A Wind in the Door :: Madeleine L'Engle

Title: A Wind in the Door

Author: Madeleine L'Engle

Read: NYC, MA

Format: Trade paperback

Last year I reread A Wrinkle in Time and liked it just fine, but I wasn't in a huge rush to continue with the series. Over a year later, I picked up A Wind in the Door.

At the beginning of this novel, we find the precocious prodigy Charles Wallace is sick and still unusual. His sister and a gang of adventurers attempt to get to the bottom of his illness by succeeding in three trials. Also, they battle evil itself in Charles' body. What?!

Overall, I found this second installment of the "Time Quintet" unimpressive. Because I was already invested in the characters, I was kind of interested in the events. However, I ended up annoyed with how unnecessarily complicated the plot was. I mean, I was able to follow it: it's a children's book after all. I just found the whole thing anticlimactic. Yes, it was a sort-of interesting and different premise. Yet, was it worthwhile? Does it set up future books? Does it develop the world of our characters? Do I care? On all counts: not really.

I think I'm done with this series for now. I like the Murry children, but on the whole I think theirs might be a good, but not great, tale.

Fine for what it is, but the last Murry adventure for me.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Russian Debutante's Handbook :: Gary Shteyngart

Title: The Russian Debutante's Handbook

Author: Gary Shteyngart

Read: NYC, Paris, Boston

Format: Trade paperback

I read - and loved - Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart this summer. Shortly after finishing it, I went to see the author read at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He was funny and nice and I decided to buy the only one of his novels I hadn't read and I had it signed - woo!

The next night, I was at the bar in Brooklyn I always go to and who should sidle up to the bar stool next to me? Gary Shteyngart. I did not talk to him because I am shy. However, I did take it as a sign that clearly I should read Russian Debutante asap.

And I would have. I mean, I started it asap. But despite being told by the sales associate at the Tenement Museum (and others) that this was the best of his books, I just couldn't latch on. I loved Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story and I'm very glad I read them first. Had I started with Russian Debutante, I would not have picked the others up.

I don't mean to say that TRDH was bad, because it was certainly not. However, plot-wise I found it unwieldy - even meandering at times - and I never did grow fond of Vladimir, our narrator, either. Plus, while I'm interested in some of the themes explored (immigration, assimilation, otherness, success, expectations, legitimacy), I felt that they exploded into a lot of directions and the result felt unruly.

All that said, I like Shteyngart's prose style. As a writer, he skillfully can turn a clever (yet not glib) phrase all while being sincere (and never saccharine). It's a difficult balance, but one Shteyngart achieves in all of his novels.

Some prefer Absurdistan to Super Sad True Love Story, but I don't. I think Shteyngart's work has steadily improved and even though I didn't love Russian Debutante, I look forward to reading all this author's future works. I like his style and sometimes that beats all.

Good writing in need of a story editor:

3 out of 5 stars.

Tender is the Night :: F Scott Fitzgerald

Title: Tender is the Night [book club selection, VM]

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Read: CDG > JFK, NYC

Format: trade paperback

I've had Tender is the Night on my bookshelf since 1999 when I was supposed to read it for my 20th Century American Novel class. I was inspired to actually go ahead and read it after re-reading The Great Gatsby last year. Clearly, I was slow to respond to that inspiration. In any event, when it came time for me to choose the next Anything Goes Book Club selection I decided thought it might be a good option. My fellow readers agreed.

One of the reasons I was so interested in reading Fitzgerald again was how swept away I was with the writing in Gatsby. I was really looking forward to that same caliber of lyrical prose and while Tender is the Night was beautiful in its own right, it didn't quite compare. The strength of this novel lies in Fitzgerald's wrenching development of his and Zelda's semi-autobiographical stand-ins, Dick and Nicole Diver. It is this couple's relationship that is the centerpiece of the novel. In it, their life is chronicled from their glorious (glorified?) early days through the challenges and changes that test not just their marriage, but them as individuals.

I'm not sure if it was one of the ladies at the club meeting or if it was in the introduction, but someone notes that the novel starts out one way (through the eyes of a young Hollywood ingenue who is smiiten with and eventually tempts Dick Diver) and ends in another (as a study of Nicole and Dick's chiasmatic relationship). I believe the introduction also explains that the novel was much, much longer and was considerably edited. I think my biggest complaints about the work can be explained by these facts/observations. First, the story does read as unintentionally uneven because of the change in perspective. But, death of the author be damned. Fitzgerald was clearly inspired by his own experience; so much so that the work he started out writing morphed in the process. Knowing this makes the book feel more personal and more beautiful, in its own way. Secondly, the novel seems a little out of balance in some ways. That is, some portions seem intensely detailed - to the point of tedium - and others seem wildly under-described. It's very possible that this is a casualty of massive editing, but I have to imagine that something could have been done to prevent such distinct pockets of dense description alongside single sentences that change the trajectory of the novel.

All in all, a beautiful novel. Even if I don't believe it to be Fitzgerald's greatest work (as some critics claim).

4 out of 5 stars

The Gardner Heist :: Ulrich Boser

Title: The Gardner Heist, The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft [NF 2010 #6!]

Author: Ulrich Boser

Read: Boston, NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Recently on a very good night in Cambridge, I went to both Mr. & Mrs. Bartley's Burger Cottage and the Harvard Book Store. Feeling generally nostalgic for my youth's home, I decided to pick up this book about the notorious Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft of 1990.

Other than a general knowledge of its occurrence, I knew very little about this crime. Now I know a lot. Including:

- there's a bunch of scary gangsters in Boston

- art theft is cool-sounding and all, but it's really bad

- investigators get obsessed with this case, but all the leads are now cold

- the museum has not replaced the missing canvases with any other works

- a man (Harold Smith) with NO NOSE helped the author learn more about the case

- my hometown of Brockton is mentioned as a place the paintings might be

- nobody KNOWS who did it, but a lot of people think that that Whitey Bulger guy might have something to do with it

- Whitey Bulger and Billy Bulger are brothers

- there were NO CLUES at the scene of the crime

The writing in the book is a little wack. Ulrich Boser really loves the sentence composition that begins with a descriptive clause and leads into the statement. Like this:

"A tall man with dark hair and glasses, John So-and-So took his work very seriously."

When 60% of your sentences follow this construction, it gets silly fast. And after about 100 pages, it starts to make you roll your eyes. No matter, though. The topic was interesting enough for me to fight through the mediocre writing and I'm glad to know more about this fascinating event. Also, as much as I like to pretend it is all progressive state legislature and patrician ideals, Massachusetts has a very real, very seedy criminal underbelly. Though one of the most infamous crimes - debatable, I know - would be an art heist.

Also, it has a section of glossy color pictures in the middle. That's always fun.

Fascinating and suspenseful. Goofy writing.

4 out of 5 stars

Richard Yates :: Tao Lin

Title: Richard Yates

Author: Tao Lin

Read: NYC, JFK > CDG

Format: trade paperback

The fluff on the back of Tao Lin's novel Richard Yates describes Lin as "Kafka for the iPhone generation." That was exactly stupid enough to get me to read it. Also, I liked how it's just a little bit hard to tell who the author is and what the title is from the cover.

Basically, Richard Yates is the story of a young writer and his underaged girlfriend. Their names, amusingly (or maybe annoyingly), are Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning. The two are kind of screwed up and even though it's sometimes disturbing and ridiculous, it's very often sweet as well. By way of plot, not much happens really. And while many serious themes are discussed (statutory rape, eating disorders, suicide, guilt, control, neurosis, depression, etc), they are not explored deeply and certainly not moralistically, which is nice.

Lin's writing is spare and can feel distant, but by the end you feel invested in the characters - and their relationship - nonetheless. When I was a full 25 percent into the book, I still wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Like, maybe the names were too gimmicky or the writing too pretentious or something. I'm glad I stuck it out, though, because I did enjoy Richard Yates, all told. Besides, it's a testamant to Lin's ability that despite these affects, he is still able to produce a story and characters that sustain your interest. And while I'm not rushing out to buy his other novels, I would recommend this one to certain friends.

Different and modern, but not cold:

3 out of 5 stars

Stud Club Trilogy :: Tessa Dare

I swear, I'm taking a romance novel break after this. Too much!

Titles: One Dance with a Duke, Twice Tempted by a Rogue, Three Nights with a Scoundrel

Author: Tessa Dare

Read: NYC (9/10 - 10/10)

Format: Mass market paperback, kindle

After I was disappointed in my first romance novel excursion (Nora Robert's Honest Illusions), someone suggested I read the first book of this trilogy. She had read about it on Jezebel and said it would be more like a 'traditional' romance novel and that it might be a better representation of The Genre. I'm glad to say it was.

The ridiculously named Stud Club consists of three guys who haggle over breeding with a fancy old racehorse: Spencer (Duke), Rhys (Rogue), and Julian (Scoundrel).

In the excellent One Dance with a Duke, the agoraphobic and stern Spencer falls in love with Amelia (headstrong, individualistic, approaching spinsterhood). After whisking her out of a ball, they spend an entire night trying to find out what happened to the just-murdered Leo (also of the stud club). Spencer and Amelia are both way into each other and proud. After some ups and downs and intrigue they finally figure it out and commence with the unbridled passion and whatnot.

Rhys St. Maur returns to his ancestral home in Twice Tempted by a Rogue. Racked with guilt over a childhood mishap, Rhys spends the better part of his life (and the war) trying to meet his own demise. When he goes back home he falls in love-at-first-sight with the widowed local innkeeper. It turns out they knew each other as children and that she's carried a torch for him for decades. He wants to prove to her that he loves her and that it's not just guilt and a sense of duty that keep him nearby. They both eventually come clean about their fears and motivations and have a bunch of sex.

Three Nights with a Scoundrel focuses on Julian Bellamy who (a) is obsessed with uncovering what happened the night of his BFF Leo Chatwick's murder, (b) is in love with Leo's deaf twin sister Lily, and (c) is LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE. Unlike Rhys and Spencer, Julian is lowborn and thinks himself unworthy of Lily. Of course, she loves him anyway, but is turned off by the danger he constantly puts himself through (trying to solve her brother's murder). When the truth behind Leo's murder comes out, it was genuinely surprising, even if it wasn't so artfully executed. Eventually, everyone ends up knowing the whole truth about every possible thing and lots of love and thrusting and - eventually - children result.

In order of goodness, I'd say the Stud Trilogy goes Duke, Scoundrel, Rogue. But, like Dare's other trilogy (you remember, the Sirens), you can probably stop after the gripping first installment. One Dance with a Duke had a familiar story - sort of a saucy revision of Pride and Prejudice, but with horses. The romance element was very sweet and I was genuinely interested in how these two characters would end up together. Maybe by the time I got to the other two novels I was desensitized to overblown romance, but they really just weren't as engrossing.

I did learn two interesting things from the Stud Club:

- Hessians are boots and all fancy men wear them

- Stays and corsets are basically the same

All in all, excellent reading if you have a kindle (or no shame) and a wide expanse of beach.

One Dance with a Duke:

4 out of 5 stars

Twice Tempted by a Rogue:

3 out of 5 stars

Three Nights with a Scoundrel:

3 out of 5 stars

This concludes the great romance novel trial of 2010. Final verdict: I get the appeal and - clearly - how one book can snowball into a whole series/author obsession. But I think I'll probably read them sparingly from now on. And only when the main characters don't like each other at first as that always proves more entertaining.

Until next year, ripped bodices!

Shakespeare Wrote for Money :: Nick Hornby

Title: Shakespeare Wrote for Money [essays, NF 2010 #5]

Author: Nick Hornby, intro by Sarah Vowell

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Nick Hornby is not really a top ten favorite novelist of mine, but I really enjoyed the first collection of his "Stuff I've Been Reading" columns (see January, 'Polysyllabic Spree') and was eager to read the others. It's unlike me, but because the bookstore didn't have the second I jumped right to the final book. And, even if he is more self-indulgent here than in the first collection, I still find the format and his voice charming.

Now, I could meta your face off with the whole writing-about-reading-about-writing-about-reading thing, but I'd probably just make myself dizzy. Instead, here's a list of stuff I liked/thought about while reading:

Intro:

- Sarah Vowell is just the darlingest.

On Reading:

- Hornby likes to say that reading begets reading; as I'm 'in the business' of aggressive reading, I have to agree. I feel like every book I read makes me add 3 more books to my to-read list. It's dizzying and daunting.

- In a discussion of Robert Altman's Nashville, Hornby suggests that maybe we should leave our favorite books/films/records alone in memory. He suggests that the confluence of right time and right place can never be recreated and that it serves the object best to be left alone in its place of exaltation. Of course, he recants (it's a silly idea, after all). But I like thinking about context and I liked that he brings it up for his readers to consider.

- All readers possess the right to not read something (when for whatever reason you feel like you should have read it) as well as the right to not finish something.

On YA:

- YA seems to be a focus for Hornby in 2007-2008. Right on!

- Books to read: David Almond's Skellig, Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat, M.T. Anderson's Feed.

- Apparently, there is something called an "Alex Award" that is given to books written for adults, but that would appeal to teenagers. Past winners look good. Must remember to keep an eye out for this list.

Misc:

- One month's column was about the movies Hornby watched. Maybe I'll do something like that.

Charming, quick, and worth it if you're into that kind of thing.

4 out of 5 stars

Surrender of a Siren, A Lady of Persuasion :: Tessa Dare

Titles: Surrender of a Siren, A Lady of Persuasion

Author: Tessa Dare

Read: NYC

Format: Kindle (secret shame)

These two romances follow the excellent 'Goddess of the Hunt' to round out Tessa Dare's 'Siren trilogy'. Each novel focuses on the romantic pursuits of a secondary female character from the preceding title. Both are readable and fast, but neither has the oomph of the franchise's starter.

Surrender of a Siren opens with the runaway Sophia - disguised as lowly governess Jane - trying to buy passage onto a ship bound for Tortola. She has recently run away from what promised to be a suitable, but flat, marriage to Sir Toby Aldridge. However, once she realizes that her dowry was hers to inherit, marriage or no, she knows she can't marry for anything less than passion. So, she takes a wad of cash and flees to Tortola. On her voyage, she falls for the roguish and handsome Gray, the ship's owner and former privateer (that's fancy for pirate). Lust. Passion. Steam. Love. When they get to Tortola and Sophia's truth is uncovered, will Gray love her still, knowing that their relationship was founded on lies?

Of course! Duh.

Isabel (Bel) Grayson, Gray's young half-sister, is at the center of the trilogy's final - and weakest - installment. Unlike Sophia or Lucy, Isabel doesn't want to marry for love or passion. She's a do-gooder and wants to marry someone who will elevate her standing to 'Lady of Influence". Like all the ladies of London, Bel gets the hots for Toby (of pursued-by-Lucy and jilted-by-Sophia fame). He, too, is swept away by Bel's exotic, curvaceous beauty. When she learns he is able to run for Parliament, she agrees to marry him. They have an insatiable appetite for one another, but Bel has control issues or something. So, while poor, stupid Toby loves her, she won't allow herself to love him in return. Until she just kind of realizes she does and is also, oh-joyously, pregnant. Also in this novel: Toby's mom loves their neighbor and Lucy's galpal/personal physician falls for Bel's half-African, brother-from-another-mother Josiah. Too much!

All in all, I think the Siren trilogy hit its peak at the end of book one. I mean, Surrender of a Siren was fine, but I don't enthusiastically recommend it. I think for those who are not committed to The Genre (like me), a novel from this category has to be extra trashy or extra romantic or extra cheesy to be worthwhile. Surrender was not extra anything. But it was a little of all of those things; enough to still be embarrassing.

A Lady of Persuasion, I'd say, was squarely bad. It was steamy at times, but never satisfyingly romantic. And in her 'ambitious' subplots, I think Dare was making an effort to veer away from cheesy and towards legit, which I think was a mistake. Stick with what you know, you know what I mean? Another thing about 'A Lady' is that Bel was a terrible heroine. She is unsympathetically rigid and while Dare explains some of her character through a shallow exploration of her past, she remains unlikable. Bel could be a failure in character development, but could as easily be a failure in conception. And even with my limited experience with romances I know there is no greater recipe for falling flat than a poorly conceived principal.

Surrender of a Siren:

Readable, but just okay, 3 out of 5 stars

A Lady of Persuasion:

Yawnsville, 2 out of 5 stars

Goddess of the Hunt :: Tessa Dare

I've had a rough couple of weeks, so TG (my book pimp) gave me a gift. And what a gift it was!

Title: Goddess of the Hunt

Author: Tessa Dare

Read: East Village, NYC; one sitting

Format: Mass Market Paperback, Embarrassing Cover

In my limited experience, romance novels by Tessa Dare are kind of awesome. In her debut novel (and the first of the 'Sirens' trilogy, seriously), Ms. Dare gives us exactly what we want from a bodice-ripping romance. There's the unassumingly beautiful, headstrong virgin (Lucy) and the brooding nobleman with a secret and broad shoulders (Jeremy). There are misapprehensions. There's a happy-ending-red-herring about halfway through. There is thrusting and ravaging. Uniquely, this one also had a wandering, senile old woman.

Lucy Waltham has her sights set on one of her brother's friends. She attempts to practice her seduction skills on another friend, the stony Jeremy, Earl-of-something. For a variety of reasons, they find themselves fake-courting each other. But, how long does it stay fake? And how long will it take for them to know exactly how the other feels? Lust (and love?), etc ensues.

In Goddess of the Hunt, the characters are far from new - to romance or otherwise - but they are fun to follow regardless. Like all novels of its ilk, the joy is not in whether they get together (they will, duh), but how they get there. And the (guilty) pleasure Tessa Dare offers us in getting there is considerable.

An excellent distraction and a worthwhile way to pass a few hours:

4 out of 5 stars.

A Short History of Women :: Kate Walbert

Title: A Short History of Women

Author: Kate Walbert

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Kate Walbert's A Short History of Women is a multigenerational story that begins in 1914 with a British woman, Dorothy Trevor Townsend, who starves herself in the name of women's suffrage. The legacy of her sacrifice informs the lives and identities of the generations of daughters and granddaughters that come after her, both in the UK and America. All told, it's a beautiful, stirring story.

In the telling, though, it was a tiny bit uneven at times. Specifically, Walbert jumps around both in time (throughout the 20th century) and in voice (through the voices of Dorothy Townsend's descendants). This can be a moving device when wielded properly, but it falls a little short here, for me anyway. Personally, I just found certain stories/contexts more interesting than others and it made reading through less affecting segments seem chore-like at times. Not to say that any parts were weak, they certainly weren't; more that certain plot lines were especially wrenching.

Add it to your pile of to reads, I'd say. But it doesn't have to sit at the top.

Beautiful writing, great characters.

4 out of 5 stars.

This is Where I Leave You :: Jonathan Tropper

Title: This is Where I Leave You [anything goes book club selection, TG]

Author: Jonathan Tropper

Read: NYC

Format: kindle

This September, the book club decided to go the contemporary fiction route with Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You.

At the beginning of the novel, the recently separated (and cuckolded) Judd Foxman learns his father has died. He heads to his childhood home to sit shiva with his child psychologist mother and neurotic adult siblings. Over the course of his days at home, secrets, grudges, and grief (over his lost father and his lost youth) are explored. It kind of sounds insufferable, but Tropper's sharp wit and at-times beautiful writing steer the novel clear out of maudlin waters (for the most part). Even when he's being angsty and poignant (the novel is ostensibly about death and aging, after all), Tropper's easy humor makes those pills go down pretty smoothly.

I read this book during a very difficult time. The one year anniversary of my brother's death was looming and the reality of mourning and grief was as real as the building anxiety as the exact date drew closer. I cried a lot while reading as I was genuinely moved by the honesty in the characters' sadness and in the different ways it manifested.

I also found the relationships between the adult siblings really interesting. Over the years I've thought a lot about how adulthood reshapes the way we interact with our siblings when your (or at least my) understanding of them as people was born in a long-ago-far-away place. A lot of the way Judd is both a part of his family and apart from his family is so familiar to me. As is the fact that that there's really nothing like tragedy to wrench you out of that in-between place and make you realize you simply have to make choices about the way you want your relationships to be and then go with it.

This write up really doesn't do any justice to how light and funny the book really is. It's a fast read and, in my opinion, worthwhile. But, I can't promise that if I had read this book 14 months ago I would have had the same experience.

Sad and provoking. Also funny and sweet.

4 out of 5 stars.

Little Bee :: Chris Cleave

Title: Little Bee

Author: Chris Cleave

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Little Bee is about a young Nigerian refugee who makes her way to the United Kingdom and tracks down a young couple with whom she shared a traumatic experience on a beach in Nigeria. In its telling, the story is told in alternating voices: that of Little Bee herself and Sarah (the wife in the aforementioned British couple - her husband has recently died).

Now, here's the thing with this book. I liked it well enough while I was reading it. I wanted to know what happened to Little Bee and the British couple in Nigeria. I also wanted to know what would happen to them now that she is squirreled away with Sarah in England (illegally). But something sat funny with me while I was reading, despite the fact that I was actually engaged.

Once I finished and knew what was what, I became more aware of what was nagging at me. It was a couple of things:

1) Sarah did not seem to be too torn up over her husband's death; I found this unbelievable regardless of the circumstances/challenges of their marriage
2) I got a little of that exoticism that I disliked in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in the voice of Little Bee
3) I don't like when men write women in first person; I think at best it is natural (very rare), at worst it is offensive
4) So much build up (intriguing histories to be uncovered, intriguing futures to be planned), but it all falls kind of flat upon resolution

I don't want to dog on Little Bee completely. I enjoyed reading it. I just wasn't super thrilled with it once it was all over.

A quick, engrossing read, but not without some (annoying) flaws.
3 out of 5 stars

The Case of the Missing Servant :: Tarquin Hall

Title: The Case of the Missing Servant

Author: Tarquin Hall

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Vish Puri is a rotund Punjabi private detective with an overblown sense of his own ability and an incessant hankering for fried treats. In this first installment of his adventures, he has to solve the mystery of his own attempted murder, find a missing servant (of course), and investigate the character of a wealthy client's future son-in-law. With the aid of his mother, a team of crack assistants, and, indeed, his own ability he manages to get to the bottom of everything. Though it takes a minute to get used to, the telling is charming and fun to watch unfold.

I obviously enjoyed Hall's series debut even though it wasn't particularly innovative insofar as the mysteries are concerned. But it was light and Puri is truly a lovable new character (even if he is, apparently, Poirot-ish). What I find interesting in my own reaction is that even though a white, British man writes this Indian tale (set in Delhi), it doesn't bother me. Not in the way McCall Smith's Ladies Detective Agency series troubled me. Maybe because the voice that Hall is inhabiting is a man and therefore the difference is smaller and easier to overlook. Or maybe it's because Hall doesn't exoticize his protagonists culture in the same way that McCall Smith does. Somehow, I feel like it's more respectful. I could totally be projecting that, th0ugh.

Anyway, I really enjoyed The Case of the Missing Servant for what it is: a light, charming, fun read. And while I didn't run out to buy the second installment (now still in hard cover), I expect it's just a matter of time.

Fun, colorful, charming.

4 out of 5 stars

Wuthering Heights :: Emily Bronte

Title: Wuthering Heights [White Whale 2010, #2]

Author: Emily Bronte

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Let's not beat around the bush: I really, really didn't like Wuthering Heights.

In a nutshell: Heathcliff and Catherine love each other, but she marries someone else (isn't that always the way). After she marries and eventually dies, he gets all gloomy and haunted and vengeful and mean. They live on a landscape that matches Heathcliff's 'tude. He makes life miserable for everyone in two households. At the end, he dies and things start looking up.

Thoughts:

- I hate when character's accents are written phonetically.

- Heathcliff is overbearing, scary, and completely unsympathetic.

- Catherine, too, is unlikeable. Also, she is annoying.

- Bronte doesn't convincingly develop their 'love' or any kind of passion; as a motivation for decades of revenge, it falls flat.

- The narrative requires that the moor be a very insular world. But, the fact that everyone just accepts it as their whole world out of some under-developed sense of obligation is weak and convenient. Heathcliff was able to leave. If he's such an ass to everyone, why do they stick around?

- Rocky moors, unkempt terrain, cold, damp. It's gothic, I get it.

Even though I didn't like it, I'm glad I read Wuthering Heights - even if only to cross it off my list. Also, there are certain books that are referenced so frequently that it just makes sense to go through them. Even if they are not your thing.

Maybe if I read it when I was 12 I would have liked it more:

2 out of 5 stars

The White Tiger :: Aravind Adiga

Title: The White Tiger [book club selection, VM]

Author: Aravind Adiga

Read: NYC

Format: Kindle

White Tiger is a gripping, darkly-comic view into modern India told - with gusto - by Balram Halwai, our entrepeneurial, car-service-owning narrator. Ostensibly, the story is about Balram's rise as a businessman, but through his tale we are exposed to the grave disparity among Indians even today. Some of the dualities explored include: Hindu vs Muslim cultures; abject poverty vs burgeoning global power; the urban vs the rural; individual vs familial responsibilities; obedience vs corruption; and western assimilation vs national loyalty.

Clearly, White Tiger is dense with meaning, but it falls shy of actually indicting any one villain for these problems, which is refreshing. Instead, it paints the perhaps heavy-handed portrait of a changing nation.

Told as a missive from the charming, if mentally-unbalanced, Balram to the Prime Minister of China, the novel is at times as funny as it is wrenching. The epistolary structure (if you can call it that, at this length) serves as a great mechanism for Adiga to pull out of some of the more heartbreaking/shocking assessments of India by injecting Balram's humorous voice. Adiga also then returns the reader to the absurd format of an earnest letter from a ridiculous man to a world leader.

Anyway, I liked The White Tiger. I liked the narrator (sociopath or not). I was intrigued by the portrait of India. But, it did leave me (and my fellow book-clubbers) wondering about how exaggerated the account is. But maybe that's part of the point? That is, this depravity (or some degree of it anyway) exists and nobody really knows (or cares to know) exactly how bad it might be.

Provoking and funny. An unusual combination worth checking out.

4 out of 5 stars

Lark & Termite :: Jayne Anne Phillips

Title: Lark & Termite

Author: Jayne Anne Phillips

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Lark & Termite is a multigenerational epic-y tale of the mentally and physically handicapped boy called Termite and his older sister Lark. To understand their lives, we have to first understand their troubled mother - the sister of the aunt with whom they live - and the father that died in the Korean War. While their family is filled with loss, heartache, drama, etc, it's also not wanting for love. The family unit that the youngsters' aunt creates for them is both warm and loving.

Sometimes contrived, but always touching, I do recommend Lark & Termite for it's ability to keep the reader engaged - captivated even - as it unwinds. Phillips' writing, too, is noteworthy. The perspective and time jumps around and even though the character perspective shifts, the changes are never jarring. Phillips maintains consistency in sentences that are always sparse and modern, but never unfeeling. All together it has an almost-musical quality to it; at times it's even beautiful.

Put it on your list.

4 out of 5 stars

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass :: Lewis Carroll

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass

Author: Lewis Carroll

Read: NYC; JFK > SFO; Palo Alto, CA

Format: mass market paperback

I don't really get this book. But, I'm guessing it's because I'm (a) old, (b) not old enough to care that much about the subtext, (c) expected it to be really great.

Of course I'd seen the cartoon and I'm aware of most of the main characters. I just thought that there would be more plot. Instead, Alice just kind of walks around from one weird symbolic interaction to another. The writing is descriptive and imaginative, but not mind-blowing. In fairness though, over the years Carroll's tableaus have been colorfully imagined so many times - by artists ranging from Disney to Tom Petty - that despite being the inspiration it would appear to fall short, creatively.

I think most books are best enjoyed in specific windows, be they age, date, or circumstance-based. I missed my window with Alice.

It was fine: imaginative, but with no surprises (neither in plot or writing):

3 out of 5 stars

Hunger Games, Catching Fire :: Suzanne Collins

Title: Hunger Games, Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Read: Palo Alto, CA; NYC

Format: Hardcover

On an impromptu Barnes & Noble binge, I finally picked up Hunger Games. It had been appearing at the top of my recommendations for awhile, but I'd been ignoring it because of the whole dystopia thing (I'm not so into that stuff). But friends I trust and e-tail algorithms (that I also trust) endorsed it, so I thought, why not? Smart gamble!

Because I think everyone should read these books, I won't give away too much. Basically, America (now Panem), in the not-so-distant future, is divided into 13 districts and ruled by a cruel Capital. After a failed uprising, the Capital demands that each district sacrifice a pair of teenagers, or 'tributes', to participate in the annual Hunger Games. Mandatory viewing for all citizens, the games are an intricately designed fight to the death. These novels, the first two of a trilogy, focus on District 12's tribute Katniss Everdeen as she fights her way through the games.

Told in first person, the reader sees the world through Katniss's eyes and you vividly experience her fears and motivations. Through her, we learn about the despair in the districts and the excesses of the Capital. And as she is plunged into them, the spectacle of the games plays like a train wreck: horrifying, violent, disturbing, and exciting to watch unfold.

When the end of Hunger Games came too quickly, I was glad I could quickly get my hands on the sequel (I thought it was even better than the first). And when Catching Fire came to an end, I couldn't believe I'd have to wait until August for the final installment. Ugh.

Hunger Games:

An amazing new world, 5 out of 5 stars

Catching Fire:

Somehow, even better, 5 out of 5 stars

To the Lighthouse :: Virginia Woolf

This month I tackled my first 'white whale' for 2010. These are books that for whatever reason I haven't been able to finish - despite numerous attempts.

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse since 1999 when the awesome Professor Phil Fisher (elbow patches and all) assigned it in my 20th Century Novel class. I'm not sure why it's been so difficult for me to read: it's only 209 pages long. This time was no easier, though, as it took me almost 4 weeks to finish, which is kind of stupidly long for a book this short.

That's not to say it isn't good; it is, of course. I'm just not sure I enjoyed it. It's the type of book that I would have appreciated much more in an academic setting. Professor Fisher would have really shown me the way. I loved that guy.

Anyway, the novel is in three parts and is ostensibly about the Ramsay family (and some friends) on vacation in the Hebrides. In part one, James - the youngest boy - desperately wants to visit the nearby lighthouse. The conversation that follows, with regard to whether the weather (!) will allow it, sheds light into the relationships and tensions within the family. Also in the house are a sycophantic colleague of Mr. Ramsey, a newly engaged couple, and uncertain young painter, Lily Briscoe, who all come together for a large dinner party at the end of section one.

Section two, or Time Passes, is meant to give the reader the sensation that ten years are going by. We learn the fates of many of the characters; most notably Mrs. Ramsay who has passed away during this period. Woolf herself described this section as an experiment and as a reader, I'd say, you get it.

The last section of the book, of course, takes place ten years after part one. Mr. Ramsay returns to the house to finally take the trip to the lighthouse. As he and the children go to the lighthouse, Lily, who has also returned to the house, more assuredly works on the painting that she was so insecure about before.

Like many modernist classics, To The Lighthouse's accomplishment is not in the narrative, but in the telling. While not that much happens in the novel, Woolf's writing vividly conveys all the emotions and tensions of the Ramsays' world.

Again, an obvious achievement (not that anyone needed me to say it). But, you know, not "fun".

4 out of 5 stars.

Nine Stories :: JD Salinger

Psych, back to the old format.

The Flannery O'Connor I read in January got me hankering for some good short stories. One of my favorite collections (books, even) is Nine Stories, which I also reread (for the billionth time) in honor of JD Salinger's recent death.

Please indulge me as I muse on Salinger. Like, most people I was first exposed to his work - The Catcher in the Rye - in my ninth grade english class. In its tone, honesty and energy, it was unlike anything I had ever read before. I loved it not just for the storytelling, but for the what it showed me about what books could do and what reading should be like.

Anyway, later that year I picked up what is if not my favorite book, then at least is in my Top 5: Franny and Zooey. As the introduction to the intricately imagined Glass family, Franny and Zooey opened the door to a style of writing that I never ceased to be in awe of, no matter how many times I reread. Salinger built his characters through simple, well-turned phrases and a humor that no writer since (in my mind) has come close to achieving. I'm not sure I can string words together to sufficiently describe what that book means to me. Let's just say when I've seen people reading it on the subway, I've actually struck up conversations about it. And I am NOT that kind of person.

My curiosity about the Glass family now engaged, my next Salinger was Nine Stories, which I read again this month. The first story of the collection, A Perfect Day for a Bananafish, is tragic and sweet and jarring. I'm the type of person that forgets what she's read before I've closed the back cover, but I remember every detail of this story and always have.

The other eight stories are funny, heartbreaking, sentimental, but never maudlin. If I were to list the best ones, I'd just end up listing them all. But for good measure, here are two other highlights: For Esme - with Love and Squalor AND Teddy.

Read this book, it's very, very good (and read all the others too):

5 out of 5 stars

January 2010

Reading List

The Shadow of the Wind :: Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2.5 stars)
A Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories :: Flannery O'Connor (4 stars)
The Road :: Cormac McCarthy (4 stars)
The Mysterious Benedict Society :: Trenton Lee Stewart (3 stars)
I Capture the Castle :: Dodie Smith (5 stars) [anything goes book club selection, TG]
The Polysyllabic Spree :: Nick Hornby (4 stars) [essays, 1/6]

Best - I Capture the Castle :: Dodie Smith

Worst - The Shadow of the Wind :: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

As a whole, January was an auspicious start to a promising year of reading. Within the month, though, not so much. After dragging my feet for awhile, I finally finished Carlos Ruiz Zafon's popular novel, The Shadow of the Wind, right after New Year. At its core, it's a mystery about a book-loving boy trying to uncover the truth about what happened to a long-missing, little-known, genius writer. But unlike more successful mysteries, the unraveling doesn't come from clever plotting, but - unsatisfyingly - through Zafon's over-the-top exposition. In general, I had a lot of trouble with the author's prose style (so flowery at times my eyes got tired from rolling). I wondered how much of the 'color' I disliked was a matter of inferior translation. I was happy to hear from a Spanish-reading friend (you know who you are) that it was NOT more effective in its native form. Phew. I hate feeling like I'm missing out just because I'm monolingual.

Anyway, all this said I can sort of see why so many people like the book: it's richly drawn, moderately intriguing, etc etc. But the telling lacks subtlety and refinement and, to me, made the book ultimately put-down-able. Not a total waste, but far from a gem: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The best read of the month was the latest book club choice, Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle. The eccentric Mortmain family are tried by the issues that plague many a period-novel family: sororal rivalry, near financial ruin, unrequited love, adolescence, etc. But, what sets this novel aside is the refreshing and charming voice of Cassandra Mortmain, who records a year or so of her family's story in journal form. For aspiring writer Cassandra, her diary is both a repository for her thoughts AND a writing exercise. It is a pure joy to read as Cassandra balances innocence and curiosity, precociousness and self-awareness. While the novel's plot is engaging and interesting in and of itself, the true victory of the novel is in Cassandra's evolution as both a writer and a young woman, demonstrated so brilliantly through her charming voice. Sweet, earnest, bright: 5 out of 5 stars. Loved.

Despite my boycott, I found a $4 copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road this month and figured, why not? It only took a couple of hours to read and I always love to read a book that has been adapted into film. Especially films with Vigo Mortensen. Roarrrr. While I enjoyed both the film and book a lot, it definitely left me feeling all bleaky inside. I'll give the book 4 stars, but I'm a little shy to recommend it. It was so sad it made my body hurt. For some reason, I thought seeing the movie immediately would help even me out. Obviously, it just made me sadder.

What I can unequivocally recommend is A Good Man is Hard to Find & Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor. Prior to this collection, I had never read any O'Connor. Didn't even know she was a woman. The stories are darkly beautiful and precisely written and usually about, you know, damaged people in difficult situations. I know that's what all short stories are about, usually, but it's so rare to see them executed so well. If there are more like this, I'd like to read them all, please.

2010: NEW YEAR, NEW FORMAT!

While I'm proud to announce that I met my reading goal in 2009 (reading #50 at dinner on New Year's Eve, no less), I have to come clean or where I fell short as well. I'd hoped to cleverly blog about every book I read, but sadly I failed (though, I do hold on to a dream that I will back-blog about them). To be fair, I can't blame it all on laziness. Let's just be real: 50 books is a pretty ambitious goal for a 9-5er like myself. Write about them too? Sigh. That is a challenge I could not meet.

So, inspired by a recent read (Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree - thanks for the recommendation, Ant...), I'll instead chronicle my adventures through books in digest form. I'm no Michiko anyway - better (i.e., easier, less time-consuming) for me to veer my efforts away from criticizing, per se, and instead focus on just some broad thoughts. I'll also attempt to update Reading Comprehension at least monthly. I'd like to do it more often though. We'll see how that goes.

In other news, I have set a new goal for 2010. I think it's unreasonable to shoot for more than 50 books (I have other things to do, after all). So, rather than bumping up the quantity, I'll be paying more attention to what goes in my to-read stack:

2010 Goals
Read 50 new books (10 re-reads were allowed in 2009, I finished the year with 4)
Tackle 4 white whales (one every three months, ideally)
6 non-novels/stories (non-fiction or essays)
Roald Dahl's oeuvre