The 19th Wife (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff

This historical fiction novel tells 2 stories:  one is a faux autobiographical/historical archival tale of a woman named Ann Eliza Young, who broke off from the Latter-Day Saints to speak out against polygamy.  The other is a modern-day murder mystery in which an outcast from a sect of Mormonism is called back to rescue his mother who is accused of killing his father, a polygamist.  As the author jumps back and forth between the 2 stories, the 2 become connected by their similar themes.  Each in its own way builds up its own suspense and keeps the reader guessing what will happen next.

The author’s use of various means and voices is interesting.  He not only switches voices but switches types of accounts of the stories.  He uses first person narrator for the current-day story.  He uses various “accounts” (fictional autobiographical, letters, diary entries) to give the story of what happened in the 1800’s.  And interestingly the story is based on actual memoirs of Ann Eliza Young and historical archives.

The real drama, though, is in the depiction in both of these story lines of the emotional toll that polygamy takes on the wives, the husbands, and worst, the children.  The women become obsolete in their own homes and are demoted as each next wife is taken, which of course breeds jealousy, hatred and fear.  The men who have a conscience are torn between their true love for their first wives and their lust for more. They struggle with the balance that is impossible to achieve.  And the children are basically anonymous numbers, unless of course, they distinguish themselves by being at all different and/or not following the “rules.”  Then they are banished from everything they know and love.

I learned so much about the origins of the Mormon religion — how it came to be and how it evolved into what it is today.  The issue of polygamy was crucial in its beginnings and while Mormonism has evolved beyond polygamy for the most part, there are sects that one can find throughout the U.S., evidently, that are still practicing this destructive lifestyle.  This book helps to articulate how difficult it can be to live in this cultish environment and again how difficult it can be to break away.

 

Can You Keep a Secret?

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

After reading The Storyteller, this is just what I needed!  I think Kinsella’s books are my secret (although not anymore!) vice.  They are light and a little predictable but they are cute, a little outlandish and really fun to read.  In this one, the main character, Emma, is a young, ambitious marketing assistant who is sent on a business trip to represent her company.  She has had a dismal experience and on her flight home, after a few drinks and some extreme turbulence, confesses all her deepest, darkest secrets to a complete stranger.  Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case turns out to be, this stranger shows up again at her office — because he’s the founder of her company.

It’s quirky and contrived but makes for a fun read.  Perfect beach reading — unfortunately for me, it’s snowing out!

Wonder (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Wonder by R. J. Palacio

This is the tender story of August, a 10 year old boy who is normal in every way except for his face, which had been devastated by a facial deformity called mandibulofacial dysostosis.  This genetic abnormality gives August the kind of face that scares small children and adults alike.  Up until the book begins, August has been home schooled, but before he starts 5th grade, which is middle school in his New York City district, his parents decide that he should begin to attend regular school.  This book carries August through this first year, which is fraught with the expected difficulties and made beautiful by moments of bravery and true friendship.

The themes of this book are universal, as they champion the ideal of inclusion and tolerance of others.  Anyone who has ever survived middle school knows that this is a harrowing time for even the most attractive, smart, or athletic individuals, but anyone with anything that is not perfect is screwed! August has to confront the involuntary reactions that everyone has to initially seeing his face, but he also has to endure the alienation of the children who are both afraid of him and mean to him.  On the contrary, he also learns that there are some children who do not worry about what others think of them and those children are the heroes of the story.

The story is also told from different voices, which adds so much to this book.  We hear from August, from his sister Via, and from others in the book who give their account of what is happening to August.  I love having these other narratives because it gives that much more depth to the story.

Some would argue that it is silly to read this book because it’s meant for children.  It is true that I am reading it because my 10-year old son asked me to.  But this book is absolutely for adults as well.  Who among us can say that they cannot be more tolerant and inclusive of others?  Who needs not be reminded of the difficulties of others and how important it is to be sensitive to what others need?

This book speaks to us all.

The Confidant (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Confidant by Helene Gremillon

When Camille, an editor in Paris whose mother has just died, opens what she anticipates is another condolence letter and instead finds the beginning of a story of romance and intrigue.  Each week she receives another installment, each with a new hint that suggests this story is not fiction but rather a message linking her to the main characters.  And with each installment comes a new perspective on the events that occur, enlightening both Camille and the reader to a different layer of the story.

Mainly, the story is about a lie that leads to another and another.  And each character has to fabricate his or her own version in order to survive what becomes a tangle of lies.

The book is a quick read that is very hard to put down.  It’s the kind of book that you can’t get your head out of until you reach the end.  Even when you are not reading, you are still thinking about the characters and feeling their struggles and their pain and trying to understand what is, indeed, the truth.  For each of the characters lives their own truth.  It is heartbreaking and tragic and there are many casualties of the lies.   But there is hope, too, in the untangling.

I’d love to hear what others think of this book.  It would be a great book club book!

The Chaperone (migrated from Bookblogger)

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The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

More than the beautiful writing and the wonderful character portraits drawn in this book, I loved the message contained in these pages.  In the telling of this story about Cora, a woman with grown children who volunteers to chaperone a bratty teenager, Louise Brooks, to New York City in her quest for stardom, the author so articulately writes the wisdom that the generations can learn from each other.  Cora begins as a fairly stodgy and righteous old coot who is very concerned about maintaining her charge’s reputation.  Louise, on the other hand, is determined to act out and rebel against all of this and does not care at all what anyone thinks.  As the story progresses, however, they both learn that they need to do what they can to make themselves happy and that staying with the status quo does not always accomplish that.

The reader cannot help loving Cora, who is very human and very wise.  There are dilemmas and difficulties in her life that are not what she ever anticipates, but she finds a way to cope and find happiness.  She, in her own way, becomes something of a rebellious one, and she accepts change more than even she would have ever imagined.

The book is also historical fiction, giving the reader a close-up of the small town perspective on the 1920’s through the second world war and beyond.  The social evolution that Cora is a part of is very reflective of the changes occurring during these radical times.  And while Cora is a victim of some of the early prejudices, she becomes something of an instrument of change in her later years.  Her understanding of the urgency for this change to occur is so beautifully summed up by my favorite quote in the book, “she would owe this understanding to her time in New York, and even more to Louise.  That’s what spending time with the young can do — it’s the big payoff for all the pain.  the young can exasperate, of course, and frighten, and condescend, and insult, and cut you with their still unrounded edges.  But they can also drag you, as you protest and scold and try to pull away, right up the the window of the future, and even push you through.”

Accelerated (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Accelerated by Bronwen Hruska

Wow, this one shoots right through the hearts of all of us parents who struggle with children with ADHD.  It doesn’t necessarily outright bash medication for the treatment of this disorder, but it sure calls into question the legitimacy of treating this very real medical/educational issue.

The story is about a father, Sean, whose son is enrolled in an elite Manhattan private elementary school.  As it turns out, Sean, a recently separated father of this 3rd grader, is pressured by the authorities in his son’s school to have his son evaluated for learning issues, and specifically for ADHD. Under duress, he follows through and the results are nearly disastrous.  In the process, the father discovers that he is not the first to be pressured by the school and learns more about the devious practices of the school as well.

It’s a good book — solid characters that the reader can easily like and relate to, and a plot that works its way into your heart.  It’s actually hard to put down.

But its message, while ringing a bit true, can put even more pressure on parents who are struggling to make decisions about the welfare of their children.  Without giving too much away, there is a lot of bias in this book against medications that treat ADHD.  True, these medications are not benign and are probably now the most abused drugs on the market.  But they are also a godsend to those who truly struggle to remain attentive in school and can give back self esteem to children when its fallen through its foundation.  In truth, the onus is upon the diagnosing physician/psychologist/psychiatrist to abide by the diagnostic criteria and do a proper analysis of all the information available (including formalized testing).  Once this is established, the many treatment options must be considered, medication being only one of them.  But if medication is deemed appropriate in this ideal scenario, and is carefully monitored and evaluated, it can be a gift to the child who truly suffers.  This must be remembered while reading this book…

The Paris Wife (migrated from Bookblogger)

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The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain

This very elegant book is written from the fictional perspective of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley.  McLain, in the voice of Hadley, tells of their brief courtship and their young marriage.  Early on, they moved to Paris and lived a very French life in the 1920’s, drinking and socializing with the artists and intellectual elite of the day.  Gradually, as Ernest becomes caught up in his upward climb to notoriety, he alienates his friends and eventually his own true love, Hadley herself.  And while the story is ultimately quite sad, it is also very beautiful in so many ways that the reader is left with a sense that things had to be as they were.

The story is told so smoothly that this reader felt she was reading the diary of a close friend.  It is hard not to love Hadley and have compassion for her and yet, at the same time, there is compassion for Ernest as well.  Even while the reader watches the demise of the relationship, each character in his/her own way is real and multidimensional and therefore sympathetic as well.

It also is a beautiful piece of historical fiction, with insight into the very real “roaring” that went on in the 1920’s.  Intellectual ideas and the search for beauty and truth seemed to have frequently been drowned in alcohol and lust.  The loneliness and emotionality of the artist personality was almost cliche, but was depicted very realistically.

It inspired me to want to read some of Hemingway’s novels.  I just might do that…

Motherland (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Motherland by Amy Sohn

This book is to literature what All My Children is to television…  pure soap!  It centers around the yuppie neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn, where apparently no one really likes their kids, their spouses or their lives.  Every character is either cheating or being cheated on by their spouse, and the kids are resented for their mere existence.  The children are responsibilities and chores and not redeeming in any way.  And all that everyone really thinks about is having sex.  All the time.

The book also reads like a few stories combined into one with the characters intersecting at different points.  There are few actually likeable characters, which makes the book hard to connect with.  And the choppiness of the story leaves many threads dangling without resolution.

I have to confess, the only character I found truly amusing was the stroller stealer in the neighborhood!  Fed up with the yuppie moms who left strollers all over the neighborhood, this thief made what I considered quite the statement.  I kind of respected that…

Anyway, as you might have guessed, while this held my attention, it was not a great literature.

The Time Keeper (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

If you are looking for something that requires a little imagination and some flexibility, this is your book.  This is the very unusual story of Father Time — that is, how time began to be measured and by whom and what the impact of that measurement was on all the people who came after.  It is the story also of Sarah, who is a teenager who experiences her first heartbreak and of Victor, who is aged and ill but wants to extend his time on Earth as long as possible.  Father Time must reconcile his urge to measure time with leading the other 2 characters in how to appreciate the time they have without wishing it to be other than it is.

The story is told in a fairytale manner but it definitely reaches out to the reader and implores you to think about how you yourself consider time.  Certainly, anyone living/working in New York City, with the usual demands on one’s time can relate to the pressures therein.  Never enough time!  I can’t wait to get through this week!  I wish there were more hours in the day!  We all obsess about time.

We can all learn from the very urgent message in this book…  Appreciate the time you have and make the most of it.  And whatever it is, it is the right amount of time.  (I just hope I remember this when it comes to my next deadline …)

Beautiful Ruins (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

What a beautiful book, written so beautifully!  When a stunning American actress arrives at a tiny pension on a tinier island off the coast of Italy, Pasquale, the owner of the pension, cannot believe his luck.  Not only does he believe his father’s dream of their hotel becoming a hot spot for Americans may actually materialize, but he is also entranced by the beauty of this American.  As it happens, the American actress, Dee, of course has a story as does the naive but sincere Pasquale, but their lives are forever bound by this chance encounter.  The story is told in parts, bouncing back and forth between the time they meet in Italy, in 1962, and today, when Pasquale searches for her in America.  It also bounces from each of their stories to other characters that are woven into their tale, but it all works to keep the story moving and engaging.

The characters in this book are distinctive and each has a unique voice.  Each of them has been affected in some way by the 2nd world war and this shadows over some of their personalities.  In addition, the stories and the language of 1962 in the tiny village contrast so strikingly with those of the fast-paced action of the contemporary parts — and both are written with wit and an almost poetic rhythm.  I loved the writing in this book.

And it is one of the few books that give resolution and don’t leave you hanging at the end.  Thank you, Mr. Walter!