In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell traces the history of Hawaii from the arrival of the missionaries, to the takeover of the monarchy in 1898. Much of this history was already familiar to me, yet Vowell shed new light on parts of the story. It is not an unbiased telling, and even when I agreed with her, I often felt her opinions were expressed a bit too strongly in the book. It’s an entertaining and though-provoking read that gives insight into…
State of Wonder is Ann Patchett’s best book to date. It is an incredible novel taking the reader deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle. We follow Dr Marina Singh as she journeys there in search of answers about her co-worker who has mysteriously died of a fever in the jungle, while with a team of scientific researchers that nobody has been able to locate for years. Patchett creates the world of the Amazon jungle and its inhabitants so…
Comfort & Joy by India Knight is a novel full of holiday cheer and laughs. It is a little like Bridget Jones and her extended group of family and friends during the holidays. We follow Clara Dunphy through three Christmases with the ex-husbands, in-laws, kids, parents, friends, etc. It is a book best appreciated at Christmas time. It’s full of laughs, as Knight’s writing is quite funny and entertaining. Nothing too heavy here, just some holiday cheer.
There But For The by Ali Smith is the best book about absolutely nothing that I have read in a long time. There is a thin story here, about a man at a dinner party who locks himself into the guest bedroom and doesn’t come out for months. We find out little else about his story as four people who barely know him narrate seperate sections of the book. However, the book was still thoroughly enjoyable. Smith seems to be…
Gold is the latest novel by Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee. This time Cleave takes on the world of Olympic biking, following two women who are contenders for Gold, Kate and Zoe. They are now 32 and have been racing together since they were 19. Zoe has a fierce determination to win at any cost, while Kate has sacrificed her practice many times for her family. I felt really drawn into the world of Olympic training and into the…
The Elephant Keeper is a novel by Christopher Nicholson set in eighteenth century England, about a young boy who grows up to become the caretaker of an Elephant named Jenny. It is still hard to believe how many people don’t find animals intelligent, or worthy of care and respect; this was particularly true at the time in which this novel is set. We follow young Tom Page as his life becomes inextricably linked to the Elephant in his care. He…
Five Quarters of the Orange is a novel by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat. It is set in a small village in France during the German occupation of WWII, and tells the story of a small girl and her siblings and mother who get involved with one young German soldier with tragic consequences. This novel is similar to Chocolat in its delicious descriptions of food, but it is a darker, more troubled story. Harris is a wonderful writer who pulls…
Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle by Rosalind Miles is the first of her Tristan and Isolde novels. I love stories based on the Arthurian legends, but was not familiar with Miles works until now. I found the subject matter interesting, but the writing lacking. Since there are more books to come in this series, we leave our hero and heroine quite alive and well at the end of the novel, and you would have to read the rest of…
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (A Memoir of Going Home) by Rhoda Janzen is one of the most hilarious memoirs I’ve ever read. I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about the Mennonites before reading this book, and often got them confused with the Amish. Janzen will clarify any and all misconceptions you might have by the end of the book. After being in a terrible car accident the same week her husband of 15 years leaves her for a guy…
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif, is a sweeping novel set in Egypt at the turn of the 20th century during British occupation, with a parallel story set 100 years later at the turn of the millenium. In the modern story, we meet Isabel, an American journalist who has fallen in love with an older Egyptian man, and travelled to Egypt where she becomes close friends with his sister. In a box of Isabel’s great grandmother’s personal belongings she…