The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first I knew about it (that I remember) was from seeing a trailer for the movie. Naturally I thought, Well I should read the book before I go ahead a order the movie. And I did just that. But the movie trailer gave me a very different impression of the book.

First of all, this book is slow. There is something about Lahiri's writing that feels very measured and controlled and deliberate. Because of that, the book feels very slow-paced. The story, for me, didn't really pick up until after Gogol's father died. And even then Lahiri put on the breaks quickly thereafter. The emotional highs and lows of the book feel very restrained. It feels as though Lahiri puts a vast distance between herself and her writing.

Gogol's parents didn't seem all that upset by his and his sister's "American" life choices. And when they were, it felt a little out of place, because they had so encouraged their children to assimilate, even celebrating Christmas. I thought there would have been stronger conflict.

All in all, I wasn't too impressed by this book. I didn't find anything too remarkable about it. It is telling of first generation Americans and their relationship to their parents and the conflict of cultures, but, for me, it just didn't push far enough, didn't go deep enough emotionally. It left me feeling pretty lukewarm.

Memoirs of a Geisha

by Arthur Golden

This is a wonderful book! I absolutely loved reading "Memoirs of a Geisha," I couldn't put it down!

What a I especially love about "Memoirs" is that it reads like a culture-study. The books is extremely well researched, without feeling tedious, and authentic. Golden immediately emerges the reader in Japanese culture, and it only gets better from there. Everything about this book is enrapturing. It is a wonderful complex story to get lost in.

Sayuri's life was such a captivating mixture of tragedy and elation. Well, elation may be a bit strong a word. After being sold from her family, Chiyo/Sayuri endured torture at the hands of Hatsumomo and looked as if life would end with her being a maid forever. But through unexpected turns of good luck, Sayuri manages to become a geisha. There is something innately alluring about the mention of "geisha." They're exotic and exquisite and reading about one was like taking a peek into some kind of exclusive, elite world. (Though now I would like to read a book from the perspective of a wife and a maid at the time and see how much they enjoyed their lives compared to Sayuri.)

Frankly, I didn't care too much for the love-story aspect of the book. I thought Sayuri's initial reaction to the Chairman was like a schoolgirl crush on the knight-in-shining-armor/pseudo father figure. It seemed a little ridiculous how obsessed with him she became. I suppose that's why the New York Times referred to the romance as "Dickensian."

Sadly, I found the last few chapters to be a disappointment. I cannot believe what Sayuri wanted to do to Nobu after he showed her so much kindness and truly she owed him her life. Then she unexpectedly learns that the Chairman has been the driving force and savior of her life ever since she first met him, without her knowledge, and now the can live happily ever after because he's been secretly in love with her too? Please. That was much too neat and tidy and unrealistically convenient. It felt like a cop-out. Sayuri absolutely deserved a happy ending, but not the way Golden crafted it. The plot and the whole atmosphere of the book was so well executed up to that point, it was like letting air out of a balloon.

That's the other thing I really liked about the book: it's poetry. The story is full of beautiful metaphors, which felt like a very Japanese touch, to me. Also I liked the way it did read like a true dictation of a geisha's life.

I know the book looks long, but it is well worth the effort, and once you're in it, reading it won't feel like effort.

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen

I really enjoyed this book. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.

The world of the train circus Gruen creates is thoroughly fascinating and engrossing. It was like reading about a foreign country, a totally unfamiliar culture, complete with exotic animals. "Water for Elephants" is a really well thought out and well-crafted story that reels you in right from the onset.

Each character Gruen created feels genuine and believable. I bought into every situation and reaction. It's a book I didn't want to put down!

I only have two small issues with the book: It took Jacob too long to figure out Rosie only understood Polish. And I don't understand why Jacob carried around so much guilt for such a long time. What happened wasn't his fault; really it wasn't anyone's fault. Though he did explain that elephant executions were common at the time. Still, I think he could have told Marlena and nothing would have changed between them. His guilt was important to the story, but in relation to what happened and to his life, I think it was unnecessary. I was expecting him to be holding some horrible secret, and really it wasn't that awful.

Jacob gets a hard-knock education in life and love during his three months with the Benzini Brother's Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Initially I had my doubts about his abilities to survive, but he quickly integrates himself into circus life and endears himself to many through his charm, hard work, and open heart.

I can see why it was chosen to be developed into a movie. It is vivid and expansive and, I think, easily lends itself to film.

"Water for Elephants" is for any reader looking for an enthralling story, complete with star-struck love, deception, suffering of all varieties, and in the midst of all that, a circus! Gruen wrote a remarkable story that deserves to be read again and again.

Bossypants

by Tina Fey

I have an infinite amount of respect for Tina Fey. She is one of the greatest female role models in the media today. I love that she has had so much success in the male-dominated comedy world, as a writer and actor. She is fearless, or at least manages to quell her fear enough to go for what she wants. And what makes her a great comedy writer and actor (and this goes for women like Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig as well) is she isn't afraid to look foolish or goofy or downright unattractive at times. She makes comedy look as it should: FUN!

"Bossypants" is a great read. It's a little formulaic when it comes to famous people writing books: childhood stories, lists of positives and negatives, funny pearls of wisdom, commentary on her current situation in life. But "Bossypants" is well worth reading. There are times when I find a kindred spirit in Tina Fey.

Fey has some truly classic anticdotes (I particularly love the one about her first appointment to the gynocologist!). I think it's interesting to see where she came from and how she grew up. And she commits to her stories. She doesn't gloss over the awkward or unfortunate, she owns it.

The chapter "Dear Internet" is a very clear example of why Tina Fey kicks ass. And I'm not saying that because I am and she is a woman. If Craig Ferguson had to answer those kinds of idiotic emails, I'm sure I'd find his responses just as hilarious and awesome. Though, being a man, I doubt Ferguson would have as many sent to him. Fey's responses are snarky and biting and smart. I admire how she is so unapologetic and really owns who she is and what she does.

"Do your thing and don't care if they like it."

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by Judith Viorst

I've always liked this book but felt there was something slightly upsetting about it. Now it's all been explained to me. Also I thought the mother was not sympathetic enough about the little personal disasters going on throughout Alexander's day. But I suppose the moral really is: Suck it up; that's life.

Five Quarters of the Orange

by Joanne Harris













I fell into a book-funk and got wrapped up in other things, but I've managed to pull myself out.

I really enjoy reading Joanne Harris's books. She isn't one of my favorite writers, her writing lacks a certain poetic polish and those great moments when you as a reader realize that someone has seen the world the way you see it or has felt the exact same way you have felt, but she creates some truly great stories. Though there are a few similarities between "Five Quarters of the Orange," "Chocolat," and "The Girl With No Shadow," "Five Quarters of the Orange" is a very different book. There isn't much that's magical, and it has a much more somber quality.

This book combines two of my favorite subjects to read about: food and WWII. And in "Five Quarters of the Orange" she also throws in a sense of unfolding mystery. There is an interesting commentary on the innocence and naivety of children, and how games can turn so horribly wrong before the child's mind can fully catch on. It's sad, really. There is a lot of guilt in this book. It can be difficult to read. Mirabelle Dartigen probably never should have had children in the first place, and her bad spells certainly didn't help matters. And really, you can't fault Cassis or Riene-Claude or Framboise for their foolishness; they were growing up in the middle of occupied France with no father and a disturbed mother.

Harris creates a curious story which unfolds nicely, reaching far into the suppressed past. I like it. Though all the guilt weighs heavy on you when you read it; it can be hard to shake off. But a really good story to read nonetheless.

Angela's Ashes

by Frank McCourt

This is another book I've read multiple times, and I still think it's great. And Lent somehow seems like a fitting time to be reading this book. Although I'm not sure the people in this book would appreciate that opinion.

I remember when it first came out it was something of a phenomenon.

The reader is instantly absorbed into Frank's childhood world. He sets the mood brilliantly right from the start, with a few of my favorite lines:

When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

And 'miserable' is certainly the word I would use to describe his childhood alright. About 2/3 of the way through the book I found myself thinking, Enough. This can't be real. This is beyond the beyonds. And I'm often suspect of memoirs. They're not "truth" strictly speaking. I wonder if Frank condensed some of his memories to make the book move faster or to make certain scenarios more interesting to the reader. Or that really his how Frank remembered his childhood. Either way, it's fascinating. And I don't think it's out of a sense of schadenfreude. To me, Frank's childhood is completely foreign, which makes it so interesting. I can not, and frankly do not want to imagine a life without bathrooms, a life of chamberpots and one outdoor lavatory per lane.

Stylistically, sometimes the grammar bothers me. I know it's largely dialectal, the leaving out of verbs, but there's occasional verb confusion in paragraphs and other minor things. It's charming at first, but towards the end it starts to wear on you.

"Angela's Ashes" is a completely engaging read. It's not everyone's cup of tea though. Some people find it just too depressing. I don't think it was meant to be, it's just as honest as a memoir can be. It is sad and painful but has it's humorous moments. Somehow life doesn't seem quite so terrible when told through the eyes of a child. But as Frank gets older, right around 13 or 14, Frank really starts to grow up and you begin to see Limerick in a harsher light.

On another note, I remember trying to read "'Tis" and thinking it wasn't nearly as good as "Angela's Ashes." Maybe one does of McCourt's style is enough.