Adult Archives - Page 39 of 55 - Introverted Reader

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa: Book Review

The Professor is a brilliant mathematician who suffered some brain damage in an automobile accident years ago. He can remember his entire life up until the accident, but afterwards, he only has a memory of the past 80 minutes. Luckily, his sister-in-law steps in to help care for him. She hires housekeepers to come in to his little cottage and cook his meals. Needless to say, the Professor scares off many of these women. But then The Housekeeper comes along. She's something of a specialist in difficult cases. She is patient with the Professor and introduces herself to him every morning, respects the days when he is thinking, and generally wins him over again every day. This is an elegantly-written novel. There aren't any wasted words, but it is still beautifully written. Every word seems to be chosen with care. I can't say that a lot happens in the story itself. There's no big, romantic love, no adventure, no heartbreak. But the story is beautiful too. These are characters that I learned to care about. The Professor is overwhelmed by the world and seeks solace in his orderly numbers. He obviously has a huge heart. He adores the Housekeeper's son, and really all children in general. The Housekeeper is a single mom doing the best she can and finding the time to care for and about this slightly damaged man. They are both lonely and they find each other and they form their own unique kind of family. It's a beautiful story and I loved it. Quite a bit of the book revolves around mathematics. Don't let that put you off. The Housekeeper tells the story, and she is not a mathematician. None of that is overwhelming. I wouldn't change a thing about the book, but I do have to…

The Woods by Harlan Coben: Book Review

Paul Copeland's sister disappeared into the woods of their summer camp one night twenty years ago. The bodies of two of her friends were found. She wasn't. Now, the past is surfacing and the mystery is begging to be solved. Eh. Had this been my first Coben book, I would've loved it. As it is, this is my third or fourth and the whole thing felt like familiar territory. I'm not saying that it was just another book regurgitated with a different title, or even that it was unsurprising. But enough things had happened in other books that it just felt familiar. There were lots of twists and turns, some of them surprising, and I really didn't see the very, very end coming. I feel like I should have, but I didn't. I liked Paul overall. But whenever he threw his prosecutor's badge around to intimidate people, he lost big points from me. I'm not a fan of bullies. That might be part of my problem with the book right there. I dislike bullies and they're in here. I dislike rich people throwing their money at problems and that's in here. I mostly dislike courtroom dramas and that's in here. All that was missing, or at least not as evident, in the books of his that I did really like. He mentions lots of songs in here that I want to check out. I have a feeling that this book actually has an awesome soundtrack! This would be a good Coben to start with. If you love Coben, you'll love this one. If you're like me, and you mostly just kinda like the guy, you might be a little disappointed with how familiar this feels. Reviewed November 15, 2010 Read an excerpt. Find author Harlan Coben on his website, Facebook,…

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson: Book Review

Major Ernest Pettigrew is literally reeling around his house in shock on the morning his younger brother dies. A knock comes at his door and it is the lady from the village shop--Mrs. Ali. Mrs. Ali is there to collect money for the paper boy, but she takes one look at the Major and decides that someone needs to assist him. She helps him back inside, makes him a hot cuppa, and just listens as the Major begins to work through his grief. She only leaves when she is sure that he's going to be alright. She comes to his rescue again on the morning of his brother's funeral. The Major makes it out to his car in plenty of time to drive to the funeral, even with traffic, but once he gets in the car, he just can't get going. The world starts spinning. Mrs. Ali happens by, checks on him, then convinces him to hitch a ride with her. Once the Major's thoughts stop swirling from all this loss, he starts to think about the kind woman who gave of herself to him so freely in his hour of need. They've talked books, and they've both lost their spouses. He starts to look for reasons to spend time with her, a fact that does not go unnoticed in this small English village. I absolutely adored this book! It's an easy 4.5 stars. I can't say if it was Peter Altschuler's fabulous narration, the Major's dry wit, or the unexpected relationships that made this book a gem, so it must be the whole package. The characters are just fantastic. There was so much more to the Major than I expected. I expected some sort of repressed "Right-o, carry on then" kind of bore. To paraphrase another character, the Major…

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Young Tristran Thorn (who's birth is maybe not as...aboveboard...as Victorian society would like) is desperately in love with Victoria Forester. He screws up his courage one night to ask her to kiss him or marry him or just--something! He is met with laughter. In desperation, he offers to slay dragons and bring back treasures for her, each adventure more outlandish than the last. Finally, as they see a shooting star, he offers to bring back the fallen star for her. She accepts. And so Tristran goes over the Wall for which his village is named and into Fairyland. Tristran is woefully unprepared for what he finds there, but he's an adaptable boy. Maybe suspiciously adaptable? He finds the star and sets off with her toward home and Victoria. That's right--her. In fairyland, the stars are beautiful young women. Tristran's particular star is named Yvaine, and she is unwilling to help him on his quest for true love. Other, more sinister, people are looking for her as well, and many an adventure and near-miss follow. I have loved this book since I first read it when it was a new book at my local library. I had to have my own copy, and this has to be at least the third or fourth time I've re-read it. I love the adventure and the unexpected romance, the ghosts of Stormhold, the desperate witch, the humor, the quirky inhabitants of Fairy, and the way that wishes granted rarely turn out as we expect. Tristran grows so much as a character. He goes from a shallow boy whose head is turned by a beautiful face, to a man who places others' happiness before his own. He follows Gaiman's own Instructions about offering aid or accepting help as the situation dictates and finds that things…

The Lost City of Z by David Grann: Book Review

In 1925, Percy Fawcett, a seasoned Amazonian explorer, his son and son's friend set out to find a fabulous city in the Amazon that Fawcett calls only "Z." The world had become fascinated with the expedition. Fawcett sent back a few reports, but then none of the men were ever heard from again. Over the years, many other explorers have set out to solve the mystery of the Fawcett party. All were unsuccessful. Many died. Many theories about what had happened to the men were put forward. All were eventually disproved. David Grann stumbles onto the mystery and starts researching Fawcett and the city of Z. I listened to this book and it just never grabbed me. I enjoy listening to Mark Deakins, so it wasn't his fault. It was just hard for me to keep up with everyone in the audio format. I couldn't keep up with who was in the Amazon looking for whom, which natives were good or bad, and whether I was in the past with Fawcett or in the present with Grann. I have a sneaking suspicion that my iPod skipped over a few sections but I didn't really notice because all the expeditions just blended into one big one for me. I did like the end. There was some resolution to the "lost city" part of the story, and it was surprising. I really don't have anything to add. I have a feeling that I would have liked this much more if I had actually read it. If you're interested, be sure to pick up a print copy. Read an excerpt. Find author David Grann on his website and the book's website. Buy The Lost City of Z at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent…

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff: Book Review

Wilhelmina "Willie" Upton has just returned to her hometown, having made something of a mess of her life while away at grad school in Stanford. Then her mom drops a bomb on her that has her scrambling through family history to solve a mystery. Maybe I've read too many books lately where the storyline goes back and forth between the present and the past, but this book just didn't grab me. I didn't particularly care for any character too much, except for Vi and Clarissa, and they didn't have huge roles. The whole mystery part, really almost the whole obvious point of the book, just felt forced. Why didn't Willie's mom just tell her what she wanted her to know? Okay, I kind of know the answer to that one, but still... Why didn't Lauren start at the most obvious place instead of just floundering around for 300 pages? The easy answer seemed pretty obvious from the beginning. Oh, I'm not going to say I guessed any details, or where the historical answer would lead, but as far as how far back in time to find a thread that led to answers? I figured that one out. There was some magical realism, with a ghost living in the house and the question of a monster in the lake. I get that the monster was supposed to say something about secrets all families/people have buried. The ghost was pretty cool in a mostly-benign, background kind of way, until there was just one silly thing that turned me off. I think others will probably enjoy this a little more than I did. I really have a feeling that this might have been a case of the wrong book at the wrong time. But still, this wasn't bad, it just didn't make much…

Deception Point by Dan Brown: Book Review

NASA, a hot-button topic in a contentious presidential election, has made the discovery of a lifetime in the Arctic Circle. The organization calls in civilian scientists to confirm the validity of their findings. The President is ready to announce the discovery and virtually assure his victory in the election. But then questions arise and the civilians--Rachel, Michael, Corky, and Norah--are required to brave the Arctic elements to perform one last test. That's where the adventure begins. Overall, this was a fun book with likeable characters. I really liked Rachel and Micheal, and even quirky Corky. The pace was a little bit slow for me at the beginning, but that's probably because I was expecting to get sucked into this book the way I have in other Dan Brown novels. About a third of the way in, the action finally took off and I couldn't stop reading. I noticed that the writing was a little awkward in this one. I know other people have had that complaint about Dan Brown since he burst onto the scene, but I honestly never noticed until now. The foreshadowing was very heavy-handed. "Oh, Rachel fell through the ice as a kid? That's going to fit in somewhere." It really was pretty bad. Also, I never understood why Rachel was in the Arctic in the first place. The explanation was pretty weak and I was left feeling like she was there as an excuse for the scientists to explain what was going on to us non-scientist readers through dialog. Dialog's always better for me than description, but give me a plausible reason for it. The technical explanations also verged on being too much for me. They never quite crossed that line, but, please, I'm not a weapons expert. I'm happy just knowing that a secret helicopter…

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams In English by Natasha Solomons: Book Review

Jack Rosenblum and his young family were some of the fortunate Jews who escaped Berlin before WWII started. When they disembarked in Great Britain, they were given a pamphlet entitled While you are in England: Helpful Information and Friendly Guidance for every Refugee. Mr. Rosenblum becomes obsessed with the idea of living his life according to these rules and becoming a perfect English gentleman. As time goes by, he realizes that the list is incomplete. He begins to add to it and to cross items off the list. The original list states that only English should be spoken. Mr. Rosenblum thinks that every English gentleman owns a suit that was tailored for him on Savile Row. He crosses both items off his list. Things proceed swimmingly for a few years, then Jack hits a snag. Every English gentleman must belong to a golf club. Mr. Rosenblum tries and tries and tries again to join one. No golf clubs are admitting Jews. Jack, being an eternal optimist, decides to buy a place in the country and build his own. It shouldn't be too hard. I'll admit that I was a little nervous about this book as I got a good start on it. I was really liking optimistic Jack and there seemed to be so much room for heartbreak in his story. I don't generally like heart-breaking books. There are heart-breaking moments, but the overall tone is one of hope. Much more my style. I just couldn't help but like and root for Mr. Rosenblum. I wished that he could be comfortable in his own skin and with his own identity, but I understood where he was coming from. He felt that he could only be safe if he became a proper English gentleman. He came from such a hard time…

A couple of books I “Did Not Finish”

I will usually finish any book I start, but I am slowly learning that sometimes it's better to cut my losses and move on. Here are two that I've given up on recently. The Phantom of Pemberley by Regina Jeffers Synopsis from GoodReads: Newlyweds Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet knew their first year of married life at Pemberley would present challenges, but who could have guessed they would need to solve a mysterious case and nab the murderer before he got to them. Written in the language of the era and including Austen's romantic intrigue and sardonic humor, this suspense-packed sequel to Pride and Prejudice recasts Darcy and Elizabeth as a husband and wife detective team - the Nick and Nora of England's Regency era. When inexplicable encounters and deadly accidents begin occurring at Pemberley, the locals blame the strange happenings on the Shadow Man - a spirit haunting the manor. But Darcy believes the truth is much more menacing - someone is targeting them, someone who seeks revenge on the Darcy family. The author tries a little too hard to copy Austen's "voice" and it fell very flat for me. "'Must we?' Elizabeth Darcy gave her husband an expectant look. 'I so enjoy being alone with you--away from the responsibilities of Pemberly.'" Flat yet nauseatingly sappy. Not a good combination for me. The phrases from Austen's original work that were inserted actually distracted me rather than adding to the book. It was quickly turning into a game of Spot the Original Phrasing. "Darcy took in her countenance. Hers was a face he had once described as being one of the handsomest of his acquaintance, but now he considered that compliment a slight to the woman. Her auburn hair, her fine sea-green eyes, her pale skin, her delicate features, and…

The Gunslinger Born by Stephen King: Book Review

Peter David and company retell the story found in Book Four of The Dark Tower Series, Wizard and Glass. I didn't realize this was basically a re-telling of Wizard and Glass, I just assumed it was some sort of "Further Adventures of the Gunslinger" kind of thing set when Roland was young. I had a hard time reading Wizard and Glass because I had picked up on the ending somewhere. I was a little more resigned to it here, but still, this isn't my favorite of Roland's adventures. I did like the artwork a lot. I thought it captured the moods of the characters very well, and I enjoyed scoping out each frame. I felt like this would have been hard to follow if I hadn't read the book first. It's been so long since I read it that I still had a little bit of a hard time following along. It felt like it stopped very abruptly too. Maybe the next will pick up and explain the ending a little better. That's really all I have to say. It was well worth the time I spent reading it, and I'm sure I'll get around to the rest of the series at some point. Find author Stephen King on his website. Buy The Gunslinger Born at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore, and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.