Book Club

the shadow of the wind

2008-01-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

by far one of the best books i have read in a long time. it is both thrilling and romantic. if you have any love for the written word at all, have ever been in love, or simply been captured by a story, you will be able to relate to this book.

i don't want to give to much away - so i won't say much. if you read spanish, i would read it in the original - the english is so lyrical, i can only imagine what the spanish would be like.

The Gilded Chamber

2007-06-25T15:37:00.000-04:00

This tells the story of Esther, who becomes queen of Persia and saves the Jews (as in the Book of Esther in the Bible). It was a decently entertaining and quick read, though I didn't think it was fantastic. Good airplane reading. I didn't feel like the characters were developed enough for me to feel vested in what happened to them, nor did we get enough insight into why they acted the way they did. That said, the descriptions of the era and life in a harem were interesting, but not as good as I've read in other books. My opinion might be slightly biased however, because I had a book about Queen Esther a long time ago that I remember really liking, but I have no idea what happened to it and it was really old so I think it is out of print. Perhaps it has become better in my memory and that is why this book doesn't seem to measure up...

The Feast of the Goat

2007-04-10T16:55:00.000-04:00

The Feast of the Goat, written by former Peruvian Presidential candidate Mario Vargas Llosa, is a historical/political fiction novel based on the recent history of the Dominican Republic. The story is a fictional account of true events. The novel recreates the final days of General Rafael Trujillo's absolute regime. Vargas Llosa uses three interwoven story lines to reveal the political and social environment of the Dominican Republic in 1961 and today. Significant portions of the novel focus on Trujillo himself, examining his thoughts and opinions on himself and his cronies and his justifications of violence in the days before his assassination, and after 31 years of rule. Another story line introduces Urania Cabral, a contemporary Dominican-American woman living in New York who returns to Santo Domingo for the first time in thirty years to visit her ailing father. Urania reminisces on her life there in 1961, when she was just a girl and her father was President of the Senate under Trujillo, and the unspeakable horrors of Trujillo's regime. A third story line follows the four assassins, all of whom recall the events which have compelled them to take this step, as they wait to gun down Trujillo. The book continues through Trujillo's murder and the spree of torture and killings embarked on by Trujillo's surviving cronies. The author dedicates a large portion of the novel to the horrible fates of the assassins, people that the reader has come to know have already suffered unspeakable horrors. As always, Vargas Llosa's writing is beautiful. I enjoyed how he wove three perspectives together to create this story. The story itself is compelling, although horrible - and all the more horrible because it is true.

The Poisonwood Bible

2007-04-10T16:15:00.000-04:00

The Poisonwood Bible is narrated, in alternating chapters, by the wife and four daughters of an evangelical minister who takes his family along on his mission to the Belgian Congo in the late 1950s. His wife, Orleanna Price, tells the story - in retrospective - of her husbands fanatic and bullying personality and his refusal to see the world or the people in it as they really are. Each of their four daughters are marked in different ways by their father's mission and by Africa itself. The author does an excellent job of differentiating the voices of these narrators, offering the reader five different experiences of the same events. The novel is set during the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected leader, and the CIA coup to install a replacement. By telling the story through the five female characters, Kingsolver traces the coming of age of each of her characters and, simultaneously, the coming of age of the Congo. The book is an easy read, much of it being narrated by children and adolescents. I appreciated the character development and enjoyed being a part of the different directions each character went with their lives as a result of a shared experience. I also found the historical and political backdrop of the Belgian Congo to be fascinating, and found myself seeking outside sources to learn more about the events alluded to in the novel.

thank you for smoking

2006-08-21T11:15:00.000-04:00

one of the most witty, well written and sharp books i have read in ages. nick naylor's character brings intelligent sexiness back, and his dry sense of humor and quick thinking make for a great protagonist.

EVERYone should read this book. it took me all of 7 hours, so a very quick read. there is a plot, but it not as important as the tone of the novel and the message it is sending.

i don't want to give too much away, since that will be easy to do if i keep gushing, so you should all go out and get it right away. this is one of those few books that mixes social commentary, humor and a storyline very well. i got it from the library, but now am thinking of buying my own copy. can't wait to see the movie in oct...

Cold Mountain

2006-08-17T15:53:00.000-04:00

A slow, sad read. I rushed through the ending to find out what happened, but missed much. If you were to pick up this book, be prepared for much detail and description, some warrented and some just a hinderance.

The book follows Inman, a Civil War soldier who ran off from his hospital bed to his sweetheard Ada, whom he left behind on Cold Mountain, and Ada, a rich preacher's daugher, left fatherless and alone on a farm about which she knows nothing. Both struggle to survive and are held up and helped by different characters along the way. As the cast of this novel grew, I realized that this was less about plot than it was about the characters and their own development.

the writing was good but a bit slow at time. the destitution and the desperation of the characters comes across very well, and the author painted a detailed picture of the south in 1864 in vivid and heartbreaking colors.

this is a heavy read with a solid ending. i would reccomend, but on a rainy day, not at the beach.

shutter island

2006-07-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

this psychological thriller by the same author of mystic river (dennis lehane)was an extremely quick and effective read. i tore through it and the end left me more than a little surprised.

the story follows two decectives investigating a disappearance on shutter island, which houses an old prison turned psych ward. as the detectives investigate further and further and as a violent storm apporaches and then explodes on the island, the reader and the main characters are not sure what really happened and who they should believe. soon, everyone is a suspect and the main character is not sure if he can even trust his own partner.

the beauty of the book and writing is that the author can manipulate the reader as easily as he does the characters. i just read and believed the author and main character blindly, never suspecting anything other than the facts presented to me. when the book finishes, however, i was not sure that anything that i read even happened as it was told.

i would be very curious of what you all thought of the book and the author's approach to the plot. if you do pick it up, it is a very quick read. i reccomend it for a rainy day or a long plane ride.

prep

2006-06-27T16:59:00.000-04:00

This book was a quick and entertaining read that still manages to examine some serious societal issues. The main character, Lee, comes from an average family in the mid-west. At 13, she decides to apply to boarding school, and is accepted to Ault in MA. prep goes through all 4 years there and her evolution (or lack there of for some things in my opinion) during that time. As we can all imagine, at a private boarding school in New England there are lot of kids at this school whose families range from well-to-do to ridiculously wealthy, and most (or all) of those kids are white. There are some white kids on scholarship (like Lee), and most (or all) of the few minorities that are there are on scholarship. The book looks at class and race from Lee's point of view within this tiny sphere, and to some extent how that experience shapes her views later in life.

In an unusual experience, I wasn't all that wild about Lee as a person, but still really enjoyed the book. I found her persistent lack of self confidence a bit grating, mostly because I think that the other people were presented as friendly and as non-judgmental as any group of high-schoolers would be (clearly there were a few snobby people, but in general most of the characters seemed like normal people), so it's not like they were constantly making fun of her or ostracizing her. I really wanted to step into the book and tell her to get over herself. And get a therapist. But, she did have some good qualities and the other characters in the book weren't presented as good or bad either, they all had some good moments and some bad, which was a refreshing change.

I think that is one of the things that makes this book work as a book for adults even though it's a book about high school. The characters seem realistic since they're not good or evil, and the author does a good job of drawing you in to remember how high school could seem like the end all, be all of everything. All in all, a good read.

The Count of Monte Cristo

2006-06-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

After owning this book for more than a year and never being able to get more than 50 pages into its 1500, I finally read it! And it was good! The style of writing definitely isn't the easiest to read, hence the many attempts before success, so you have to be in the right mindset before picking up this book.

It tells the story of Edmond Dantes, a young French sailor, who returns to France in 1815 after his latest voyage, ready to marry his sweetheart, Mercedes. Edmond has a promising career ahead of him, he is going to be made captain of his ship by the company that owns it. But, Edmond's success in life had created some enemies - Danglars works on the same ship as Edmond and doesn't want him to be captain, and Fernand, Mercedes' cousin, is in love with her and doesn't want her to marry Edmond. On the day of his wedding, Edmond is arrested for treason and sent to prison. The rest of the story tells how he becomes the Count of Monte Cristo and takes his revenge on the people who sent him to prison to serve their self-interests.

It was interesting to see Edmond's transformation into the Count of Monte Cristo, and to see the duality between his desire to take his revenge on those who deserved it, but at the same time not wanting to hurt Mercedes or some other characters that come along. The story is like a bit tangle of thread that seems like it must be many different threads, but once it's all undone, it turns out to be one long thread.

It has taken me almost as long to finish this post as it did to read the book…

Coming soon: Zorro by Isabel Allende

the dante club

2006-06-15T14:17:00.000-04:00

i forget who writes it...

the book wanted to be for the literay world what the da vinci code was for the art world. the story takes place in 1865 boston, directly after the civil war. many of the literay heavyweights of that era are main characters, longfellow, james feilds, oliver wendal holmes, houghton, wadsworth, etc. their lives as boston bramhins who are translating dante's comedy slowly becomes entwined with a murderer who is emulating the punishments lucifer delivers to his sinners in the differnt circles of hell.

not the best mystery book i ever read, as the "detectives" stumble upon clues and the find the murderer by accident. the story's setting is nicely done, but nothing too spectaular. there is a police officer whose father was a plantation owner and mother a slave, but i felt that this character was only added to give the book more diversity. almost a charicature of himself, smart, noble, perfect, persecuted for his race, i wanted to call him 'token' after the only black charater on south park. similarly, the italian characters as exagerated to the extreme.

the literary aspect is nicely done, but dull at points. perhaps we are not as familair as dante as a society should be. i certainly appriciate his work, but do not need another english lesson. i took ENG 52, thanks.

i would recomend this to someone who needs some "smart' beach reading. you'll be entertained, but don't expect too much.

orynx and crake (margaret atwood)

2006-06-15T13:59:00.000-04:00

margaret atwood's latest book predicts yet another future. not a social apocolypse where women are returned to thier inferior status, but a scientific one. armed with the latest data in gene splicing, food manufacturing and cosmetic surgury, atwood takes these present day visions to the next level and paints a dreary and believable picture of how the world created geniuses whose visions destroyed everything.

the book is told through the eyes of a man who survives the apocolypse, from his childhood, to the reason for the change, to the events themselves and then to the aftermath, switching back and forth between present and past. the presnt narrative offers clues to the past and vice versa, keeping the reader always interested and always thinking. i tried to make as many connections as i could predicting why what happened had happened and how these characters were a part of it.

the world she creates, both before the major event and after it, disgusted me, but at the same time, was extremely clever, as i saw many of its roots in science today. combining wolves and dog genes, so a pomoranian has the looks of the dog but the personality of the wolf, using them as gaurd dogs and misleading intruders. creating a "chicken" that grows wings, breasts and thighs in membranes connected by a brain deprived of everything but the growth hormone, no eyes, no legs, no feathers and no pain receptors so it can feel no pain. organically grown food is only for the extremely rich. the images and mores of this society is so richly painted, that i really couldn't help but be sucked in. it was like driving by a horrific car wreck.

i would reccomend this book to any and all. excellent story telling. when the end approaches and a lot of the questions you had are answered, you can really appriciate the frameword of her story and the reasons the characters did what they did.

if anyones does have the chance to read it, please let me know what you thought. this would be an perfect book club book, as there are so many sides to the story, the reasoning and the morals of the characters.

Lonesome Dove

2006-05-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

I read Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry, on Raphael's recommendation. I was skeptical at first -- it is a "Western" after all. But this is now one of my favorite books. I whipped through all 950 pages in less than a week -- I just couldn't put it down! I highly recommend this book.

The book follows two old "cowboys" - Gus and Call- famous former Texas rangers whose lives are no longer as exciting as they used to be now that Texas is "civilized." They decide to take off on one last adventure -- they steal a couple thousand head of cattle from below the Rio Grande, hire some cow hands, and head north for the unsettled lands of Montana to establish a cow ranch. The trekking party is complete with a former Ranger-turned-outlaw, a whore, and Call's son (who doesn't know he is Call's son). There are so many characters in this book -- both male and female -- cowboys, Indians, whores, outlaws, sheriffs, children, wives, Mexicans, etc. -- and each one gives the reader a different point of view of life on the last frontier (although the whole book is told in the third person. There is no first person narration, so the tone is steady). The author does an amazing job developing each character. I was especially impressed with the development of his female characters. But he doesn't spare the reader -- life on the frontier was tough and this book shows it. There are a few pretty shocking and horrific scenes.

The writing is simple -- but very good -- and so the book is a quick and easy read. There are so many adventures that you will never be bored. And the characters are all engaging. This book did win the Pulitzer Prize, so I guess I'm not the only one who thought it was good. Again, this is one of my all time favorites -- a great adventure story that really captures what life might have been like on the last frontier.

An interesting tidbit about McMurtry -- this author wrote the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain and won an Oscar for it this year (which he accepted at the Academy Awards in jeans and cowboy boots). McMurtry is also the author of Terms of Endearment (which they made a movie out of with Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger). There is also a great miniseries of Lonesome Dove, with Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover and Diane Lane.

The Pilot's Wife

2006-03-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

Another book that would have made a better short story. This book describes in detail the experience of a airline pilot's wife when she hears her husband's plane had gone down over the Atlantic. As she deals with her grief, she also tries to clear her husband's name when reports show that it may have been suicide. What she finds, however, is that he was leading a double life.

The emotions are written well. I hope that the author never experienced such a loss, but I cannot imagine her writing these characers without having done so. The detail of the mindset and reactions of the wife, her daughter and her grandmother are so vivid, you really get sucked in.

The book is an extremely quick read and I would reccomend it to those who are looking for a mystery/love story/gratifying read. I wasn't overly thrilled, but didn't hate it.

Pigs in Heaven

2006-03-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

For those of you who like Barbara Kingsolver, I would reccomend this book. A sequel toTthe Bean Trees, the book follows the story of Taylor and Turtle. After being handed an abused and quiet child in a parking lot, Taylor adopts the Cherokee girl and delves into motherhood. The story picks up at the Hoover Dam a few years later. The bond between them has grown incredibly strong and it is easy to sense the love the two have through the writing. An adventure at the dam lands them a spot on Oprah, where the story of how Turtle came into Taylor's life is broadcast. Unfortunatly for the pair, a Cherokee lawyer sees this and realizes that the adoption is not legal. In order for a Cherokee child to be adopted by someone who is not part of the tribe, there has to be a vote and a hearing on the reservation regarding the best interest for the child. The laywer immediatly seeks Taylor out and confronts her about taking this child away from her people and not giving her the cultural knowledge to which she is entitled.

The author does an excellent job of showing both sides sympathetically. The reader, who has grown to love Taylor and Turtle, both seperatly and as a couple, do not want them split up. But at the same time, it was unfortunate circumstances that brought them together when Turtle should have legally been with her own people. Taylor flees with Turle and quickly encounters heartbreaking poverty, and her mother Alice goes to the reservation to see what she can do. What happens next is quintessential Kingsolver.

The buildup was long and grueling, and the book ends rather abruptly. I would have liked more closure - to see what happened to Turtle after the consul made its choice on her fate and what she thought of the whole thing down the line.

The writing was fantastic, as usual. BK writes her characters extremely well. They three main characters, Taylor, Turle and Alice, all provide the eyes with which you see all the people they meet in this adventure, but the author still allows you to form your own opinions. It is more of a character novel than anything, spinning around a social issue that many deal with today. For those who are not familiar with the native american background, this book would be a real eye opener. The history is there, but the mentality of the Cherokee, the way they live and the importance of family and preserving thier culture is conveyed wonderfully. I would reccomend this book on that aspect of the content alone.

The Shipping News

2006-02-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

If I had to describe this book in one word, I think it would be "lyrical". The author (also of Brokeback Mountain fame) uses almost no verbs, and it is increbibly effective. Amazingly so. And although not much happens in the book - hardly a plot, you don't even know how much time has passed from one event to the other half the time - I just drank in the words, turning page after page because I loved the writing so much.

The main character is actually quite pathetic. Quoyle- large, lumbering, slow, no amibition, no self respect. He marries a women who sleeps with another man each night, sometimes bringing them home and bedding them in the den where her husband can hear them. After 6 years of marriage, she runs away with the money she raised by selling thier two young girls to a pedofile. Luckily, the only thing that this event causes is the move to Quoyle's ancestoral home of Newfoundland. There, he settles into a new life, and finds himself through the cast of characters in the small fishing town. I don't want to give away too much, since you all should read this book. The story is subtle, it comes to an end with a small bang and you feel good when you realize this is how it ended.

I cannot stress how much I loved her way of writing. For example, Quoyle works in newspapers, so he often gives headlines to his thoughts. The best is when he, his two daughters and his aunt are sleeping in the car (long story) and his aunts dog's flatulence is keeping him awake, prompting "Dog Farts Fell Family of Four." These thought headlines are funny at times, but also heartbreaking, observant and give insight into what Quoyle is going through at that moment. It is just one of the techniques she uses to show the reader, instead of telling her.

Editor Esteems Eloquent Style and Storytelling.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (Fannie Flagg)

2006-02-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

I would reccomend this book for anyone who loved the movie (as I did). I think the biggest problem was, however, that I loved the movie. I kept comparing and picturing the actors in my head. Even if the scene was not the same, I read the words but saw the movie scene.

That said, the book was a solid read. Evelyn's charater was a bit more flushed out (although Kathy Bates captured the essense SO well - even though she didn't get all the scenes the book had, she did the character justice). There are many terticary characters which the book follows to the death, and in addition to getting a feel for this family, you really get a feel for the times. There would be two page narrations that would break your heart.

It is also a very quick read. In two days of commuting and reading at lunch, I finished the book. The writing was good, but I don't think I would have appricitated it as much if the movie hadn't done most of the work for me. The book was less about Idgy and Ruth than it was about the whole town and how it changed over the years, which was done well.

If you are looking for a good, quick read, pick it up. The characters are easy to love and the cheese factor always stays just below normal. (And there are recipes in the back!)

Madame Bovary

2006-02-14T10:48:00.000-05:00

Oh look! A "classic"! Or maybe the biggest waste of time ever! This book, although well written and an easy read, made me so angry that I wanted the main character to die almost from the moment she was introduced. Although I understand what the author was trying to do by having such a character, he kind of over does it for the sake of dramatics and the you close the book with a "whaaa?".

The story focuses on Emma Bovary, the farm raised wife of a small town doctor, who, raised on romance novels and songs of love, is utterly dissapointed when her own life does not turn out that way. She is a spoiled brat who throws fits whenever she wants, does whatever she wants bc it fits her image of what her life should be, and never once thinks about what may happen to her, her husband or her daughter.

At the start, I see that the author is trying to show us what life was like for a non-working woman. Her husband would be gone all day, and she would have nothing to do but walk around the garden and (surprise!) read romance novels. She takes her boredom out on her husband and begins to hate him, and when she finds that motherhood is also not all that is is said to be, she begins to push her daugher away as well, or use her to assuage her guilt when she momentatiry comes to her senses.

The story snowballs from here, lovers, debt, double dealing, prostitution, she does it all. By the end, you feel no sorrow for her, no sympathy. She is pathetic and I hate her. What kind of statement was the author making? Women who do not work are bad? Wives who do not love and adore their husbands are punished? If you are not content with your lot in life and strive for more you will be ruined? I am not sure. The end of the book, which I skimmed as fast as I could so I could never have to look at it again, might shed some light on his message as it related to the other characters. I will have to reread it once I have recovered from the book itself.

Shalimar the Clown

2006-01-19T09:52:00.000-05:00

This book is a modern story of love, politics, war, terrorism and loss. This is the first Salman Rushdie book I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read more of his works. Shalimar the Clown is definitely one of the best books I've read this year.

There are four principal characters in the novel, and the book is divided into sections focusing each on one of these characters. The characters are Max Ophulus, a war hero, lady killer, and diplomat; and his daughter, India. Both live in modern day Los Angeles. The other set of characters are Shalimar, an innocent teenage lover turned ruthless assassin; and his long-lost childhood love, Boonyi, who is also India's mother. All of the characters have both good and bad qualities about them, making them all very human and very complex - likeable at times, not very likeable at others.

The book begins in Los Angeles with the assassination of Max Ophulus, but then returns to 30 years earlier in Kashmir. Kashmir is an idyllic place of food and entertainment and love and laughter, where Muslims and Hindus live side by side and share their cultures. Muslim Shalimar and Hindu Boonyi are young lovers. Rushdie makes you feel how beautiful life is in Kashmir, which makes what finally happens to it and all of its characters all the more wrenching. The story becomes one of shattered dreams, rage and revenge as every character is in some way ruined by the 20th century -- it's racism, it's violence, it's fastness, it's crudeness, it's sectarian politics, etc.

I really enjoyed Rushdie's style of writing, although it was by no means an easy read. Rushdie makes many allusions to Hindu and Muslim myths and lore. In some cases he gives the entire story, but in others you have to already know the story to get it's significance to the novel. I think the novel would have been "richer" for me if I was more familiar with the tales Rushdie alluded to. Despite this, however, I thought it was a rich novel, a beautiful read and a compelling story made all the more interesting by what is currently happening in our world. I would highly recommend this novel -- but only to people who like descriptive writing, enjoy "feeling" their novels, and have patience. This is not a novel for speed readers.

Now Bess can post a comment on how much she did NOT enjoy this book...

My Sister's Keeper

2006-01-16T11:55:00.000-05:00

A little girl has a rare form of luekemia and her brother is not a doner match. Her parents then make the decision to use stem stell research to have another child that will be a genetic match. After years of bone marrow donations, blood tranfusions and now a kidney donations, the now 13 year old girl is putting her foot down and suing her parents for medical emancipation, ensuring the death of her sister.

The book is told through first person, switching people by chapter - Anna, the younger sister, her mother, her father, her brother, her lawyer and her gardian ad litem. I hated the mother, I loved her daughter, the father was trying to do his best while the whole family fell apart. The author, a woman, writes the men well - you really get sucked into the story.

I felt that there could have been more of a balance with the mother - she was so blind to the rest of her family in her crusade to save her eldest daughter that it was very hard to feel bad for her, and I feel like that was not the intent. Although it is easy to see her point, it is VERY hard to agree with the way she handled it. She sees Anna as nothing more than body parts. Everyone who read the book felt the same as I did, but I would be curous to see what someone who has gone through something like this would think of the mother.

I would DEFINITLY reccomend this book. It is quick (but not painless). The author speaks to your emotions well. There were some parts of the storyline that I did not think were needed, but I suppose it was done to give depth to the characters. This book could have been an equally as good as a short story - maybe even more powerful as one.

The Historian

2006-01-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

If you Dan Brown but thinks he is too "dumbed down", then this is the perfect book for you. The book was smart, well written and engaging, but it is not for the wandering mind. The tangents and detail are not for the faint of heart. You need to want to finish this one.

The book follows three main characters for their search for the real Dracula, Vlad the Imaler, or son of Dracul. Through narration, journal entries and letters, it invokes Stroker but also gives a detailed background of Instanbul, the Moguls, Turks and a history of Eastern Europe. Much to Josh's chagrin, it made me want to go to Instanbul VERY badly.

The book drags on at times, but the characters are easy to like and the story flows well. The writing keeps you in suspense and is well written.

I would certainly reccomend this book to those who have patience and an interest in European history. I had a hard time putting it down, always in search for that final showdown. It let me down a little, but the end of the story for the main characters was fulfilling and even left room for a sequel of sorts.

In the Hand of the Goddess (Tamora Pierce) (Alana #2)

2005-12-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

This is the 2nd book in the Alana/Song of the Lioness series recommended from Bess' childhood :) If you liked the first one enough to read more, you'll like the 2nd one too. Alana continues training to be a knight, and also starts learns how to dress and act like a lady with the help of George's mother. Duke Roger continues his attempt to steal the throne. There's some romance in this one, which I hope continues in the next two books - it's left rather unfinished as Alana heads off to explore the world as a knight. I kind of felt like some things were resolved rather easily and warranted a longer/more complex explanation, but I guess that's what I get for reading a children's book. On an interesting note, I read that this quartet was originally written as a single adult novel, but ended up being published as 4 young adult novels instead.

Rule of Four (Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason)

2005-12-03T01:24:00.000-05:00

I liked this book, though I know some will beg to differ. It is about a group of friends during college, 4 guys, focusing particularly on Tom, the main character, and Paul, his best friend. Paul is researching the secret of an old text that has not yet been solved, and Tom has personal ties to this hunt (it is what his father was researching before his death) and sometimes helps Paul with his research. While it involves some of the same kind of mind teasers as in The Da Vinci Code, the main focus of the story is Tom's relationships rather than the mystery itself. While I would have prefered a little more on the mysteries, I still though it was good.

Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

2005-11-30T08:07:00.000-05:00

I read this book on my trip to London and definitely enjoyed it. It was a little slow to get into, though this could have been because I was trying to read while David's brother watched TV and his parents talked...

It tells the story of a boy (Daniel) growing up in Barcelona in the 1940s. His father is a bookseller and has instilled in him a love of books. When he is 10 or 11, his father takes him to a place called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where there are copies of thousands of books that people have brought there to keep them safe. He gets to choose one to keep, and it turns out that it is an extremely rare book. The other copies of books by this author have been disappearing, and not much is known about the author's life. As Daniel grows up he starts trying to find out more about the author and the history of the book. What happened to the author is until this point a mystery, and there are some interested parties that want it to stay that way. There's also some romance, though I wouldn't say it's a love story, more of a story with love as a part of it. I found the characters a little hard to keep straight at first, I was wishing there was a character tree in the front of the book and seriously considered writing my own, but it got clearer as I got farther into the book.

It was originally written in Spanish and I think that comes through in parts, there were times when I could feel how lyrical phrases must have sounded in the original. If you're familiar with Barcelona, you'll recognize places he goes in the book. (I think. I recognized a few that I know exist, so I'm assuming that most of the others do as well, I just don't know them.)

So if you like historical fiction, and you like mysteries, I think you would like this book. Now I'm reading Rule of Four, so you'll be hearing about that next. (I know I'm supposed to be reading Gone with the Wind, but they didn't have it at the airport bookstore. I'll get to it, I promise!)

The Shining (Stephen King)

2005-11-15T10:06:00.000-05:00

I had seen the movie, so I knew the premise, but was still not quite sure what to expect. I had seen adaptations of SK novels before and none of them had the background and depth that he seems to paint to easily. This case proved to be no different.

The book is scary, yes. But not vampire scary or dead pets scary or even dolls coming to life scary - he taps into a fear that almost everyone has when they hear the house settle or something move out of the corner of their eye or hear a sound they may or may not have heard from the basement or attic. The fear of the unknown is the "scary part" of the book. Although effective for thrills, it does not touch the psychological part of the book.

The "hotel manager" uses Jack's battle with alcoholism, his guilt, his bitterness and his feelings of failure to destroy his son Danny (of whom the hotel is jealous? I am not sure what the motivation was). It does not, however, introduce anything new into Jack's mind - it simply intensifies it. I think that that is the real story, not ladies in bathtubs and animate topiary. It is Jack's battle with himself, his past, his wife, his son, his feeling of inadequacy, and worst of all his temper that is the backbone of the story. The imagery and inner thoughts are something that even the best actor could not portray. The writing sucks you in and you cannot help but internalize all the things he must be going through and the feelings he must be having.

I think what I love most about SK is that he does not write about creepy things, he writes about how the people in his novels react to these creepy things, and he is almost asking the reader to put herself into that situation. Being scared is almost a side effect; thinking about how you would react is the thing that kept me up at night, at least. All his protagonists (in the books I have read) are not bad people. They have flaws, yes, but we all do, and that it what makes the book effective as a thriller.

I would definitely recommend this book. The detail, the imagery, the characters, the fragmented writing style echoes how many people feel with they are trapped and allow their imaginations to wander. It does everything a good book is supposed to do - you enter the story not only as an observer, but, at times, as a participant. The characters and story stay with you long after you close the book.

Just don't read it when you are home alone. Trust me on this one.