December 9th
Last night I finished "Crescent" by Portland, Oregon writer Diana Abu-Jaber. It brought back memories of other food related books I have read in the past such as "Like Water for Chocolate" and "Pomegranate Soup". Here the food is middle eastern and it weaves its way through the story. Sirine, the main character, is 39 years old, and much like the author, she is a blend of two cultures, in this case Arab-American.. Sirine was raised by her Iraqi uncle since her parents died when she was young. She is single and works as a chef in a Lebanese restaurant, where her customers are lonely students and professors from various middle eastern countries, homesick for the smell and taste of their native foods. My mouth was watering as I read the book. I could almost taste and smell the foods as Sirine lovingly prepared them each day. At the end of the book some recipes are included. When Sirine falls in love with an Arabic literature professor, who fled Iraq, memories of her parents and questions about her identity as an Arab American arise. One comes to understand the immigrants sense of loss and the loneliness of exile through the characters in this novel. It is a a very timely story, considering what is going on in the world today. Despite the serious subject matter, it is a very sensuous and passionate book that is hard to put down.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
More book reviews
I have been busy lately reading and writing book reviews for Waucoma Bookstore, a bookstore I have owned for 31 years. That will all change on April 1st, 2008, when I will sell it to a couple my children's ages. The new owners want me to keep writing reviews and to help them order, especially the fiction titles, for a while, to keep the flavor I have created over the years. I thought this blog might be a way to get started with that endeavor.
We have an old oak library table in the bookstore full of books we label "staff favorites" which all the staff contribute to. We write reviews on 3 by 5 cards which we laminate and put with the book. That table is what keeps our business flourishing, sometimes it seems like that is the only table we really need to have in the store. As long as we keep reading, changing the books and reviews, we keep people coming back for more. We have loyal fans - some people only like the books I recommend, some won't go near my titles - they are too depressing they say.
Here are some of my latest editions to the table:
Five Skies by Ron Carlson
Ron Carlson writes about men - solid, genuine, western men. The three men in this novel spend a summer on an isolated bluff high in the Rocky Mountains in Idaho collaborating on a construction project. They arrive as strangers from different worlds, each escaping his own difficult past. They are men of few words, but what they say is what they mean. Their friendship over the course of a summer makes for a powerful read. The quiet landscape, the value of work and hard labor, their day to day living outdoors, all are part of the healing process for these three men. I loved this book as did my husband.
Fortunate Son - Walter Mosley
This urban fable about two children, one black, one white, on divergent paths, so cleary illustrates the racial divide in this country. Tommy and Eric are born a week a part in the same Los Angeles hospital. Tommy is born with a hole in his lung, to a poor, hardworking, black, single mother. Eric's mother dies shortly after childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his father, a doctor in the hospital, and his Vietnamese housekeeper. The mother and father meet in the hospital and befriend one another. They end up living together for 6 years, never marrying, much to the doctor's dismay. The boys flourish as brothers and share their love of Tommy's mother and Eric's somewhat distant father. When Tommy's mother dies, his drunken, jobless father appears and claims Tommy as his son and takes him back home to his miserable existance. We continue to follow the boys separate and opposing lives as they grow into their 20's when a chance encounter reunites them once again. The parable is full of stark contrasts: black/white, rich/poor,good/evil, but Tommy's almost saintly qualities bring a sense of hope to this tragic comment of race in America.
Run by Ann Patchett
I seem to be on a theme here of black and white children from different worlds ending up living together. This is Ann Patchett's first book since Bel Canto, which was published 6 years ago. This novels takes place over the course of about 24 hours. It is the story of a prominent Boston family, who had one son of their own, and then adopted 2 black boys, one an infant and one a few years old. The mother in this story also dies young and the father raises all three children on his own. When the boys are adults, the father insists that they all attend a Jesse jackson speech on a snowy night in the city. Here is where the 24 hours comes in to play. What ensues, is the meat of the story. An argument, an accident, an injured black woman and her child transform the lives of this family. Patchett explores the notion of family in the broadest sense as well as our connections and responsibilities to strangers who we come in contact with. My life was richer after reading this powerful story.
We have an old oak library table in the bookstore full of books we label "staff favorites" which all the staff contribute to. We write reviews on 3 by 5 cards which we laminate and put with the book. That table is what keeps our business flourishing, sometimes it seems like that is the only table we really need to have in the store. As long as we keep reading, changing the books and reviews, we keep people coming back for more. We have loyal fans - some people only like the books I recommend, some won't go near my titles - they are too depressing they say.
Here are some of my latest editions to the table:
Five Skies by Ron Carlson
Ron Carlson writes about men - solid, genuine, western men. The three men in this novel spend a summer on an isolated bluff high in the Rocky Mountains in Idaho collaborating on a construction project. They arrive as strangers from different worlds, each escaping his own difficult past. They are men of few words, but what they say is what they mean. Their friendship over the course of a summer makes for a powerful read. The quiet landscape, the value of work and hard labor, their day to day living outdoors, all are part of the healing process for these three men. I loved this book as did my husband.
Fortunate Son - Walter Mosley
This urban fable about two children, one black, one white, on divergent paths, so cleary illustrates the racial divide in this country. Tommy and Eric are born a week a part in the same Los Angeles hospital. Tommy is born with a hole in his lung, to a poor, hardworking, black, single mother. Eric's mother dies shortly after childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his father, a doctor in the hospital, and his Vietnamese housekeeper. The mother and father meet in the hospital and befriend one another. They end up living together for 6 years, never marrying, much to the doctor's dismay. The boys flourish as brothers and share their love of Tommy's mother and Eric's somewhat distant father. When Tommy's mother dies, his drunken, jobless father appears and claims Tommy as his son and takes him back home to his miserable existance. We continue to follow the boys separate and opposing lives as they grow into their 20's when a chance encounter reunites them once again. The parable is full of stark contrasts: black/white, rich/poor,good/evil, but Tommy's almost saintly qualities bring a sense of hope to this tragic comment of race in America.
Run by Ann Patchett
I seem to be on a theme here of black and white children from different worlds ending up living together. This is Ann Patchett's first book since Bel Canto, which was published 6 years ago. This novels takes place over the course of about 24 hours. It is the story of a prominent Boston family, who had one son of their own, and then adopted 2 black boys, one an infant and one a few years old. The mother in this story also dies young and the father raises all three children on his own. When the boys are adults, the father insists that they all attend a Jesse jackson speech on a snowy night in the city. Here is where the 24 hours comes in to play. What ensues, is the meat of the story. An argument, an accident, an injured black woman and her child transform the lives of this family. Patchett explores the notion of family in the broadest sense as well as our connections and responsibilities to strangers who we come in contact with. My life was richer after reading this powerful story.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Stylist by Cai Emmons
I just finished the newly released paperback novel, "The Stylist", by Oregon author, Cai Emmons. The unusual green cover and the empty, outdated hairdryer and red chair drew me to the book. I was expecting another "Patty Jane's House of Curl", and was pleasantly surprised by the different style and storyline of the book. The story is told from several perspectives - the first is Hayden, a young woman currently living in Hoboken, New Jersey, as a stylist in a beauty salon. After her mother died, Hayden dropped out of Harvard and disappeared from her family, only sending perioic postcards to her sisters to let them know she was still alive. We learn about her past, her loving and erratic mother and her distant and oppressive father, a writer, who disappeared for months at a time during her childhood. The next point of view is from Emory, a new stylist at the salon where Hayden has been working. Emory begins work one day and slowly we learn about her/his gender issues. She starts out as a female character and becomes more of a male as the story progresses. He and Hayden become friends after a difficult beginning. When Hayden's father sprains his ankle in Costa Rica Hayden is sent by her younger pregnant sister, to bring him home. She goes reluctantly, and brings Emory along for support. In Costa Rica, at a small resort, we get yet another perspective - that of the father. Through him we learn of his love for his deceased wife, his love for Hayden, who reminds him of his wife, and his devastation when she disappeared from his world. We also discover that the father now leads another life in Costa Rica, which everyone must learn to accept. In Costa Rica we are immersed in the culture -the humidity, the natural landscape, the local people all come alive. I loved the book and found so many different aspects fascinating - the gender issues, the family dynamics, among the father and daughters, and among the three sisters, and the concept of death in a foreign culture. I was sad to see the book end. Cai Emmons will be coming to my bookstore in mid-December and I look forward to meeting the author.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
A beginning
I talked my mom into starting this blog, and I hope she enjoys it. I have always loved reading her writing -- I believe she has a real gift with words -- and this might be a fun way for her to write and for me to read her writing long distance. Good luck, Mom!
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