Tag Archives: book reviews

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Posted by melydia on April 19, 2013 None comments

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (unabridged audiobook read by the author; 5 hrs on 5 discs): I’ve never encountered a book so emotional. I went from laughing to crying to laughing in mere minutes. This is a “semi-autobiographical” novel, in that much of what happens to Arnold “Junior” Spirit, the protagonist and narrator, also happened to Alexie as a child. The frankness of a 14-year-old boy was often hilarious, while the tragedy of racism and alcoholism was simply heart-breaking. The ending was hopeful and satisfying, though, and I think this is an important book for children to read to introduce them to another lifestyle, or to remind them that they’re not alone. I’ve never lived near a reservation nor known anyone who lived on one, so this was quite an eye-opening account. I am definitely going to have to track down some of Alexie’s other works.

A note on the audio: It took me about twenty minutes to acclimate to Alexie’s somewhat unusual cadence, but after that it became a wonderful addition to the experience. However, I understand there are illustrations and comics in the actual book, so I’ll have to get my hands on a paper copy at some point.

The Dark Lady by Mike Resnick

Posted by melydia on April 16, 2013 None comments

The Dark Lady by Mike Resnick: I have long declared Mike Resnick to be my very favorite author, not because his are the best books I’ve ever read, but because they are the most consistently good. There are plenty of novels that are better than anything he’s written, but I know that when I sit down to read a Resnick novel, I am in for a really good time. This book is no exception. Leonardo, an alien working at a human art gallery through an exchange program, is hired by a wealthy old man to help him track down portraits of The Dark Lady, a woman whose likeness has appeared across the galaxy for millennia. He is joined in his search by an art thief interested in monetary gain and a man hoping to track down the Lady herself, in the flesh. One thing I’ve always found fascinating in Resnick books is his depiction of aliens. They are not human and do not act human. Leonardo’s narration is often a little frustrating, as he is so completely tied down by the traditions of his species, but it stays believable. I admit I’m only about 98% sure of what happened at the end and why the plasma painter was so special, but I can live with that. Though his books take place in the far future, what Resnick is writing are legends: exciting, memorable, and a touch grandiose. And that’s what I love about them.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

English As She Is Spoke by José Da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino

Posted by melydia on April 12, 2013 None comments

English As She Is Spoke by José Da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino: What happens when you use a Portuguese-French phrasebook and a French/English dictionary (and zero knowledge of English) to make a Portuguese-English phrasebook? This happens. It’s hard to pick a favorite “common” English phrase, but I am especially amused by “You hear the bird’s gurgling?” For extra giggles, read aloud. In short, this book really craunched the marmoset.

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Posted by melydia on April 9, 2013 None comments

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel (unabridged audiobook read by Katie Schorr; 8 hrs on 7 discs): Blarg. When we last saw them, Ever and Damon were both immortal and Damon’s evil ex was out of the picture for good. Now Damon’s pressuring Ever into sex (he has been waiting four hundred years to bed her, after all) but she’s all caught up in the fact that he has four hundred years of conquests under his belt while she’s still a 16-year-old virgin. A new guy named Roman shows up and everybody except Ever loves him (she’s totally suspicious); Damon starts getting sick for some reason; and the whole thing is just kind of exasperating. I’d worried that the series would move toward omg twu wuv and away from the parts that were actually interesting in the first book, and so it has. It ends on a sort-of cliffhanger, and I found I simply did not care. I won’t be going out of my way to continue the series.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

Posted by melydia on April 5, 2013 None comments

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde (unabridged audiobook read by Simon Vance; 11 hrs on 9 discs): Oh, goodness, I’m not even sure where to start. The Gingerbread Man is a psychotic killer who escapes from jail. Goldilocks is found dead in a partly-finished WWI theme park. Sinister events plague the cutthroat world of competitive cucumber-growing. Bears deal in illicit porridge paraphernalia. Punch and Judy are marriage counselors. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous, but Detective Jack Spratt is on the case. I got quite a few chuckles out of this one, but most of the really good laughs were from the excerpts from The Barkshire Bumper Book of Records at the beginning of each chapter. If you’re familiar with nursery rhymes and enjoy absurd humor, you’ll probably enjoy this one. I don’t know how well it stands on its own, but as the sequel to The Big Over Easy it’s quite entertaining. Too bad Fforde hasn’t written any more in this series.

A note on the audio: The first book in this series, The Big Over Easy, was narrated by Simon Prebble. Previously I’d only heard Vance read more serious books, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was fun listening to him read this bit of silliness, but I’m not sure how I would have felt if I’d listened to the books back to back.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Posted by melydia on April 2, 2013 None comments

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: The diary of a young Japanese girl washes up on the beach in Vancouver and into the hands of a woman of Japanese descent who may or may not be the author of this very novel. The story alternates between Nao’s diary and Ruth’s experiences reading it, complete with footnotes explaining little bits of Japanese language and culture used by Nao. Nao’s unflinching description of her life – from the horrific bullying by her classmates to her father’s suicide attempts – can be hard to take at times, but her clearly affectionate descriptions of her great-grandmother and her quest for meaning make her quite sympathetic. I was especially interested to learn about some of the traditional rituals practiced by Buddhist nuns. The ending left me a bit cold, since I hadn’t expected the story to turn all magical realism on me, but otherwise I really enjoyed it. I guess my issue was that the story leading up to that point felt so literal that it almost felt autobiographical, so the dream sequences and stuff caught me off guard. Sure, I would have liked a little bit more closure (Jiko’s life story, anybody?), but maybe there’s a sequel in store eventually. Even if not, this was still a really interesting novel. I may have to look up some more titles by Ozeki.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Posted by melydia on March 29, 2013 1 comments

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Reading, 12 hrs on 10 CDs): Yes, I am just now, at 34 years of age, reading Pride and Prejudice. No, I never had to read it for school. Yes, I’ve seen the mini-series and recent film. I know the story. I’d just never read the book, but it shows up on “OMG BEST BOOKS EVAR” lists again and again, so I figured I might as well. That, and my next book on hold at the library hadn’t come in yet.

But anyway. Since everyone and their kid brother knows the story (and if you don’t, you should), I won’t go into it here. I was most amused by Lydia’s obliviousness and Lady Catherine’s snobbery, though many of the characters had their moments. The romance between Elizabeth and Darcy was ultimately a lot more believable than I’d expected at the beginning.

Some of the naming conventions confused me. None of the men were ever called by their first names, not even by their wives. Married women lose their first names as well, to the point where Lydia refers to “my aunt Philips” at least once. People refer to their relatives as “my” even when speaking with a joint relative; this would be like me talking to my sister about “my parents,” as if they weren’t hers as well. “Miss Bennet” was thrown around seemingly at random; at one point Jane and Lizzie were referred to as “Miss Bennet and Elizabeth”. Very strange.

Where does all the money come from? I get that people inherit their wealth, but nobody works, so surely the money runs out after a finite number of generations. I also noticed that it could be kind of stressful as a woman, since no matter how wealthy your father is, you have to marry well or go join a convent. Charlotte’s open-eyed decision to marry for financial security instead of love was a little sad but totally understandable. Anyway, it was kind of fun to read about the petty little dramas of the idle rich, and it’s a good book to have read, if only to recognize the allusions that show up in so many other stories.

A note on the audio: Reading’s character voices were subtle but quite distinct. I hope she reads other classic novels.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Manual of Aeronautics by Scott Westerfeld and Keith Thompson

Posted by melydia on March 26, 2013 None comments

The Manual of Aeronautics by Scott Westerfeld and Keith Thompson: The alternate-WWI, steampunk world of Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath required a surprising amount of pre-work, describing all the technology and creatures and uniforms so the illustrations of the novels would match Westerfeld’s vision. This book contains a small sampling of those designs, from detailed floor plans of airships to Latin names for fabricated beasties to portraits of some of our favorite characters. It was a very fast read, but I loved the full color drawings. The pictures really helped bring the books to life, and this slim volume only enhances that experience. Recommended for fans of the series, but not until after you’ve finished reading it.

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr.

Posted by melydia on March 22, 2013 None comments

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie Jr.: If you like navel gazing, then have I got the book for you. Our narrator is living on an island (presumably somewhere in the Caribbean), obsessing over the woman he loves. He also talks a bit about his father who died of cancer, the idea of machines becoming sentient, and then more about the woman he loves and their often violent relationship. In between he does a whole hell of a lot of drinking and driving and fighting and moping. And, to be perfectly honest, it’s just not all that interesting. The plot doesn’t show up until about two thirds of the way through, and even that is disappointing in how little it affects the narrator. He doesn’t change in any meaningful way. The sentient machines bit is pointless and apparently unrelated to much of anything; the description of his father’s illness is painful and also not clearly related to the story of the woman he loves. Which, given the sheer volume of pages dedicated to her, I would assume is the main point of the story. But I don’t know. I do know that there was a whole lot of paper wasted in the printing of this thing, as each “chapter” is extremely short, most well under a single page. Replacing these page breaks with double line breaks would probably cut the page count by more than a third. In short, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would genuinely enjoy this book, but I found it pointless overall, something I would not have finished except for the dwindling hope that eventually the author would have something to say to make it all worth it, a story to tell or even a poignant bit of description. But alas, no.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Uglies: Shay’s Story by Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson, and Steven Cummings

Posted by melydia on March 15, 2013 None comments

Uglies: Shay’s Story by Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson, and Steven Cummings: This is the graphic novel of Uglies from Shay’s point of view. It’s something you probably don’t want to read until you’ve finished the series, but I suppose it technically doesn’t spoil the other books. The story itself is fine. They don’t dwell too much on the parts you see from Tally’s point of view, so it is mostly fresh material. My issue with it was the art. Everyone looks the same. I get that the Uglies aren’t supposed to actually be ugly, but they look identical to the Pretties, the Specials, the Smokies, everybody. You don’t even get much change pre- and post-surgery for the same characters. I get that it’s difficult to include the sort of subtle details described in the book, but it got to the point where the Ugly nicknames didn’t even make any sense. I like the idea of a graphic adaptation of Westerfeld’s work, but this just didn’t work out very well.

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