The Fishermen

The Fishermen Chigozie Obioma 4/5	Published 2015 First Sentence "We were fishermen:"
Publisher's Description: In a Nigerian town in the mid 1990's, four brothers encounter a madman whose mystic prophecy of violence threatens the core of their close-knit family. Told from the point of view of nine year old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, THE FISHERMEN is the story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990's Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their strict father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the ominous, forbidden nearby river, they meet a dangerous local madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of its characters and its readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, The Fishermen never leaves Akure but the story it tells has enormous universal appeal. Seen through the prism of one family's destiny, this is an essential novel about Africa with all of its contradictions-economic, political, and religious-and the epic beauty of its own culture. With this bold debut, Chigozie Obioma emerges as one of the most original new voices of modern African literature, echoing its older generation's masterful storytelling with a contemporary fearlessness and purpose.
Dear Reader, This book is not about fishermen, don't make the same mistake I did and glance at the cover and jacket copy and take it for face value. I'm not into fishing, AT ALL. I would find a book about fishing to be torture. Why did I pick this up? Because I've heard great things around the bookternet and it was sitting front & center at the local library, whispering "take me, take me". The colorful cover helps it stand out as well. This was... (dun, dun, dun) the very first book I borrowed from my new local library in Bristol, CT. Yay for libraries. Overall, a great choice because the day after I picked it, the Booker prize longlist came out and The Fishermen was on it. Not that I care about literary awards but I do like ANYTHING competition as long as I'm involved some way (MasterChef being one of my favorite shows). However, if I haven't read many on the list, I won't care at all. This year it looks like I might have an opinion on the matter, which is pretty cool. So, The Fishermen is another tragic story, so many of these this year (or at least the ones I've been reading). This one didn't resonate personally with me that much (I'm an only child - kind of - in a way - ugh, long story) and I can't relate to having such a connection with a brother/sister. The whole story is that relationship, and done REALLY well. The Author did such a great job placing you right in the middle of Nigeria in the 90's. I felt the deep connection between the brothers and the rips that started to form. The standout theme for me was destiny... the strength and power that words and beliefs can hold. Those that believe in premonitions and destiny, sometimes can make it come true. Think of how you can feel a little sick, or your partner gets sick... some people can WILL themselves into believing they will get sick too. I'm sorry, what a ramble. I just don't want to talk about the plot too much without giving anything away. My final word on this one... read it. This will be unique enough to feel fresh, compelling enough to feel quick and diverse enough to feel cultured. I can see why this was included on the Booker longlist but I will be cheering for "A Little Life" for the win. The Fishermen has all the right stuff to be a great contender and I hope the inclusion of it within the longlist will cause more people to pick this one up. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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The Night Circus

The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern 4 / 5	Published 2011 First Sentence "The circus arrives without warning."
Publisher's Description: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway--a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per-formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Dear Reader, I was so incredibly (and surprisingly!) enchanted by this book. I have to laugh at myself, because I would never have actually picked the book up - I wasn't originally interested in the content, and too many of my friends (and trusted book sources) gave it terrible reviews! But I ended up reading it anyway because I made a silly mistake. I decided that I wanted a little more structure to my reading, and so I decided to tackle a list that looked manageable: the Book Riot Readers’ Top 50 Novels on Goodreads! Now...I should have looked more closely. I didn’t realize that some of the books on the list only had ONE or TWO votes!! Whoops! I guess I should have known better when a lot of more excellent books than those on the list didn’t make the cut, but I think I was so encouraged by my being very close to finishing the book list - I felt like it was such an attainable goal! As it is, I only have 6 left on that list to finish, so I still may work towards it. Besides, I am so glad that I did pick this one up. I was so thoroughly charmed by it! I understand why there are entire wikis devoted to the novel, and a huge fanbase out there.  Morgenstern truly draws you into the world of Le Cirque des Reves: you can see and smell and taste and feel everything that she describes, and you feel as if you are a visitor, yourself! I wanted to be there alongside the characters, experiencing the same magic. While I wasn’t as drawn in by the personalities or even the plotline, I did love the circus itself - perhaps as a character unto itself. Which was the entire reason the book won me over. As it did for many others, the main love story feel kind of flat for me, but no matter.  The competition that the entire plot hinged upon? Not really all that interesting or intriguing to me. So I am not certain what it was that kept me coming back. Or what made me love the book so. Perhaps I was simply, literally enchanted by it! I think my favorite people were the Reveurs, those who like me were drawn by the siren call of the circus. The black, white, and red magic of it all.  Like I said, though, don’t read it for the story. There really isn’t much of one! I think the period was written really well, and I think I loved all of the scenes which were described in such rich detail: dinner parties, individual circus tents, tearooms, workshops. Victorian England and turn-of-the-century New England. Swirls of color and whiffs of scent are what my mind truly recall of the book. Perhaps with a strong story, this would have been a 5-star book for me. As it was, I am still glad I mistakenly “coerced myself” into reading it! Best, Arianna P.S. I almost forgot to mention that it was read by Jim Dale, who also read a favorite audiobook of mine, The Boy with the Cuckoo Clock Heart. Perhaps that was originally what kept me reading! I adore his reading voice.

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