Thursday, March 15, 2012

Book 13: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This book was previously reviewed by Alli here, so I will make this short.

I really liked this book and give it four stars. I have a newfound love and devotion for a place to which I've never been (Guernsey), but am determined to visit one day. I loved the character development, I loved the story line, I loved the ending. Amen.

Book 12: Orange is the New Black



Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison -- "A compelling, often hilarious, and unfailingly compassionate portrait of life inside a women’s prison."


I find that one-line description pretty accurate for this book. The author, Piper Kerman, ended up incarcerated in Danbury approximately 10 years after the drug offense that put her there. By the time of her incarceration, Kerman was living in NY, engaged to the man of her dreams, and hardly ever thought about the wild days of her youth, days that had involved a "very brief, very careless dalliance in the world of drug trafficking." 

This book provides an inside look at what it was like for an upper-class white girl to spend 13 months in federal prison. From the surprised reactions her appearance provoked from almost everyone, to the many and varied characters she came across, to how her fellow inmates reacted to the Martha Stewart trial and the subsequent speculation about where she'd do her time, to the soul searching she did whilst behind bars, to ultimately coming face-to-face with the former friend who had ratted her out, Kerman doesn't hold much back. 


This book also made me think a lot about how much of the prison's space and resources are taken up by the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, and whether that should be the case. Whatever your position is on that issue, this book may broaden your understanding.


I give this book three stars. It was a fun read, with mild language throughout. If you are at all interested after reading this description, I'd definitely say read it someday. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Reflections on a Re-Read

In preparation for the film, I purchased and re-read The Hunger Games this past week, making it my eleventh read of 2012. As I'm pretty certain none of the contributors (or readers) of this blog have not read this one, I don't plan on giving it a full review.

I did want to share some of my thoughts after re-reading it, though. First, I actually enjoyed it even more this time, which surprised me. Maybe I read it way too fast the first time-- yeah, that's probably it. I took my time this go round, letting things sink in a bit more, which was really great. I still got just as drawn into the story. Collins did a phenomenal job, y'all. Some of the more emotional parts really got to me.

{Speaking of that, I am very curious how the adaptation will treat certain scenes. Definitely nervous-- I don't want to be disappointed. That said, I am not the type who gets super angry when a book-to-film adaptation diverges from the book. Seriously, folks, they are two completely different mediums. They're not perfectly transferable. I like to go into the movie with the expectation that it'll be good, but I don't hold out hope that they'll get every single scene or my favorite part ever just right. Meaning, of course, exactly how I see it in my head. Yeah. It's just not going to happen. Anyhow. I try to be cautiously optimistic. In this case, I think I may have exceeded that, mainly because every time I watch the trailer-- and see Prim get taken away and then Katniss burst through and yell, "I volunteer as tribute!"-- I tear up.}

But back to the BOOK. Right. My only other reflection is the one thing that left me kind of unsatisfied. And that is the way Katniss seems utterly unable or unwilling to see the reality of Peeta's feelings for her during the Games. Her internal monologue throughout that time was maddening to me, when she'd go along thinking "Hm, I wonder why Peeta is doing all the stuff. Surely it's not because he actually likes me!" over and over. It didn't seem very realistic. I was able to get more into why she had to pretend to be in love with him, and Haymitch's role in leading her to put on the act, but I guess I think I'd rather have had her just accept Peeta's feelings. I don't think a girl in her situation would really have been that oblivious to it the whole time. Such a small thing, but it's what I kept thinking throughout the second half of the book.

I love this book. I'm sure I'll re-read it many times in the future. Here's to the movie in 17 days!

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I'd give this one 3.5 stars. It was a sweet, easy read. If you had a lazy day, you could finish it in a few hours.

It's about a writer, Juliet, who receives a letter from an unknown man living on the island of Guernsey (in the Channel Islands), which had been occupied by German troops during the WWII. Set immediately post-war in London, it's a charming story written entirely in letters exchanged between Juliet, her publisher, and her friends on Guernsey. Dawsey, the unknown man, sends her a letter when he finds her name referenced on the back of a Charles Lamb book, and seeks more literature by said author.

The two begin exchanging letters, and through their love of literature, form a chain of endearing friendships based on the Guernsey book club that helped them survive the occupation, which change many lives.

The writers create likable characters and a surprisingly well-crafted storyline considering the medium of correspondences. References to some of my favorite Jane Austen characters and an underlying love story held my interest to the end. Not a groundbreaking book, but one worth reading one day.

The Shadow of the Wind

I have been trying to come up with the perfect description or opening line for my review of this book, my tenth read of 2012, and I just can't do it justice.

This book swallowed me up. It enveloped me. I was so drawn into the story, I couldn't wait to find out how everything would come together in the end. Zafon's writing is phenomenal. This book made me wish I knew Spanish only so I could read the original writing-- but with as amazing as it is in English, the translator must have done a fantastic job, as well.

The story is set in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelona. A young man named Daniel is invited into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, little knowing that a choice he makes there will alter the rest of his life and many others'. In Zafon's Barcelona, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a huge, ancient library, full of forgotten books lovingly preserved by a group of the city's booksellers and book lovers. Its very existence is a well-kept secret, and few are ever invited in. According to tradition, invitees are allowed to select one book to take home, and that they must protect for life. Daniel feels drawn to a volume by a man named Julian Carax called The Shadow of the Wind. After becoming completely engrossed in his reading of the novel, Daniel sets out to find Carax's other works, and discovers that they are very rare, indeed. In fact, a mysterious figure is hell bent on destroying by fire every last copy of every book Carax wrote.

Thus begins an adventure bigger than anything Daniel could imagine as he works to uncover the truth behind Carax, his books, and the person bent on their destruction. He will end up drawn into a web of lies and deceit, true friendship and loyalty, forbidden and unrequited love, anger, forgiveness, revenge, redemption, abuse, passion, murder, and mistaken identity, among other things. This book is a story within a story. Just when you think you have it figured out, it takes another crazy turn. At times, it could have easily crashed and burned, but Zafon is just that good.

Along the way, Daniel befriends a former intelligence officer turned beggar, Fermin Romero de Torres, who provides most of the humor in the book through his ridiculously funny dialog. I am not joking when I tell you he made me burst out laughing on multiple occasions. Aside from the insane story line and the incredible command of language exhibited by Zafon, de Torres is one of the best parts of the book. He is just hilarious.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote this book (in Spanish) in 2001, and it was translated into English in 2004.  This is yet another book about books-- and I am quickly beginning to realize how much I love that plot choice. Something about it... when it's done well, it's so wonderful.

I give this book five stars. One of the highest compliments I can give a book is the desire to re-read it, and I definitely want to re-read this one, preferably my own copy next time. Be forewarned, there is some language, some violence, and some sex. Nothing gratuitous, nothing too graphic, nothing that turned me off of the book.

Since so many others have said it so much better than me, here's a smattering of what the critics have had to say about this book:

"If you thought the true gothic novel died with the nineteenth century, this will change your mind. [The Shadow of the Wind] is the real deal, a novel full of cheesy splendor and creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots . . . This is one gorgeous read." -- Stephen King

"The Shadow of the Wind is a dazzling novel about the power that one book can exert over the right reader, a remarkable debut from a young Spanish writer . . . [It] is one of those lovely books, like A.S. Byatt's Possession, that celebrates the strong bond between reader and book, while showing us how elusive the truth of literature can be." -- The Times-Picayune

"Part detective story, part boy's adventure, part romance, fantasy, and gothic horror, the intricate plot is urged on by extravagant foreshadowing and nail-nibbling tension. This is rich, lavish storytelling..." -- Booklist

"The plot is labyrinthine, the characters and coincidences Dickensian, the whole echoing with literary flourishes and references. It's a bit like A.S. Byatt's Possession and Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas, with touches of Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, Ross King, Charles Palliser, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Bibliophiles will feast on its riches." -- Orlando Sentinel

Entertainment Weekly described the book as "wondrous," noting that "[t]here are places in which the book might seem a little over-the-top (doomed love, gruesome murders) but for Zafon's masterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language."

Read it!