Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts

Sunday, December 28, 2008

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan


Fell Flat

It is 1962. The story opens with Edward and Florence just married and in their honeymoon sweet eating dinner. They are both nervous, as can be expected of two virgins. Florence is actually petrified. "Where he merely suffered conventional first-night nerves, she experienced a visceral dread, a helpless disgust as palpable as seasickness."

Edward had denied himself any "self-pleasure" for a week so that he wouldn't fail to perform on that all important night. However, once the event starts, it doesn't go well.

That pretty much sums up the story, of course I left out spoilers, which I figured out from the first few pages. The plot is very little and there is not a whole lot to the story. I'm not one to complain that something didn't "blow up". I don't need heart pounding action but I wish something more would have happened. The story was just too flat and one dimensional for me.
That said, I do like Ian McEwan's writing style. He really knows how to write about and capture emotions. I do have other McEwen books on my to-be-read list and do plan to read them.

3/5

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Posted by Teddy Rose at 8:19 PM 19 comments  

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson





Powerful!


The Gargoyle is a difficult book to review and summarize. The plot crosses many genre lines and deals with many issues. That said, here is my attempt.

The novel begins with the narrator getting in a car accident after bingeing on liquor and cocaine. He has a bottle of bourbon between his legs at the time and him and his car go up in flames. He is burned over most of his body and is in a hospital burn unit for a very long time.

Marianne Engel, a famous sculptress of gargoyles, shows up on his unit one day and tells him that they were lovers in medieval Germany. She claims that he was a mercenary and that she was a scribe. He doesn’t really much faith in this claim, but is mesmerized by Marianne.

When he was ready to be released from the hospital he was still going to need continuous care. Normally he would have been sent to a rehab centre, however Marianne volunteers to take him into her home. She has the resources for him to get the care he needs.

This book is richly layered with many themes and symbolism. It is not a book to be read quickly, but rather slowly and contemplatively. One of the major themes is of redemption and there are many references to Dante’s Inferno in it.

This book is not for the faint of heart. The burns that the nameless narrator goes through and many other aspects are vividly outlined. Though I don’t normally like a book with much gore, it is needed in this book. It’s not there to purposely shock the reader, but to inform.

I really liked this book. It has a lot to keep the reader interested and is well researched and written. The stories that Marianne tells are very engaging and were my favorite part of the book.

I only have one complaint. Throughout the book the author refers to Marianne by her full name, Marianne Engel. Her entire name appears several times on the same page. Though this doesn’t ruin the book, it is a distraction, at least for me. I have no idea if this was intentional, though for what purpose I can’t fathom or if is was in need of better editing. That said, I did read an advance reading copy, so maybe in the final version published this was fixed. I sure hope so.

I highly recommend The Gargoyle and look forward to reading more from Andrew Davidson.

4/5

Thanks to Doubleday for sending an advance reading copy of this book!
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Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:52 PM 24 comments  

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Look for Me by Edeet Ravel




Not Just Black and White, There’s Gray

Dana Hillman is an Israeli woman who falls in love. Her husband Daniel is a soldier who is burned badly in the conflict. He disappeared from the hospital on the day Dana was finally allowed to see him. He’s been missing for over 11 years, but Dana’s search for him continues.

Throughout this time, Dana also stays true to her beliefs and protest on behalf of Palestinians who are treated so badly by most of Israel.

There is a rather eccentric cast of characters throughout this book, especially those living in Dana’s building. This thought provoking work of fiction is a love story, a character study, and a political statement. However, don’t let the mention of politics keep you from reading this book!

In the news, we never see all sides of the conflict in the Middle East. Edeet Ravel really captures the conflict between Israel and Palestine, showing all sides. It’s not just black and white; there is a lot of grey. For instance, Edeet shows us that there are Israelis who protest and support the Palestinians right to live free not corralled in little settlements.

This is the second book in Ravel’s Tel Aviv trilogy. I didn’t find this out, until after I finished reading it. This book can be read as a "stand alone" book. However, since I enjoyed it, I plan to read the first in the trilogy, ‘Ten Thousand Lovers.’

4/5

Did you also review this book? Leave a link to your review in the comments and I will post it at the bottom of my review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:11 PM 9 comments  

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Bang Crunch By Neil Smith








The Art of Short Story




This is Neil Smith’s debut book of 9 short stories. It’s somewhat uneven, like most books of short fiction. Some of the stories were gems and a couple duds.

I especially enjoyed "The B9ers", the story of a support group for people who had benign tumors. Yes, you read write, the non-lethal variety of tumor. This story was both humorous and touching.

Another story I enjoyed was the title story, "Bang Crunch". It’s the touching story about a girl born with Fred Hoyle syndrome. First she ages rapidly and then goes backward, back to an embryo again.

There were only 2 stories that I didn’t care for at all. "Green Fluorescent Protein" and "Extremities". They were just too "out there" for me.

Neil Smith is a strong writer. He writes with sensitivity and wicked humour. Though I didn’t like all the stories in this collection, I highly recommend it. The stories I enjoyed were well worth the time!

3.5/5

Note: If you have also reviewed this book, please feel free to post you link in the comments. I will then add it to the end of my review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:10 PM 8 comments  

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Sunday, June 8, 2008

A Perfect Night to Go to China By David Gilmour



Heartbreaking but Unbelievable



The book opens with Roman tucking his 6-year-old son in for the night. He then decides to leave the house, with his son in it, to go to a bar down the street for a quick drink. He’s gone about 15 minutes. When he returns, his son is missing.

Throughout the book we follow Roman on a remorseful journey. A journey of regret, sorrow, relationship problems, searching, and all those things that normally go with loss.

I really wanted to like this book and I did, I just didn’t love it. David Gilmour really has a way with words, and this really shines through. His mature prose was sometimes poetic, sparkled with some dark humour.

The major problem I had with this book was that every time Roman would dream, they would be in sequence. It’s like he planned it that way and he could do this at will. We don’t dream that way. I sometimes wish we did, because I have had dreams that I wish would continue the next time that I fell asleep. LOL!

I think with Gilmour’s talent, he could have done much more with this book. That said, this is the first David Gilmour book I have read, but I will definitely try another.

3/5

Note: If you have also reviewed this book, please feel free to post you link in the comments. I will then add it to the end of my review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 11:25 AM 5 comments  

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Monday, March 31, 2008

An Hour With Miriam Toews


Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing Miriam Toews live. She did a reading of 'A Complicated Kindness' and of her new book that is coming out in October. Then she did a question and answer with the audience.

I loved her book 'A Complicated Kindness'! It's a coming of age story about a teenage girl in a Mennonite society. Unfortunately, I read it long before I started writing book reviews, so you will just have to trust me on this one.

Miriam made a comment at the beginning of her reading, that in the past, people have complained that she reads too fast. She did read fast, especially when the lead character was speaking. However, she paced it exactly how I imagined the character to talk. She nailed it, and other audience members agreed!

I really enjoyed her reading and especially the question and answer. I highly recommend you read 'A Complicated Kindness' and see Miriam Toews in person, if you get the chance. She is delightful. I look forward to reading more books by Miriam Toews!

A complicated Kindness was also reviewed at:
book-a-rama

Posted by Teddy Rose at 1:44 PM 6 comments  

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Saturday, March 1, 2008

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold



Original and Refreshing!

Susie Salmon is a 14-year-old dead girl looks down from heaven and tells us about her murder and her observations about her family. She observes her family struggle to come to terms and cope with her death. We see her younger sister grow into a woman and her father trying to bring Susie’s killer to justice. We also learn about what her own heaven looks like and what it is like to be dead from her perspective.

Sounds a bit weird, right? That’s what I thought years ago when I picked up this book. I read about 15 pages and thought, "this is stupid, how can a dead person narrate a book. Then I ran across the audio book version a couple weeks ago. I thought to myself, "why not give it another more fair try and try to see why other readers like it so much." Boy, am I glad I did. Once I got past the description of the murder, I really enjoyed this book. It’s not as depressing as one would think. It was suspenseful, heartwarming, and humorous.

The performer on the audio version is Alyssa Bresnahan. She is excellent and really enhances the novel.

Susie Salmon captured my heart. I highly recommend this book and can hardly wait to see what Alice Sebold writes next!
4.5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:07 PM 8 comments  

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson




Delightful

Given only one month to live, 50 year old Ambrose Zephyr decides to take his wife, Zipper and travel around the world A-Z.

This is a love story first and far most. The destinations around the world are secondary and in fact they end up having to cut the trip short due to Amborse’s failing health. It is also about coming to terms with the inevitable loss.

Richardson’s prose jumps off the page while reading this poignant little story. It is funny, sad, and intelligent all at the same time. The only problem with it is that I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about Ambrose and his wife’s history. This book was only 139 pages though it could have been still under 150, but our curiosity about the past could have been quenched.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by CS Richardson!
4/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:55 PM 7 comments  

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Sunday, February 10, 2008

Little Children By Tom Perrotta


We are all Little Children Trying to Get Through Life
Often if I see a movie I really like and then I'll read the book, which is what happened with Little Children. The movie sticks quite closely to the book except for the ending, which I won't give away here.

Little children is the story of an over educated homemaker and a stay at home father who meet at a playground where they both bring their children. It is a satirical examination of the mundine life of parenthood and marriage. The satire can be cruel at times, but still funny in a serious kind of way.

Tom Perrotta was really able to get into the heads of his characters, even the females. In fact, if you didn't know who wrote the book, you may think a woman wrote it. I found this very refreshing. Perrotta was able to weave all the characters and subplots together smoothly and capture the modern, mundane suburban middle-class existence well. This is the first Tom Perrotta book I have read, but it certainly won't be the last!
4/5

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Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:33 PM 0 comments  

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Digging to America by Anne Tyler


Worth the Read
Digging to America is a very thoughtful story of 2 families, the Donaldson's, a typical American family and the Yazdans, Iranian immigrants. The book opens with both families, not knowing each other at the time, waiting at the airport for the arrival of their two baby daughter's that each family has adopted from Korea. When the families realize they were both adopting babies from Korea, they thought it would be nice to stay in touch so that the girls could see each other. This was the beginning of the stories of 2 quite different families and their blossoming friendship.


It was a very thoughtful story that had me laughing and even teary eyed at times. It was a nice story, worth the time, just not great. I listened to the Audio CD version and the narrator, Blair Brown was excellent! She really brought the story to life!
3.5/5

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Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:20 PM 2 comments  

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Friday, February 8, 2008

Sula by Toni Morrison



I’ve Read Better Morrison
This is the story of two black girls, Sula and Nel who become the best of friends in 1973 small town in Ohio. It is both a coming of age story and the trials and tribulations of adulthood, with little opportunity. Both women follow different paths but eventually converge.

I have heard so many wonderful things about this little book that I had to see what all of the fuss was about. I read Morrison’s The Bluest Eye for a women’s studies course in university years ago and really got a lot out of it, so I was quite hopeful with Sula.

What I got, was what seemed like stereotyping. It seemed like Morrison was almost poking fun at her own culture. While the reader new what was happening, the story seemed to be intentionally confusing and ambiguous.

From the description on the back cover of this book, it says:
"Together, they create an unforgettable portrait of what it means and costs to be a black woman in America"

Granted, this book was written in 1973, but I pray that this does not define "what it means" to be a black woman anywhere!

I won’t go as far as saying that this book is a waste of time. I wouldn’t have finished reading it if I thought it was, but Morrison can and has done better.
2.5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:33 PM 16 comments  

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King



Water, Water and a Little Too Much Water
This is the intersecting story of a cast of many colorful characters. There’s Alberta, a University professor who wants to trade her two boyfriends in for a baby but no husband. There’s her boyfriend Lionel who is about to turn 40 and is still working at a television store. Alberta’s other boyfriend; Charlie is a "hot shot" lawyer. Then there’s Eli who lives in an old cabin where a dam has been built, but not in use due to his injunctions to stop it. The character list goes on to other supporting characters and some symbolic ones.

This is a very readable quirky book, interspersed with pages of magical realism and mythical characters. I truly enjoyed reading about the main and supporting characters. They were very lively and interesting souls with real, sometime quirky issues. However, I had a hard time getting into the magical realism and symbolic characters. They felt more throw in for good measure, then really fitting in. The other issue I had was the use of water as a symbol. The author made this symbol quit clear from the beginning but I felt like it was being pushed on me throughout the book. It just felt a bit like "over kill" to me.

That said, this is a well-written enjoyable book. Especially for fans of magical realism, but also for readers who can look past that to the wonderful characters.

3.5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 4:53 PM 13 comments  

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner


Laugh Out Loud Funny
This little book is the retelling of classic bedtime stories with modern day political correctness. It retells stories including Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Cinderella, to name a few.

Garner uses political correctness in the extreme! For example, here is an excerpt from Little Red Riding Hood:

The wolf said, "You know, my dear, it isn't safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone."

Red Riding Hood said, "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop your own, entirely valid, worldview. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way."

This book had me laughing out loud, sometimes with tears in my eyes. The only negative thing is that the stories do get a bit repetitive, like the original stories themselves. Therefore, it is best to savour them one at a time with space in between.
I really had a lot of fun reading these silly PC stories.
4/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 1:01 PM 8 comments  

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Saturday, January 5, 2008

Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa



Beautiful and Haunting Story of an Portuguese Immigrant Family

Manuel was sent off to fish for his Portuguese village, as all other men and boys do. But he wanted more for his life, and wanted to get away from this life forever. This is the story about him and his family’s immigrant experience in Canada.

This is said to be a book of linked stories, however, I read it as a novel. I loved the breath taking descriptions of both Portugal and Canada. Anthony De Sa paints a beautiful, at times haunting portrait of the immigrant experience. With sumptuous prose, he tells of the ups and downs of the Rebelo family. The only thing that I found difficult, is when the narrator changes from father to son, it took me a little while to figure out that the son took over.

That said, I recommend this beautiful small book. In this case, good things do come in small packages!
4/5

Publication Date in Canada: March 18, 2008 (Thanks to BookLounge.ca for the advanced reading copy)

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:33 PM 17 comments  

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