BOOK REVIEW: "The Shade of My Own Tree"

The Shade of My Own Tree
By Sheila Williams
Copyright 2003
Random House Publishing
Adult Fiction
3.75 Bookmarks

An abused woman finally finds the courage to walk out on her husband after 15 years of marriage. Opal Sullivan finds that courage and heads out to begin her life anew. Over the course of her journey, she realizes many things.

First, that she will never truly be free of her ex-husband. Second, that she likes living under the shade of her own tree. And third, that life is full of nothing but surprises.

Normally, a book about domestic violence is not something I have on my radar. But I liked the title of the book and immediately "got" the significance of the phrase. And I was pleasantly surprised with the manner that the author handled the subject matter. It was not terribly graphic but got the point across when needed.

I really liked that the author gave the main character the strength to go out there and do the things that she did, including helping other women in abusive relationships. The reader gets a great feel for Opal's struggles and her triumphs in overcoming them.

I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it! Would make a great book club read.

BOOK REVIEW: "An Ideal Wife"

An Ideal Wife
By Gemma Townley
Copyright 2010
Ballantine Books
Adult Fiction
1.5 Bookmarks

Wowza. This is the most typically typical British novel I've read in a long while. Jessica Wild-Wainwright (even the name is typical!) is madly in love with her perfect, perfect husband Max. Unfortunately, Jessica is not so perfect (quite the opposite, in fact).

And so, Jessica sets out on a mission to become the ideal wife.

Now just so you understand, Jessica is so far from being the ideal wife that it is, frankly, difficult for the reader to imagine her becoming what she has set out to become.

There's just a slight problem with her plan. Jessica has a dirty little secret that she has kept from her husband that is now coming back to haunt her. An ex-fling is extorting her for money and she isn't quite sure what to do about it.

You get to watch as Jessica tries to make up for the dirty little secret by attempting to learn to be a good cook, how to iron, and volunteering at a soup kitchen.

One particularly amusing episode of Jessica's attempts at wifely perfection leaves poor Max laid up in the hospital for a week.

Unfortunately for Jessica, her efforts are a dire failure. Soon it becomes apparent that her secret can stay a secret no more. And throw on top of that a couple of thugs from the Russian Mafia, a long-lost father that she never knew, and a few million pounds of money that she doesn't know what to do with.

Stories like this always have a happy ending, but they usually have quite a nail-biting climax and this was no exception. It was a quick read, and there were a few moments that were even kind of fun. But for the most part it was just so much like so many other British novels I've read that it was boring.

Open this one only if you really like predictability.

BOOK REVIEW: "This Fine Life"

This Fine Life
By Eva Marie Everson
Copyright 2010
Revell Publishing
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks

A young girl comes home after graduating from a prep school where she has lived away from home for the past four years. Mariette is not sure which direction to go. Her mother wants her to "marry well". Her father wants her to go to University. Mariette just doesn't know what she wants.

But when Mariette stumbles upon a young man in a stairwell at her father's company who takes her breath away, just doesn't really think about it any longer. Keeping Thayne Scott a secret from her parents doesn't last long, and soon Mariette is forbidden from seeing him since he is not in the same social class as her family.

Mariette soon finds a way to go to him. They run away together and, surprise! They elope. But it's not all fun and games when Mariette realizes the kind of life she is going to have with Thayne. The two stumble through life's ups and downs together and Mariette tries to understand her husband's calling.

I enjoyed reading this book for the most part. There was definitely a bit of religiosity strewn throughout the story but it was not obtrusive. The characters were a bit weakly defined, but you sort of got the gist of who they were as people. A nice Sunday afternoon read.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Land of Painted Caves"

The Land of Painted Caves
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 2011
Crown Publishers
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Well here it is! The last in the Earth's Children series. It was published back in, I think, March of this year and I finally got around to reading it (after making my way back through the series again). I think this may be the thickest of the books. With 757 pages, it was certainly daunting.

Okay, first let me point out what annoyed me about this book. After writing five other books in this series, for some reason, the author still feels like she has to write the book as if it's a stand-alone book. Meaning, that in each of these books, she feels she has to re-cap all the important events of all the previous books in the series. A great number of those 757 pages were reminders of what I just got done reading in the previous six books, which was unbelievably tedious!

I was ready for some new material! Some new characters, some new subject matter. Instead, the recaps just went on for page after page after page. I'm guessing that 99% of the people who will read this book are addicts of the series (as I am), and already know the history of the characters. The recaps were totally overdone.

The other thing I didn't like was the basic plot of the book. The main character, Ayla, has become something of a spiritual leader of the group. Because of that, she is taken on a tour of the sacred sites of the people. Much of the book is the travel from one sacred site to another, from one painted cave to another. Not much variety in the storyline.

Whew! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me just say I still love this series. I still really enjoyed the characters and the situations they found themselves in. I enjoyed being able to picture the landscapes and the surroundings. I enjoyed the descriptions of the different medicines and rituals observed by the people. I imagine I would have made a great cavegirl!

Normally when I read a book and have more negative things to say than positive, it's going to get a low rating. But hard for me to give anything by this author a low ranking when I really enjoy these books so much. Even with the 757 pages, I made it through the whole book in less than a week. Snatching a paragraph here or a paragraph there between other things going on in my life.

My frustrations really have more to do with it not quite fulfilling my expectations and not with any lack on the quality of the writing. Do read this one!

BOOK REVIEW: "Love in a Time of Cholera"

Love in the Time of Cholera
By Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Copyright 1988
Vintage Books (Random House)
Adult Fiction
2.5 Bookmarks

A strangely odd and depressing story to have been made into a movie. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it's not one I would really enjoy watching.

Basic plot of the book is this: young boy falls in love from a distance with young girl, expresses his love solely through written letters since it's nearly impossible for them to actually meet face to face, father finds out, takes daughter away for a length of time, but boy manages to continue writing letters which are sneakily delivered to the girl, father thinks he's successfully ended the little love affair and thus returns the daughter home where she, nearly on accident, runs into the boy face to face. Girl turns tail, runs and marries the first man who proposes to her. Boy never gives up hope that he will be with girl (once the husband dies, of course). And so he waits. And waits. And waits. Most of the book is the waiting. And then suddenly, almost without warning, the characters are in their 80s.

I won't spoil the ending because it actually is kind of an enjoyable book to read, and many readers out there would appreciate it. It is very well-written with beautifully detailed sentence structure and compelling narrative.

Particularly meaningful, as I have always felt that it was easy to love through the written word. Being able to write what you feel and to read between the lines of what someone else has written is, for me, the ultimate romanticism. It is an art that is lost, and is painfully missed.

I probably would have given it a higher score if I didn't feel so sad when I finished reading it. It needed a little lightening up, but I suppose with a name like "Love in the time of Cholera", I shouldn't have expected it to be much more than depressing.

SONG OF THE DAY: Young the Giant - "Cough Syrup"

I feel this song today.