Yes, I bought this book at Starbucks. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it. (And yes, I was drinking a mocha frappucino at the time.) So I picked it up cauYes, I bought this book at Starbucks. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it. (And yes, I was drinking a mocha frappucino at the time.) So I picked it up cause it was on the counter (and I'm prone to doing stuff like that) and also cause it had a picture of a cute dog on the cover. The picture reminded me of my little dog, Choco, who had passed away. ...more
He's fun. Made me curious to see what he would say in a larger space. Very witty. Very brit-ish! Cheers!He's fun. Made me curious to see what he would say in a larger space. Very witty. Very brit-ish! Cheers!...more
Her stories are very good. Her style: protean. She's got a lot of different voices and rhythms. Maybe that's why she's not well known. (Because you coHer stories are very good. Her style: protean. She's got a lot of different voices and rhythms. Maybe that's why she's not well known. (Because you couldn't peg a story as being "Gallant-ish.") Her peripatetic characters satisfy the wanderlust in me. Good if you like short stories. But her most well known story, "When We Were Nearly Young" is not in here which is a such shame....more
I read this book because of the title. My boyfriend had broken up with me and I thought that "Heart of Darkness" said it all.
Now in retrospect, I donI read this book because of the title. My boyfriend had broken up with me and I thought that "Heart of Darkness" said it all.
Now in retrospect, I don't know what was more painful: the book or the breakup... Probably the book. I made it 95% of the way through and put it down. I realized I just didn't give care about Marlow or Kurtz and that I would just rather have a ham sandwich. ...more
Let me just get it out there: I'm a sucker for the short story form. I know a lot of people hate short stories because they are sort-of leaving you haLet me just get it out there: I'm a sucker for the short story form. I know a lot of people hate short stories because they are sort-of leaving you hanging. But I think that's precisely why I love short stories. For me, they are the art form that most closely resembles life. You get to spend time with a person as they make some choice or at some crossroad.
Miranda July is perfect in the short story. Her quirkiness comes through but you don't have to stay with her so long that it ends up all becoming annoying.
When I first read Miranda July, I thought she was the is like the white woman's answer to Haruki Murakami (with a splash of Silver Lake/Echo Park). But I think that cuts her a bit short. In many ways she's the voice of a generation. My generation. And I don't mind. I quite like what she has to say. So read it, enjoy it. My only recommendation: savor it. It's so easy to gobble up short stories. ...more
I think it's very telling that on the cover Michael Chabon's name is bigger than the title of the book and it also mentions that he was the author or I think it's very telling that on the cover Michael Chabon's name is bigger than the title of the book and it also mentions that he was the author or "Cavalier and Clay." It was like this book didn't have enough merit on it's own so the publisher had to use Chabon's star power and the residual good will people have from "Cavalier and Clay."
In all, this book is only "Eh." It wasn't noir enough or Chabon enough for me to make it a success. ...more
You should know: I love books about aristocratic women running around the countryside in dresses crying over the men that have ruined their lives. NeeYou should know: I love books about aristocratic women running around the countryside in dresses crying over the men that have ruined their lives. Needless to say, I expected to like this book. However I was not expecting to LOVE this book. (And to the degree that I absolutely love.) It was so subtle and intelligent! It blew me away.
With some books, you know you are reading a great book. Authors want to (gently) remind readers that they are holding a MASTERPIECE! So they try to knock you out with style, imagery, or crazy turn of events. But when I was reading Atonement, it was always so delicate and measured. One beautiful element was layered on top of another, on top of another until you are really in this other world.
Another testament to the power of this book became apparent to me when I saw the movie starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as the lovers. In the crucial scene at the library; I completely, wholeheartedly believe in the what's going on as I read it. But as a viewer of the film, I had to take a level-five leap of faith as to what was happening between the two onscreen actors. (And yes, I know it's not a fair comparison between pages and celluloid but it's just further evidence of how careful McEwan sets up the stage for all the action to happen.)
I really appreciate art mediums that transport me. This book did that, no doubt. But what I was surprised about was how much I loved the characters and how sad I was to leave them. I just cared about them so much... Now I'm really sad. And I need to go get a beer....more
This book was about 85% done and then... I just put it down. It was beginning to seem like a waste of time and energy. So many women, so much booze, aThis book was about 85% done and then... I just put it down. It was beginning to seem like a waste of time and energy. So many women, so much booze, and one stinking degenerate to tell me about it all.
But then I came across an LA Times Book Review of "Pleasure of the Damn: Poems, 1951-1993" (which was going to released the following week). The reviewer said some really harsh things about Bukowski and his place in the literary pantheon in LA. After that, I was inspired to finish reading this book. I wanted to assess for myself Bukowski's strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
And... I found myself loving the book, almost in spite of myself. Yes he's an alcoholic and complete filth. But it doesn't, in any way, come between him and his art. I felt like I always understood where he was coming from even if I didn't agree with it. That's quiet an accomplishment! There are some writers I love and I love their characters completely but it's not always clear what's going on in that world. Not so with Bukowski. I really appreciated that.
Another word about the writing style: very "male."
And lastly, Bukowski gives a sense of place. (I notice that with Angelino writers and American writers in general more so that their European or English counterparts.) There is a definite time and setting where it all happen. LA in the 70's, Venice Beach. I love that!...more
What I learned? That some lines can make you cringe so much you are unwilling to read any further. (That line went something like this: "I killed her What I learned? That some lines can make you cringe so much you are unwilling to read any further. (That line went something like this: "I killed her and a shot of lust went up my body as pure as a baby's hunger." Seriously that's just so gross and stupid... Like, what are we suppose to think of Helen after that? Not to mention, taking seriously an author who could write such a line?)
Anyway, I made it into the book about 60+ pages and couldn't go any further. (Some couple pages after the line.) The book is totally incoherent.
I don't think Alice Sebold can write the most beautiful prose but she has a way with creating scenes that are deeply affecting. But that's not evident at all in "The Almost Moon." Pass, pass, pass. Spend your time elsewhere! ...more
I'm aiming for the highest superlative I can think of. And so I will have to say it. Perfect. People joke all the time about "the" Great AMERICAN NNOOI'm aiming for the highest superlative I can think of. And so I will have to say it. Perfect. People joke all the time about "the" Great AMERICAN NNOOVVEELLL! And quietly, beautifully Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
This is a very ambitious book about "the family." All the characters are crazy. And they drive me crazy. Sometimes I really don't like them. Alfred can make me so mad or Enid making me cringe. I don't always like Denise or Gary or Chip (and their parents) but I understand them... They are so real!
What I love is how Franzen takes his time unfolding these characters. He's into the book some 75% of the way and it feels like he still introducing the characters. There's no rush in this book. Characters come out to us little by little. They are beautiful and funny and bitter and always always they're alive and complex.
I'm exactly half way through. I'll let you know if I still feel as strongly at the end. I think I'll still feel the same. Yup, this book is amazing. I'm going where ever this book takes me. I totally believe in this journey.
Okay I'm back and I'm done now. Yup the book delivered. And even to the end, he gives us all small insights into who these people are. Loved it.
And ps. if you read my post on Lovely Bones, the critique may have been unduly harsh probably cause I started reading this book right afterwards. And while LB is good, in comparison to a giant like this book LB seems total noraml in comparison. ...more
I know three stays is kind of skimpy for this book. I can't decide if this book is great or if I think it's juvenile. A part of my difficulty in classI know three stays is kind of skimpy for this book. I can't decide if this book is great or if I think it's juvenile. A part of my difficulty in classify my experience with this book is that it was so usual. Clearly one of the oddest experiences I've had reading a piece of fiction.
This book isn't cheap. It doesn't take easy melodramatic turns or easy answers either. Which I think would have been really easy to do given the premise of the book. Main character is a little girl who at fourteen is raped and murdered. So narrates from heaven. Interesting right? So, sounds like that would make it novel. Alice Sebold's writing has lots of cool phrases and a distinct voice. And often I was moved to physical tears with the beautiful narrator's voice on family and youth and violence and sadness. Absolutely without a doubt it was moving.
But some parts of the book were irratating at the same time. The characters were either good, or "real", or frail, or "complex". Like I can imagine Sebold at her desk thinking of the ways people are made complex and extending her ideas characters in her book. That's where they stay. Only as characters because I could never believe they are actual people.
So I think I will just keep it at that. Reading this book was one of the oddest experiences I've ever had with fiction....more
I love ZS. I don't love this book. Couldn't even finish it even though I love LOVE LLOOVVEE "White Teeth." You would think that I could too since:
1. II love ZS. I don't love this book. Couldn't even finish it even though I love LOVE LLOOVVEE "White Teeth." You would think that I could too since:
1. I am of the asian persuasion 2. Fame is very interesting to me 3. Huge ZS fan. (Basically I will buy anything that she is associated with.)
But this book was wooden, boring, and the characters seem to aim out in her world kind of without purpose. Or if there was purpose it was lost on me since I really didn't give a crap about her characters. 200 pages in and I couldn't finish it. It was that bad....more
This book is pure trash. Simple as that. I was kind of embarrassed reading it. It reads something like a Danielle Steel novel wannabe. Not to knock DaThis book is pure trash. Simple as that. I was kind of embarrassed reading it. It reads something like a Danielle Steel novel wannabe. Not to knock Danielle Steel cause I'm certainly guilty of reading a number of Danielle Steele. (Tho in truth it was when I was much younger so I really didn't know any better.)
So back to "The Other Boleyn Girl" being pure trash. It's crazy for me to make such a harsh claim cause: 1. I love historical fiction-- always have. Even since fifth grade I can remember! and 2. the plot is boiling great. You couldn't make this stuff up it's so rich! and crazy!! and debauched!!! But for all the real life grandness of it, Phillipa Gregory gives the events a small and somehow unrealistic dimension. Her words bely the fact that the fate of nations are at stake, political courses, the role of religion. It's all at play and somehow unreal and soap opera-ish. Mary and Jane are two girls staight out of Sex and City set in 1545 (except without the wit and charm of Carrie and her happy comrades).
I think the truth is that Phillipa Gregory is only able to give readers the surface of an event. I feel like there is no depth of emotion of subtlety or nuance. Hopefully the movie will do better! But with Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johanson as the leads I'm sure we can expect better that the book version.
I love Janet Fitch! So this review comes pretty biased. I read this book right when it came out and right now I'm taking it on a second round.
(I just I love Janet Fitch! So this review comes pretty biased. I read this book right when it came out and right now I'm taking it on a second round.
(I just finished "Hugo Cabret" and before I get onto "Kavalier and Klay" I was feeling like exploring some girl themes.)
"Paint it Black" is definitely Fitch-style. Same themes. Same lushness of language. Same setting. But this time around it feels darker and more mature (than her first novel). And the characters!! I love spending time with each of Fitch's characters. Especially the secondary and tertiary ones: they are so real!
The sentences are beautiful. The scenes are seamless. And no one on planet Earth can deny that Michael Chabon is a literary genius... BUT somehow thisThe sentences are beautiful. The scenes are seamless. And no one on planet Earth can deny that Michael Chabon is a literary genius... BUT somehow this book doesn't come together for me. Maybe it's cause it's so very long and after some 600 pages I'm unsure whether the pay off was there? My attitude towards this book is the same as how I feel about marathons: glad I did it, don't think I'll be doing it again. ...more
This book is huge! Like 500 pages. But I think about half of them are pictures. This book has such an inventive mix of narration, text, images. This bThis book is huge! Like 500 pages. But I think about half of them are pictures. This book has such an inventive mix of narration, text, images. This book is a great hybrid of sorts: picture book, silent movie, French film, juvenile literature. Right from the start, the book takes off. And you are pretty much swept into it!
What I was really surprised by was how Selznick explores all these interesting themes inside of such a sweet, simple story. I would suggest getting this book just to see how he pulls it all off. 5 stars all the way!...more
This book is totally neat! Alison Bechdel has a way of blending pictures, words, drama, and humor (even for the scenes that are dark or disturbing). IThis book is totally neat! Alison Bechdel has a way of blending pictures, words, drama, and humor (even for the scenes that are dark or disturbing). I think it would be really hard for me to give someone such a deep picture of my family.
Her story is not easy to tell. Coming of age stories never are (by the way it's a memoir.) Yup she's gay. Her dad committed suicide. And it turns out he was gay too. And her mom knew all along. And she grew up in a funeral home (hence the "fun" house). And it's a graphic novel!
But it's not a story about her childhood or her father. But a great portrait of her life (and I hate using that word portrait to describe a book but here it's so apt). Because the medium is a comic strip style, you get these little snippets. When I was done with the novel it made me feel like I had just finished assembling a puzzle of some sort. The book is immensely satisfying. She writes with so much depth and heart and wit....more
So the bf and a friend of his were totally talking smack on this book. "The terrible writing style sucks!" "Maguire's just trying WAY TOO hard with thSo the bf and a friend of his were totally talking smack on this book. "The terrible writing style sucks!" "Maguire's just trying WAY TOO hard with the prose to force the reader into this world." I was weary. Then I read it. AND I LOVED IT! I read half the book in one night. (And I'll probably finish the rest of it tonight.)
I will admit: the beginning takes a long moment until you feel the plot start to boil. But it's definitely something I could forgive. Elphaba --that green little minx-- doesn't get on stage until about 25% into the book. I love her (maybe cause I'm sort-of a nerd girl myself). The characters are so involved and so real. They feel like people you know.
Maguire throws a lot of unusual elements into the plot: like the political climate in OZ, the rights of minority Animals. The plot line is very rich. There's an overarching question that gets asked: what is the nature of evil?
Overall I would say this book is pretty brilliant. Taking on a beloved fable, retelling the story, adding on so many layers... All I can say is: I hope the musical is just as good!
Now the books been read.
And I have to say that it falls flat. The ending is pretty disastrous. I'm not exactly sure what happened? Maguire wanted to do something with Elephaba... but it's not clear what exactly that was. Are we supposed to pity her (for her inability to fulfill her life's potential)? Does she descend into madness? It's unclear what we are supposed to make of this heroine.
And for all the build up about Dorothy, she was totally trite. Another let disappointment.
The book took it's aimless time getting to the heart of the plot and then it hurries to finish. It's like fore-play foreplay foreplay and then goodbye. Geez. And it wasn't even like the foreplay was that good too. Three stars (and I'm being generous). ...more
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