Trans-Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian is a novel about a woman, Allison, who falls in love with a man, Dana, only to find out he's preparing to have a sex change operation and become the woman he always felt he was.
The novel takes very ordinary people and puts them in this situation to challenge our ideas and stereotypes about trans-sexuals. Bohjalian does a good job of presenting the story with compassion, and perhaps more surgical details than the reader might need to know.
It's a fascinating look at how a small community in Vermont reacts to having a trans-sexual in their midst. People tend to fear what they don't understand, and Bohjalian has written an honest, thought-provoking novel hopefully dispelling some of those fears.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Purple Hibiscus
Purple Hibiscus is a powerful debut novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. Set in Nigeria, the novel tells the story of 15 year old Kambili and her brother Jaja, growing up in fear of their strictly religious father.
He is a rich and powerful man and Kambili wants nothing more than to please him. She has no thoughts of her own that are not dictated by her father. When she visits her aunt and cousins, she gets her first taste of freedom and begins to question the narrow confines of her life.
It is a brutally powerful coming of age story, wonderfully told against the background of Nigeria's military coup. This is a book that will linger long after the last page has been read.
He is a rich and powerful man and Kambili wants nothing more than to please him. She has no thoughts of her own that are not dictated by her father. When she visits her aunt and cousins, she gets her first taste of freedom and begins to question the narrow confines of her life.
It is a brutally powerful coming of age story, wonderfully told against the background of Nigeria's military coup. This is a book that will linger long after the last page has been read.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Without Reservations
Without Reservations, the Travels of an Independent Woman is a travelogue/memoir by Alice Steinbach. Steinbach had been working for years as a journalist, and in her 50's, divorced and with two grown boys, decides to take a year off to travel and live in Europe. She starts in Paris, then moves on to England and Italy.
Although Steinbach calls this "The Year of Living Dangerously" there is nothing too adventurous here. She has spent time in all these places before, even lived in some. However, her book describes an adventure to rediscover herself; the adventurous independent woman she was before marriage, career, and children had thrown her into a daily predictable routine.
I enjoyed reading Steinbach's musings as she would wander Paris streets, often falling into hidden little bookstores for an afternoon. She writes postcards that she sends home to herself throughout her journey and these become an important part of her book. She meets some interesting people along the way and relaxes more into herself by the end of the journey.
Nothing extraordinary here, but an enjoyable read.
Although Steinbach calls this "The Year of Living Dangerously" there is nothing too adventurous here. She has spent time in all these places before, even lived in some. However, her book describes an adventure to rediscover herself; the adventurous independent woman she was before marriage, career, and children had thrown her into a daily predictable routine.
I enjoyed reading Steinbach's musings as she would wander Paris streets, often falling into hidden little bookstores for an afternoon. She writes postcards that she sends home to herself throughout her journey and these become an important part of her book. She meets some interesting people along the way and relaxes more into herself by the end of the journey.
Nothing extraordinary here, but an enjoyable read.
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Forever Girl
Alexander McCall Smith must be the most prolific writer alive, he seems to pop out a new book every few months.
One of his latest, The Forever Girl, is set in the Cayman Islands, then Scotland, England, Austalia, and Singapore; we get a look into the lives of wealthy expats raising their children in exotic locations. The story centers around Clover and her lifelong love for James, a boy she grew up with, but never dated.
Although different from his previous books, the novel is full of McCall Smith's usual charm, wit and humor. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
One of his latest, The Forever Girl, is set in the Cayman Islands, then Scotland, England, Austalia, and Singapore; we get a look into the lives of wealthy expats raising their children in exotic locations. The story centers around Clover and her lifelong love for James, a boy she grew up with, but never dated.
Although different from his previous books, the novel is full of McCall Smith's usual charm, wit and humor. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The Mermaid Garden
The Mermaid Garden by Santa Montefiore is written in two narratives, one set in Tuscany and the other in a small coastal village in England. For most of the novel, the reader is wondering how these two stories relate to each other.
The setting is beautiful, the characters interesting, the writing is good, and I was enjoying the story and the mystery, all the way until the end of the book.
Montefiore ruined her own wonderful tale by giving it such a happily ever after ending. I am in no way opposed to happy endings, but this was all a bit too cliche.
An enjoyable, yet forgettable read.
The setting is beautiful, the characters interesting, the writing is good, and I was enjoying the story and the mystery, all the way until the end of the book.
Montefiore ruined her own wonderful tale by giving it such a happily ever after ending. I am in no way opposed to happy endings, but this was all a bit too cliche.
An enjoyable, yet forgettable read.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Center of Everything
The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty is a wonderful novel that I didnt want to end. Evelyn Bucknow is a young girl growing up in Kansas, without many opportunities, but with a lot of courage, wit and honesty.
She is caught between her very religious grandmother, who she loves dearly, and her science teacher, who she greatly admitres. She navigates her own way through adolescence, as her young mother is at home with her developmentally delayed baby brother and her father is long gone.
Moriarty is a great writer, she paints a very believable picture of this small community and I cared deeply for Evelyn, wanting to know what would happen to her even after the book ended. A great read.
She is caught between her very religious grandmother, who she loves dearly, and her science teacher, who she greatly admitres. She navigates her own way through adolescence, as her young mother is at home with her developmentally delayed baby brother and her father is long gone.
Moriarty is a great writer, she paints a very believable picture of this small community and I cared deeply for Evelyn, wanting to know what would happen to her even after the book ended. A great read.
Friday, May 9, 2014
When the Emperor was Divine
When the Emperor was Divine is a sparse, elegant little novel by Julie Otsuka that packs a big emotional punch. Otsuka tells of one Japanese family from Berkeley, Ca that is relocated during WWII.
Otsuka's writing is flawless. She evokes the feelings and experiences of the family as they move through the night by train to their internment camp in the Utah desert where they spend the next 3 1/2 years.
Through simple details and images the broader picture unfolds, and we are given a first hand experience of what it must have been like for this family to be uprooted from their lives and return again, only to find all their possessions gone and their old friends avoiding them.
A beautiful book about a shameful period in our history.
Otsuka's writing is flawless. She evokes the feelings and experiences of the family as they move through the night by train to their internment camp in the Utah desert where they spend the next 3 1/2 years.
Through simple details and images the broader picture unfolds, and we are given a first hand experience of what it must have been like for this family to be uprooted from their lives and return again, only to find all their possessions gone and their old friends avoiding them.
A beautiful book about a shameful period in our history.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Night of Many Dreams
Night of Many Dreams by Gail Tsukiyama is about two Chinese sisters growing up in Hong Kong during WWII. During the Japanese occupation they move to Macao, then return to Hong Kong after the war. Emma continually dreams of traveling to far away places, while beautiful Joan expects to get married and enter into high society. While things don't work out exactly as planned, they always have their family to return to.
Tsukiyama is one of my favorite writes, I loved The Samurai's Garden, Women of the Silk, and others. While I enjoyed this novel, I didn't feel it is one of her best. Big periods of the girls lives were left out and not enough detail was given to fill in their stories. Other characters were hardly described at all. Sometimes it felt more like an outline of a book than a novel. A good story, but not full of the usual richness of Tsukiyama's novels that I have come to expect.
Tsukiyama is one of my favorite writes, I loved The Samurai's Garden, Women of the Silk, and others. While I enjoyed this novel, I didn't feel it is one of her best. Big periods of the girls lives were left out and not enough detail was given to fill in their stories. Other characters were hardly described at all. Sometimes it felt more like an outline of a book than a novel. A good story, but not full of the usual richness of Tsukiyama's novels that I have come to expect.
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