Telegraph Avenue

I have a bit of a love/hate thing going with Michael Chabon's work. He is a talented writer, no doubt, and tells great stories. He also strikes me pretentious as hell the way he throws around big words, some that aren't even in the dictionary. (And the two novels I've read of his could use a strong dose of editing.) Still I was interested in checking out his latest novel Telegraph Avenue when I read what it was about--there are two couples (one black, one white) and both the women and both the men work together, the men running a record shop, the themes of the novel being marriage, race, and friendship... it sounded like my kind of book. I picked it up after it came out but only got a couple pages in before putting it down. I was not in the mood for his writing.

Then after finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane for some reason I felt like giving the novel another try. At first I was freakishly captivated by the novel--the characters, setting, the tone, the prose (which I annoyingly read aloud sentences that struck me as especially great).  I loved how vivid the characters became, particularly the women.  I loved that the two female characters were midwives and the description of births. But the book grew slightly tedious after a while, the prose's strength seemed to fade as the book went on and there were times that I felt uncomfortable with things that seemed to perpetuate stereotypes. I didn't care so much for the climax, but the ending satisfied me nonetheless. Overall I liked the novel. (But probably won't pick up another Chabon book for a while.)

James and the Giant Peach

I came across a list of best children's novels and decided I'd use the list to help pick the next book I read to Noah and Adam. Despite it being a hailed classic, I had never read Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach and decided to start there.

The novel begins tragically with the young boy protagonist, James Henry Trotter, losing his parents and having to go live with his dreadful aunts. A peach in their backyard grows bigger and bigger and eventually rolls over the aunts. James is in the peach with a delightful cast of friendly insects and the group of them set off on an adventure. My kids enjoyed it (especially when the word "ass" is used). At several points in the novel there are poems (or songs) that the characters sing, which makes it fun to read aloud. I'm glad I read the novel as I found it quite enjoyable and loved Dahl's sense of humor.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I saw Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane on Goodreads and decided to check it out. I've always enjoyed everything that I've read by Gaiman, but never been blown away by any of his novels. My feelings on this novel were in line with everything that I read by him: the prose is excellent, the concept is interesting, but it lacks any deep character development which stops me from loving it.

The novel is about a man who goes back to his childhood home and begins to recall memories of a girl that he knew when he was seven, Lettie Hempstock along with her mother and grandmother. The memory of what happened begins to unravel and a frightening story unfolds. It's a good story and is told beautifully, but never quite grabbed me. The novel is relatively short so it's definitely worth checking out. Fans of Gaiman's are likely to be satisfied with this quick read.

The Round House

I have blogged twice about Louise Erdrich's novels (The Plague of Doves and Love Medicine). I think she is an under-appreciated writer because her talent is huge but she remains as virtually unknown to most people. Hopefully she will be more widely read after winning last year's National Book Award for her latest novel The Round House. I read three of the five novels that were finalists (including A Hologram for a King and This Is How You Lose Her) and agree that Erdrich certainly deserved the award. The Round House blew me away.

The novel is told from the perspective of thirteen-year-old Joe, who lives with his parents on a reservation in North Dakota. His mother is brutally attacked and raped, leaving Joe and his father to seek justice... unsure if justice is even within reach. Joe narrates the story as an adult, which brings the story to life in a unique way. It's a powerful novel with a political message. I adored this book. If you haven't read anything by Erdrich, The Round House is worth checking out. I definitely recommend this amazing novel.