Abandoned: The Book Thief

I heard so much hype about Markus Zusak's The Book Thief that I wanted to check it out. And when I found it at the library I saw the book was awarded many awards and received much praise--the anticipation was mounting. I began reading it aloud to Isaac and a couple chapters in he confessed he wasn't into it. I wasn't either, but kept looking at the paragraph-long list of honors and awards and was determined to continue. I got to page 114 before calling it quits. I hadn't truly connected with any characters and I found the prose style unskilled, even annoying. I'm sure the novel tells a good story, but I could not press through the book because of the way it was told. I'd love to see a film adaptation someday, but am not interested in continuing the book.

Eating Animals

It's been almost two years since my husband and I agreed our family was going vegetarian. The decision wasn't met with resistance by our sons and though there have been times we've had to fend for ourselves before or after an affair that will serve (meat) food, it's worked out ok. Then this summer we were at a cookout and someone slipped my oldest a brat and he ate it. I tried not to get upset, at least not at my son. He's in middle school now and I believe he needs to make his own choices, even if they will be different than my own values. But I also don't think he can make a decision without the facts. There are plenty of books out there I could have given him, many slanted towards vegetarianism, but I wanted something more objective. I gave him Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals and had him read the first two chapters. He said he found it interesting, then didn't pick it up again, nor did he pronounce he wants to eat meat again. His vague reaction to the book made me pick it up myself again.

Full disclosure: I am in love with this book. I've read it two or three times before this last reading (and it's only a few years old). I will likely continue reading it at least once a year as I don't think I can get enough of it. It's an interesting format--part memoir, part journalism. I hate the title though and worry that people will not pick it up because of the title. (It is supposed to be a play on words-- we not only eat animals, but are animals who eat, but it seems so in your face to me.) There is so much humor and feeling inserted within the pages, along with eye-popping facts and statistics. But the thing I love most is that Safran Foer shows the reader that the issue is not cut and dry and ultimately leaves the reader in the position to decide what is right for her/him. I wish I could force everyone I know to read this book. Since I can't, I'm recommending it as I do think it is one of the most important books I've ever read.

Verses

Around 9/11 this year I was listening to a live album of Ani Difranco and found the hairs on my arms sticking up again over her poem "Self Evident." Then I found a video of Ani reading the poem from her poetry book, Verses. (I highly recommend watching the poem. It is quite long, but truly chilling.) I found a used copy (score!) of Verses and dipped into the poems slowly, until I got towards the end and began a more frantic pacing. In case you don't know about Ani Difranco she is a prolific musician who started her own record label when she was eighteen and has released over 20 albums, many which include a poem. Her song lyrics and poems are amazing and I do feel like she has had more influence on my work than any other writer, even though prior to reading this book I had only heard her recordings, rather than sitting down and reading her words. The book does include many of her songs, which I read an online review that said it was a disappointment to someone looking for new material to see most of the poems in this volume have been recorded in some fashion throughout the years. And yet there is so much power in these poems/ lyrics, so much depth that I appreciated reading them in a more reflective manner than simply listening to them. It's definitely a book I will be returning to again and again.
         

The Plague of Doves

I'm going to go with my instinct and recommend The Plague of Doves as it is an incredible novel and I think Louise Erdrich is under-read and under-appreciated. I've read a couple of her novels and every time I do I sigh with pleasure at her prose. I seem to find used copies of her novels which I always grab and buy, then let collect dust on my book shelf. I'm not sure why I always bypass reading her work when I'm on the prowl for a new novel. I picked up The Plague of Doves largely so I can continue to justify buying her novels when I come across them.

The book jacket praises The Plague of Doves as Erdrich's "best novel yet" and I haven't read enough of her work to concur, but it would be tough to top what she accomplishes here. (Though she has a new book that came out recently that is now, four years later, hailed as "the best novel she has ever written." It's on my list of books to read.) The novel opens with a cryptic violent scene involving a man shooting a gun and a sobbing baby then switches to the perspective of Evelina Harp, a young girl living many years after the murders occur, murders the reader does not know about yet. It is a complex novel with Erdrich skillfully weaving a murder mystery around a rich history of a small town and a few unforgettable characters. The stories of each character are compelling and the characters so rich.The book made me laugh and gave me chills. It challenged me as a reader and as a person, which I love in a novel. I'm left hungry for more of Erdrich's work.

The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy

The current selection for my book club is Pietra Rivoli's The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. Overall it is an interesting book, though I found large parts to be a bit dry. Rivoli traces the life of a t-shirt, from the cotton farms of Texas to the factories that make the shirts in China to after it is discarded by the American consumer and donated to Salvation Army, only to end up in Tanzania being sold in a market. The book focuses a lot on the policies and politics that drive the present system, which is something that didn't hold my interest. I probably would have appreciated a condensed version that did not go into so much detail about these aspects of the process, though the composite of information does make for an eye-opening look at all that goes into something simple as a cheap t-shirt, an item of clothing I had thought very little of before reading this book. Though I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, I do think it would be a valuable resource for anyone interested in globalization.

This Is How You Lose Her

I couldn't wait for Junot Diaz's new short story collection, This Is How You Lose Her, to come out. I kept hearing so much about it, about him, and the excitement built and built until I didn't think I could stand it. I only had to wait a week to get it from the library, but my impatience made it seem much, much longer.

The funny thing was once I started reading, I couldn't remember why I was salivating over it so much. I adored Diaz's novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but had lukewarm feelings about his first short story collection, Drown. I enjoy Diaz's writing and the honesty that accompanies his prose, but sometimes I find the way his characters talk and/or think about women to be very unpalatable, particularly regarding the character of Yunior, who reappears again and again in Diaz's work. My favorite story in this collection is The Cheater's Guide to Love and I liked its (also the book's) final line, a bittersweet ending.

After I set down the book and had time to reconcile my feelings, I realize that my literary side loved it while my feminist side hated it. In the end my opposing feelings toward it balance one another out and I have rather neutral feelings about This is How You Lose Her. It definitely has both virtues and shortcomings, which makes it a delightfully flawed, accessible read.

Revolutionary Road

I kept reading about what an amazing book Revolutionary Road was until I decided that I needed to read it. I was not disappointed (with the book, that is; I must admit being sad to reach the last page.) I loved the the characters, the story, the feel of the novel, and the prose style of author Richard Yates.

The story focuses on the Wheelers, a young suburban couple in the 1950's. The novel opens with the end of a community theater production, one in which April Wheeler starred in, one that was a flop. April and her husband Frank get into an argument after the play and that night changes things for the couple. They both grapple with the state of their marriage, their lives, and what brought them to this point. April soon comes up with a plan to change everything and that is the novel's turning point and what steers the plot to its heartbreaking conclusion.

I saw there was a movie made a couple years ago based on the novel, but I'm afraid it will taint my memory of this book. I did see the preview and wasn't impressed, so I can't say whether the movie does a good job representing the novel. But the prose is so great--seems so effortlessly simple and clear--that those who saw the film may want to also check out the book. Though I read that nothing else Richard Yates wrote was so well received as Revolutionary Road, I am interested in reading some of his other work as I so thoroughly enjoyed this novel.