The Road by Cormac McCarthy (#10, Fiction)

I've been hearing people recommend The Road for years.  I knew it was post-apocalyptic, but I did not know what else to expect.  I read another Cormac book years ago, so I had an idea of his writing style.  I wasn't completely blown away by the book like some people, but I found the topic, writing and imagery very intense and well-done.

4 out of 5.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (#9, Fiction)

I seem to be on a bit of a WWII kick this year.  Two out of nine so far, and I have another sitting on my book shelf waiting to be picked up--it's all so uplifting...

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and fast.  I'm always a fan of learning something new via historical fiction, but it was no literary masterpiece.

2.5/5

Room by Emma Donoghue (#8, Fiction)

I liked this book.  It comes at a super messed up topic with a fresh and interesting take.  I'm not a huge fan of having the child as the narrator, but you get use to it and it's not as bad as it could be. I liked how the author was able to take this completely awful subject of kidnapping and rape and have it be the basis of the book, but never really talk about it.  This isn't a book about kidnapping, it's a book about the relationship between a mother and a child and how they deal with joining, or rejoining society after years of only having each other. 

3.5/5

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (#7, Fiction)

I'm still processing how I feel about this book.  I read Middlesex and really enjoyed it, but this is certainly a departure--good or bad depending on the review you read.  Not much happens in terms of plot, but that is his thing, he's more interested in the coming of age story, which isn't necessarily my thing. 

I'm not sure what I liked about the book, but I do know what I didn't like.  I didn't like the hoity toity talk that he suggests college students engage in.  Although, Eugenides did go to Brown in the early 80s, so maybe people really did discuss philosophy and literature at parties--but I call B.S.  I didn't like the characters, but I think I actually just didn't like them, rather than didn't think he did a good job of creating them.  I suppose if I actively dislike a character, then he had to do a good enough job of developing them for me to care one way or the other.  One thing I did like was how the author used the voice of all three characters to narrate. It was interesting to read Madeline talk about herself, and as a reader you form an opinion about Leonard and Mitchell through her, and then when Mitchell talked about Madeline the reader sees all the characters differently.  A literary trick I've never thought much about, but really enjoyed. 

I give it 3 out of 5.