1morechapter.com » 1970′s

Bear by Marian Engel

3m — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:46:06 +0000

Ummm…..no. No, no, no, no, no. I don’t think I can recommend this title. That this book won the Governor General’s Award flabbergasts me. A librarian and a bear get kinky on a small Canadian island. That’s all you really need to know to realize why I didn’t like this book.

1976 Governor General’s Award
1976, 141 pp.
Rating:

Review: Detective Story

3m — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:39:11 +0000

Written in 1977 but published in the US for the first time this January, Detective Story by Nobel laureate Imre Kertesz tells the story of a group of men who, while working for an unnamed Latin American country’s government, go too far to stop their political enemies. While I thought Kaddish for a Child Not Born by Kertesz was brilliant, I must admit I didn’t get into this one too much. I’m willing to confess the fault might lie with the reader rather than the writer, however. Luckily, this one was short, but it didn’t pack the same punch for me that Kaddish did.

1977 [2008 for the English translation], 112 pp.
Rating: 3/5

The Bluest Eye

3m — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:10:57 +0000

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a quick read, but by no means is it easy or light. With subjects of poverty, inc*st, and racial self-loathing (Morrison’s own description), it is difficult at times to read.

It starts off with a sappy reading of Dick and Jane, and continues on with why not all homes are the same as Dick and Jane’s. Morrison draws each character so well, and 11 year-old Pecola, especially, is a girl I won’t soon forget. My edition had an afterward by the author which gave even more insight into what she was trying to accomplish with this book.

Although The Bluest Eye was very depressing, I can see why Morrison has many fans. I hope to get to Beloved later this year.

1970, 206 pp.
Rating:

Zia

3m — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 05:58:28 +0000

Zia is the sequel to the Newbery-winning The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. If you have read and enjoyed that book, you’ll like Zia as well.

Zia is Karana’s 14 year old niece, who desperately wants to find out what happened to her aunt. Along with her brother, she first heads out alone, but then realizes she will need help from others if she is to find her aunt on the island. Many of you already may know this, but these stories are based on real events. “It is based on the true story of Juana María, the “Lone Woman of San Nicolas,” a Nicoleño Indian marooned for 18 years on San Nicolas Island off the California coast.” (Wikipedia)

This makes both stories so much more fascinating. Of course, it also helps that Scott O’Dell is such an amazing writer. In both books, he writes in first person as the female character. He really does a convincing job of it! I highly recommend both books as well as The Black Pearl, which I read earlier this year. I’d like to read more of O’Dell in the future, so if you can recommend another title, I’d appreciate it.

1976, 179 pp.
Rating: 4

The Halloween Tree

3m — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:45:55 +0000

I didn’t really care for this book, although I loved Fahrenheit 451. I read this one for the R.I.P. Challenge because I knew I wouldn’t get to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Probably the main reason I didn’t like it was because I don’t like Halloween. I don’t even celebrate it at all. Autumn is my favorite season, and I do love everything about it. . . except Halloween. (I’m not a scrooge, though; I still hand out candy if we’re home.)

So why did I read it then? Well, the storyline was quite a bit different from what I expected. I just expected a scary Halloween night story, and it was that, but it was also a celebration of Halloween. Similar to A Christmas Carol, a ‘ghost’ (with a Marley knocker) takes the boys through the celebration of Halloween through the ages. Anyway, if you enjoy the holiday, then you’ll like this story quite a bit.

I’m still glad I read the book, though, because it is Ray Bradbury, and I do want to read more of his work.

1972, 145 pp.

Rating: 3

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken

3m — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:18:00 +0000

A Severe Mercy
by Sheldon Vanauken

1977, 238 pp.

Rating: 4

National Book Award Winner

This memoir is a book about life, marriage, friendship, and faith. Vanauken tells the story of how he and his wife’s relationship changed from an intense, romantic love to one controlled by their Christian beliefs. That is not to say that their love wasn’t intense or romantic after their conversion, but it did change significantly. He also details his wife’s illness, death, and his own grief process afterwards.

Most interesting to me were the letters exchanged between the Vanaukens (mostly Sheldon) and C.S. Lewis. The couple met Lewis while at Oxford and kept up a healthy correspondence with him after they moved back to the States. Lewis is my favorite author, so it was interesting to hear his viewpoints on a much more personal level. These exchanges were my favorite parts of the book.

Amy – June 18, 2007

I read this book and really enjoyed it too and agree that the exchanges with Lewis were my favorite part of the book.

I have so many Lewis books that I want to read(and in fact, own) but I never get them read. I need to link them to a challenge and then I will complete them.

Maybe in 2008.

Grendel by John Gardner

3m — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:49:00 +0000

Grendel
by John Gardner
1971
174 pp.

Rating: 2

I didn’t like this book. AT ALL. I absolutely love Beowulf, and I highly recommend reading or listening to Seamus Heaney’s version. Whereas Beowulf could almost be considered a Christian work, Grendel is nihilistic. Enough said.

booklogged – April 13, 2007: Thanks for the warning, 3M. Every once in awhile it’s refreshing to come across a review that doesn’t compel me to add the book to my list. Just sorry you had to waste your time reading it.
Carl V. – April 13, 2007: So….you didn’t like it then? I like the cover, at least.
Daphne – April 14, 2007: What is that on the cover??
Quixotic – April 18, 2007: I have this on my list of things to read. I too love Beowulf, and Seamus Heaney’s version is excellent. I guess I’ll have to see what I make of Grendel!

Angle of Repose – Wallace Stegner

3m — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 05:51:00 +0000

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972. It is a story about family, marriage, and even American history. Susan Burling Ward, an artist from the East, goes West with her Western mining engineer husband to “begin a new civilization”. Their struggles with each other, with outsiders, and the land itself are chronicled by Lyman Ward, their grandson who is a retired history professor. As Lyman ends their story, he realizes certain parallel struggles in his own story and wonders how he will overcome them.

I enjoyed Stegner’s writing very much. I thought his portrayal of Susan was very convincing. I enjoyed his grandparents’ story a little more than his own just because there was some s*xual dialogue used that I don’t care for. These were few and far between though, and I do plan on reading more from this author.
1971, 569 pp.
Pulitzer – 1972

Rating: 4/5