She Lives: Uh-oh! She's Been Reading Again

Ever since I learned how, I've just wanted to read and read. See what y'all started!

1. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (****1/2)- I give this one 4.5 asterisks because I can't type a star and because it was just that good. It's a letter written by an old, dying preacher to his only child, his 7 y/o son. Of the highest quality writing and very humbling, I really see this as a story of legacy, regret and forgiveness. Loved it! Written for a secular audience, Christians will love the subtleties of the author's theological inter-weavings, whether you agree on his finer doctrinal points or not. Loved it!

2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (**1/2) - Also, about a father and son, but not so lovable. This is one of those post-apocalyptic stories where everyone lives like scavenging animals and such. It's also a Pulitzer Prize winner which means the author didn't have to use correct punctuation and was allowed to break tons of other grammar and punctuation rules in such a way that would have landed me a big, fat F in any of my high school or college English and/or composition classes. That just bugs me. I went ahead and gave it 2.5 asterisks because McCarthy's use of tension and suspense throughout the book is truly classic.

3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. (****1/2) I'm pretty sure this one was originally written in castillian Spanish and translated into English. Set is post WWII Spain, all the books from one particular author are disappearing. One person seems to want them all destroyed. But who? And why? If the F-word sends you into a huge tailspin, there are a couple of 'em in there, but I didn't see them as gratuitous or uncalled for - rather, they seemed realistic - as much a part of the characters using them as anything. Enough! This is a complex story line with complex and well-fleshed characters. Compelling, suspenseful, entertaining.... I loved this book.

4. Another book about an author, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is one of those stories within a story. I very much enjoyed it and will give it (****). An aging author, whose life story has been secreted and kept hidden from the world her entire life, is now dying. She hires a young biographer to write her true, largely scandalous and horrific story. Despite the unsavory (even disgusting) nature of the author's childhood, I liked the book. It is very well-written, a departure from the usual, and has some surprising twists at the end. Although the more unsavory goings on are handled rather delicately, this book may not be for those with overly tender sensibilities.

5. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. (1/2) Don't. Just don't. Set in NYC during the months just prior to and the weeks just after 9/11, the characters are total losers. Seriously. These people - every last one of them - need Jesus. Desperately. And the author needs the Holy Spirit to rid her of the need to put parenthetical clauses within parenthetical clauses within parenthetical clauses within... That's about all I have to say about the whole book. Just don't. It's a NYTimes Best Book of the Year because it's set in NYC. Seriously the only reason I can think of. I gave it 1/2 an asterisk because it's been published.

6. Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlin. (*1/2) I dunno. This is like Chick Lit that's supposed to make us happy we aren't the people in the book or something. Also set in NYC, there are two sisters - one sort of plain and ordinary, the other quite glamorous and famous. The first has to practically rescue the second when her life crashes down around them both. Whatever. Blah.

7. The Gathering by Anne Enright. (**1/2) A big bunch of siblings gather to bury their brother. The story leads us to uncover a secret held by one of the sisters. I don't know how the author succeeded in dragging my sense of curiosity from one chapter to the next, but she did. I think it's because she showed me, rather than told me about the lives and relationships on the pages. Well done! Even though the story itself is not all that memorable.

8. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. (***1/2) As the title suggests, this is the story of the life of the wife of Herman Melville's infamous Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. Not sure what to say about this book. There's a lot (maybe too much) good writing in there, a great job with some of the characters, skillful manipulation of the readers emotions...Overall, very well written. I do feel rather disappointed that the author would have us believe some of her premises - such as the underlying thread throughout the book that people in mid-19th century New England were so religiously liberal. The main character wafts through life making idiotic choices that do nothing to endear me to her and openly embraces every religious, non-religious and quasi-religious notion out there except for Christianity, which leads me to believe the author just really needed to use it as a platform for her own atheistic/agnostic POV. And the book was pretty slow. Twice as long as it needed to be (like this review), I would have given it only 3 asterisks, but it won a b'zillion awards, so I gave it an extra half.

9. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. (****1/2) This story made no attempt to varnish the harshness of the dying world of circus trains. Well-researched and fleshy, the author paints a highly textured, mesmerizing picture that is tough to forget. And I loved the ending! Not for folks that don't want to get their hands dirty.

10. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. (****) If the author's intention was to disturb his readers, he attained great success with this book's account of the destruction of a thriving civilization and the lives of its characters. I definitely see what all the fuss is about. An excellent piece of writing, I'd have given it an extra half asterisk if it hadn't distressed me so. (Maybe I should have, anyway?)

11. I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis. (***1/2) The fictional life of the title's namesake. Why, indeed was Mona Lisa smiling? Does anybody really know? Does anybody really care? Either way, this is a pretty good piece of historical fiction that tackles the Medici dynasty and the church's involvement in corrupt politics during Florence's 15th Century Renaissance. Murder, intrigue, familial betrayal, it's all there. Another by-the-fire recommendation.

12. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. (**1/2) A has-been NFL quarter back (Watch out Romo!) signs on to QB an Italian football team. Aside from the will-they-win-or-lose, I never really figured out what the plot was, here. Except for a couple of the players, the characters were pretty flat. I'm giving it an extra 1/2 asterisk because it did make me want to visit Parma Italy to check out the cuisine. John, darling! Time for a new legal suspense novel!

13. Philippians. Paul's missive to the church at Philippi officially usurped 1 Corinthans as my favorite of the epistles. I was supposed to have finished my inductive study of the book prior to the holidays, but decided to try to memorize it as I go. When you take into consideration that I can't even memorize my address, you see why it's taking so long. Read it! 20 times!

More Thursday Thirteen here.

Comments

I enjoyed your reviews. The only ones I knew where Gilead and Kite Runner.

Posted by: Lazy Daisy | January 17, 2008 at 07:46 AM

I have been trying to get water for elephants from the libray for months. I even went on the waiting list 2 months ago, and they still haven't called!
Happy tt!

Posted by: jenn | January 17, 2008 at 07:47 AM

Carol, your book reviews are the best I've ever read by an amateur reviewer (are you an amateur?) And you pick books I have read, or want to read... Thanks so much for your intelligent reviews. Happy TT! :)

Mine's up at Work of the Poet

Posted by: maryt/theteach | January 17, 2008 at 07:49 AM

Thick and chewy. Very well written. I see three that I absolutely MUST read now. Thanks@

Posted by: Rian Fike | January 17, 2008 at 08:07 AM

Now I have to go add some books to my to be read list. The first one has me totally intriqued. Even thought the Kite Runner seems to be the book to read this last year around blogland I just am not drawn to it at all.

Posted by: Susanne | January 17, 2008 at 09:35 AM

Interesting list...thanks for sharing about each book!

Posted by: Melanie | January 17, 2008 at 09:40 AM

I've been wanting to read Water For Elephants for awhile now -I just have too many books in my TBR pile!

Happy TT!

Posted by: Sue Tessier | January 17, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Happy Thursday, Carol! I did a sort of book review today as well.

I won't bother trying to read Ahab's Wife now. That would just irritate the snot right out of me.

I found Kite Runner to be the same: a haunting missive but disturbing to the max. So was his 2nd, A Thousand Splendid Suns. You should read it.

Posted by: Lori | January 17, 2008 at 01:13 PM

I normally enjoy Grisham's books a lot, but I won't bother with this one. There's nothing as boring as sport.

Posted by: Nicholas | January 18, 2008 at 01:36 AM