Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: I read this book, which has been sitting on my shelf for several years, for one of my book clubs. Although theoretically I wanted to read it (which is why it is was on my shelf), my hand passed over it every time I reached for a book to read. I still have issues about 9/11 and I really didn't feel ready to read a novel using it as background.
But since it was a book club read, I felt that I would use it as a kickstart. I found Foer's use of games and ciphers and flip books so annoying, and so affected, that it was helpful in distracting me from my PTSD, which tends to pop up whenever I think about that too much. In addition, some people found it amusing to mke nasty comments about NYC and I found my annoyance about the easy anti-Americanness of some expat Americans so annoying that I also found it usefully distracting. I read the novel twice, the second time ignoring all he annoying and silly typographical stunts, and I found that the story, in itself, was worth reading. Not terribly deep, perhaps, but worth reading. I wonder whether the type stunts ehelped to get the novel noticed and whether they were, overall, benefit or a drawback. Anyone have an opinion?
New York to Berlin, New York to Colorado, it's a long trip...
Showing posts with label TBR Challenge 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TBR Challenge 2009. Show all posts
20 May 2009
16 April 2009
The TBR 2009 Challenge: April 2009
Although I am always reading a book, and generally one off my To Be Read list, I have missed posting in the past few months, I'm not quite certain why.
In this case, I am back from Holland, the girls are watching Sponge-Bob, I see that I should be posting today, and luckily I have just finished a book that I have been waiting and wanting to read for a while:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
I am certain that everyone has either heard of the story, or seen ads for the movie. I bought the book a while ago but loaned it to my mother and when she shipped it over to me here in Germany it did not make the top of my list, for some reason.
It's a very moving novel. Not just for the intrinsic story, which is heart-breaking, but the absolute and stark baeuty and clarity of the narration is astonishing. That this was composed and polished and created all in Bauby's head, dictated letter by letter, tells one what an absolutely marvelous talent he was. It's a very simple story but the lucidity of the narration. the simple beauty, and the pathos, is what makes the reading worthwhile. I'm not certain that I will ever have the heart to see the movie, though: I find it easier to handle tragedy when I can lay it down and go away between chapters, to allow the sorrow to disperse.
In this case, I am back from Holland, the girls are watching Sponge-Bob, I see that I should be posting today, and luckily I have just finished a book that I have been waiting and wanting to read for a while:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
I am certain that everyone has either heard of the story, or seen ads for the movie. I bought the book a while ago but loaned it to my mother and when she shipped it over to me here in Germany it did not make the top of my list, for some reason.
It's a very moving novel. Not just for the intrinsic story, which is heart-breaking, but the absolute and stark baeuty and clarity of the narration is astonishing. That this was composed and polished and created all in Bauby's head, dictated letter by letter, tells one what an absolutely marvelous talent he was. It's a very simple story but the lucidity of the narration. the simple beauty, and the pathos, is what makes the reading worthwhile. I'm not certain that I will ever have the heart to see the movie, though: I find it easier to handle tragedy when I can lay it down and go away between chapters, to allow the sorrow to disperse.
21 January 2009
The TBR 2009 Challenge: January
My to-be-read stacks are piled high, yet it seems that certain books keep falling to the bottom, while other, perhaps newer, perhaps more interesting, perhaps lighter books get read. So when Avid Reader had a challenge to read at least 1 book from that pile and post a review every month I was excited to join in. She has posted suggested genres, but I just grabbed one from down at the bottom of the pile. I think that I will need to make a more informed choice next time, though, or all my monthly reviews may wind up being a bit negative: there may be a reason that these books keep slipping down the list!
French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France (Richard Goodman 1991 reissued 2002) is one of the many expatriate books I have on my shelf. However, of all the ones that I have read so far this was the lightest, least interesting, least amusing and least informative of all the very many that I have read. The story of his year in France and his cultivation of a garden was just too facile for me. As an expat myself, as a gardener myself, as a lover of the south of France myself, I would have enjoyed a more in depth examination of any facet or occupation. Oh well. At least the 203 pp went as quickly as a more detailed 100. But it was much like popcorn- a quick carb rush, but not filling. Look to MFK Fisher, to Mayle, to Celia Brayfield's Deep France: A Writer's Year in the Bearn, which really dealt with being a foreigner and exploring a land and learning a culture (as well as some local recipes). This was Mr. Goodman's first novel, so I will guess that his work has deepened since then, but I won't be seeking it out.
French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France (Richard Goodman 1991 reissued 2002) is one of the many expatriate books I have on my shelf. However, of all the ones that I have read so far this was the lightest, least interesting, least amusing and least informative of all the very many that I have read. The story of his year in France and his cultivation of a garden was just too facile for me. As an expat myself, as a gardener myself, as a lover of the south of France myself, I would have enjoyed a more in depth examination of any facet or occupation. Oh well. At least the 203 pp went as quickly as a more detailed 100. But it was much like popcorn- a quick carb rush, but not filling. Look to MFK Fisher, to Mayle, to Celia Brayfield's Deep France: A Writer's Year in the Bearn, which really dealt with being a foreigner and exploring a land and learning a culture (as well as some local recipes). This was Mr. Goodman's first novel, so I will guess that his work has deepened since then, but I won't be seeking it out.
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