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The next installment of this wonderful blog belongs to Tatiana de Rosnay's novel, Sarah's Key. This story is set in both current day France, as well as France during the Holocaust.
Sarah's a 10 year-old girl who locks her 4 year-old brother in a hidden cupboard in their apartment when the French (yes, French) police come to round up the Jewish families in the apartment building. She leaves him with his water and a book and promises to come back for him, not realizing there may be a chance that she might not be back. She and her parents are then taken with other Jewish families in France for the Vel' d'Hiv roundup. Her part of the journey then encompasses trying to find a way to get back to her brother.
This book also flips back-and-forth, every other chapter with the present time, Julia Jarmond, an American who has lived in France for over a decade. She, of course, is researching the Vel' d'Hiv for an article. As you can imagine, the two stories mesh together quite well by the end of the novel. As I'm not one for ruining books, I shall say no more regarding the content of the novel!
This is a book club choice and our meeting isn't until Wednesday, so forgive me for what little of a review I'm about to do for it. Don't want to give too much away!
For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I always enjoy historical fiction for some reason (does that make me a nerd?) and this book definitely has that element. I think that the author did a great job at bringing the two settings together and melding the parts in to one solid story. I feel as though de Rosnay did a great job at making me empathize with Sarah and the different characters from her part of the story. Obviously, I was not around at this time in history, but I feel that the way she told the story seemed to be a somewhat accurate portrayal of what I've learned about this and similar events taking place at the time.
And now for a few things I disliked hated about this book. The most annoying part for me was the fact that de Rosnay felt the need to name EVERY SINGLE STREET in France throughout the novel. Don't get me wrong; I loved France when I was there. I love reminiscing when I hear names/places that I recognize or have been to. I do NOT, however, need to read EVERY street name that Julia/Sarah encounter throughout the novel. Seriously... I bet 10% of this book was JUST street names.
Anyway, enough ranting about that. The other thing that annoyed me and landed this book with a lower Goodreads star-rating than it would have had from me otherwise, happened in the last 50 pages of the book. (This might not make sense if you haven't read it, but again, I don't want to give anything way either.) There was a point at or around 50 pages 'til the end, in which it either need to be more elaborate in bringing the story to a close, or it just needed to end there. There was a chance for a perfect stopping spot that I would have been more than happy with, but when she drones on and lengthens the story, she doesn't do enough. Does that make sense? Either she needed to quit earlier or elaborate further. That may be confusing, but if you read the book and want to know what I'm referencing, I'll be more than happy to share.
Needless to say, that is all I'm going to say at this time. I know I always say I'll write more after my book club meetings and I never do, so I'm just not going to promise it this time. :)
This book is RECOMMENDED.
First Line Teaser: "The girl was the first to hear the loud pounding on the door."
Up Next: Who knows? Seriously... I feel like I always lie to you. I currently have 15, yes 15, books going. (If your curious, you can friend me on Goodreads to find out what I'm reading/have read.) The next one that lands a blog will probably be the next book club book when we pick it on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.
Category
Book Club,
Books,
Recommended,
Sarah's Key
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Two in one week?! I must be on a roll! The truth is, I literally had 17 different books going at the beginning of this week and my goal is now to start finishing them before I start any new ones (with the exception of my book club selections, because I HAVE to read those, obv). Anyhow, I am officially down to 15 now; yay me!
The Hunger Games was a fantastic book! I'm very eager to read the rest of the series, but alas, unless they are book club selections, I shall not allow myself to do so until those other 15 books are done! For those of you who know nothing of the series, it is basically about a post-apocalyptic North America in which the nation has been divided into 12 districts. Each year, from each district, a female and a male teenager are chosen and are placed in an "arena" to fight to the death in front of the entire nation via video, called none other than the "Hunger Games". It's very reminiscent of Stephen King's Running Man, or that movie "The Condemned" with Steve Austin.
The author does a very good job of drawing you in and making you care about the characters in the novel. I literally read all but maybe 50 pages of this book today. Even at 374 pages, it's a very quick and easy read.
I really enjoyed imagining the characters development throughout the story, as pretty much everyone in the arena has not been forced to kill in the past. Everyone is out of their element and have to develop in to a new sense of self.
For those of you unaware of the series, I realize that the concept seems sick and sad and just... wrong. But the truth is, that's what makes for an intriguing read, right? I won't lie though; I'm a wee bit fascinated with death.
This book is definitely RECOMMENDED.
First line teaser: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."
Next Up: Not continuing something I've already started, I will probably read the new book club book next. It is called Sarah's Key and it is by Tatiana de Rosnay.
Category
Sarah's Key,
Suzanne Collins,
Tatiana de Rosnay,
The Hunger Games
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First off, I'd like to start by saying that I am fully aware of the complete slacking I've been doing with this whole "50 books in a year" goal. I've read a few that I haven't posted about, but I will. All in due time... I've been busy, I swear!
Anyway, the 15th book of my challenge was Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. I believe I also read his Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim as part of my challenge. This book was very similar. It was a collection of short stories and essays, in fact, several of the stories were repeats from what I'd already read in Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim. (The stories all just happened to have some sort of holiday theme.) I'm not going to lie, I won't say I loved it and I won't say I hated it. I will say that I read it and my opinion of it is just that... it's a book. Some parts made me laugh, but for the most part I kind of just felt unmoved by the whole thing.
I did enjoy reading about Sedaris's stint as a "Christmas elf", where he worked in a Santa village at Christmas time. I also did enjoy reading "Christmas Means Giving", which was about a family that bought themselves any lavish gift they might desire. When a family moved in next door who wanted to compete with the original family, it all took a turn for the worst. It was really just amusing because I think everyone knows someone that is like that.
Anyway, over all, I would NOT recommend this book. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, so maybe, if you are, you might like this book more than I did. I don't think that it helped that I'd already read several of the stories either.
First Line Teaser: "I was in a coffee shop looking through the want ads when I read, "Macy's Herald Square, the largest store in the world, has big opportunities for outgoing, fun-loving people of all shapes and sizes who want more than just a holiday job!" (Taken from the beginning of "SantaLand Diaries", which is the story in which Sedaris is a Christmas elf.)
Next Up: Finishing The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Category
David Sedaris,
Holidays On Ice
.
Another one today! Lucky you!
Then next book in my lineup was Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. This book was very good. Unlike the last book where I complained about the title character's insecurity, I felt much different about the EXTREME insecurity of Portia de Rossi throughout this book.
For those of you who don't know, Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Ally McBeal, Better Off Ted) suffered severe anorexia. The book chronicles her history with bulimia and anorexia throughout her life, beginning with her adolescent years. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book before starting it, given the topic and the fact that I am not big into learning about the lives of celebrities, but I really enjoyed this book. Well, as much as you can enjoy a book where a person starves themselves to the point of practically dying. Let me say, it was not a GOOD book... it was very interesting.
Portia de Rossi does a great job at showing what it feels like to have the insecurities that come with bulimia and anorexia. The book is almost written as a novel at times because she does an amazing job at bringing you in to the lives of the "characters" throughout her life. I am willing to say that if de Rossi wrote a fictional novel, I might just pick it up and read it. She is surprisingly a fantastic writer.
I can't delve too much in to this book as it is our latest book club book and I don't want to make all of my great points before our meeting, but I will say that I really do have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the book. Get in touch with me if you want to know more about my thoughts (and you aren't a member of the NIBC). Definitely get in touch with me if you've read it, because I'd like to know your thoughts as well.
This book is definitely RECOMMENDED!
First line teaser: "He doesn't wait until I'm awake."
Next Up: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Category
Book Club,
Books,
Recommended,
Unbearable Lightness
.
I know... it's been a while, but I'll be writing two reviews today! I just haven't gotten around to blogging!
This is a review of Cathy Lamb's Such a Pretty Face. It was a book club selection, but alas the meeting has come and gone already in my non-blogginess.
The book is about a woman who is trying to come in to her own after getting gastric bypass surgery. She has to deal with weighing 325 lbs. and then dropping about 165 lbs. of it. It basically describes her battle with insecurity and overcoming that insecurity. Oh yeah, did I mention that when she was a child her mother was schizophrenic and threw her, her little sister & herself over a bridge, leaving Stevie (our main character) as the only survivor? That's just a little added bonus for you.
I liked this book. At times I became very annoyed with Stevie's insecurities, which may sound somewhat ignorant or bitchy, but I was. As she got more confident I found that I liked her much better than in the earlier parts of the book. This book is very good for character development.
There are a lot of strange characters throughout it and Lamb does a fine job at giving you a good picture of who each of the characters really are. Stevie is really the most normal of all of the characters. Between the seriousness of some characters (a verbally abusive demeaning adoptive uncle, an equally abusive ex-husband, a bitchy lawyer/co-worker, an anorexic cousin) and the absolute comedy of some of the others [the hyper-sensitive super athlete cousin who sells blow-up dolls, Stevie's mother - the schizophrenic (also very sad, but rather humorous throughout the story), the co-worker who was a roller derby queen], this book had a nice even tone for what was really happening in the story. In all seriousness, the book was really tragedy, but the comedic efforts made for it to give you the lightness you needed so that you didn't need to put the book down and take a break every 5 seconds in order to protect yourself from slitting your wrists out of grief. (Maybe that was a bit of an extreme example...)
Anyway, this book is RECOMMENDED. You just need to get past some of Stevie's whiny insecurities. :)
First line teaser: "I know when it started."
Next Up: Portia de Rossi's Unbearable Lightness (Book club selection)
Category
Book Club,
Books,
Recommended,
Such a Pretty Face
.
*Disclaimer: spoiler alert. Trust me, you won't care that I spoiled it.*
For my twelfth book, I chose The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez. This book was, well, it was a book. It was okay. I chose it based on the fact that it was short and I need to make up for some serious time in this challenge. (Even though it still took me over a week to read because I've been in such a lull with reading lately! Hopefully that will improve this winter.)
Anyway, this is a semi-autobiographical story about a family of illegal Mexican immigrants who come in to the States, written from the perspective of a child.
First complaint: The family is living in poverty in shacks/tents/whatever on the farms that they are working for. The dad smokes like 6 packs a day. This pisses me off. This is one of my biggest pet peeves that I have for families that I work with. Do not sit there and complain about money issues while you chain smoke right in front of me. 3 packs a day? That's $20 people. You could FEED your entire family on that for a day, easily. Grrrrr....
On a similar note, when the family moved to the States there were 2 children with a 3rd born shortly after. In the span of the time that they were in the US during the book (estimating a span of maybe 7 years tops), they increased this amount to 7... SEVEN KIDS. If you are this poor and are working for a total of $15 a day and spending $20 of that on cigarettes, HOW CAN YOU AFFORD TO FEED YOUR KIDS?!?! GRRRRRRRR (again)! (OH and might I add that at one point, when there were 5 kids, all 7 of the family members were sleeping on one mattress... how is that even possible?)
Another big complaint I had for this book were the random Spanish words throughout it. I know very little Spanish and there were several words per page that were written in Spanish without explanation of what they meant. I was able to figure some of them out (without translating) due to context, but it was a major annoyance for me.
Now, I don't condone illegal immigration. I understand that people feel that life is better in America and that there is more opportunity for them here, but it doesn't mean it's okay. I don't feel that it is the fault of these children that they were brought to America, and I don't necessarily feel that they should have to leave, but I do feel like the parents should know that, while they think they are making a better life for their children, they are greatly jeopardizing the childrens' success. These kids are bounced from town to town, school to school, and sometimes are not in school at all due to work. Every time they make a friend, they have to leave. Every time they build a rapport with a teacher, they have to leave. They are living in complete poverty and receive no health care. The parents would rather let the child get as close to death as possible before getting them health care.
While reading this book, I faced a lot of the same issues I deal with every day in my job. I get so angry. I loved the main character, Panchito. He seemed to be a great kid in spite of every thing he was going through. I don't get angry at these poor kids that are going through this trauma, showing poor behaviors due to it. I get angry at the parents. Take care of your children.
Anyway, I'm ranting. I'll make sure to post a blog on my other blog, ranting more about this some time.
Oh yeah, one last thing. This book ends with the kids being collected by immigration from their various work sites. Like... it just ends. In the middle of the story. It's like he was in mid-sentence and just decided that he was done with the book.
This book is NOT RECOMMENDED. It was interesting to read from the viewpoint of a migrant child, but at the same time it was very stereotypical and didn't hold much content for the things that most people don't already know about migrant workers. (Or maybe I just think that since I'm in the social work field.)
First Line Teaser: '"La Frontera" is a word I often heard when I was a child living in El Rancho Blanco, a small village nestled on barren, dry hills several miles north of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Next Up: Elie Wiesel's Night
Category
Books,
Goals,
Quotes,
Rant,
The Circuit
.
Okay, so I know I am now notorious for not reading what I say I am going to read but I can't help myself. This was a book club selection, so again, I may not post much about it here, but I will say a bit! :) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was not conducive to my challenge. At nearly 600 pages, I could have read 3-4 books in that amount of time! However, it was a VERY good book.
This book has an interesting setting. It has the elements of being an investigative journalism novel, a suspenseful "find the murderer" novel, as well as a psychological thriller, all tied up into one neatly well-written book!
I rather enjoyed this book. It starts out very slowly but after the first 2-3 chapters, it picks up pretty quickly and sucks you in. It is by no means a "fast" read, but I got through it pretty quickly because I didn't really want to put it down. I will say also, this book is not for the faint of heart. There are a few rather graphic sexual scenes in the book, that you really can't "unread", if you know what I mean. That aside, it brings in an extra element of suspense and while the perversion is real and intense, it also makes you want to know more about the characters involved as well as their backgrounds.
My only real complaint with this book is that there are parts of it that seemed to drag on. While one of the main goals of the characters is to uncover the dirty deeds of a local businessman; I feel that the real story was found within the personal relationships of the characters in the novel. This being said, I feel that there was a lot of unnecessary information surrounding the "Wennerstrom Affair", as it is referred to in the novel, and other information regarding unveiling all of Wennerstrom's negative deeds, as opposed to what I really wanted to read about: The Love Triangle... (or maybe I should say Quadrangle, or Quint...angle? What am I even saying anymore?) This is not a love story in any way, shape, or form... but that element is there. I guess I'm just saying that I was more interested in that (as well as everything within the Vanger family).
I apologize, I know this is vague and if you haven't read it, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Like I said though, it's a book club selection! Perhaps I will write more thoughts later, but let's face it... probably not. :-(
This book is RECOMMENDED!
First line teaser: "It happened every year, was almost a ritual."
Next up: The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez
Category
Book Club,
Books,
Goals,
The Circuit,
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
