The Night Circus (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

While very imaginative and mysterious, this book was almost a little too far-fetched to completely keep my interest throughout the whole telling of the story.  The story centers around Celia and Marco, who are each being groomed by their mentors for a magical duel, of sorts.  The grooming takes years and each is trained in a different way.  The venue for their contest is the Night Circus, a circus which appears without any notice and opens only at midnight for the entertainment and delight of many around the world.  And sure enough, the foes of course gradually fall in love with each other and their ultimate challenge becomes disentangling themselves from the ensnarement of their duel.

The writing in this book is very interesting — it is as mystical and dark as the story itself.  There is great imagination and description, but almost to a fault, in my opinion.  And because many of the characters are so mysterious, they remain somewhat uni-dimentional and remote.  They are, like the circus itself, not really real.

For those of you who really like fantasy, you may be enthralled with this book.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t…

 

Me Before You (migrated from bookblogger)

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Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I accepted this book from a friend a little reluctantly…  who really wants to read a book about a woman who, desperately seeking a new job after her job at the coffee shop was terminated, is hired to care for a 35-year old quadriplegic?  I imagined it would be terribly depressing and predictable.  I was pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was.  This book was solidly written, delved into issues of class and love and the value of living life to its fullest, whatever that means.

The main character, Louisa Clark, is refreshingly unique and strong and struggles with her ward, Will, even as she is determined to push him to want to live in spite of his devastating injury.  In fact, each of the characters is sympathetic in his or her own way.  We briefly hear from the voices of each of the other main characters in the book, with the noted exception of that of Will.  Everyone is trying to read Will and understand his thinking and through the story we get to know him and what he struggles with on a day to day basis.  But the story is more about the development and growth of Louisa as she is exposed to him and this makes it more interesting, actually.

What I loved about this book is the juxtaposition of one who is limited in how he can live with those who are near him who, as he sees it, do not take advantage of living and do not live to their fullest potential.  I think there is a lesson for all of us AB’s (able-bodied) to think about…

 

The 19th Wife (migrated from bookblogger)

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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?

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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!

The Storyteller (migrated from Bookblogger)

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The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

So I have to share that this book was made all the more special to me because my daughter and I actually attended a reading of this book by Jodi Picoult herself!  I was of course expecting the worst (cynic that I am) — that it would be a mob scene and we’d wait and wait only to be at the back of a huge room at the Barnes and Nobles at Union Square where we’d only catch a glimpse.  But I was instead so pleasantly surprised!  It was so well-organized and easy and utterly enjoyable.  Ms. Picoult  is the ultimate storyteller!   She read from her book with the expression of a closet actress, she told us stories about the Holocaust survivors she interviewed during her research, and she so gracefully and with such humor answered many questions from the audience about herself and her writing.  She is a gracious presence — she is smart and funny and warm and the kind of person you just want to go out and have a drink with.  I could have listened to her for hours! After she signed our book and chatted with us for a minute or two, we walked away and my daughter turned to me and exclaimed, “Mom, I’m so star-struck!”  I have to admit:  I was too!

BUT on to the the book…  The book has an outrageously “Picoultian”premise.  A young, reclusive woman named Sage who has lost her mother, attends a grief support group where she befriends an old man in his 90’s.  This man, Josef, admits to her that he is a former SS guard at Auschwitz and asks her to help him die and to forgive him of his sins.  What he doesn’t know is that Sage’s grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.  In fact, Sage doesn’t really even know much about her grandmother’s history as her grandmother has kept the details to herself all these years.  This book is the resultant telling of stories — the recounting of history — by the two characters who lived it.  It is also the process of sorting out the ideas of evil and good as well as forgiveness and revenge.  Can someone who has committed  hideous deeds ever be forgiven?  And by whom?  Can a good person do bad things and get beyond that and/or compensate for it?  What is forgiveness?

As usual, Jodi Picoult gives the various perspectives on the story in her brilliant way and has the reader pondering yet another enormous, controversial issue.  This is why I love her writing and am already looking forward to her next book!

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!

Beautiful Boy (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

I put off reading this book for so long because I knew it would be difficult — and rightfully so.  However, I do believe it is worth reading.  It is the harrowing, true story (probably so much more harrowing because it’s true!) of a father whose son is addicted to methamphetamine.  The account is painstaking and painful, recurrent and repetitive, really because the experience is.  He tells of his son, Nic, who is a bright, talented, truly “beautiful” boy who maybe  and maybe not because of his parents’ difficult divorce and their long-distance custody arrangement, begins to use marijuana.  He quickly moves on to alcohol and other drugs and finally finds his true love in meth.  And the drug, as it tends to do, takes over his life.  When Nic is on the drug, he becomes a different person — cold, impervious, resentful and conniving and completely manipulates his friends and family to enable his drug use.

His is a typical story, evidently, and the author peppers the story with actual research statistics and theories and advice for other parents in the same situation.  Mostly, though, it seems to be a catharsis for this father who writes as his way of coping.  He offers frequently that there is no great advice and there is no single answer to what heals an addict.  It seems there are some addicts who cannot be healed.  Even with treatment and rehab there is relapse and it often seems truly hopeless.

Probably most importantly, the author stresses particularly at the end of the book, the importance of the family members to get treatment themselves.  Being that closely tied to an addict can be just as “addictive” and destructive as being the addict.  It can take over your life just as easily.  This is an important message for those close to anyone with such an overwhelming disease.

As painful as this book was to read, I am so glad I did read it.  I learned so much.

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…