A Bevy of Book Reviews

I noticed that I hadn't blogged in awhile, mostly because I haven't been doing much - other than reading. And other than the holidays, not much has been going on of interest. Here's a short list of some of the books that I've recently read and brief reviews (the 'star' rating is out of 5 stars):

1.  The Paris Wife by Paula McLain has been hailed as a brilliant work of fiction, but I don't understand the praise.  The novel was beyond boring.  Set in the 1920s and narrated by Hadley Richardson (Ernest Hemingway's first wife), it tells a fictionalized story of the Hemingways' time in Paris. First let me say, I hate Hemingway and all the writers of his era (Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.) and the fact that all these bombastic, boring, self-absorbed characters are featured in Ms. McLain's book holds no interest for me.  Additionally, Hadley is a doormat and lives only for Hemingway and has no voice of her own.  She's boring and the dialogue is forced and tedious. I actually could not even finish this novel. If you're interested in Hemingway's life in Paris, read his memoir A Moveable Feast.  1 star

2.  Another novel which is garnering high praise is A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.  Again I don't quite understand the hoopla surrounding this banal novel.  The New York Times review stated that it was "extremely funny" and yet I didn't laughed once. It's the story of an 86 year old man who is marrying a 36 year old Ukrainian woman so that she can get permanent resident status in England for herself and her son and how the old man's two daughters (once estranged from each other) come together to attempt to stop the marriage. Ridiculously predictable and horribly repetitive, this book is not worth the time or effort.  It might have been a better short story rather than a novel.  This is yet another book that I could not finish.  1 star

3. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of all time. Well written, interesting characters, amusing, etc., Pride and Prejudice never fails to enchant me no matter how many times I've read it. I am often told of other novels that are either continuations of the story or retelling of the story (i.e., Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife) and nearly all are unmitigated disasters. Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D James is one of the exceptions. While DCtP will never be P&P's equal, it is a satisfying effort of continuing the story of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy.  Set six years after the wedding of the Darcys, a murder has occurred on the Pemberly estate.  As a mystery, it is not conventional and probably not what most readers would expect when hearing about the book. Mr. Darcy doesn't suddenly put on a deerstalker hat and turn detective. But the way the story plays out is more true to the time and place, and to Austen's style, than it would have been if Ms. James had tried to insert a detective story onto an Austen sequel. As a lover of Jane Austen, I was happy to spend this time at Pemberley, revisiting these familiar characters and seeing their later lives depicted in a way that is faithful to the depth and complexity that Austen gave them. I was disappointed that there wasn't more time spent with Darcy and Elizabeth together, but that's more of a quibble than a serious criticism.  4 stars

4. After reading City of Thieves by David Benioff, I am now fascinated by The Siege of Leningrad, the setting for this brilliant novel. I would never have dreamed that a story set during this horrendous time in history could be as engaging and darkly humorous as this book, but Mr. Benioff has done an excellent job of bringing a diverse set of characters to life; two of whom have been given an impossible mission (find a dozen eggs!) in an unbearable situation (the Blockade of Leningrad, and its consequent famine). The two lead characters are Lev, a 17 year old Jew who is arrested for looting a German paratrooper's corpse (and the book's narrator) and Koyla, a 19 year old Cossack who is accused of desertion from the army.  The two men are tasked with finding a dozen eggs for the head of the NKVD  to be used in a wedding cake for his daughter's upcoming nuptials.  If they fail, their punishment will be execution.  In their week long adventure which takes them through a series of nightmarish war zones, Lev and Koyla come across an array of strange characters including cannibals, prostitutes, starving children, and demonic Nazi chess enthusiasts.  I highly recommend this thoroughly gripping read!  5 stars

5.  I spent approximately a week re-reading the Harry Potter series.  I originally started reading the novels in 2001, when only books 1-4 had been released. I quickly fell in love with the world that J.K. Rowling created. With each new novel release, I would go back and re-read all the previous novels and then read the new novel. Altogether I've probably read the books 10-12 times (if not more). Approximately once a year, I re-read all 7 books and am always enthralled with the magical world of Harry Potter. It boggles the mind that there are people in this world who would want to see these books banned. A wonderful morality tale of good versus evil and the endurance of true friendship. If you've been living on the moon or under a rock and haven't read this series, you need to run... not walk... to your nearest bookstore or library and start reading these books!  35 stars which is 5 stars for each of the 7 books.

Happy reading!