Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant – Book Review

Oct 312011

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant
Published by W.W. Norton & Co

Israel provides the backdrop for Joan Leegant’s Wherever You Go. Her three main character – Yona, Mark Greenglass, and Aaron – find themselves there for reasons as varied as reconciliation attempts, the fleeting saving power of religion, and an attempt to finally excel at something in life. Although they have very different relationships with both Israel and Judaism, they find themselves in situations which bring them closer and closer to one another in an event that will drastically change all of their lives.

Leegant’s command of her prose is masterful. She creates a vivid picture of her characters and the landscape that surrounds them. Particularly impressive is the way she uses her prose style to build anticipation leading up to the climax. Each of the three main characters alternates chapters; the first three chapters, which introduce the protagonists, span some 60 pages. By contrast, the last three chapters of the first part, at the high point of the action, cover only 10 pages, the majority of that being the final chapter. The downwards creep in chapter length is subtle, but incredibly effective, all but forcing the reader to turn the pages faster. At the same time, though, Leegant doesn’t resort to cheap, manipulative tactics such as manufactured cliff hangers at the end of chapters. The tension she creates is authentic, based on her skill both in the craft of writing and in creating realistic characters in whom the reader can invest a great deal.

Being Jewish is by no means a prerequisite for enjoying and becoming invested in Wherever You Go. Leegant’s characters may be Jewish, but her themes of estrangement, reconciliation, and crisis of identity are universal. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Author.

* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber – Audiobook Review

Oct 072011

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber, narrated by Tamara Marston
Published in audio by Highbridge Audio, published in print by WW Norton & co

Synopsis:

Avis and Brian Muir have what seems like it should be a happy life. They live in a big house in a wealthy community in Miami. Avis has a job that she loves. Brian has a job he at least likes, and one that more than pays the bills. They have two lovely and intelligent children. When their daughter Felice runs away at thirteen, though, the entire family falls apart. Now, five years later, they have fallen even farther, even as they continue to hope that they may someday because a “real” family again, whatever that might mean.

Thoughts on the story:

Abu-Jaber is extremely skilled at getting inside her characters heads, going so far as showing the reader the neurosis of which the characters themselves may not even be aware. In Birds of Paradise, she manages the often difficult task of fully fleshing out all four members of the family, making each of them seem real, bringing to life their hopes and their foibles. Felice’s storyline is particularly interesting. Although the secret that drove her to running away is relatively easy to guess, it is believable, even logical by the standards of her young teenage self.

Thoughts on the audio production:

This is where Birds of Paradise fell apart for me. Marston seemed more like she was reading Abu-Jaber’s text than like she was narrating or performing it. She had a great command of accents – a necessity for the multicultural world in which the Muirs live – but there was little to no passion in her voice, which is somewhat of a problem in a book with such deep emotions from its characters. Also, she had an incorrect and obnoxious pronunciation of the state Oregon that just pulled me right out of the book and annoyed me every time she said it. Marston’s narration really detracted from the potential power of Abu-Jaber’s story.

soundbytes picture Overall:

Be prepared to become emotionally involved in the lives of the Muirs if you pick up Birds of Paradise, but for full effect choose print.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

I’m launching a brand-new meme every Friday! I encourage you to review any audiobooks you review on Fridays and include the link here. If you have reviewed an audiobook earlier in the week, please feel free to link that review as well. Thanks to Pam for creating the button.

Source: .
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein – Audiobook Review

Jul 222011

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein, narrated by Xe Sands
Published in audio by Dreamscape Media, published in print by W.W. Norton & Co

Synopsis:

Leonora is a good, proper girl, with a good, proper family. Even so, even though she knows exactly what to do when presented with a stranger approaching, she disappears. Vanishes, without a trace. She is not the only one, either. Leonora’s story and the stories of two who go missing willingly – Judith and Paul – grow increasingly intertwined as characters grapple with issues of family, parenthood, sex, and personal reinvention.

Thoughts on the story:

This was decidedly not an easy story to follow. Characters enter and exit with great frequency at the beginning and no particular indication of when they will return. However, for the reader who perseveres will be rewarded by a beautiful book with increasingly meaningful connections. The way that the characters interacted at different points in their individual timelines was fascinating and superbly crafted.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Xe Sands narration was a perfect match for this potentially difficult-to-follow text. For my full thoughts on the audio, please see my review for Audiofile Magazine.

Overall:

This is definitely a challenge. Books that jump around in time and place – and then again between characters – can be even more difficult in audio than in print, but this one is worth a listen for the adventurous, because it is simply – albeit occasionally disturbingly – lovely.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Audio/Print*

Source: Audiofile Magazine.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Trespass by Rose Tremain – Audiobook Review

Jun 172011

Trespass by Rose Tremain, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
Published in audio by AudioGo, published in print by W. W. Norton & Co

Synopsis:

We know the ways that our pasts, flaws, and foibles change the courses of our own lives, but perhaps we think little about the ways in which they can influence, and even devastate the lives of others, even when our paths cross only tangentially. Such is the case when two pairs of siblings, both with painful and damaging pasts happen to have their lives intersect in the south of France. Veronica and her lover, Kitty, have been living in Cévennes for years, but their simple domestic life of painting and gardening is disrupted when Veronica’s brother Anthony, who is having financial troubles in England, comes down to stay. When he decides he would like to relocate to France, tensions get even higher. Equally fraught is the relationship between Audrun and Aramon, natives of France. Their childhood was, shall we say, less than ideal after the death of their mother, and their interactions grow even more tense after Aramon declares his intention to sell their family home. With Anthony looking to buy and Aramon to sell, it is only to be expected that their paths should cross, but the results of that crossing are decidedly atypical.

Thoughts on the story:

Although not exactly a mystery, Tremain tells a suspenseful yet character-driven story in “Trespass.” We know from the opening scene that something terrible has happened, although what exactly that is will only slowly become apparent over the course of the book. It is a complex tale, but not overly so. The pacing, plotting, and prose were all extremely well handled, but the real highlight of the book was the character development. Not a single one of the characters in “Trespass” was a particularly likable human being. They were selfish, self-involved, rude, snobby, and occasionally abusive. In such a psychological, character-driven novel such as this, that can be quite a problem. However, they were so realistically and tragically flawed, that their petty incivilities failed to be a turn-off. Instead, the reader is drawn into their story to find out exactly what bad thing happened, and why.

Thoughts on the audio production:

At the beginning of “Trespass,” I had a bit of a hard time keeping all of the characters straight in audio, because Tremain included a number of relatively short scenes with each of them. I must say, I really wasn’t sure what was going on – actually, I’m not sure I would have been with print, either – but it didn’t matter one bit, because of Juliet Stevenson’s amazing narration. For more, see my review for Audiofile Magazine.

soundbytes picture Overall:

Fascinating and suspenseful, “Trespass” is a masterful psychological novel, although not one for those easily offended by sex and dysfunction.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound: Print*

Source: AudioFile Magazine.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Madre by Liza Bakewell – Book Review

Mar 252011

Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun by Liza Bakewell
Published by W. W. Norton & Company

Madre means mother, right? Well, technically. Madre may mean mother in Spanish, but it means a whole lot else besides that in Mexico. There is an extensive list of madre idioms, nearly all of which have negative meanings along the lines of disaster or whore. How can this be, when mothers traditionally hold a very high place in Mexican society, in a land where the Holy Virgin, the mother of Christ, is so venerated? What question could be more fascinating to a social anthropologist with an interest in linguistics and feminist leanings from the United States living in Mexico? It was this first question, in fact, that turned Liza Bakewell from a social anthropologist into a linguistic anthropologist with a particularly interest in madre and the intersection of gender and language.

“It can be dangerous to say madre in Mexico. Underscored and italicized. His words would blow fire across the screen. A kind of watch-out fuerte, not only powerful, but really powerful. Like a match to gasoline, or a blow to the face.” -p. 47

Out of this fascination came Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun. The subtitle of Madre is really the best description of what this book is. Far from a strictly academic treatise, Madre is more of a travelogue/memoir combo by someone who is simply very intelligent and likes to think deeply about issues of language and society. In spite of this, the chapters are organized topically within the larger subject of madre: talking about piropo and albur, the grammatical dominance of maleness even in a room predominantly female, las mentadas de madre.

Perhaps this begins to explain the origins of the symbolic dilemma of madre in Mexico. The Church believes the bride, once married, is Eve, not the Virgin. -p. 175-176

Maybe it is just me, maybe I missed my calling as an anthropologist, but I think that the intersection of gender, culture, and language is a fascinating place to linger and observe, and I’m so grateful that Bakewell brought me to this particular intersection. Even better, she does not manage to lose a non-Spanish speaking, non-linguist on her journeys. It could be occasionally disconcerting to have the very personal style interacting with the linguistic and anthropological insights, but overall it worked very well.

A very interesting book, if the concept interests you, then I can recommend Madre.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Blood Work by Holly Tucker – Book Review

Mar 232011

Blood Work by Holly Tucker
Published by W. W. Norton & Co

If you need a blood transfusion, you just head to the hospital, get your blood typed, and lay back and have a nice sterilized needle send some nice, compatible blood into your veins, right? Certainly this is the case now, but it wasn’t always so. In the 17th century, you might have been infused the blood of a cow, dog, or sheep through a long tube. And, too, you might not get the transfusion because you lost blood in an accident or something similar, you might receive one in order to treat your mental instability.

The men had agreed that the cooling effects of blood transfusion could be very promising treatment for “extravagant” minds. At the time, humoral imbalances were still understood to lie at the root of madness. -p. 159

Blood transfusion was not fully accepted during the 17th century, however. In fact, the conservative physicians of France were wholly against the entire proposition. For one thing, it ran counter to centuries of medical based on the works of Galen. For another thing, it offended the strict Catholic beliefs of most of the country.

To imagine transfusion meant to dismiss biblical dictates such as in Deuteronomy 12:23, “Eat not the blood, for the blood is the life.” p. -209

Not all French physicians felt the same, however. Jean-Baptiste Denis was captivated by stories of transfusion reaching France from across the English Chanel, and decided that he too wanted to attempt transfusions. To this end, he tracked down Antoine Mauroy, the most notorious madman in Paris, and attempted to transfuse him. The first transfusion went well and even seemed to cure his insanity temporarily. A later transfusion, however, went very strangely and ended very badly, leading to Denis being accused of murder. It seemed clear that he was framed, but by whom?

Blood Work is not only the story of this medical mystery, the death of Antoine Mauroy and the framing of Jean-Baptiste Denis. Tucker also provides a background to the history of early transfusion. In doing so, she sheds a great deal of light on the culture and beliefs of 17th century France and England, as well as explaining the previously omnipresent custom of bloodletting.

Holly Tucker has written absolutely fascinating book. It is an extremely compelling read. Even with a stack of books in my bag and an even bigger pile on my Nook,, when I picked up Blood Work on the airplane I did not put it back down until I had turned the last page. Part of this is simply Tucker’s writing style. She has clear, concise prose that makes even convoluted 17th century medical beliefs easy to follow. In addition, she clearly has a great command of her subject matter. When the author understands her material so well, she can explain even the most complex subjects with ease.

Blood Work is a fascinating medical and social history written with a clarity that brings the reader greater understanding. I highly recommend it. And now, let me just leave you with the questions Tucker poses at the end of her introduction:

For now I simply ask readers to keep two questions in mind as they enter the teeming streets and cluttered laboratories of seventeenth-century Paris and London: Should a society set limits on its science? If so, how and at what price? -p. xxix

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Publisher for a blog tour.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn – Book Review

Feb 282011

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn
Published by W. W. Norton & Company

Daughter of the Earl of Amherst, Emily Dickinson does not always have an easy time at Mt. Holyoke. She is secretly in love with Tom, the groundskeeper to whom no teacher or pupil is allowed to speak, but the differences between her and the other girls are staggering: she never receives Valentines, and she has no good friends to speak of, she primarily only associates with the daughter of a stable hand. Upon her return home, she is the darling of her father, a father who wanted nothing more than to keep her by his side.

He is Bluebeard with red side-whiskers, serving up daughters instead of wives. I will never leave this castle. He will decline whatever suitor I bring to West Street. Father might let Lavinia escape, but not me. It’s not my Indian bread per se. He could find another baker. But Father seems to count on the little storms I crate. Perhaps he imagines my face in his mirror – the hobgolin with red hair whom he cannot live without. Such an imp can shatter his isolation. I am his Dolly, sentenced to serve him puddings for the rest of his natural life and most of mine.

Jerome Charyn’s writing is absolutely lovely. Everything was so evocative, so Dickinson-esque. The entire novel had a wonderful, wild, poetic feel. Charyn’s Emily, too, was a fascinating creature. She was alone partly because of her father’s prejudices, partly because of her own. And yet even when she had become a complete recluse, she still hungered for romance, for the touch of a man. She was no love-struck girl or withering flower, though. Emily could be bossy, manipulative, she had a full range of human emotions and desires.

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson may have actually inspired me to read some of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Since I’ve never before had that desire, I think we can safely say that this book is a big hit.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound | Amazon*

Source: Author’s publicist.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

A Kidnapping in Milan by Steve Hendricks – Book Review

Feb 212011

A Kidnapping in Milan: The CIA on Trial by Steve Hendricks
Published by W. W. Norton & Company

Extraordinary rendition. Not a phrase that many Americans heard before 9/11. The concept – kidnapping someone from one country and taking them to another country with, shall we say, a less firmly defined sense of what constitutes human rights abuses for the purpose of torture – is probably not one that occurred to many of us before then either. Evidence suggests that these renditions did happen before 9/11, but it was after that time that the phrase and the concept became a part of the national consciousness, perhaps because it is alleged that the CIA has extraordinarily rendered some 3,000 suspected terrorists since then.

In A Kidnapping in Milan, freelance reporter Steve Hendricks explores one such case of post-9/11 extraordinary rendition of a radical Egyptian imam living in Milan. Beginning with Abu Omar’s radicalization in Egypt, through his time in the Balkans and his re-creation as an imam in Milan, Hendricks relates the story of this rendition from the earliest logical point, through the bitter end. We do not simply learn of Abu Omar’s story either, also included is CIA and Italian history that greatly influenced both the rendition and the eventual prosecution in Italian courts of the men and women involved in the kidnapping.

A Kidnapping in Milan is extraordinarily well researched, particularly considering much of this information must have been hard to track down or make sense of. Early on in the book, Hendricks tells the reader:

In Milan a known fact is always explained by competing stories, more than one of which will be plausible. Some of the stories will be frivolous, even absurd. With time, the elements of all will mix, their separate origins becoming unclear. With time enough, even the one fact once known with certainty will become all but unknowable.
Page 14

Based on the other details he gives us about life in Milan, that certainly seems to be the case. However, his research is so good and his story told so flawlessly, that A Kidnapping in Milan seems to belie that statement with its very existence.

This book is particularly timely right now, because it covers in broad strokes much of the political history of Egypt. This is primarily done to explain the large number of Egyptian-born radicals living overseas, as well as the appeal of rendering terrorism suspects to Egypt. It raised a good many questions for me about what the place of Egypt will be in these matters going forward, which I would guess is not something that is really known as of yet, as we wait to see exactly how the recent events in Egypt will play out. The accounts of the tortures which took place in Egypt are horrific, and the faint of heart and stomach may want to skim those sections, although I do think it is important for informed citizen to know what is being done in our name by proxies of our own government.

One of the earliest recipients of the CIA’s training was Egypt. The trainers were former Nazi commanders from Germany who were recruited by the CIA not long after the Second World War.
Page 145

“If you want a serious interrogation,” said Robert Baer, who for years was a CIA officer in the Middle East, “you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear – never to see them again – you send them to Egypt.”
Page 147

This is not a particularly easy read, both because of the level of detail Hendricks includes, and because of the subject matter, but if you have even the slightest interest in this subject – or in knowing what is being done in your (if you are American) name – this is a great choice. Recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound | Amazon*

Source: Author.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys – Book Review

Feb 042011

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Published by W.W. Norton & Co

Life is not easy for the white families left in Jamaica after the emancipation of slaves. Many of the former slaves, quite understandably, harbor a great deal of resentment towards their former masters, and riots and attacks are not unknown. It is into this world that Antoinette Cosway is born. By the time we meet, her father is dead and her mother’s nerves somewhat frayed from her impoverished life in this unstable country. A new stepfather gives Antoinette’s family the name Mason and more financial security, but also locks her mother away in her despair after Antoinette’s younger brother is killed by the angry mob that burns down their house.

It is with this background that Antoinette Cosway Mason is married to a man chosen by her stepfather and stepbrother, a Mr. Rochester from England. Antoinette’s difficult childhood has certainly taken a toll on her, but she is still perfectly sane. Until her marriage, that is. I was hoping that “Wide Sargasso Sea” would give me more insight into Rochester’s life and give me more sympathy for the way he acts towards Jane in “Jane Eyre.” It actually had the exact opposite effect. Rochester’s treatment of both Antoinette and the life she loved disgusted me. He clearly hated life in the Caribbean and made no attempt to try to acclimate. And once he decided that he liked neither the Caribbean nor Antoinette, he began taking his feelings out on her, including calling her Bertha because he believed that her mother, also named Antoinette, was insane, even though she begged him to use her real name.

“Wide Sargasso Sea” is fascinating both as a post-colonial novel and as a prequel to “Jane Eyre,” even if it made me furious, it is definitely worth a read. Recommended.

I read “Wide Sargasso Sea” in preparation for the most recent episode of our podcast, What’s Old is New, this one on “Jane Eyre.”

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound | Amazon*

Source: library.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Original Sins by Peg Kingman – Book Review

Jan 072011

Original Sins: A Novel of Slavery and Freedom by Peg Kingman
Published by W.W. Norton & Co

After an unconventional childhood – leaving Scotland at a young age for India and the Far East – Grace is not quite at east in the quite conventional society of Philadelphia in the mid-19th century, surely her mother-in-law does not approve of her at all. Life becomes even more complicated when her old friend Anibaddh, a former slave, returns to Grace with a secret, one that will require Grace to travel south, into the heart of that institution which she most despises: slavery.

I did not realize when I first picked up “Original Sins” that it was actually the second in a series or, at least, it is connected to a book set earlier with the same main character. Luckily Kingman balances the series/stand-alone book divide well. There are enough references to past events to tip the reader off to the existence of an earlier book, but the necessary backstory is sufficiently explained, without giving away the entirety of Kingman’s first book, “Not Yet Drown’d.”

I found “Original Sins” to be absolutely captivating. Grace is certainly not the typical mid-19th century American woman, she is feminist and abolitionist in a time when all American women still gave the majority of their rights over to their husbands automatically upon marriage and slavery was still very much a given. Some will complain that Kingman’s work is more about thoughts and beliefs than about story and I would not necessarily disagree, but I also do not think that is necessarily a bad thing. Yes, Grace, and other characters, expound on their beliefs in long discourses, but it is all supported by the characterization Kingman provides and, most importantly, it was fascinating and thought-provoking.

Although “Original Sins” is certainly not for everyone, people who are intrigued by the exchange of ideas about religion, freedom, and human rights will certainly find themselves engrossed. Highly recommended.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: Publisher
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Older Entries

Devourer of Books

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant – Book Review

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber – Audiobook Review

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein – Audiobook Review

Trespass by Rose Tremain – Audiobook Review

Madre by Liza Bakewell – Book Review

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn – Book Review

A Kidnapping in Milan by Steve Hendricks – Book Review

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys – Book Review

Original Sins by Peg Kingman – Book Review

Sponsors:

Book Time with Bess read-along

Shelf Awareness for Readers eNewsletter

Tumblring

Giveaway

Recognition

Regular Features/Special Events

Check Me Out

Follow Me!

Sponsors:

Book Time with Bess read-along

Shelf Awareness for Readers eNewsletter

Giveaway

Recognition

Regular Features/Special Events

Check Me Out