Tag Archives: book reviews

Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer

Posted by melydia on October 20, 2010 2 comments

Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer: Maggie and Olivia were the two fat girls in school, best friends that shared the bond of being misfits. Fast forward a few years: the girls are still (sort of) best friends, but Olivia had gastric bypass surgery and is now a size two and about to be married to a handsome and wealthy man, while Maggie is still the same size, single, and working at a coffee shop despite having a master’s degree. I remember being Maggie not that long ago: negatively self-absorbed, helplessly inarticulate around attractive men, and walked on by my so-called best friend. Though her inner monologue was very funny in places, she would have been a much less compelling character had I not recognized myself in so many of her flaws. This story says a lot about toxic relationships, family bonds, and inner beauty, but most importantly about self-confidence. I enjoyed watching Maggie’s journey, and I look forward to picking up Palmer’s other novels.

I would like to note that I read this while on the stationary bike at the gym. The title just screamed “gym read” to me. :)

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Jack Fell Down by Kenneth Underhill

Posted by melydia on October 14, 2010 None comments

Jack Fell Down by Kenneth Underhill: Jack Stabbish is a salesman who realized one day that he could make money without actually selling anything. He “works” for four companies at a time, riding on charisma alone and quitting before anyone notices he hasn’t actually done anything. At the start of our tale, one of Jack’s former employers is looking into legal action against him, another is facing a major meltdown due to Jack’s neglect, and his bank is looking askance at his four weekly paychecks. The story deals largely with the impact of Jack’s (in)actions on an assortment of reasonably believable characters, with all subplots tying together in the end. (Well, save the one about Janice. That one didn’t serve any purpose.) Jack is a bit of an anti-hero, beloved by all but generally self-centered and conniving. I spent much of the book hoping he’d get his comeuppance, but I didn’t feel any real animosity toward him, and in the end he came off as more genuine than I’d expected. The ending, though somewhat anti-climatic, was surprisingly satisfying. Usually I don’t appreciate that sort of technique for finishing a story, but it worked in this instance. The writing was decently down-to-earth except during the sex scenes, when awkward and flowery metaphors sprouted all over the page as soon as the clothes came off. It amused me. All in all, a good first novel. I’ll be curious to see what Underhill does next – whether he continues to draw on his experiences as a salesman or branches out to something completely different.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Anthem by Ayn Rand

Posted by melydia on October 12, 2010 1 comments

Anthem by Ayn Rand: Dystopia stories fascinate me because they say so much more about the social issues of the author’s own era than the future. Here we have a collectivist society, where the good of the many outweighs the desires of the one. Our hero is a street sweeper, so designated because when it was his turn for a job, what was needed most was another street sweeper. He dreams of being a scholar, but is shot down for thinking himself better than others by rising above his station. When this was written in the late 1930s, collectivism was a popular idea, though in its extreme eventually contributed to the rise of fanatical nationalist groups such as the Nazi party. This particular story is not an especially memorable tale, since it is just about a misfit in a repressed society who eventually escapes, sees the light, finds the truth, etc. Hurray for individualism. Sometimes I wonder if Rand’s vision of a dystopian future is so popularly maligned because she preached not just cultural individualism, but economic individualism as well. This book in particular emphasizes the importance of every man working in his own interest rather than for the nebulously-defined public good, though she tends to gloss over the drudgery of factory work and those jobs that don’t provide a living wage. Sadly, not everyone has the option of doing the job he wants, or even the job that might serve as a stepping stone to the job he wants. If they did, the world would have a whole lot more artists and a whole lot fewer waiters.

That said, I find Rand’s writings interesting because they represent such a different way of thinking from the norm. Yes, they are preachy, but I don’t find them offensive. After all, the biggest tenet of the philosophy put forth here is the right to choose one’s own path, rather than allowing it to be dictated by another. I can see why that would be an appealing idea, even if in many cases it is woefully unrealistic. After all, we aren’t all lucky enough to inherit copper mines or train companies.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant

Posted by melydia on October 8, 2010 2 comments

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant: I started this one on the heels of another Diamant novel, The Last Days of Dogtown. It wasn’t intentional: I had a last-minute drive up to New Jersey and I needed something to listen to should Dogtown end before I got home. I picked up The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, figuring I should be familiar with it before the BookCrossing Convention in Washington, DC, next year, but I only got about two discs into it before realizing that it was far too stupid to be enjoyable. Not only has Brown evidently never stepped foot in DC, the so-called “facts” he relies on in his narrative have been so often disproved I couldn’t even suspend my disbelief. Life’s too short to read crappy books.

But anyway, this is not a review of that excreble book. This is a review of a very nice book. So let’s start over.

Good Harbor by Anita Diamant: Joyce is a romance writer who recently purchased a vacation home near Good Harbor, Massachusetts. Kathleen is a children’s librarian living in the area who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The two meet at Synagogue one week (both are Jewish, though Kathleen converted from Catholicism before getting married) and become fast friends. Together they journey through many changes in their marriages, children, and selves. It’s beautifully written, and has instilled in me a desire to see this magical place called Good Harbor. It sounds just lovely. I was also a little spooked by this book, because some of the details hit pretty close to home. Kathleen’s experiences with breast cancer, for example, are almost identical to my mother’s – who also used to work in an elementary school. The details of a child’s death described later in the book is eerily similar to a friend’s child who recently died. But despite some chills that aren’t really related to the story itself, this was a very pleasant little journey through two women’s lives. It’s not exciting or suspenseful, but it would make a good beach read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

Posted by melydia on October 7, 2010 1 comments

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant: Dogtown was a real place in early Massachusetts, reaching its peak population around the turn of the 19th century. Near the end, most of the inhabitants were misfits and loners: widows, freedmen, escaped slaves, prostitutes, and supposed witches. This story, detailing the last decade or so of the settlement, is not so much historical fiction as fiction inspired by history. Little is known about the residents of Dogtown, but this tale weaves a beautiful tapestry of birth and death, love and hate, kindness and cruelty. I think my favorite characters were Cornelius and Easter, and though I was disappointed in the tale of Sammy, it was a reaction to his decisions in life, not the writing style. All the characters felt real, like old friends. The time period fascinated me too, giving me a real sense for how ordinary people lived without weighing it down with famous historical events or people. This book was my introduction to the much-heralded Diamant, and I was not disappointed. Good Harbor is already on the TBR pile; I’ll have to keep an eye out for The Red Tent.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson

Posted by melydia on September 29, 2010 1 comments

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson: The Moomins usually hibernate for half the year, but one day Moomintroll wakes up to discover a snow-covered world he’s never known. Being a longtime Moomin fan, I was predisposed to enjoy this book. The characters and illustrations are simply charming, depicting an innocence without ignorance. It was not my favorite of the Moomin adventures (I’m not sure it could be without Snufkin), but it was still a fun little tale. I particularly liked Moominmamma’s comments upon waking. She’s my hero.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Posted by melydia on September 28, 2010 4 comments

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall): Why is this book so long? Seriously. About halfway through I checked out the plot summary on Wikipedia and I was surprised to discover I was following along fairly well. But that doesn’t explain why it takes so much text to tell this story. Basically, this guy kills an unpleasant pawnbroker and her sister, guy’s mother and sister visit because sister is supposed to marry some shady dude, guy’s best friend falls in love with sister, random drunk dude dies, random drunk dude’s daughter befriends guy, and meanwhile an obnoxiously chatty detective is investigating the deaths of the unpleasant pawnbroker and her sister. (I can’t count the number of times I said, “Shut up, Porfiry!”) Oh yeah, and there’s angst. Lots and lots of angst. Don’t worry about the names – I had a terrible time keeping track of who was who because everybody had at least three names and all of them were so complicated they immediately fell out of my head the first fifty or so times I encountered them. I still can’t remember most of them well enough to say them aloud. The story is told mostly in dialogue, almost enough to be a play, so I’m surprised there haven’t been more recent film adaptations. Anyway, this is a decently interesting story – full of intrigue and suspense, with a sweet ending – except that at times I wondered if the author was paid by the word. For example, he described the letter guy got from shady dude, then guy confronts shady dude about the letter and recounts his reaction to said letter, then later guy recounts his confrontation with shady dude about the letter to others. And this is hardly an isolated incident: several scenes are described in their entirety multiple times. I guess it’s good if you weren’t paying enough attention, but dude! Hire an editor!

(Yes, I am well aware that I am going to Literary Hell for telling Dostoevsky to hire an editor. Dickens and Austen could use one too.)

(My toes are getting warm.)

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Time of the Twins by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Posted by melydia on September 15, 2010 None comments

Time of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends #1) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: It’s been years since I read the Chronicles trilogy, but I managed not to stay lost for too much of this book. (I do, however, strongly recommend one reads that trilogy before starting this one.) Basically this is Weis and Hickman accepting that Raistlin is the only truly interesting character in Chronicles and throwing in the second-most interesting, Tasslehoff, for good measure. Raistlin is hungry for power, and believes he can get it by traveling back in time to before the Cataclysm. His twin brother, Caramon, is sent after him, along with religious nut cleric Crysania, who finds herself strangely drawn to Raistlin. Tasslehoff joins them, much to the horror of everyone, because kender are nothing but Trouble. All in all, I rather liked this book. I doubt I would have if I didn’t like Raistlin so much, as I spent most of the book wanting to punch Caramon in the face. As has been noted by many, this is unquestionably written for young adults. If you know that going in, you’ll probably enjoy it more. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Immortal Ones by John F. Ferrer

Posted by melydia on September 13, 2010 None comments

The Immortal Ones by John F. Ferrer: Derek lives a life of horror-movie fantasies until he meets a girl at a club and those horror movie monsters turn out to be real. Overnight his life is turned upside-down. Though there is a fair bit of action, the love polygon is the backbone of the story. Werewolves love vampires; vampires love humans; humans love werewolves; it’s all just a mess. There are definitely echoes of Twilight here, but with more sex and less angst. The vampire and werewolf mythos are a little different from the traditional as well. Like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, vampires look like ordinary (though beautiful) humans until they get angry or hungry, at which point their faces “crack” and the fangs come out. Werewolves are pretty much hairy vampires: they also wolf out under stress, live forever, and drink blood. Both species can learn to keep their respective transformations under control. Both have a preference for human blood but can survive on the less tasty blood of animals. Werewolves, however, like vampire blood best of all, and are arguably the only thing (besides the sun) that can kill a vampire. (Whether or not a werewolf can be killed remains to be seen.) The other twists are more subtle: gold (not silver) hurts werewolves, and vampires (but not werewolves) are weakened by wolfsbane. (To be fair, Dracula was kept out by wolfsbane.)

Like many self-published books, this one is in desperate need of a good editor. The author clearly has a basic misunderstanding of punctuation. For most of the story I felt less like I was reading a story than having one described to me. The main characters were all fairly interchangeable in terms of personality, but I did enjoy a couple of the minor walk-ons, like Hank from the jazz club and Emma from the bookstore. I could easily see and hear them in my mind. So would I recommend this particular book? Well, no, but I do see promise in Ferrer. He has good ideas, and proper execution can be taught. I look forward to seeing what he can do with time, training, and a really good editor.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Posted by melydia on September 7, 2010 2 comments

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (unabridged audiobook read by Scott Brick): It is rare that I read a story set so far in the future that Earth is practically a myth. This basically means that you can set up human society to be whatever you wish, without the burdens of the history known by the reader. In this case, the human race has grown into a massive galactic empire. Hari Seldon is a prominent psychohistorian, who uses his studies of the past to predict the future. Specifically, he predicts the collapse of the empire, and claims to be creating a great Encyclopedia Galactica to save all the knowledge of man in order to ease the transition after the fall. Frightened by the idea of civil unrest in response to this foretelling, Seldon and his people are exiled to Terminus, a planet far out on the rim of the galaxy. The rest of the book chronicles the next two centuries or so. Much of it was a little slow, since I’m not much for politics, but I very much enjoyed Mayor Hardin. I have the second book in the trilogy on my shelf, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to it. On the one hand, I’m not in any hurry to return to the universe of Foundation, but on the other, the longer I wait the less I’ll remember about Foundation, which will probably make Foundation and Empire more difficult to follow. Heh.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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