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Book report
Nov. 17th, 2007 06:29 amHere’s my latest series of book reviews. I guess we can call this the “B” crowd. Sorry for not being more imaginative in the grades I gave out, but I really did feel that every book in this crop deserved a B.
Stigmata by Phyllis Alesia Perry – The novel tells of Lizzie, a young woman living in modern times who inherits a trunk that contains diaries and a quilt that belonged to her ancestors. She begins to relive their lives, experiencing their painful pasts through episodes, dreams, memories, and visions. Lizzie’s great-great- grandmother Ayo was captured and brought to the US from Africa as a slave, and Lizzie’s body begins to develop scars and bleed on her wrists – the same place where manacles were placed on Ayo. This is an excellent novel about the past, family, and unspoken secrets. Grade: B
Blackberries in the Dream House by Diane Frank – This is a very poetic novel, telling the story of the life of a geisha named Yukiko. At first, I read it with a raised eyebrow, as the novel makes life for a geisha sound like it’s all silk kimonos and elegant calligraphy. But once I just accepted the fact that this is not a realistic portrayal of geisha life at all but rather a poetic novel that is even a bit like a fantasy, then I could enjoy it. The writing was beautiful; it kind of gave me a pleasant floating-on-a-cloud feeling. And while it’s not exactly a page-turner, the plot is compelling enough. Grade: B-
A few more, after the cut
( Read more... )
Stigmata by Phyllis Alesia Perry – The novel tells of Lizzie, a young woman living in modern times who inherits a trunk that contains diaries and a quilt that belonged to her ancestors. She begins to relive their lives, experiencing their painful pasts through episodes, dreams, memories, and visions. Lizzie’s great-great- grandmother Ayo was captured and brought to the US from Africa as a slave, and Lizzie’s body begins to develop scars and bleed on her wrists – the same place where manacles were placed on Ayo. This is an excellent novel about the past, family, and unspoken secrets. Grade: B
Blackberries in the Dream House by Diane Frank – This is a very poetic novel, telling the story of the life of a geisha named Yukiko. At first, I read it with a raised eyebrow, as the novel makes life for a geisha sound like it’s all silk kimonos and elegant calligraphy. But once I just accepted the fact that this is not a realistic portrayal of geisha life at all but rather a poetic novel that is even a bit like a fantasy, then I could enjoy it. The writing was beautiful; it kind of gave me a pleasant floating-on-a-cloud feeling. And while it’s not exactly a page-turner, the plot is compelling enough. Grade: B-
A few more, after the cut
( Read more... )
