The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

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Rachel is a headstrong, fiercely independent young, Jewish woman living with her family on the island of St. Thomas in the early 1800’s.  Unfortunately, when her father’s business falters, it appears that the only solution is to marry Rachel off to an older man (with 3 young children), so that the two businesses can merge and hopefully prosper.  Rachel is devastated, as this certainly will delay the realization of her dream, which is to one day sail off to live in Paris.  Her best friend, and housemaid, Jestine, tries to convince her to resist, but she too is powerless in resisting the cultural pressures of her time and status as a woman.  The two of them experience many heartbreaks and successes together as the saga of their lives moves forward.  The one success that Rachel achieves, although this is one that causes her great pain as well, is that she ultimately becomes the mother of Camille Pissarro, the painter.

The writing of the tale is as lyrical as Pissarro’s paintings themselves.  The author paints both St. Thomas and Paris with words, filling in the hues, the aromas, the sensations of each world. There is also a great amount of magic and fantasy, as Rachel’s faith mixes with that of the native culture of St. Thomas, and conjures up many fictional, imaginative stories that Rachel records for herself and for her children.  And although there are a few paragraphs in which the author sort of meanders onto sidetracks, it is a story that keeps one glued because the characters are ones you don’t ever want to leave.

I admire Alice Hoffman for telling the story from Pissarro’s mother’s perspective.  It is not just a fictionized biography, but it is truly a story of a strong woman in a time when women weren’t allowed to be strong.  She shows how difficult the times were and how women’s powerlessness was analogous to that of the slaves at the time.   Neither could own property, could determine who they would marry, or truly had control over decisions that were made for them by the men in their lives.   This further deepened the emotional strength of the story.

Oh, how I’d love to go back to the Musee D’Orsay now!

Giliad by Marilynne Robinson

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This very beautiful novel is written as a letter from an elderly, dying Reverend, John Ames, to his very young son.  The Reverend is the third generation leader in his small congregation in his smaller town on the American Plains.  As he reflects on his own life, and those of his father and grandfather, he also is visited by his friend’s son, who is in trouble and seeking help of some sort.  There is clearly a very unusual relationship between this man and John Ames, and this creates the little story line that carries the novel.

This is not the kind of book that grabs you  with action and holds you to the end.  This is more the type of book that you have to read slowly, to let the words wash over you so that you can absorb the wisdom within these pages.  It is reflective and pensive and peaceful, and I found myself re-reading many passages in order to appreciate them fully.  And while it is religious, in a sense, it is also universal and I feel that anyone from any background can appreciate the beauty in the words written here.

Read this, take your time, and re-read the lines so that you, too, can love this book as I do.

 

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

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Lily has always felt as if she were in the shadow of Budgie, the worldly one in the center of all the attention.  Having spent summers together on the small peninsula of Seaview, RI, although she’s grown and at Smith College, she still feels inferior to Budgie who is able to navigate the world of men so smoothly – or at least, that is what is feels like.  As Lily begins her romance with a football star from Dartmouth, Nick, she learns gradually, as we do, that things are not exactly as they appear to be.

The author utilizes a back and forth, between time periods 7 years apart, which tells the story from 2 sides and maintains a great aura of suspense. The characters are beautiful, the writing is elegant and the story whips into a twisted plot and a stormy ending.

Another beautiful story by Beatriz Williams!

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

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Once again, JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith, has written a suspenseful and dark — in truth, absolutely gruesome! – novel that was as fun to read as the first two.  This is the third in this detective series starring Cormoran Strike, the very imperfect, one-legged war hero turned PI.  His assistant/partner, Robin, an equally likable character, receives a woman’s severed leg delivered by courier to her at their shared office, and so this murder mystery begins.

The story is told from the perspectives of Cormoran, Robin and the killer (whose identity is not revealed until the end, but whose intentions and very psychotic way of thinking builds more and more suspense) and each of them brings a very dynamic and very human quality to the story.  You really care about each of them (well, not the killer of course) and you can’t stop reading until you know what happens to each of them.  And in this book, we learn more about both Cormoran’s and Robin’s pasts, which are both tragic in their own ways and really create that much more depth to their characters.

There of course is also an underlying attraction/tension between Cormoran and Robin, who are both determined to keep their relationship purely professional.  They clearly have a mutual respect for each other’s intelligence and finesse and they are a great team.  You can’t help wanting them to get together!

So while this book is not for anyone with a weak stomach, most will enjoy the ride!

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

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It is difficult to start to write about a book that has consumed me for the past 2 months.

This 1079 page book (about 100 pages are footnotes) takes place in a futuristic country which is a conglomerate of the US, Canada and Mexico.  There has been a restructuring and a Canadian faction is secretly trying to win back independence.  We meet 2 spies, each for the “other side” during a conversation they are having about their philosophical and political views.  We meet Hal, a student at a private tennis academy which happens to be the one his recently deceased father established.  We meet Gately, a former drug addict who is a counselor at a residential drug rehab facility that happens to be near the tennis academy.  And so on.   Gradually, what starts as a series of random-seeming vignettes is verbally knit into a fabric of intense and dense story.

The writing in this book is both brilliant and poorly edited, in my opinion.  The author has an encyclopedic knowledge of the world and his vocabulary, both real and invented, is extraordinary.   Scenes that he creates with his words become so tangible you feel you can touch and even smell the characters in them.  At times he changes the writing style to fit a character so drastically you wonder if you’re reading the same book.   And each character, whether tangential or not, is given a full description and many have their own minor “word-binge” about an event that sort of defines them as a character.  What detracts from this, though, is that sometimes these word binges are too long, too dreary or just too repetitive.  There are many times I felt that details could have been edited out.  More might have been relegated to the footnotes, although those were complicated enough as it was (the footnotes have additional story lines – not just explanations of the terms and abbreviations use, although some did).

And while there are some very funny and clever scenes, the tone of the book is pretty sad.  Most of the characters are depicted as having come from families with bizarre or abusive issues, who are trying to live their lives but who end up spinning their wheels and never get where they want to go.  Almost no one is happy, almost no one is fulfilled.  Most are searching and working to move ahead and are thwarted in some way.  Drugs and sexual abuse are pervasive and there is a feeling of hopelessness underlying much of the action in the story.

The inspiration for my reading this book stemmed both from the movie, The End of the Tour, which depicted the true story of the author’s book tour to promote this book in the mid-1990’s.  A young writer for Rolling Stone Magazine decided to follow him and write an article about the experience and the movie is about the philosophical conversations the 2 writers have about everything and the relationship that develops between the 2 of them.  It is a very touching movie and extremely well-acted and aroused an interest in the book, which got enormous critical acclaim.  The other factor was that my son proposed that we read it together so that we could discuss it along the way.  It was really his persistence that kept me honest and reading it till the end.  (Thanks Michael!)

So while this is not a “fun” read or a “light” read, or even a short read, it is an intense, educational, and literarily broadening read for anyone with a lot of time!

I challenge you!

 

 

Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley

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You may have seen this movie – I did years ago and really loved it.  But if you want to read something really fun, you’ll try the book!

Nick Naylor has one of the most challenging and unpopular jobs in the country – he is the primary spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies (a lobbying group for cigarette companies) in Washington.  In other words, he is a professional spin doctor who makes his living trying to convince others that there really is no proof that cigarettes can hurt you.  He is generally ok with being unpopular and brushes off his hate mail fairly callously; that is, until, during an appearance on a popular daytime TV talk show, his life is threatened by a particularly venomous caller who appears to be – and ultimately is – a true threat.  How Nick gets through this calamity brings the reader through plot twists that are wickedly and absolutely fun.

The best part of this book, for me, was the writing.  It is full of dark humor, sarcasm and wit.  Nick meets regularly with two other spokespeople (alcohol and gun lobbies), who call themselves the “Mod” Squad – only the MOD stands for Merchants of Death.  Their conversations alone are worth reading!  There is so much self-deprecation and funereal humor that I laughed out loud.

It is a crazy premise for a book, really, but it works – and it works really well! Highly recommend it!

The Rocks by Peter Nichols

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Out of the stunning beauty of the Mediterranean, on the isle of Mallorca, grows the story of Lulu and Gerald, whose marriage years ago, that was cut short by tragedy, has a lingering effect on everything and everyone that comes afterwards.  Lulu has moved on, to marry and divorce again, but to have given birth to Luc, to whom she is sometimes neglectful and sometimes movingly devoted. Most importantly, she is now running the successful resort, called “The Rocks,” where much of the story takes place.  Gerald, too, has moved on, to marry and have a beautiful daughter, Aegina, whose life also intersects with Luc’s.

It is the telling of the story, though, that is unique.  It is told by peeling off layer by layer of time in reverse order, almost in vignettes or short stories, but still clearly interconnecting.  As each layer is uncloaked, we learn more and more about each character — in the way a psychologist would, by digging deeper and deeper into one’s chronology to find the root of a behavior.   In these layers  are hidden some very deeply disturbing events, told so subtly that the full impact seems to hit in a delayed fashion.  The whole effect is actually quite powerful and the more I think about the story, the more I appreciate it.

There is a lot that is sad about this book, but there is beauty and culture as well.  An excellent read!

 

George by Alex Gino

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I diverged a bit by reading this latest book, as it is a children’s book – but it is on a subject that is utterly important and I was very curious.

George feels she’s been fighting the feeling for so long — that she is truly a girl, in spite of what she has between her legs.  Everyone has so many expectations of her – she’ll grow into a man, she’ll be comfortable in the boys’ bathroom, she’ll play the role of Wilbur when her class performs the story of Charlotte’s Web.  Well, what if she really wants to play Charlotte?  Her best friend, Kelly, becomes her ally as she slowly finds a voice for her feelings and gradually comes to terms with who she really is and what will make her happy.

I believe that this book is important, even while it may not be utterly realistic.  While George is definitely teased by the class bully for being “girlie,” there is also general acceptance of who she is on the whole.  George’s brother (who’d assumed George was gay, which is a common mistake), was almost instantly accepting, as was her mother (once she “got it”), and her best friend.  I appreciate that this is a positive light in which to introduce the concept, hopefully promoting the idea that revealing one’s true gender identity is safe.  Sadly, this is not always true.

And while the writing is a bit drab and the humor attempts fairly lame, the book is so important that I pray it is used in classrooms to promote discussions among children.  Hopefully, this will normalize transitioning and create safe places for children and adolescents to do so.

The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams

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This was my favorite book of the summer!

Vivian has stumbled on the makings of a news story from her own family, when she receives a suitcase from an aunt she’s never heard about before, who is rumored to have killed her husband and run off with her lover.  In tracking down the details of her aunt’s romantic history, she also becomes embroiled in a romantic “situation” of her own.  And what starts as a simple tale of the heart actually broadens to a historical fiction saga of more worldly proportions.

I’m being vague about the description here because I don’t want to give anything of this twisting and turning novel away.  The author throws curve balls when the reader least expects them and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone lucky enough to read this book.

The writing of this book is exquisite!  The voice of Vivian is delightful – with a playful and biting edge and air of self-deprecation.   And the voices switch from Vivian to her aunt Violet, as the time switches back and forth as well.  I found myself giggling throughout, even as the plot thickens and becomes quite suspenseful, there is always humor to lighten the tone.

Between the writing, the gorgeous characters, and the story itself, this is a great read for all.  A definite “Must read!”

The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips

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I was very excited to read this book, as I had a bit of insight into the writing of this book.  At BookCon, in May of this year, I was lucky enough to attend a session with an author, an agent, and an editor to learn about the process of a book being published through the eyes of each of these essential figures.  It was this book that was discussed at that session, and each of the individuals was really interesting to listen to.  The author spoke of the arduous process of writing the book, delivering it to the agent, who initially rejected it.  It went back to the author, who sat on it for a year (during which she’d given birth to her daughter) and then she went about the process of trimming it down quite a bit.  The new version went back to the agent, who now liked it and passed it on to the editor.  The editor, in turn, then felt it needed to be filled in just a bit and so some detail was added to the book – and then it was published.  It was a surprisingly drawn out process, the making of this book.  It really made me appreciate how many authors spend years writing and possibly never get published.  On the other hand, those who do get published, may need to be flexible and responsive to many opinions.

Unfortunately, this book was very different from the books I usually enjoy – and I’m having a hard time trying to describe it.  It’s a futuristic glimpse of a woman, Josephine, balancing a boring/rote job with her life as a married woman.  Her boss remains throughout the story identified only as “The Person with Bad Breath” and never even attains a gender.  Her husband, Joseph, disappears frequently without explanation and somehow makes all the decisions about where they are to live, switching them from apartment to apartment with no input from Josephine.  The ending is something of a twist on each of their jobs and somehow makes a very bizarre statement about the determination of birth and death.

I think the problem with the story, besides the obvious bizarre details, is that none of the characters is at all real.  Even Josephine, who is the main character, remains 2-dimensional.  Her husband, Joseph, is even more remote and unrealistic.  I think this is intentional, giving each an automaton-like feel, but it does not do anything to really engage the reader.

Not my favorite, unfortunately…