The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife

Author: Audrey Niffenegger

First Published: 2003

No. of Pages: 546

Synopsis (from B&N): "This bestselling and innovative debut novel ... explores the perfect marriage, one that is tested by challenges the couple can neither control nor predict. An imaginative extension of everyday life, the story asks: What if two people who loved each other deeply, married, and faced a life in which one person remained constant while the other slipped fluidly in and out of time?

A modern love story with a twist that invites us to linger over questions of how life and love change over time."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: I normally don't care for anything science fiction-related, but this is an exception. I loved this book! Having a character jump around in time could have made for a real mess, but the author was very organized and presented it well. There were times I had to go back a few pages to check dates, but otherwise it flowed along with no confusion. The characters are well-drawn and extremely likable. I especially liked that I'm the exact age of the wife and my husband is the exact age of the husband (obviously this is a coincidence), as it really made me relate to the cultural references. I felt the characters' emotions and motivations were genuine and true-to-life. At the end of the day, I hated to end this one because I felt like my relationship with good friends was ending.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: Yes!

Challenges: A to Z Challenge (author "N")

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds

Title: The Rapture of Canaan

Author: Sheri Reynolds

First Published: 1996

No. of Pages: 322

Synopsis (from B&N): "At the Church of Fire and Brimstone and Gods Almighty Baptizing Wind, Grandpa Herman makes the rules for everyone, and everyone obeys, or else. Try as she might, Ninah can't resist her prayer partner, James, and finds herself pregnant. She fears the wrath of Grandpa Herman, the congregation and God Himself. But the events that follow show Ninah that God's ways are more mysterious than even Grandpa Herman understands."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: I read this book in 2 days flat, so that should tell you something about how quickly this story moved. The story is told in the 1st person -- I think every perspective has pros and cons and I can't say I prefer one to the other, but for ease of reading 1st person wins hands down. No muss, no fuss. This book didn't have the in-depth character development you'd get with 3rd person, but the characters weren't flat and they struck me as true to life. All in all, a good story and well-written.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: Yes.

Challenges: 2008 TBR Challenge

The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV by W. H. Lewis

Title: The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV

Author: W. H. Lewis

First Published: 1953

No. of Pages: 336

Synopsis (from Amazon): "Pleasures and palaces are, of course, an enormously entertaining part of this vivid account of France under Louis XIV. More important is the author's exploration of the political, economic, social and artistic forces that developed during the long reign of the Sun-King. It was an age of contradictions and compromises and high taxes and formal manners. And to the day he died Louis XIV ate with his fingers and acted like God. The opening account of Louis XIV's private life and loves sets the pace for this witty, provocative account of a century that, like our own, was a time of transition, dissatisfaction and progress. This was the age of Moliere, Racine, Corneille...the age of the salons and the graceful correspondents. And also an age that sent thousands of Huguenots to the galleys, the notorious death ships that served as seventeenth-century concentration camps."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: This book presents an interesting overview of France during the reign of Louis XIV, covering the period of 1638-1715. It gives a brief bio of Louis but is not solely concerned with him or the aristocracy. Instead, the book contains chapters on such things as medicine of the time, life in a typical French town, being a country gentleman, and female education. It's all very interesting and the book is easy to read and understand. I did find the chapter on the Church a little confusing and I wish the author had provided more background information. The way that chapter is presented seems to assume that the reader has a basic understanding of the history of the Catholic Church. My only other complaint is that the author included a number of phrases or sentences in French without translation, which is obviously only meaningful for someone who reads French (not me). Considering the author was British (and, incidentally, the brother of C.S. Lewis) and not American, I don't know if assuming that your readers are bilingual is a valid assumption or not, but it frustrating to keep coming across things and not know what the author meant.

I should also point out that, while this book appears to be well researched, it is not a scholarly book. It does not directly reference other scholarly books, it does not contain footnotes, and it does not provide an in-depth analysis of the topics presented. That said, this book does provide a very good general overview of the time period and would be an excellent introductory book for that period of French history.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: Yes, especially anyone who reads classic literature set in Europe (I'm assuming that conditions were approximately the same in most European nations at the time), or is interested in European history in general.

Challenges: 2008 TBR Challenge

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Author: Gabriel García Márquez

First Published: 1967

No. of Pages: 458

Synopsis (from B&N): "The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.

Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel García Márquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: I've read other reviews of this book and it seems that people either love it or hate it. I'm in the love camp. The writing is beautiful. Sure, the people and events aren't always realistic, but sometimes you need to loosen up on reality to get the bigger picture, and this book does that. My one beef is that all the characters (and there are lots) have the same or similar names and it's next to impossible to remember who you're reading about at specific periods. My copy included a family tree in the front that I made frequent use of, but even it wasn't detailed enough.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: Absolutely!

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum, TBR 2008, Banned Books, 1% Well-Read, Book Awards II

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Title: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Author: Mark Twain

First Published: 1885

No. of Pages: 324

Synopsis (from B&N): Huckleberry Finn, rebel against school and church, casual inheritor of gold treasure, rafter of the Mississippi, and savior of Jim the runaway slave, is the archetypical American maverick.

Fleeing the respectable society that wants to "sivilize" him, Huck Finn shoves off with Jim on a rhapsodic raft journey down the Mississippi River. The two bind themselves to one another, becoming intimate friends and agreeing "there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."

As Huck learns about love, responsibility, and morality, the trip becomes a metaphoric voyage through his own soul, culminating in the glorious moment when he decides to "go to hell" rather than return Jim to slavery.

Mark Twain defined classic as "a book which people praise and don't read"; Huckleberry Finn is a happy exception to his own rule. Twain's mastery of dialect, coupled with his famous wit, has made Adventures of Huckleberry Finn one of the most loved and distinctly American classics ever written.

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: Somehow, I never read either this book or Tom Sawyer while growing up. I don't know how I missed them; it seems like everyone in the country read them except me. So for years, I've said to myself that I had to read them -- there had to be some reason why everyone else had. Even if it was only because teachers insisted, there had to be a reason why.

Now I understand. Both books are great stories. I have read other works by Twain in the past and I can see why Huck Finn is considered his masterpiece. It's funny, the people feel like real people and not archetypes or caricatures, and parts of the story really make you think. I found that I could identify with almost everyone in some way -- their way of thinking, their desires, their fears, something. Twain had a real gift for capturing the essence of people, sometimes placing them in a good light but also showing their absurdities, their ignorance, or their meanness.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: You bet! I can't believe I waited so many years to finally read it.

Challenges: 1% Well-Read Challenge; Banned Books Challenge; 2008 TBR Challenge

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

Title: The Book of Ruth

Author: Jane Hamilton

Publication Date: 1997

No. of Pages: 328

Synopsis (from Amazon): Author Jane Hamilton leads us through the arid life of Ruth Grey, who extracts what small pleasures and graces she can from a tiny Illinois town and the broken people who inhabit it. Ruth's prime tormentor is her mother May, whose husband died in World War II and took her future with him. More poor familial luck has given Ruth a brother who is a math prodigy; Matt sucks up any stray attention like a black hole. Ruth is left to survive on her own resources, which are meager. She struggles along, subsisting on crumbs of affection meted out by her Aunt Sid and, later, her screwed-up husband Ruby. The book ends with the prospect of redemption--but the tale is nevertheless much more bitter than sweet.

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: This is one of those books that I both like and disliked. I was okay the first 3/4 or so, although I did want to take the main character to the woodshed a few times (more on that in a minute), but the last few chapters made me want to throw the book out the window. It almost seemed like the author was tired of the book and just wanted to get it over with -- the issues and feeling she brought out in Ruth didn't seem to progress naturally at the end, they just kind of rushed through, helter skelter, and presto, you're done. Very unsatisfying.

Regarding the woodshed remark, this is one of those things that has more to do with me than the book/character. In this case, you've got a character who's basically a doormat for everyone, her mother most of all, which is something that I CANNOT STAND. I understand why she's that way and I can even sympathize, but it still makes my skin crawl. Seriously, it takes every bit of patience that I have not to scream, "GET A BACKBONE, ALREADY! STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!! QUIT TAKING THEIR !*%$*!" Like I said, though, this is more about me than a fault of the book. In this area, the author did quite a good job of making you relate to the character, even if you did want to throttle her.

Would You Recommend This Book to Others: Yes. I'd classify it as a good book to read eventually, but not one of my You Must Read This Now books.

Challenges: 2008 TBR Challenge; What's in a Name? Challenge; Book Awards II Challenge

2008 TBR Challenge book list

January through December 2008

FICTION

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

NON-FICTION

Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

History Of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang

The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind the New York Times by Susan Tifft

ALTERNATES

FICTION

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

On the Beach by Nevil Shute

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

NON-FICTION

Boswell's Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson by Adam Sisman

A Common Life: Four Generations of American Literary Friendships & Influence by David Laskin

Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship, based on Eleanor Roosevelt's Private Papers by Joseph P. Lash

King George V by Kenneth Rose

Literary Feuds: A Century of Celebrated Quarrels--From Mark Twain to Tom Wolfe by Anthony Arthur

The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction by Edward L. Ayers

The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV by W. H. Lewis

Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein by Jean Sasson

Synopsis from Barnes & Noble: "From personal meetings with Saddam Hussein and Chemical Ali to raising two small children as a single mother, Mayada's life was at once privileged, yet carefully balanced. But life can shift quickly in Iraq and Mayada finds herself thrown into a small cell with seventeen other women. The shadow women. The women rally around each other to share their unbelievable stories and in so doing gain the strength to survive. The names of the shadow women are scrawled in charcoal onto the cell wall in the hopes that one day one of them will make it out to tell others of their existence. This is Mayada's courageous story, but also that of her sisters."

What an incredible story! Like many Americans, I've had some idea that life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein was terrible, but I had not given any specific thought to what that life was like. And I had absolutely no idea of the way the Iraqi people were arrested for no reason, held indefinitely with no rights, and worst of all, the torture that was inflicted on them. Ms. Sasson does a wonderful job of describing people and places, and she tells Mayada's tale in a way that allows the reader to feel an emotional connection with her and her former cellmates. While I don't agree with the continued involvement of the U.S. in Iraq, I can certainly agree that Saddam was a sadistic dictator who needed to be removed in one way or another (although it's our shame that we chose to remove him to protect our interests rather than because of any humanitarian motives). This book helps to remind us that those of us who live in the U.S. and other western countries should be grateful every day for the freedoms and protections we enjoy and the lives that we are able to lead.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang

Synopsis from Barnes & Noble: "In December 1937, in the capital of China, one of the most brutal massacres in the long annals of wartime barbarity occurred. The Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking and within weeks not only looted and burned the defenseless city but systematically raped, tortured, and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. Amazingly, the account of this atrocity was denied by the Japanese government.

The Rape of Nanking tells the story from three perspectives: that of the Japanese soldiers who performed it, of the Chinese civilians who endured it, and finally of a group of Europeans and Americans who refused to abandon the city and were able to create a safety zone that saved almost 300,000 Chinese."

I have had this book on my TBR pile for a few years now, and while I knew the subject was horrible, I was expecting the book to be excellent. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The author covers the topic thoroughly, but you never feel any real connection with any of the people. Much of the evidence is presented in a very bare-bones fashion, sort of a "just the facts" way, which may be accurate but doesn't arouse feelings of empathy for the victims or understanding of why such events occurred-- something that should always be included in books of this type. The thought that kept occurring to me while I was reading was that the book reminded me very much of a college term paper. There's no doubt that the book was incredibly well researched, but the material had the potential for so much more. My final impression of the book is that it does no more than an adequate job of presenting the issue, and I am ambivalent about recommending it to anyone. Perhaps Ms. Chang will revisit the issue in the future and the result will be better.

2007 TBR Challenge -- nonfiction

1. A History of Everyday Things in England, Vol. II 1500-1799 by Marjorie and C. H. Quennell: my undergrad degree is in history and political science, so lots of the nonfiction I read relate to these 2 areas. This is an old book that I picked up at a thrift store somewhere and thought would fit in nicely with the historical novels I enjoy. A decent book, lots of information on how people lived, what they wore, how they acted, etc. My only complaint is that this book (and the series it is a part of) was clearly written for children (lots of comments throughout like "Boys and girls should be aware..." and "Our young readers will not doubt be interested to learn that..." written in a condescending way), a fact that came as a surprise. But, all in all, an okay book for people interested in how ordinary people lived in England at the time.



2. Integrity by Stephen Carter: I cannot stress this enough -- EVERYONE should read this book. A fabulous look at what integrity means, how people act with it, and how it affects our society. I've had this book for years, carted it from house to house, and almost gave it away thinking that I would never read it and would hate it if I did. Thank goodness I kept it and actually read it! No way am I going to give it away, because I'm sure I'll reread it one day. Again, I say READ THIS BOOK!



3. The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester: An interesting history of how the OED was compiled over many decades, and the people behind it. Some people may find it dull, but a must for anyone interested in the history of language.

4. Paradise of Cities: Venice In the 19th Century by John Julius Norwich: A view of Venice told through the histories of half a dozen people that made it their home, however briefly. This book will not give you a traditional broad-view history, with information on government and the location's place in the world, but does provide a nice view of a legendary city.

5. The Rockefeller Billions The Story of the World's Most Stupendous Fortune by Jules Abels: This book tells how the Rockefeller fortune was made, and how various factors, including the U.S. government, attempted to rein it in. There are excellent descriptions of how the oil industry at the turn of the century operated and how Standard Oil was able to corner the market and became one of the world's most powerful companies. Very interesting.

6. An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir by Lillian Hellman: I previously wrote a review of this bo0k in a post, so no further comments are necessary.

Replacement for Light in August:

7. Decision: How the Supreme Court Decides Cases by Bernard Schwartz: Any book on the modern Supreme Court is bound to have some amount of political bias, and this one is no exception. However, compared to similar books, it is more objective than many, and provides an interesting look at how the Court operates behind the velvet curtains. Recommended for anyone interested in American judicial history.

2007 TBR Challenge -- fiction

A quick recap: the TBR Challenge was set up to help those of us with too many books (can there be such a thing?) start to make a dent in getting some of them read. The idea was to pick 12 books from shelves not previously read and read them in a year's time. I chose 6 fiction and 6 non-fiction and got through all but 1 of the fiction, although I did read 1 of my replacement books so I still got 12 read in all.

I'm terrible about writing reviews (I write for a living and have never enjoyed writing for pleasure) but I'm going to attempt to give a quick overview of the books and my thoughts on each.

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: everyone knows this book, so I won't waste anyone's time recapping the story. I could not believe it when I realized that I had never read this one before. I've read other Mark Twain stories before, so I expected to like this one, and I was right. What a great story! Having grown up in the South, even the modern day version, much of the story felt comfortable and familiar. Highly recommended.

2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I'm sure everyone has also heard of this character, if not the book itself, so the only recap I'll offer is that this book is actually a collection of short stories involving the famous sleuth. A bit outdated, and in today's real life Holmes would no doubt be thought a whack job (somebody that smart has to be twisted in some way), but still enormously interesting. Would be considered extremely tame and/or lame by today's detective fiction standards, but a good read nonetheless.

3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll: another story that everyone knows -- including myself, pre-read, thanks to the TV mini-series from the 80's or 90's (the one with Sammy Davis Jr. as the caterpillar, Kojak as the Cheshire Cat, etc.). Turns out the TV version was right in line with the book, so no surprises for me. Unfortunately, I think I also read it too fast to catch a lot of the social commentary, so I may have to go back and try again in a few years. When I do, I've heard that a book called The Annotated Alice is the way to go. If anyone has comments on that one, I'd love to read them!

4. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe: I actually posted a review on this one, so no comments necessary.

5. Light in August by William Faulkner: the only book on my list I didn't read. Nothing against Faulker, I actually enjoy his books, but I have to be in the right mood for them and that just hasn't happened this year.

6. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell: a 19th century English society novel along the lines of Jane Austen and the Brontes. Here's the summary from Barnes & Noble:

"An enchanting tale of romance, scandal, and intrigue in the gossipy English town of Hollingford around the 1830s, Wives and Daughters tells the story of Molly Gibson, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a widowed country doctor. When her father remarries, she forms a close friendship with her new stepsister—the beautiful and worldly Cynthia—until they become love rivals for the affections of Squire Hamley’s sons, Osbourne and Roger. When sudden illness and death reveal some secrets while shrouding others in even deeper mystery, Molly feels that the world is out of joint and it is up to her—trusted by all but listened to by none—to set it right."

I love books from this time period, and found this one very enjoyable. I wouldn't rank it as highly as I do Austen -- it's a bit longer than necessary and some parts didn't ring as true -- but I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Regency-era English novels. The author wrote several other books which I may look into, so you might see future reviews.

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe and 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building by Michael Gross

Summary of Bonfire:

On a clandestine date with his mistress one night, top Wall Street investment banker and snobbish WASP Sherman McCoy misses his turn on the thruway and gets lost in the South Bronx; his Mercedes hits and seriously injures a young black man. The incident is inflated by a manipulative black leader, a district attorney seeking reelection and a sleazy tabloid reporter into a full-blown scandal, a political football and a hokey morality play. Wolfe adroitly swings his focus from one to another of the people involved: the protagonist McCoy; Kramer, the assistant D.A.; two detectivesone Irish, the other Jewish; a slimy, alcoholic British journalist; an outraged judge, etc. He has an infallible, mocking ear for New York voices, rendering with equal precision the defense lawyer's "gedoutdahere," the deliberate bad grammar ("that don't help matters") of the wily "reverend" and the clenched-teeth WASP locution ('howjado"). His reporter's eye has seized every gritty detail of the criminal justice system, and he is also acute in rendering the hierarchy at a society party. He convincingly equates the jungles of Wall Street and the Bronx: in both places men casually use the same four-letter expletives and, no matter what their standing on the social ladder, find that power kindles their lust for nubile young women. Erupting from the first line with noise, color, tension and immediacy, this immensely entertaining novel accurately mirrors a system that has broken down: from the social code of basic good manners to the fair practices of the law.

Summary of 740 Park:

Of all Manhattan's fabled East Side dwellings of the super-rich, 740 Park Avenue has perhaps the best pedigree. Designed by Rosario Candela and developed by James T. Lee, Jackie O's maternal grandfather, as a cooperative haven for the elite, it had the misfortune to open just as the stock market crashed in 1930 and was forced to operate partly as a rental for some decades. The last sale was to Lee himself, for son-in-law "Black Jack" Bouvier, his wife and daughters Jackie and Lee. John D. Rockefeller Jr. signed a rental lease in 1936 for a massive apartment (more than 20,000 square feet), and Marshall Field III took another. Gross has solidly researched the denizens of the building, who they were, what they did, and who and how many times they married.

My input:

I decided to review these two together because they complement each other so well. Bonfire is fiction, but as seen from 740 Park, it's descriptions of the New York rich and powerful are not far from the mark. In fact, in one section of 740 Park, the author indicates that the Sherman McCoy character from Bonfire was modeled on a real life tenant.

I found both books enjoyable, although I did tend to get a bit frustrated with the characters detailed in both -- they're all so rich, spoiled, and cut off from the world that most of us inhabit that it's hard to have much empathy for them when things go bad. I think I would have enjoyed Bonfire even more if I had read it closer to when it originally came out (the late 1980's), as much of the storyline has been told in various episodes of Law & Order and the like, so it ended up seeming boringly familiar in many parts. 740 Park was a much slower read, and contained so many different individuals that it was hard to keep up with them. I'm an architecture buff, so I enjoyed the physical descriptions of the building, but it did get old after a while to read such exhaustive detailing of the unbelievable amounts of money spent on the apartments. And at over 600 and 500 pages respectively, I'm ready for a few lighter reads.

An Unfinished Woman by Lillian Hellman

I first heard of Lillian Hellman when I watched the movie "Julia," starring Jane Fonda as Ms. Hellman and Vanessa Redgrave as her friend, Julia. From that movie, I learned that Ms. Hellman was a playwright in the 1930's and 1940's, that she was an independent woman, and that she had a long-term relationship with the writer Dashiell Hammett (played by Jason Robards). For many years, that was the extent of my knowledge, until another movie, this time a film version of one of Ms. Hellman's plays. The play was "The Children's Hour" and it showed me that this was a woman who was an excellent writer in her own right, and not just a someone who had attached herself to a famous man. Now, having read this memoir of her life, I'm more intrigued than ever.

Despite being a memoir, this book focuses a good deal on the people that Ms. Hellman knew and less on herself. However, one should not expect any dirt on the famous from this book -- Ms. Hellman was an extremely private individual and not only refrained from sharing what we would view as the "juicy tidbits" of her life, but also refrained from sharing those of her friends. We are instead given an insight into the knowledge she gained from others, and the life experiences that made her who she was (Ms. Hellman passed away in 1984). The reader is left with the impression that Ms. Hellman was very self-aware and had no qualms about sharing that information, good or bad. She presented herself as, "Here is who and what I am, no apologies, no excuses."

Unlike many modern-day memoirs, we are also not subjected to endless psychoanalysis into her psyche -- it's obvious that she spent a great deal of time reflecting on herself and others, and figuring out what made them tick, but that knowledge is presented through their actions, so that the reader is often left to draw her own conclusions as to the reasoning behind the actions. This actually makes for a more meaningful reading experience, and one that I enjoyed immensely.