BOOK REVIEW: "Mistress of Nothing"

Mistress of Nothing
By Kate Pullinger
Copyright 2011
Touchstone Publishing
Adult Fiction
3.5 Bookmarks

I just really liked the title of this one (it also had an enchanting cover which, as you know, always makes me pick a book up). 

The Mistress of Nothing chronicles ladies maid Sally as she travels to drier lands with her mistress who is ill and trying to escape death by tuberculosis.  Leaving England is not too difficult for Sally, as she has always enjoyed escaping her domestic life by visiting museums.  Sally is also extremely loyal to her mistress and willing to do (almost) anything for her.

It is only when things take a decidedly different turn for Sally that things get really interesting. 

Stuck in a house in a small village in Egypt with only her mistress and a new-found freedom, Sally finds her way into a difficult situation with choices she isn't prepared to make. 

The author does a fabulous job of pulling the reader into Sally's world; a world of loyalty, love, and power.  The scenery is described with beautiful detail and even the mundane daily tasks become intriguing with the author's crisp prose.

I didn't want to put the book down because I just knew it was leading to some gripping climax.  I didn't have to wait too long. 

My thoughts about the ending of the book are a bit mixed.  I won't go into the details (spoilers, you know), but I was a bit sad with the way things turned out.  I could think of a few other endings that would definitely have been better.

Every time I read a book that I'm enjoying, I seem to not like the ending.  Sometimes it's just because it's the end and I don't want it to be over.  Sometimes it's because the author just got to the good part.  Sometimes it's because the story took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere it shouldn't have been.  Sometimes I think I could have written it better.  Perhaps someday I will.
 

BOOK REVIEW: "Home to Woefield"

Home to Woefield
By Susan Juby
Copyright 2011
HarperCollins Publishers
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks

Has it really been so long since I've posted a new review?  Sheesh.  Time flies. 

On to the review.  Home to Woefield is a story about a young(ish) city girl who finds out she has inherited an old farm from a distant relative.  She jumps at the chance to go live at the farm and make a go of it.

When she arrives at the farm, however, she finds that things aren't exactly as she'd hoped.  With a falling down house, one sheep, and not much actual farming to speak of,  Prudence still doesn't give up.  Making due with what she has and trying to come up with creative ways to save the farm result in a somewhat entertaining read.

In typical fiction format, Prudence brings together a band of misfits to help her cause.  A crotchety old man, a know-it-all kid who raises chickens, and an alcoholic 20-something neighbor are the main cast of characters. 

With the farm on the line, Prudence pulls out all the stops and....well, I wouldn't want to spoil it so I won't tell you how it ends.

As expected, this wasn't a very deep or meaningful story that makes for a good discussion (actually, I haven't read one of those in awhile, but I hope to be able to soon).  But it was a fun and quick read and had some entertaining moments. 

I don't think I would really recommend this for a book club or anything like that.  More of a "sit on the beach and listen to the waves coming in while you relax" kind of read. 

Truly, I need to find something a little more meaningful to make me think. 

BOOK REVIEW: "Nothing Happens Until It Happens To You"

Nothing Happens Until it Happens to You: A Novel Without Pay, Perks, or Privileges
By T.M. Shine
Copyright 2010
Crown Publishers
Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

Well, here's another of your fairly typical "Oh my heavens! I just got laid-off!" books.  Perhaps in the current employment climate, that's appropriate.  This one, though, was pretty humorous, even from the beginning. 

Jeffrey Reiner is a low-key newspaper guy.  Only he really doesn't do much at his job.  Like, really not much at all.  Instead, he socializes a lot, and comes up with crazy ideas that don't really go anywhere.  And, it seems, the economy and his lack of productivity finally catch up to him and he's on the chopping block. 

He starts out his unemployment by doing all the things he's supposed to do (encouraged by his highly-energetic wife, Anna); filing for unemployment, seeing an employment counselor, working on a resume, etc.  But soon his enthusiasm fizzles out and he starts really freaking out about the small number of days he has left on unemployment.  This soon leads him to start grasping at employment straws; i.e. hooking up with a guy known only as 'enterprising dude', who puts him to work in a Statue of Liberty costume, delivering pizzas, and eventually breeding fish in a muddy trough.  All the while, Jeffrey worries about where his wife is and what she is up to, as it seems she is having an affair with a drug salesman (the legal kind). 

As Jeffrey goes a little crazy and his world starts spinning around him, he has a few epiphanies and big garage sale and that's pretty much the end of the story.  Didn't care for the lack of resolution at the end, but there were some pretty funny moments in the book, and it was generally well-written.  Just not a great ending. 

BOOK REVIEW: "Garden Spells"

Garden Spells

By Sarah Addison Allen

Copyright 2007

Bantam Books

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

I don't normally read too many fantasy-type books, but this one had just the right touch of magic.  In Garden Spells, we are introduced to the Waverly family.  Each member has a special gift.  Evanelle has a tendency to give people things that they only later on realize they need (two quarters for someone who, days later, needs to make an emergency call; new sheets for someone who suddenly receives a surprise visitor, etc.)  Sydney is a Waverly sister with a knack for cutting hair in such a way that it brings out the very best in a person's apearance. Bay is Sydney's daughter.  She knows where things belong; where a fixture in a house belongs, where a person belongs. 

And then there's Claire.  Claire lives in a special home with a special apple tree in the backyard.  Anyone who eats one of that tree's apples will see the most important event of their life happen.  The herbs in Claire's garden are also special.  They help Claire to make delightful foods for her catering business that help people to see things in a different light; a woman who wants her husband to notice her more, a person who wants their friend to show more understanding, and discouraging unwanted attention from a new neighbor.

The author does a great job of weaving the mystical elements into the story without it feeling like a mystery.  This is just the world of the Waverly's and everyone in the small town where they live knows it.  It was a fun story, a quick read, and would be great for a women's book club. 

BOOK REVIEW: "Love Walked In"

Love Walked In

By Marisa de los Santos

Copyright 2006

Penguin Books, Ltd.

Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

I hate stories with an "ick" factor.  And this wasn't your typical "ick" either.  This is a story about Cornelia Brown who is waiting for her prince to ride in on a white horse.  Well, more specifically, she is waiting for Cary Grant to show up in her life.  Fixated with the old, classic love story movies, Cornelia's dates just never seem to measure up.  That is, until Martin Grace enters her life.  Not only is he the spitting image of Cary Grant, but he is a true gentleman besides! 

Cornelia thinks she is in love, but there's just something that's not quite right. 

In the meantime, the story flashes to 11-year-old Clare Hobbes.  Clare's mother is slipping deeper and deeper into psychosis every day until Clare is faced with the realization that her mother can no longer care for her.  Estranged from her uncaring and mostly absentee father, Clare doesn't feel she has anywhere to turn.  When she realizes things have become dire, Clare makes a desperate phone call to her father to tell him what is going on.  He doesn't listen and casts her worries aside, as Clare had expected he would.  So Clare makes a plan.  She creates lists for how to make it through each day so that no one finds out what is going on and takes her away from her mother.  She manages for quite some time, but then her mother takes off, abandoning her completely, and her father is the only one to turn to. 

Clare's father, of course, has no clue how to handle the situation, and even less clue how to comfort Clare over the loss of her mother and the fact that he had ignored her previous concerns.  It is only when her father's girlfriend Cornelia steps in and holds her during her tears that Clare finally feels safe. 

Cornelia, of course, cannot understand why Martin has no connection with his child, especially when she falls in love with her within minutes.  And frankly, as the reader, I couldn't understand it either.  I felt decidedly uncomfortable with the thought that there are parents out there who feel absolutely no connection with their child at all, and what can happen as a result of that.  Ick. 

The ending does make up for some of the ickiness, but I was definitely uncomfortable reading some of the passages in the book.  As a parent of an 11-year-old, I was just sickened at the thought of such a young child feeling so unloved and having to be so grown up.

BOOK REVIEW: "Safe Haven"

Safe Haven

By Nicholas Sparks

Copyright 2010

Grand Central Publishing

Adult Fiction

4.5 Bookmarks

Okay, so maybe I have a little secret crush on Nicholas Sparks (I do keep reading his books, after all).  But this one was a little bit of a departure from his typical lighthearted love story. 

The main character, Erin, has escaped her abusive cop husband and is hiding as Katie in a small town far, far away from her previously life.  Katie works as a waitress and keeps to herself, until she meets a widower named Alex, and a new neighbor named Jo.  Katie opens up a bit to Jo, and then Alex and his two children become friends with Katie.  She eventually lets her guard down enough to consider the possibility of that friendship becoming more.  As Sparks develops those relationships, the story flashes back periodically to her abusive marriage and the intricate planning she had to go through in order to escape.  It also focuses on her husband, Kevin, who has never stopped looking for her and is spiralling deeper and deeper into an alcohol-induced psychosis. 

I didn't want to put this book down until I found out how it ended (so many of Sparks' stories, after all, have sad endings).  And I don't want to spoil it for you, but the twist at the end was a good one!  I really enjoyed the character development, especially Erin/Katie, who showed extreme strength in overcoming the obstacles that she faced in her life.  I have always had a soft place in my heart for women who are trapped in situations that they cannot get out of, and her character definitely showed through.  The book had just the right amount of suspense and storytelling.  This would be a great book club read! 

BOOK REVIEW: "Girls in White Dresses"

Girls in White Dresses

By Jennifer Close

Copyright 2011
Knopf, Borzoi Books Random House
Adult Fiction
2 Bookmarks

A somewhat tamer version of "Sex and the City", this faintly entertaining tale of three friends who deal with the constant pressure of other friends getting married and having babies ended up being a little bit disappointing by the end. 

Lauren, Isabella and Mary pop in and out of each other's lives, and the lives of too many other friends to list.  The story basically follows the three who navigate their way through different jobs, different boyfriends, singleton times, and all sorts of craziness and jealousy.  Of course, everything pretty much works out in the end (you wouldn't have expected anything to the contrary with as predictable as the storyline flowed).

But the author was pretty good at creating fun anecdotes and side stories so I wasn't ever really bored reading it.  The story just lacked any meaning or real purpose.  I didn't really care about any of the characters by the time I was done reading it and the whole "adults who's lives aren't keeping up with their friends' lives" theme is so overdone, I was just underwhelmed by this one. 

BOOK REVIEW: "The Good Psychologist"

The Good Psychologist

By Noam Shpancer

Copyright 2010

Henry Holt & Co, LLC

Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

I have always believed that most psychologists are folks who are a little nuts (in a good way, of course) and basically just want to figure themselves out (this is also why I think I would have been a GREAT psychologist).  That theory is fairly evident in this debut novel by Noam Shpancer.  The main character works in a center for the treatment of anxiety where he meets his latest client, a stripper whose anxiety has brought her an inability to get back on stage. 

The psychologist deals with his own strange attraction to the stripper, all the while trying to encourage her to work through her fears.  At the same time, he maintains a strangely obsessive relationship with another psychologist he had met at work and had a brief fling with at a business conference.  He casually relates the fact that this fling ended with a child coming into the world (a child he has never met before), and casually mentions the fact that the other psychologist is married.  It is obvious he has never really dealt with the issues surrounding that little love triangle and, frankly, he doesn't even know how to begin to examine his own role in it all.

In the meantime, the psychologist also teaches a night class and we get some nice diverting "lessons" thrown into the midst of the story.  Add an angry boss (you know, the guy who runs the strip club waiting for his favorite stripper to overcome her anxiety and get her naked butt back on stage), and a lot of interesting self-talk, and it made for a fairly entertaining read.

I don't know that I would read this one twice, but I didn't feel like it was a total waste of time either.  Just a kind of interesting little trip into the psyche of a psychotherapist. 

BOOK REVIEW: "A Hive for the Honeybee"

A Hive for the Honeybee
By Soinbhe Lally
Copyright 1996
Scholastic Press
Adult Fiction
2 Bookmarks

Hummmm.......The hum of a hive of bees was easy to imagine while reading this short novel by Sionbhe Lally.  I was originally not planning to read this book.  I picked it from a 9th Grade reading list for my daughter, but some of the verbiage on the cover led me to think maybe I should read it first.  I'm thinking that was a good idea.

In A Hive for the Honeybee, we meet a couple of newly-born worker bees, Belle and Thora.  The two workers become friends, but their personalities are strongly contrasted.  Belle is a worker and can't imagine anything else other than gathering pollen and honey, and taking care of the drone bees.  Thora dreams of something outside of the hive, although she really has no comprehension of what that something might be.  At the same time, two drone bees named Alfred and Mo, struggle with their own unique roles within the turmoil in the hive after their Queen takes off to form a new hive.  When a new Queen is born, the drones go crazy with desire (stereotypical male behavior).  Many die when mating with the Queen. The remaining drones seem to take it in stride, all except Alfred and Mo who seem to have some sense of what is to come.

The new Queen decides to change things up and lays only worker bee eggs (female) and no drone bee eggs (male).  The Queen and the other worker bees are, apparently, tired of taking care of the drone bees (can you blame them?)  I won't tell you what the end result of that is. Instead, I'll go straight to my opinion:

Although there was some interesting imagery and beautiful language throughout the book, it was really quite dark and fatalistic.  Probably wouldn't recommend it to a 9th grader, and definitely won't be letting my 10-year-old read it.  On the plus side, it was super short and I was able to read the entire thing in just a couple hours.  A low "OK" read.

BOOK REVIEW: "making love to the minor poets of Chicago"

making love to the minor poets of Chicago
By James Conrad
Copyright 2000
Thomas Dunne Books
Adult Fiction
2 Bookmarks

Well frankly, with a title like that I expected a lot more. After all, I love "love", love poetry, and loathe all things Chicago; it made for an interestingly incongruous picture in my mind. But instead of being interesting, I just simply found the book boring. And weird. Actually more weird than boring.

So the basic story is this, a failed poet stumbles upon this opportunity to write a poem to save humanity from the nuclear waste stored beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada. It seems that someone has been commissioned to paint a painting to be placed at the mountain to warn future generations for the next 10,000 years or so that it's going to take the nuclear waste to lose its dangerousness, and so this poet believes she can convince The Powers That Be that a poem should be called for as well.

So, maybe a slightly interesting premise, but the execution was severely lacking. First of all, the one who wanted to write the poem has to ask a colleague of hers to actually get in contact with The Powers That Be because, oh yes, the colleague's ex-husband is the painter who's been commissioned to do the painting. Since she has an "in", of course, they agree and you would think the story would move forward from here. Instead, it ended up being just a really discombobulated mess of minor storylines dropped in here and there that really had nothing to do with anything.

There was a seriously over-stereotyped group of gay characters linked to the poetry department at the local college. And I mean seriously stereotyped. I was even mildly offended by a scene in the book that is set in a gay bar where the author actually makes fun of the music playing "a groggy male vocalist was whining about someone having blue eyes, green eyes, and gray eyes" (which just happens to be from my very, very favorite New Order song ever!)

At the end of the book, two of the characters take off from Chicago and end up near Yucca Mountain (one of them even volunteering at the nuclear waste facility for a period of time for no apparent reason at all). And then that was the end of the book.

There were a few entertaining scenes written into the book, but really just not much substance or purpose to the story. The review on the back cover called it "the ultimate love story of the nuclear age" (Dale Peck). That one really left me scratching my head. Love story? There was no love story here.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Year of Pleasures"

The Year of Pleasures
By Elizabeth Berg
Copyright 2005
Random House
Adult Fiction
3.5 Bookmarks

Betta Nolan does what many of us often dream of doing; she sells her house, picks up and moves halfway across the country. Unfortunately, she only does this after the death of her beloved husband, John. The two had planned to retire together, then move to the country. But when John is diagnosed with cancer, their plans change.

Near the end of his life, John makes Betta promise she will finish what they started, and so Betta sells the house shortly after John's death and starts driving. She finds herself in a small, midwestern town and buys the first house she sees.

As Betta confronts her new life alone, she meets many new and interesting characters, feels much pain, and tries to move forward.

The author does an absolutely amazing job of delving into the feelings and fears that Betta goes through during this process. Grief is an incredible thing, but to feel it through the words written by the author was a new experience. At one point, Betta can't sleep. She keeps thinking she hears her husband talking to her. "I left the lights on, pulled back the bedclothes, and climbed in. I listened carefully: nothing. I turned out the light and listened again. A car going by, my alarm clock ticking. I took of my coat and boots, then lay back down. Some nights lasted weeks."

When I was about two chapters into this book I thought for sure it was going to be a 5 Bookmark book. In the end though, I really felt like the author let some really great opportunities get away from her.

After John's death, Betta finds a box with dozens of small slips of paper that John had written on; "Japanese tea ceremony", "iron grates", "Soprano gone--good". Betta is at first confused, but eventually realizes what John was trying to tell her. The memories Betta recollects as she's looking at these slips of paper were entrancing, but unfortunately, the author left it at that. They ended up being no more than just a sideline to the story.

That author also seemed to miss a few beats with another angle of the story. Betta meets a gentleman who is interested in her. She tries to force herself to move forward with him, but it just never feels right. I think the author could have explored this area a little bit further and gone into more detail about why she wasn't ready for another relationship yet, but instead she just sort of lets it fizzle and then get snatched out of her hands.

There were definitely parts of the book that I liked, and other parts I was disappointed with. One thing that always made me catch my breath were the moments in the book where Betta "remembers" that she's grieving. She thinks, "...part of me still lingered at John's side, staring both at him and at the future without him, waiting to see if he were going to change his mind and come with me after all." Heartwrenching for anyone who has ever loved another.

Although there was never a clear explanation for the title of the book, I did really enjoy reading it. There were a few moments where I would find a small tear in my eye, but it was good because it made me remember those in my life who I have lost, and appreciate those in my life that I still have.

BOOK REVIEW: "What Men Want"

What Men Want
By Deborah Blumenthal
Red Dress Ink
Copyright 2006
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks
Spoiler Alert!

With a book title like What Men Want, of course I (as a woman) was curious. What do men want? I sort of thought the book would be a cute tale about some woman who finds out what men want. Instead, I found a book about a print journalist (columnist, actually) with a live-in boyfriend who is not quite right for her and a journalistic nemesis who only serves to cause her grief. Nothing about what men want at all, actually.

Meet Jenny George. With a boring name like that, I was not intrigued. Even the author thought it was a boring name and spent several paragraphs throughout the book commenting on the commonness of the name. And then, of course, is her nemesis Slaid Warren (MUCH better name for a character in a novel!) who continually calls to flirt with her in a weird, competitive sort of way.

When Jenny's boyfriend decides to trade her in a for a hotter model (literally), I sort of thought she would finally figure out the "what men want" part of the equation. Unfortunately, she just experiences a few ups and downs of the dumpee sort, then lands in the lap of Slaid Warren and that is about it. No mention of "what men want" at all! I assume the author was intending for us to simply believe that men want Jenny George, but I don't buy it.

While the misleading title was a bit of a disappointment (because, don't we all want to know what men want?), I did enjoy reading the book. Some funny scenes and witty banter. It was a cute story after all, although it did leave me a little empty in the end.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Lonely Polygamist"

The Lonely Polygamist

By Brady Udall

Copyright 2010

W.W Norton & Company, Inc.

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

In honor of my recent addiction to Sister Wives on TLC, I read The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall. I browsed the jacket description of this book and was fascinated...a polygamist with four wives who has, of all things, an affair. Honestly, I can't even imagine a man having enough time or energy for four women, let alone five (plus the challenges of keeping the 5th one a secret from the other four!!) It sounded hilarious and I thought I'd check it out.

So I started into the book and, frankly, I was a little disappointed. There were a lot of really sad things that had happened to the main character (a death of a child, a stillbirth, a wife who is a bit of a mental case). It didn't turn out to be quite the comedy I was expecting.

The main character, Golden Richards, lives in a somewhat typical polygamist community near Virgin, Utah (as an aside, I have a great photo of one of my husband's buddies standing in front of the Virgin, Utah, sign back when they were teenagers. This poor, teenage boy had lost a bet and had to stand in front of the "Virgin" sign and have his picture taken.....hilarious). Anyway, Golden owns three houses for his four wives and shuffles between them, always spread too thin to really do much good (I imagine this is a fairly accurately painted picture). Golden's construction business isn't doing so well, so he ends up having to take a job outside of town. And that's when the trouble begins.....just up the road a bit.....in Nevada......where prostitution is legal.

I won't spoil the story here, but suffice it to say that Golden's situation reminds me of that old story about how a lie spreads itself around and comes back to haunt you. Golden allows one little inkling of bad thoughts enter his mind. Then another slips in. Then another and another, until he isn't quite sure exactly what kind of person he really is. And those little thoughts definitely come back to haunt him in the end.

I was disappointed with the ending. It was quite sad and depressing. And it sure made me feel sorry for just about anyone who lives this kind of life (even the happy-go-lucky Brown family on Sister Wives). But generally-speaking, it was an enjoyable read. Probably a little higher ranking for someone interested in the topic, and lower ranking for someone who really thinks polygamists are quack jobs.

BOOK REVIEW: "Room"

Room
By Emma Donoghue
Copyright 2010
Little, Brown & Company
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Imagine your world is an 11x11 room and the few belongings that occupy it. That is the world of Jack in this horrifyingly stunning book by Emma Donoghue. Jack is five and has never known anyplace other than Room. He sees the outside world on TV and he knows it is just pretend.....all of it. Nothing is real to Jack other than this confined area he has lived in his whole life.

Jack's mother, known in the book only as Ma, has been held captive in Room for seven years. Two years into her ordeal she has a baby and thus begins Jack's world. He doesn't know what he is missing because he's never been anywhere else. He knows nothing other than Room, Bed, Duvet, Rug, Chair, Wardrobe and Skylight. But Jack's mother is worried. Their captor has lost his job and Ma is afraid of what will become of them if he loses his house. Jack is five and his mother knows they have to escape. She comes up with a daring plan, focused on Jack. But is he strong enough? Can he do what he needs to do to get them both to safety?

I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't go into any more details. But I will tell you that once Ma's plan is set into motion, my heart pounded for page after page as the story unfolded.

Some positive commentary on the story: The author did a great job of having Jack narrate the story from the perspective of a child who doesn't know any world other than this confined space. Jack's character has such a limited understanding of, well, everything, that there always seems to be something just a little odd about how he says things and views things. The intensity of the story is incredible. From the moment you start reading, you feel the story building to the climax, which actually comes earlier in the book than expected (for which I was grateful! My thudding heart needed a break!) And, for a change, you get to find out a little bit about what happens to the character "after" the main event.

Some negative notes: The entire topic of the book was so incredibly disturbing. An unbelievably evil man builds a shed in his back yard for the sole purpose of keeping a girl hostage. He thinks of everything and leaves her no possible means to escape. As I was reading, I had a sick little knot in my stomach just contemplating this actually happening to anyone. Horrifying does not even begin to describe it.

This was a very quick read. I can't say I enjoyed reading it, but I'm glad that I did (if that makes any sense). I feel it made me, somehow, a better person. And I truly could not put it down.

BOOK REVIEW: "Jimmy"

Jimmy

By Robert Whitlow

Copyright 2005

Westbow Press

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

I was all set to give this one four bookmarks....right up until page 371. Then it rapidly dropped down to 3.5 due to an unpleasant ending. I hate it when that happens, especially when I really did like the book!

Jimmy is a novel about a 14-year-old boy in a small town in Georgia with lower mental capacities than other children. The book documents his struggles and triumphs in a world that seems to swallow him up.

Jimmy views life around him with an innocence that goes beyond naivete. His world is black and white and those who surround him with love make sure that whatever he needs to understand is explained to him in the simplest terms possible.

But when Jimmy accidentally finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, things that are beyond his understanding become his downfall.

This was a very well-written book. The story of love between Jimmy and his step-mother, and between Jimmy and his grandfather, was incredibly heartwarming to read. The author spent a great deal of time developing Jimmy's character and, although it was simple, his soul truly shone through in the writing.

A great book.......until the last few pages.

BOOK REVIEW: "Breathing Lessons"

Breathing Lessons

By Anne Tyler

Copyright 1988

ATM, Inc., Publisher

Adult Fiction

1 Bookmark

I really hate it when I'm only a few chapters into a book and I'm already starting to feel like I really, really don't want to finish. Unfortunately, this was one of those books. Even more unfortunate, I am the type of person who usually finishes the book anyway. I continually tell myself, "this has to get better....this really has to get better". (Thus, the explanation for why I sat through the three miserable hours that was The English Patient.)

I also am continually telling myself, "There has to be some point to this," or "I can't believe I have to know how this ends." Torturous. Simply torturous.

But finally, I did finish the book. And it was soooooooooo not worth it.

Breathing Lessons is basically a commentary on a miserable married woman and the miserable relationship she has with her husband and the miserable relationship she has with just about every other person in her life. There are some moments where I'm pretty sure the author is trying to paint a "realistic picture of how women feel," but honestly, any woman who feels the way this woman is portrayed is probably on about six different kinds of anti-depressants and probably eats six chocolate bars every day just to make herself feel better. Okay, so maybe there are a lot of people like that out in the real world. But frankly, it was just depressing and miserable to read about.

The way the title character attempted to control and manipulate everyone around her was truly appalling. I know many of us (me sooo included here) have moments where we've butted into other people's lives (maybe some of which we regret), but the fact that this woman thinks she can control the outcome of everyone else's life is just......wrong.

Not a pleasant book to read. Not one bit.

BOOK REVIEW: "Moon Over Tokyo"

Moon Over Tokyo
By Siri L. Mitchell
Copyright 2007
Harvest House Publishers
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Yay! A book I liked! The main character, Allie O’Conner, lives and works in Japan. Even though she’s been there for a long time, she still feels like she doesn’t quite belong. When her only real friend in this foreign land moves away, Allie prays for a new friend. What she doesn’t expect is to run into her old high school nemesis, Erik Larsen. And what is even more unexpected, is that she finds herself (albeit reluctantly) calling him friend. Will he become more?

I won’t go into a more detailed synopsis because this is a book you ought to read yourself. But I will tell you that I really enjoyed the character development of this novel (after some of the recent books I’ve read, it was really refreshing!) The author also focused on description of the setting, really bringing Japan into view, including many unknown landmarks as well as more expected Japanese sites (including Sumo wrestlers and cherry blossoms).

I loved the flow of the story, from Allie’s torn connection to the novel she’s never quite gotten around to writing, to Allie’s trouble with finding her way around a local shopping mall, to the recurring dream Allie can’t quite wrap her head around.

Lots of symbolism, beautiful description, plus a cute story. What more could you ask for?

BOOK REVIEW: "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

A Prayer for Owen Meany
By John Irving
Copyright 1989
Modern Library, a division of Random House, Inc.
Adult Fiction
3.5 Bookmarks

I have unbelievably mixed feelings about this book. It's on that list of "100 Books Everyone Should Read", so I picked it up and gave it a whirl.

Let me give you the quick synopsis first. Imagine a young boy who is not "normal". He is small....much smaller than all the other boys his age. He has a funny voice. He thinks differently than other children. Imagine this boy surprising his baseball coach by actually hitting a ball when he is at bat. Imagine that ball sliding foul near third base and striking his best friend's mother in the head, killing her instantly. Shocking? Indeed, but maybe not quite as shocking as many incidents that follow in this obviously allegorical novel about young Owen Meany who is marching bravely forward to meet his destiny.

The story follows young Owen Meany and his best friend, John Wheelwright (who narrates the story from a point much later in life), through Christmas pageants, private school escapades, a stuffed armadillo, television commentary, an amputated finger, work at a quarry, enlistment in the army and so much more. The book is laden with story after story after story about the events that happen in Owen Meany's life (so much so that there came a point during my reading that I was beginning to wonder what the point was of there being so many side stories and incidental occurrances that didn't seem to link in to the main theme at all).

So while we're at it, let me get my negative comments out of the way. Number one, the book took simply FOREVER to read. It seemed to go on and on and on (see my comment above). There were a few times I almost gave up (and anyone who knows me knows I finish a book once I start it....but this one was close to being one of those rare instances when I didn't!) Number two, the book itself was extremely anti-war, anti-government and anti-American (certain passages left me with a very sour taste in my mouth). And number three, in my opinion, there is about a third of the book that becomes terribly repetitive and, frankly, boring; flashbacks, flash forwards, visits to an island, obsessions with newspaper stories about war, comments on the nonsexuality of the narrator (by the narrator)--it was really just too much.

Now on to the positive. There were some extremely poignant moments in this story. After John's mother is killed by that errant baseball, he says "When someone you love dies, and you're not expecting it, you don't lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time--the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers." As someone who has lost my mother, I could completely relate to this comment.

As Owen Meany grows older, although not much bigger, he begins to express his belief that everything happens for a reason, that there are no accidents, and that he is an instrument in God's hands. He lives every moment of his life believing this. And the many incidents that happen to him during that life all inspire the reader to eventually believe the same thing.

There were some really neat things in this book. I really liked the author's use of capital letters for Owen Meany's voice. It emphasized the fact that his voice was "unusual" when you would read it as such: "WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO REFER TO ME AS 'LITTLE,' AS 'DIMINUTIVE,' AS MINIATURE'? says Owen Meany. Once Owen Meany is old enough to join the Army, that is exactly what he does because that is what he believes he is supposed to do. He makes a great statement, "THE ARMY OFFERS YOU THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE--THE SAME CHOICE AS EVERYONE ELSE."

I also really liked the development of the relationships between the characters. Even the minor characters were woven in and out of the story in such a way that you could truly believe this was a true friendship, a true family and a typical community.

I won't be a complete spoiler and tell you what happens at the end, but as is typical with most allegories, you don't really need a spoiler. You really only have to read the first few pages to know how this is going to end.....it just takes an awful long time getting there. Only in the very last few pages of the book is Owen Meany's destiny fully revealed.

And to be quite honest, up until about page 632, I was planning on rating this book 2 Bookmarks. I was frustrated that it had taken so dang long to finish, that there were so many little seemingly pointless side stories, and here I was, nine pages from the end and still no "big reveal"! And then it happened. It started on page 632 and was WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MA'AM (as my mother used to say) until the last line in the book: "O God--please give him back! I shall keep asking You!" So many of the seemingly pointless stories were tied together at the end, I felt a 4 Bookmark rating would have been appropriate, but I had to knock it down a little just due to the fact that I spent so much of the time during my read HATING it!

BOOk REVIEW: "The Tenderness of Wolves"

The Tenderness of Wolves
By Stef Penney
Simon & Schuster Publishing
Copyright 2006
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

I like wolves. As far as animals go, they seem to be some of the more likeable creatures, in theory at least. Their packs are like families, all taking care of one another. They can be beautiful. And I read a book called Julie of the Wolves (by Jean Craighead George) when I was a child that lent them a romantic air, of sorts.

So when I saw the title of this book, The Tenderness of Wolves, I picked it up without even reading the summary.

The book starts out a little more gruesome than my usual fare, with a brutal murder in a small Canadian village. The neighbor who finds the body soon has more problems on her hands when she realizes her 17-year-old son has disappeared on the same day as the murder and is being considered a suspect. Mrs. Ross, who is in an unhappy marriage, believes in her son's innocence (although her husband doesn't seem to have any opinion at all). She knows she must find him, so she joins with another man, Mr. Parker, who had himself been considered a suspect in the crime. Together they head off tracking her son's trail to see what they can find.

The difficulties of their travels and the direness of their situation lends itself to the unthinkable happening as Mrs. Ross finds herself developing feelings for the wayward Mr. Parker. Throughout the book, Mrs. Ross recounts her past, the choices she's made, and the feelings she is experiencing now. She finally realizes that she is not the only one feeling the way she is feeling, although they never can say it out loud to each other.

Through finding her son, and another trail that may lead to the real murderer and clear her son's name, Mrs. Ross displays enormous amounts of bravery, a little stupidity, and a level of humanity that is hard to convey through words. The author does a great job of throwing in surprising twists and turns when you least expect it, leading the reader down one road and then another.

There is a moment in the final chapter of the book, entitled "The Sickness of Long Thinking", where Mrs. Ross realizes she must say goodbye to Mr. Parker and go back home to her husband, her son, her old life. She realizes that she will always thereafter live with The Sickness of Long Thinking, as she calls it; knowing she cannot be with the one who is her love, her lodestone, her true north. Instead, she forces herself to turn away.

I enjoyed the variety of characters, interesting storylines, backwoods adventures, and the sadness and joy related in this book. I didn't want to put it down. I would recommend this one.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Tailor's Daughter"

The Tailor's Daughter

By Janice Graham

Copyright 2006

St. Martins Press

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

I love Victorian novels and here is another one that I rather enjoyed. The Tailor's Daughter tells the story of young Veda Grenfell, the daughter of a prominent London tailor. Veda is raised, as all young women of Victorian society are, to believe she will grow up and marry a man of her class and live happily ever after. Veda's life is thrown into turmoil when she loses her hearing due to a fever at the age of 16, rendering her unmarriageable according to society standards.

Throwing herself into her family's tailoring business, Veda impresses a great many people around her and opens up some life possibilities. However, what she really wants, she cannot have. And that is a tough lesson to learn. After all, what Victorian novel would be complete without a little unrequited love?

The Tailor's Daughter is loaded with plenty of tragedy and heartache, as well as deception and intrigue, but still manages to warm the soul with love and ardor in abundance. The characters are interesting and the story does (eventually) have a somewhat happy ending, which I always appreciate. I would recommend this one if you also like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.