Book Fourteen

7/14/2008 – Atonement by Ian McEwan ***
Why: It was cheap on half.com and a book I’ve always wanted to read.
Winner of the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award, Fiction
Shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize
First Impressions: It took a few chapters to get into but the writing was absolutely wonderful and I immediately was drawn into a grand like (Cecilia) or dislike (Briony) of the characters. The book drew me right in as I wanted to know what happened with Robbie and Cecilia until the very end. The characters were exquisitely drawn out and I loved how the story was told during 3 different decades.
Emotions Felt: Anger at Briony and anxiousness for Robbie & Cecilia. I was a bit surprised that their love lasted throughout the war. I felt certain Cecilia would turn away from Robbie. It was sad to learn that they both died without ever really getting the atonement that they hoped for (because Briony’s novel could not come out until after the death of the Marshalls). I feel like I missed some of the ending in my rush to finish the novel and perhaps this would be a good book club to glean other thoughts.
Any Remaining Questions: I wanted to know more about the secondary characters (Leon, Emily, the dad, Paul Marshall and Lola). Each character was a treat.
Who Would Like This Book: Certainly Erica and perhaps others

Book Thirteen

7/7/2008 – Our Kind by Kate Walbert *
Why: I think it was a Barnes and Noble Har Mar book club selection
First Impressions: It was short and I thought it should be an easy read. Not so.
Emotions Felt: Bored. Kate Walbert writes comically about a group of women (divorcees from the 1950’s) that I care nothing about. And still, in her writing, I cared nothing about them. Not sure if there were too many characters strung together or I was just being negative in my reading of this story. I just didn’t feel it. Some of the chapters were compelling. The women who got photographed naked pregnant – and then had her child ?!@# and the fact that one women ended up in the hospice, another daughter committed suicide. It seemed a shame that the author wrote this as a short story. Her writing was so authentic and witty that I might have been entertained in a novel. Then again, maybe not.
Any Remaining Questions: Nope
Who Would Like This Book: The Har Mar book club, retired women who have been there and done that

Book Twelve

6/30/2008 – Amsterdam by Ian McEwan **
Why: Erica bought me the book for Christmas and it was impossibly short so I chose it to get some books of my to-read shelf.
First Impressions: I tried to read it months ago and in the initial pages the characters just did not warm to me. However, the plot line was quick and once I delved in, it was a better book than I expected. Incredible writing but not sure if it has a lasting impact. Nothing in particular spoke to me
Emotions Felt: Nothing in the way of morals came up for me. Rather, it depicted these two men who were rather self-absorbed and amoral. Perhaps I am not cultured enough (and the novel goes into the materialisticness of our society) but I did not enjoy the parts where Clive was creating his symphony. I think it was all a little too deep for me.
Any Remaining Questions: Like other readers, I wished that the author would go more into Molly’s character. It was an upset that she died in the very beginning of the novel. I knew from the beginning I would not learn more about her.
Who Would Like This Book: Erica

Book Eleven

6/29/2008 – The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ***
Why: The 2008 Pulitzer Award Winner. Wanted to keep up my collection.
First Impressions: Wasn’t sure I wanted to read another novel about the Dominican Republic. I’m getting tired of historical fiction. But this was more a novel about a family. The pacing of the book was nice delving back and forth between generations of the family. The swearing and the Spanish kept it interesting and I liked the narrator – Yunior. All of the characters were deeply compelling.
Emotions Felt: I guess I felt shocked by the atrocities that happened in the Trujillo regime. I felt bad for Oscar, Abelard & Beli and the beatings in the canefield. I can’t imagine living in that kind of environment.
Any Remaining Questions: Most of the questions were answered in the end. I was sad that Yunior did not end up with Lola but it also made sense. I kind of want to know what Yunior’s story was and why he ended up smoking so much dope and cheating on Lola. I would guess there is a back story there. I would have liked to read more about any one of these characters – Lola’s future, Beli’s struggle with cancer, La Inca’s loss of her husband. There were so many pieces to this plot.
Favorite Quotes: “But if these years have taught me anything it is this: you can never run away. Not Ever. The only way out is in. And that’s what I guess these stories are all about.” Lola pg. 209
Who Would Like This Book: I have to believe that my Stillwater book club would find it intriguing if a little risqué. Kate and Sarah, I hope, would love it.

Book Ten

5/31/2008 – The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls *
Why: Suggested at our last Vanaheim book club, I think by Jess. Unfortunately, our book club never meets. I finished the book and the meeting got canceled. Oh well.
First Impressions: The book was very hard for me to get in to. I started finding it interesting when she came into her teens and they had to move to Arizona and then Welch, West Virginia. I wanted to hear more about how she made the transition out of poverty and moved to NYC. After a very long build-up, the end came fast.
Emotions Felt: The book reminded me of students and families I work with in Stillwater (the Wrobel family especially and Samantha Thompson). I felt terrible about how the kids rooted through the garbage for food and especially when Dad took her to the bar and she was almost raped. And when Uncle Stanley tried to take advantage. Though she described her parents with a great deal of love, it was clear that there was generational poverty at play and a history of abuse and mental illness. You could see that in how Maureen developed as a character later on.
Any Remaining Questions: Is this all true or just a James Frey phenomenon. Will it be made into a movie and who should play the characters?
Favorite Quotes: None that come to mind
Who Would Like This Book: I did not like this book nearly as much as all the reviewers seem to. I seem to be in the minority though because it appears to be beloved by all.

Book Nine

5/10/2008 – The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch **

Why: Was suggested by several people. Jess Olsen brought it up at the last book club. Can’t remember the context. Janell (Mom’s cousin) mentioned it on the Caring Bridges blog. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it, at first, but given the situation with Mom thought I should give it a try.
First Impressions: The first thing that struck me was the respect with which Randy spoke about his parents. I could instantly identify with how he had “won the parent lottery.” I took a highlighter out and started marking down sentences, paragraphs and ideas that spoke to me. I liked the titles of the chapters, “An Injured Lion Wants to Roar” and I like how Randy didn’t sugar coat his personality, his disease and his relationships. He was unapologetically himself.
Emotions Felt: Understanding and yes, at some point, I cried. Profusely. I was touched by the times Randy spoke of brick walls. “the brick walls are there for a reason..” I am feeling a lot of brick walls in my life right now and wish I knew what was on the other side. It’s really hard to see what may come.
Any Remaining Questions: I wish his wife would write a book so I could grasp her strength and how she got through it. I can’t imagine . . .
Favorite Quotes: pg. 26“Kids need to know their parents love them. They don’t need to be alive for that to happen” pg. 62 “no matter what news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I won’t die the next day or the day after that or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I’m enjoying it.”
Who Would Like This Book: Any one who liked Tuesdays with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie might be a better book though . . . .What was amazing was seeing him speak in person on the Oprah show. I really admire his attitude toward life. His computer stories are boring. Matt might really like this book though .

Book Eight

4/12/2008 – Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky ***

Why: Because Matt bought it for me for Christmas 2007 instead of Suite Francaise. Because it’s short and I am terribly sick in bed and bored.
First Impressions: The first two chapters are hard to get into. The author always shocks me with the number of characters and not knowing how they all fit in. After about 50 pages, I was completely consumed. Easily readable. I love how the chapters are all of different lengths. First and last impression is that Irene Nemirovsky is a masterful writer.
Emotions Felt: Surprise at the developments in the last 25 pages. I could not believe that the narrator who I came to see as an old has been was the passionate lover of Helene. I never would have imagined that Colette and Brigitte were actually sisters. This is the difference between Patchett and Nemirovsky. Patchett is writing a plot. Irene is writing a novel full of meaning. I absolutely got what the title Fire in the Blood was all about and how we look at life so differently in our twenties than we might later on. And how we all have secrets that shape our families and our destinies.
Any Remaining Questions: What happens? Irene always leaves novels cut short. In the end, “I had already started to love her less.” Was Silvio’s conquest of Helene just about passion and nothing more? What happens after Silvio opens the pandora’s box of his emotions? Does he confront Helene? Did Helene actually love Francois or does she still love Silvio? Do Helene and Brigitte ever reconcile and does Brigitte know that Silvio is her father? Do Helene and Francois break up? Does Marc go to prison? Does Colette ever find the predictable happiness that she feels she wants? And does Colette realize that perfection cannot be attained and that her parents have not attained it? It was like reading a soap opera but knowing that these characters are real people with real problems. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Can’t believe so much happened in so few pages.
Favorite Quotes: Every sentence is poetry but particularly pg. 18 about youth versus wisdom. Pg. 57 The way a man drinks in company tells you nothing about him, the way a man drinks alone, without him realizing it, reveals the depths of his soul. How profound is that? Pg. 188 The description of how love finds you
Who Would Like This Book: Kate Nelson and any other readers that I admire

Book Seven

4/10/2008 – The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett *

Why: April pick for Stillwater Book Club. Suggested by Christine Hurley. Voted in by all because of Ann Patchett’s history of good writing (Bel Canto, Truth & Beauty, etc.)
First Impressions: I knew that this would be an easy book to read. I thought the writing was a bit chick-lity. I didn’t understand the characters or feel attached to them. Parsifal & Phan – a gay magician and his mate, along with Parsifal’s wife Sabine. I just could not relate It all seemed a bit fantasy like to me.
Emotions felt: Not many. I wasn’t surprised by the plot development like others have said they were. I knew that Sabine and Kitty were going to end up having a relationship. It didn’t seem that implausible to me that Parsifal would have killed his father. I was frustrated by the character of Sabine and why she had given up so much for this family and not developed her own character. The first half of the book in LA is good but the last half is entirely predictable. Easily read, but not much gained in the reading
Any Remaining Questions: Wondering if Sabine & Kitty’s relationship was emotional or physical and whether they remained in LA? Page 154 when Dot talks about how she admires Sabine for not having children? “The way they break your heart.” Really?
Quote: pg. 167 “Sabine in Los Angeles, where everything in the world was available to her, peaches in January, a symphony orchestra, the Pacific Ocean” I love the way she writes peaches in January. It’s the reason I want to move to San Francisco. Pg. 281 when Sabine is asking her mother about her past. “I want to know everything.” I can relate to Sabine’s loss and feeling like she needs to know every last detail because life is precious and you want to drink every last drop.
Who Would Like This Book: people who like Jodi Picoult. Not bad, just not good.

Book Six

3/29/2008 – Beautiful Boy by David Sheff ***
Why: Saw the book in Starbucks and was intrigued. Read the first chapter in Barnes and Noble and still held interest. Was recommended by Nancy Berven who used to live in Bay Area as a compelling read and interesting book for fans of SF
First Impressions: I knew from the start that this book would dominate my weekend and ensure that I got nothing else done. This proved true. I stayed up way past bedtime on Saturday night and yoga the next day was painful. Finished book in 3 days. Stunning.
Emotions felt: So much empathy for what the family was going through. Fear that this could happen to any family Sadness for the talent and potential that was lost. Shock when the dad David had his hemorrhage and nearly died. The book confirmed much of what I learned about Hazelden (secrets make you sick, you didn’t cause it, you can’t change it and you can’t cure it). The book also made me more informed about meth addiction. I think I will be more persuasive with parents about getting their kids into rehab and less ambivalent in my counseling.
Any Remaining Questions: I want to know how David afforded his lifestyle and how much money it took to fund his son’s rehab (family money?) I wonder how Karen (the stepmom) managed to get through all of this. Not much was said about their relationship. I wonder if the younger children will take up drugs (Daisy & Jasper). I wonder if Nic has had another relapse. I wonder if Nic Sheff’s book is nearly as compelling as his fathers.
Who Would Like This Book: This book was a painful, shocking and oddly compelling book to read through. I would suggest that all people should read this book but particularly parents of children entering middle school age. So important.

Book Five

3/23/2008 – The Awakening by Kate Chopin **
Why: Was chosen by the Stillwater Book Club for the March meeting. We met for dinner at Boutwell’s landing and had a fabulous book discussion in the library there.
First Impressions: The writing was fabulous. Lyrical, poetic & beautiful. However, it was a bit stuffy in an 18th century kind of way. A formal book to read. By page 40, I was captivated and finished the rest of the book in a single evening. Compelled to know what happened.
Emotion felt: Intrigue. Though my book club felt Edna made bad choices, I really feel she was truly depressed. I guess I have a different view of depression as outside of choice making. Edna was isolated and on her own. The only person who even tried to step in was Dr. Mandelet, present at the birth of Adele’s baby. I felt sad for Edna not angry. I wonder if she suffered from postpartum depression. The ending was completing shocking. Despite the fact I knew what to expect, I was still taken away.
Any Remaining Questions: All questions answered at book club with the exception of when Edna did the deed. It was unclear and an interesting debate ensued. Favorite Quote: It would be too hard to pick a single quote. When we were trying to determining the above question, members of our book club read some of the last chapters out loud. I wish I could have written a book this spectacular, lovely and enduring.
Who Would Like This Book: Feminists & English majors