Tag: General Fiction Page 44 of 45

Dusted Off: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

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On November 4, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The HelpThe Help

by Kathryn Stockett
Paperback, 522 pg.
Berkley Publishing Group, 2011

I had very low expectations going into this one–and was pretty much reading it only to placate my wife and mother. I expected a slow, dry and drab book about the woes of domestic help under the oppressive thumb of racism; overwritten, overly-sentimental, impressed with its own importance and appealing primarily to Oprah viewers.

Yeah, I can be snob, what’s your point?

This is a book with zing–I couldn’t believe how quickly I read it, there’s a lot of life to Stockett’s language and it carries you right through. And while no one could confuse this for a comedy, it’s very funny–laugh out loud funny in a couple of instances. The laughs being rooted in–and surrounded by–tragedy serve to make this feel realistic, this could be a non-fiction work and it’d be fairly believable.

I tired early on of the novel reminding me over and over that these women were “brave” and doing something “important” and “dangerous.” Eventually Stockett stopped telling me that, and showed me their bravery and why what they were doing was important and dangerous–and that’s when the novel really took off. But that’s really my only quibble.

It’d have been very easy to make the characters into cookie-cutter racists, black-hearted villains with no redeeming qualities, wholly bent on oppression of their servants. But The Help avoids that. The “worst” character is just a horrid person–and she’d be a horrid person if she appeared in book about the travails of au pairs in the Hamptons rather than a book about the struggles of black housekeepers. Conversely, the heroines here aren’t paragons of virtue–they are flawed, they are frightened they are ruled by their society, too (just not as much as other people are).

This is a very, very good book that deserves to be read (and will reward the reader in turn), and deserves most of the accolades it’s getting. No, it’s not nearly as good as To Kill A Mockingbird, despite what the endorsements may say–but that’s okay, very few books are, and that shouldn’t detract from how wonderful a book this is.

—–

5 Stars

Dusted Off: That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

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On November 4, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

That Old Cape MagicThat Old Cape Magic

by Richard Russo
Hardcover, 261 pg.
Knopf, 2009

I feel a little odd giving something by a legendary guy like Russo 2 out of 5 stars, but…eh. It was either not as funny as it was trying to be (while telling a serious story), or it was a serious (somewhat tragic) book that accidentally elicited chuckles. Either way, not entirely successful. It felt like Richard Russo tried to write a Jonathan Tropper novel and didn’t quite pull it off.

Well-written to be sure, and not a waste of reading time…but it wasn’t what it could’ve been. Sorta like the marriages the book talked about that were crumbling in the light of the two nascent ones.

—–

2 Stars

Dusted Off: Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter

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On November 4, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Bright's PassageBright’s Passage

by Josh Ritter
Hardcover, 193 pg.
The Dial Press, 2011

I wanted to like this a lot more than I found myself able to–maybe it’s just that I didn’t get it, I don’t know. I found this to be an over-written, messy bore. Sorry, Mr. Ritter, I’ll keep listening (and reading in the future), but…this just didn’t work at all for me.

—–

2 Stars

Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

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On October 31, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Islands in the Stream
Islands in the Stream

by Ernest Hemingway

I typically don’t bother with posthumous novels, but for some reason* I went ahead and tried this one, and on the whole, I’m glad I did, despite my rating. There’s a lot to the characters in this novel that weren’t in the previous novels. Still, as much as I appreciated various aspects of the novel, I just couldn’t get into it as a whole.

Part 3, “At Sea,” did almost nothing for me — Thomas Hudson is almost impossible to recognize, and it’s probably harder to sympathize with him — or his crew. Given that they’re hunting Nazi’s, it should be a pretty easy sell.

Part 2, “Cuba,” had some really interesting moments, some dialogue that leaps off the page, and once his first wife appears, Hudson becomes likable for the first time since Part 1. I don’t recall Hemingway’s characters having a pet before, and while Hudson’s relationships with his cats seem more than a little strange, just having them made him seem more human. Like in Part 3, he’s very different from the character we met in Part 1, but it’s a bit more understandable here. While I didn’t find that much to like about the character, the physical descriptions he gives towards Honest Lil are about the best, and most evocative, I remember in Hemingway.

Part 1, “Bimini,” is what made this worth the read. Other than the kid in The Old Man and the Sea (which a significant portion of this section evokes), we don’t really see children in Hemingway. But here, Thomas Hudson’s two sons from different wives are spending a few weeks with him, a chance for them all to reconnect, and give their mothers some sort of break. I really liked these kids — probably more than any other characters he’s devised. And Hudson’s relatable, sympathetic, and even likable as a person — something that he loses quickly, and only regains briefly toward the end of Part 2.

Honestly, if you’re inclined to give this a try, only read Part 1 — you’ll be happier for it, and the scenes with Hudson and one or both sons are really great. Otherwise, you probably have better things do with your time.

—–

* I’d already checked it out from the library before I found that out.

—–

2 Stars

Dusted Off: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

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On October 28, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

Beauty QueensBeauty Queens

by Libba Bray
Hardcover, 396 pg.
Scholastic Press, 2011

This book is just fun. Are the characters over the top? Yup. Is it too preachy at times? Oh yeah. Does Bray hit the same target over and over and over again? Yup. But usually those targets have it coming.

There are plenty of flaws in this book, but Bray’s style, tone and message(s) work so well that you ignore them easily and forgive them all even more easily. A great, fun read–even for a guy like me who is nowhere near the target audience.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: I Just Want My Pants Back by David Rosen

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On October 28, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

I Just Want My Pants BackI Just Want My Pants Back

by David Rosen
Paperback, 240 pg.
Broadway Books, 2007

This is a Coming of Age novel by a would-be Nick Hornby. Frequently amusing, but fairly paint-by-numbers. There’s virtually no plot point that couldn’t be predicted the instant a character is introduced.

There are plenty of fun turns of phrase, and Rosen definitely has a knack for this thing–I just hope that next time out the story is as good as the writer telling it.

—–

2 Stars

Dusted Off: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

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On October 14, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Mansfield ParkMansfield Park

by Jane Austen
Original Publication: 1814

This is my third foray into the works of Austen in my resolution to read her collected works this year, and it’s as disappointing as the first two–maybe more.

Once again, we have a collection of mostly empty-headed young women who fawn over largely unworthy men with healthy inheritances/incomes. There are two of these women who are capable to some thought, of being almost well-rounded, and they’re both in love with the same man (who, other than being utterly clueless about this fact for the entire novel is the only single guy worth bothering with). But there’s a twist this time–the protagonist doesn’t come from the same social class as everyone else, she’s been taken in and raised by her wealthier uncle. Hardly a Dickensian orphan, but still, not “worthy” of being in the company with these people.

Everyone else gets married and whatnot, leaving the triangle socially isolated until things finally come to the only just (and entirely predictable) conclusion for all involved, and they all lived happily ever after.

There was nothing real here–no real heart, no soul, just a bunch of cardboard cutouts going through the motions. Once again, I have to ask–how did Austen get the rep she has? I want to fall under her spell, I want to like her stuff, but I just can’t. Not yet anyway. Here’s hoping Emma‘s better.

—–

1 Star

Dusted Off: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

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On October 14, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Sense and SensibilitySense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen
Original Publication: 1811

I honestly don’t know what to say about this, my first exposure to Jane Austen (other than it’s far overdue).

I don’t see the appeal, I don’t see why this one has endured. That’s not to say I hated it. It’s just that I don’t get it. Yes, there were amusing turns of phrases here and there, and I can see where it might be seen as a template for romantic comedies since then. But..meh.

—–

2 Stars

In Medias Res: Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

By

On October 10, 2013

In Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, In Medias Res

as the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through

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Islands in the Stream
Islands in the Stream

by Ernest Hemingway

Part 1 of this had some of the most enjoyable passages (for me) in Hemingway’s works, some things I just didn’t see the point of, but overall I really liked this.

Part 2? Now, that I’m only getting through because I’m stubbornly persisting, that’s all.

I hope Part 3 turns this around.

Dusted Off: In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

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On September 30, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

In ZanesvilleIn Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

The 1970’s weren’t the easiest time for a couple of 14 year old girls to grow up–just ask In Zanesville’s unnamed narrator and her best friend. In this coming of age novel, we see the two of them deal with odd babysitting gigs, clothes, strange teachers, annoying/horrible family situations, self-awareness, friends, brushes with popularity, and (of course) boys at that awkward and vital time of life. Jo Ann Beard depicts their struggles, failures (and even a success or two) in a well-written (sometimes wonderfully so), moving way.

My problem with this book is that the narrative doesn’t go anywhere, the narrator’s story doesn’t end, there’s no conclusion, it just stops. I’m not sure the narrator comes of age, she rather comes right up to the border of it and looks across. That’s more than dissatisfying, it ends up cheapening the whole experience.

Even so, Beard’s writing makes In Zanesville worth the time.

—–

3 Stars

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