Hillary Jordan has written a very good debut novel that speaks on war, racism, marriage, and living off the land. The story is told by various narrators throughout the book. Henry and Laura are a white married couple who move to the Mississippi delta to raise cotton. Henry loves the land, but Laura misses city life and is deeply unhappy. She also has to live and deal with her racist father-in-law for the first time.
Hap and Florence are a black couple living on Henry’s farm as renters. Hap is a preacher, while Florence is a midwife who also helps Laura with some of her housework. Their oldest child Ronsel is in the military and serving in Germany, and when he comes back, he has to adjust back to a way of life that he is no longer accustomed to. He does find a friend, however, in Jamie, Henry’s younger brother. But, this doesn’t sit well with Henry and Jamie’s father, and trouble ensues.
This book all too painfully illustrates how much African-Americans have had to go through in this country. It does seem like the tide has changed with the historic election of our first black President, Barack Obama. I sincerely hope that this event will be the turning point in race relations in the United States.
(All along while reading this book, I was thinking it was going to receive a 4.5 rating, but then at the end something is stated by Jamie that I was deeply offended by, and I changed my rating to a 4. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but I think a better choice of words should have been uilized to avoid offending some readers.)
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.
I finished Draculaon audio this week and loved it. Now my sons and husband are listening to it as well. The unabridged edition, of course. It is creepy and scary, and I normally don’t like creepy and scary, but Bram Stoker’s novel is so well done and, obviously, the beginning of it all. I’m thinking of getting this annotated edition at left that comes out on October 13. It even has an introduction by Neil Gaiman. I’ll probably use this edition for a future re-read.
We started to watch the movie starring Gary Oldman, but it wasn’t appropriate for kids (my kids at least) so we quit. I still may watch it at a later date. I would love to see a modern version that was faithful to the book.
Something that surprised and pleased me while reading the book was the strong Christian faith of some of the characters. I didn’t expect that at all, and I do wonder about Stoker’s own beliefs. He was rumored to have been part of a secret, magical order that included the occultist Aleister Crowley.
Also, I read on Publisher’s Weekly that Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew Dacre Stoker and Dracula documentarian and historian Ian Holt are going to be writing Dracula: the Undead. The publisher will be Dutton, and it is scheduled to be released in October, 2009.
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.
There’s no denying that Nabokov is a great writer. In fact, I’d love to read more by him — just on a different subject. I had a hard time rating this book as the subject matter is so despicable, but settled on 3 stars because of Nabokov’s writing ability. A large part of the rating also goes to the excellence in Jeremy Irons’ narration. I absolutely love his voice, but then again, he was almost too good as the narrator for Humbert Humbert. I have not seen the movie with Irons in the starring role.
I won’t repeat the storyline here, as everyone should know the basic outline of it. My question is, why did Nabokov even feel the need to write this story? I’ve heard one reviewer say that Nabokov makes us root for Humbert Humbert over Lolita. Not so. Not with me, anyway. A great writer Nabokov is. A great character Humbert Humbert is not.
I love Margaret Atwood, but Oryx and Crake was just too gritty for my taste. This was compounded by the fact that I listened to it on audio. Hearing the graphic descriptions was even worse than reading it. This was my fifth Atwood, and by far my least favorite.
The narrator is Jimmy, code-named Snowman. Crake is a sort of Dr. Moreau figure, while Oryx is a woman caught between the two. I don’t want to give away too many details for those who still want to read it, but if you’re squeamish about graphic s*xu*l situations (including child p*r*o*raphy), I would advise against it. I didn’t get why it had to have that element to the story. I also wondered why the title of the book was named that way, but in the end, I guess it was because Oryx and Crake were the two most influential figures in Jimmy’s life.
I would recommend reading other Atwoods before this one. The Handmaid’s Tale,Cat’s Eye, and The Penelopiad are my favorites so far.
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (1 Peter 3:12-13, ESV)
Hillary Jordan has written a very good debut novel that speaks on war, racism, marriage, and living off the land. The story is told by various narrators throughout the book. Henry and Laura are a white married couple who move to the Mississippi delta to raise cotton. Henry loves the land, but Laura misses city life and is deeply unhappy. She also has to live and deal with her racist father-in-law for the first time.
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 
Neil Gaiman’s 
I finished Dracula on audio this week and loved it. Now my sons and husband are listening to it as well. The unabridged edition, of course. It is creepy and scary, and I normally don’t like creepy and scary, but Bram Stoker’s novel is so well done and, obviously, the beginning of it all. I’m thinking of getting this annotated edition at left that comes out on October 13. It even has an introduction by Neil Gaiman. I’ll probably use this edition for a future re-read.
There’s no denying that Nabokov is a great writer. In fact, I’d love to read more by him — just on a different subject. I had a hard time rating this book as the subject matter is so despicable, but settled on 3 stars because of Nabokov’s writing ability. A large part of the rating also goes to the excellence in Jeremy Irons’ narration. I absolutely love his voice, but then again, he was almost too good as the narrator for Humbert Humbert. I have not seen the movie with Irons in the starring role.
I love Margaret Atwood, but Oryx and Crake was just too gritty for my taste. This was compounded by the fact that I listened to it on audio. Hearing the graphic descriptions was even worse than reading it. This was my fifth Atwood, and by far my least favorite.
