Wednesday=Book Review Time--What's in a name?

Up for today: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri

Why I bought it? I had heard some good things from online friends about Jhumpa Lahiri's writing and figured that since she had won the pulitzer prize for her collection of short stories she'd be a good bet. I wanted to read a novel rather than a collection of short stories that's why I chose The Namesake. I picked it up in paperback at the Barnes and Noble the last time I was in there.

Synopsis: It tells a story that crosses 3 generations of an Indian family. An arranged marriage. Moving to America. Tragedies. Triumphs. Trying to assimilate and retain their own traditions. As the story progresses the focus turns to Gogol Ganguli. The young son of immigrant parents and the process that brought him his name and how it affected him throughout his life. In school. In work. In his love life.

What I thought? The writing is phenomenal. Lahiri did an amazing job of showing the immigrant experience. I felt like I was right there glimpsing into the souls of the characters. In a lot of ways it was like a novel length short story. It circles around the idea of identity and how our names influence our actions and personalities. I almost didn't review this book this week because I was so upset and annoyed by parts of what happens. I couldn't figure out what rating I would give it. On one hand, I loved it. On the other hand, I hated it. I thought that I would just review the other book I read this week and be done with it, but last night I picked up my latest Reader's Digest, and there was an article about the new trends of picking baby names. It reminded me of a scene in the book and made me rethink avoiding this review. Obviously Lahiri is doing something right if she has me so up in arms over what is going on with her characters. I keep telling myself that it is not real. That these are fictional characters.

My Rating: **** out of 5 stars--it's what I've settled on for now. You can't know how that score has gone up and down. Maybe I should do like Natalie and quit giving number ratings. 

Cleanness Score: 7 out of 10, This was a much easier score to come up with. There wasn't much language, but there is some recreational drug use and several sexual encounters. They were not told in an erotic way, but they are there.  Those are the main reason for the score. Just so you know.

Rediscovering things I love

Last night my 14 year old daughter and I hung out around the piano singing while I played. This used to be one of my favorite things to do, but I haven't done it in a long time. It's almost as if I forgot how much I love it. How do I do that? I suppose I get caught up in other things and push those old joys aside for new ones or things that just have to get done. Does this happen to you guys?

Being on the cusp of summer with the stress of school dissipating, plus not having to be quiet after 8 PM, the desire to sing and play hit me. How wonderful it was to be able to share it with my daughter. I think we're going to be doing it a lot this summer. She had a great time. I'm going to need to practice. She especially loves show tunes, and I haven't done a lot of those in the past.

What are some of your old loves that you would enjoy resurrecting? 

Setbacks and leaps forward

Yesterday, I had a bit of a setback for me. I started questioning my abilities and threw myself quite a pity party. Then, I took a deep breath, put everything else aside, and focused on one of the things that wasn't working in my story. I hadn't made any progress with it in over a month and to tell the truth, I was kind of avoiding working on it. Skipping it and working on other stuff. 

Well, yesterday I decided that I had to work on that. I think I was trying to prove something to myself. That I can write. That I am capable. That I am doing the right thing by spending all this time writing. And guess what? I really moved forward. I made it work and more. My brain cleared, and I made real progress. It was as if someone told me I couldn't, and I got my back up and said, "Yes, I can," and set out to prove it. 

Do you find that happening to you sometimes?

Wednesday=Book Review Time--An aftermath

Up for today: THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold

Why I bought it? I had heard so many good things about it from friends and online. One day trawling for books I noticed it on the shelf and snagged it. It sat on my TBR pile for a long time before I actually felt I was up for reading it. I wish I'd read it sooner.

Synopsis: Susie Salmon is 14 when she is raped and murdered. (This happens in chapter 1, so I'm not spoiling the suspense.) She narrates from heaven the story of what happens after her death. The impact it has on her family. The investigation into what happened to her. The rumors among the kids at school. The killer's cover-up. And so much more.

What I thought? It was so well written and engrossing that I couldn't put it down. The uniqueness of Sebold's voice is compelling. I have never read anything like it before. The main character is dead by the end of the second sentence. Whatever your personal vision of heaven, you can enjoy Sebold's take on it in this novel--with roommates and counselors, etc. I was surprised at how uplifting it was. There were times of horror and grief as you would expect, but there were also moments of healing and transcendence and more hope than you would think possible. I loved it.

My rating: ***** out of 5

Cleanness Score: 7 out of 10, The first chapter is where most of this score comes from. The rape/murder is honest and horrifying--quite disturbing, but by the end of the first chapter (which is not very long) it is over and the rest of the book has a certain distance from it. There is some language, but not tons. It's not the sort of thing I would recommend to a teen without their parents' permission. It is a book written for adults. A lot of teens have read and loved it though. If you are concerned about letting your teen read it, read the first chapter and see. It doesn't get any worse than that.

A poem

I just thought I might share one of the family portrait poems I've done. Some of you may have seen this before, but some of you may not. Have a great weekend everyone.

worn

 

She looked faded,

like a comfortable old pair of jeans.

 

There was no vigor

in her halting marionette-like walk,

and her bosom hung emptily

on a rounded belly.

 

The right hand,

poised for its habitual cigarette,

shook from the awkward absence.

 

A fluff of whitened auburn

framed her sagging face

powdered with

expanded flecks of rust.

 

Her weary eyes hid

like saphires

in the folds of her face.

Wednesday=Book Review Time--Julie

Up for today:  HOME by Julie Andrews

Why I bought it? It this month's read for my book club. (It just came out in paperback in May.)

Synopsis:  It is a memoir of Julie Andrews' early years. She tells some of her family's history and goes through how she got started in show business.

What I thought? At the beginning I was worried that I wasn't going to like it. There were a lot of vignettes and disjointed facts that didn't really flow, but as the book got going it was very interesting. I'm a big fan of Julie Andrews, and so I was intrigued by the subject matter, and that helped a lot. There are a lot of great details. I enjoyed the sound of her voice too. She has lived an amazing life with lots of ups and downs. It's very open an honest. She was lucky in a lot of ways, but I loved the fact that she rose above her past and really made her own luck. 

My rating: **** out of 5

Cleanness Score: 4 out of 10, a little language and some adult situations

Where does the path lead?

Those of you who've been around a while may remember the family trip we took last fall picking apples. We went up to that lovely spot in Virginia again. No apples this time. Just hay in the fields next to the orchard. A path had been mowed through the hay so we could have our weenie roast, etc. It was a gorgeous day with lots of good company and music.

Here I was arriving at the picnic site and looked back up the path we had just come. At one end of the path was food at the other a gorgeous homage to the day.

In photography a path is nice to have. It visually leads the viewer into the picture and emphasizes your subject. The path in this picture leads to the clouds. As you know I love clouds. They can really make the shot.

In writing we lead the reader down figurative and sometimes literal paths. What we put at the end of those paths can make it worth the readers while or leave them frustrated. A book I read last summer drove me absolutely crazy, because it kept leading me down pathways that left me unfulfilled. I kept thinking that when I got to the end of the novel that everything would come together and all those winding paths would make sense. They didn't, and I felt betrayed. That made me not want to read the author's work again, but I'm sure I will give her another chance eventually.

Do your paths all lead someplace essential for your story?