Devourer of Books

Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa
Published by Algonquin, an imprint of Workman

As a young man, Manuel feels the need to escape from what haunts him in Portugal: his overbearing mother, an abusive priest, and his dead father. While on a ship off the coast of Canada, Manuel goes overboard to avoid returning home and chooses instead to make his life in Canada. In the second half of the book, Manuel’s son Antonio takes over the narration, describing the difficulties of being a second generation immigrant when the first generation did not live up to its own dreams.

The Portuguese-Canadian immigrant community was not one I had ever considered before. I didn’t even realize there was a large Portuguese immigrant community in Canada. This actually helped me approach the idea of the immigrant experience from a fresh perspective, which made for a very interesting read. The beginning of “Barnacle Love” was somewhat challenging for me, De Sa’s writing style in the first half was somewhat distant and removed, making it difficult for me to connect to Manuel or the story in general. During the second half, however, the narration switched to first person from Antonio’s point of view, and I was able to become more invested in the story being told.

A fresh look at the North American immigrant experience, and one worth reading.

Thanks to Beth Fish Reads, who has helped me to become more aware of the imprints I love over the past year, beginning with her Amy Einhorn Perpetual Challenge. Follow her blog for regular spotlights of some of her favorite imprints.

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

I hope everyone is enjoying Thankfully Reading Weekend! I have a mini-challenge and prize up right now, and there is another over at Beth Fish Reads. Speaking of the Beth Fish Reads mini-challenge, actually, I wanted to show you all some of my TBR shelves. These are my library and review copy shelves, not including books from BEA and GLiBA.

Thank goodness I have a spreadsheet, because I can’t actually see all of those books. I wish I’d made a bigger dent in this TBR pile over Thankfully Reading weekend, but with family in town and a toddler I haven’t had a ton of time. Still, I’ve made a point of being thankful for the time I have, instead of regretting the time I don’t have. I have finished one book and an audiobook, as well as made a good dent in the podcasts I was behind on.

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Last year I joined about 20 challenges, and I failed the majority of them, so this year I am only joining two challenges, my own, The Debutante Ball Challenge, and this year’s What’s In A Name Challenge.

By the way, the What’s in a Name 3 Challenge was one of the few challenges I actually finished.

1. Body of Water - Dead-Tossed Waves
2. Food - Mr. Peanut
3. Music - The Dead Beat
4. Place name - East of Eden
5. Plant - The Language of Trees
6. Title - A Friend of the Family

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Okay, now for what I’ve read this week. It may look impressive that I finished 6 books, but three of those books (2 print, 1 audio) I was reading the majority of the week before and I finally finished them on Tuesday.

Print:

Audio:

This past week I had a special feature which I called “Harvest Week.” In addition to my explanatory post, I posted three reviews (covers link to reviews):

For Saturday Story Spotlight I unveiled a new button, courtesy of Sheila at Book Journey and showcased a book that Daniel has loved for months:

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The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore
Published by Crown, an imprint of Random House

Although blessed with a name that had been passed down to the first daughter of the eldest son in the Grove family for generations, Bezellia is nothing if not her own person. The Groves have long been one of the first families of Nashville, but now in the 1960s they no longer have the financial resources they did once. Now, they are just a name, and one dealing with ever more tarnishing influences. Bezellia’s doctor father is always at the hospital or with another woman, and her mother is drowning in a sea of gin. Amidst this chaos, Bezellia is trying to learn who she is and, at the same time, discovering first love with the son of her family’s African-American driver and handyman. In the South. In the 1960s.

I am somewhat in awe of what Gilmore accomplished in “The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove.” Somehow she managed to have a strong female lead who didn’t pull punches and became involved in inter-class and interracial relationships (sometimes all at the same time), a heroine who discovered Betty Friedan and the lure of feminism at college, a young woman who is capable of holding together a family wracked by guilt and alcoholism, and yet she did not let her book get pulled into a dark and depressing morass of politics and family drama. Personally I might have liked a slightly heavier tome, but I admire the balance Gilmore was able to strike so successfully, and think that “The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove” will appeal to a wide range of people.

“The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove” is an engaging coming-of-age story and one that I can recommend.

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

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
Published by Abrams ComicArts

You may know that I <3 Audrey Niffenegger, including her latest novel, “Her Fearful Symmetry,” about which I seem to be in the minority. I have also been growing to <3 graphic novels as of late, so Niffenegger’s newest book, “The Night Bookmobile” seems like a perfect fit for me - even more so the way that Margie describes it in her latest review.

Chicago Author Month: The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger