The Sacrifice of Tamar (migrated from Bookblogger)

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The Sacrifice of Tamar by Naomi Ragen

I should probably digest this book more before writing this blog entry…  there is so much to it.  The basic story is about Tamar, the good, obedient daughter of an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish family who after marrying a righteous, law-abiding Hassid, is raped by a black man.  She is so terrified to tell anyone for fear that she might be cut off or humiliated in some way, that she proceeds as planned to her mikvah, goes home to her husband, and pretends that nothing has happened.  Of course, about a month later, she notes that her period is late and she is in a panic.  What should she do?  What if this is her husband’s baby?  What if it isn’t?

In her turmoil, she turns to the 2 women who were always there for her, in a sense.  Her friend Hadassah, the rebellious daughter of the highly honored Rebbe, and her friend Jenny, who has chosen her faith along with her value of education and independance.  Each gives a voice to the various sides of the religion debate, and each is articulate and smart.  Hadassah, taken with the colorful choices in the world that are not allowed by the restrictive lifestyle of the ultra-faithful, seems to drift from one distraction to another without a purpose.  On the other hand, Tamar gives voice to the law and closed religious society, which gives structure and purpose, in spite of the choking need to hide anything that isn’t perfect, anything that will ruin a reputation and standing in the community.  Somewhere in between is the voice of Jenny, the voice that questions and seeks knowledge and individuality, but also loves the good teachings of the Torah, the ethics and the humanity that can be found there.

There is a lot of discussion of who is really faithful and good and who just gives the appearance of what is good.  Will Josh, Tamar’s husband come through and do what is good or will he obey the law, as Tamar sees it?  Will Tamar herself ever stop being hypocritical and stop hiding herself and her truth so that she can finally be happy and not criticize everyone else?

Again, Naomi Ragen has written another book that exposes the paradoxes of the religious Jewish community, where there is true beauty and there is also true ugliness.  A lot to think about!

I Still Dream About You (migrated from bookblogger)

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I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg

Eh.  Not my favorite…  This slightly weird story is about a woman in her 60’s who is planning to kill herself.  She is a former Miss Alabama and has had some disappointments in her life that have brought her to a place where she’s decided that the pro’s of living do not outweigh the cons.  However, her plan keeps getting interrupted by the various goings on in her work life.  Between the possible sale of her dream estate by her arch rival realtor and her best friend possibly having a heart attack, her plans get derailed.  But of course, she learns that things happen for a reason — and a good one at that.

In my opinion, Flagg (remember her?  Hollywood Squares…) is a very mediocre writer and the story is trite.  It’s a light read, though, and somewhat engaging and I guess if you are looking for an easy summer read, this fits the bill.  Better to look elsewhere, though…

The Temple of Gold (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Temple of Gold by William Goldman

This book, written by the author of The Princess Bride, was recommended to me by my daughter, who read it in her English class.  This story is about the coming of age of a young man named Ray Euripides Trevitt in a Chicago suburb in the 1950’s.  We first meet him as he forges a close friendship with his new next door neighbor, Zock.  The 2 of them begin their teens together innocently enough until tragedy befalls them.  The story tells of Ray’s struggle to cope in a family who does not discuss how to do this.

The voice of Ray is extremely effective.  He is blunt, sometimes crude, but always honest to the core.  He is very much a product of his time and circumstance and gives the reader a very interesting glimpse of life in the 1950’s.  Many refer to it as a simpler time, but as we see here, life has never been simple really.  Not for most, anyway.

This book is very engaging, the characters very real and 3-dimensional, and I wish I could’ve read it in a class, because I’m sure the discussions would be great!

Super Sad True Love Story (migrated from bookblogger)

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Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

I just finished this book and I’m still unsure as to whether I liked it or not.  It almost felt like work to read.  The love story between Lenny Abromov and Eunice Park begins with a fling in Italy during time abroad for both of them and continues as they return to a futuristic New York.  This new New York exists in a United States which has been demoted as a world power and is essentially a police state, which Lenny is learning the hard way.  In a very clever way, Shteyngart has taken familiar tidbits of our media-laden culture and driven them forward.  People wear “apparati” around their necks, essentially a cellphone-like device that not only streams broadcasts of individuals ranting and newscasts (much like our Facebook), but also is capable of projecting everything from your current net worth to your cholesterol levels.  There is some sarcasm in this but there is also a very dismal look toward our future, as this story unfolds.

I think the reason this book felt like work to read was that not only was the overall outlook so daunting, but the characters, mainly Lenny and Eunice, were not even very likable.  I was curious to hear what would come of New York City more than what would come of Lenny and Eunice.  I think the so-called love that existed between Lenny and Eunice was the kind of stupid love that existed between Romeo and Juliette (another unexplainable love story) — it just doesn’t make any sense.  Lenny sees her and is infatuated with her and she treats him like dirt and he continues to love her .  And then she begins to love him!

The book is extremely imaginative and interesting for its foresight and criticisms of our current culture.  It makes a strong statement about our current lack of value for education and reading and our constant need for media of any type.  However, it would have been more engaging if the characters had more charm and if their super sad love story was just a little more true.

Wedding Night (migrated from bookblogger)

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Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

I love Sophie Kinsella!  She can always be counted on to supply a light-hearted, fun read with a convoluted plot line that gradually untwists into an utterly happy ending.  And Wedding Night does not disappoint!

Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, cannot sit by and watch Lottie commit yet another “Unfortunate Choice,” Fliss’s name for the extreme reactions Lottie’s had after previous bad break-ups.  Unfortunately, Fliss seems to be having her own severe reaction, to the point where she’s orchestrating disaster on Lottie’s honeymoon in order to protect her.

There’s a lot of wincing and “oh, no’s” while you are reading this, but a lot of giggling as well.  It’s not Shakespeare, but it is great fun.  Perfect for the beach this summer!

All the Pretty Horses (migrated from bookblogger)

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All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

This book was recommended by a colleague at work as a very “masculine book,” and that is quite accurate.  It is the coming of age story of John Grady and his friend Rawlins, two teenage boys from Texas who ride their horses into Mexico in order to escape their family situations, and who find themselves in even stickier ones.  The story is gritty and rough, with harsh descriptions of the varying conditions they endured.  But there are many very tender moments full of strong emotions.

The writing style is what stands out in this book.  McCarthy is king of the run-on sentence, but it works in the context of this story, somehow.  It is a rambling, prose, perhaps reminiscent of the ambling of the horses as they carry the characters over mile after mile.  And the lengthy descriptions contrast with the minimalist dialogue between the characters.  When John Grady speaks, his words are pointed and the reader almost craves his words as keys to unlock what he must be thinking about all that he endures.

The other interesting aspect of this book is the inside view of life in Mexico, of which I have personally not read a lot about.  There is a bit of the culture and the history that squeaks through and it gives the story that much more context.  Unfortunately, since I never studied Spanish, I found myself frequently frustrated that many lines of dialogue were written in Spanish with no English translation.  Thank goodness for Google Translator is all I can say!

I think that while I did like this book and found it meaningful, I think this is the kind of book that would be great to read in a class, where we might analyze the plot further and learn about the symbolism of the characters.  I am sure there is more to it than I could even imagine.

Loving Frank (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

This dramatic work of historical fiction is about the love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and one of his clients, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Both married with children, they were drawn together as they planned the house that he build for Mamah and her husband, and in spite of efforts to avoid an affair, they could not deny that they had fallen in love. The resultant relationship between the two was both poetic and tragic, as they both had to sacrifice most of what they treasured in order to have each other. As they strived for honesty in love, they had to endure the anger and the judgement of others.

Admittedly, I judged them/her too. I confess that as I sympathized with her yearning for true love and for the freedom she craved to be with the man she loved, I was angry with her too for leaving her children for months at a time. And when she missed them, I couldn’t help but think, “Well, what did you expect??” But she was also searching for her own identity, in order to see herself as an individual and not just a wife or a mother (or a mistress). For this, I respected her.

And of course there is the fun of learning more about the life of the most controversial and admired architect in the U.S. His struggle between his life and his art is apparent and is thread through the story as well.

The many layers and the many controversies make this book a solid read. Definitely a thumbs up!

Me Talk Pretty One Day (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Fun book!  When my family asked me what this book was about, I had to answer, “Nothing, really.”  It is sort of the Seinfeld of books…  David Sedaris, in his sardonic, laugh-out-loud style, describes vignettes from his childhood, his experiences living in Paris, and his various work experiences.  While he is sometimes outrageous in his tone, he describes some scenarios that any reader can relate to and in that he draws the reader in and thoroughly entertains.

In short, it’s hard not to have a great time reading this book!

 

The Kitchen House (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

If you are looking for a book that will grip you and hold you tight until you get to the very last page, this is the one for you!  This beautifully written, historical fiction novel is about a young white girl, Lavinia, who is raised among black slaves in the south at the turn of the 19th century.  Since she’s raised among a loving, close-knit black family, she feels deeply that they are her family, but as she grows older, she is thrust into the world of the white family she is serves.  We learn, along with her, how the intimate nature of the relationships that develop between the 2 races strongly conflict with the forced, artificial separation between them.  (They love but they are not allowed to love.)  And Lavinia is tragically trapped between the two.

What really pulled me in was the beautiful characters that are so poignantly drawn.  I lived with the characters and felt their pull even when I wasn’t reading the book.  I felt as though they were my family, they were drawn so artistically and deeply.  I HAD to know what happened to each of them and when it wasn’t good, I felt it in my heart.

These characters were genuine, the story was captivating, and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened and didn’t want it to end at the very same time!  This is what the experience of reading should be!

The Tiger’s Wife (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

I’m still trying to figure out exactly what this book is about.  Yes, I read it.  Yes, I even finished it, although I’m not sure why.  There is a thread about a young woman who is a doctor who is going on a mission with her friend to immunize children in an orphanage somewhere in the Balkans, just as she learns of her grandfather’s death.  There is a thread of her grandfather’s story about his experience in a small village where a tiger has taken over the imaginations and fears of almost everyone in the village.  And there is a “deathless man” who ties them together.

But the story is told in a torturously circuitous way, with side stories and descriptions that are both detailed and vague.  The connections between the various loops are often lost in the details and I found myself not caring enough to sew them together.

Perhaps now that I’ve finished the book I understand the whole of it, but there were more times than I care to admit that I almost did not bother to finish the book.  I’m not sure if that reflects more on me than the book??