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Water for Elephants | The Book Thief | Suite Francaise | A Thousand Splendid Suns | Cell
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Water for elephants: a novel
by Sara GruenAuthor: Gruen, Sara
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2006, 352 p.
Reviewed by book.of.the.moment
The story is told from the view point of a man named Jacob. His viewpoint alternates between present time, where he is an elderly man in his 90's, in an assisted living facility which he despises, and also from the past perspective, as he recalls his days as part of a train circus in the 1930's. When young Jacob's life turns upside down, he jumps a train, not realizing which particular train he jumped--and his world is changed forever.
The story has a bit of everything; history, romance, animals, mental illness, corruption...its all in there, and its all in there in a way which leaves you incapable of putting the book down. I learned a lot of things I didn't know before reading this book. The intelligence of elephants is far higher than I ever gave them credit for. I learned about the epidemic of "Jake Leg," which afflicted thousands of lower class folks in the 1930's. Not to mention how much I learned about the inner working of the train circus industry.
At the end of the story is a note from the author, which for that alone the book is worth reading. Sara Gruen is very insightful and passionate, and I have a great deal of respect for her as a person and an author now.<< Back to Top >>
Book thief, The
by Markus ZusakAuthor: Zusak, Markus
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, 560 p.
Reviewed by M. Collins "MKC"
Probably one of the best books I have ever read, this book still haunts my thoughts months after reading it. Beautifully written and immediately accessible, Zusak tells the stories of Lisel Memminger, a young girl living under the thumb of Nazi Germany, and the people who inhabit her impoverished neighborhood, as seen through the eyes of Death, himself a character in the novel.
This deeply moving novel is being marketed as young adult fiction, but don't let that keep you from reading it, as it is as mature a handling of the subject matter as any could be. My book club read it, and all but one of us proclaimed it the best book we'd read this year.<< Back to Top >>
Suite francaise
by Irene Nemirovsky ; translated by Sandra SmithAuthor: Nemirovsky, Irene, 1903-1942
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, 416 p.
I recommend reading the reprinted/translated preface to the French version of this book included in the end pages before reading the two novellas. It's essentially a biography of the author, Irene Nemirovsky, a Russian immigrant of Jewish heritage living in France during the Nazi invasion/occupation. Nemirovsky's own story is as interesting as the stories of her fictional characters, a variety of French citizens living through the exodus of Paris and then the German occupation during what has come to be known as World War II. Knowing her background will make the circumstances the characters face all the more poignant. It also explains why what was supposed to be a five part novel stops after two: "A Storm in June," and "Dolce." In 1942, Nemirovsky was arrested, deported and killed at Auschwitz.
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Thousand Splendid Suns, A
by Khaled HosseiniAuthor: Hosseini, Khaled
New York: Putnam, 2007, 384 p.
Reviewed by Andrew W. Johns "ResQgeek"
This book tells two stories. One is the story of a friendship between two women, forced by their circumstances into marriage with an older, mean-spirited man. Though at first they view each other as adversaries, they grow to be close friends, providing each other with support and comfort from the ravages of their abusive husband. This story is very human, and illustrates the power people have to endure hardships in their lives.
The other story is the story of Afghanistan, from the Soviet invasion, to the victory of the Mujaheddin, to the tribal warfare and the ultimate rise of the Taliban. We witness the horrors of the indiscriminate killing during the tribal warfare, and the insanity of the Taliban's ultra-conservative interpretations of Islamic law. Here we have, perhaps, the clearest description of the chaos that has been Afghanistan's recent past.
The two stories, together make for a potent mixture, one that leaves plenty of food for thought.<< Back to Top >>
Author: King, Stephen
New York: Scribner, 2006, 384 p.
Civilization has slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist, as a virus is carried by every cell phone operating within the entire world.
Reviewed by XxdevxX
Stephen King is at his best when he takes the familiar and spins it scary. Sure the Cell is formulaic, with multiplte clichés of the horror genre, but for those Stephen King's Cell delivers as promised. King shuned the blood-soaked imagery of his earlier works. With the Cell, King returns to his goriest horror roots. It isn't the masterwork his fans are use to, but it is Stephen King in his rawest most unadulterated form.
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