Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Sacré Bleu


Sacré Bleu
Christopher Moore
3.5 / 5

Published 2012

First Sentence
"On the day he was to be murdered, Vincent Van Gogh encountered a Gypsy on the cobbles outside the inn where he'd just eaten lunch."
Publisher's Description:
In his latest novel, Moore takes on the Great French Masters. A magnificent “Comedy d’Art”, Sacre Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter who joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed suicide of Vincent van Gogh.

Dear Reader,

Meh. This was an okay book, but it was mediocre Moore at best. It certainly was no Fool, much less Lamb!! I found myself only laughing out loud a handful of times while reading Sacré Bleu, compared to others in his oeuvre. I didn’t feel the same level of wit, the clever banter, the “inside jokes” that pepper Moore’s other works. Perhaps it is partly because I am not an artist, but I just didn’t connect to the story all that much. I didn’t care a whit about the characters, and I certainly wasn’t all that curious about the origins of the Color Man and his sidekick. (To be honest, I didn’t even think they HAD a backstory until about 2/3 of the way through!)

I will keep this review short, but I just couldn’t enjoy this one as much as others by Moore, and was disappointed by let-down expectations from such a usually great author. If you have a desire to read something hilarious (and irreverent!), I say pick up Lamb over Sacré Bleu, always!

Yours,
Arianna


Sacré Bleu

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Friday, February 19, 2016

TOB 2016 Progress



TOB 2016 Progress


Dear Readers,

I've been slowly cracking through the short list of Tournament of Books 2016. For those of you who are unaware of this event or know nothing of the books I speak of, please refer to this blog post to get caught up. Thanks to the 24in48 read-a-thon, I was able to plow through a few of these and have now read eleven of the final seventeen? (really sixteen but we don't know which one will make it - Irving or Tyler). I've decided to forgo reading these until the end - IF I have time. I definitely want to check out the Irving but I feel he has so many good books I have still yet to read... why should I read this one?! The same could be said with Tyler - so many other books people have raved about with her and this one isn't as beloved.

So what have I read?
5 Star ratings:
-A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - Loved this book so much. It's a tie between this and Tsar for the win.
-The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra - Another book that had me crying. I'm not sure which one I should be rooting for to win!!

4 Star ratings:
-The New World: A Novel by Chris Adrian - I just finished this one last night and it has definitely been haunting my thoughts all day today.
-Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel by Zachary Thomas Dodson - Wow, this book is beautiful. The story wasn't as pulled together as I wanted it to be but the imagination and art left me in awe.
-The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen - This was a surprise, I didn't think I would like this as much as I did. There was a lot of history and getting to see things from another perspective (I love that).

3 Star ratings:
-Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff - This wasn't a wow novel (for me). I know some people who loved this one, but it just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the second half more and maybe that could have been the problem for me.
-The Sellout by Paul Beatty - This was definitely a fun listen to, but I started to get burned out towards the end.
-The Story of my Teeth by Valeria Luiselli - What another surprise! I had no idea that I would semi-enjoy reading this. Although, enjoy might not be the right word... this novel was definitely experimental and will probably get booted early on.
-The Invaders by Karolina Waclawiak - I could relate to the characters in this book growing up in Connecticut, she captured them dead on. I didn't enjoy the ending which pushed my rating of this to the middle.

2 Star ratings:
-Ban En Banlieue by Bahnu Kapil - I felt a little dumb after this one. What am I missing? Is there something intelligent here? I didn't get it.
-Oreo by Fran Ross - Another book leaving me feeling like an idiot. The language alone while not necessarily pretentious - does go to the lengths of leaving behind those who don't have prior knowledge of all the jargon. I was not willing to work that hard for this one I suppose, sorry!

What I still need to read (maybe?):
-The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard - Meh, this one only mildly interests me.
-The Turner House by Angela Flournoy - The huge cast of characters is tiring me out and I  haven't even picked it up. Although, I've heard good things about this one.
-Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - This one was on my "to read" before the tournament but I don't have the book. To purchase or not?
-The Whites by Harry Brandt - Nope, this doesn't seem like my type of book. If I want to read another police style mystery book, I'll continue on with the Tana French series.

The two books going up against one another:
-Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving - As I said above, so many Irving... so little time.
-A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler - I'd read this if I knew it would make the sixteen...

So yeah, there you have it. Also, look for some reviews of the books I read coming up within the next month or so. I didn't decide to review them all but I did try and review as many as I could. How is your TOB reading going? Do you have any speculation as to who will win? I can't wait to get down and dirty in the discussions!

Happy Reading,
AmberBug


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tell the Wolves I'm Home


Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Carol Rifka Brunt
4 / 5

Published 2012

First Sentence
"My sister, Greta, and I were having our portrait painted by our uncle Finn that afternoon because he knew he was dying."
Publisher's Description:
In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life - someone who will help her to heal and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.

Dear Reader,

This book has been on my list for ages, and I'm not sure exactly why I picked it up when I did, but I am glad to have finally read it. It is a memorable story about a young girl's relationship with her recently deceased uncle. It takes place in the '80s and she loses him in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. So while June wrestles with her own emotions and reactions to this great loss - her uncle was one of her best friends - she must also grow through adolescence, trying to figure out who she is in relation to her family, her friends, her social life, and the greater world. All of this is complicated by the presence of her uncle's boyfriend Toby, who has been shunned by the family as Uncle Finn's murderer, having passed on the AIDS virus before anyone really knew that was a thing about which to be wary. Toby reaches out to June because they both loved her uncle in a special way, and the two form a rather unlikely (and very covert) bond. June's parents are CPAs, which keeps them extremely busy during tax season, and she is able to leave her upstate NY town regularly to visit Toby in the city, where the two share small adventures and bond over their mutual loss. But as June becomes closer and closer to Toby, she is losing her connection to her family, particularly the strong friendship she used to share with her older sister.

This story has so many complexities which make it a really beautiful one. I have heard June compared to Scout from TKAM, and it is an understandable parallel: both young girls have very narrow world views which lead them to draw simple connections in their heads to explain their environments. When their worlds are burst open, everything changes - the transition from black and white to color, essentially.

I definitely look forward to seeing more from Brunt, if this first novel is any indication!

Yours,
Arianna


Tell the Wolves I'm Home

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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Anne Frank February



Anne Frank February



Dear Reader,

Life has seriously gotten in the way, and I have been entirely remiss in mentioning my February read with the awesome eBookClassics! We decided to read The Diary of A Young Girl (which I've always been ashamed to admit I've never read) in February in honor of the diarist's passing, 71 years ago. 

I have to admit that I haven't yet started the book, because I have been swamped with 2 already-overdue library books I've been trying to get through (why do I do this to myself?!) and because my reading life has been a bit slower than usual lately. But, I am eager to get started on this book, and may simply let my fines accrue a little bit longer....

I don't yet know how this will go - perhaps I'll try to post some of my reactions to the book, or simply wait till the end to write about all of my feels. (I don't doubt there will be plenty.) 

I do also want to note that I will be reading the "definitive" edition that was released for Kindle 5 or 6 years ago - you can find your own copy here.

Well - I'm off to get started! 

Yours,
Arianna

P.S. Does this book remind anyone else of the first episode of My So-Called Life? Because I can't help but think of the scene of Angela speaking with her father in the hallway, when he asks if Anne Frank is a friend of hers from school....


Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Uprooted


Uprooted
Naomi Novik
4 / 5

Published 2015

First Sentence
"Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley."
Publisher's Description:
“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Dear Reader,

I didn't see this one coming at all. Uprooted left me constantly surprised by its twists and turns. It began like a traditional fairy tale, and so the reader is lured into thinking it is going to follow a certain prescribed path, but it kept turning away from the expected into more and more adventure. While it did read somewhat slowly at times - even in the midst of nonstop action! - overall, it was a book I just kept looking forward to returning to. I really wanted to know what happened to Agnieszka and the Wood.

Again, the beginning felt tired: a young girl who doesn't realize she is anything special is selected, despite all odds, as the Chosen One. This is something every girl her age has been preparing for their entire lives. Agnieszka is whisked away to a remote tower where she is tested...in some quite unusual ways. The reader could join in with the girl's own frustration as she worked to puzzle out exactly what was expected of her. When she does figure things out, though, in many ways it's "all wrong" - this is the first of many times that the book diverges from the reader's comfortable idea of a fairy tale. But it's a great branching off, and creates a much more enjoyable story.

It's difficult to discuss this book's specifics without giving too much away, so I'll refrain from writing too much more. I will, however, add that I did think this was a YA book until I had it in my hands. There is some rather adult content in the book, which actually bothers me because otherwise it is so PG! I suppose a creative parent could read this book to an older child (I'm imagining the audience for The Princess Bride or Stardust, say) and simply gloss over the two rather unnecessarily graphic scenes (I didn't feel as if they added anything to the story, honestly). Otherwise, it's a really magical adventure story, full of sorcery and villains (some unexpected!) and monsters and castles and nature and the strong bonds of friendship. I also loved that it was steeped in a lot of Polish fairy tale history. Definitely worth the read.

Yours,
Arianna


Uprooted

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

When the World Was Young


When the World Was Young
Elizabeth Gaffney
3.5 / 5

Published 2006

First Sentence
"The children rejoiced."
Publisher's Description:
Wally Baker is no ordinary girl. Living in her grandparents’ Brooklyn Heights brownstone, she doesn’t like dresses, needlepoint, or manners. Her love of Wonder Woman comics and ants makes her feel like a misfit—especially in the shadow of her dazzling but unstable mother, Stella.

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Gaffney’s irresistible novel captures postwar Brooklyn through Wally’s eyes, opening on V-J day, as she grows up with the rest of America. Reeling from her own unexpected wartime tragedy and navigating an increasingly fraught landscape, Wally is forced to confront painful truths about the world—its sorrows, its prejudices, its conflicts, its limitations. But Wally also finds hope and strength in the unlikeliest places.

With an unforgettable cast of characters, including the increasingly distant and distracted Stella; Loretta, the family’s black maid and Wally’s second mother; Ham, Loretta’s son, who shares Wally’s enthusiasm for ants and exploration; Rudy, Wally’s father, a naval officer, away serving in the Pacific; and Mr. Niederman, the family’s boarder, who never seems to answer Wally’s questions—and who she suspects may have something to hide—Elizabeth Gaffney crafts an immersive, beautifully realized novel about the truths that divide and the love that keeps us together.
 

Dear Reader,

I enjoyed this little diversion of a book. It was a nice, lighter read compared to a bunch of denser classics I've been working on lately. I selected this because it is one of many books I am behind on reading for Netgalley, so I am making an intentional push to get through more of my backlog! This book was published way back in August of 2014 (actually, it was first published in 2006!). So I clearly missed my window of opportunity. But I am glad I finally got around to it. It told a quaint story of a young girl growing up in just-postwar Brooklyn. She struggles to find her own path in life, haunted by the decisions made by her parents.

Wally was an enjoyable and unique character who loves bugs - something certainly unexpected for a girl in the 1940s. She was lucky enough to be able to pursue this passion, however. It was nice to see a strong female character succeeding in a STEM field, especially in that time period.

I felt that some of the characters and relationships fell a bit flat in this book; I had a hard time buying the passion that supposedly drove several of them. Everyone seemed a bit too detached, unemotional, about the love that propelled the direction of their lives.

I note that other reviewers felt that the book just lacked a certain something, and I have to agree with them there. While it had such a fantastic premise, it just didn't truly deliver anything of substance. It left me feeling unemotional, one way or another. I think this could be a great light read to take along while traveling, or to audiobook while on a long drive. There's a good story there.

Yours,
Arianna


When the World Was Young

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