Review: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really unusual book, and one I liked. It followed two women, one in modern-day Afghanistan and one several generations earlier. In each case, the women were in poor situations where dressing and acting like a son rather than a daughter (or a man rather than a woman) was preferable to their alternatives. In modern times, a young girl begins to dress like a boy to help her family. Generations earlier, a woman finds herself alone past marrying age and chooses a role in the royal palace as a man.

I liked reading this book because it was about something completely foreign to me. I also liked how well both sets of characters and situations were developed. When I was reading one chapter (they alternate) I couldn't wait to read what was happening in the other story, and vice versa. Neither plot was predictable, although the stories hung together very well.

Definitely recommend.

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Review: The Children's Crusade

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm beginning to think that The Dive From Clausen's Pier was the pinnacle of Ann Packer's work. This book was good enough, kept my interest and I was invested in the characters, but here I am about a month later with no real memory of anything outstanding about it.

The story is about a young family who has four kids in the 1960's and '70's. While by all outward appearances, the family is reasonably happy, over the years the fragile framework begins to break down. The mother estranges herself increasingly from the family, losing herself in her art. Meanwhile the youngest child, all but ignored by his mother, grows into a dysfunctional adult. The book is told in flashbacks to childhood, one section by each of the four children.

I can appreciate the complexity and detail of the book but I also found some of the character development stale, relying on familiar tropes. Not a bad read but not an exceptionally memorable one either.

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Review: The Last Good Paradise

The Last Good Paradise by Tatjana Soli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Soli's book The Lotus Eaters and was excited to read this one. The premise of this was strange - an unusual collection of people end up on a quiet island in Polynesia, among them a couple who is escaping a financial and personal crisis as well as an aging rock star, not to mention the island's staff (a distant extension of a luxury hotel across the water). There was a point in the book where I thought it was jut too far-fetched and contrived. But like Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, somehow Soli makes an unlikely collection of characters in an awkward situation seem credible.

The character building was done incredibly well, as was the crafting of the story itself. The final quarter of the book was nothing that I could have anticipated, involving class issues, a critique on the media, and very core relationship pain between individuals. After all that is her best skill as shown in The Lotus Eaters - her ability to depict the rawest part of relationships without fear.

I look forward to her next book.






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Review: All Our Names

All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can appreciate that this book represents good writing but I just didn't love it. It is the story of a young man who escapes the war in Uganda (where he has become involved in the military) and lands in the Midwest. He begins a relationship with his social worker as he tries to adjust to life in America.

The story alternated between time in Uganda and current time - the latter told from the social worker's point of view. While some of the storytelling was unique, a lot of the plot was familiar if you've read a lot of African literature - how local militias come to power, impact on young people, who gets pulled into being a revolutionary and why.

To me, this was just a retelling of themes I had heard in the past. Not bad, just not unique.

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