Book Reviews: May through June
The Judges, by Elie Wiesel Wiesel is best known for his Holocaust survival memoir Night, and his work continues along the vein of questioning good, evil, innocence, and guilt when five random strangers are brought together by a man who refers only to himself as 'The Judge,' forcing them to question the truth, effort, and perhaps even the futility of their individual lives.
A Radical Line: From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground, One Family's Century of Conscience Thai Jones was 4 year old when his parents, two members of the Weather Underground were arrested during a raid on their Bronx apartment. Jones writes a beautiful memoir tracing his family's history in radical organizing and subversive tactics, from his grandparents involvement from the New Deal to McCarthyism and his parents involvement and leadership with SDS and the Weather Underground.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl When Ruth Reichl moved from LA to NY to assume the role of the food critic for the New York Times, she was instantly recognized and felt that the service and food at restaurants she received as a result was not the same as what the 'normal' person would. Thus, Reichl begins creating personas to review the restaurants and what follows is a hilarious tale as she transforms herself from her mother, an old, crotchety Jewish lady who sends everything back to Bambi, a blond buxom model oozing sex.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver Kingsolver and her family decide to spend an experimental year as 'localvores,' eating locally or growing their own. Peppered with recipes and scientific facts about sustainability and the cost of petroleum fuel necessary for shipping food across the world or country, this book will make you an immediate convert if you aren't already a localvore.
Davisadero, by Michael Ondaatje A violent act explodes and shatters a family and three lives split and merge, from small towns to big cities to casinos and country woods. Within the story and interlocking stories, a calm emerges from within the turmoil.
The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta The contemporary battle over sex education hits a high school and what follows is the struggle between a teacher and a single mother and a born again recovering addict. The story is interesting enough to finish, but the usual stereotypes and patronizing character developments exists wherein you may find yourself rolling your eyes.
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri An intimate family portrait from the late sixties through the present, from Boston to Calcutta to New York as the individual characters grow, explore, embrace, and at times renounce their Indian roots.
Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison by TJ Parsell It's been a really long time since a book was capable of moving me to tears, but by the last pages I was sobbing. Parsell writes about serving time in prison when he was 17 with painful honesty about vulnerability, violence, the brutality of rape, coming to terms with his sexuality in a hostile setting while trying to survive his term. Stunning.
Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At A Time, by Michael Perry Another bargain from the 2 for 3 table, I picked Perry's book up in and was in Borders of Barnes and Noble because I wanted to get my money's worth for the other two books I bought. It was a good pick too, as I was immediately drawn to the idyllic setting small town in America. A slower read than others, but when reading you slow down to the pace of small town life and appreciate the humor, the pure poetry, and the wit gracing each page as Perry, a volunteer fireman describes both the ordinary and extraordinary.
A Radical Line: From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground, One Family's Century of Conscience Thai Jones was 4 year old when his parents, two members of the Weather Underground were arrested during a raid on their Bronx apartment. Jones writes a beautiful memoir tracing his family's history in radical organizing and subversive tactics, from his grandparents involvement from the New Deal to McCarthyism and his parents involvement and leadership with SDS and the Weather Underground.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl When Ruth Reichl moved from LA to NY to assume the role of the food critic for the New York Times, she was instantly recognized and felt that the service and food at restaurants she received as a result was not the same as what the 'normal' person would. Thus, Reichl begins creating personas to review the restaurants and what follows is a hilarious tale as she transforms herself from her mother, an old, crotchety Jewish lady who sends everything back to Bambi, a blond buxom model oozing sex.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver Kingsolver and her family decide to spend an experimental year as 'localvores,' eating locally or growing their own. Peppered with recipes and scientific facts about sustainability and the cost of petroleum fuel necessary for shipping food across the world or country, this book will make you an immediate convert if you aren't already a localvore.
Davisadero, by Michael Ondaatje A violent act explodes and shatters a family and three lives split and merge, from small towns to big cities to casinos and country woods. Within the story and interlocking stories, a calm emerges from within the turmoil.
The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta The contemporary battle over sex education hits a high school and what follows is the struggle between a teacher and a single mother and a born again recovering addict. The story is interesting enough to finish, but the usual stereotypes and patronizing character developments exists wherein you may find yourself rolling your eyes.
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri An intimate family portrait from the late sixties through the present, from Boston to Calcutta to New York as the individual characters grow, explore, embrace, and at times renounce their Indian roots.
Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison by TJ Parsell It's been a really long time since a book was capable of moving me to tears, but by the last pages I was sobbing. Parsell writes about serving time in prison when he was 17 with painful honesty about vulnerability, violence, the brutality of rape, coming to terms with his sexuality in a hostile setting while trying to survive his term. Stunning.
Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At A Time, by Michael Perry Another bargain from the 2 for 3 table, I picked Perry's book up in and was in Borders of Barnes and Noble because I wanted to get my money's worth for the other two books I bought. It was a good pick too, as I was immediately drawn to the idyllic setting small town in America. A slower read than others, but when reading you slow down to the pace of small town life and appreciate the humor, the pure poetry, and the wit gracing each page as Perry, a volunteer fireman describes both the ordinary and extraordinary.