Lunch with Lenin- Deborah Ellis

I have never personally been a fan of short stories, but Lunch with Lenin kept me fascinated. With her usual profound insight and amazing depth of understanding of many cultures, Deborah Ellis has created little vignettes which portray lives affected by the drug trade. In a totally non-judgmental way, she provides glimpses of how drugs are used and abused, and yet how in many countries, they are also the only way to provide a livelihood. Taking her ideas from many different settings and parts of the world results in an overview that is at once informative and humbling. Too often we here in our western society make assumptions without really understanding the reasons behind a way of life. Ellis has provided that, and I believe this is an important read for our students and for ourselves. I highly recommend this.

Bite of the Mango- Mariatu Kamara with Susan McLelland

Although I read this last year, Bite of the Mango is not a book you would readily forget. A powerful and true story of a 12 year old girl who was faced with an attack of terrorists who brutally raped her and cut off both hands. I think for most of us, that would be the end of the story, but Mariatu is a young woman of great courage. This story chronicles her steps to regain her health, her freedom and hope. Today she attends university in Toronto and tours to tell of her experiences. This memoir would be excellent to include in the study of various cultures around the world.

www.mariatufoundation.com will tell you more of her work in Sierra leone today.

War Brothers- Sharon McKay

childsoldiers-photostory

This photostory was created by a grade 8 student as part of a culture study unit. Each student read a novel from a different culture, identified the basic need of the character. They then did some research on that country and blended fact and fiction to create a documentary style drama. I thought they were quite successful.

This novel is nominated for the 2009 Snow Willow Awards. I believe it is one of the most powerful novels I have ever read. I would recommend it for a YA audience right through to adults. War Brothers deals with the issue of child soldiers in Uganda. Adults will remember the movie, Blood Diamond, which this novel brought to mind. Here is a link to the author’s site and an excerpt from the book.

Some adult reads!

I do find a bit of time here and there to read some grown-up books and although it is not my intent to review them in any depth, these are ones I would recommend and enjoyed.

A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaleo Hosseini- No surprises here in terms of excellence. Afgahanistan from the viewpoint of two women. Tremendous- couldn’t put it down.

Peony in Love- Lisa See -Although the title sounds a little trite, and is indeed a love story, this book is alo a marvellous exploration of the Chinese belief in the after-world. A fun and quite intriguing read.

Second Glance- Jodi Piccoult – I became a fan of this author after reading My Sister’s Keeper, a heart-stopping novel about hard choices. Second Glance was quite different in that it explores love lost and regained by bringing in a supernatural, ghostly element. Quite enjoyable and a nice contrast to Peony in Love. On the other hand, I haven’t loved everything by this author. Mercy had me crying for mercy through the unending love scenes and drawn-out court case. I couldn’t seem to feel much empathy for the characters, and above all, I like strong characterization in a novel.

Just finished eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Autobiographical in nature, this is the story of one woman’s journey to make some sense of her life. The title says it all as those are the steps she takes. eating her way through Italy, praying and learning to meditate in India and falling deeply in love in Bali. It is a book that can challenge as I realize how little time we sometimes put into our search for God.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas- John Boyne

Wow! What a read. I read this in the space of a day and could hardly bear to put it down. I had been aware that it was a book that looked at the Holocaust, but in a totally unique way. Nine year old Bruno is being uprooted from his comfortable home in Berlin and moved to what he believes is “Out-With”. His father has been promoted to the position of Commandant by the “Fury.” His father is a kind but stern man, and as Bruno becomes aware of the world beyond the fence, and hears of some of the cruelties, he believes if only his father knew, he would put a stop to it. Out of sheer boredom, Bruno eventually goes exploring and meets a boy on the other side of the fence whose name is Shmuel. Over the space of many weeks, Bruno asks many innocent questions and yet cannot fathom the truth or the reality of Shmuel’s tales of hunger, fear and cruelty. Somehow, Bruno manages to keep this friendship a secret as he senses that his father would not approve. I won’t go any further as this is an ending you will want to read for yourself.

I thought a lot about perspective as I read this book; about the innocent getting caught up in the atrocities of the time. I thought about soldiers who would unthinkingly obey a leader. It is rare to find a book like this written from the viewpoint of an innocent young German boy.

It reminded me of Run Like Jager by Karen Bass; the story of Kurt who wishes to spend a year in Germany to find out just what it was his Opa did in the Second World War and when he does find some answers, cannot come to grips with his knowledge. It reminded me of Four Steps to Death by John Wilson where four different perspectives are explored. It seems to me that in telling stories from many viewpoints, our empathy should grow and our understanding enlarged of how some of the world’s most terrible events could have occurred.

The writing is spare, all is understated and understood. It is a book for older children and for adults. The style of writing is similar to James Clavell in his short story called The Children’s Story. This, too, tells of children who are so susceptible to subterfuge and can so easily be led. But what about the adults? When do they think for themselves? It is a book that will leave you with questions.

The movie is out; I haven’t seen it yet but the trailer looks excellent. I would love to hear from anyone who has read the book or seen the movie.

The Shack- William P. Young

A friend sent me this book awhile back and asked me to tell her what I thought of it. When I first read the back cover, I was somewhat skeptical as I come from a fairly traditional Christian background. But when another good friend told me how much she was enjoying it, and a bit of the basic premise, I was ready to give it a go. This, indeed, was no ordinary read, but a journey. The story is about a man names Mack, who is haunted by The Great Sorrow, after the abduction of his young daughter. When a note arrives at his mailbox, asking him to meet him at the shack, where evidence of Missy had been discovered, and signed by Papa (his wife’s name for God), he is at once affronted, afraid and intrigued. Eventually he makes the life-altering decision to accept the offer, and leaves for this encounter. The sentence under the title states, “Where tragedy confronts eternity” and I believe this is exactly what this book does. It brings us into the presence of a loving Father who is willing to meet us at any place in our lives, and walk us through an understanding of our pain. It reminds us profoundly that His grace is sufficient, if we are willing to call on Him. It is not a typical religious book, as you might expect; it is one that speaks to the heart about very real questions we might have about faith, about God and how this might fit with tragedy in the world around us.

This is the one must-read book of the year. This is the one I will purchase for others and recommend to all.

Briar Rose- Jane Yolen

This is an extraordinary book, to say the least. Expecting this to be an inventive re-telling of the fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, I was taken aback, enchanted, and mesmerized by the tangent this writer chose. Far from being a typical fairy tale, this is truly more of an untold Holocaust story. Gemma and her sisters grow up hearing the story of Briar Rose from their grandmother; in which she is the enchanted princess who is awakened by a kiss. Although many parts of the story leave the sisters questioning, they think that perhaps their grandmother was indeed a princess in Europe. But when their grandmother dies and leaves only a few obscure items; a newspaper clipping and a faded photo, Gemma realizes that it is time to really investigate her grandmother’s past. Her path leads her to Poland and to a story that is almost too hard to hear, but one which interweaves with the story her grandmother has always told. This can be read by young adults but I would definitely recommend it for adults as well. An amazing story from a very talented writer.

The Lady and the Unicorn- Tracy Chevalier

Tracy tackles the origin of the famed medieval tapestries, now hanging in a protected environment in Paris. They depict a mystery; that of a lady seducing  a unicorn. This story looks at the  man who commissioned the tapestries, but even more at Nicolas, the painter hired to paint the pictures.  An arrogant rogue, Nicolas attempts to seduce every young woman that comes his way but in particular is interested in the young daughter of the man who hired him. Throughout we come to gain some knowledge of all that went into the weaving of tapestries and all the rules and regulations that permeated the guild. Chevalier’s gift is to seamlessly weave the story into the history introducing us not just to the facts, but the sounds, sights and flavours of that era. A very worthy read! I just picked up Burning Bright by the same author.

Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler and the birth house by Ami Mc Kay

These are both adult and in the fiction genre. The birth house may fall into the historical fiction genre.

Two great reads!! In the same month!! Anne Tyler has long been a favourite author of mine but I hadn’t picked anything of hers up in a long time. I spotted The Amateur Marriage and had begun reading it before this month’s challenge was even announced and it fis nicely into the”love” theme. Tyler’s works are always a little quirky and this is no exception. She explores the relationship of a couple who marry without really knowing each other very well and fail to mature in that relationship. Told at times from the perspective of Pauline and other times of Michael, you come to quickly realize that they are as unlike as can possibly be. Michael never seems to realize the things that irritate her, such as calling her, “Poll, Poll” when he thinks she is over-reacting. And she is an over-reactor but he, on the other hand is staid and disciplined, and well, let’s face it, just a little bit boring. Children only accentuate the problems and eventually, Pauline tells Michael to leave, and to her amazement, he does. Tyler’s gift is picking up on the little mundane aspects of life, writing about them in an entertaining way where many times you are caught by how real the characters and situations are- where you stop and nod your head knowingly because you have been there, done that. This was a most satisfying read where I did not really want it to end.

The second novel, the birth house by Ami McKay is a new Canadian author for me. I believe this is her debut novel. This is a wonderful story of life in early Nova Scotia, with real insights into midwifery, the superstitions that often surrounded it, and the plight of many women who had absolutely no say over their own bodies. Told in first person narrative from the perspective of Dora Rare, who is being trained to midwifery as a young woman. She is a woman of astounding strength and character as she battles the suspicions of the community and the arrival of a doctor who wishes the women to come to his maternity home where they will have the most modern of deliveries. And are they scary!!

This is an author to watch for.

I did also read Shopaholic Ties the Knot just for some light fare. Good summer beach reading.

The Time Traveler’s Wife- continued

Well, I did finish this the first week of January but haven’t got to some final thoughts. People certainly have mixed feelings on this book. My daughter-in-law said she would have stopped reading it if it hadn’t been their book club selection. A colleague loved it. Others feel more ambivalent- like I do. I personally would have difficulty recommending it. I won’t keep my copy as I only like to own books I’ve personally loved and would like to loan to others. This isn’t one of them.

I do think the premise of the story was interesting. But I believe there were some definite inconsistencies. The characters did not seem true to themselves. I’m not sure the author knew her characters well- their internal dialogue seemed at odds with their external behaviour as she developed them.  So hopefully I will be more excited about the next one. In reading other people’s reviews, I am happy to see that many of you read something worthwhile and I will make a list of hopeful reads.

I have added an e-mail widget if anyone would find it easier to read postings that way.

I also hope to review a number of Young Adult novels I’ve been reading in the next while, if anyone is interested in that category.