Book report
Sep. 5th, 2008 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisIt’s time for another book report. (And I promise I will post on my vacation soon).
Searoad by Ursula K. LeGuin – It has been far too long since I’ve read LeGuin and I am seriously regretting that I waited so long to pick up another of her novels. This was not a work of science fiction or fantasy but rather a novel describing a remote town in California, on the coast. The novel demands your attention. It is sensitive and nuanced. Each character is fully developed, fully realized; they are real people and reading LeGuin, you know you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Although I can’t say that it was a driving page-turner – there’s not much of a plot here, more like snapshots of the town’s inhabitants and their lives -- it was very skillfully written, descriptive, beautiful, and sometimes heart-breaking. Grade: B
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad – This book was a best seller. Its journalist author lives with a family in Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban, and tells us of their lives. It was nearly impossible to put down. Each family member’s story is fascinating. It’s also sad too. There is such widespread despair in the land. Everything is overshadowed by poverty, by the merciless treatment of women, by the wars that have ravaged the country. I think the most haunting story was that of Leila, youngest sister of the family patriarch. Given that she is the youngest girl and unmarried at the age of 19, she is treated like Cinderella – but there’s no Prince Charming in this story. There is also the sad story of one of the boys in the family whose father doesn’t value education so instead the boy works 12 hour days, every day, selling goods at a hotel. It was a depressing but superb book. Grade: A-
More behind the cut!
Bittersweet by Leslie Li – An enjoyable novel based on the life of a real woman, born in China in the 1880’s and who lived through all the turmoil her country underwent for a century (the fall of the Emperor, the rise of the fascist Kuomintang, the Japanese invasion, the rise of the Communists, the Cultural Revolution). The title character is dignified and smart and I definitely liked reading about her life. But! Spoilers ahead, don’t keep reading if you don’t want spoilers!…her story was really sad too. Most Chinese women’s stories from that time period would be, I guess but there’s something just a bit heartbreaking about Bittersweet’s tale. In some ways, she is very lucky. She’s the fourth daughter in a row born to her parents and her father had said he would drown another daughter, but her mother concocts a successful scheme to keep then newborn Bittersweet alive. The brutal practice of foot binding is rampant in China when she’s born, but it is not practiced in Bittersweet’s home village where everyone is a farmer and every able body is needed. Her older sisters all have abusive husbands and/or abusive mothers-in-law, but Bittersweet’s husband and in-laws are kind, educated, and caring. Most Chinese were poor but Bittersweet’s husband becomes very wealthy. In a culture where a woman’s worth is dependant on her giving birth to a son, Bittersweet does indeed bear a strong, healthy son. Her family’s wealth allows her to fare better than most during the tumultuous years of the Kuomintang and the Japanese invasion. She even spends a brief period of time in the mountains, living among the Na, the ethnic group which has always practiced gender equality. And to top off her string of good luck, Bittersweet also manages to avoid China’s chaotic Cultural Revolution; she lives in America during the worst of it. So why do I say the novel is sad? A few years after Bittersweet marries her gentle and kind husband and gives birth to her son, her husband decides to take a second wife. Bittersweet handles the entire situation with grace and dignity but her heart really does break. Her husband, though he financially supports her and treats her with distant respect, never lives with her again. She has no choice but to accept that this is the way things are, that she’s done nothing wrong, but she has to watch as he clearly favors his new wife - for the rest of their lives, which is a period of decades. When he escapes to America, his second wife goes with him since the US recognizes only one wife; it takes Bittersweet years to get permission to emigrate with the rest of her family. There is one touching scene when they are both in their seventies and he admits that the way he treated her wasn’t quite fair. But obviously it’s too little, too late. So anyway, the novel was totally realistic and engaging, but this aspect of Bittersweet’s life was really sad. Just like her name and the title of the novel, I guess. Grade: B+
Dharma Girl by Chelsea Cain – I can’t say why I didn’t like this one more. I thought it started out pretty good. It’s Cain’s memoir; she reminisces about her childhood in which she was raised by war-resisting hippies living on a commune. It was a light and fast read but at the end of the day, I found it disappointing. It just wasn’t all that moving or interesting, at least not as I had expected it to be. Grade: C-
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park -- I really enjoyed this fast-moving novel about a Jewish woman living in 15th century Italy. She’s brilliant and her family is wealthy and powerful, and she has to deal with rampant anti-Semitism. The novel had a great leading lady and an intriguing plot. A few things I wasn’t crazy for: the novel had too many “dragon ladies” (first our heroine has to deal with a nasty, overbearing grandmother. Then a similar step-mother. Then a step-sister. On and on with the dragon ladies – can you say “overused plot device”??) Also, there was one character who we get a tantalizing glimpse into but then it just seems that the author forgot to do any further exploration of him. But putting all that aside, I still loved the book; the author makes you eagerly want to know what happens next. Just as a side note, this book was not on my “to read” list; it was one that I just randomly picked out during a library trip. You know me, I love lists and sticking to a plan - I need to remind myself that sometimes it's great to not stick to the list. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time
Searoad by Ursula K. LeGuin – It has been far too long since I’ve read LeGuin and I am seriously regretting that I waited so long to pick up another of her novels. This was not a work of science fiction or fantasy but rather a novel describing a remote town in California, on the coast. The novel demands your attention. It is sensitive and nuanced. Each character is fully developed, fully realized; they are real people and reading LeGuin, you know you are in the hands of a master storyteller. Although I can’t say that it was a driving page-turner – there’s not much of a plot here, more like snapshots of the town’s inhabitants and their lives -- it was very skillfully written, descriptive, beautiful, and sometimes heart-breaking. Grade: B
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad – This book was a best seller. Its journalist author lives with a family in Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban, and tells us of their lives. It was nearly impossible to put down. Each family member’s story is fascinating. It’s also sad too. There is such widespread despair in the land. Everything is overshadowed by poverty, by the merciless treatment of women, by the wars that have ravaged the country. I think the most haunting story was that of Leila, youngest sister of the family patriarch. Given that she is the youngest girl and unmarried at the age of 19, she is treated like Cinderella – but there’s no Prince Charming in this story. There is also the sad story of one of the boys in the family whose father doesn’t value education so instead the boy works 12 hour days, every day, selling goods at a hotel. It was a depressing but superb book. Grade: A-
More behind the cut!
Bittersweet by Leslie Li – An enjoyable novel based on the life of a real woman, born in China in the 1880’s and who lived through all the turmoil her country underwent for a century (the fall of the Emperor, the rise of the fascist Kuomintang, the Japanese invasion, the rise of the Communists, the Cultural Revolution). The title character is dignified and smart and I definitely liked reading about her life. But! Spoilers ahead, don’t keep reading if you don’t want spoilers!…her story was really sad too. Most Chinese women’s stories from that time period would be, I guess but there’s something just a bit heartbreaking about Bittersweet’s tale. In some ways, she is very lucky. She’s the fourth daughter in a row born to her parents and her father had said he would drown another daughter, but her mother concocts a successful scheme to keep then newborn Bittersweet alive. The brutal practice of foot binding is rampant in China when she’s born, but it is not practiced in Bittersweet’s home village where everyone is a farmer and every able body is needed. Her older sisters all have abusive husbands and/or abusive mothers-in-law, but Bittersweet’s husband and in-laws are kind, educated, and caring. Most Chinese were poor but Bittersweet’s husband becomes very wealthy. In a culture where a woman’s worth is dependant on her giving birth to a son, Bittersweet does indeed bear a strong, healthy son. Her family’s wealth allows her to fare better than most during the tumultuous years of the Kuomintang and the Japanese invasion. She even spends a brief period of time in the mountains, living among the Na, the ethnic group which has always practiced gender equality. And to top off her string of good luck, Bittersweet also manages to avoid China’s chaotic Cultural Revolution; she lives in America during the worst of it. So why do I say the novel is sad? A few years after Bittersweet marries her gentle and kind husband and gives birth to her son, her husband decides to take a second wife. Bittersweet handles the entire situation with grace and dignity but her heart really does break. Her husband, though he financially supports her and treats her with distant respect, never lives with her again. She has no choice but to accept that this is the way things are, that she’s done nothing wrong, but she has to watch as he clearly favors his new wife - for the rest of their lives, which is a period of decades. When he escapes to America, his second wife goes with him since the US recognizes only one wife; it takes Bittersweet years to get permission to emigrate with the rest of her family. There is one touching scene when they are both in their seventies and he admits that the way he treated her wasn’t quite fair. But obviously it’s too little, too late. So anyway, the novel was totally realistic and engaging, but this aspect of Bittersweet’s life was really sad. Just like her name and the title of the novel, I guess. Grade: B+
Dharma Girl by Chelsea Cain – I can’t say why I didn’t like this one more. I thought it started out pretty good. It’s Cain’s memoir; she reminisces about her childhood in which she was raised by war-resisting hippies living on a commune. It was a light and fast read but at the end of the day, I found it disappointing. It just wasn’t all that moving or interesting, at least not as I had expected it to be. Grade: C-
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park -- I really enjoyed this fast-moving novel about a Jewish woman living in 15th century Italy. She’s brilliant and her family is wealthy and powerful, and she has to deal with rampant anti-Semitism. The novel had a great leading lady and an intriguing plot. A few things I wasn’t crazy for: the novel had too many “dragon ladies” (first our heroine has to deal with a nasty, overbearing grandmother. Then a similar step-mother. Then a step-sister. On and on with the dragon ladies – can you say “overused plot device”??) Also, there was one character who we get a tantalizing glimpse into but then it just seems that the author forgot to do any further exploration of him. But putting all that aside, I still loved the book; the author makes you eagerly want to know what happens next. Just as a side note, this book was not on my “to read” list; it was one that I just randomly picked out during a library trip. You know me, I love lists and sticking to a plan - I need to remind myself that sometimes it's great to not stick to the list. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
None this time
