Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: Reading 1 Comment »
Ayla, a five-year old Cro-Magnon girl is the sole survivor of an earthquake that destroys her family’s camp – leaving her homeless, orphaned, and nearing starvation. Only discovery by a band of Neanderthal nomads who call themselves “the Clan” saves her life, when at the urging of Iza, their medicine woman, they adopt her as one of their own. But of course Ayla is not like the Clan, and the differences, both physical and cognitive, will have devastating consequences.
Having heard of the Clan of the Cave Bear series from many friends over the years, I always intended to read the books but only got around to it in the last year, having heard a sixth book was being published. I love historical fiction – well researched, meticulous historical fiction – and in that regard Clan of the Cave Bear did not disappoint. While more recent archaeological evidence suggests the portrayal of the Clan may not be entirely accurate (they may in fact have been able to speak, for example) this was discovered after the original publication in 1980.
While I greatly enjoyed reading it and have gone on to read books 2 and 3, with plans to finish the series, I also did not love it as so many do. Perhaps, as so often happens, it was ruined a bit by years and years of people telling me it was the best book ever. That’s hard to live up to.
I found the violence and mating descriptions overly repetitive, to the point that they were almost embarrassing to read.They just didn’t seem to fit, as if forced into the narrative somewhat. It’s hard to explain; any readers out there agree with me? I also have very little time for any theory of genetic memory, so the idea of the Clan having a shared, prehistoric memory turned me off a little. I can stretch my imagination quite far if you can convince me even a little bit that something is possible. If I believe it is impossible, you are out of luck.
Still, as someone who loves history, and was recently fascinated by the chance to visit prehistoric hominid sites in Africa, I was thrilled to find a novel that focused on pre-homo-sapien humans, and treated them as people, not animals, not merely half-humans.
If you love a historical saga as much as I do, you really should check this out. And if you are a biology grad who is sticky about genetics, just glaze over the shared memory bit, and remember that it is fiction, after all.
Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (Nov 1 1984)
ISBN-10: 0553250426
ISBN-13: 978-0553250428
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
Posted: February 18, 2012 Filed under: Review | Tags: book club, classic, disappointing, review, TBR list Leave a comment »
Working as a governess to teach and raise the spoiled rich children of England’s upper class, Agnes Grey discovers what it means to be invisible. Unappreciated and unacknowledged by those she works for and among, she struggles to hold onto her morals and her sense of self.
Her father’s dreams and impractical business plans slowly lead her family to financial ruin, so at the age of nineteen, Agnes begs to be allowed to take a position as a governess and earn her own keep. Filled with dreams of inspiring young minds and earning the love and devotion of the children entrusted to her, she soon discovers that her lack of social status leads to a lonely and empty life among the higher class families who employ her.
The novel is highly autobiographical, and at least one incident was later admitted by Charlotte Brontë as taken directly from Anne’s experiences as a governess.
As a huge fan of the work of the other Brontë sisters, most notably Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, I had hoped another Brontë novel would prove as darkly gothic as the others – in this I was disappointed. Had I done any advance research, I may have discovered that Agnes Grey was described by the critic George Moore as having “all the qualities of Jane Austen.” I am not an Austen fan. I could have been warned.
While there is nothing specifically wrong with Agnes Grey, it is a classic example of the moralising Victorian novel, and as such while well written and interesting (enough that I read it on one sitting), it was not particularly exciting (I read it while flying, and had nothing else to distract me).
Paperback: 248 pages
First Published: Thomas Cautlby Newby, December 1847
Current Edition: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-10: 0192834789
ISBN-13: 978-0192834782
The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Review | Tags: Atlantic Canada, books on film, CanLit, funny, review, TBR list Leave a comment »Coming of age is difficult for anyone, but more especially so for Draper Doyle Ryan, whose recently deceased father keeps appearing in the house, yard, and local hockey rink, and whose family has produced such an overwhelming number of priests, nuns and martyrs that he can never escape their watchful and disapproving eyes.
Draper Doyle (always referred to by two names, much to his chagrin) just wants to play hockey and attend school like a normal boy, but instead he must learn to sing, dance and box like a good Catholic orphan (half-orphan, to be precise). As he and his family struggle to make sense of his father’s mysterious death, he grows closer to his strange (funny!) and reclusive uncle Reg and learns the key to controlling the overbearing Aunt Phil.
This is the second of Johnston’s books that I have read, and while the characters were of his typical humourous and engaging style, there was no real build or hook to the story itself. I was more than halfway through the novel before I could really pinpoint the central plotline, and when I left it in the office over a long weekend, I felt no pull to get back to it four days later, and if it wasn’t on my TBR list and due back at the library I could easily have forgotten to get back to it.
Still, when all is said and done I think it is safe to say I haven’t laughed at a book so much since reading Gordon Korman as a child. Truly entertaining.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Posted: February 3, 2012 Filed under: Reading Leave a comment »
“Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.”
It is the early 19th Century in England, and sadly for a country one renowned for its magicians, magic has all but disappeared. Modern magicians may read and write about magic but no one actually practices it anymore, and worse, no one knows why or how this happened. But a change is coming.
“Two magicians shall appear in England…
The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me;
The first shall be governed by thieves and murderers; the second shall conspire at his own destruction;
The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache;
The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy’s hand…”
Enter Mr. Norrell: Stodgy, peculiar and paranoid, and determined to singlehandedly restore magic to England. He has been collecting rare books of magic for years, and believes he has reached the point in his studies that he is ready to make his mark. In hist first public feat, Mr. Norrell raises a young woman from the dead and soon finds himself recruited by cabinet to assist in fighting and winning the Napoleonic wars.
“It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.”
But the arrogant Mr. Norrell is not prepared for what happens next. He is not the only magician in England. Enter Mr. Strange. A rich young gentleman in search of a hobby, Jonathan Strange decides to take up magic – and he has far more natural talent for it than the learned Mr. Norrell could ever hope for. Thus begins a competition that will change English magic forever.
“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange.
Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.”
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is one of many magical novels to hit the shelves in the past decade, but in my opinion, it is among the best. At more than 800 pages, it is not for the faint of heart, but if fantasy is your thing, those 800 pages will fly by in a blur of spells, resurrections and faerie visits. Clarke’s humour is infectious, her characters are witty and amusing. This is one magical tome that is definitely worth the investment of your time.
Hardcover: 800 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (September 8, 2004)
ISBN-10: 1582344167
ISBN-13: 978-1582344164
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
Posted: January 28, 2012 Filed under: Reading | Tags: CanLit, Giller Prize, review, review copy Leave a comment »
It’s 1978. The Krasnanskys, Soviet-Jewish refugees from Latvia, are stuck in Rome. Samuil, the patriarch, is suffering from arthritis and the effects of war wounds and tuberculosis. He has been denied entry to Canada, and the family is in limbo. As they wait for a reprieve (or worse) they must adjust their expectations and adapt to life as refugees in Italy.
At the heart of the novel is a clash of cultures. When I picked the book up, I expected this to be a clash between Soviet and Italian lifestyles, but instead the real conflict was between the Soviet-Jewish family members – some (well, one) loyal to the Communist Party, others staunchly Zionist, and the rest rejecting either form of orthodoxy and really just wanting to get to Canada.
Alternating between three narrators and multiple locations and periods in history, David Bezmozgis’ The Free World is an intriguing look at one family’s history, and the effect of world history on their path. While I enjoyed the changing narrators and looking back at each of their lives, flashback upon flashback (and sometimes, a flashback within a flashback) made for confusing reading. Slow yourself down. Flip back a few pages to make sure you know who is speaking and what year it is. Know your Soviet history (or keep Wikipedia handy if you don’t.) The story is fantastic, and worth the extra effort.
Note: I received a review copy of this novel from HarperCollins last fall, when I was struggling to read all Giller short-listed books before the award ceremony. I did not reach that goal, and then put the book aside to finish my 2011 TBR list. I was pleased to finally get back to it in January.
Hardcover, 384 pages
ISBN: 9781443403993
ISBN10: 1443403997
2011 Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist – Fiction. Shortlisted for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: Review | Tags: magical realism, review, TBR list Leave a comment »
As they plummet from the sky following the explosion of the jetliner carrying them to London, Indian actors Gibreel Farista & Saladin Chamcha experience revelations, vivid dreams and startling metamorphoses. Miraculously surviving the crash and awaking together on an English beach, they discover they have been transformed into the Angel Gabriel and a horned demon/ half-devil. What follows is a fantastical, over-the-top, often hilarious and occasionally blasphemous study of the nature of good and evil – and the art of a good Bollywood movie.
I quite honestly had no idea what to expect from this novel. I first heard about in 1989 – from my Catechism teacher, of all people – when we discussed the banning of the book and the fatwa or death sentence placed on Salman Rushdie by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. (Side note: that was easily the best year of Catechism classes. Along with this, we discussed relics, exorcism and haunted houses!)
The death sentence was a reaction to Rushdie’s portrayal of the prophet Muhammad, who Gibreel visits in two of his angel dream sequences, describing the origin of the satanic verses. (Explaining this would take forever, and not be particularly relevant to the review, so if you are interested, follow the link provided.)
The Satanic Verses was on last year’s TBR reading list, and I confess I was so intimidated by the book, I left it to the very end, only picking it up mid-December. While not a long read, it is heavy, and I did not finish by the end of the year. Rushdie uses elements of “magical realism” (think Like Water for Chocolate or 100 Years of Solitude) to skillfully weave the dreams, the metamorphoses and the miracle survival into an otherwise modern tale of Asian immigrant life in London. Along with troubling magical events, the characters are dealing with everyday life, including racial tension and rioting, marital woes, teen sex and career crises.
I admit it took a while to get into it – part of why it took about four weeks for this speed-reader to get through. But by the time I was about 100 pages in, I was hooked. Gibreel & Saladin are charming yet frustrating characters, as are their friends, rivals & family members. It is well worth the read if you have the time.
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Vintage Canada; 1 edition (May 27 1997)
ISBN-10: 067697063X
ISBN-13: 978-0676970630
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Posted: January 12, 2012 Filed under: Guest Blogger, Review | Tags: guest blogger, review 1 Comment »
Guest Post by Renee from Rambleicious.
In 11/22/63, King sends Jake Epping, a high school teacher, on an extraordinary journey through the past to stop the assassination of JFK.
JFK’s assassination is still a big topic of discussion, rife with conspiracy theories, doubts, and a strange lack of solid facts. Given that JFK was also a popular president (young, handsome, appealing to both young and older voters etc.) it’s unlikely that discussion will stop. Add to that already mysterious and intriguing subject the idea of time travel, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a good story.
There are any number of questions and theories on what might happen if you could go back in time, and there are probably even more about how America – and, indeed, the world – might have turned out if Lee Harvey Oswald had missed his mark that day. King handles both questions in a way that will have you turning out the lights and lying wide awake in the wee hours of the morning.
Jake Epping begins his journey in the pantry of a diner where there is a “rabbit hole” that leads from 2011, to a warm September day in 1958. Once Al, the diner’s owner, convinces Jake that the rabbit hole is real, and that America’s salvation lies in saving JFK from his date with Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullet, Jake goes into the past armed with a few facts of the future (including a list of all the major sporting event outcomes – a man has to eat after all) and tries to avert one of the most talked-about presidential assassinations.
King’s own theory about time-travel and changing events is interesting – in 11/22/63, no matter how long you stay in the past (days, months, years…), only two minutes will have gone by when you return to the present. This makes time travel tricky on the other side of the rabbit hole: how do you explain aging a few years over the course of two minutes? And, when you’ve returned, if the world and the people you know in it, are irrevocably changed because of what you did – do you fix it (there’s a reset function in this version of time travel so you can undo your mistakes) or do you leave it alone and live with it?
In an effort to not spoil the ending, I won’t comment on the other theories and ideas regarding time travel and changing past events – it’s enough to say that you’ll enjoy reading it and you’ll be thinking about it long after you’re done.
The book did, for me at least, have one weak spot in the beginning when Jake passes through the fictional town of Derry, Maine and happens upon two characters from King’s earlier novel, It. I still re-read It from time to time, because it’s a damn fine story, but I felt that the interlude there, with those characters, was more about the author than Jake Epping’s journey. For me, it didn’t fit.
I also came to feel a little sorry for King’s version of Lee Harvey Oswald – what a mixed-up, sorry excuse of a man – and his family. I’m not sure how much liberty King took in the writing of Oswald’s thoughts and the things he said, but it was hard to not feel something like pity for him. Oswald is despicable (he’s a terrible father and an even worse husband) but he’s also pathetic (he’s got a slightly crazy, very over-bearing mother, no self-confidence at all, and he’s full of fear and self-loathing).
Jake, of course, isn’t simply waiting around twiddling his thumbs between 1958 and 1963 either; he’s planning, he’s gathering information, he’s confirming the things that Al knew about Oswald (or at least verifying the assumptions about him made after his death), and living as a regular citizen among good and decent people that he comes to care about. He has to deal with being a stranger out of time, and the guilt of deceiving the people he must live among. He handles it with a fair bit of grace all things considered, and he becomes part of the community in ways that impact a lot of lives in a time that is not his own.
If you’re looking for a good, long story, a well-written, believable, and even slightly scary story, to wile away the cold winter nights – this is the story you want to pick up (and possibly in Kindle format, as the hardcover is very large and rather heavy).
Hardcover: 849 pages
Publisher: Scribner; First Edition/First Printing edition (November 8, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1451627289
ISBN-13: 978-1451627282
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Posted: January 5, 2012 Filed under: Reading Leave a comment »
The summer is hot and humid, a den of coyotes has moved into southern Appalachia, the moths are dancing their mating dance, and very few of the regions human inhabitants take any notice. Yet we are not as disconnected from the natural world and its cycles as we may think (or wish) that we are. In Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver weaves together three parallel love stories, each triggered or affected by the protagonist’s natural surroundings.
Reclusive biologist Deanna is caught off guard when a young hunter appears at her reclusive mountain outpost, but invites him into her home and her bed despite the fact that he intends to destroy that which fascinates her most. Meanwhile, on a farm not far away, newly widowed entomologist Lusa struggles with her discomfort over inheriting her husband’s family tobacco farm, and to win the respect of her five sisters-in-law. And just a little further down the way, elderly gardener Garnett Walker dreams of reestablishing the near extinct American Chestnut tree, while feuding with his neighbor over her refusal to use pesticides.
Having discussed this book often with family and friends, and suggesting it to my book club a number of years ago, I have discovered that it is a story you will either love or hate. There are very few mediocre reviews. As someone with a background in biology & behavioural ecology, I find it fascinating, even necessary, to compare the mating rituals of animals or insects with those of humans. After all, we are animals too, no? Still, intimate descriptions of animal behavior are not everyone’s “thing” it would seem.
Luckily – this is my blog, and I loved the book. At once a heartwarming love story and an argument for sustainable farming and ecological conservation, Prodigal Summer is easily one of my favourite books of all time – and I do not say that lightly.
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (October 17, 2000)
ISBN-10: 0060199652
ISBN-13: 978-0060199654
The year in review, and the year to come
Posted: January 4, 2012 Filed under: Reading | Tags: book club, jane eyre book, ken follet, linden macintyre, margaret atwood, pillars of the earth, sevenwaters trilogy, TBR list 7 Comments »
What a year it has been. With a total of 59 posts, I still did not quite make my goal of reviewing “one book per week.” I was also perhaps a bit over-confidant at the beginning, reviewing the three Emily books, the Sevenwaters trilogy and the Hunger Games trilogy in single posts. It made sense at the time, as they were easier to review together. But I then missed 11 weeks though the year, three in a row while sick in March, and the others while reading the two killer books of the year: Moby Dick and Anna Karenina. Suddenly, the idea of banking a few reviews on books like those seemed smarter, and would have left me only five reviews short of my goal.- Review: Barney’s Version
- The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet
- Book Review and Giveaway: The Nymph and the Lamp
- Jane Eyre: book & film review
- Review: The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre
- Drive by Saviours by Chris Benjamin
- Come Thou, Tortoise
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
- Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
- A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin
I will again be attempting to post one book review per week through 2012 – with a better appreciation for how difficult it can be when other factions of life get busy. I have also taken the #50BookPledge through Harper Collins – which is exactly as it sounds, a pledge to read 50 books through the year.
To help me out with the blogging side, I am hoping to recruit a few guest bloggers. If you are interested in submitting a book review (or a few) please leave a comment below. You can do it right away, on a book you have already read or are currently reading, or set a deadline for yourself later in the year. I am happy to link back to your blog, if you have one.
Cheers, and happy new year!
2012 To Be Read (TBR) Challenge
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: Reading 8 Comments »It’s 
that time of year again – time to set reading goals for the coming year. Last year, I read 11 of my 12 listed books, and have actually started the 12th, but just haven’t had time to finish it. I am disappointed, and was stressing over this last week – until I realized that because of the challenge, I checked 11 books off my long-term reading wish list. I think that’s pretty impressive.
This year, I want to be more strategic with my list. I have decided that 1/3 of the books will be non-fiction (I continually buy and never finish non-fiction books), 1/3 will be classics, and 1/3 will be modern fiction.
My Twelve Chosen:
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- Payback by Margaret Atwood
- Dubliners by James Joyce
- Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
- The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klien
- A Short History of Progress by Ronald B. Wright
- The Town That Died by Michael J. Bird
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
My Two Alternates:
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul
Here’s how the TBR Challenge works:
Specifics:
1. Each of these 12 books must have been on my bookshelf or “To Be Read” list forAT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2011 or later. Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.
2. Every listed book must be completed and must be reviewed in order to count as completed.
3. List must be posted by Saturday, December 31st, 2011, at the Roof Beam Reader website (Challenge host). I will also be posting there periodically, and linking to my reviews of the 12. Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from The Book Depository. Incentive is always good.
Do you have a reading challenge for 2012? What’s on your list?
