March by Geraldine Brooks

I'm a little behind on my book blogging! I've read a few great books since my last post, but for some reason I can't get my butt in the chair to review them. But here it goes. I'm back!

After I finished Unaccustomed Earth by the perfect Jhumpa Lahiri, I took some time to choose my next reading venture. I tried Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff, but something about the narrator's voice irked me. I just couldn't get into it, although I admit I didn't give it much of a chance to catch me. I strongly considered The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I *will* read that one. It was in my lap, along with Ms. Brooks' March. Alas, I picked up March first, and I was instantly hooked. What a great writer. She really has the magic...which is why I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. Don't get me wrong. I give it at least 4.5 out of 5 stars, and that makes me uncomfortable because I can't articulate any problems with it. The only possible explanation for why I don't consider it perfect is that it's too much of a good thing. Does that make sense?

For those of you who don't know, March is a brand new angle of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Shockingly, I haven't read the old classic, but I've seen the most recent (Winona Ryder, Claire Danes) film adaptation numerous times. March tells the story of the beloved, absent father who, during the action in LW, was off preaching to gospel to Civil War soldiers. The story oscillates between his past and his horrifying ordeal on the battlefront, his lustful longings for a slave at a Virginia plantation, his yearning to teach young slave children to read and write, and the survivor-guilt-inspired self-loathing. The narrative style is unique in that it contains letters to his wife, Marmee, but the reader knows he is lying (or at least telling partial truths) to protect his wife from the truth he himself cannot handle. It's a great idea and a beautifully told story, but it just got old for me somewhere in the middle. I found the character at bit whiny as he lamented the state of human rights in the antebellum South. March was a man of high, Quaker ideals and he repeatedly ran up against people, Southern cotton farmers and Northerners looking to make a buck in the war-ravaged South) who just wanted to see slaves stay ignorant and in the fields. As much as I loved March and his cause, I just got tired of it. Yes, there were few good men in America at that time. I got it--early on. Yet this book kept hitting me over the head with it.

Look, I'm not saying March didn't deserve the Pulitzer which was bestowed upon it in 2006. But in my opinion the plot becomes a bit plodding in the middle. Perhaps some will say I would have better appreciation for it if I'd read Little Women, but I don't think so. I think Brooks got caught up in the beauty of the language and little-known aspects of the Civil War that she didn't realize the character development was on hiatus for a good 150 pages of this novel.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I read this book for my What's in a Name reading challenge. It's only the second book of six I selected to read, so I need to get moving! This book fulfills the requirement of a book with the name of a plant in its title. I actually started to read this in February. I took it to India when we went for my brother-in-law's wedding, and I inadvertently left it at my mother-in-law's flat. By that time I was sufficiently interested in the story that I actually bought myself a new copy and picked up where I left off. Was it worth it? Sure. It was a pleasant read, but I wouldn't say it was life-altering. Here's my synopsis and review.

Purple Hibiscus tells the story of Kambili, a teenage girl growing up in Enugu, Nigeria. She is the daughter of an extremely wealthy industrialist who happens to be very devoutly Catholic. Kambili and her brother, JaJa, live sheltered lives; every moment of their lives is literally planned by their tyrannical father, who creates weekly schedules for them to follow. Life is bleak. Kambili never dares to laugh or smile; he can hardly bring herself to talk. She is a prisoner in her own mind, except her thoughts don't wander from her rigidly planned life long enough for her to realize this. Kambili and JaJa are hardly allowed to interact with their grandfather, because he still practices a traditional African religion.

However, as Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and JaJa are sent to live with their aunt, a liberal, feminist university professor, and her children, who have been raised with happiness and joy. Kambili is both intimidated and awestruck by her cousins, the way they laugh, talk, and question so freely. She is also taken Father Amadi, the priest in her relatives' church. Life slowly beings to change for Kambili.

By the end of the novel, nothing is as it was in the beginning. The journey is heartwarming and captivating. It kept me reading. However, there are some parts of the plot that seemed a bit clunky and amateurish to me. I can forgive this--it was the author's first novel and, hey, at least she's putting pen to paper, which is more than I can say for myself. But I *am* curious to read Half of a Yellow Sun, which received infinitely more critical attention--I want to see if she's polished what promises to be a strong, respected West African voice in the future of fine literature.

Tracy Chevalier Comes to Dallas

During a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art in January I noticed--with great surprise and delight--that one of my favorite authors, Tracy Chevalier, was coming to Dallas for a reading at that very museum. Not being a fiction fan, Mihir has never read her books, but I certainly have. Her best known novel is Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was adapted into a film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. Her lasted effort, Burning Bright, is about the 18th century British weirdo William Blake, and it's just recently out in paperback. The timing of her appearance was a little inconvenient--just 3 days after our return from India, and only an hour after Mihir's flight from Atlanta landed at DFW. The poor man hadn't been home at all since we left for India, and I whisked him off to this reading. He was a good sport. What a great husband I have. The reading didn't disappoint. As someone who would love to write, I'm always enthused to hear about authors' inspirations and work habits. Ms Chevalier is very inspired by art and the process of creating art. While I don't necessarily share that affinity, but she did validate my suspicion that inspiration comes from a variety of places, and few authors are the same. It was a great evening for me. I've long wanted to meet her, and she made it an experience to remember.

Stolen Book Meme

Nobody has tagged me for this meme, but I read it on Logophilia and I was fascinated by it. So here I go...

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? This is tough for me to answer, simply because I'm ashamed that I don't have a completely open mind when it comes to all books. I feel I should *want* to read everything, but that just isn't the case. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I stayed away from the movie, too. But I did read A Thousand Splendid Suns. It was...okay. Just okay.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? I would invite Scout Finch, Tom Joad, and Griet from Chevalier's Girl With the Pearl Earring. I know there's no succinct connection, but I always wished they were real.

You are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave? If it's fiction, probably Moby Dick or something like that. I think this book starts out great, but after the first 100 pages or so, I just can't go on.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. It's the only one I haven't read, but I've seen 2 separate film adaptations, so I can fake it well enough.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book? Nothing comes to mind.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalize the VIP) I'm always shy about recommending books! I guess that's counter to my self-identification as a book nerd/bibliophile but, to me, reading is intensely personal. I identify with books and characters for my own personal reasons, and I don't expect anyone to respond to a book exactly as I have. Having said that, the first books that come to mind are To Kill a Mockingbird, Elie Weisel's Night, and Women at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi. I think they all explore a human event that's more horrific than most of us ever experience. I don't believe that anyone should glide through life without getting a glimpse of such heartache and torment, even if it's only in the pages of a book.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? Polish. I answer this way because of one poet: Wislawa Szymborska. I devour her poems as translated into English, but it breaks my heart that I can't experience them in her native Polish. I'd love to do that.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? Probably something by Austen, such as Pride and Prejudice. I always get something more from this novel with each reading. I only recently was awed by how much is says about interrelations between women, and how it's still relevant today.

I know that the book blogging community and its various challenges have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? My to-read list grows daily! I don't think I've "discovered" so many books and/or authors, but I've had my yearnings to read particular books affirmed again and again. This happens with recently published works and books that have been part of my consciousness for a long time. Examples of this are The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak (a YA book that is, according to the blogs, very engaging) and perhaps the Twilight series by Stephenie Martin--it's a vampire story that sounds intriguing but so cheesy that I might not read it but for the raving reviews on various blogs. Brain candy, we call it. As for well-known books that again pique my interest because of something I've read online...let's see. Probably A.S. Byatt's Frederica Quartet. I just need to take the plunge.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather-bound? Is it full of first edition hard covers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free. Ha! I've imagined this so many times! In fact, Mihir and I just had dinner at a his colleague's home, and he and his wife had something very close to my dream: a towering bookshelf, complete with a sliding ladder (it was a very nice house). But theirs was in the living room, and I'd want my library completely separate, a place where it is possible to be alone. I'd want at least three of the four walls to be floor-to-ceiling shelves--with a ladder. I can't decide if I'd want to shelves to be dark wood or painted white. Probably dark, since a slightly darker room tends to make one want to burrow, and that's the feeling I'd like for my library. Huge, wide, overstuffed chairs like you find in nice bookstores, and at least one comfy blanket, preferably the granny-square afghan my grandmother made. As for the books themselves, I'd want the exact books I already have, which are mostly well-worn and loved paperbacks. I love the color, the character, the memories they evoke. The actual copy of the book which I actually read means almost as much to me as the actual story, as if it's integral to the experience of getting lost in the book. I'm very attached to my copy of The Bluest Eye, which I used for my honors thesis in college and is full of my annotations. I have several books in the same or similar condition, and I'd never part with any of them. They'll all be in my library, someday.

Chunkster Challenge

Here I go again! I'm already entrenched in my What's in a Name reading challenge. I've already finished one book! But this Chunkster Challenge seems like such fun, and I can already think of a few books I've been meaning to read. Maybe this is all the encouragement I need. Although the rules require only four books between January 7 and December 20, I think I'll list a few more ... just to give myself some options. Here they are:

1. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (this one is already on my nightstand, waiting)
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (this is double-dipping, since I'm reading it for the What's in a Name Challenge as well)
3. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
4. Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
5. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
6. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
7. I the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos (This is a famous Paraguayan writer, and the book was a gift from friends who travel there frequently.)
8. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Jane Austen on PBS' Masterpiece Series

I just had to post this--it's too cool not to raise awareness any way I can. For the first time, the film adaptations of all six of Jane Austen's beautiful novels will be on television here in the United States! I'm thrilled, ecstatic, and over the moon. Eight weeks of Austen! Here's the schedule. Here in North Texas, you can see these gems on KERA.

Jan 13 - Persuasion
Jan 20 - Northanger Abbey
Jan 27 - Mansfield Park
Feb 3 - Miss Austen Regrets
Feb 10 though Feb 24 - Pride and Prejudice
Mar 23 - Emma
Mar 30 and Apr 6 - Sense and Sensibility

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood has long been one of my favorite authors. In fact, her dystopian gem The Handmaid's Tale is one my my top 5 novels. I stumbled upon that book accidentally, browsing in a used book shop while lost in San Francisco in 2001. What a beautiful mistake. Since then, I've read Edible Woman, Oryx and Crake, The Blind Assassin, and now Cat's Eye. I read Cat's Eye for my What's in a Name reading challenge, as my book with an animal in the title. Here's my review.

First and foremost, I perceived this novel as a wonderful, painfully accurate study of how girls treat other girls. Though it was written in the 1980s, and takes place largely in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Cat's Eye is a very relevant study of the venom dripping from self-conscious little girls, and the agonizing self-loathing it so often masks. The central character, and narrator, is Elaine Risley. An established painter, Elaine reluctantly returns to her childhood home, Toronto, because a local gallery is hosting a retrospective of her life's artwork. Almost immediately upon her return to Toronto, old ghosts arise to haunt Elaine--particularly Cordelia, who was simultaneously Elaine's best friend and worst enemy during their formative childhood years. Cordelia's cunning psychological abuse--and Elaine's silent acceptance of it--probably quite accurately portrays a common girlhood rite of passage. As memories overcome Elaine, and as she struggles to come to terms with her childhood torment, Cordelia's image appears before her around every corner, her face in ever crowd. It is an extremely compelling study of how horribly little girls and young women treat each other, and how these social interactions bend us and shape us, and never really evaporate from us. It certainly struck a chord with me.

Cat's Eye follows Elaine through childhood, high school, college, and her professional life. It's all depicted beautifully, and with such honesty. There are elements of Elaine that make me think Atwood used me as a model for the character. It's rare that a book strikes me so profoundly, hits such a nerve (although Atwood has done it twice now, first with The Handmaid's Tale, and now this. I can't recommend it any more heartily.

So, 1 down, 5 to go. I'm taking a break from my reading challenge selections at the moment. I'm rereading Pride and Prejudice, a novel that always makes me smile, and gets better with every read.