Books Read in February
Agamemnon's Daughter: a novella and stories by Ismail Kadare
***
Due to the oppression of Communism in Albania, this book actually had to be smuggled out of that country by the author and a friend of his in France, where it was first published. The novella, "Agamemnon's Daughter," tells the tale of an unnamed young man, who has the misfortune to fall for the daughter of a government official whose star is on the rise. As he walks through the streets on his way to a jingoistic parade (where he has an invitation to sit in the coveted stands, a consolation prize, in exchange for his woman being taken away from him), he recalls the story of the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia, whose blood was supposed to calm the raging seas.
The second story, "The Blinding Order," is a scary tale set in the Ottoman Empire, wherein threats of the "evil eye" lead to barbaric torture, all in the name of keeping the peace. I think if this had been a longer tale, I might have been more emotionally invested. Even though there was some focus on a young woman whose fiancé is one of the officials leading the punishment (and is then summarily implicated), I think the story is too short to really have a personal impact.
The third story, "The Great Wall," actually didn't do much for me at all. Told by two different characters, a Chinese official inside the wall and a rebel outside it, I suppose there's a deeper metaphor about walls and such other than the obvious, but honestly, it was a little bit boring.
All that being said, I think that Mr. Kadare is a good writer, and I would select a novel next time.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
***
I always have a fondness for the epistolary style. At times, in this book, however, I was confused who penned the letter I was reading. The characters themselves were interesting, and I loved the IDEA of it, although it was a bit twee.
In general, I enjoyed it. It's not for everyone. If it hadn't been a book club selection, I don't know if I ever would have picked it up.
Beer is Proof God Loves Us: reaching for the soul of beer and brewing, by Charles W. Bamforth
***
A bit long - winded and rambling, like the old man at the end of the bar who likes to tell stories whilst in his cups. I did learn something about beer, though!
Fantasia, by Assia Djebar
***.5
This is a difficult book to review. It is not a memoir or autobiography. It is not a history book. It is not fiction created from whole-cloth, either. Fantasia shares elements with all of these.
The book does not really have a plot, per se. The author gives us snippets from her childhood in Algeria, and the perception of women. This is interwoven with set-pieces from Algerian history, specifically, the French-Algerian War and Algeria's own war for independence.
Some of the pieces are very lush and beautiful, and others seem to have an almost clinical detachment, even when it is describing a fearless woman standing up to the French, for example. This disconnect had a tendency to pull me out of the reading, and made this book very slow-going for me, at times.
In short, I am glad that I read it, but I feel that I am missing a lot. I don't know if it is because it was originally written in French (always a wonder when not reading in the original language), or because I only knew a smattering of Algerian history going in, thanks to Wikipedia. Apparently, there is a second and third book in the series, but I'm not sure if those are more novel-like or much like Fantasia. [From my readings it appears that it was supposed to be a quartet, but Ms. Djebar passed earlier this month, so I don't know if it was ever completed.]
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
***
If we read this in school, I can't recall. I listened to the Librivox recording, done by Cori Samuel. She has a lovely accent and I enjoyed listening to her. Hawthorne can be a bit repetitive, but Hester Prynne is a pretty strong female character, especially given the time period in which the book takes place. Sin, evil, redemption, et cetera.
Woman on Death Row, by Velma Barfield
**
Velma Barfield had a bad childhood, got addicted to painkillers, poisoned some people (including her own mother), went to prison, found Jesus, and was executed by lethal injection in 1984. This is her own story, and mostly talks about her religious path. Kind of boring.
Roseflower Creek, by Jackie Lee Miles
***
Closer to 2.5. The character of Lori Jean is endearing, but the plot of this book has a tendency to descend into cliché. The protagonist is deceased. This is not a spoiler, as she informs the reader herself in the first sentence of the novel. Alice Siebold did this earlier with The Lovely Bones, but in this book, the child narrates her life in such a way that you nearly forget that she's dead until the end. Overall, an okay read, especially for free.
Wreckage, by Emily Bleeker
**
Closer to 2.5. The first part was really interesting - a small private jet goes down in the Pacific Ocean, a tale of survival against the odds. Despite the occasional jarring due to the "he said, she said" format, I was pretty hooked. As the story went on, the "secrets and lies" became more obvious and the narrative became annoying. I did a few internal Liz Lemon style eyerolls through the latter half. And the ending? Too neat, too trite. With more work (and more character development), this could have been brilliant, but sadly, it just falls flat. This is my second Kindle First read, and the odds have really not been good this far!
Total so far for the year 2015: 19
***
Due to the oppression of Communism in Albania, this book actually had to be smuggled out of that country by the author and a friend of his in France, where it was first published. The novella, "Agamemnon's Daughter," tells the tale of an unnamed young man, who has the misfortune to fall for the daughter of a government official whose star is on the rise. As he walks through the streets on his way to a jingoistic parade (where he has an invitation to sit in the coveted stands, a consolation prize, in exchange for his woman being taken away from him), he recalls the story of the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, Iphigenia, whose blood was supposed to calm the raging seas.
The second story, "The Blinding Order," is a scary tale set in the Ottoman Empire, wherein threats of the "evil eye" lead to barbaric torture, all in the name of keeping the peace. I think if this had been a longer tale, I might have been more emotionally invested. Even though there was some focus on a young woman whose fiancé is one of the officials leading the punishment (and is then summarily implicated), I think the story is too short to really have a personal impact.
The third story, "The Great Wall," actually didn't do much for me at all. Told by two different characters, a Chinese official inside the wall and a rebel outside it, I suppose there's a deeper metaphor about walls and such other than the obvious, but honestly, it was a little bit boring.
All that being said, I think that Mr. Kadare is a good writer, and I would select a novel next time.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
***
I always have a fondness for the epistolary style. At times, in this book, however, I was confused who penned the letter I was reading. The characters themselves were interesting, and I loved the IDEA of it, although it was a bit twee.
In general, I enjoyed it. It's not for everyone. If it hadn't been a book club selection, I don't know if I ever would have picked it up.
Beer is Proof God Loves Us: reaching for the soul of beer and brewing, by Charles W. Bamforth
***
A bit long - winded and rambling, like the old man at the end of the bar who likes to tell stories whilst in his cups. I did learn something about beer, though!
Fantasia, by Assia Djebar
***.5
This is a difficult book to review. It is not a memoir or autobiography. It is not a history book. It is not fiction created from whole-cloth, either. Fantasia shares elements with all of these.
The book does not really have a plot, per se. The author gives us snippets from her childhood in Algeria, and the perception of women. This is interwoven with set-pieces from Algerian history, specifically, the French-Algerian War and Algeria's own war for independence.
Some of the pieces are very lush and beautiful, and others seem to have an almost clinical detachment, even when it is describing a fearless woman standing up to the French, for example. This disconnect had a tendency to pull me out of the reading, and made this book very slow-going for me, at times.
In short, I am glad that I read it, but I feel that I am missing a lot. I don't know if it is because it was originally written in French (always a wonder when not reading in the original language), or because I only knew a smattering of Algerian history going in, thanks to Wikipedia. Apparently, there is a second and third book in the series, but I'm not sure if those are more novel-like or much like Fantasia. [From my readings it appears that it was supposed to be a quartet, but Ms. Djebar passed earlier this month, so I don't know if it was ever completed.]
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
***
If we read this in school, I can't recall. I listened to the Librivox recording, done by Cori Samuel. She has a lovely accent and I enjoyed listening to her. Hawthorne can be a bit repetitive, but Hester Prynne is a pretty strong female character, especially given the time period in which the book takes place. Sin, evil, redemption, et cetera.
Woman on Death Row, by Velma Barfield
**
Velma Barfield had a bad childhood, got addicted to painkillers, poisoned some people (including her own mother), went to prison, found Jesus, and was executed by lethal injection in 1984. This is her own story, and mostly talks about her religious path. Kind of boring.
Roseflower Creek, by Jackie Lee Miles
***
Closer to 2.5. The character of Lori Jean is endearing, but the plot of this book has a tendency to descend into cliché. The protagonist is deceased. This is not a spoiler, as she informs the reader herself in the first sentence of the novel. Alice Siebold did this earlier with The Lovely Bones, but in this book, the child narrates her life in such a way that you nearly forget that she's dead until the end. Overall, an okay read, especially for free.
Wreckage, by Emily Bleeker
**
Closer to 2.5. The first part was really interesting - a small private jet goes down in the Pacific Ocean, a tale of survival against the odds. Despite the occasional jarring due to the "he said, she said" format, I was pretty hooked. As the story went on, the "secrets and lies" became more obvious and the narrative became annoying. I did a few internal Liz Lemon style eyerolls through the latter half. And the ending? Too neat, too trite. With more work (and more character development), this could have been brilliant, but sadly, it just falls flat. This is my second Kindle First read, and the odds have really not been good this far!
Total so far for the year 2015: 19