Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (#15, Contemporary Literature)

I'm still in Europe at this point, reading my way across Belgium and the Netherlands on our way to Amsterdam...

I started the third book, Suite Francaise but never finished it. It was a bit too dry and Sarah’s sister Jessica had far too many other more interesting, trip friendly books for me to borrow, or so I thought.

Sarah’s Key was my next pick. I read this on the bus ride to Amsterdam and cried like a baby at the end, wiping my tears on my scarf, trying not to look like a blubbering idiot on our big yellow tour bus. I should have known it was going to be a tearjerker but that didn’t stop me. Both Sarah and Jessie recommended it to me and who am I to resist the opinions of two seasoned readers?

I have read a lot of Holocaust themed novels in my time, and while some seem to blur together, Sarah's Key definitely stands out. De Rosnay bases her story on the events of the 1942 Paris roundup and deportation of thousands of Jews. 13,152 Jews were held in the Vélodrome d'Hiver for 8 days. There were no bathrooms and the only food and water they had were what the Red Cross managed to bring to them. Those that survived the inhumane conditions in the dome were sent to an internment camp in Drancy until they could be deported to Auschwitz for extermination. Sarah's Key is the fictional story of one of these Jews. It is chilling, horrifying and definitely could have happened.

A Person of Interest by Susan Choi (#29, Contemporary Literature)

After finishing A Person of Interest I wanted to find a review, to see what others had to say, and quickly turned up a New York Times review. First of all, I loved the review and I pretty much 100% agreed with it. Secondly, as I was thinking about the book this morning and reflecting on how I felt about it, one word came to mind -- Metamorphosis, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the reviewer used this word as well!

Professor Lee, the main character and narrator, goes through major changes in character throughout the book. He is an extremely flawed character, and although he is a brilliant man, at times it is hard to take how dense and unlikeable he is acting! The reader goes through phases of like, dislike, pity, and finally redemption and hope.

It is one of those books that is so well written that you will be surprised how much you liked it once you get to the end. You realize you weren't speeding through it to find out what happens, because you kind of already know. Instead you are reading along to witness the metamorphosis of Professor Lee.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (#12, Contemporary Fiction)

What is my deal? I have been reading books and then promptly forgetting that I have read them. Why I completely spaced out and didn't blog about Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book is beyond me. I actually really liked it and would definitely recommend it to friends--in a non Prep-like way.

The main character is Hanna Heath, an Australian manuscript conservator and the story basically arcs around her restoration of the Haggadah, a Jewish illustrated prayer book. Every time Hannah uncovers some detail or odd thing about the ancient book, we are thrown back in time and we get to find out what really happens. I found myself skimming Hanna's parts just so I could get to the neatly crafted historical chapters. I really liked the piecemeal way Brooks tells the story of the Haggadah. Definitely worth reading!

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (#16, Contemporary Literature)

Ignatius J. Reilly is quite possibly one of the most memorable characters of all time. Infamous may be the best way to describe him or possibly ridiculous and most definitely infuriating! Sometimes he says things that made me laugh out loud, and others made me want to throw the book down in annoyance.

I highly recommend this book to most people. Apparently it is classified as a "guy book." I'm not sure I can adequately explain what that means, but I think I would probably have to agree. There is a lot of potty humor, which I generally don't find all that entertaining, but somehow it works and doesn't come off in a slap stick manner. We read it for book club and we discussed this theme, and a lot of the other girls agreed they don't normally find potty humor funny, but somehow John Kennedy Toole made Ignatius gross, and disgusting, but did not lose all his civilized female readers. :)

There are a ton of great characters and themes and it all ties together at the end. It was funny in such a clever way. It really is too bad that this is his only book.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (#11, Contemporary Fiction)

How can it be that I have never read Toni Morrison? Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, has been on my list for a while. And yes my friends, it is an Oprah Book Club pick. In fact, Morrison is the most recurring author on that list with which I have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with.

My book club voted this one as our April read, but as we all started to read it, we all decided we didn't like it. It is kind of an unpleasant book; there isn't anything in it to lift the spirits and inspire you. It is what Morrison intended; a hard, unflinching look at the wide reaching effects of slavery on into the 20th century. The slaves were emancipated from their physical chains, but what about the emotional ones? The characters in this novel struggle with the paralyzing white ideals of beauty. Pecola is the subject of the novel, the specimen we have to study and watch unravel as she eeks out an existence that can barely be considered such by our modern day standards. It's not a small wonder that none of us particularly like this book. There is incest, child molestation, and other similar horrors. And there is no happy ending here.

On a technical note, Morrison is a great writer and I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the story through multiple points of view. I further illuminated the villainous characters and you couldn't help but be both disgusted by and sympathetic to them.

Perfume by Patrick Sueskind (#10, Contemporary Literature)

I am not one to forget which books I read and the order that I read them in, but somehow this one slipped my mind! Sarah got me this book for Valentine's Day and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had to take a break in the middle of it to read the horrendous Jane Green novel, Second Chance.

Patrick Süskind's Perfume is perhaps one of the strangest stories I have ever read. Oddly enough, it was the book I read right after Jitterbug Perfume and you can imagine how much my mind was swimming in smells and scents and all things olfactory. Perfume is the story of THE supernose, which is someone (generally a man) has a nose that can detect the minutest of scents that go into perfumes. I don't want to describe too many details because I think I would have enjoyed the book much more had I known very little about the premise.

Perfume is historical, weird, gripping and oddly creepy. It will make you start to analyze the scents that make up your own world and it will make you yearn for the perfect perfume. If only I had a bottle of the ultimate perfume...

The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens (#9, Contemporary Lit)

A fellow English major turned bartender recommended Peter Behrens' The Law of Dreams, a book that I most definitely would never have picked up of my own accord. This just isn't the type of book I would normally go for. When Baylis mentioned it to me initially, I was uninterested and wrote it off as a book about a topic that I wasn't really into reading about. But then she continued to rave about it and brought it in for me to borrow and I gave in to peer pressure.

I was immediately sucked in though, as Behrens is a great writer. His descriptions of Ireland are so gritty and detailed that sometimes I could almost smell what Fergus, the main character, was smelling. The Law of Dreams tells the story of a young Irish boy orphaned by the potato famine and his subsequent journey to America. There is nothing pretty or uplifting about this story. Tragedy seems to follow Fergus where ever he goes and he seemingly has the worst luck with women. Based upon the characters in this novel, I would tell you never to trust a red headed lass.

Behrens conducted a lot of research for this book, which was very, very loosely based upon his own family history and toward the end, when Fergus was making the crossing to North America, definitely made me think about my own Irish heritage and when my own ancestors made a similar crossing. I'd like to know the Collins story. How did we end up in Alabama? When did we cross the ocean? Do we even know these facts about our family history?

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (#8, Contemporary Literature)

Sometimes I read books and halfway through I start to wonder why it took me so long to find them. How is it that I am just now reading Bernhard Schlink's The Reader? An Oprah's book club book, I read this one fairly quickly even though it was one of those books that makes you want to take your time and savor the writing. I really enjoyed Schlink's style; it is abrupt and brutal and simple, yet almost always beautiful.

This was March's book club pick and probably my favorite book of the year. Controversial and thought provoking, I enjoyed whetting my literary chops on this one. I found myself slipping back into English major mode, questioning everything and trying to figure out my stance on just what Schlink is saying.

Set in Germany in the years following the Holocaust, The Reader tells the story of a love affair between a former concentration camp guard and the teenage boy she helps one day on his way home from school. Part one is slightly unsettling and a little hard to swallow at times but the portrayal of this young boy's love for this older woman is gripping, as is the impending fallout their love affair causes.

Blindness by Jose Saramago (#7, Contemporary Literature)

I think I need to institute a new rule with the books I read. NO MORE DEPRESSINGNESS. Seriously, why do all "good" books have to be depressing? Personally, I don't believe that, but pick up a Nobel prize winner and the chances of it being uplifting are basically nil.

I don't watch the news because I find it sad and full of death, destruction, and despair. I really don't want to spend my free time reading books about people sloshing through their own excrement and rationing food and drinking muck water. no gracias.

Normally when I read a book and I learn that there is a movie adaptation I want to see it to find out how closely it follows the book and what the characters could look like. Blindness, though.... I don't think I need to have a visual of the horribleness that I already read. I don't mean horribleness in the sense that it was a bad book or poorly written, because that is certainly not the case. Horribleness in the sense of the atrocities that humans will force onto each other, and the base conditions that people can somehow manage to survive through.

Next up... something a little lighter and able to cause a blush to rise to my cheeks... Voyager!

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (#4, Contemporary Literature)

I love love love this book. It's just so weird and quirky and well written. My first Tom Robbins novel was Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas and when I compare Jitterbug Perfume to it, I must say that I wish I had started my Robbins love affair with this one instead. The characters in this one are so much more likable and the four separate yet interwoven storylines are so much more interesting and riveting.

Jitterbug Perfume smacks of wisdom and reminds me of tarot cards. There is so much symbolism and history and folklore. Immortality is what the characters are searching for and it is through the sense of smell that we learn about death and the ancient figure Pan. This book inspires me, not to look for immortality, but to create something as vivid and layered and funny as this book was.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (#3, Contemporary Literature)

I have read a lot of books. Some of those books have been perverse--Tropic of Cancer, or filled with sex-scenes--Outlander, but I had yet to encounter a book like Lolita. A book where I am both completely disgusted and sympathetic with the narrator at the same time. And then I am disgusted with myself for being sympathetic....am I a monster?

I think that is part of the beauty of the book. Beauty? Um... or maybe, you know, what makes it so unique. There is this narrator telling us his story, about his lust for young girls-- it's gross and obscene, but his rationalizations to himself work on the reader! Yes Humbert, you aren't that bad, I mean, she didn't know you were getting off while she was sitting on your lap--SO KIND OF YOU.

I did get kind of bored about 2/3 of the way through. I think it was because by that point it had turned into straight up molestation. A 13 year-old and a 40 year-old--and she also starts referring to their escapades as rape, which makes his side not so easy to rationalize anymore.

As I rode the metro reading some of the more dirty scenes I found myself blushing a bit, sort of darting my eyes around wondering if anyone nearby had read the book and knew that I was at "that" scene. Could they read my mind?

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut (#2, Contemporary Literature)

I'm not exactly sure what to say about this one. It was not nearly as random at Tom Robbins, yet still absolutely bizarre.

It started out intriguing and seemed like it was going to be at least moderately straightforward, but then it just kept getting a little bit more and more odd. Not odd in a bad way, just odd.

I was looking at reviews of the book and I found one that quite simply sums up how I feel about Galapagos. The reviewer said something to the effect of, "you keep reading, waiting for the big, suspenseful twist to happen, and it never does." That is exactly how I felt! On the back you read about this Apocalypse occurring and a new civilization being born from a group stuck on the Galapagos; yet, 3/4 of the book takes place before they even get to the island. I suppose I expected more about the "new" generations. Although, I suppose the point is that the "new" line evolves into much smaller-brained, fish-like being, so there really isn't all that much to tell.

It was interesting, random, and funny. I found myself laughing out loud a few times on the metro yesterday... it was definitely worth the time.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (#33, Contemporary Fiction)

It has taken me three months to finish Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. I am slightly ashamed to admit this because when is the last time it has taken me that long to read a book of average length? I mean, I could see if I was hacking away at something like War and Peace or Infinite Jest or Anna Karenina, but The Poisonwood Bible was not epically long or overly challenging in terms of style or vocabulary. Perhaps I just had a reading dry spell.

That said, I want to make clear that I really enjoyed this book. Just because it took me three months to read it does not mean it was at all bad. Quite the contrary, which is what puzzles me the most about having taken so long to get through the book. I was determined to read it and ended up extending it three times and then taking it physically back to the library and checking out a new copy completely.

I like Kingsolver's style and I like the characters. I like the way she divides the narration between the female characters. Every aspect of this story and the way she tells it is deliberate, beautiful and tragic. The subject matter is depressing, but uplifting at the same time. The violent history of the Congo comes out of the mouths of four little girls, ages 15 to 5 and is at once absorbing and disturbing. I am sad it took me so long to decide to read this book and even longer to pass through its pages.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (#25, Contemporary Literature)

When it came time for me to actually make the pick for book club I felt a huge amount of pressure. I've torn apart a few of the books that have been picked, and I didn't want to have book "road kill" on my hands.

Unfortunately, the book club has lots of "rules." Basically I was warned that everyone is too busy to read a classic, or a book of more than 400 pages. They suggested that I pick something that was beach read-y, since my choice fell on the last month of the summer. Ugh. I checked out some best seller lists and tried to find something that fell within the criteria... I fear best seller lists though... and I quickly returned here, and sifted through the books steph has read. And here I found The Shadow of the Wind.

Two glowing recommendations from avid readers--Sarah and Steph. Although, we know about some of Steph's recommendations, and according to Sarah's myspace she loves Phillipa Gregory.... but, I then checked on B&N dotcom and found 50+ reviews--all with 5 stars. Like Steph says in her post, any book about reading already has me intrigued. So, I made the pick. (side note: I got some not so thrilled responses from book club---OMG...it's 480 pages ....)

And the verdict? I really liked it! I wasn't sure if I loved it when I was halfway through, but it continued to grow on me and I found myself at work, in my office, quickly finishing the last 20 pages that I just couldn't wait until tonight to read! For starters it is well written, even if you don't love the story, you can't complain about its structure, word choice, etc. It has a great mystery, and as I am thinking about it I find the writing and storytelling somewhat similar to Margaret Atwood. (thoughts Steph?)

There were points when I was reading at night where I found myself checking under the bed and around corners for the faceless man... just a bit scary! It was a really great story, and I love the message it sends about the importance of reading and the love of books.

You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers (#20, Contemporary Literature)

Yes, I know. I already read Dave Eggers this year. But after reading What is the What and really liking it, I decided I needed more Eggers. I had a random conversation with a customer at Pie one afternoon who also happened to be reading What is the What. He told me I should check out the other books too, but that I should start my exploration with You Shall Know Our Velocity! I complied and went immediately to the library and checked out a copy. 

I loved the premise of this book. There are two guys, Hand and Will, who need to get rid of 32,000 dollars and fast. They plan a seven day trip around the world to randomly hand out the cash to unsuspecting locals. I was hooked in the beginning but I found the plot to stagnate in the middle. There definitely was not enough momentum to make this a quick read, but I don't think it was Eggers goal to really grip us and send us on a fun-filled adventure. There is something he is saying about the world and it is at times quite a depressing read. I didn't like the narrator, especially after I found out he was quite unreliable. I know this wasn't nonfiction, but it was fiction parading as nonfiction that was really quite fictitious--if that makes any sense at all. Read the book and you will know what I mean. 

Would I recommend this to a friend, knowing that my enjoyment of it was short lived? Probably not, but if I did, there would be a lot talk about. (Hmm, Becky? You ready for another Prep?...)

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (#17, Contemporary Literature)

The family experience, hopeless monotony of the 'burbs, and the bitter irony and disappointment between a couple--all themes you will "happily" find in Revolutionary Road. If you know me at all, you can probably venture a guess about my overall impression of the book. Generally, not my genre, but as I write the post and think about the book it is growing on me--in a very academic/philosophical way.

The book is about a young couple living in the 50s, but wanting to "break the mold" and not be like all those "other people." April and Frank Wheeler were different--they turn their nose at the American Dream, and the suburbs, and the traditional roles of men and women. Or did they?

Revolutionary Road is about the human experience. What I've learned from my "Professor" is that a book of this genre is good if it becomes timeless--meaning can people, over countless generations, continue to relate to the characters. Can I relate to the Wheelers? Yes and no. If you asked me, "how old do you picture this couple?" I would quickly answer--much older than me. Wrong answer--29. They are both 29. So, no, I can't relate to being married, with two kids and living in a house with a picture window. But on the other hand, I can relate because they were 29, with two kids, living in a house with a picture window and wishing that wasn't their life.

The book is sad in one of those utterly depressing, "is this all there is to life" type ways. And it makes you wonder about love and happiness--can these be timeless too?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (#12, Contemporary Literature)

Jonathan Safran Foer might just be my new favorite author. Sadly he has only written two books, Everything Is Illuminated, which I read last year, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which I just finished. Mr. Foer, please write more books. And soon. 

There was so much I liked about this book. Completely unconventional, it is a hodgepodge of different literary techniques set against the dramatic backdrop of the fallout of 9/11. Oskar Schell, our nine year old narrator, spends the book dealing with the death of his father. Foer nailed the childhood voice so well I found myself both laughing and crying at how Oskar describes his world. He refers to the day his father died as "the worst day" and when he gets extremely sad, he says "my boots were really heavy." In addition to Oskar's story, we get strange narratives from both his grandfather and grandmother, and random pictures of doorknobs, houses, the back of people's heads, a person falling from the sky. 

I love the utter strangeness of his writing. I love how his characters are sometimes so matter of fact in their weirdness. The grandfather doesn't speak and has yes and no tattooed on the palms of his hands so he can easily answer yes and no questions. The ending is surprisingly sad and you don't see it coming even though you do because how else can it end when the premise is a little boy learning to deal with his father dying in the 9/11 attacks? 

The Inhabited World by David Long (#11, Contemporary Lit)

David Long's The Inhabited World hooked me with its promise of a ghostly main character. Sadly, it did not deliver--not even in the Lovely Bones sort of way either. Granted, I didn't really think the Lovely Bones was that great, but it was gripping. I blazed through Sebold's novel, fascinated by the gritty details of the tragedy and then the raw descriptions of the aftermath. 

The Inhabited World offered nothing exciting. It started off okay and then just deteriorated. I found myself skimming whole pages and telling myself not to give up. I forced myself to finish this one. Now I sit here typing this, totally unsatisfied with my last read and I remember now that isn't this supposed to be the year of good books? What do you do when you start a really bad one? Should you jump book like you would jump a sinking ship? I was more than halfway through when I realized the book I held in my hands was a dud and I guess I just wanted to add the eleventh notch to my 2008 reading belt. 

So do I make a promise to myself to not finish books that suck? Do I allow myself to quit and not feel reader's remorse? Perhaps the reader's remorse is worse when you finish a book that sucks and know you wasted precious time reading a bad one when you could be enjoying yourself with something that is actually quality. Here's to no more crappy books. 

 

The Sea by John Banville (#14, Contemporary Literature)

One man. Three time periods. All depressing.

Meet Max, he is a depressed, sad, isolated, borderline suicidal alcoholic. He tells his present day story from the beach, a beach town he summered in as a child, a town he has returned to after the year-long decline, and finally death of his wife

Meet Max, he just found out his wife has one year left to live. Sometimes he hates her. Sometimes she hates him. They use to be happy.

Meet Max, he is 11 years old and spending the summer at the beach with his parents--a father who will soon abandon him. Watch Max pine over the Grace family--first Mrs. Grace and her voluptuous body, then Chloe, her 11 year old daughter. Think tragedy, think the Sea.

Who thinks I enjoyed this one?

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (#13, Just for Fun)

I pretty much got obsessed reading this book. I tore through 450ish pages in about 36 hours. I really enjoyed it. Margaret Atwood is a great writer, and it's always nice to read a very women intensive book from time to time. She does a great job of telling the story of women, their lives, and their relationships with men, work, kids and each other.

The plot in The Robber Bride includes four women, three who become unexpected friends, and the evil women who forged their friendship--Zenia. Zenia is utter evil: she is conniving, tricky, syrupy sweet and draws everyone in to her and then uses them for all they are worth.

It's mysterious, horrible, shocking, loving, and hopeful all at once. You really feel like you know all the characters--except Zenia because she is just too evil to understand. My one major issue with the novel is the ending. You go through over 400 pages seeing Zenia tear apart lives and homes, and I wanted an explanation--what was she angling at the whole time? Was she just a bad seed out to use everyone for money, pleasure, and vanity? Is that all there was to her? I guess I wanted something to come out of Zenia's mouth that wasn't a lie, something to make me understand her actions--funny because I think that is what the three main characters wanted too. Maybe Zenia charmed me just like she charmed all of them.