KEY TO REBECCA by Ken Follett
I read this book many years ago and really liked it. But when I read it this time nothing was familiar to me, like I was reading it for the first time (this quirk of mine has advantages and disadvantages). And it wasn't particularly good. The ending was downright drippy. He has written some great books - my favorite so far is Eye of the Needle. So I give Key to Rebecca a so-so rating.
"THE ALCHEMIST" by Paulo Coelho
There are many things to like about this 167-page story of self-discovery for a boy who yearned to see the world.The author is Brazilian, and I am enthralled with the way he, and many South American, Spanish and Mexican authors tell stories in a way that captivate me. They instill a lovely lyrical quality into the voice of their young narrators, like Anaya's Antonio and Perez-Reverte's Inigo. Here, we meet Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, who takes us with him on his journey to see the Great Pyramids.
'HOMER & LANGLEY" E.L. Doctorow
I highly recommend this book. Doctorow has a wonderful style that describes his characters so completely I feel like I know them. There is a combination of humor and tragedy in the lives of these two brothers. In the forefront Homer and Langley go about their daily business while in the background ominous signs slowly become evident. I experienced humor, sadness, compassion and a bit of frustration as the characters became more bizarre, yet more dear. I resigned myself that no bright, happy ending would occur, but I wished for it anyway. This is the second of Doctorow's books that I've read (World's Fair) and both are very very good. He has written some others that have been turned into movies. I plan to read more.
"WHEN RED IS BLACK" by Qiu Xiaolong
As I had noted in my sidebar, there was a good review of the "Detective Chen" novels and I wanted to read them. The two that I recently read are excellent. This one was written in 2004, four years after introducing Detective Chen Cao in "Death of a Red Heroine." I really like the story and particularly appreciate the writer's use of authentic, recent, cultural, history as the backdrop in the Shanghai murders.
Chen enjoys writing and reading poetry, a talent that he once considered as his vocational calling. But China's cultural revolution propelled him into police workChen uses his vacation time to moonlight as a translator for a well-connected businessman. Only later does he realize that he has purposely been sidetracked to keep him from being the lead investigator in a murder with political overtones.
Chen enjoys writing and reading poetry, a talent that he once considered as his vocational calling. But China's cultural revolution propelled him into police workChen uses his vacation time to moonlight as a translator for a well-connected businessman. Only later does he realize that he has purposely been sidetracked to keep him from being the lead investigator in a murder with political overtones.
"THE LAST BUFFALO HUNTER" JakeMosher
Some of my favorite novels have been written from the perspective of a young narrator. Although this story isn't in a league with "Bless Me, Ultima," or "I Heard the Owl Call my Name," or "Captain Alatriste," the author, Jake Mosher, is just as good as the famed authors in the technique of narrating the story from a young boy's point of view.
A dream came true for 14-year old Kyle when his parents gave him a bus ticket to spend the summer in Montana with his paternal grandfather. Though he had dreamed of the "wild West" full of buffalo, cowboys and Indians, he wasn't prepared for the reality of his hard drinking, foul-mouthed, trouble-making grandfather and his friends.
The author skillfully weaves the boy's life into that of the local population in the small town of Mistake, MT
A dream came true for 14-year old Kyle when his parents gave him a bus ticket to spend the summer in Montana with his paternal grandfather. Though he had dreamed of the "wild West" full of buffalo, cowboys and Indians, he wasn't prepared for the reality of his hard drinking, foul-mouthed, trouble-making grandfather and his friends.
The author skillfully weaves the boy's life into that of the local population in the small town of Mistake, MT
"THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY" by Thornton Wilder
I saw the movie of this story when I was a kid and yet I can still see the swaying cable bridge breaking loose and people falling into the canyon below. Funny the things that memory holds onto. Wilder won the Pulitzer for this story of the local monk's persistent quest to find out why God allowed those particular five people to be on that bridge when it collapsed that day in Peru. The author has each of the five victims move into the first person to narrate their life stories up until the point of their deaths. And their lives are interesting. In the beginning of the last chapter we begin to understand Brother Juniper's alarming obsession with fate. He goes so far as to develop a chart to diagram the value of people's souls which he graded based on their goodness, religiousness and other qualities. As he saw the enormity and uselessness of the chart he unconsciously realized a great chasm between faith and fact. Unfortunately for him, he comes to the attention of the Inquisition
3 MOVIE REVIEWS
RECKLESS. This is a "Masterpiece Theatre" production (2004) starring two of my favorite British actors, Robson Green and Richard Kitchen. It is a lighthearted story with sad undertones. Young doctor (Green) takes job at new hospital to be near his aging, ill, grouchy, -yet endearing - father (a role Clint Eastwood could play well). Then the young doc falls in love with an older woman who turns out to be the wife of the head of surgery (Kitchen) -- his boss!
Unfortunately the story moves so slow that my impatience won out. The actors play their parts skillfully and are good enough to carry a poor script. It's just a shame they had to.
PS: The accents are a real challenge, but that's part of the charm of British movies.
TRACES OF STONES. This is an old (1966) German movie with English subtitles. Although it won a critics award at the Berlin Film Festival, it isn't a very good movie. It's a rather trite, predictable, chauvinistic love triangle that I could do without.
NINE QUEENS. A movie from Argentina about some small time "grifters" planning "the big heist." Movie reviewer, Roger Ebert, called it "A thriller that can best be described as a more complicated 'The Sting'" which doesn't say that it is a good movie, only a complicated one. I didn't finish it. If the movie doesn't grab my attention in the first 20 minutes or so, I don't finish it.
Unfortunately the story moves so slow that my impatience won out. The actors play their parts skillfully and are good enough to carry a poor script. It's just a shame they had to.
PS: The accents are a real challenge, but that's part of the charm of British movies.
TRACES OF STONES. This is an old (1966) German movie with English subtitles. Although it won a critics award at the Berlin Film Festival, it isn't a very good movie. It's a rather trite, predictable, chauvinistic love triangle that I could do without.
NINE QUEENS. A movie from Argentina about some small time "grifters" planning "the big heist." Movie reviewer, Roger Ebert, called it "A thriller that can best be described as a more complicated 'The Sting'" which doesn't say that it is a good movie, only a complicated one. I didn't finish it. If the movie doesn't grab my attention in the first 20 minutes or so, I don't finish it.
"Midnight in Sicily" by Peter Robb
Sadly, the 17th & 18th centuries' sumptuous Sicilian palazzi that once dotted the city were neglected and left to decay. Some say they were actually encouraged to decay. The dwellings of the poor people were cheap, ugly cement block houses built by the mafia. People who had money were urged to live in the fancier cement block house that spread over the ruins of the ancient city. Construction and property development were completely in the hands of the mafia who cared about profit, not people. The iron-fisted mobsters kept the citizens in near poverty and
Coming Up Next "Midnight in Sicily" by Peter Robb
7/24/09 My draft is done, I'll proof it tomorrow and get it published here.
Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi
On Saturday, Sept 7, 2002 a blogger living in Baghdad wrote, "I'm preparing my emergency list these days -- any suggestions are welcome. At the moment I have: Candles, alcohol (maybe red wine), good books, crunchie-munchies. I think that will get me through the bombing quite nicely."
Salam Pax is the name used by an ordinary Iraqui guy who began writing a blog to stay in touch with a friendin Jordan. Just as we watched TV news as the US prepared for war, so did Salam Pax watch the Iraqi news stations. From his family home, right in the path of impending bombings and fighting, he blog a daily record of what was going on in his life.
Salam Pax is the name used by an ordinary Iraqui guy who began writing a blog to stay in touch with a friendin Jordan. Just as we watched TV news as the US prepared for war, so did Salam Pax watch the Iraqi news stations. From his family home, right in the path of impending bombings and fighting, he blog a daily record of what was going on in his life.
As if I don't have enough to read ....
... a "follower" suggested that I look into author Joanne Harris' work. I thought I'd just take a quick look at her website and so opened her "articles" section ... and was immediately hooked.In my meager way I have supported "Doctors Without Borders" (Medecins sans Frontieres-MSF) for years as one of the very best humanitarian organizations in the world. So what is the first article my eyes lock onto? "Journey to the Land the World Forgot, Joanne's account of her visit to Congo for Medecins sans Frontieres." She writes a good descriptive article about what MSF is doing for the people there. So, of course, in addition to reading some more of her articles, I will read one of her novels. Who know, maybe I have another favorite author brewing. http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/pages/articles.html
Please look at MSF website and consider supporting their work. http://doctorswithoutborders.org/index_alt.cfm"STALIN'S GHOST" by Martin Cruz Smith
Excellent book. This crime-writing, prize-winning author has gained a cadre of loyal readers since the sensational "Gorky Park." It is in my all-time-favorites-category. Stalin's is not the only ghost to inhabit this story. As the story progressed and the battlefield was dug up, I could sensed a gauzy shroud of ghosts hovering over the landscape -- ghosts of the millions & millions of people that Stalin killed. The vastness of the war, the landscape, the starvation, the misery is described with enough objectively that the reader's emotions are spared. Yet
"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
The author's autobiography is subtitled, "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia." It's a fun travelogue because she has a talent for vividly describing the places & people that she engages in her search for self-acceptance & enlightenment. I was pulled right in with her characters as if I was actually there listening to the conversations. I enjoyed her obsession with learning the Italian language. Her encounter with God in Chapters 3 and 4 ends with the funniest punch line I've ever heard.
She's a drama queen who confronts life without reservation. But the drama gets old fast as she frequently breaks into laments about her bad marriage and moribund rebound boyfriend.
There are only two points that I didn't like.
1) I found it incongruent that she was able to traverse foreign countries with unflinching courage and yet was continuously in weepy self-reproach about leaving her disabling relationships.
2) I couldn't help but feel envious of her that her carefree adventures were bankrolled by her financial success. MEOW!
She's a drama queen who confronts life without reservation. But the drama gets old fast as she frequently breaks into laments about her bad marriage and moribund rebound boyfriend.
There are only two points that I didn't like.
1) I found it incongruent that she was able to traverse foreign countries with unflinching courage and yet was continuously in weepy self-reproach about leaving her disabling relationships.
2) I couldn't help but feel envious of her that her carefree adventures were bankrolled by her financial success. MEOW!
"SOMETHING BORROWED" by Emily Giffin
“After tonight my twenties will be over, a chapter closed forever,” moans Rachel, the story’s narrator, describing the eve of her 30th birthday. She is down-hearted because she has no boyfriend, is getting too old to have children, is disappointed with her career choice, and as far back as she can remember has always felt “second best.”But then, who wouldn’t feel second best with a friend like Darcy. Best friends since childhood, Rachel was always in the shadow of pretty, perky, popular & totally self-centered Darcy. “My mother once said, uncharacteristically, Darcy has the world by the balls,” explains Rachel. Even so, their friendship was solid and they confided in each other as only best girlfriends can do.
Until, that is, Rachel who is to be maid of honor in the September wedding falls in love with Darcy’s fiancée and, unexpectedly, ends up in bed with him. Suddenly, the balance of the friendship shifts and Rachel finds herself in an agonizing battle between right and wrong.
The author’s style is refreshing and light, full of fun. I empathize with poor Rachel’s anguish but from the beginning there is a hint that she will somehow be o.k. in the end. Giffin doesn't need a highly descriptive setting for her characters because their words and actions are the story. She has created characters that we’ve all known at some point in our lives, making it very easy to relate to them and their foibles. I couldn't help but chuckle at their ups and downs and the way they dealt with the zany but prickly love triangle.
“Something Borrowed” is the first of Giffin’s four books published since 2004 with another one due out in 2010. The second book, “Something Blue” starts where this one leaves off incorporating some new characters into Rachel and Darcy’s story. Ordinarily I prefer “chick movies” to “chick lit,” but this one was quite entertaining. I’m curious to see what happens in the sequel.
Until, that is, Rachel who is to be maid of honor in the September wedding falls in love with Darcy’s fiancée and, unexpectedly, ends up in bed with him. Suddenly, the balance of the friendship shifts and Rachel finds herself in an agonizing battle between right and wrong.
The author’s style is refreshing and light, full of fun. I empathize with poor Rachel’s anguish but from the beginning there is a hint that she will somehow be o.k. in the end. Giffin doesn't need a highly descriptive setting for her characters because their words and actions are the story. She has created characters that we’ve all known at some point in our lives, making it very easy to relate to them and their foibles. I couldn't help but chuckle at their ups and downs and the way they dealt with the zany but prickly love triangle.
“Something Borrowed” is the first of Giffin’s four books published since 2004 with another one due out in 2010. The second book, “Something Blue” starts where this one leaves off incorporating some new characters into Rachel and Darcy’s story. Ordinarily I prefer “chick movies” to “chick lit,” but this one was quite entertaining. I’m curious to see what happens in the sequel.
'STRANGER IN PARADISE" by Robert Parker
Love that Jesse Stone! I've read several of the "Jesse Stone" novels now and really like them. Unfortunately I read them in two days (they are not rocket science) and then look around for more.
It helps that I've watched Tom Selleck play Stone on some TV episodes, so my image of the Chief of Police of Paradise is a cool and handsome guy. None of the dialog is lengthy, rather short sentences that convey the story well. The other main characters are well developed and each has his/her peculiarities that we can all relate to. Paradise is a small town but there is plenty of murder and mayhem.
The author weaves together an Apache paid killer, a 14 year old foul-mouthed punker whose gang leader boyfriend kills her mother, a mob boss and his hit men from Miami, a overworked & underpaid social worker, a school bus full of pre-school kids, and assorted people sleeping around. Yet the good guys win in the end. Yay.
It helps that I've watched Tom Selleck play Stone on some TV episodes, so my image of the Chief of Police of Paradise is a cool and handsome guy. None of the dialog is lengthy, rather short sentences that convey the story well. The other main characters are well developed and each has his/her peculiarities that we can all relate to. Paradise is a small town but there is plenty of murder and mayhem.
The author weaves together an Apache paid killer, a 14 year old foul-mouthed punker whose gang leader boyfriend kills her mother, a mob boss and his hit men from Miami, a overworked & underpaid social worker, a school bus full of pre-school kids, and assorted people sleeping around. Yet the good guys win in the end. Yay.
"Shadow of Power" by Steve Madriani
Paul Madriani, lawyer for the defense, is a familiar character to Martini's readers. But he's just another one of the myriad of recurring characters that populate so many of today's murder "thrillers." There is nothing particularly engaging about the main characters. The brief inclusion of Madriani's daughter's visit home from college just as dad is about to start a new case appears to have been "planted" to get sympathy as a struggling dad torn between work and family. It doesn't work.
Perhaps I'm just burned out on these type of novels. Occasionally there are some very good ones, like the Jason Bourne series, but many of them seem like they are written in a hurry and full of absurd assumptions that insult the reader's intelligence. I won't bother going into detail, but the string that should tie all of the characters, scenarios and assumptions together in this novel unravels early and often.
One of the bloggers that I follow just finished "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander MCall Smith. It's one of the "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series that he enjoys as "fun, light, and full of gentle observations about people." I think I 'll try it.
Perhaps I'm just burned out on these type of novels. Occasionally there are some very good ones, like the Jason Bourne series, but many of them seem like they are written in a hurry and full of absurd assumptions that insult the reader's intelligence. I won't bother going into detail, but the string that should tie all of the characters, scenarios and assumptions together in this novel unravels early and often.
One of the bloggers that I follow just finished "Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander MCall Smith. It's one of the "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series that he enjoys as "fun, light, and full of gentle observations about people." I think I 'll try it.
"MARK FOR EVERYONE" by N.T. Wright
This book is worked well for my discussion group at St. Matthew's. We agreed that it generated good comments, opinions and insights. It was written as one of a series of "for everyone" books that include Matthew, John, Paul and others.The author knows what he's talking about because he is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and biblical scholar who has written over 30 books. Fortunately he wrote the "for everyone" series of books in layman's language.
The gospel of Mark is broken into sections and the author gives his explanation of how it applies to us today. Even for those who are quite familiar with Mark's gospel, will find a fresh approach from the author.I found it interesting, for instance, that Mark was from a wealthy family and was the nephew of Barnabas who was a traveling companion of Paul's. There was an incident when Mark went along on a trip with them but skipped out early. We don't know why. But the result was that when Barnabas wanted to take Mark on another trip, Paul was adamantly against it. He refused and there was a rift between Paul and Barnabas.
Little anecdotes like this make the people of the bible real to me. It helps me relate to what Jesus and his followers did and said. That, of course, is the author's intention.
The gospel of Mark is broken into sections and the author gives his explanation of how it applies to us today. Even for those who are quite familiar with Mark's gospel, will find a fresh approach from the author.I found it interesting, for instance, that Mark was from a wealthy family and was the nephew of Barnabas who was a traveling companion of Paul's. There was an incident when Mark went along on a trip with them but skipped out early. We don't know why. But the result was that when Barnabas wanted to take Mark on another trip, Paul was adamantly against it. He refused and there was a rift between Paul and Barnabas.
Little anecdotes like this make the people of the bible real to me. It helps me relate to what Jesus and his followers did and said. That, of course, is the author's intention.
"SECRET SERVANT" by Daniel Silva
Disappointing. My first Silva book, "The Messenger" was a real thriller. So were the next two adventures of Gabriel Allon, Israeli undercover agent and master art restorer. I didn't want the stories to end. Sadly, this one is missing the zest and anticipation that I've come to expect.
Chapter 1 sets the scene well and piques the reader's curiosity for the next one. But Chapter 2 is just filler material & not really necessary. Then the "predictability factor" kicks in and the story starts to drag. It's no surprise that the ambassador's headstrong daughter is kidnapped, or that the extra detail of bodyguards will be killed. It's no surprise that she's held hostage, treated gently, yet is to be killed if demands aren't met. My sympathy was not aroused.
The ongoing tension between Allon and his aging boss is the same old story in every book-- Allon meekly protests the boss's insistence that he take over the top leadership job because he doesn't want to deal with the politics of the office.
The final irritant for me is Allon's fiancee. She is a high-level spy who just returned from an international assignment, but she is fussing about their wedding invitation list and her china pattern --- puleeze! She seems a bit of a dunce, but then I do find that many males authors just can't get the female characters right. I won't write Silva off just yet, but if the next book is anything like "The Secret Servant," he's lost me as an avid fan.
Chapter 1 sets the scene well and piques the reader's curiosity for the next one. But Chapter 2 is just filler material & not really necessary. Then the "predictability factor" kicks in and the story starts to drag. It's no surprise that the ambassador's headstrong daughter is kidnapped, or that the extra detail of bodyguards will be killed. It's no surprise that she's held hostage, treated gently, yet is to be killed if demands aren't met. My sympathy was not aroused.
The ongoing tension between Allon and his aging boss is the same old story in every book-- Allon meekly protests the boss's insistence that he take over the top leadership job because he doesn't want to deal with the politics of the office.
The final irritant for me is Allon's fiancee. She is a high-level spy who just returned from an international assignment, but she is fussing about their wedding invitation list and her china pattern --- puleeze! She seems a bit of a dunce, but then I do find that many males authors just can't get the female characters right. I won't write Silva off just yet, but if the next book is anything like "The Secret Servant," he's lost me as an avid fan.
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