Tag Archives: fiction

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Posted by melydia on November 4, 2011 None comments

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (unabridged audiobook read by Jim Colby; 5 hrs 34 min on MP3): The story is difficult to describe: basically two men start a club based on emotional release through fisticuffs. Sort of. I saw the movie about a decade ago and recalled liking it, so when a copy of the audiobook fell in my lap (so to speak) I figured I might as well give it a try. Wow, is this one seriously frightening book. Not in a traditional way, where the narrator is being chased by some scary bad guy, but because the narrator is both utterly disturbing and terrifyingly believable. I mean, are those recipes for explosives real? I think this is what bothered me the most: I really felt like I was getting to know Tyler Durden on a personal level, and I didn’t want to. But I‘m glad to have read this. Now I want to see the film again and look for what I missed. There’s a fair amount of absurd and dark humor tucked in among the repetitive statements. I wouldn’t recommend this is you are put off by foul language, violence, or sheer insanity, but if you can accept it for what it is, this is one novel sure to stick with you for a long time.

A note on the audio: The repetition in this book is perhaps a bit more maddening on audio than it would be in print form, but hearing it also made it feel more real.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

Posted by melydia on November 1, 2011 None comments

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards: One snowy night in the mid-1960s, a woman gives birth to twins: a healthy boy, and a girl with Down’s Syndrome. The doctor-husband, fearing further misery, tells his wife the daughter died at birth. The nurse, rather than following instructions to send the child to an institution to be raised, moves to another city to raise the child herself. Years pass, lives change. I admit I devoured this book over the course of about two days, drawn to the characters and the constant suspense of whether the truth will ever come out. But this is not a happy story. It is, at best, bittersweet. Well-written and beautiful, to be sure (though the repeated comparison between infant hands and stars/starfish grew a bit tiresome), but kind of a downer over all.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Green Mile by Stephen King

Posted by melydia on September 27, 2011 1 comments

The Green Mile by Stephen King: I have found I prefer King’s non-horror stories, and this was no exception. This is a serial novel in six parts (and I actually own all six individual books, in addition to the six-in-one paperback), so I’ll review each one separately.

1. The Two Dead Girls: Not a whole lot happens in this section except for exposition: you learn of John Coffey’s crime, brutally murdering and raping two young sisters, and you get to know the narrator (Paul) and some of his coworkers. One thing I noticed was that Coffey’s guilt is just assumed without much in the way of evidence. This big black man is found holding the two corpses and sobbing away, and everybody figures he must have been the one who killed them. “I couldn’t help it” could have multiple meanings, especially since he didn’t elaborate. But I guess being a black man in 1930s Louisiana was crime enough for these folks. Anyway, it was a fine enough start, though if I didn’t already have the rest of the series I probably wouldn’t have been interested enough to continue.

2. The Mouse on the Mile: I love Mr. Jingles. The dichotomy between him and the other major character introduced – the evil William Wharton – is interesting. I like how Mr. Jingles’s un-mouse-like intelligence is neither questioned nor explained, nor is Wharton’s sheer malice for everyone he encounters. Can’t wait for the next one.

3. Coffey’s Hands: Man oh man, does this one end on a cliff-hanger. Granted, I’ve seen the movie so I know (more or less) what happens, but it’s been so many years that I’d forgotten much of it. It’s at this point that Edgecomb starts to doubt Coffey’s guilt and Percy starts to go over the edge. You can feel the tension build.

4. The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix: This one is certainly well-named. For all I might not like his horror plots, King certainly knows how to describe gore vividly. That’s a mental picture I won’t be forgetting any time soon. I didn’t think I could hate Percy any more than I already did, but I managed.

5. Night Journey: Honestly, I think this was the most suspenseful installment of the entire series. Edgecomb and his crew sneak Coffey out of the prison to drop in on the warden, and any number of things could go wrong at any moment. Of course, we’re not entirely out of the woods yet, with one more book to go.

6. Coffey on the Mile: Hoo boy. If you’re looking for a good cry, you’ll probably get one reading this. I thought I was okay after the first heart-wrenching scene, but two or three more after that really got me going. But in a good way. The ending is reasonably satisfying, and kind of thought provoking. After all, since it’s told in first person it’s impossible to know for sure what happens to the narrator after the story is finished, and that kind of open-endedness is sort of neat for this sort of tale.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

Posted by melydia on July 19, 2011 6 comments

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall; 32 hours 15 minutes on 28 discs): Dominick is angry, and has been his whole life. His identical twin brother has paranoid schizophrenia, the woman he loves divorced him, his girlfriend makes him crazy, his stepfather is abusive, and his mother died keeping the secret of his biological father’s identity. Our story begins in 1990 when Dominick’s brother Thomas cuts off his own hand in a public library, believing this sacrifice will somehow prevent the Gulf War. Believed to be a danger to himself and others, Thomas is placed in a maximum security mental institution. Thus begins Dominick’s journey to free his brother from his prison, confront his issues with his parents, and discover the truth about his family history. At first I couldn’t figure out why this book was so danged long, but I was soon drawn in by the characters and their stories. There’s a lot of drama here, a lot more than anything in my personal experience, but I never felt disconnected or disbelieving. The story-within-a-story told by Dominick’s grandfather was especially compelling, being told by such an unlikable narrator. Though it may be long and occasionally feels somewhat scattered, everything comes together in the end for a deeply satisfying conclusion. Dominick, Thomas, and the rest will stay with me for a very long time.

Unrelated aside: When I was in graduate school, my landlord was a skinny, bald, white guy in his late thirties. One day while he was in my bathroom working on the plumbing, he entered my apartment through the front door. Turns out he had an identical twin brother, but man was I confused at first. Because of this, despite loads of evidence to the contrary, I pictured Dominick and Thomas looking more or less like Moby. This is not, I suspect, at all what Lamb intended.

A note on the audio: George and I go way back. He’s not a reader I actively seek out, but he’s extremely talented and makes even the driest prose quite listenable. In short, he’s very reliable, which is fortunate since he’s read basically every book ever. (Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but not by much.) As always, he did a lovely job with these characters. I was a little confused when the book ended on disc 27, but there was a nice little interview between George and the author on disc 28. It’s an interesting session, mostly about the creative process, with a few questions about the story and characters answered by Lamb.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Releasing Gillian’s Wolves by Tara Woolpy

Posted by melydia on June 23, 2011 1 comments

Releasing Gillian’s Wolves by Tara Woolpy: Gillian has been married to Congressman Jack Sach for three decades, during which time he has never been faithful to her. One day he goes too far and Gillian decides she isn’t going to take it anymore. I am of two minds here. On the one hand, this is a well-written book with believable characters, great scenery, and a plausible story. On the other, the romantic relationships are all a bit on the gooey side, and it’s always a little dispiriting to read about someone who succeeds only because they’re discovered and helped by someone who is already successful. (Maybe that’s the way it works most of the time, but occasionally it’d be nice to read about success through hard work and determination rather than the right person coming along and taking them under their wing.) Not that this latter bit is a huge part of the story. Quite the contrary, actually: it’s more about Gillian taking her first tentative steps in life as Gillian rather than just the wife of Jack Sach. And it’s about food. There are a few folksy recipes sprinkled throughout which are worth reading even if you don’t cook, and everything Gillian prepares sounds delicious. In the end, it’s just a sweet story about a pleasant, middle-aged woman. Nothing too memorable, but a good beach read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Posted by melydia on June 21, 2011 None comments

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (unabridged audiobook read by David Ledoux, 12 hrs 11 min on 11 discs): I have discovered that I generally don’t go for short story collections, but after reading Heart-Shaped Box, I figured I could make an exception for Joe Hill. I’m glad I did. Most of the stories could be classified as some variety of horror, and those were generally my favorites. I particularly enjoyed Voluntary Committal, The Black Phone, and 20th Century Ghost. Definitely recommended, though not for the squeamish. He is his father’s son, after all – though I would argue that Hill is the better storyteller of the two.

A note on the audio: Ledoux is simply excellent. This is what voice acting is supposed to be. His tone, inflection, usage of stuttering and dramatic pauses – all of it adds to the atmosphere of each story. Brilliant. I definitely need to pick up other books he’s narrated.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules edited by David Sedaris

Posted by melydia on June 13, 2011 None comments

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules edited by David Sedaris (audiobook with multiple readers; 3 hrs 30 min on 3 discs): A friend gave me this, as we are both Sedaris fans. None of this is his work (save the introduction, which was on par with most of his better essays), but I decided to trust his judgment and try something new. As with most collections, the stories were of varying quality.

Where the Door is Always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out by Patricia Highsmith, read by Cherry Jones: Mildred is rushing around frantically to prepare for her sister Edith’s visit. The reader was great, but the story itself was pretty boring. Maybe it was because I just wasn’t all that interested in the characters, or maybe because all the minutia felt excessively detailed.

Bullet In the Brain by Tobias Wolff, read by Toby Wherry: A fascinating little vignette that stretches out an instant of time into a fully coherent narrative, and it ended at just the right spot too.

Gryphon by Charles Baxter, read by David Sedaris: A new substitute teacher with crazy ideas. Sedaris did an excellent job, which is kind of surprising since he tends to narrate in a sort of monotone, but somehow he managed to get across everything with subtle changes in pitch and inflection. Probably my favorite of the batch.

In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried by Amy Hempel, read by Mary-Louise Parker: I’ll be perfectly honest here: I had a whole lot of trouble following this one. Maybe I was just distracted, but I have absolutely no idea what it was about.

Cosmopolitan written and read by Akhil Sharma: A somewhat strange tale about an older Indian man attempting to have an affair with his American neighbor. Sharma probably should not have read his own story, as his cadence tended toward the droning, but I still very much enjoyed the story, and the ending made me smile.

In all, not a bad collection. These are the sorts of stories we’d read in creative writing classes, which gave me weird flashbacks from time to time, but it was a nice break from the string of novels I’d been listening to lately.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

Posted by melydia on June 7, 2011 None comments

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark: It’s 1947, and Evie’s marriage has been failing ever since her husband returned from World War II, shellshocked and haunted. He wins a grant to document the end of the British Raj in India, so he takes his wife and young son to live in the small village of Masoorla. Behind a loose brick in the kitchen, Evie discovers letters between two young women written in the 1850s. Intrigued and perhaps more than a little in need of distraction, she searches out more information about the correspondents and what happened to them. The interwoven tales at the beginning and end of the British Raj fascinated me, as did the candid descriptions of life in colonial India. I loved most of the characters, and while at times the story was just heartbreaking, I had trouble putting it down. I had to know what happened to Adela and Felicity, whether Evie would leave, if Martin would be killed in an uprising. The ending was perhaps a little too tidy, but it was very sweet and satisfying nonetheless. I closed the book with a smile on my face, glad to have read it. That’s really all I can ask for in a novel.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Demon Queen and the Locksmith by Spencer Baum

Posted by melydia on June 6, 2011 None comments

The Demon Queen and The Locksmith by Spencer Baum: When Kevin skips his first day of high school, he never imagines the sort of impact it will have on his life. He meets a couple of other kids, they eat magic sap, they gain super powers, and all of it is somehow linked to Turquoise Mountain and its mysterious Hum that only certain people can hear. Throw in termites, fire ants, espresso, and a healthy dose of conspiracy theories, and you’ve got yourself one strange little tale. Still, I kind of enjoyed it. It’s certainly unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Sure, there were times when it felt like the author had been given a list of objects and told to write a story around them, but as a fan of writing challenges I can appreciate that aspect as well. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this to, though. Espresso fanatics? Budding entomologists? I don’t know. But if you’d looking for some young adult fantasy that doesn’t follow the same old formula, try this one on for size.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Posted by melydia on June 3, 2011 None comments

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (unabridged audiobook read by Kim Mai Guest; 5 hours on 4 discs): Rebellious American teenager Daisy is sent to England to live with her aunt and cousins, and a somewhat nebulous world war breaks out soon thereafter. It felt a bit like the author was wondering what would happen if World War II broke out today, except without actually picking specific countries to go to war with. Of course, the enemy’s identity isn’t all that important, since Daisy is the narrator and has little interest in politics anyway. The story is told well, with some horrific scenes, some sad scenes, and some happy scenes, and all in all I found it a perfectly believable representation of how such a person would deal with such a situation. I was somewhat confused by the weird psychic powers held by some of the characters, if only because everything else in the tale was completely realistic. In short, I’m having difficulty summing up my feelings about this book. It was almost equal parts trivial and serious, narrated by a character with whom I only somewhat sympathized. I’m glad to have read this, but I’m not sure I’d necessarily recommend it to anyone else. If I were to recommend it at all, I’d definitely go with the audio version, as I believe the punctuation issues in the print would drive me absolutely bats.

A note on the audio: Guest was quite good as the narrator, but it was a little strange that none of the English characters had English accents. Even so, she managed to make Daisy both believable and listenable as a pretty typical American teenager – no small task, that.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

© 2010-2024 kate weber All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright