Behold the Dreamers

Behold the Dreamers is a wonderful debut novel by Imbolo Mbue. It is a novel about an immigrant family from Cameroon and the rich white family they work for in NYC. Mbue captures both cultures beautifully, and we come to care deeply for the characters she has created.

This is a brilliant novel that deeply explores the immigrant dream, with all its struggles, false hopes and ultimate redemption. A great read.

Water Ghosts

Waters Ghosts by Shawna Yang Ryan is a very atmospheric little novel about a small Chinese farming town on the Sacramento River in the 1920's. Yang Ryan weaves history and myth together to paint a picture of Chinese immigrant life.

When three women arrive in town on a boat coming in from the mist, no one is sure of who they really are and how they got there. The whole novel felt like a dream. A worthwhile read.

The Friends We Keep

The Friends We Keep by Susan Mallory is a novel about three women in a small southern California town, each dealing with their own family problems; from divorce, to teen pregnancy to being unable to have a baby. They are there for each other through thick and thin.

It was a decent read, with well drawn characters, but a bit too predictable and easily forgotten.

A Tale for the Time Being

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is a brilliant novel. Nao, a sixteen year old Japanese girl writes a diary about her life and her 104 year old grandmother who is a Buddhist nun. The diary washes ashore an island in the Pacific Northwest inside a Hello Kitty lunchbox where Ruth, a writer, finds it.

The story is at times very sad and disturbing, but it is also funny, wise and tender. Both stories and characters are equally compelling. One of the best written novels I've read in years. Ozeki is a master, I couldn't put it down.

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai, author of The Inheritance of Loss, is a satire about life in a small Indian village. Sampath, a twenty year old boy unremarkable in every way, decides he is tired of his life, his family, his job, etc. He climbs a guava tree in a nearby orchard and promptly takes up residence there.

Suddenly he is seen by the town as a holy man and all manner of chaos ensues as people come from far and wide to hear his advice, and a tribe of drunken monkeys begins terrorizing the devotees. Desai captures the hilarity of the situation in pitch perfect tone, and I was laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all. A fun read.

The Power of Meow

The Power of Meow by David Michie is part of the Dalai Lama's Cat Series. Another great little story written from the point of view of HHC or His Holiness's cat as she is known. This book is filled with simple wisdom, Buddhist teachings and funny moments as HHC observes the everyday happenings in her neighborhood, has dreams of her past lives, and learns to meditate.

Profound life lessons are given here in a simple and humorous way; it's hard not to fall in love with HHC. A worthwhile read for everyone.

Yarn Harlot

Yarn Harlot, The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is a book I thought was a novel but is actually a series of essays by a very obsessed knitter. Pearl-Mcphee has a blog by the same name and these often felt like reading blog entries.

Some were very funny, others mildly amusing, all would have surely been much more enjoyable if I were actually a knitter. In fact, I felt like giving this book to all my knitting friends as they will surely get a good laugh from reading it. If you're not a knitter, this book will not make you want to start knitting anytime soon, but you might enjoy it just for the laughs.

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar

A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson is a novel I picked up because of the catchy, but somewhat misleading title. In 1923, English sisters Eva and Lizzie and friend Millicent head to Kashgar as missionaries. Eva does not feel a religious calling, but wants to write a book about her trip, and keeps this secret.

A parallel present day story finds Frieda just returning to London after months working abroad and drifting a little lost when she finds out a woman she has never heard of left all her possessions to her. The two stories do of course converge by the end.

This is a beautifully written novel, with well developed, interesting and unique characters, that pulled me into both stories equally. However, I was disappointed that there never was much riding of a bicycle by anyone, but I enjoyed the novel nonetheless.