 |
S
extremely loud and incredibly close
jonathan safran foer
|
|
It must suck to have to follow up a critically acclaimed, award-winning, instantly-classic novel, when you are in your mid-20s. Poor Jonathan Safran Foer. There is not a review of his new novel that doesn't reference his debut, "Everything Is Illuminated" in its headline, or at least in the first two sentences.
"Everything Is Illuminated" was a great novel, so it makes sense that people would be waiting to see what Foer had up his sleeve to follow it up with. In most people's opinion (including John Updike's review in the NY Times Book Review and Steve Almond's review in the Boston Globe), "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" has too many bells and whistles, and those bells and whistles don't really add anything to the narrative, but rather distract the reader. In the novel, Foer uses typography, photographs, colored text, even blank pages, or single sentences on pages, to add a multi-media sort of experience to the story. To be honest, I agree with Almond and Updike in most cases. However, I am not a purist like Updike, and I have a job and kids and dozens of daily distractions, so a few bells and whistles in my nightly reading are actually kind of refreshing.
For those of you unaware of the plot of "ELAIC", it is narrated by a 9 year old Holden Caulfield-esque kid (named Oskar, like The Tin Drum) whose father has died in the World Trade Center attack. This kid, like Foer, is too clever for his own good. He goes on a quest to find the door that belongs to a key that his father left behind, hidden in an envelope. Interspersed within this narrative are letters written by Oskar's grandparents, which allude to Dresden, another atrocity which Foer draws comparisons to. The book, although offering no answers or groundbreaking literary truths about 9/11, is at turns heartwrenching and laugh-out-loud funny.
The novel, like "Everything Is Illuminated", is full of virtuisic passages, and delightful dialogue, and all the great things that literature can do if it is done well. Is it full of improbable situations and dialogue, overly precious characters, and gimmicks? Maybe. But this reader didn't mind them any more than a kid minds exaggerations and too-tall tales when the yarn-spinner is as talented and as fascinating as Foer. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: ericS |
April 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
frannie & zooey
j.d. salinger
|
|
| I think this is a re-review as well. This Frannie story was so utterly moving (oh how I love the word utterly). As I've said, I often cite "I wish I had the courage to be a complete nobody.". This book also inspired me to check out (of the library not slang) "The Prophet" by Gabril, but alas I couldn't finish it as I must be dumb still. Anyway Frannie is an excellent glimpse into an intelligent college girl's life. This book continues to blow my mind away. (I don't even remember the Zooey story except something about him being in the bathtub.) |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
|
catcher in the rye
j.d. salinger
|
|
| I was recommended Catcher in the Rye in seventh grade, but I thought it was a baseball book along the lines of The Red Badge of Courage, so I didn’t read it until I was in college. My friend Mike was like "Holy shit. I have a friend who hasn’t read ‘Catcher in the Rye’". I read it and was utterly amazed. This was during my truth period in life, and this book seemed really real and stuff. My very favorite J.D. Salinger book was 9 Stories particularly the first story. I loved it. I read 9 Stories when I was in my what is the meaning of life phase. This seemed pretty much a chronicle. J.D. Salinger doesn’t age well on me, and sometimes I wonder if I have grown out of him, BUT I recently read Franny as I love the meaning of life question in that book, and it still hit me. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 5 thumbs up
|
provenance: how a con man and a forger rewrote the history of modern art
laney salisbury
|
|
| Having read a book on fake bottle of wines from Thomas Jefferson I wasn't sure I was ready for another book on fakes, yet I found this to be riveting. Not only was John Drewe having an artist paint masterpieces and fobbing them off as priceless originals, he was doctoring paper trails a million miles long to artificially authenticate the fakes. This involved him gaining access to art museum archives and planting fake documents that fooled even the most prestigious galleries and art experts. As a result, he pitted people against one another in terms of those who thought the fakes were real and those who knew they were forgeries. A great documentary to pair with this book that deals with provenance is the excellent "Who the #$%&%! is Jackson Pollack?" which follows a woman's saga to authenticate a supposed Jackson Pollack she found at a Goodwill Store. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2010 [link] |
recommend
|
a primate's memoir: a neuroscientist's unconventional life among the baboons
robert sapolsky
|
|
| yahooie! baboons!! the african outback!! i thought this book was tremendous. sapolsky writes about the time he spends observing baboons in east africa. along with intimate, human-like and funny descriptions of the baboons behaviors, he shares tales about his experience among the tribal people in africa. it's an amazing read that made me shush my husband many a time since i was so into it. sapolskyhas a talent for straightforward storytelling that is poignant and funny. fyi - "poignant" was a word used on the book jacket. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
blindness
jose saramago
|
|
I must say I was so very excited to read this book as I found it on a weird website. (well weird in that I wasn’t expecting to go there. I was doing one of my things where I type in concepts I care about and see what comes up i.e. "truth, astrology, hypocrisy, honor"). This book seemed to embrace the concept which I recently discovered John Lennon espoused. I had always wondered what would happen if everyone were blind and whether then all the bias that is conferred on the beautiful, the black, the tacky, the tall, etc. would dissolve when shielded from the sight. John Lennon called this bagism which is a more beautiful concept as it lets YOU choose to shield your appearance from others by placing a bag over your body.
Anyhoo hooo hooo, this book wasn’t like that at all. It was about a disease that rabidly and rapidly affects a whole world. One falls blind infects the other blah blah blah. The first group of blind people get interred and chaos ensues and sub-animal acts go on. The trouble with this book as that I never really felt anything. It was anestithized oddly even with all the graphic depictions. I was also a bit clueless about the theme of the book. There was supposed to be some significance that the blindness was a white blindness instead of a black blindness (as in the victims saw white). I suppose this book was good in making you appreciate the things you take for granted, but beyond that? Hmmmmm. The book ended with someone ruminating that they weren’t really blind ever. I didn’t get that either. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
December 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
in persuasion nation
george saunders
|
|
| I adore George Saunders – I gobble up everything he writes, both fiction and non-fiction. In this collection of stories, some of which appeared in various publications, he's at his strange and wonderful best. My favorite piece is a "Letter To The Editor" where the author not only supports laws against same-sex marriage, but also supports laws against "samish-sex marriage". In his mind, men who are remotely feminine should not be allowed to marry women who are remotely masculine – and he goes on to detail a long and complex system in how to determine these matches. It's hilariously funny. Many of his stories exist in crazy alternate worlds – like the one about various characters and products from commercial ads that wage war on one another. How can you not laugh at a "members of the Orange/Grammy/man-briefly-involved-with-a-Ding-Dong/piles of mush/penisless man coalition versus the members of the Ding-Dong/Doritos/Timmy/grandparents-who-love-Doritos/Kevin/Slap-of-Wack coalition"? One of the clueless reviewers on Amazon.com said "this book is in outer space" and yes, it is and fans of Saunders like it like that. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2008 [link] |
recommend
|
jesus land
julia scheeres
|
|
after the james frey debacle, i tread lightly when reading memoirs, which unfortunately has been my favorite literary genre the past few years. the one thing that strikes me while reading julia scheeres' book 'jesus land' is just how believable it is. at the same time, the incidents in the book are shocking and written in gut-wrenching, visceral prose that is not exploitive or self-pitying.
in the book, the young julia scheeres grows up in a strict christian household where secular music is not tolerated, where christian music is broadcast over the house intercom system – the same intercom system her mother uses to spy upon the children's conversations, an fearful omnipresence as real as that of the angry god scheere's parents infuse into nearly every household moment.
julia's father is a well-to-do surgeon. he and her mother go on missions to spread the word of christianity to poor nations. in keeping with their charity, they adopt two african american boys, david (around julia's age) and jerome (older). in addition to the seething racism the boys are exposed to in the small, religious town, they must also face the wrath of julia's father, who increasingly takes his stress and anger out on the two through beatings severe enough to require the services of dr. scheere's physician friends at the hospital – none of which suspect a thing.
julia, meanwhile, is subjected to increasing sexual abuse by the elder jerome, who sneaks into her room at night and threatens her with violence for telling.
the story centers on the bond between julia and david, who despite the differences in their skin, develop a deep relationship fueled by their shared exclusion, abuse, and bizarre homelife.
their story intensifies as both are shipped (at separate, but overlapping occasions) to a prison-like reform school in the dominican republic. the horrors they endure there together only strengthen their bond, although for much of their time there they are forbidden to speak to one another. every day i read this book i couldn't wait to pick it up again to see how these two were doing. you truly care for these characters (which is more than you can say about james frey's story).
this memoir is about a lot of things: race, religion, coming-of-age, etc., but at its heart it is about about how our family is often not our own flesh and blood, and how that bond can get us through unimaginable horrors. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: ericS |
March 2006 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
vera: mrs. vladimir nabokov
stacy schiff
|
|
This was a book about the wife of Vladimir Nabokov. It was
on the clearance rack for $4 at Barnes and Noble. I had a $25
gift certificate. It's OK. I want to read some Nabokov now,
but I feel that the book just sort of says the same - hyper-
referenced thing for 400 odd pages: Vera Nabokov was a
woman powerful and immeasurable in her husband's life.
The writer also employs that annoying technique of looping
back like telling you that Vera had a blue dog (just an
example) and then describing it and then two pages later
saying that Vera had a blue dog. The one interesting aspect
of this book was the pre-war Eastern Europe days. This is
my second accidental glimpse at that time period. I get the
impression that it was a way more advanced period and that
the war made us all go back to family values and
assimilation. I will investigate further. Not that Eastern
Europe seems to be advanced advanced. It just seems that
writing and art fluorished and decadence was rapidly
occurring. Sort of where we are now. It's sort of like we've
looped around. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
March 2001 [link] |
recommend
|
schott's original miscellany
ben schott
|
|
An entertaining book filled with, well, miscellaneous and random information. Listings lik events of a decathlon, husbands of Elizabeth Taylor and a tiny drawing on how to tie a bow tie. My favorite was a listing of how famous rockers died with a little quip next to their name such as "Dennis Wilson, drowned; Beach Boy not Buoy".
All the information is a great conversation starter and impressive trivia to have on hand. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
strange but true
john searles
|
|
| Never was there a more appropriate title than "Strange But True". And never was there a more suspenseful, deep and moving story. Even though it's been five years since a car accident changed the lives of two families, the trauma never goes away. Set in Pennsylvania, Philip is home from NYC to recover from a fall from a fire escape; his brother has been dead five years; the girl the brother was dating at the time of his death is preggers and she thinks the dead brother impregnated her from beyond the grave. Lots of flashbacks as the story unfolds and you can't help but think it's like a soap opera in a intelligent, literary form. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
the lovely bones
alice sebold
|
|
This book will haunt you until the last page and then it will haunt you some more. I tried to resist reading this book after reading the first chapter in The New York Times Book Review and was just a little creeped out by it. But, I saw it at the library and decided to give it a whirl.
Wow.
The story is of 14-year old Susie murdered by her neighbor, her body never to be found - just an elbow. She narrates the story from heaven, her heaven - as it turns out heaven is different for everyone and you get a roommate and a counselor. Along with Susie, we watch from heaven as her parents and siblings and friends grieve and watch the murderer pretend it never happened and watch as everyone else experiences what Susie never will - love, growing up, life and heartbreak.
A truly amazing book. Every sentence has its place and is so purposeful that I often found myself gripping the book so tightly that my fingers were white. It's also the first book I've ever cried over. I cannot recommend it enough even though it will leave you feeling satisfied and sad and vulnerable all at the same time. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
lucky
alice sebold
|
|
| When Sebold is attacked and raped as a freshman at Syracuse University, one of the policemen that processes her case declares her "lucky" that she wasn't murdered. Sebold didn't exactly feel lucky at the time. This memoir gently tells of her coming back from the brink of something so crushing and reclaiming her life. She talks about the perceptions of her friends and family (for example, her father can't understand why she didn't fight her attacker off after he dropped his knife) and how it changed her. She ultimately sees her attacker on the street when she returns to school and is able to go to trial and see him sent to jail. If you read Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" you know how haunted and beautiful her writing is and this memoir is just as mesmerizing. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2007 [link] |
recommend
|
dress your family in corduroy and denim
david sedaris
|
|
I think that this newest collection of essays from David Sedaris is a bit darker than Me Talk Pretty One Day; it reminds me more of his Barrel Fever days. It still somehow surprises me that Me Talk Pretty and this new book can be found as THE books on airport terminal bookshelves. Sure they're funny, but I think they're a little risque for the average traveler from middle America, don't you?
That being said, it was still utterly enjoyable and wonderful. Unfortunately for me, a bunch of the stories were printed in Esquire the past few years so I had already read them but I am happy to have a copy of this on my bookshelf. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2004 [link] |
recommend
|
barrel fever
david sedaris
|
|
| What more can I say? This is some funny stuff. I especially like the Christmas letter short story as I have of late become titillated with the Christmas letter phenom (as in, Mark and I have painted the bedroom this year and oh yes...we have a new addition to our family: Stripey kitty blah boring blah). Mr. Sedaris' writings are like a Vic Chestnut album (whom I just love especially that song that goes..."Dannnyyy, doesn't give a damn about the contras....he would rather dreeeeaammm than f#ck") |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
January 2000 [link] |
recommend
|
deceptively delicious
jessica seinfeld
|
|
The buzz on this cookbook is that Seinfeld is being sued by Missy Lapine, author of "The Sneaky Chef", who thinks Seinfeld plagerized her. The truth is, and Seinfeld eloquently points this out in a note on her web site, hiding veggies and fruits in other foods has been done for millions of years by millions of parents. Many of the recipes in Seinfeld's book are not new - her meatloaf recipe contains carrot puree; the Martha Stewart recipe I've been using for 10 years contains finely chopped carrots. It's not new, people. That being said, I did think the cookbook had some great recipes (a bunch can be found on Oprah's site: http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld
/recipes/jseinfeld_recipes_main.jhtml). I'm glad my library had the book because even though I liked it, it's not a book I want to add to my cookbook collection. I have to say that concerning both authors, I think it's funny that we have to "sneak" veggies into our kids; isn't there a way to just add veggies to our cooking without it being "sneaky" or "deceptive"? Strange times. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2008 [link] |
recommend
|
going with the grain: a wandering bread lover takes a bite out of life
susan seligson
|
|
| to hell with the atkin's diet - bread is the food of life!! this brilliant book takes us all over the world to see the culture of bread making and eating. each chapter is a different bread and place so you can skip around and read only what interests you. seligson takes us to the wonder bread "bakery, to aunt eunice's kitchen for biscuits and gravy and then on to morocco, india, and ireland just to name a few. each essay includes a bread recipe. this week, i plan on making 12 loaves of bread and perfecting my southern biscuit form. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
April 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
ciao, america: an italian discovers the u.s.
beppe severgnini
|
|
I am late reading this book – apparently the whole world has already read this book. My cat has probably already read this book (“you are just now reading that? Meow.”).
Well, here is my two word review: Its’ cute.
There, I said it.
A fine book, Severgnini documents his year living in the states and how things are different than in his native Italy. It was an enjoyable read, don’t get me wrong (Severgnini comes off as an great chap), but there were few relevations in it (We like cold beverages!) – I mean, I could totally be missing the point that this book was originally written in Italian and was a best-seller in Italy. Naturally, it may not work as well when read by freedom fry loving Americans.
A good rental. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: rich |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
hamlet
william shakespeare
|
|
| If you haven't read this, do so (well in my opinion). In my youth, I was so entranced and moved to tears when I first "got" the to be or not to be passage. I can still memorize 80% of it I think...to be or not to be that is the question, whether 'tis nobler in the mind to live a shitty, meaningless, darkened life, or shake of this mortal coil. Would it be better to toss the dice and put a knife in your heart and maybe the next life would be a dream or are we supposed to be living in obscurity of our meaning on earth? (paraphrased har har har). Monetarily speaking, I often quote the "neither a borrower or lender be for loan oft loses both self and friend and borrowing dulleth the edge of husbandry". Just a pretty freakin great body of words. Every time I've SEEN this play or movie, I've never thought it lived up to the way I read it. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
July 2000 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
|
live from new york
tom shales
|
|
i didn’t read this book so much as skim through it reading excerpts from the people i wanted to hear from. it’s compiled in a strange way: each paragraph is a different person being interviewed. that’s why i found it so hard to completely read it all the way through. the underlying themes in the book are: how great lorne micheals is (i think he was just at the right place at the right time and am annoyed by him), how much drugs were on the set in the 70s and 80s and how much of it was a white boys club. read it, don’t read it, you’ll never miss it.
here’s an excerpt if you REALLY want to know.
|
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
eating my words
mimi sheraton
|
|
| I finished this food memoir folllowing the heels of the Ruth Riechl book "Garlic and Sapphires". Mimi Sheraton was also the NY Times restaurant critic years before Riechl - Sheraton's reign was the 70's and early 80's. This memoir answered questions like "Are there any junk foods you like?" and "Do you ever want to own a restaurant?" and other questions a restaurant critic endures. Sheraton lacks the engaging storytelling abilities of Riechl and one couldn't help noticing all the name dropping in the memoir - there were whole chapter where Sheraton was just recounting articles she wrote for Time magazine, Conde Nast Traveler and the New Yorker. I found Sheraton to be a little annoying, a bit of a braggart and although Sheraton is now in her late 60's and has certainly earned some bragging rights, I was very glad I got this book used for only $3. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
the russian debutante's handbook
gary shteyngart
|
|
| meet vladimir girshkin - 25-year old russian emigre - looking for the quintessential american dream of life, love and happiness. now watch him get mixed-up with a wealthy russian known as the "fan man" (he socializes with two fans of the oscillating persuasion) and ultimately land in prava (the paris of the 90s) as a member russian mafia. along the way you meet his girlfriend challah, his grandmother guarding the trees of his parent's yard and the foot of a gargantuan stone statue of lenin - what more could you want in nabakov/ holden caulfield story? full of heart and mind, this witty, wicked and brilliant novel has been a bestseller and new york times notable book. run, do not walk, to the nearest bookstore conglomerate and buy it. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2003 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
|
absurdistan
gary shteyngart
|
|
In "Absurdistan" we meed Misha Vainberg, who is, yes, vain, and funny, weighs 325 pounds in his vintage Puma tracksuits (he calls himself an "incorrigible fatso") and is the son of the 1,238th richest man in Russia. "Beloved Papa" not only made Misha get circumcised on his way to college in the U.S. (a botched circumcision, as we intimately learn) but upon Misha's return from NYC a few years later it turns out that his Papa had killed a man in Oklahoma and authorities won't let Misha travel back to the U.S. and to his other beloved, a Bronx girl named Rouenna. And so, after the sad assassination of Papa, Misha hefts his portliness to oil-laden country of Absurdistan to secure a Belgian passport and winds up in the midst of a coup/civil war/oil company chaos all while wooing woman (one of which woos while still in Russia, his father's young widow whom he hilariously seduces with lines from a Zagat's guide) and almost never skipping a meal.
If you missed Shteyngart's witty and splendid "The Russian Debutant's Handbook" you cannot miss "Absurdistan" for its humorous storyline and clever characters, made-up rap lyrics and all the fun Shteyngart's pokes at fat people, religion, oil conglomerates and even himself. (One of the people Misha can't stand is a guy he went to college with who is now a professor named "Jerry Shteynfarb". "Shteynfarb" has just written a bestselling book in the U.S. titled "The Russian Arriviste's Hand Job" and is called a Jewish Nabakov by Misha's friends - one gets the sense that Shteygart is rather humoured by his success in the literary circuit.) I found myself savoring every word of the book, wondering how soon is too soon to go back and read it again. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2006 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
|
the schwa was here
neal shusterman
|
|
Anthony Bonano is an adolescent living in Brooklyn who makes friends with the mysterious, quixotic Calvin Schwa. Like the original meaning of "Schwa"--as in, "the faint vowel sound in many unstressed syllables of the English language", for example, the e in overlook--Calvin is invisible to most people. They use Calvin's near-invisibility to make money with dares, until one dare gets them involved with Crawley, the eccentric, wealthy and unpleasant old man of the neighborhood. He forces them to walk his 14 dogs, and while doing so, introduces them to his blind niece, Lexie. Adolescent love-triangle torment ensues, as does a crisis of identity for Calvin, who finally discovers what happened to his mother and how/why she mysteriously "dissappeared..."
Not as good as Shusterman's other work, like The SCORPION SHARDS trilogy, but it's an alright book. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: victoria |
May 2005 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
|
peachtree road
anne river siddons
|
|
| This book was recommended to me by Sue. While I normally hate lengthy character-driven drivel, I gave this book a chance because Sue said it wasn't like the others. This one had an interesting mental illness character. As I'm fascinated with mental illness, I gave it a chance. It was somewhat interesting, but not my type of book. It was a soggy glimpse into the life of a wealthy Atlanta hermit. Sue liked. Maybe you will. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
|
mr. strangelove:a biography of peter sellers
peter sikov
|
|
| This biography opens with a quote from its subject: “Some forms of reality are so horrible we refuse to face them, unless we are trapped into it by comedy. To label any subject unsuitable for comedy is to admit defeat.” Try as I might I couldn’t find the individual behind that quote anywhere in this book. While very readable, Sikov’s narrative leaves the reader not really knowing that much more about Sellers. The book is heavy on plot synopsis of Sellers film work (do we really need the plot of Revenge of the Pink Panther broken down for us) and dishy tales about his numerous marriages. What Sikov manages to gloss over such things such as Sellers claims that he saw imaginary little impish people or that he spoke to his mother long after her death. Instances like these are mentioned in passing and bring to the foreground the essential weakness of the book: you don’t really learn too much about Sellers. Throughout the novel, numerous people (Sellers included) state that he is a cipher, that there was not a real person there to know. While there are some very interesting facts about his childhood and several interesting stories about the making of some of his films, this book is overall a disappointment. That said, it still made me want to go watch Being There again. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: JohnLawton |
November 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
anywhere but here
mona simpson
|
|
| This was a good solitude book. I liked it fine - partly/mostly because it had people (much like me) who didn't have a career or any glory but had lots of desire. I'm a bit of an isolationist with a mother, so I did indeed empathize. It was a lonely book. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
prep
curtis sittenfeld
|
|
a lovely debut novel from ms. sittenfeld (yes, curtis is a woman). sittenfeld is an accomplished short story writer and prep-school english teacher and her novel looks at the fictional life of prep school called "ault". we see it through the eyes of lee fiora, who starts her ninth grade year at ault fron public school in indiana. to add angst to even more angst, she's on scholarship with students named gates, cross and aspeth - you know, "those" rich kids.
it has been likened to "catcher in the rye"...i wouldn't go there with that one. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
the immortal life of henrietta lacks
rebecca skloot
|
|
| Rebecca Skloot spent close to ten years researching and writing this book about the infamous HeLa cells that scientists use in research. These cells have also allowed scientists to make strides in a multitude of areas and have cured diseases far and wise. The problem? When these cells were harvested from Henrietta Lacks in the 50s, she was a black woman dying of cervical cancer and was never asked consent. Subsequently, all these years, labs have been paying for the cells and her family has lived in poverty with no health insurance almost their whole lives. The successes in health that her cells have afforded the medical industry have been incredible, yet the story of her family is very sad: she and her husband were first cousins, one of their children was institutionalized and the family never made contact with her again, abuse and crime ran rampant in her family yet her life was the single most important cog in medical advancement. It would've been nice to read that her family at least was given free health insurance or to have read that they were compensated after the book was published but that has yet to happen. Money was donated for a proper headstone for Henrietta Lacks, which means she can finally rest in peace. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2010 [link] |
recommend
|
dust
arthur slade
|
|
| This book was really quite excellent and beautiful, like what would happen if you mixed a dash of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury with a heavy pinch of "The Pied Piper" and added a pinch of "The Grapes of Wrath." I highly recommend it. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: victoria |
January 2006 [link] |
recommend
|
a fortunate age
joanna smith rakoff
|
|
A measure of the likeability of a book, for me, is whether I am anxious to find out what happens to the characters in an obsessive, read-while-making-dinner way and in this case, dinner just did not get made. Starting with six friends, all recent Oberlin grads, together at one of the friends' wedding and ending with the same six friends some ten years later, all very far from where they began, "A Fortunate Age" is richly detailed, nostalgic and wonderfully compelling. Having spent time in NYC in the 90s made the book familiar but it's the characters' thoughts, actions and experiences that really hit home, as they work their way through life getting married, getting divorced, finding careers and finding themselves (or not.) My favorite character is Sadie, a member of the old-moneyed Peregrine family and, to me, the most level-headed. Her mother Rose is an old New York socialite who says things like "That's a whole different pair of gloves" (my new saying as well) and I would love a sequel of sorts just about Sadie and her family if only because the blue-blood aristocracy is so damned interesting.
Comparisons to "The Group" and "The Emperor's Children" don't need to be made (they've been made just about everywhere else) because "A Fortunate Age" definitely holds its own.
|
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2009 [link] |
recommend 9 thumbs up
|
dishing
liz smith
|
|
| This slightly disjointed memoir from "America's Most Beloved Gossip Columnist" Liz Smith includes plenty of name-dropping chapters about meals she's shared with famous and the infamous. Featuring a rather scary photo of Liz on the cover as well as photos inside, it also has her favorite recipes. Not totally the food memoir you might be looking for, but skip around and you might find a chapter that suits your taste. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
autograph man
zadie smith
|
|
First let me say that I loved Smith's first book "White Teeth". It's one of those books that I grab off my shelf from time to time and re-read, it's that excellent. Her second book, "Autograph Man" - eh, not so great. I don't even think I finished reading it. But "On Beauty" sees a return to her "White Teeth" roots with the telling of a complex yet moving story about love, racism, politics, gender and growing old all while being funny and gorgeous.
The story follows the Belsey and Kipps families in a wealthy Boston suburb of Wellington and the private college also called Wellington. The families are enemies because both father's are professors with totally different agendas and the story unfolds from there touching upon infidelity, death and forgiveness.
Smith's characters are so rich and well-developed that it's hard not to fall in love with them, flaws and all. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
November 2005 [link] |
recommend
|
public life, the
murial sparks
|
|
| I'm going to be reading a lot more of this lil' lassie. She is very very insightful. I doubt this book is her best one ever, but I did like the voice and style. It's not the deepest, but it's got a sly, worldly tone. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
|
the grapes of wrath
john steinbeck
|
|
this was one book i never had to read in school and i decided that maybe, just maybe, that was the reason i was so aimless in my career decisions. alas, it is not. the grapes of wrath was heralded as "shocking" when it was first published in 1939 with steinbeck's portrayel of a dirt-poor, post-depression family moving west to california to escape the dust bowl.
i often read about how amazing and incredible this book is and while i found it descriptive and interesting and heart-wrenching it was in no way amazing or, as one amazon.com reviewer quipped, "astounding". i understand that it's historic and steinbeck won the pulitzer for it and all that but jeesh, gimme a break.
i DID read the pearl and the red pony when i was in junior high school, both by steinbeck. suffice to say, i was not happy about those either. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
April 2003 [link] |
recommend 4 thumbs up
|
freakonomics
levitt steven
|
|
| A cool quick read that looks into the hidden side of economics which at heart is the study of incentives. Chapters include a look at why real estate agents and the KKK have so much in common, the real reason behind falling crimes rates, and my favorite chapter - why drug dealers live with their mothers. If anything, pick up the book and read the drug dealer chapter alone - it's pretty stunning. Another chapter looks at the influence of names - mostly what the difference is between black and white names. The author also gives a list of names predicted to be "hot" in 2015. Ella AND Grace are on the list. Guess I did to my daughter what my parents did to me by naming me "Lisa" in 1974. (There were seven Lisas in my grade...and one of my best friend's name is Lisa. Yeah, yeah, Lisa-Lisa and the Cult Jam. Good one.) |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
|
driving over lemons
chris stewart
|
|
Charged with scouting out a possible property onto which an englishman and his wife might engage in the life-changing activity of stepping off the grid, Chris Stewart buys a dilapidated mountain farm on impulse and changes the course of his and his wife's life forever.
The trials of relocation, renovation, and assimilation in a foreign land devoid of modern conveniences are told with a wry, self-deprecating sense of humor made the nuts and bolts of his experience resonate with the romantic ideas the terrain and some of his neighbors tried to quash. The subtitle, An Optimist in Spain, is such an apt addition to the book I found myself flipping back to the cover on many instances where Stewart's optimism astounded me.
Also a deft writer of travel journals and accomplished shearer of sheep, Stewart's chronicle of his family's adventure is a must read for the do-it-yourselfer who romanticizes the idea of unplugging and taking on the challenge of self-sufficiency in a foreign land. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: nate |
January 2011 [link] |
recommend
|
on the water: discovering america in a rowboat
nathaniel stone
|
|
| chasing a childhood dream, the author sets out on a 6000 mile rowing journey from the brooklyn bridge, up the hudson, across the erie canal, down the mississippi to the gulf of mexico. then he takes a few months break and returns to new orleans to continue through the gulf, around florida and up the east coast to maine. filled with anecdotes of friendly strangers along the way and plenty of reflection of a possessions-free life this book is funny, touching and inspiring. i liked that he pointed out that except for a small stretch of land in ohio, the part of the u.s. east of the missississippi is pretty much an island. kool. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
|
olive kitteridge
elizabeth strout
|
|
Curmudgeonly old Olive Kitteridge figures into all of the thirteen stories of Elizabeth Strout's "novel in stories" collection. Appearing more prominently in some stories than others, Olive can be found lingering in someone's memory or right in their face. For the residents of tiny Crosby, Maine, almost everyone has had some contact with Olive or her pharmacist husband, Henry at one time or another. Maybe they had Olive as a teacher, or maybe they've seen her on her Dunkin' Donuts visits or have been the recipient of a sarcastic quip from her. Each story contains that quiet desperation of life in a small town chock full of gossip and drama as well as life and hope. This has been one of my favorite collections of short stories to come around in a long time and I can't wait to reread it.
|
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2009 [link] |
recommend
|
cookoff: recipe fever in america
amy sutherland
|
|
| An expose, if you will, of the competitive world of cook- and bake-offs! Sutherland covers almost all of the most popular contests like the Pillsbury Bake-Off and National Beef and Chicken contests. She profiles some "contesters" which are people that in some cases have won thousands of dollars from these contests in addition to new kitchens and new kitchen appliances. This is a very interesting read about the history of American cooking and the cult following some of the contests have and a look at why recipes loaded with soup mixes are so damn popular. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2004 [link] |
recommend
|
bergdorf blondes
plum sykes
|
|
BB is a silly little snippet of a read about "those" type of woman that roam the four corners of the earth - you know, the type on the look out for the perfect second husband (while still married to the perfect first husband), the perfect chloe jeans, the perfect valentino dress and just about a million other things that only the money of their trust funds or rich boyfriends can buy. Set in lovely NYC in all the hippest places, the main character "Moi" and her best friend, Julie Bergdorf (heiress to Bergdorf Goodman department stores) sleep-in until 11am, jet off to Cannes with Prospective Husband du jour and stress about their social calendar.
This is a great summer beach read, especially since your hair will emerge just the teensiest bit blonder. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2004 [link] |
recommend
|
the debutante divorcee
plum sykes
|
|
I'm sure I said this same thing about Syke's first book "Bergdorf Blondes" but how can you pass up a book by an author named Plum?
Extra super fluff read about New York jet-set gals that, once they land the man of their dreams, dream of the day they become glam divorcees. Read it for the silliness, read it because you'll never worry about your chanel clashing with your prada and finally, read it on vacay between People magazine and your next sunscreen application. |
|
|
|
reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2006 [link] |
recommend
|
|
|
|
|
|
