3m's Wrap Up for 2009

Over the last two years, I've read 12 books in each year that were notable. This year, my goal was only 6, but if I'd known that I was only one away from completing 12 again, I definitely would have read another one. Oh well, there's always 2010, though my goal is just 6 titles again.

Of the list below, Finn and Petropolis made my Top 20 of the year. My two least favorites on this list were Mistik Lake and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

1. Finn by Jon Clinch (2008 ALA)


2. Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (2007 CSM)


3. Mistik Lake by Martha Brook (2007 PW)


4. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junor Diaz (2007 NYT)


5. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro (2007 NYT)


6. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007 PW)


7. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti (2008 NYT)


8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009 CSM)


9. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009 NYT)


10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008 PW)


11. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2009 PW)

Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (3M's Review)

From a fearful height, a wandering light,

but does a star glitter like this, crying?

Transparent star, wandering light

your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

From a fearful height, earthly dreams are alight,

and a green star is crying.

Oh star, if you are the brother of water and light,

your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

A monstrous ship, from a fearful height,

is rushing on, spreading its wings, flying.

Green star, in beautiful poverty,

your brother, Petropolis, is dying.

Transparent spring has broken, above the black Neva’s hiss

the wax of immortality is liquefying.

Oh if you are star – your city, Petropolis,

your brother, Petropolis, is dying. 

–Osip Mandelstam

Sasha Goldberg has a hard life in Asbestos 2, a dying town in Siberia. Her father has either disappeared or left his family, her mother is very high-strung and a bit crazy, and her community is almost completely in shambles. After securing a coveted position in a prestigious art school, Sasha, too, leaves it all to become a mail order bride to an American. In America, she learns English, lives in Arizona, Chicago, and New York, and tries to find her father. In doing all this, she is also trying to find herself and come to terms with her past and her homeland.

I could say so much more about the basic plot of the book, but I always hesitate to give away too many spoilers. Sasha was a very unique character, and I enjoyed reading about her and seeing her development from a young girl to a young woman. The imagery in the book was also done very well. The descriptions of the poverty in Asbestos 2 were especially convincing, and there is a scene at the end of the book that I found particularly chilling (but fascinating). In fact, the last few pages of the book impressed me enough to raise my rating from a 4 to a 4.5. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in Russian history and/or the immigrant experience.

Anya Ulinich’s website: http://www.anyaulinich.com/

2007, 324 pp.
Rating:

Mistik Lake (3M's Review)

Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks is about a Canadian teenage girl who is trying to cope with a myriad of issues.  One of Odella’s parents struggles with alcoholism and abandons the family.  Odella, the oldest of her siblings, tries to maintain order for the rest of her household while also dealing with the typical trials of the teenage years.

While I did enjoy certain aspects of the story, particularly the discussions on the characters’ Icelandic heritage, I’m afraid this book suffers from what I call ‘everything AND the kitchen sink’ syndrome.  With themes of guilt, identity, alcoholism, abandonment, and h*mos*xu*ality — just to name a few, this book just had too much going on with the story in order for it not to feel a bit contrived.  I just really believe that young adult novels, particularly short ones, are more effective when they deal with only one or two major issues.  That is probably just a personal preference, though.  Your mileage may vary.

2007, 224 pp.

3M's Goals for 2009

I was very happy that I read 12 notable titles in 2008, but I have a lot of other perpetual challenges I'm participating in, so I'm only committing to 6 in 2009. I'll probably read more than that, but I'll stick with at least a minimum of 6.

1. Finn by Jon Clinch (2008 ALA)
2. Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (2007 CSM)
3. Mistik Lake by Martha Brook (2007 PW)
4. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junor Diaz (2007 NYT)
5. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro (2007 NYT)
6. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (2007 PW)
7. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti (2008 NYT)
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009 CSM)
9. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009 NYT)
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008 PW)
11. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2009 PW)

These are the other contenders:

• A Golden Age, by Tahmima Anam
• So Brave, Young, and Handsome, by Leif Enger
• The Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• The Likeness, by Tana French
• The Black Tower, by Louis Bayard
• When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
• Home, by Marilynne Robinson>
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery
• The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti
• The Road Home, by Rose Tremain
• Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones
• The Maytrees, by Annie Dillard
• Intuition by Allegra Goodman

Netherland - 3M's Review

Hans van den Broek and his wife Rachel are living and dealing with post-9/11 New York City. Hans is a banker and originally from the Netherlands, while Rachel is a British attorney. Rachel believes New York has become too unsafe and leaves for London, taking the couple's son with them.

With his new-found spare time, Hans spends more time playing cricket in the park and meets a Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon. Chuck has some big dreams and schemes involving the sport of cricket and brings Hans along for the ride. The question is whether Ramkissoon's dealing are on the up and up. Hans begins spending more and more time with Chuck while also travelling back and forth from London so he can see his son.

Some have compared this book to The Great Gatsby, and while it does have a little of that 'vibe,' I don't think the book really merits that comparison. The real question of the book is whether or not Hans is a reliable or an unreliable narrator. If he's reliable, I don't think I really got the point of the book. If he's unreliable, it certainly makes the novel more interesting with all the ramifications of what that might involve. I wasn't really clued in to the fact that he might be unreliable until I looked at some other reviews of the book.

Discussing and discovering the truth of the reliability of Hans' narration would really make this novel a good choice for a book group. Too bad I can't tell you more. Come back and email me if you end up reading the book, I'd like to hear your thoughts!

2008, 272 pp.
(3.5/5)

2008 Challenge Complete! (3M)

With the addition of the latest books, I'm done!

For this challenge I committed to 6 books, hoped to read 8, and ended up with 11! My favorites by far were The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Atmospheric Disturbances, Unaccustomed Earth, and Out Stealing Horses. My least favorites were Breath and On Chesil Beach.

The books I read in order of enjoyment:

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
   
3. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
5. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
6. After Dark by Murakami (I'm thinking of changing this to a '4')
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Too many deaths)
8. The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook
9. The Gathering by Anne Enright (Even though this is rated higher, it was mostly because of the writing. It's not really a book I 'enjoyed')
10. Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
    
11. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (I'm thinking of lowering this rating)
12. Breath by Tim Winton (I actually liked the first 3/4 of this)

Atmospheric Disturbances - 3M's Review

Atmospheric Disturbances
by Rivka Galchen

Starred Reviews: Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus

2008, 240 pp.


It's rare that a book gets starred reviews from all four major review publications. Was this book that good; does it really deserve that much attention? Yes, absolutely. I really, really loved it; so much, in fact, that I held off reading the last 20 pages or so for two days because I didn't want it to be over.

Psychoanalyst Leo Liebenstein thinks his wife Rema has disappeared. Not only that, but he believes she has been replaced by a simulcrum, someone who looks and acts (almost) exactly like her. Meanwhile, Harvey, one of Leo's mental patients (who believes he has the ability to control the weather) is also missing. Not buying in to the simulcrum's Rema-like performance, Leo goes to the ends of the earth to Buenos Aires and Patagonia to try to uncover the truth of what has happened to his wife.

I'll be the first to admit that although I enjoyed this book tremendously, it won't be to everyone's tastes. It's very quirky, very eccentric, but also intelligent and extremely funny. Much of what I found humorous in the novel was due to the fact that I went to Argentina in April, so I was able to get many of the inside jokes about dog poop in the streets, maté tea, Alpha Wh*re Rays, and many other references to Argentinian life. The author had been in South America for a year working on public health issues, so her writing comes from first hand experience in the region. There were, of course, also references to the (not so funny) "Disappeared."

This is Rivka Galchen's first novel, and I definitely will be anxiously awaiting whatever she comes up with next. Oh, and if her literary career doesn't work out (I have no doubt that it will), she can always fall back on her MD that she received from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

An interview with Rivka Galchen

Out Stealing Horses - 3M's Review

Per Petterson's book, which won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2007 Dublin IMPAC Award, is one to read slowly and savor. It's definitely character driven, but oh, what a beautiful read. It also gives a strong sense of place for Norway.

The story flashes back and forth several times between Trond's childhood and the present. The story starts out in the past, near the time of WWII. Certain events take place, and later, as an adult, Trond's understanding of them shifts. In the present, he lives self-sufficiently and, except for his dog, alone. He also reflects on significant events in his adult life and tries to understand his reaction to them. Everything falls a little more into place for him when two people search him out, one from the present, and one from the past.

My library has another of his books in translation, To Siberia, and if I don't read it this year, I'll definitely be picking it up in 2009.

Highly recommended.

2003, 2005 in the UK, 2007 in the USA; 250 pp.

Unaccustomed Earth - 3M's Review

Although I haven’t yet read Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize winning Interpreter of Maladies, after reading Unaccustomed Earth, I can understand why the committee was so impressed with her writing. Her stories of the Bengali immigrant experience were very well developed, and they had closure to them, something I’ve noticed is often times lacking in modern short stories. All the characters in the book have similar backgrounds — high intelligence and high potential — yet each story was unique. Each character was struggling with his or her own set of issues, most of them due to the individuals’ adjustment, or lack thereof, of living in a culture so different from their own or that of their parents.

Themes explored include family, loyalty, duty, and honor. Relationships encountered were father and daughter, husband and wife, brother and sister, roommate to roommate, and childhood friend to childhood friend. Birth, life, marriage, children, divorce, and death. These few stories covered a wide range of experiences of the Bengali immigrant living in America and illustrated well how being Bengali shaped the characters’ choices.

Highly recommended. I will definitely be reading Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake at a later date.

2008, 333 pp.
Rating:

Breath - 3M's Review

Breath by Tim Winton
2008, 218 pp.


Ugh. I thought this was about a teen boy surfing in Australia. I wanted it to be about a teen boy surfing in Australia. And it was, for about 150 pages, then it goes off into a weird and extreme area that I will not mention here. I feel ripped off because I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but then to have to be subjected to...blech.

Pikelet and Loonie are two teenage boys obsessed with surfing. They meet up with Sando, a guy in his mid 30's who coaches them in the sport and sometimes encourages them to go a little too far with it. Sando's wife, Eva, was an extreme skier but now has a blown knee. Consequently, she's bitter because her husband still gets to do what he loves and because he's not spending any time with her. Breath is about pushing everything in life to the extreme to see how far one can go.

I'm giving it 2 stars because Tim Winton is a good writer and I enjoyed all but the last fourth (which totally ruined the whole thing for me.)

Here's an example of a passage I did enjoy:

I will always remember my first wave that morning. The smells of paraffin wax and brine and peppy scrub. The way the swell rose beneath me like a body drawing in air. How the wave drew me forward and I sprang to my feet, skating with the wind of momentum in my ears. I leant across the wall of upstanding water and the board came with me as though it was part of my body and mind. The blur of spray. The billion shards of light. I remember the solitary watching figure on the beach and the flash of Loonie's smile as I flew by; I was intoxicated. And though I've lived to be an old man with my own share of happiness for all the mess I made, I still judge every joyous moment, every victory and revelation against those few seconds of living.

3M's List

Last year I participated in the NYT Most Notable Challenge and discovered some really great books. Notably (hee hee), The Road, Suite Française, and Half of a Yellow Sun, which all ended up in my top twenty of 2007. My worst book of the year, Everyman, also came from last year's NYT list.

Yay for more notable choices in 2008! I chose to read 10 books last year, but this year I'm going to commit to 6 and hope to read 8.

I'll choose at least 6 titles; these are the leading contenders:

1. The Cloud of Unknowing ***1/2 by Thomas H. Cook
2. After Dark ***1/2 by Murakami
3. On Chesil Beach *** by Ian McEwan
4. The Gathering **** by Anne Enright
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret ****1/2 by Brian Selznick
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ***1/2 by J.K. Rowling

• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
• The Maytrees by Annie Dillard

If I have time:

• The Whistling Season by Doig
• Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
• Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
• The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
• The Secret River by Kate Grenville
• The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

The Gathering (3M)

The Gathering by Anne Enright won the Booker Prize in 2007. The novel is about family relationships, grief, and memory. Veronica comes from a large family of 12 siblings (plus several stillbirths). Her closest brother Liam has just committed suicide, and as she deals with her grief about losing her brother, the event dredges up some fairly shocking childhood memories. Soon she doesn't know how she feels about either of her families -- either her childhood family or even her husband and children.

The language and scenes are shocking and graphic. The subject matter is dark and depressing. Normally, I would have predicted that I would have hated this book, and I can see why many don't like it. But, Enright's writing drew me in. Veronica's voice is so brutally honest it cut through me. Definitely not for everyone, but it's a book you think about long after you've finished it, and in my mind, that's the mark of a good one.

2007, 261 pp.
Rating: 4/5
2007 Booker Prize winner

On Chesil Beach - 3M's Review

"And what stood in their way? Their personalities and pasts, their ignorance and fear, timidity, squeamishness, lack of entitlement or experience or easy manners, then the tail end of a religious prohibition, their Englishness and class, and history itself. Nothing much at all."

Didn’t care for it. I liked Atonement only marginally better. I read On Chesil Beach because it was short and I could use it for the Novella and Notable Books challenges. I also wanted to give Ian McEwan another chance.

Edward and Florence are both novices to s*x on their wedding night, and the experience doesn’t turn out too well for them. The consequences of this event have serious repercussions for the couple, even life-changing ones. I enjoyed the back-stories of the couple, but the wedding night scene was too graphic for my taste. Really, can’t the same thing be said in a more understated, tasteful way? I realize I’m in the minority on things like this, but certain language and descriptions just really don’t do it for me. Your mileage probably varies.

2007, 203 pp.
Rating: 3/5

Originally reviewed at 1morechapter.com

After Dark - 3M's Review

I read this book for the Japanese Literature Challenge and the Notable Book Challenge. This is my first Murakami. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and even though I am only rating this a 3.5, I will definitely read more by this author. I found his writing style to be very unique.

The book covers the encounters of several “night people” on one particular evening from 11:56 pm to 6:52 am. All of the characters in the book have some interconnection. I most enjoyed the story of the two sisters, Eri and Mari. One of them can’t sleep and the other one won’t wake up. I also enjoyed the philosophical discussions between Mari and Takahashi. I didn’t really get what was going on with the TV/white noise thing, but it was interesting. Does anyone have a favorite Murakami? Although I might not get to another one of his until next year, I’d like to read more.

2004 [2007 in U.S.], 191 pp.
Rating: 3.5

Originally posted at 1morechapter.com

The Cloud of Unknowing - 3M's Review

The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook is a 2007 Publisher's Weekly Best Mystery. Cook is a favorite author of mine, so I was looking forward to reading this book.

David and Diana are brother and sister whose father had schizophrenia. Diana's son has recently drowned, and her behavior is becoming more and more erratic. She starts researching about strange ancient murders and starts suspecting her husband in their son's death. David is worried that she is starting to develop schizophrenia as well. He even begins to wonder if he should put her away for her own good. Was Diana's son murdered or was it an accident?

I was a little disappointed in this book. My two favorites of his are Breakheart Hill and the Edgar-winning The Chatham School Affair. If you've never read Cook before, I suggest you start with one of those two.

2006, 311 pp.
Rating: 3.5

Originally posted at 1morechapter.com