Monday, June 16, 2014

Still Crying Wolff

It's a shame Tobias Wolff only wrote a few books, because his writing is fantastic.  Old School is the story of a boy in prep school who is a young aspiring writer.  With guest appearances by Robert Frost and Ayn Rand!  Wolff writes in a gritty but very poetic way - a rare combination.  He is a must read.

The Very Best Kind of Dysfunctional Family

Matt King's wife lies in a coma, and his daughters, Scottie and Alex are suddenly under his full charge.  Thus begins Kaui Hart Hemmings' The Descendants, a really good novel which captures the true messiness of families with unflinching dialogue and total resistance to tying any scene with a neat bow.  It's wonderfully caustic and immensely readable.  Can't wait to read The Possibilities, coming out soon!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Perla

Carolina De Robertis' Perla is a fascinating book that explores the life of a young Argentine woman living in Buenos Aires, as she comes to face the reality of her own family history.  Perla's father is a naval officer who was involved in the military dictatorship in which thousands of Argentinian citizens disappeared, yet she is drawn to a young man who is a journalist who reports on the disappeared, creating a significant tension in her life.  A ghostly figure appears in Perla's living room, who holds the key to Perla's understanding where she has come from.  Blending sensuality with brutality, realism and surrealism, De Robertis' has crafted an interesting tale.  However, the language was overly flowery for me and the element of the ghostly figure was a bit overdone.  Nonetheless, a good read. 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

A Trip to Turkey

A friend recently recommended Elif Shafak's The Bastard of Istanbul.  Shafak is one of the most outspoken and acclaimed Turkish female writers.  This novel focuses on the women in an Armenian American family and in a Turkish family.  While the novel deals with very serious subject matter (for which the author may have landed herself in prison in Turkey though the charges were eventually dismissed), it also is filled with wacky characters and a good dose of wit and humor.  Spanning topics from genocide, repression, tattoos, and Johnny Cash, this book weaves together both Western and Eastern storytelling and characters, and made for a very illuminating and fascinating read, and exposed me to a slice of history I knew nothing about prior to picking up this book.  I definitely look forward to reading Shafak's other novels.

The People in the Trees

Every now and then I pick up a book and literally cannot put it down.  I read Hanya Yanagihara's debut novel The People in the Trees in two days, despite it being nearly 500 pages long.  It is a tale so absorbing, fantastical, and shocking, that it captured me from the get go.  Dr. Norton Perina visits a Micronesian island where he makes a game changing discovery about a native tribe that has found a way to maintain immortality.  We learn from the very beginning that Perina has been convicted of terrible crimes, but it isn't until the end of the novel that all is revealed.  Perina, as antihero, keeps us riveted as the story unfolds though we want to look away at the same time.  Totally fascinating read - highly recommended. 

Hello again, Columbus

I recently re-read Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth, and loved it all over again.  So much wit, complicated relationships, and just great storytelling.  It is a must read!

Crying Wolff

Tobias Wolff's short story collection The Night in Question is simple in design but subtly and beautifully crafted.  Each story grabs the reader right away, due to Wolff's ability to convey a scene in a manner that is so realistic that you can imagine his characters as your own neighbors.  I'm officially a fan of Wolff, having also really enjoyed his memoir This Boy's Life.  Next, time to read Old School!

Seeking Shelter




I have had The Sheltering Sky on my "to read" list for many years.  I finally got around to reading it and found it utterly fascinating.  It tells the story of three American travelers to North Africa after WWII, and focuses on their alienation, isolation, and ultimately, despair as they navigate life in a different culture of which they have little knowledge and much naivete.  The novel takes a shocking turn at the end, highly unexpected.  Definitely a classic and well worth the read, despite somewhat of a slow start. 

Love Actually

In her unflinching and heartbreaking memoir First Comes Love, Marion Winik tackles one of the most intimate subjects - romantic love.  Winik recounts the story of falling in love with her husband Tony, a gay man.  Despite this challenge, their love is fierce, volatile, and deep.  After building a family together and having two sons, Tony passes away due to AIDS.  This book proves that love has no boundaries, and that it can be infinitely beautiful and equally devastating.  Very moving and emotional read.