Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
This is such a girl's book: enduring friendships, career struggles, tear-jerking diseases, love triangles -- Firefly Lane has them all! Depending on your taste in books -- this could either delight or annoy you. Or, in my case - both!
Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey meet in the 70's as teenagers. They are vastly different personalities with contrasting upbringings, but somehow they manage to forge a strong bond in spite of them. Their friendship continues through college, career, family, and the obligatory chick lit's tear-jerking health tragedy.
This book has another theme common in women's literature - regrets and choices. The "road not taken" is heavily pondered in this novel.
Tully becomes famous as she's always wanted, but except for Kate and Kate's family -- has no personal life. Kate abandons career in favor of family, but feels overwhelmed and wistful of what she's given up.
For the most part, I enjoyed the book. It's easy to relate to the characters -- they are my age so have listened to the same music, lived through the same US history and have been through some of the same struggles.
However, I felt the novel had some flaws. The character of Tully Hart was somewhat unrealistic. Very few people reach Oprah-status in life and it would have been more plausible to have Tully become a locally-famous news anchor instead of a media super star.
The book could have been shortened by about 100 pages. Somewhere around the new millenium -- the story got a bit tedious for me. And, get ready to sing "Wind beneath My Wings" at the story's conclusion.
Read this book if you want to lose yourself for awhile in a fairly decent story. However, my guess is you won't remember it too long after you've read the last page.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Testimony by Anita Shreve
My brother recently commented that people don't seem to think beyond the next minute. Although he was referring to shootings and other random acts of violence, "not thinking beyond the next minute" accurately sums up the theme of Testimony.
Testimony is set at a posh private school in Vermont. The student body is diverse. It's made up of not only very wealthy students, but scholarship students from local working class families.
A scandal erupts when a student turns in a videotape to the headmaster. The tape contains explicit sexual acts performed by several older male students and a 14 year old girl.
The headmaster foolishly decides that the matter is best handled internally. He does not go to the police. He further bungles the situation by coercing confessions from the boys.
The 14 year old girl seems to be a wordly adolescent who struggles with multiple issues. Several days after the incident, she declares that she has been raped.
Another theme is that actions have a ripple effect - many lives are touched by the scandal. Jobs are lost, college futures destroyed, and reputations are badly tarnished. Most tragically, a young life is lost.
Each chapter of Testimony is narrated by a different character. The differing viewpoints add bit by bit to the unfolding of the plot and help to explain what led to the incident and the resulting fallout.
I liked the narration by different characters. However, even minor players in the novel are given a voice and it is somewhat hard to keep track of everyone.
I also thought that the novel left some important questions unanswered. For example, who turned in the damning videotape and for what reason.
Despite these flaws, Testimony is a good read. It's a short novel that captures your attention from the first page and compels you to quickly read on to its sad conclusion.
Testimony is set at a posh private school in Vermont. The student body is diverse. It's made up of not only very wealthy students, but scholarship students from local working class families.
A scandal erupts when a student turns in a videotape to the headmaster. The tape contains explicit sexual acts performed by several older male students and a 14 year old girl.
The headmaster foolishly decides that the matter is best handled internally. He does not go to the police. He further bungles the situation by coercing confessions from the boys.
The 14 year old girl seems to be a wordly adolescent who struggles with multiple issues. Several days after the incident, she declares that she has been raped.
Another theme is that actions have a ripple effect - many lives are touched by the scandal. Jobs are lost, college futures destroyed, and reputations are badly tarnished. Most tragically, a young life is lost.
Each chapter of Testimony is narrated by a different character. The differing viewpoints add bit by bit to the unfolding of the plot and help to explain what led to the incident and the resulting fallout.
I liked the narration by different characters. However, even minor players in the novel are given a voice and it is somewhat hard to keep track of everyone.
I also thought that the novel left some important questions unanswered. For example, who turned in the damning videotape and for what reason.
Despite these flaws, Testimony is a good read. It's a short novel that captures your attention from the first page and compels you to quickly read on to its sad conclusion.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield
I've sometimes thought that if I should have an encounter with first lady, Laura Bush, we could break the ice by discussing novels we've read. Laura will be moving out of the White House soon, but we've yet to have our book chat!
In the unlikely event that we ever have our literary discussion, one novel I don't think I'll mention is American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfield. (Curtis, by the way, is a woman.) It could be just a tad awkward.
You see, American Wife is a thinly-disguised fictionalized account (for you English majors out there - remember the term roman a clef?) of Laura Bush's life.
In American Wife, the Laura Bush character is named Alice Blackwell. Her husband, Charlie Blackwell, is part of a powerful political family from Wisconsin. The book starts off with a cursory look at Laura's -- oops! I mean Alice's childhood, but really gains momentum when a teenaged Alice accidentally kills a male classmate in a car accident.
One problem about reading a fictionalized account of someone is you don't know what is really true and what is just the author's imagination. However, Laura Bush really did have a tragic car accident and, if this novel is correct, the accident changed her life, shaped her character, and formed her belief system. It also continues to haunt her 40+ years later.
I said earlier that it would be awkward to talk to Laura Bush about this book, but I think she might be pleased with Sittenfield's empathetic account of her life. Alice Blackwell is a likeable, intelligent, decent and serious person.
However, I think that Sittenfield put so much time and effort into creating the believable, multi-dimensional Alice Blackwell, that she had little energy left to expend on the other main character: Alice's husband, Charlie.
Charlie never comes across more than a shallow, hard-drinking frat boy whose unlikely climb to the presidency occurred solely because of family influence. I'm no big fan of "W" Bush, but I can't help but believing that there is more to him than the caricature Sittenfield presents. No one is ever as bad or as good as they seem. Even "W" must have his complexities.
It's fun to identify the real-life counterparts of Sittenfield's characters. You'll read about people who strongly resemble people such as Condoleeza Rice, Karl Rove, and Vice President Cheney.
I enjoyed this novel even though some of it I viewed with much skepticism. For example, I had a hard time buying that Laura Bush is really a "closet" liberal.
Overall, I recommend this book. It's compassionate, humorous and entertaining. Other times, it's heart-breaking and shocking. Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain can only hope that their lives are recounted by someone as skillful and respectful as Curtis Sittenfield.
In the unlikely event that we ever have our literary discussion, one novel I don't think I'll mention is American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfield. (Curtis, by the way, is a woman.) It could be just a tad awkward.
You see, American Wife is a thinly-disguised fictionalized account (for you English majors out there - remember the term roman a clef?) of Laura Bush's life.
In American Wife, the Laura Bush character is named Alice Blackwell. Her husband, Charlie Blackwell, is part of a powerful political family from Wisconsin. The book starts off with a cursory look at Laura's -- oops! I mean Alice's childhood, but really gains momentum when a teenaged Alice accidentally kills a male classmate in a car accident.
One problem about reading a fictionalized account of someone is you don't know what is really true and what is just the author's imagination. However, Laura Bush really did have a tragic car accident and, if this novel is correct, the accident changed her life, shaped her character, and formed her belief system. It also continues to haunt her 40+ years later.
I said earlier that it would be awkward to talk to Laura Bush about this book, but I think she might be pleased with Sittenfield's empathetic account of her life. Alice Blackwell is a likeable, intelligent, decent and serious person.
However, I think that Sittenfield put so much time and effort into creating the believable, multi-dimensional Alice Blackwell, that she had little energy left to expend on the other main character: Alice's husband, Charlie.
Charlie never comes across more than a shallow, hard-drinking frat boy whose unlikely climb to the presidency occurred solely because of family influence. I'm no big fan of "W" Bush, but I can't help but believing that there is more to him than the caricature Sittenfield presents. No one is ever as bad or as good as they seem. Even "W" must have his complexities.
It's fun to identify the real-life counterparts of Sittenfield's characters. You'll read about people who strongly resemble people such as Condoleeza Rice, Karl Rove, and Vice President Cheney.
I enjoyed this novel even though some of it I viewed with much skepticism. For example, I had a hard time buying that Laura Bush is really a "closet" liberal.
Overall, I recommend this book. It's compassionate, humorous and entertaining. Other times, it's heart-breaking and shocking. Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain can only hope that their lives are recounted by someone as skillful and respectful as Curtis Sittenfield.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, was occupied for a time during World War II by the Nazis. I can't imagine why the Nazis believed that occupying a small island known primarily for its COWS was a good military strategy, but who am I to question the powerful Third Reich?
Juliet Ashton is a London writer. When a Guernsey resident named Dawsey finds her name in the fly leaf of a second-hand book about Charles Lamb they begin a correspondence.
The novel is told in an epistolary format. (Sorry, for hauling out the English major terms. Epistolary just means made up of letters).
Through her correspondence with Dawsey, Juliet learns that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was created as an alibi when several of the residents break the strict curfew set by the Nazis. The Potato Peel Pie refers to a hodgepodge type dessert served at the subsequent meetings. Food was heavily rationed and in short supply during the war, but most residents had plenty of potatoes on hand.
Dawsey's letters to Juliet contain heart breaking details of life under Nazi occupation. In addition to the strict curfews and food shortages, residents faced decisions such as whether to ship their children away for safety reasons.
Eventually Juliet decides that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a good subject for a book and starts corresponding with others on the island. She's intrigued by the stories she hears of the hardships, love affairs, and humorous incidents that happen in Guernsey during this bleak time.
I really enjoyed this novel. It's a combination history lesson, travelogue, drama, comedy and love story all in one! It is an old-fashioned sort of novel and reminded me of the old World War II movies I used to watch with my parents, such as Mrs. Miniver and the Best Years of Our Lives.
It was a tad bit predictable, but had a satisfying ending. All in all a great read!
Juliet Ashton is a London writer. When a Guernsey resident named Dawsey finds her name in the fly leaf of a second-hand book about Charles Lamb they begin a correspondence.
The novel is told in an epistolary format. (Sorry, for hauling out the English major terms. Epistolary just means made up of letters).
Through her correspondence with Dawsey, Juliet learns that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was created as an alibi when several of the residents break the strict curfew set by the Nazis. The Potato Peel Pie refers to a hodgepodge type dessert served at the subsequent meetings. Food was heavily rationed and in short supply during the war, but most residents had plenty of potatoes on hand.
Dawsey's letters to Juliet contain heart breaking details of life under Nazi occupation. In addition to the strict curfews and food shortages, residents faced decisions such as whether to ship their children away for safety reasons.
Eventually Juliet decides that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a good subject for a book and starts corresponding with others on the island. She's intrigued by the stories she hears of the hardships, love affairs, and humorous incidents that happen in Guernsey during this bleak time.
I really enjoyed this novel. It's a combination history lesson, travelogue, drama, comedy and love story all in one! It is an old-fashioned sort of novel and reminded me of the old World War II movies I used to watch with my parents, such as Mrs. Miniver and the Best Years of Our Lives.
It was a tad bit predictable, but had a satisfying ending. All in all a great read!
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