I’m so glad I’m finally getting around to reading this series. I enjoyed the first two Anne books, and this one was no exception.  [...]]]> There was nobody else — there never could be anybody else for me but you. I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school.

I’m so glad I’m finally getting around to reading this series. I enjoyed the first two Anne books, and this one was no exception.  This one is about Anne’s college years, her relationship with her friends Priscilla and Philippa, and also about her beaux Gilbert and Royal.

Spoilers ahead, but it probably doesn’t matter as most of you have already read the book anyway…

Of course, how could she choose anyone BUT Gilbert?  I do wonder why it took her so long to realize that.  Besides their relationship, I enjoyed reading about Patty’s Place, Davy’s further development, and all the other girls’ drama.  I do think I enjoyed Anne of Avonlea just a bit more than this one, but I still fell in love with Anne of the Island as well.  I probably won’t get to the others in the series until next year, but I’ve enjoyed these first three books tremendously.

1915, 239 pp.

Just like [...]]]> I just love Neil Gaiman (not to mention that his looks remind me of a close friend I had in college).  Well, I love his books, too, and this one was no exception.  It’s my third Gaiman, and although I still think I liked Coraline a tiny bit better, I loved The Graveyard Book.

Just like Coraline, I listened to this on audio with my two teenage sons.  If you haven’t heard Gaiman narrate his own books, you’re definitely missing out.  Most authors should not narrate their own books; Gaiman is one who should never allow someone else to do so.  His voice is perfect for it, and of course, no one would ever know his books better than he does.

The Graveyard Book contains a colorful (though some are long dead) cast of characters, some very creepy scenes, and some genuinely heartwarming ones.  It’s one of those perfect children’s/YA books in which it was definitely written to also appeal to adults.  It was great for the R.I.P. Challenge, and it was great to experience another one of Gaiman’s treasures as a family.

2008, 320 pp.

Neil Gaiman’s website.

Neil Gaiman’s web journal. (I’m a subscriber)

2008 Booker Prize winner 2008, 276 pp.

Hmmm, well, I happened to get this book from the library on the Saturday before the Booker Prize was announced “just in case.”  When The White Tiger was revealed as the winner, I was really surprised. Not only did it have the longest odds [...]]]>
The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga

2008 Booker Prize winner
2008, 276 pp.

Hmmm, well, I happened to get this book from the library on the Saturday before the Booker Prize was announced “just in case.”  When The White Tiger was revealed as the winner, I was really surprised. Not only did it have the longest odds to win, but I had recently read The Secret Scripture and not-so-secretly hoped it would win.  In fact, the committee admitted these two were the main contenders and that the decision was not unanimous.

To be honest, I kind of groaned when I heard Adiga’s book was the winner.  I don’t have a love affair at all with the Booker prize winners that I’ve read, so I was a little skeptical that I would enjoy this one.  But, being the trooper that I am, I thought I’d give it at least 40 or so pages to see if it could capture my interest.

Surprise, surprise; it did.  Not only is it a scathing indictment against India’s treatment of its poorest citizens, it also manages to be a clever black comedy.  This is exactly what the prize committee chairman revealed as the reason behind its decision.  So which book did I like better, The White Tiger or The Secret Scripture?  It’s really comparing apples to oranges.  They’re just not the same type of book at all.  They both are worthy social commentaries on the authors’ home countries, but just written in a totally different style.  While Sebastian Barry’s prose is lyrical, Adiga’s is biting (and comical).  They both work spectacularly, just in different ways.  I can definitely see why the committee had a difficult decision on its hands, and either one would have been a winner in my book.

How does it fare against the other Booker Prize winners?  Well, I definitely enjoyed it more than some of the other winners I’ve read, including:

2007 – The Gathering by Anne Enright
2006 – The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
2005 – The Sea by John Banville
2000 – The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
1997 – The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
1985 – The Bone People by Keri Hulme
1983 – Life & Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee

And believe me, no one was more surprised than I was.

Starred Reviews: Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus

2008, 240 pp.

It’s rare that a book gets starred reviews from all four major review publications.  Was this book that good; does it really deserve that much attention?  Yes, absolutely.  I really, really loved it; so much, in fact, that I held off [...]]]> Atmospheric Disturbances
by Rivka Galchen

Starred Reviews: Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus

2008, 240 pp.

It’s rare that a book gets starred reviews from all four major review publications.  Was this book that good; does it really deserve that much attention?  Yes, absolutely.  I really, really loved it; so much, in fact, that I held off reading the last 20 pages or so for two days because I didn’t want it to be over.

Psychoanalyst Leo Liebenstein thinks his wife Rema has disappeared.  Not only that, but he believes she has been replaced by a simulcrum, someone who looks and acts (almost) exactly like her.  Meanwhile, Harvey, one of Leo’s mental patients (who believes he has the ability to control the weather) is also missing.  Not buying in to the simulcrum’s Rema-like performance,  Leo goes to the ends of the earth to Buenos Aires and Patagonia to try to uncover the truth of what has happened to his wife.

I’ll be the first to admit that although I enjoyed this book tremendously, it won’t be to everyone’s tastes. It’s very quirky, very eccentric, but also intelligent and extremely funny.  Much of what I found humorous in the novel was due to the fact that I went to Argentina in April, so I was able to get many of the inside jokes about dog poop in the streets, maté tea, Alpha Wh*re Rays, and many other references to Argentinian life. The author had been in South America for a year working on public health issues, so her writing comes from first hand experience in the region. There were, of course, also references to the (not so funny) “Disappeared.”

This is Rivka Galchen’s first novel, and I definitely will be anxiously awaiting whatever she comes up with next.  Oh, and if her literary career doesn’t work out (I have no doubt that it will), she can always fall back on her MD that she received from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

An interview with Rivka Galchen

2008, 300 pp. Booker Prize Shortlist Rating:

What can I tell you further? I once lived among humankind, and found them in their generality to be cruel and cold, and yet could mention the names of three or four that were like angels.

I’d be happy if this book won the Booker Prize.  [...]]]> The Secret Scripture
by Sebastian Barry

2008, 300 pp.
Booker Prize Shortlist
Rating:

What can I tell you further? I once lived among humankind, and found them in their generality to be cruel and cold, and yet could mention the names of three or four that were like angels.

I’d be happy if this book won the Booker Prize.  Yeah, I would, and I haven’t read any of the other contenders yet!  Sebastian Barry is a magnificent writer, and I will definitely be reading more of his work.

Roseanne McNulty is almost 100 years old, and Dr. Grene is the psychiatrist attending her at Roscommon Mental Hospital.  The story slowly unfolds by giving alternating accounts of Roseanne and Dr. Grene.  As he seeks to understand her and her tragic past, he must also deal with some tragedy of his own.  As everyone knows, ‘grief lasts two years.’

With Ireland as a backdrop and themes of religion, mental illness, and family loyalty and betrayal, The Secret Scripture is superbly crafted and is definitely worthy of the Booker Prize.

1990, 89 pp. Rating:

Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is hilariously fun. Winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Drama and written by the author of Fall on Your Knees, this play takes the main character, Constance, and puts her in the middle of Othello and Romeo [...]]]> Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
by Anne-Marie MacDonald

1990, 89 pp.
Rating:

Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is hilariously fun. Winner of the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Drama and written by the author of Fall on Your Knees, this play takes the main character, Constance, and puts her in the middle of Othello and Romeo and Juliet with very funny results.  Plot lines are changed, lines rearranged, and we get to really know the players as never before.

If you’re familiar with both plays you will be in stitches in parts.  Lines from the original plays are in italics to help the reader know the difference between those lines and MacDonald’s.  Even MacDonald’s are written in iambic pentameter.

Highly recommended — especially for lovers of Shakespeare or those participating in the Canadian Literature Challenge.

Bravo!

This clever children’s book by Mordecai Richler was written for his children and modeled after the same, and [...]]]> Poor Mr. Dinglebat was in a state. He had, he told Jacob Two-Two, recently invested a good deal of money in buying Canadian military secrets, and now he was stuck with them. “No customers,” he said.

This clever children’s book by Mordecai Richler was written for his children and modeled after the same, and it was just simply a delight to read. Featuring not only Jacob Two-Two, but also I.M. Greedyguts, Miss Sour Pickle, and Perfectly Loathsome Leo Louse, this third installment of the Jacob Two-Two series made me laugh out loud at several points. I really, really enjoyed it. (It’s also a good short book for the Canadian Challenge — or if you need a ‘J’ title!)

1995, 144 pp.
Rating:

2007, 533 pp.

Rating:

Absolutely wonderful.  I cannot recommend this highly enough. I also couldn’t tell you what it’s about better than the official website:

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But [...]]]> The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick

2007, 533 pp.

Rating:

Absolutely wonderful.  I cannot recommend this highly enough. I also couldn’t tell you what it’s about better than the official website:

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together…in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you.

This is being made into a movie by Johnny Depp’s production company.  I can’t wait to see it.

Visit the official website!

Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz, survivor of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is a brilliant writer. As I was [...]]]> Definition: Mourner’s Kaddish expresses love of God and acceptance of God’s will, even while the mourner is feeling sorrow over the death of a loved one. [See the actual English translation at the end of this review.]

Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz, survivor of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is a brilliant writer. As I was reading this short work, I found that I wanted to quote almost the entire book for this review. In the story, a man at a writer’s conference explains to a colleague why he refused his ex-wife a child because he doesn’t want to bring a child into a world where an Auschwitz is allowed to occur. In fact the very first word of the novel is “No,” a reference to a question on whether or not he has children. He then expounds on his reasons for that decision, and on his childhood, his marriage, and his survival experiences.

“No!” something screamed, howled within me, immediately and forthwith, and it was only gradually, after many, many years had quieted it down, that my cramp gave way to a quiet but persistent pain, until slowly and maliciously, like a malignant sickness, a question began to take distinct shape with me: “Were you to be a dark-eyed little girl? With pale spots of scattered freckles around your little nose? Or a stubborn boy? With cheerful, hard eyes like blue-gray pebbbles?” Yes, my existence in the context of your potentiality.

I’ve had family members also question the wisdom of bringing children into the world, and the first time it was put to me, I didn’t understand the reasoning behind this stance at all. Perhaps I was too naive then, though, because I do understand it now. I am a mother; I’m grateful to be a mother; but, unfortunately, there is much evil in this world, and while not my choice, I understand why people would question whether to subject their potential children to it.

1990, [1999 for English trans.], 95 pp.
Rating: 4.5/5

English Translation of the Mourner’s Kaddish
May His illustrious name become increasingly great and holy
In the world that He created according to His will,
and may He establish His kingdom
In your lifetime and in your days
and in the lifetime of all the house of Israel
Speedily and soon. And let us say amen.

May His illustrious name be blessed always and forever.
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled
Honoured, raised up and acclaimed
be the name of the Holy one blessed be He
beyond every blessing hymn, praise and consolation
that is uttered in the world. And let us say amen.
May abundant peace from heaven, and life
Be upon us and upon all Israel.

I received this arc from the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club. It is so wonderful to be a part of [...]]]> Arthur: How can you tell a cannibal?
Vivi: Well, they’re the only ones left, silly.
Arthur: No, before they’ve eaten the others.
Vivi: Oh, that. They’ve just got a look about them.

I received this arc from the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club. It is so wonderful to be a part of this program because the authors are also on the message boards and will answer questions from readers. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading Poppy Adams’ responses to the questions posed. I will definitely be reading more of her work when it comes out. The Sister is her first novel.

Originally titled The Time of Emergence, and called The Behaviour of Moths in the UK, The Sister is a book where, after reaching the end, the reader may be left with more questions unanswered than answered. There are multiple interpretations that could be made about several different occurrences in the book. For me, that’s what makes this story so fascinating. I know that may be more of a frustration to some, though.

Vivien (Vivi) and Virginia (Ginny) are two sisters who grew up in a countryside mansion with lepidopterist ancestors. Their maternal grandfather and father were both lepidopterists, and Ginny becomes a lepidopterist. What is a lepidopterist? It’s a person who studies moths and butterflies. There is much discussion of the behavior of moths in this book, but it is an essential aspect of the story. While reading and after finishing the book, I realized many parallels between the behavior of moths and the behavior of the characters in the novel. This is a book I’ll probably re-read at some point to catch all the connections between the two.

Vivi and Ginny have been separated for decades, and the reasons why become apparent as the story unfolds. Very different from each other, Vivi is outgoing and leaves home for London at a young age, while Ginny is an introvert and a homebody. In fact, as the novel opens, we get the sense that Ginny hasn’t left her home for many, many years. Vivien decides to come back to the house, stating to Ginny that as sisters, they should spend their old age together. The entire novel only takes place over a few days, but as each day unfolds, we are also given glimpses from the past and why they have been separated for so long. All of this is told from Ginny’s perspective, though, and as Ginny and Vivi discuss their history together, they both realize that they saw their childhood in distinctly different ways. These differences are crucial to figuring out what is going on in the story.

What is going on in the story? I don’t want to tell you much, because it has a really good, creepy, gothic, Hitchcock feel to it that is better left to finding out by reading the story. If you don’t mind not having everything wrapped up in the end, and if you like having multiple interpretations of a storyline, you’ll love this book. I really enjoyed it, and the more I think about it, the more I love it.

2008, 275 pp.
Rating: 4.5/5

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is a book I wish I’d read in childhood. I know I would [...]]]> I am probably the last adult female in the world to fall in love with Anne Shirley, but it’s finally happened. Her sweet, spunky, imaginative spirit is impossible not to fall in love with.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is a book I wish I’d read in childhood. I know I would have gobbled up this series just like I did the Little House books. While as a child I could relate to Laura’s tomboyishness and her location on the prairie, I now see in Anne a competitive spirit that I could have also related to, particularly with academics. It also would have been nice to have the American/Canadian contrast while I was a young girl, but at least now I know what I’ve been missing. Just as those around her were spellbound by Anne, so was I. I can’t wait to read more of the series.

Raidergirl, I thought about you often during the reading of this book. I’d love to visit you in PEI someday!

1908, 369 pp.
Rating: 4.5

Also reviewed by:

• Teddy Rose

It’s very atmospheric. [...]]]> I read Strangers by Taichi Yamada for the Japanese literature challenge. This was my first book for the challenge, and I don’t recollect ever having read a book translated from the Japanese before. I first heard about it from kimbofo at Reading Matters, who gave it a perfect 5 star rating.

It’s very atmospheric. I found myself thinking about it long after reading the novel, and the story somewhat reminded me of an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Harada lives in a building on a very busy street in Tokyo. However, most of the units in the building have been converted to office space and, consequently, there are only two tenants there after hours. He’s a little spooked by the quietness in the building at night but chalks it up to being recently divorced and unused to being alone.

One night he decides to go to his hometown where he meets a couple who are the spitting image of his long-dead parents. He keeps going back to see them to try to determine who they really are. There are other strange happenings in his life that I won’t spoil for you here.

It’s a short book that can be read in a few hours, and I encourage anyone interested in world literature to read it. The ‘quiet suspense’ of the novel impressed me and made me want to read more by this author.

(1987 [2003 in U.S.], 203 pp.)
Rating: