After reading this short profile of Dan Fogelman (the screenwriter for, among other things you'd know, "Cars"), this book caught my attention. I have enjoyed post-apocalyptic novels for a long time, insofar as you can "enjoy" them, and this one sounded great.
It starts out with several seemingly unrelated storylines - a prisoner on death row, a young girl, and mysterious medical excursion in South America. Slowly, these stories combine into a story of a medical experiment gone bad - so bad, in fact, that it brings on the end of the recognizable world. The book continues many years on, where some survivors are living in a fortress and follows their life for a while. After that, it follows a few survivors who leave the fortress in search of some necessary supplies - and after that, it would be a shame to tell you what happens rather than suggest you read the book yourself.
The thing about this book is that it is an epic. It's 1,000 pages of pretty small print, and I just got lost in it. In a good way. The characters were compelling, the story engaged me, and the author created decades or even centuries of history. (It was not until I finished that I found out that this is the first of a planned series of three.) I also liked the varied devices the author used - narrative mixed with some episolatory and diary entries.
Reviews of this book compare it to Stephen King's The Stand. It certainly felt like a similarly monumental read. And, in fact, King was quoted on the back of the edition I read. If you like this kind of book, this is an excellent execution.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
WWW: Wake by Robert Sawyer
LOVE LOVE LOVE Robert Sawyer and his great science fiction. Starting with Rollback, I've enjoyed several of his books, so I jumped in and bought all three in this series.
Well this one was really strange. Not that his other books weren't strange - following the Neanderthal branch of evolution for example - but this one was really unique. The story follows a teenage girl who is blind. She's well-adjusted and settled into her life with a loyal best friend and plenty of technology to enable her to be connected to blogs, friends, and other resources online. However, when she is offered the chance to try a new medical procedure to restore her sight, she takes it.
After this procedure, she can't see our world, but she can see some organized sets of images in her head. Through the help of her physicist father and her doctor, she figures out that the most immediate effect of her operation is that she can "see" the structure of the Internet. Not the EM fields in the space we live in, but the logical connections between sites and pages. To tell you anything else about the book would ruin it, but it gets a lot weirder after that.
Reading this book was pretty quick - I get the idea that this book was written as Young Adult sci-fi. That didn't bother me because the concept was cool, but it did make for a slightly less sophisticated book with less social commentary than his other novels. If you haven't read Sawyer in the past, I'd suggest Rollback, Flash Forward, or Hominids as better places to start.
I am interested to see where Sawyer takes this story in the two sequels.
Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre
Picked this book up in the Toronto Pearson Airport. I had enjoyed The Spy who Came in from the Cold, and after a long week of business travel it was time for something easy.
The book is about a young British couple who meet a Russian mobster while on vacation in Antigua. Unsuccessful in extricating themselves from his friendly overtures, they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous negotiation.
What I liked most about this book was that the point of view the story was told from was very unique. Most of the spy novels I have read follow a career spy into a new situation, or follow a new spy into his or her first escapade. This, delightfully, did neither. While a quick plot-driven airport read, the book also paid great attention to building the characters.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
I associate Dennis Lehane with good thrillers, like Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. In this book, however, he takes a historical topic and turns it into a page-turning novel.
This book follows two men: Danny and Luther. Danny is a white police office in Boston who father is the Chief of Police. Seeking a detective badge, he agrees to go undercover to infiltrate several organizations accused of being anarchists. However, he finds the labor union organized by the police in no way anti-government and begins to believe in what they are doing. Meanwhile, Luther is a black man who falls in love with a woman and follows her to Ohio where she has family. When he runs into some trouble down there, he ends up moving to Boston and working for Danny's family.
The book follows both of their lives and their decisions in Boston around 1917-1920, and gives a very colorful depiction of the city in those days. The story's climax is during the multi-day Boston policeman's strike, which throws the city into chaos. Intermixed throughout the entire book are short vignettes about Babe Ruth, during the height of his baseball fame.
Lehane's great writing really kept my attention. I was hoping for the characters to have things work out and I was interested in the politics in Boston. The Ruth stories also helped describe the time and place outside of the two main characters.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I had noticed this book, the first in a series of seven, in Barnes and Noble a few months ago. I go back and forth on historical fiction, so I wasn't sure if I'd like it. Given its length (850 pages) I decided it'd be a good vacation read.
The story starts with Claire, a young combat nurse, in 1945 - right after the war. She has just reunited with her husband and they are enjoying a holiday in Scotland. One day, while sightseeing in the area, she stumbles into a mysterious formation and suddenly finds herself in 18th century Scotland. Landing in the middle of a set of kingdoms that is at war, she is suspected of being a British spy. The balance of the book follows Claire's story as she figures out how to survive there, and if there's a way to get back home.
I loved this book and could not put it down. I am so looking forward to reading the next several books in this series. This was not a serious book, though. It was a quick read and had less historical content than I expected, although I believe the extensive details about her surroundings were accurate. I would also comment that the lascivious nature of some of the scenes made it perfect beach reading!
The story starts with Claire, a young combat nurse, in 1945 - right after the war. She has just reunited with her husband and they are enjoying a holiday in Scotland. One day, while sightseeing in the area, she stumbles into a mysterious formation and suddenly finds herself in 18th century Scotland. Landing in the middle of a set of kingdoms that is at war, she is suspected of being a British spy. The balance of the book follows Claire's story as she figures out how to survive there, and if there's a way to get back home.
I loved this book and could not put it down. I am so looking forward to reading the next several books in this series. This was not a serious book, though. It was a quick read and had less historical content than I expected, although I believe the extensive details about her surroundings were accurate. I would also comment that the lascivious nature of some of the scenes made it perfect beach reading!
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
When Greg heard I was headed to Barcelona, he heartily recommended this book. Cindy had also recommended it a while back, but I skipped it because I had not enjoyed the other novel by Ruiz that I read earlier this year (The Angel's Game). However, once I planned on traveling to Spain, I decided to give him another shot.
This book was much better. It was about a young boy who works in his father's bookshop. He comes into possession of a rare book (also called Shadow of the Wind) by a mysterious author, and the balance of the novel is his unraveling the story of this author. Many people are anxious to get their hands on this book, and he runs into all sorts of characters, both savory and not. The book spans many years, and during that time the boy grows up and as he is consumed by this author, he is also consumed by love for a particular woman. Another present theme is the relationship he has with his father, which changes as he grows up.
The book takes place in Barcelona - but not the one I visited. The Barcelona in this book is dark and mysterious and Gothic. I liked reading this and really enjoyed doing so while in Spain. The story kept my attention and the main character was worth rooting for.
This book was much better. It was about a young boy who works in his father's bookshop. He comes into possession of a rare book (also called Shadow of the Wind) by a mysterious author, and the balance of the novel is his unraveling the story of this author. Many people are anxious to get their hands on this book, and he runs into all sorts of characters, both savory and not. The book spans many years, and during that time the boy grows up and as he is consumed by this author, he is also consumed by love for a particular woman. Another present theme is the relationship he has with his father, which changes as he grows up.
The book takes place in Barcelona - but not the one I visited. The Barcelona in this book is dark and mysterious and Gothic. I liked reading this and really enjoyed doing so while in Spain. The story kept my attention and the main character was worth rooting for.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Another book spree
Bought a whole pile of books, some for my upcoming vacation and some for when I get back:
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Outlander: with Bonus Content
The Given Day: A Novel
I Am a Strange Loop
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
The Distant Hours: A Novel
WWW: Wonder
WWW: Watch
WWW: Wake
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Outlander: with Bonus Content
The Given Day: A Novel
I Am a Strange Loop
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee BoyThe Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
The Distant Hours: A Novel
WWW: Wonder
WWW: WatchWWW: Wake
The Bradshaw Variations by Rachel Cusk
This was another choice from the top 2011 British book list. Excellently written but I had some major problems with this book.
The novel mostly follows Thomas and Toni, who are unhappily married - well, maybe not unhappy, but not happy. He decides to stay home with their daughter when Toni gets a new opportunity at work. Thomas' brother is an energetic entrepreneur whose wife is a struggling artist. Cusk does a fabulous job describing each of these characters (as well as their parents, children, and even their houseguests and tenants) and their dissatisfaction with their lives. The writing was superb, with many characters each given a unique voice and a unique burden to carry. But she makes them so dissatisfied and so disinterested in improving their situations that I didn't get invested in any of them.
Cusk also writes this book as a characters study of middle-class people, rather than as a story. There's little to no plot and fairly little change in the characters' outlooks. I kept waiting for something to happen. Their lack of interest in interacting with each other was pervasive even in light of a few major events towards the end of the book. Not only was this book not uplifting, it was dissatisfying. I'd try Cusk again, but hope for more next time.
The novel mostly follows Thomas and Toni, who are unhappily married - well, maybe not unhappy, but not happy. He decides to stay home with their daughter when Toni gets a new opportunity at work. Thomas' brother is an energetic entrepreneur whose wife is a struggling artist. Cusk does a fabulous job describing each of these characters (as well as their parents, children, and even their houseguests and tenants) and their dissatisfaction with their lives. The writing was superb, with many characters each given a unique voice and a unique burden to carry. But she makes them so dissatisfied and so disinterested in improving their situations that I didn't get invested in any of them.
Cusk also writes this book as a characters study of middle-class people, rather than as a story. There's little to no plot and fairly little change in the characters' outlooks. I kept waiting for something to happen. Their lack of interest in interacting with each other was pervasive even in light of a few major events towards the end of the book. Not only was this book not uplifting, it was dissatisfying. I'd try Cusk again, but hope for more next time.
The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier
Brockmeier's A Brief History of the Dead has remained one of my most memorable reads, so I was happy to see he had a new one out.
The Illumination is speculative fiction, and refers to a phenomenon that strikes society unexpectedly. Suddenly, people's pain is visible as colored lights. If you have a cut on your finger, your finger glows. If you have a kidney stone, it is lit up for everyone else to see. The implications of knowing who is in pain and in what way becomes a new factor in interpersonal interactions. Something about this book kept making me think of Saramago's Blindness - the use of a physical ailment to make a societal point.
This novel follows six people as they navigate in this strange new world - starting with a patient at a hospital when this all starts. Five other major characters emerge, each of them coming into possession of a set of love-letters written by the husband of the patient's hospital roommate. These love letters form the basis of the connection among the rest of the characters, who are otherwise reasonably unrelated.
I like Brockmeier and I liked this book because it was interesting, but I'm not sure I "get" it in the end. The two devices - the illumination of pain and the love letters - didn't mesh enough for me. I did enjoy the characters and their stories, but wished for more out of this book.
The Illumination is speculative fiction, and refers to a phenomenon that strikes society unexpectedly. Suddenly, people's pain is visible as colored lights. If you have a cut on your finger, your finger glows. If you have a kidney stone, it is lit up for everyone else to see. The implications of knowing who is in pain and in what way becomes a new factor in interpersonal interactions. Something about this book kept making me think of Saramago's Blindness - the use of a physical ailment to make a societal point.
This novel follows six people as they navigate in this strange new world - starting with a patient at a hospital when this all starts. Five other major characters emerge, each of them coming into possession of a set of love-letters written by the husband of the patient's hospital roommate. These love letters form the basis of the connection among the rest of the characters, who are otherwise reasonably unrelated.
I like Brockmeier and I liked this book because it was interesting, but I'm not sure I "get" it in the end. The two devices - the illumination of pain and the love letters - didn't mesh enough for me. I did enjoy the characters and their stories, but wished for more out of this book.
The Upright Piano Player by David Abbott
Somewhere I saw a British list of top 2011 books (so far), and I added a few to my library queue.
This novel is about Henry, who is divorced from Nessa (who cheated on him), recently retired (forced out of his own company), and estranged from his family (including his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson). While the story starts with a tragedy in the current day, the rest of the book takes place in the past. That sets up a strange dynamic for the reader - I knew throughout reading the entire book how the story was going to end, but now how the characters got to that point. That technique reminded me of Vonnegut's in Galapagos: the author forced you to focus on something other than the storyline by telling you the ending.
There is nothing else about the book that reminded me of Vonnegut. But Abbott is a good writer: concise and clear. He's the type of writer who can define a character with just a few sentences. Most of the story is Henry's although there are a few chapters told from other characters' points of view.
It's a very ironic book - the reader knows that Henry's efforts to be more self-actualized are futile, but he doesn't. The real tragedy in Henry's life was not just the event that ends the story, but the depth of pain and growth that he goes through beforehand, believing he has found redemption.
This novel is about Henry, who is divorced from Nessa (who cheated on him), recently retired (forced out of his own company), and estranged from his family (including his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson). While the story starts with a tragedy in the current day, the rest of the book takes place in the past. That sets up a strange dynamic for the reader - I knew throughout reading the entire book how the story was going to end, but now how the characters got to that point. That technique reminded me of Vonnegut's in Galapagos: the author forced you to focus on something other than the storyline by telling you the ending.
There is nothing else about the book that reminded me of Vonnegut. But Abbott is a good writer: concise and clear. He's the type of writer who can define a character with just a few sentences. Most of the story is Henry's although there are a few chapters told from other characters' points of view.
It's a very ironic book - the reader knows that Henry's efforts to be more self-actualized are futile, but he doesn't. The real tragedy in Henry's life was not just the event that ends the story, but the depth of pain and growth that he goes through beforehand, believing he has found redemption.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven
Deena recommended this to me along with a few other books. I thought it was fine. The story is about a young girl growing up in North Carolina in the 1930's. She has dreams of pursuing a career at the Grand Ole Opry but she also falls in love with a former troublemaker-turn-preacher from her hometown with whom her life would be decidedly less dramatic. Her internal battle between remaining loyal to her home and loyal to her dreams forms the majority of the narrative.
The book seemed very basic to me. It had a textbook beginning, middle, climax, and denouement, with no real surprises. Velva Jean's voice was young and stayed young even as she aged into her later teens. And the ultimate decision she makes is not surprising.
However I did appreciate two things about this book. First, Niven did a great job creating a very detailed setting. I felt like I knew just what Velva Jean's home and town looked like and what it would feel like to walk around. The other thing I liked about the book was that Niven had several characters and situations all of whom were struggling with dilemmas of staying versus leaving, progress versus status quo. In fact one of the story lines is about a road that is being built through their area, and the different characters' points of view on whether it is "going out" or "coming in".
This is Niven's first novel, and it shows. She has some great ideas but I hope she matures as an author so they come in a format easier to appreciate.
The book seemed very basic to me. It had a textbook beginning, middle, climax, and denouement, with no real surprises. Velva Jean's voice was young and stayed young even as she aged into her later teens. And the ultimate decision she makes is not surprising.
However I did appreciate two things about this book. First, Niven did a great job creating a very detailed setting. I felt like I knew just what Velva Jean's home and town looked like and what it would feel like to walk around. The other thing I liked about the book was that Niven had several characters and situations all of whom were struggling with dilemmas of staying versus leaving, progress versus status quo. In fact one of the story lines is about a road that is being built through their area, and the different characters' points of view on whether it is "going out" or "coming in".
This is Niven's first novel, and it shows. She has some great ideas but I hope she matures as an author so they come in a format easier to appreciate.
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
I decided it was time for me to learn more about what happened with the bailout, so I took this off the bookshelf. Web had read it a few months back.
Michael Lewis is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. In past years I've read Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. Malcolm Gladwell describes him a "the finest storyteller of our generation" and I agree. This book is about the financial meltdown. Particularly, Lewis writes about a few oddball bankers, some on the fringe of Wall Street, who accurately predicted the mortgage-backed securities crisis. Lewis profiles some colorful people on both sides of the situation - those who bet on these securities and those who bet against them.
The most interesting part of the book, aside from the personalities, was that because he was profiling people who bet against the industry, he had to explain in detail to the reader one of the strangest financial instruments: the credit-default swap. Basically a credit-default swap is insurance you buy against a particular security dropping in value, except you don't have to own the security to own the insurance. It's a really strange security that spawns a really strange market that is at the core of the meltdown. Michael Lewis says in his book, "Dear Reader: If you have followed the story this far, you deserve not only a gold star but also an answer to a complicated question..." And thank goodness, because I sweated through a couple of those pages.
This book rounds out a few places where I've learned about the crisis; the same week I read this book we caught HBO's excellent Too Big to Fail documentary. A few months ago I listened to This American Life's episode about Magnetar, one of the hedge funds in the middle of the crisis. And last week's New York Times Magazine had a cover story on Sheila Bair, the outgoing chairwoman of the FDIC. Together, those pieces of media gave me a good grounding on what the heck happened to our banks.
Michael Lewis is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. In past years I've read Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. Malcolm Gladwell describes him a "the finest storyteller of our generation" and I agree. This book is about the financial meltdown. Particularly, Lewis writes about a few oddball bankers, some on the fringe of Wall Street, who accurately predicted the mortgage-backed securities crisis. Lewis profiles some colorful people on both sides of the situation - those who bet on these securities and those who bet against them.
The most interesting part of the book, aside from the personalities, was that because he was profiling people who bet against the industry, he had to explain in detail to the reader one of the strangest financial instruments: the credit-default swap. Basically a credit-default swap is insurance you buy against a particular security dropping in value, except you don't have to own the security to own the insurance. It's a really strange security that spawns a really strange market that is at the core of the meltdown. Michael Lewis says in his book, "Dear Reader: If you have followed the story this far, you deserve not only a gold star but also an answer to a complicated question..." And thank goodness, because I sweated through a couple of those pages.
This book rounds out a few places where I've learned about the crisis; the same week I read this book we caught HBO's excellent Too Big to Fail documentary. A few months ago I listened to This American Life's episode about Magnetar, one of the hedge funds in the middle of the crisis. And last week's New York Times Magazine had a cover story on Sheila Bair, the outgoing chairwoman of the FDIC. Together, those pieces of media gave me a good grounding on what the heck happened to our banks.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
An Open Letter to Barnes and Noble
I love to read books. Actual books. I'm one of the few people in my generation (mid-30s) who has not moved to an e-Reader. Which is why I have felt incredibly excluded as a customer in my last few trips to Barnes and Noble. At my local store (the Prudential Center in Boston) no less than half the floor when you walk in is branded with nook items and accessories. (Know what used to be there? Among other things, the travel section. I miss daydreaming about where my next trip is going to be. Now travel is mushed into the back of the store.) More people staff the nook part of the store than the info desk. They don't answer "book" questions. And when I renewed my membership for another year once I had purchased something, I was pitched on the benefits available to me if I got a nook. (Apologies to that cashier because I definitely bit his head off.)
I was in Toronto recently and stepped into an Indigo bookstore. Know what was there? Books. Staff picks, tables and table and rows and rows of books. It was a BOOKstore. And I read a lot of books each year - around 40 or so.
I wish I had been someone who loved independent bookstores, but to be honest I have always liked B&N just as much as any independent book shop. In fact, shopping there felt like shopping in a carefully-designed and carefully-maintained private store. I always thought the first few tables of recommendations (paperback favorites, new in paperback, etc) were right on with respect to what I should read next. When the Kindle first came out (before there was a nook), I said one of the reasons I didn't think I'd like it was that I love the feeling of browsing in a book store and reading jacket after jacket in a careful determination of what to buy.
I'm no Luddite. I work at a high-tech company in a technical role. I got a Tivo before it was cool and set up my own RF remote. But I do like books, actual books, with deckled edges and smells and beautiful covers (never the movie edition), and I want to shop for them. If it's not fun to shop for them in a B&N store anymore then I'm just as likely to buy on Amazon since I'm buying other household items and groceries there anyway.
I know I'm in the minority. But I'm also a Barnes and Noble fan historically, so I wanted to be fair and let you know how it feels to shop in your stores these days.
I was in Toronto recently and stepped into an Indigo bookstore. Know what was there? Books. Staff picks, tables and table and rows and rows of books. It was a BOOKstore. And I read a lot of books each year - around 40 or so.
I wish I had been someone who loved independent bookstores, but to be honest I have always liked B&N just as much as any independent book shop. In fact, shopping there felt like shopping in a carefully-designed and carefully-maintained private store. I always thought the first few tables of recommendations (paperback favorites, new in paperback, etc) were right on with respect to what I should read next. When the Kindle first came out (before there was a nook), I said one of the reasons I didn't think I'd like it was that I love the feeling of browsing in a book store and reading jacket after jacket in a careful determination of what to buy.
I'm no Luddite. I work at a high-tech company in a technical role. I got a Tivo before it was cool and set up my own RF remote. But I do like books, actual books, with deckled edges and smells and beautiful covers (never the movie edition), and I want to shop for them. If it's not fun to shop for them in a B&N store anymore then I'm just as likely to buy on Amazon since I'm buying other household items and groceries there anyway.
I know I'm in the minority. But I'm also a Barnes and Noble fan historically, so I wanted to be fair and let you know how it feels to shop in your stores these days.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr
This is a technology/business book so if you read my blog purely for fun, you may want to skip this. However, if you have even a small inkling of interest around technology, read on.
This book is about "the cloud." The first half of the book skillfully compares the move to centralized generation and distribution of electricity to the move to centralized computing resources. The analogy is fascinatingly accurate. The second half of the book talks about what that means for the future of the IT industry and of our interactions with technology. Carr uses great examples like Savvis, Google, and Microsoft to illustrate "cloud" technology.
What I really liked about this book is that Carr used examples that I think would be relevant if you didn't work in technology, but that were familiar to me as a technologist. I also liked how accurately he described what was happening to technology as it moved into the cloud. It definitely made me think about what my job would be twenty or even ten years from now.
What was most remarkable about reading this book is that it was published in 2009 and some of the predictions and novel concepts already seemed like second nature to me. That made me respect Carr for his prescience but also regret my letting this languish on my "to read" list for so long. Score one for not waiting for The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You
to come out in paperback.
This book is about "the cloud." The first half of the book skillfully compares the move to centralized generation and distribution of electricity to the move to centralized computing resources. The analogy is fascinatingly accurate. The second half of the book talks about what that means for the future of the IT industry and of our interactions with technology. Carr uses great examples like Savvis, Google, and Microsoft to illustrate "cloud" technology.
What I really liked about this book is that Carr used examples that I think would be relevant if you didn't work in technology, but that were familiar to me as a technologist. I also liked how accurately he described what was happening to technology as it moved into the cloud. It definitely made me think about what my job would be twenty or even ten years from now.
What was most remarkable about reading this book is that it was published in 2009 and some of the predictions and novel concepts already seemed like second nature to me. That made me respect Carr for his prescience but also regret my letting this languish on my "to read" list for so long. Score one for not waiting for The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You
to come out in paperback.
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
I went into Barnes and Noble to buy a guide book for a long weekend in Toronto, and this book caught my eye. This year I've gotten to read several books that were nearly perfectly constructed/composed and this is another one.
The story takes place during the Vietnam War. It's about a female photographer who falls in love with another American photographer, and it's also about her relationship with that photographer's Vietnamese assistant. Through telling what is ostensibly a love story, Soli also paints a vivid picture of the war. The book covers several years' worth of time, as well as ranging from locations in Saigon to remote villages in the countryside. On numerous occasions the photographers are embedded with army squads and there are detailed accounts of their activities.
I really liked so many things about this book. The characters were really well-developed and I was rooting for them throughout the book. The description of Vietnam was a great education for someone like me, just slightly too young to understand the impact on the US firsthand. And the plot was incredibly engrossing. Nancy Pearl from NPR said of this book, "“Devastatingly awesome…It's one of those books that I didn't want to put down — I resented everything else that I needed to do in my life, because I didn't want to stop reading it.” I definitely had the same experience.
The story takes place during the Vietnam War. It's about a female photographer who falls in love with another American photographer, and it's also about her relationship with that photographer's Vietnamese assistant. Through telling what is ostensibly a love story, Soli also paints a vivid picture of the war. The book covers several years' worth of time, as well as ranging from locations in Saigon to remote villages in the countryside. On numerous occasions the photographers are embedded with army squads and there are detailed accounts of their activities.
I really liked so many things about this book. The characters were really well-developed and I was rooting for them throughout the book. The description of Vietnam was a great education for someone like me, just slightly too young to understand the impact on the US firsthand. And the plot was incredibly engrossing. Nancy Pearl from NPR said of this book, "“Devastatingly awesome…It's one of those books that I didn't want to put down — I resented everything else that I needed to do in my life, because I didn't want to stop reading it.” I definitely had the same experience.
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