Paperback Archives - Page 16 of 27

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: Book Review

The Poisonwood Bible is about a Southern Baptist family that decides to go be missionaries in the Congo in 1960, just before the country was supposedly granted its independence from Belgium. The Prices didn't bother with language or culture training, they just took off to spread the word about Jesus. Of course they weren't prepared for what they found, so of course they got in a lot of trouble. I can't exactly put my finger on what I didn't like. I just know that it felt like it dragged on and on and on and on. I sort of expected the book to end when they finally left the village, but I still had another 150 pages to go. It could be that I never really cared much about any of the characters, although I was glad when it was Adah's turn to tell part of the story because I did like her wordplay. I gathered from the forward that the author spent time in the Congo as a child, so she is telling a story that she has some first-hand knowledge of. And I was left wondering when we in the US are ever going to learn to keep our nose out of other countries' business. We are not painted in a very flattering light in this book. All I can say is that this was not the book for me. I'm rapidly reaching the conclusion that I should stay away from Oprah's books because I don't think I've really enjoyed any of them. That being said, if you like Oprah's books, you will probably like this one also. Reviewed September 5, 2007 Let me add that I have enjoyed the other Kingsolver books that I have read. Read an excerpt. Find author Barbara Kingsolver on her website. Buy…

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…

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 Dreaming Place by Charles de Lint

Ash is a teenage girl who is angry at the world. Angry at her mom for dying and leaving her alone. Angry at her dad for refusing to take her in. And especially angry at her cousin Nina for having everything. That kind of anger inevitably draws attention. The problem is, the spirit who first noticed Ash's anger is now focused on Nina. Can Ash figure out what is going on and find it in her heart to save her cousin? This has always been one of my least favorite of de Lint's books. Much as I love his work, I'm usually disappointed in his young adult novels. I love his books for his characters and I never relate to the teens very well. I don't know if it's just me or if he truly doesn't develop them as well. In this case, Ash is a pretty typical troubled teen and Nina is a pretty typical goody-two-shoes. So maybe it is him... Anyway, there's nothing terribly new here, although it was nice to come across the first references to Cassie and Bones. The underlying hope and faith in human decency that I consider another hallmark of de Lint are also here. The world can always use more stories about forgiveness, love, and the power to change for the better, right? I wouldn't recommend this to a new de Lint reader, but fans should definitely read it. Read my review of the first book set in Newford, Dreams Underfoot. Read an excerpt. Find author Charles de Lint on his website, Twitter, and Facebook. Buy The Dreaming Place at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no…

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…

Dissolution by C. J. Sansom: Book Review

Vicar General Thomas Cromwell is sending his man, Matthew Shardlake, to investigate a brutal murder. As he brings Reformation to England, Cromwell is trying to subtly force monasteries to "voluntarily" dissolve, and the man he sent to the monastery in Scarnsea has been killed. Shardlake needs to find the killer--and try to convince the abbot to close the monastery. This was really good historical fiction. I was drawn into the story immediately. I can't claim to know much about the period, so I don't know how accurate it is. What I do know is that every time I picked this book back up, I was immediately transported to sixteenth-century England. I don't know how Sansom did it, but his descriptions left me feeling that I had just visited a cold, snowy, monastery on the coast, where the monks live a little too well and know more than they are telling. Shardlake was hugely likable. He's a jaded, acerbic, lonely, humpback lawyer who is still somewhat naive. He fervently believes in Reformation, but he can't see that the road Cromwell is taking isn't necessarily in the best interests of the country. The mystery was solid. I never had any idea what was going on until the very end. But once I found out, it all made sense and fit together. My biggest complaint? The color puce is mentioned five times in the book. Who ever says "puce?" It really stood out to me and got on my nerves. Does the fact that I counted them give that away? But that's a tiny thing to complain about. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series. I recommend this one to readers interested in Reformation England, fans of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (although I've only seen the movie),…

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand: Book Review

Seabiscuit. An American Legend. I think the only reason I even know the horse's name is because of the movie they filmed a few years ago. I'm obviously not a horse-racing fan, right? I don't even remember why I grabbed this at a library book sale. A friend here on GR must have given it a good review. But I am so glad I read this. I've gotten much better about reading non-fiction over the past six months, but I was amazed at what a page-turner this was for me. I've been reading non-fiction before bed, thinking that would be a good time to squeeze it in because I wouldn't have to worry too much about getting caught up in the story and staying up all night. Bad move with this book. I was doing the "one more chapter" thing quite a bit. It was just a perfect mix of an underdog story and excellent writing. Hillenbrand has a gift for putting you right into the action. Not knowing if Seabiscuit was going to win or lose any given race, my stomach would knot up and I would start reading faster as he came out of the gates. I was worried about injuries. I was furious with jockeys whom I thought were cheating. My heart pounded as Seabiscuit came down the home stretch and I read ahead to find out if he pulled it off this time. What the heck has happened to me?!? Where did the woman who thought "Non-fiction is boring" go? This horse and his team are truly all-American legends. It seems that we love underdog stories and Seabiscuit, owner Charles Howard, trainer Tom Smith, and jockey Red Pollard were all underdogs at some point. Reading about their struggles and triumphs and, yes, even failures, was inspiring.…

The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar: Book Review

Heather and Morag are two punkish thistle fairies on the run from Scotland. Unfortunately, in a drunken stupor, they seem to have stumbled onto a jet bound for New York. Heather and Morag try to acclimate to the huge city, along with the help of their friend Kerry and the ever-reluctant Dinny. Heather and Morag and the other fairies set about trying to improve the lives of everyone around them, because that's what good fairies do, and in the process manage to get what seems like the entire underground population of New York upset with them and each other. I was hugely enjoying myself through the first half of the book. The plot was different, there were fairies, the story was funny, and did I mention that there were fairies? But then it just got to be too much. The story turned into a farce. That's really just not my kind of thing. Everybody was mad at everybody else, except for the ones that Heather and Morag had apologized too, but then even those would get upset again, and it was just too much to keep up with. I liked the idea, it just got old. And there's this whole underlying storyline about redemption. Normally, I'm a sucker for redemption stories. But this one just wasn't really believable for me. I know, I'm talking about believable in a story in which the two main characters are fairies, but there you go. Readers who enjoy farces will probably like this one. Readers who love fairies might or might not like it, but it is a different take on fairies. Reviewed September 20, 2008 Read an excerpt. Find author Martin Millar on his website, his blog, Twitter, and Facebook. Buy The Good Fairies of New York at Malaprop’s | Better World Books…

Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint: Book Review

"Every time it rains a ghost comes walking." Dreams Underfoot introduced readers to de Lint's fictional city of Newford. Magic is on the streets of Newford if you just know where to look for it. It's usually in the most unexpected places. Man, I love the Newford books. This book started my re-read of them all in order. They aren't really a series, so I've skipped around, reading them as I find them, but I'm curious to see my favorite characters grow in a more natural progression. I really don't remember what order I read these in initially, but this was definitely one of the first. There are some true gems in here. I'm going to pull most of this review straight from my GoodReads status updates. Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair--"Jilly, Christy, Professor Dapple, Goon, and even a crow (not a Crow Girl, mind you, but a crow nevertheless)--I don't love this first story but de Lint laid one hell of a foundation for Newford here." The Stone Drum--"Liked Stone Drum, although it reminded me how curious I am about the Kelledys. I wonder if there is a book about them that I haven't read yet? Would be nice to know their backstory in full. And Goon's a skookin. I've been thinking of him as a goblin because I couldn't remember the right name." Timeskip--"Starting Timeskip! I remember it as my favorite of de Lint's stories. I hope it holds up. With an opening sentence of "Every time it rains a ghost comes walking," it is off to the perfect start....Such a perfect, bittersweet story. So important to "Geordie, me lad"'s story arc. Love. It." "Freewheeling is too sad for me. I probably shouldn't see it that way but I do." That Explains Poland--"A fun yet thoughtful story. It is…

Plant Life by Pamela Duncan: Book Review

Laurel Granger lived for her husband, Scott, then he left her for another woman. Depressed, rootless, and alone in Vegas, Laurel decides to head back home to Russell, North Carolina. Without telling her parents what happened, she moves in with them. Well, it becomes obvious that Laurel isn't going back to Vegas and she needs a job. The only place that will hire her is the plant (factory) where her mother has worked for umpteen years. Laurel isn't happy to be going to work there, but at least it's a desk job. She finds herself a part of a group of women who have been friends and helped and hated each other for years. With their help, she starts to finally heal and move on. I had never even heard of author Pamela Duncan until I saw her speak at a book festival I attended last year. I loved her. I agreed with everything she said and felt like she could be me talking. Plus, Lee Smith, who wrote one of my favorite books ever, was her teacher. I bought all three of Ms. Duncan's books, had her sign them, and actually had a delightful, short conversation with her. (Me at most signings: "How are you? My name is Jennifer. Yes, it's spelled the normal way. Thank you.") I couldn't really justify buying three books for myself, so I gave this one to my mom. She has worked in a plant for about as long as I remember. I need to ask her more about what she thought of it, but from the outside looking in, this book looked like it was spot on. My mom has spoken of the same women for years and years. They mostly love each other. Some days, they do get on each other's nerves.…