Book Club I (The Original)--November 2004 to present
* * * * Clara Callan, Richard B. Wright (HT)
* * * * * Crow Lake, Mary Lawson
* * * * The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, Mark Haddon
* * * * The World According to Garp, John Irving (RJ)
* * * * Birds Without Wings, Louis de Bernieres
* * * * The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi, Jacqueline Park
* * 1/2 No Logo, Naomi Klein (JB)
* * * 1/2 Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi (SJ)
* * * * 1/2 Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
* * * 1/2 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells
* * * * The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (SC)
* * * * * Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
* * * * Boy's Life, Robert McCammon (JD)
* * * * 1/2 The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
* * * * * Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (JL)
* * * The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood (TV)
* * * * The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
* * * * 1/2 The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
* * * * * The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck (JC)
* * * * 1/2 The Girls, Lori Lansens
* * * Riding the Bus With My Sister, Rachel Simon
* * * * 1/2 My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok (LV)
* * * * The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon (SS)
If I've missed any, please let me know!
Book Club II -- January 2007 to present
* * * * The Life of Pi, Yann Martel (KD)
* * * * 1/2 Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (HT)
* * 1/2 Throwaway Daughter, Ting-Xing Ye (ML)
* * * * * The Russlander, Sandra Birdsell (PD)
* * * * * Howards End, E. M. Forster (KS)
(corrections made: June 5)
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Russlander, Sandra Birdsell
The Russlander is a novel that my mom recommended to me several years ago. I skimmed the back of the novel but never pursued reading it. A few weeks ago, one of my fellow book-clubbers presented this book as her selection for the next meeting.
The book is about a young Mennonite girl, Katya, in Russia in the wake of the First World War. The narration is descriptive yet bare, emotional yet restrained. The reader is quickly made aware that Katya is recalling the events of her youth from the perspective of her old age. There is a certain degree of tension between what the young Katya perceives in the moment and what the elderly Katya knows in hindsight. This emotional layering is managed skillfully and subtly. Ultimately the result is a story of hope and endurance.
I had a bit of a difficult time starting the novel. In the opening chapters, the social conflicts are not really between the Russians and the Mennonites (as I had led myself to expect), but rather between the Mennonites themselves. There is a distinctly hierarchical structure to the Mennonite society, a structure that has Mennonite working-class families serving the local "nobility" (also Mennonite). This situation results in overlapping spheres of relationships--church, family, employment, friendship, etc. Once the "placement" of characters inn relation to one another became clear, I could hardly put the book down. Birdsell has a style of writing that draws the reader's attention to incidents, characters and details that will recur throughout the book without being obvious or overbearing.
The Russlander is a fantastic book and will certainly provoke a thoughtful discussion! Our meeting is next Saturday, but as usual, don't expect an insightful analysis here after the fact. :)
rating: 5/5 (yes, it's that good!)
The book is about a young Mennonite girl, Katya, in Russia in the wake of the First World War. The narration is descriptive yet bare, emotional yet restrained. The reader is quickly made aware that Katya is recalling the events of her youth from the perspective of her old age. There is a certain degree of tension between what the young Katya perceives in the moment and what the elderly Katya knows in hindsight. This emotional layering is managed skillfully and subtly. Ultimately the result is a story of hope and endurance.
I had a bit of a difficult time starting the novel. In the opening chapters, the social conflicts are not really between the Russians and the Mennonites (as I had led myself to expect), but rather between the Mennonites themselves. There is a distinctly hierarchical structure to the Mennonite society, a structure that has Mennonite working-class families serving the local "nobility" (also Mennonite). This situation results in overlapping spheres of relationships--church, family, employment, friendship, etc. Once the "placement" of characters inn relation to one another became clear, I could hardly put the book down. Birdsell has a style of writing that draws the reader's attention to incidents, characters and details that will recur throughout the book without being obvious or overbearing.
The Russlander is a fantastic book and will certainly provoke a thoughtful discussion! Our meeting is next Saturday, but as usual, don't expect an insightful analysis here after the fact. :)
rating: 5/5 (yes, it's that good!)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wrong Number
I just had a strange conversation. Granted, I just woke up from a nap :) but I still think it was strange.
The telephone rang and I jumped up quickly to answer it before the sound woke G up from his nap. In my muddle, I didn't quite hear the whole comment made by the speaker, but because of the accent and the background noise I made the quick assumption that I had a telemarketer on the phone. Then the person asked to speak to the manager of the optical department. Being polite and half-asleep, I replied, "Sorry, you have the wrong number." The answer? "That's okay." ??? Am I the only one who thinks that response is a strange? If you dial a wrong number, don't you usually apologize for bothering the innocent recipient?
The telephone rang and I jumped up quickly to answer it before the sound woke G up from his nap. In my muddle, I didn't quite hear the whole comment made by the speaker, but because of the accent and the background noise I made the quick assumption that I had a telemarketer on the phone. Then the person asked to speak to the manager of the optical department. Being polite and half-asleep, I replied, "Sorry, you have the wrong number." The answer? "That's okay." ??? Am I the only one who thinks that response is a strange? If you dial a wrong number, don't you usually apologize for bothering the innocent recipient?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
A Good Mystery...
I love a good mystery. There was a stretch of about 5 or 6 months, in fact, that I only read mysteries. When I "discover" a new mystery writer, I tend to read all the books the public library owns by that author. One of my recent (as in within the past year and a bit) finds is Lindsey Davis.
Anyone who has received my book lists or read my last post will recognize this name. Lindsey Davis' books are set in Ancient Rome. The main character is Marcus Didius Falco, a private investigator of sorts. Although he is a "citizen," he is certainly a the bottom of the social ladder. He is married to Helena, the daughter of a senator. Often Falco is hired by the Emperor or some other government official to investigate crimes that are better kept away from the general population's attention. There is a good mix of political intrigue, historical context, and engaging character development in each book. Even better, the writing is witty and intelligent.
Since the genre of mystery is so diverse, I tend to categorize mysteries into several different groupings: light, medium, and heavy. Don't laugh too hard at this complex system! :)
Light mysteries include books by authors such as Lillian Jackson Braun, Martha Grimes, and Laurie King.
Medium mysteries include books by authors such as Lindsey Davis, Margaret Yorke, Quentin Jardine, P. D. James, and Dorothy Sayers.
Heavy mysteries include books by authors such as Elizabeth George and Ian Rankin.
If you have read books from each category, you can probably sense what kind of criteria distinguishes one writer from another.
Do you like to read mysteries? What authors can you recommend?
Anyone who has received my book lists or read my last post will recognize this name. Lindsey Davis' books are set in Ancient Rome. The main character is Marcus Didius Falco, a private investigator of sorts. Although he is a "citizen," he is certainly a the bottom of the social ladder. He is married to Helena, the daughter of a senator. Often Falco is hired by the Emperor or some other government official to investigate crimes that are better kept away from the general population's attention. There is a good mix of political intrigue, historical context, and engaging character development in each book. Even better, the writing is witty and intelligent.
Since the genre of mystery is so diverse, I tend to categorize mysteries into several different groupings: light, medium, and heavy. Don't laugh too hard at this complex system! :)
Light mysteries include books by authors such as Lillian Jackson Braun, Martha Grimes, and Laurie King.
Medium mysteries include books by authors such as Lindsey Davis, Margaret Yorke, Quentin Jardine, P. D. James, and Dorothy Sayers.
Heavy mysteries include books by authors such as Elizabeth George and Ian Rankin.
If you have read books from each category, you can probably sense what kind of criteria distinguishes one writer from another.
Do you like to read mysteries? What authors can you recommend?
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