Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

I read this book cover to cover and I still have little idea what the book was about.  I will tell you what I do know…

I know that Alex, the Ukrainian son of a travel agent, is telling the story of his “hero,” the author Jonathan Safran Foer, in his very broken/misworded English.

I know that Jonathan, the “hero” is in the Ukraine, from America, to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis.

And I know that Jonathan and Alex are accompanied on this journey by Alex’s grandfather, who is somehow involved in the story, and their dog (named Sammy Davis Junior Junior).

There are also many flashbacks to a very fantastical story of who I think are the ancestors of Jonathan’s grandfather, but the story is so choppy, that it’s hard to tell who is who.  And so much of it is so absurd that it’s hard to take any of it seriously.

And some scenes are extremely serious.

I think this book had some very interesting ideas and I actually find the telling with the broken English quite amusing.  There were even some very colorful characters who might have been more powerful had they been more real.  Unfortunately, at least for me, the execution of the good ideas was so far out there that it missed the target by a long shot.

Actually, for me, very little was illuminated…

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (migrated from bookblogger)

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Camille, a reporter for a small Chicago newspaper, is sent down to her very small home town in Missouri to cover the story of a second 13 year old girl who is murdered – strangled and found with teeth missing.  It is painful for her to return home, where her ice cold mother and her crazy-wild, half-sister are still stuck in their twisted relationship and where Camille feels like an outsider.  As she gets closer and closer to solving the mystery, she also comes closer to understanding what has caused her her own emotional pain over the course of her life.

While this book does not have the extreme twists and turns that Gone Girl had, it still is suspenseful and has its own black moments.  There is a psychological quagmire in almost every character in the story, and one has to wonder if Flynn believes anyone is ever happy and without pain.  Camille, the main character, for example, is a cutter and gives a fairly realistic picture of how addictive and relieving/shameful this behavior is.  It is also an extremely dark portrait of the proverbial small town, where one either gets “stuck” or “gets out” but that no one actually chooses to live there.

Flynn’s writing is that kind of guilty pleasure — it’s sharp, smart, a not a little twisted — but you have to indulge once in awhile!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (migrated from bookblogger)

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This book is delightful! Don, a genetics professor with Asperger’s, has decided that he is ready to find his life partner.  In his structured, rigid world, this seems to be his next step.  He decides to go about this in the logical way in which he goes about everything — by creating the Wife Project, for which he develops a questionnaire.  In the course of this search, he comes upon Rosie, who he eliminates from Day 1 because she does not make the cut (too many wrong answers!).  However, when Rosie asks for help with her own quest, Don gets drawn in, in spite of himself.

Don’s story is also told with great humor and tenderness.  One can see how even with his rituals and his need for logic, he struggles with his own emotionality and how while emotions are not logical, they are still a part of him.  And the irony is that he is probably more similar to others than different in this regard.

It is an interesting commentary on human behavior, what is considered “normal” and what is really and truly abnormal.  It is also a really, really fun book to read!

Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (migrated from bookblogger)

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I was supposed to love this book!  I was embarrassed that I hadn’t read it yet…

I did not love this book.

This story is about a girl, Lily, raised in China during the 19th century, who is pledged to be the “lautong” of a girl of higher social standing, Snow Flower.  A lautong is a sort of soul sister, to whom a friendship is pledged that transcends any other commitment, including marriage, and is to last their entire lives.  The story takes the reader through the girls’ very difficult lives together, as they experience the excruciating pain of foot-binding, the preparation of their dowries for marriage, and their experience as married women of differing statuses.

What I did not like about this book was that it was unrelentingly depressing.  Just when you think it can’t get any sadder, worse tragedy strikes.  There is a constantly nagging foreboding throughout the book which makes it just onerous to read.   I also felt as though the main character, also the narrator, was not very likeable, which made it more of a chore to read about her plight.

I did appreciate learning about the Chinese customs and traditions that are described in the story.  It was painful to learn about the nightmare of footbinding and how women were only valued based on the men they birthed.  Girls are described as worthless and a burden on their families, when they were the ones to do all the work to maintain the households.  The marital traditions are extremely colorful and interesting, however.

I know this is book is a favorite of many… but not mine.

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (migrated from bookblogger)

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Tess has just been told that her husband is in love with her cousin…  Cecilia has just learned that there is a letter from her husband that she is instructed to open only upon his death…  Rachel has just learned that her son is going to be moving to the other side of the world, taking away her grandson and the only reason for living since her daughter has been murdered all those years ago.   These characters are gradually woven together into a story that is both gripping and heartbreaking.

The writing here is simple, a little repetitive, but the story is worth it.  There is a calculated twist to the action in the story that is a little far-fetched, but that is what fiction is about, no?

I think the Epilogue is actually my favorite part of the book, though, and I won’t give any of that away.  Suffice it to say, it is a great commentary on the randomness of life and how a small or not-so-small action can impact the trajectory of a life and/or lives.  This I believe to be true.

Not exactly high literature here, but a good read nonetheless.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (migrated from bookblogger)

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This was one of those jewels that has you laughing even as you’re reading about a subject that is profoundly serious.  On the surface, the story reads almost like a comical documentary, with the narrative intermixed with comments given by each of the characters who were peripherally involved in the death of a character (this is not a spoiler — this comes out in the beginning, but through the whole story it is unclear who is killed by whom).  On a deeper level, though, the story deals extremely sensitively and honestly with the frightening issue of relationship violence.

Jane is about to move to a new area in Australia near the ocean with her son, Ziggy.  During the kindergarten orientation, an incident occurs with sweet, little Ziggy that initiates a huge divide among the mothers of the class.  As alliances form, each of the characters shows her true colors and the friendships begin.  Jane is initially secretive about her own past, but as she warms to her new friends, she sees that revealing her own story can actually free her of the burden of  it.  She also learns that she is not the only one with secrets.

The characters in this story are remarkably real and 3-dimentional.  The story also has a number of different corollaries, which keeps it moving both sideways and forward and also works to add to the suspense of who is killed and by whom.  And while the underlying message is clear and strong, there is  a warm humor threaded through which kept me loving this book.

Can’t wait to read more by this author!

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Wow.  I am a little speechless from this book.  It’s funny, too, because I started this book awhile ago and put it aside.  It felt very dense and I wasn’t sure it was worth the “work” of reading it.  Needless to say, I am glad I returned to it as it very quickly became not work but almost a driving force and kept me up to all hours of the night (luckily it’s vacation time!), needing to find out what happened next.

This is the story of the Dreyfus Affair, which if you are not acquainted with it, is the frightening, true story of a Jew, Alfred Dreyfus, who served in the French army in the late 1800’s who was accused and convicted of treason and punished in an absurdly inhuman way.  This historical fictional version of this dark episode in French history, is told from the perspective of a Colonel, Georges Picquart, in the army who was assigned to be the head of intelligence for France and who uncovers the true traitor.  The story is a brutal, gradual revelation of a top-level cover-up of a shabby investigation with the unsurprising victim a Jew.  Because of the persistence of this lonely officer, the case is reopened in spite of all the efforts of his superiors to suppress his work.

Here is another story of French anti-semitism, something that is echoed today.  Reading this leads one to wonder if anything has actually changed since the turn of the last century…

China Dolls by Lisa See (migrated from bookblogger)

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Three Asian girls — Helen, Grace and Ruby — seeking to reinvent themselves, meet as they each are auditioning for a dance club in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1938.  They instantly develop a friendship, a new experience for each of them.  The story follows them through the second world war, during which the paranoia over the Japanese, as well as each of their own secrets/ghosts, almost tear them apart.

Lisa See creates a heart-wrenching experience for the reader – each character is so lovingly portrayed and it is easy for the reader to be drawn in.  She also creates a real experience of the time in our history, the impact of a cruel war and its resultant prejudices on each of its individual citizens.

I heartily recommend this book – a definite “must read,” especially for those of us obsessed with historical fiction!

Yes Please by Amy Poehler (migrated from bookblogger)

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In the tradition of Bossy Pants, by Tina Fey, this book is a compilation of musings by her friend, Amy Poehler.  In fact, I liked this one better.  Amy Poehler speaks about her roots in improv and comedy, her earlier, hungrier days, and her experiences on SNL and on Parks and Rec.  She speaks about her family, her marriage, and her children in sort of random order.  She is funny, smart, honest and a little philosophical and the book definitely held my attention all the way through.

A nice little break from the serious stuff I’ve been reading…   Shout out to my daughter who is her biggest fan and who lent me her pre-ordered book!

This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor by Susan Wicklund and Alex Kesselheim (migrated from bookblogger)

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This stirring memoir is the story of Susan Wicklund, MD, who performed abortions in multiple states for over 20 years.  It begins with an account of her personal experiences that lead to her decision to do this work and it takes the reader through the course of her tumultuous and dramatic career.  No other type of doctor is hunted and intimidated the way these brave physicians are.  No other doctor is forced to subject their families and friends to the kind of outright brutality that these doctors are — and ironically in the name of God!  They deserve all the recognition that this book begins to achieve.

It truly brings to light the hypocrisy of the protestors who plagued her.  In their urgency to protect “rights” of the unborn, for example, they completely trample over the rights of ACTUAL LIVING PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE PROTECTED!  Staggeringly, some of the people who protested actually came in for services and then went  back out and protested again.  And you can be sure that their sisters, mothers, cousins and friends had probably used the services as well.  But go and shoot at the doctor and go and burn down the clinic so that you can make your empty, cowardly statement.

As you can see, I am passionate about this topic.  But I think no matter what your view on this subject, this book is a fascinating real-life story of a heroine.  An important book for us to be reading especially in the current, right-wing, conservative political climate in which we are, sadly, living.