ontario can go to Australia, where they have a program that is recognized by Ontario College of Teachers. Just to give an example, I have applied for about thirty jobs, and have had one interview. The position I was hired for had over 150 applicants, all of whom applied over a three day period. Of my group of friends from teachers' college, only 5 of us have a job so far, out of 26. But, don't let my pessimism fool you - teaching is an incredible career, and I can't wait to start!

Anyway, back to books. I owe a review for Love and Summer, and will probably post it later tonight.

#285: Belva, don't get me wrong - there were problems with Brooklyn, but as a whole I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm looking forward to reading more Toibin, particularly The Master, since Stasia recommends it so highly.

#286 and 287: Rachael and Tui, thanks for the Irish recs! I can't wait to check them out next year, and then to actually travel to Ireland. My friend and I already have it all worked out - London for a week, Dublin for 5 days, Galway for 3 days, the Dingle Peninsula for 3 days, and then back to England to Bath for 4 days. I am itching to travel after not going anywhere this year, and reading about a place always makes it that much more interesting. I know I definitely want to read a general historic overview of the country too, even though I dread non-fiction.

#288 - Yes, an Anne of Green Gables convert!!! Now you just have to read the other seven novels....and then the Emily books....and then....

Oh, I MUST throw in my very favorite read of 2008: The Deportees by Roddy Doyle. Marvelous collection of short stories focused on the "invasion" of people from Eastern Europe, Africa, and elsewhere during the relatively recent economic boom in Ireland. The stories are very diverse but all wonderful--some funny, some sad, some that will make you angry, some that will give you hope. Doyle has written a number of popular Irish novels, including Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and The Commitments.

Martin McDonagh is a quirky and very original contemporary playwright.

Eavan Boland is another wonderful contemporary Irish poet.

I once had a beer with Seamus Heaney in Dooley's bar in Ann Arbor. Such a nice man--and about as Irish an Irish poet as you can get.

Congratulations Cait!!! That's great news.

Add my congratulations to Darryl's. That is wonderful news.

Congratulations from me, too!

#290: Deborah, if The Deportees was your favourite book of 2008, then it is definitely on my list for 2010. Thanks for mentioning all of those titles - oh, and I am jealous that you have met Seamus Heaney!

#291, 292 and 293: Thanks Darryl, Stasia and Tymfos! I'm really excited for February!! My classes will definitely be English courses, which every student needs to take all four years of high school. I'm not sure what grades I will be teaching, but I am betting grades 9 and 10 (our equivalent of freshman and sophomore year) because new teachers tend to get the younger years. This is fine by me - as long as I have a job!

I'm with Cait; The Deportees is definitely going on my Amazon wish list. I have Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, which is a Booker Prize winner, and hope to get to it later this year.

Book #84: Love and Summer by William Trevor

Trevor's newest novel is Longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, and like fellow nominee The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds, Love and Summer is beautifully written but lacking in meaning.

The jacket blurb describes the plot as a passionate love affair between Ellie, a woman in a marriage of convenience, and Florian, a failure of a man who is leaving Ireland to start over. All of this takes place in a small Irish town in the 1950s.

Somehow though, I really don't think this is what Trevor is writing about. This slim 212 page novel is mainly filled with the internal thoughts - often mentally unstable ones - of the townsfolk, most of whom are underdrawn characters. The sub-plots are barely there, and while they show hints of paralleling the main story, the lack of depth means that they are just unnecessary. Ellie's love for Florian is difficult to understand, as he may be the most infuriating character I have encountered this year.

Beyond all this though, there is Trevor's writing - which is exceptional. His ability to place the reader in a character's mind, to detail the confusion of emotions, the random nature of thoughts, is what makes Love and Summer worthwhile. Even though the story and characters drove me crazy, the writing kept me interested.

3.5 stars

Cait, I am absolutely delighted for you. I AM from Ontario and I do know how hard it is to get one of these teaching positions. Well done. You must have given a sparkling interview.

One hundred fifty applicants! Wow! You should be proud of yourself. Congratulations! I loved Roddy Doyle's book, Paddy Clarke, Ha! Ha! Ha! I'll put Deportees on my list of good short story collections.

#289: Ack! There's more Green Gables-y stuff? LOL. Maybe I should convince someone to get me a set for Xmas, that'll be the best way to ensure I'll read all of them. Congrats on getting the position, I didn't know that ONT was so competitive. All my friends who got teaching degrees seem to have settled here in AB pretty easily. Some had to do some non-traditional teaching first (ESL, special needs, or adult ed.) for a month to a year before they found a position, but they're all in schools now.

Cait - Congratulations on your job!!! That is wonderful news. I know you will be an excellent English teacher.

Congrats from one English teacher to another!

Cait, I just noticed that the Giller Prize longlist will be announced on September 21. I'm planning to follow this award this year for the first time, as I'm not familiar with Canadian literature, but I doubt I'll do a "Gillerthon". Which books would you (and other Canadian LTers) like to see on the list?

Thanks Tui, Bonnie, Cauterize, Porch_reader, and Deborah! It is so nice to have all this friendly support :)

#302: Darryl, I was looking forward to the Giller Prize more than usual this year, because both Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro have new books out, and were both bound to be nominated. It would have been quite the battle. However, it was recently released that Munro was removing her novel from the prize. I still hope Atwood's The Year of the Flood is nominated, and I'm guessing Anne Michaels' The Winter Vault will be as well.

I am loving my foray into the Booker novels, so I will probably read the Giller novels too.

>296 Cait86: 200% endorse your verdict on the Trevor!

And very well done on the job - fantastic news.

Congratulations on your new job!

Wow -what a feather in your cap. congrats on your teaching position - they will surely find they made a great decision!

Congratulations on your job! And glad to know you're one of those doing it for the teaching part of it rather than the perks. I have a very healthy respect for good teachers.

Congratulations!!! Bit different from here where there is a shortage of teachers, but there are put under an enormous amount of stress for not enough money so I guess that would be why.......

#304: Thanks Rachael - I've read so, so many positive reviews of Trevor's novel that I was beginning to think that I seriously missed something. Glad to know I have company on this one!

Thanks everyone for the congrats :)

#308: Luna, actually one of my friends from teachers' college just moved to England to teach - she was hired there in a second. All kinds of agencies try to recruit Canadians to teach overseas. My friend is living in Gosport, and so far is loving it, though I guess the structure of the education system is very different from Ontario's.

Book #85: Greenwitch by Susan Cooper

Greenwitch, the third novel in Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence, is at 147 pages actually more of a novella. Like its predecessors, it is an enjoyable juvenile fantasy novel, and I will continue to read the series over the next few months.

Within the first few pages Cooper unites the characters from Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark is Rising, as Simon, Jane, and Barney join Great Uncle Merry for another holiday in Cornwall, accompanied by Will's Uncle and Aunt, who bring their nephew along. Conveniently, Merriman and Will's uncle happen to be friends. In Cornwall adventures begin, with a new agent of the Dark to battle with, and mysterious local ceremonies to attend.

Like with The Dark is Rising, I still have a few unanswered questions, and I often feel that Cooper moves too fast in her writing, without taking the time to properly explain what is going on. Nonetheless, I find this series interesting, and Greenwitch was a nice light break from the heavier reading that I have been doing lately.

4 stars

Yes, I would imagine you are correct saying the education system is very different. I don't know too much about the differences though.

Oh, and........could we possibly have a new thread? My wi-fi is complaining slightly ;)

Well, if you insist!

Follow my reading over here.