In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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Miri is a teenager in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  She lives with her single mom and her grandmother and uncle and has as ordinary a life as she is able to, having never met her father and now knowing very much about him.  One day, as she is coming out of a movie theater with her mother, she witnesses the first of 3 airplane crashes within a span of a few months, and it turns her life upside down.  Not only does it create anxiety for Miri, but it also has a profound effect on her best friend, Natalie, whose whole personality seems to transform.

I’m having a hard time writing this blog entry.  Ever since reading Are You There God It’s Me Margaret a hundred years ago, I’ve loved Judy Blume.  Her writing was groundbreaking in so many ways — speaking about topics that were so taboo —  bringing them into the conversation and normalizing them.  Her contributions have been monumental.  On the other hand, though, I did not love this particular book.  While the story is interesting and it does build up to a crescendo that kept me reading, there are just too many characters, the narrator voice switches too often, and the characters are drawn a little stiffly and without much warmth.

I think the book is still worth reading — as a time piece.  It does capture an era, with subtle references to McCarthyism and Packards and the dress of the 1950’s.  It does capture a time when life was considered simpler, although I think that she makes it clear that it was not necessarily so.  And of course, it’s still the iconic Judy Blume!

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

6066819This is the quintessential summer read!

I love Jennifer Weiner!  Her writing is always witty, sarcastic, entertaining and full of heart – and this book is yet another example of this.

Addie and Valerie, who although are very different, grew up as best friends, living across the street from each other and sharing all their childhood secrets.  Unfortunately, their paths diverged when an incident in high school sent them spinning in very different directions.  Suddenly, now, many years later, just after their high school reunion, Valerie shows up at Addie’s doorstep asking for help after what may have been a serious crime.  Almost in spite of herself, Addie is drawn in to the drama and their adventure begins.

What I love about Weiner’s writing is the building of characters that the reader loves.  The reader cannot help rooting for Addie in this story – she’s an underdog who you can’t help adoring for her steadfast loyalty to her friend and her family.  Even Valerie, who is vain and materialistic, is sympathetic and entertaining in her own right.  Each of the characters is written with tenderness and self-deprecation and you can’t help wanting to know how it all ends for each of them.

I think I may have a deeper appreciation for Jennifer Weiner, also, since I had the amazing opportunity to be present during BookCon (a few weekends ago at the Javits Center), when she interviewed Judy Blume.  There was such a great rapport between the 2 of them ,as they spoke about everything from writing to sex and to the size of their respective chests.  They were both warm, funny, smart and respectful of each other’s talent —  I could have listened to them converse for hours!

Bottom line, I’d take this with me to Cape Cod if I hadn’t already read it!

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

This is the sequel to The Rosie Project and is almost as cute and charming as the first one.  This takes the main character, Don, and his new wife, Rosie, to New York to continue his research at Columbia while his wife is a medical student there.  To his surprise, Rosie is suddenly pregnant and he is led by a series of comical errors to believe that he will be unsuited for the role of father.

I think it would be a good idea, if others are considering reading this sequel, to maybe wait awhile before reading it.  I think reading it too soon after the first was a mistake, because as much as I was enamored of the main character and his very endearing voice in the first book, I think I actually got almost as annoyed as Rosie was with him in the second.  It is still an engaging and sweet book, however, and I do recommend it.

Most importantly, I think, the book enlightened the reader about Asperger’s.  I think it tells, in a very straight-forward way, both the difficulties and the virtues of those who have this type of personality.  Don, in his own very direct and humble way, does so much good for others, even when it puts him in danger, and he is very much a hero in his own way.  Without even thinking about the consequences, he does the right thing so often, when one who is more emotional, might not have.  It is an interesting perspective on a condition that most think is a negative.  Here, in many ways, it demonstrates how positive this condition can be.  And anytime a book expands our insight into another way of being, I feel this is a good thing.

 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (migrated from bookblogger)

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This is a MUST-read!

Vianne and Isabelle, sisters living in France during the late 1930’s, could not be more different from each other.  Vianne is calm, very settled and contented;  while Isabelle is impulsive, daring and always desperately seeking attention and love.  Both, however, had their lives completely disrupted by the German invasion into France during the advent of the second world war.  And both resisted the Germans each in her own very brave way.  Through their miserable experiences during the war, they each came to understand each other and respect each other for who they really were and who they each became.

This book, while extremely emotionally difficult to read, was outstanding.  The writing was clear and fluid and just explicit enough to get the sordid details across.  The characters are beautifully drawn; both sisters became real people for whom I felt a powerful empathy.  It also was descriptive but still kept the action moving so that there was never a lull, never a single sentence I wanted to skim over.  It is a story that keeps your heart beating at high speed until the very last page.

Once again – a MUST-READ!

Together Tea by Marjan Kamali (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Mina is in business school and only fantasizing about being able to pursue art, just as a good Iranian-American girl should be.  Her mother, Darya, is looking for a husband for Mina, as a good Iranian-American mother should be doing.  They are each struggling with their identities after growing up in Iran and having lived through the Iranian Revolution in the 70’s.  The family had fled Iran in fear at that dark time, but particularly Darya had held on to the idea that the Revolution would be a temporary state and they’d return one day to their home.  When they were still there 15 years later, it almost felt like a shock that they were actually Americans at this point.  After the most recent disastrous attempt at a matchmaking, Mina finally reaches a turning point in her life and suddenly, she needs to return to her roots.  And suddenly at that point, Darya decides she needs to go with her.  The two of them don their hair coverings and the traditional covering for their whole bodies, and fly home to visit their family and friends Iran.  What they learn there changes their lives.

This book gave the reader a great understanding of the turmoil and trauma that occurred in Iran in the 70’s when the Islamic fundamentalists gained control over what was a very colorful, even progressive culture.  The institutionalized suppression particularly of women is very apparent in this story, where women who very clearly are smart and work in professional capacities cannot even go out by themselves and are kept closeted.

Unfortunately, I think the actual writing in the book is weak.  The story is never surprising and remains entirely predictable.  Analogies are tired and trite and there is no poetry in the words here even where the author is trying to portray the cultural beauty that is suppressed.  It is unfortunate because the idea of the book is great – it is just never taken to where it should’ve gone.  A disappointing rendition of a good idea…

 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Rachel, whose alcoholism has cost her the life she once had with her ex-husband, Tom, watches a couple from her commuter train each day.  Jason and Jess are her idea of the perfect couple and she idolizes them with these Rachel-given names.  Suddenly, when she learns that Jess (really, Megan) is missing, she can’t help but get involved.  As Rachel is sucked in to what becomes a dangerous situation, she learns that alcohol has cost her more than just her marriage.

This book deserves the acclaim that it is getting.  It is an excellent portrait of a self-hating, depressed woman whose life is drowned in drink.  It also builds into a thriller with just enough suspense to keep the pages turning.  The characters are not lovable but they are interesting and complex.  It also keeps you guessing and has a twist near the end that I did not see coming.

Thumbs up!

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (migrated from bookblogger)

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This was one of those books that keep you waiting for something explosive to happen… and waiting… and waiting…  I’ve now finished the book and I’m still waiting!

The story centers around Abby and Red, who are married and aging and their 4 children are trying to help care for them.  There are difficult relationships among the children, particularly with Denny, who is mysterious and has always been “difficult.”   What I did like about the book is that the writing is extremely authentic.  The descriptions of scenes of ordinary life among the family members are so realistic that you feel as though you are in the room with the characters living it.  The dialogue and the actions are very familiar.

Unfortunately, the plot was extremely vague and meandering and did not rise up to anything truly interesting.  There is an event that changes the course of the story, but it is somewhat anticlimactic.  The most potentially interesting character, Denny, ends up being a missed opportunity.  Throughout the book I was waiting to learn more about him but never really did.

I think the author was going for subtlety, but only achieved a lack of substance.  Disappointing!

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

It was supposed to be a lovely celebration of the triplets’ birthday and it began as such, but a sudden explosion of temper erupted and all hell broke loose.  This is how this story starts and the rest of the book discloses how these 3 tall, very attractive triplets came to arrive at this tumultuous point in their lives.

As usual, Liane Moriarty crafts a fun read – with a combination of both heavier and lighter issues that each of the sisters is coping with.  She is able to weave an emotionally abusive relationship, blended families, infertility and infidelity among the sisters’ lives, without making this a totally depressing story.  Quite an accomplishment, I think!  I think she is able to do this by intertwining the serious with lighter, funnier moments, with sarcasm and with beautiful moments as well.  Sort of like how life is, I believe — ie. the good with the bad.

While this was not my favorite book of hers, I did enjoy it very much and do recommend it.  This would be a good summer read!  (Just wish it felt anywhere close to summer right now — I’d even take spring!)

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

I’ve been hearing about this book for awhile now… some have said, “Nah, don’t bother” and others have said, “You must read this!”  So I finally read it to see what the fuss was about…  And I’m actually somewhere in between on this one.

The story is an historical fictional account of the orphan trains, the trains that ferried hundreds of orphans under the care of the Children’s Aid Society in NYC to the midwest, to find homes for them.  The children were taken by a few adults who would stop at various train stations and would show the children on a stage, like an auction, and people would come to take them in.  Many were given good homes and an education, but probably many more were used as free labor on farms and in private homes, mistreated and misused.

This particular story is about Molly, who is a foster child who is sentenced to do community service working for an elderly woman, Vivian, helping her to clean out her attic.  As the two delve into the boxes in the attic, Vivian shares her memories of what lies in them and divulges her experiences, through flashbacks, of being an orphan and where her orphan train led her.  The two come to form a close friendship based on their shared experiences.

I think the value of this book does not lie in the quality of the writing, which is only fair,  or even in the character development, which I think is unexpectedly flat.   While Vivian’s story is interesting, it is told in a very clinical, detached way that did not fully engage me; and Molly, who started out as a really interesting character, remained superficial.

The value of the book is really the description of the orphan trains themselves.  I think it is important to know about this dark spot in our history.  The Children’s Aid Society does some extraordinary work with children in foster care today, but its roots are tainted by this cold history.

FOOTNOTE:  If you want to learn about the orphan trains, another book to read is The Chaperone by Liane Moriarty.  It gives slightly less detail about the trains, but it is a beautifully written story that is sure to completely engage you!