2002 Book Reviews
 Among the Best I've Ever Read |
 Very, Very Good |
 A Good Read |
 OK |
 Don't Bother |
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| Half a Life V. S. Naipaul | |
| First Review: |
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| It is about a half breed from India, which means having parents of different castes, who goes to London on a scholarship to run away from the difficulties of that status. He finds anonymity in London, seems to be getting started as a budding writer with connections to publishers and T.V. stations but in fear throws it away by talking his girlfriend/admirer into taking him back to her country in Africa where he lives a half-breed status that places him quite above where he would have been in his own country, giving him a unique view of the master/servant "paradise" that he has found himself in. My favorite parts were 1) the stories he writes for school but leaves for his dad to see, which are openly hostile -- very much an adolescent view of the cruel omnipotence that dad or parents can have on their children, 2) the description of the self-importance of the English middle class and his alien-innocent learning of cultural oddities -- told very amusingly (I was sorry to see that part of the book end), and 3) his letters from his sister which are honest, harsh, judgemental, and overly critical. The last part of the story which is really about the events in the East African country and the gossip of the community was fun to read and entirely unusual but turned out to be a reliving of his father's life. | |
| MG | |
| Second Review: |
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| Beautifully drawn characters we follow around the world. The hero is a lost soul from a line of lost souls and the ending is ambiguous, but the novel is satisfying. | |
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The Nobel Prize in Literature 2001 |
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| Hard Eight Janet Evanovich |
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| This is Janet Evanovich's 8th book about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, from Trenton, NJ. This book, like her previous books, makes many references to this area, including Trenton, Chambersburg, New Brunswick,
Rutgers, Douglas College, and Quaker Bridge Mall. She also refers to Trenton traffic, the New Jersey Turnpike and Newark Airport. Her favorite foods in this version include Tastykakes and frozen chocolate chip cookies, in addition to the usual Chambersburg eats. The book is a quick read with a good helping of her laugh aloud humor. It is outrageous but fun. Like running into an old friend and catching up on the news! On Saturday, June 22, 2002, Janet Evanovich came to the Trenton Marriott for a reading and book signing. It was a "happening" with bands and food. There were long lines of people, fans, she and her books are very popular in this area. She has a web site, www.evanovich.com. | |
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Janet Evanovich Biography |
Lee Moody |
| Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage Alice Munro | |
| First Review: |
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| In these stories, as in many of Alice Munro's, either a hidden family secret is gradually revealed as the story unfolds or a sudden turn of events has a lasting impact on the family involved. Some of these stories first appeared in The New Yorker, so they may be familiar to Princeton readers, but they can stand a second read and in fact are often improved, as several layers of the mystery are unpeeled, leaving the reader with lingering questions nevertheless. (Could the cousin have been the father? Is that why they drifted apart?) Alice Munro's keen power of observation manifests itself throughout, as she describes the mores of the social classes and times involved or the relationships between family members. Two examples from "Family Furnishings" are as follows: "There had to be far too much to eat, and most of the conversation at the table had to do with the food, with the company saying how good it was and being urged to have more, and saying that they couldn't, they were stuffed, and then the aunts' husbands relenting, taking more, and the aunts taking just a little more and saying that they shouldn't, they were ready to burst...." and "a woman listening to her man, hoping and hoping that he will establish himself as somebody she can reasonably be proud of...." The reader also gets a rare insight into Munro's motivation and drive to become a writer, as the protagonist in "Family Furnishings" reflects: "the work I wanted to do which seemed more like grabbing something out of the air than constructing stories.... This was what I wanted, this was what I thought I had to pay attention to. This was how I wanted my life to be...." I highly recommend this book to lovers of short stories, to those who aspire to write themselves and to those looking for some food for thought. | |
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Carol Prevost | |
| Second Review: |
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| This deserves 4 1/2 stars, and is among Munro's best. This collection provides a group of short stories that are both distinct and interrelated. The subject of all of them -- our emotional lives, both rich and shallow. Munro writes of seemingly ordinary people with extraordinary insight. She seems to be saying that we are, all of us, worthy of careful consideration. Her stories of loves found and lost will inspire readers. Alice Munro is a master of understated, piercing description and of emotional truth. | |
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Alice Munro |
KJ |
| Hidden Talents David Lubar |
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| This book is found in the juvenile section but it is not just for children or just for young people. I began reading this book because the author will speak at Princeton Public Library. I continued reading this book because I could not put it down. It is about a 13-year-old boy who has behaviorial problems and is sent away to an alternative school. At this school of about 200 students he meets a group of misfits and freaks that he figures out have "secret powers." The kids all have nicknames, the teachers all have their particular traits, it is realistic and it is preposterous! | |
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David Lubar |
Lee Moody |
| Homicidal Intent Vivian Chern |
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| Very clever idea which leaves you thinking "what if..." after the book is finished. A bit too many coincidental murders as the story was being set up, but nice to read a local author. | |
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Vivian Chern |
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| The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros |
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| A sweet set of vignettes about growing up in the 60s and 70s in an urban immigrant neighborhood. The characters are lovingly drawn. I listened to this by sound recording by the author -- her voice does not do
justice to her writing. In her introduction she writes that she had no exposure to novels telling of her experience, but I suspect that is because she went to private Catholic schools rather than public schools. Richard Wright and Paula Marshall fall into the same genre but tell their stories without the T.V. movie atmosphere that "Mango Street" invokes. | |
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Sandra Cisneros (Voices from the Gaps) |
MG |
| I Thought My Father Was God Paul Auster, editor |
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| This is a collection of true stories, compiled by the National Story Project. People were asked to submit stories that were both short and true. Some of the ones in this collection are marvelous -- demonstrating that fact can be richer than fiction. Others are pedestrian (see the long section about coincidences, most of the "isn't it a small world" type). Relish the good ones and skim over the bad. | |
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National Story Project (NPR) |
KJ |
| An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde |
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| "An Ideal Husband" was written in 1895, published as a 4-act play, and performed in London theater. It is a predecessor to the current Enron, Worldcom... corporate scandals. Parallels can be drawn between Martha Stewart and Sir Robert Chilton! The Suez Canal, a possible canal in Argentina and using privileged government information for one's own gain is the basis of the tale. It's about greed, lies, politics, money, power, bribery, blackmail, temptations, circumstances, closed vs. open minds and public disgrace vs. public honor. The questions: Does every man have his price? Is love greater than ambition? When a person is put on a pedestal, is it realistic? Can one mistake bring a person down? | |
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Reading Wilde, Querying Spaces |
Lee Moody |
| If Looks Could Kill Kate White |
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| I enjoyed this book for its glimpse of the New York fashion magazine scene and its quite readable plot, although I did think the heroine / sleuth was imitative and not as successful as Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone. | |
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Kate White |
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| The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde |
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| This absurd, preposterous, outrageous play was Oscar Wilde's master work; here paradox rules! Written in 1895, it is a work on many levels with insider allusions, many of which may have been lost over time. For example, Earnest may have referred to being gay. In this work, the word "Bunbury" was born. It refers to the concept of creating a nonexistent person that one must go to as an excuse for leaving an existing situation (for example, Earnest in the city, Jack in the country). It was set during the time that England ruled the world, when the empire was so vast that "the sun never set on it!" Included are Wilde's observations of English society with an eye that took nothing for granted. The lavish locations include both a London townhouse and a country estate. | |
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Wilde, Society, and Society Drama (Cary M. Mazer) |
Lee Moody |
| The Importance of Being Oscar Mark Nicholls |
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| Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, 1854-Nov 30, 1900; he lived for 46 years. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, found fame in his adopted country, England, and died in France. He was a well-educated intellectual who was ahead of his time; was known for his supreme wit; produced his major works in 10 years -- a decade of dazzling success; had a devastating fall from grace; spent two horrible years in a British prison after a homosexual scandal; and died tragically well before his time. This book chronicles his life, family, works (poetry, prose and plays), habits and social positions. Much time is spent on his philosophies and his many, many quotations. It is interesting and delightful. Two examples are: On entry to America in 1882 he said, "I have nothing to declare except my genius." A second famous quote, "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." | |
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Lee Moody |
| In America Susan Sontag |
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| This book is not a quick read. It has plot, it has a lot of interesting facts about 19th century America and theater. It has character development for several characters but something is lacking - the style to make this book tie all its pieces together. There is a good book in here wanting to get out. It meandered too much. It had the usual problem that historical novels have: writing about interesting facts in a heavy handed way. The facts and the plot just did not mix. | |
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Susan Sontag |
MG |
| An Italian Education Tim Parks |
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| This book was written by Tim Parks, an Englishman teaching English at the University of Verona in Northern Italy. He was born and brought up in England; he studied at Cambridge and at Harvard. He and his Italian wife live in Verona with their 3 children. This book tells the story, in great detail, of their daily life from the point of view of a parent. It begins when their first child, a son Michele, is tiny, continues through the birth of their daughter, Stefi, and ends before the birth of their third child, a daughter. During these years they deal with the children, buying and living in a condo, the school system, the neighbors.... Throughout the narrative comparisons and observations of Italian life and culture are continuous. It is interesting and fun especially if you have raised children and if you have an interest in
Italy. It is comparable to the Peter Mayle books of Provence in approach. My favorite quote in the book, "When I arrived in Italy in 1981" I was "eager to escape friends and family and underachieve in peace...." | |
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Tim Parks |
Lee Moody |
| Kaleidoscope Dorothy Gilman |
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| Interesting concept of a returning character who neatly frames a series of incidents. Though it becomes a bit repetetive, it's a good summer read. We'd all like to consult the heroine: Madame Karitska | |
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| Lady Windermere's Fan Oscar Wilde |
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| This classic, amusing work was written by Oscar Wilde as his first play in 1892 and performed at the St. James' Theatre in London. It is a domestic comedy which takes place in the drawing rooms of London society. It is full of wit and irony and timeless themes of men, women and life. It is a continuous series of misunderstandings, misconceptions, and decisions based on appearances and assumptions. The questions posed have to do with trust and truth. Is it better to tell all or to withhold some? | |
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Oscar Wilde Remembered (Bridget Haggerty) |
Lee Moody |
| The Lecturer's Tale James Hynes |
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| A very amusing take on the future of political correctness on university campuses. The fantasy element winds a bit out of orbit toward the end, but it is worth hanging on until the ingenious end. | |
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In Person: James Hynes (Austin Chronicle) |
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| A Lesson Before Dying Ernest Gaines |
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| This book is about an educated black man living in rural Louisiana in the 1940s. A young man in his town is sentenced to death. His aunt asks him to visit the man in jail every week so as to give the young man dignity before he dies. It is not an original plot: 2 men living in the segregated south learn dignity from each other. It also seems unlikely. Were men on death row kept in local jails? Was there really an executioner's chair which was transported from prison to prison? Did death row inmates receive visits from people that were neither spiritual counselors nor family? These are the questions that I found myself focusing on rather than the point of the plot. | |
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Meeting Ernest Gaines (Bill Ferris) |
MG |
| The Light Years Elizabeth Jane Howard |
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| This book is the first in the Cazalets series, which some may remember as a Masterpiece Theatre production. It takes place just before WWII in a suburb of England, with some London scenes as well. It is an extended family most of whom come to stay at the grandmother and grandfather's residence for the summer. What the TV series did not capture is the original writing style which begins with dialog, and we are told what the characters are thinking but very little description. Simply by what is said we can tell whether it is a married couple speaking or a young child. This is light, beach reading material, same genre as Maeve Binchy, but lots of fun in a soap opera kind of way. There is an adulterous affair or two, children planning to run away, a wife who discovers an unwanted pregnancy, a lesbian in denial, a motherless child having a rocky relationship with her new stepmom, a teenager with her first crush, etc. | |
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Elizabeth Jane Howard (PBS) |
MG |
| Longitude Dava Sobel |
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| Dava Sobel is a woman who was formerly a science reporter for the New York Times. She wrote this book about the invention of the chronometer, a 40-year struggle by John Harrison in the 1700's. It is true; it is fascinating. In the eighteenth century, England controlled much of the world and thus had need to sail the oceans. Because latitude was understood but not longitude, many ships were lost at sea and many died needlessly. England, and other countries, offered a huge monetary prize to anyone who could solve the problem. Most who tried were astronomers who believed the skies, stars and planets were the answer. John Harrison, a carpenter by trade, believed the answer lay in a timekeeper, clock or watch, that would keep perfect time at
sea (never happened to date, even on land). Greenwich, 7 miles from the heart of London, is the location of the prime meridian to this day. The four sea clocks are on display for the public. The story is brought to the screen in a magnificent epic (200 minutes) by A&E on DVD. It includes a 20-minute behind-the-scenes feature which is fabulous. In this story it is really two stories, that of John Harrison (Michael Gambon), and that of Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) a naval officer who, nearly 200 years later in 1920, spent 12 years of his life restoring John Harrison's "neglected mechanical masterpieces." | |
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Dava Sobel |
Lee Moody |
| The Look of Architecture Witold Rybczynski |
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| Witold Rybczynski has written a number of books on the topic of architecture. He is a professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. "Each year the New York Public Library and Oxford University Press invite a prominent figure in the arts and letters to give a series of lectures on a topic of his or her choice. The lectures become the basis of a book jointly published by the Library and the Press." This book was published in 2001. He quotes Gabrielle Chanel who says, "Fashion passes, Style remains." He says architecture has 3 purposes, commodity (shelter human activity), firmness (challenge gravity and the elements), and delight (beauty). The book is crammed with information about buildings in the USA and around the world, with insights into contests and architects' ways of working and approaches, and with many black and white photographs. It is a gem. | |
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Witold Rybczynski |
Lee Moody |
| The Lost Continent Bill Bryson |
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| I am a fan of Bill Bryson's travel narratives. I laugh out loud at his observations of local cultures and foibles. This book is more of the same. It is not nearly as good as some of his others (notably A Walk in the Woods, Notes From a Small Island, and (the best) Neither Here Nor There), but the good will generated in the past carries him through. In this volume, Bryson travels around the US. | |
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Bill Bryson Is More Popular Than The Beatles |
KJ |
| The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold |
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| I had high hopes for this book, but found it instead to be sentimental, confusing and badly written. I often found myself rereading a paragraph, trying to figure out what the author was trying to say. The first chapter is terrific, but after that I gradually lost interest. | |
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The Oddity of Suburbia (Alice Sebold) |
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| Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis |
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| Ironically named, "Lucky" Jim is a history lecturer at a provincial university. He is surrounded by a collection of weirdos, idiots, and incompetents. In his bungling way, Jim wins out in the end. Amusing, and an interesting companion to the contemporary The Lecturer's Tale. | |
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From Angry Young Man ... (Guardian Unlimited) |
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| Lucky Man Michael J. Fox |
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| This book is not a quick read but is definitely a worthwhile one. Fox's writing is candid, honest and humorous. It is refreshing to read a celebrity autobiography that reveals a writer who is down to earth and working for a noble cause. | |
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Michael J. Fox Foundation |
Briget Sacke |
| Lucy Jamaica Kincaid |
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| An obviously early work but I find myself drawn to the author's style. This book is about a young woman from the West Indies who comes to the U.S. ("a city with a cold climate") to work as an au pair and to run
away from her family. The theme of women growing up with no hope of becoming somebody, of mothers who pass on their shame, is as present in this book as in The Autobiography of My Mother. An interesting passage from the narrator: "History is full of great events, when the great events are said and done, there will always be someone, a little person, unhappy, dissatisfied, discontented, not at home in her own skin, ready to stir up a whole new set of great events again. I was not such a person ...." | |
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Through West Indian Eyes (Leslie Garis, NY Times) |
MG |
| The Magnificent Ambersons Booth Tarkington |
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| Booth Tarkington, 1869-1946, was from Indianapolis and attended Princeton University. The Magnificent Ambersons is the story of a family of three generations of Hoosiers. It won a Pulitzer Prize in fiction. It is a rather long book but a quick read. It is about the family, and about America primarily during the 30 years preceeding 1900 when there were tremendous social changes in the country. It was the time when the horse and buggy was being replaced by the automobile and the beginning of the replacement of the small cities to inner cities and suburbs -- a time of tremendous immigration in this country. It is a great book. It was written in 1918. In 1942, Orson Welles wrote an original screenplay and made an 88-minute movie of the story. In 2002, A&E took that screenplay and made a beautiful 2-1/2-hour movie. | |
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Newton Booth Tarkington: Hoosier Novelist |
Lee Moody |
| The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett |
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| Dashiell Hammett, 1894-1961, spent some years as a Pinkerton detective before becoming a mystery writer. This story, set in San Francisco in the 1920's, concerns a statue, known as the "Maltese Falcon," designed by the Knights of Rhodes on Malta as a tribute to King Charles of Spain. It was a "glorious golden falcon encrusted ... with the finest jewels." It had shifted hands for centuries and then disappeared -- not to resurface until 1921...; thus starts the marvelous murder mystery. It is timeless and wonderful! There is also a DVD, The Maltese Falcon, with Humphrey Bogart. Produced in 2000, it is 100 minutes long and follows closely to the book. It also has a history of mystery, from the 19th century to the present, which is great. | |
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Dashiell Hammett (American Masters) |
Lee Moody |
| The Man in the High Castle Philip K. Dick |
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| A science fiction classic, this is the canonical example of the "Alternate History" novel, depicting a world in which Germany and Japan won the Second World War and conquered most of the world, including the USA. This novel is seen through the eyes of many different characters, their own personalities and inner voices maintained with considerable skill. We find ourselves sympathizing with even the most repellent of the novel's protagonists, even as we wince at the nightmare the world has become. | |
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Philip K. Dick |
Todd Brun |
| Memory Lois McMaster Bujold |
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| One of the best installments in Bujold's Vorkosigan series. Miles Vorkosigan, still suffering the after-effects of old injuries, nearly loses everything in his attempts to conceal them; he must move on and take on new responsibilities. | |
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Lois McMaster Bujold |
Todd Brun |
| Message in a Bottle Nicholas Sparks |
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| If you saw the movie you know the plot: girl in Boston finds bottle with message in it and decides to find the author of the very romantic missive to a woman (Catherine) who has been taken from him. Girl (Theresa) travels to NC in search of guy (Garrett), finds guy, they fall in love, except he's haunted by first wife, she's not willing to leave Boston because of her son and job, and they are stuck. Readers will want to know how things develop in this romantic page-turner. | |
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Nicholas Sparks |
Jenny Mischner |
| Middle Age Joyce Carol Oates |
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| An unexpected accident keeps opening doors. One man's death reveals information as his friends and neighbors re-examine their own lives. Though this book is unremarkable in itself, the author's amazingly varied output is breathtaking. | |
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Celestial Timepiece |
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| Moment of Truth Lisa Scottoline |
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| A female Italian lawyer in Philadelphia is motivated to take on the higher ranks of the Philly Police Department, the D.A. and the media because of her belief in the innocence of her client with whom she is falling in love. The scenes of her very Italian family are very real and familiar as well as delightful. Her investigation toward finding the truth takes her to familiar Philadelphia neighborhoods, streets, and places (like the Italian Market). I enjoy reading mysteries that are set in familiar locations. Sometimes I wish books could be catalogued by geographical location. My exercise regimen also benefitted from this book as I listened to it during my daily walk. I couldn't wait to get back to listening to it and often walked further because of the compelling story. | |
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Lisa Scottoline |
Susan A. Colby |
| The Mousetrap Agatha Christie |
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| "The Mousetrap" is a murder mystery written by Agatha Christie and presented for the first time at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, on November 25, 1952. It is still playing, 50 years later, at the St Martin's Theatre, West Street, London! I saw it when I was in London, at the beginning of August 2002. It is a wonderful mystery, full of suspense and intricate plot turns. At the end of the performance, amid the thunderous applause, the cast comes onto the stage and swears everyone in the audience to secrecy! If you can't go to London to see the play, get the book and read it. Agatha Christie was a master of suspense. In addition to her novels and short stories, she wrote 18 plays. | |
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The one that ran and ran....
Agatha Christie (1890-1976) |
Lee Moody |
| Murder Anonymous Anthony Gilbert |
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| This book is a good read if you happen to like English mysteries full of local color, not too much violence, little bloodshed, no disgusting vocabulary, villain satisfactorily caught. I do. | |
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Jane Delaney-Coda |
| The Music of Silence: A Memoir Andrea Bocelli |
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| This book was written by Andrea Bocelli, about himself, translated from Italian, in an unusual way. He refers to himself as Amos Bardi. He is now a famous tenor, who some say is more famous in America than in Italy. He recently had 3 concerts, one in NYC (Madison Square Garden), Washington, DC, and Boston, sold out, expensive! He was born, in 1958, with congenital bilateral glaucoma. He would have eventually gone completely blind, but at age 12 he was hit in the eyes with a soccer ball and went completely blind immediately. The following quotes are my favorite in the book: (p204, his father) "So many battles, so many disillusionments, so many worries for his son's future; a son who seemed to him born to sing and yet who couldn't seem to find the path to translate that great passion into the something from which he could earn a living! And just when he had found himself on the point of losing all hope, everything had happened as if in a dream!" (p240, Andrea) "My children will read these pages when they are older and they will see me perhaps as a nostalgic old man, incapable of understanding their problems, closed within a shell of memories, and as irrelevant as a losing lottery ticket." (p240, Andrea) "Human intelligence -- like the tremulous flame of a candle in utter darkness -- illuminates a very brief stretch of our path ahead, and all around us looms the unknown. Therefore, man advances slowly and cautiously in the direction of the light, choosing only the spot to place his foot, an exercise that convinces him that he is master of his fate." (and finally, p235, Andrea as he sits alone in his hotel room, all day, saving his voice for the concert that evening) "That's how I think of my fate, and no one can imagine how dear to me, in the solitude of this room, is the music of silence." | |
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Andrea Bocelli |
Lee Moody |
| Princeton Public Library | http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us/ptonreads/2002reviewsG-M.html | ||
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Last revised: April 2, 2003 |