Review: The Dinner

The Dinner by Herman Koch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble during a hiatus between jobs. This was a really unusual book and one that I liked it. The story was about two related couples whose sons do something (you don't find out what it is until part-way through the book) and they go to dinner together to decide what to do. The entire book takes place during the dinner, narrated by the father of one of the families.


In some ways, the book had a lot in common with [b:Defending Jacob|11367726|Defending Jacob|William Landay|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1329612158s/11367726.jpg|16298550], with a father-son relationship, a violent event, and a story told in flashbacks. However, the writing was very different from most books I've read. The narrator is oddly stoic, similar to the narrator from [b:Never Let Me Go|6334|Never Let Me Go|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353048590s/6334.jpg|1499998]. Like that book, there's a reason for this behavior, but like that book, it puts a wall between the reader and the characters. This may be compounded by the book being translated from the Dutch, I never find translations to be as easy to connect with emotionally as books written in my native English.

The narrator is a really complex character, and I often couldn't put the book down, waiting to find out more about him. The other characters were very well-developed as well; the story was compelling and surprising. I definitely recommend this book.



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Review: Sing You Home

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I got stuck walking around Boston during one of this winter's snowstorms and ducked into the library instead of trekking home. Found this book on the shelf and started reading it while I waited out the storm.

I thought this book was OK. Pretty similar to most Jodi Picoult books - likable characters, political and ethical conflict, and very very readable. Sometimes with her books I wish for more linguistic complexity to match the complexity of the conflict and the plots.

The story starts with a marriage that breaks up over infertility. When the exes find new lives and new people to share them with, the question of what happens to their still-frozen embryos suddenly becomes very relevant. I liked the story and looked forward to reading it each night, but over all I didn't think the book was anything special.




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Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a really special book. It's classified as non-fiction because of the extraordinary reporting and research that Boo did but it reads like a novel.

The narrative follows the lives of several families living in a shantytown outside the airport in Mumbai, India. I've never been to India but it a lot of the Caribbean I always wonder as I'm whisked from the airport to the resort, "who lives there, what are their lives like?" and this book answers that.

The poverty described here is not American poverty - it's not poverty with McDonalds or Cable TV - it's poverty with mud, and sheets that separate families, and polluted water as the local lake, and people who collect and sell garbage to support families of 10. All of this is the shadow of luxury hotels and with the imminent threat of the government bulldozing their homes.

There are several characters who Boo follows most closely, a young man who is supporting his family by finding and selling garbage, a one-legged woman who lives next door, the neighborhood politician who is trying to bridge herself into middle class politics, and her daughter who is going to college. It was hard to remember that these are all real people and not characters Boo made up.

Definitely recommend this book although it is a heavy subject. Kudos to Boo's reporting and attention to detail that brought this "undercity" to life.



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Review: Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football

Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really enjoyed this book. I first heard about it on NPR's It's Only A Game, and decided to read it right after the Super Bowl when my withdrawal symptoms from football were at their worst.

In this book, Dawidoff basically embeds with the Jets for the 2011-2012 season, as if he were a journalist embedding with a military unit. He attends practices and team meetings, travels with the team to all their games, and gets to know the coaches, players, and staff.

The 2011 season was a strange one - it was the year after Hard Knocks chronicled the Jets on HBO, the year after Rex Ryan's infamous foot fetish video, and the year of the labor strike that divided players from organizations for much of the off season. Cromartie and Sanchez and Holmes were key players that year.

It was really fun to ride along with Dawidoff. He did a great job characterizing the coaches and players, without idolizing them; Rex Ryan is profiled as a likable person, but not all the other coaches are. It was really interesting to hear how the Draft works from the teams' perspectives, and reading about training camp was fun.

It got even more interesting once the season began. I learned so much about how teams approach each game, what the rhythm of their week is like - how much a Thursday game throws them off, and what they do during the bye week. I learned a lot about football strategy as well - what differentiates one team's approach from another, and how they try to design an appropriate defense each week.

Definitely a must-read for football fans.



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When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry by Gal Beckerman

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry by Gal Beckerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW WOW WOW.  This was an incredibly well-researched and well-executed book.  At 500+ dense pages, there were some sections where I slogged through a bit, but I am really glad I read this.

When I was a child, my dad took me to Washington DC with our synagogue to protest Soviet Jewry - I might have been 10 or so (it was the late 1980's) and I can remember being taught that Jews in Russia weren't allowed to practice Judaism and that we were going to DC to get our congressmen to change that.  I can remember singing the song the title of the book came from, and I can remember having a "Russian twin" who I mentioned at my bat mitzvah.  Books in my Hebrew School library abounded on this topic - Monday in Odessa is the one I remember most clearly.

So I was interested to read this book to fill in the gaps in my knowledge - little did I know it would be a sweeping history of Jews in the Soviet Union starting in 1963.

Beckerman puts forth two major factors that drove attention to the plight of Soviet Jews that were not clear to me as a 10-year-old.  One was that many American Jews felt guilty that they did not pressure the government to do more to save Jews during WWII, and saw this as an extension of the Civil Rights movement in their own country.  The other was that newly minted Israel needed an influx of immigrants to ensure its safety in numbers and voting.  These two factors are discussed at length throughout the book.

But part of why I enjoyed this book is that Beckerman also painted characters so quickly and sharply that it was easy to get to "know" people.  And there were all sorts of community organizers in the US, USSR, and Israel, there were politicians, dissidents, and many other types of people who joined in the fight.  Famous ones included Heschel, Weisel, Carlebach, Reagan, and most famously Shcharansky.  But the lesser-known people were also heroes fascinating to follow.

Things in the USSR were no joke.  For decades, Jews were regularly harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and exiled to Siberia.  They weren't allowed to practice Judaism (although many did in different degrees of secret), they couldn't learn Hebrew, or speak positively about Israel.  They lost their jobs once they applied for visas out, but few visas were approved and then they were stuck in the country where it was illegal not to have a job.  This was tens of thousands of people - 'refusniks' who could not leave.

There are many other dimensions to this book that I could write about - Soviet-US relations, politics in Israel, a long section appropriately dedicated to Shchransky's imprisonment, American immigration policy, examinations of the prevalence then fall of Communism within the USSR - but I'd summarize by saying that if this time in history is in any way intriguing to you, this is *the* book to read.


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This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a big fan of Ann Patchett's, but with the exception of Truth and Beauty, her memoir of her friendship with now-deceased Lucy Grealy, I've only ever read her fiction.  This book is a collection of her essays spanning several decades of her life.  The essays range from those written for various magazines to speeches she's given.

I really enjoyed reading this - it was reminiscent of reading Anna Quindlen's work - written so smoothly and so easy to digest.  But like Quindlen, Patchett covers plenty of difficult subjects, including her failed first marriage, her current marriage, her decision not to have children, her career, and her friendship with Grealy.

Perhaps one of the most interesting sections was after Grealy's death when Patchett was hired to speak at Tulane's freshman invocation.  Right-wing conservatives at Tulane saw her friendship with Grealy as lesbian and perverse, and she is picketed, protested, and treated oddly during her visit.  Following this essay is the text from her speech as well.

But the book is far more than another memoir of her relationship with Grealy, it also is a memoir of writing, relationships, and even some more mundane adventures - like when she decided to try to get into the LAPD academy.  Overall, an enjoyable read.


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Sheryl K's Top Books of 2013

Happy New Year, readers!

This year I read 42 books, 10 of which were non-fiction. For those of you who suggested that having a newborn was going to slow me down, well, I am just that much more stubborn than you thought!  While I have spent a lot of the year reading Jamberry and Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My Pet, here are a few other books that I really loved.

On being a woman:

Well, if you are going to tell your boss you are pregnant, I recommend doing it right after Marisa Mayer does the same.  And if you are going to be on maternity leave, try doing it when Sheryl Sandberg releases her book, Lean In.  Once you've had your baby, if you decide to go back to work and pump breastmilk, read The Milk Memos, about some women at IBM who did it before it was trendy.

For nonfiction, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was amazing.  My sister recommended this story about a former Olympic runner who enlists during WWII and whose plane is shot down over the Pacific.  Less masterfully striking but still a good memoir is Laura and Lisa Ling's chronicle of Laura's getting imprisoned in a North Korean prison and Lisa's fight to get her released in Somewhere Inside.

I read some really high-quality fiction as well.  Topping the list is The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, recommended by my mom, which is the story of a Jewish Hungarian family during WWII.  I only wish I had read it last summer when I was in Hungary.  Also wonderful was Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, about two Nigerians who fall in love as teenagers, one of whom stays in Nigeria while the other one emigrates to the United States.  A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, recommended by Deena, was a memorable and well-written novel about several people making difficult decisions during the Chechen conflict in the late 1990's.

A surprise gift from Kurt and Laura turned into a favorite - The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo was a storytelling romp through Malay and the Chinese underworld.  The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, on many "official" lists, was about lifelong friendships that begin at summer camp and was indeed as good as everyone said it was.  Another universally well-reviewed book was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, a mystery that I also liked as much as everyone else.  Finally, awarded the "why did it sit on my shelf for so long?" prize was The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee, a love story set in Hong Kong.

I read several books about the Asian immigrant experience in the United States.  The Mango Bride by Marivi Soliven was about two women from very different classes who immigrate from the Philippines.  In The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger, a man finds a wife in Bangladesh to bring to the US.  Another story of a wife brought to the United States, this time from India, was in A Good Indian Wife by Anne Cherian. And The Reeducation of Cherry Truong by Aimee Phan was a coming-of-age story about a young Vietnamese woman and her family.

There were two notable books that I enjoy but that were flawed.  The Circle by Dave Eggers was a searing criticism of our lack of privacy on the internet with completely lackluster character development from a writer I know is better than that.  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin was also lacking in some character development, but was a good fictional account of Charles Lindbergh's wife's life.

Finally, if you like trashy historical fiction and are not already reading the Outlander by Diana Gabaldon series, you should be.  I read books #4 and #5 this year.

I will keep updating this blog, but now manage my "to-read" list and all my reviews on Goodreads.  Find me there if you are also a member.

Best wishes to all for health, happiness, success, and lots of great books to read in 2014.

Sheryl

Review: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book was fine. Nujood is a Yemeni girl who is married off at too-young an age, and then abused by her husband. In a show of amazing courage, she seeks - and ultimately is granted - a divorce. Gaining international attention, her divorce has led to changes in Yemeni law (though their enforcement is still questionable) as well as a handful of other young women in the Middle East to seek the same freedom.

Her story is sad, and the poverty she lives in magnifies that. Even after garnering international attention (going on The Today Show and appearing in Glamour Magazine), she and one of her sisters fail to continue attending school and while her family's station is slightly improved by her book royalties and humanitarian efforts, they are not magically lifted out of poverty and appreciative of Western values.

Perhaps that is the most interesting part. Her courage is amazing and unusual - but the difficulty in changing the oppressive society that forces women to submit to a male-dominated culture is equally striking.



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Review: The Fiery Cross

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series continues to hold my attention. After the first half of the last book, I was a little worried that she had "jumped the shark" a bit, but this book renewed my excitement in this epic story.

In this installment, weighing in at 900+ pages, Jamie and Claire are joined by their daughter Brianna and her husband Roger in North Carolina in the early 1770's. There are small skirmishes between different factions as the colonies begin to gear up for the Revolution. But as in her previous books, there are also small everyday situations to contend with - like a murder mystery, missing people, killer bears, lost loves, and babies.

I look forward to reading the next book, probably on vacation in April.



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Review: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really enjoyed this book, recommended to me by Deena.

It follows a few people's stories during the Chechen Wars from 1996 to 2004. The book jumps around in time, but each chapter begins with a timeline with the date highlighted. The main characters include a little girl whose father is taken by the police, her neighbor who rescues her, and a doctor at the hospital he hides her in. But as the book unfolds, more characters who start out seeming like minor players become increasingly more relevant.

The writing was excellent - as was the character development. I also really enjoyed the unlikely connections he made between characters, some of which the reader knows before the characters do.

I didn't know very much about this part of post-USSR history, and the author did a good job of including enough background so I could follow the story but not so much that I was bored by the history. Definitely recommend reading this and since this is his debut novel (wow!) I look forward to future books of his.



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Review: Reconstructing Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Lisa recommended this to me, I think after I read [b:Gone Girl|8442457|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1339602131s/8442457.jpg|13306276], but I thought it was nowhere near as good as that. In fact, I thought it was like a poor woman's version of [b:Defending Jacob|11367726|Defending Jacob|William Landay|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1329612158s/11367726.jpg|16298550].

The book is about a single mom named Kate whose daughter Amelia ostensibly commits suicide after being accused of cheating at her private school. However, Kate believes she didn't actually kill herself and embarks on an investigation of her own to determine what happened to her. The book alternated between Kate in the current time and Amelia in the weeks before her death. It also includes some emails and text messages as part of the story.

The concept of this book was good and the story was ok, but the characters were not well-developed. Neither Kate nor Amelia's voice were really believable. The twists at the end of the story weren't that fun either. All in all, I was not a big fan.



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Review: The Circle

The Circle by Dave Eggers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book is really tough to review. I am a huge fan of Eggers, although I did not enjoy his last book ([b:A Hologram for the King|13722902|A Hologram for the King|Dave Eggers|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337179987s/13722902.jpg|19355962]). This book had similar problems to the last one - it was working so hard to be a parable and make a point that I think Eggers forgot to build the characters as well as I know he is able to. I did like this more than Hologram but it was nowhere near the quality of his earliest work.

The story follows a young woman named Mae who feels like she won the lottery when her college roommate gets her a job at The Circle, the hottest Silicon Valley company since Facebook/Google. As she gets used to her new job, she realizes it is an all-encompassing community where she is expected to attend events, stay up to date on several queues of social and work-related information, and where her parents' health insurance problems are miraculously solved.

In a particularly funny bit of social commentary, nearly every day someone shows up at her desk with a new monitor - the first for her actual job, then another for her personal social networks, then another for her corporate social networks and so on. With these types of constructs, Eggers accurately portrays a lot of the current issues with modern technology and our interactions with it.

Over Mae's tenure at The Circle, she becomes increasingly more involved in the company's efforts toward transparency. Ultimately, she becomes so committed to these efforts that her engagement with the company eclipses even that of her former roommate and best friend, who had been a "golden child" at The Circle.

While the story kept me reading and the commentary around privacy and technology was well-taken, I actively missed Egger's ability to write great characters. He made the points that he wanted to, but the book would have been much better had he made Mae and her colleagues fully fleshed-out characters rather than just vessels for the point he wanted to make.



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Review: Sisterland

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Perhaps nothing will ever stand up next to [b:Prep|9844|Prep|Curtis Sittenfeld|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386925666s/9844.jpg|2317177], a book with one of the best "voices" I have ever read. This book was good, not great, but held my attention.

The story follows a pair of sisters who have some supernatural powers. Nothing major, just an ability to occasionally look into the future or know the location of something or someone. The sisters have treated this ability differently - one lives a pretty typical suburban life, while the other holds seances and practices as a medium. When an earthquake hits their city, they have very different reactions to whether to make predictions about future earthquakes.

Probably the best part of this book was the description of the relationships between different characters. The sisters, their relationships with their parents, their partners, and neighbors, are all described with great attention to personal detail. There were a few good twists in the plot toward the end as well. I'd recommend this book but it's no Prep.



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Review: Americanah

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I had really enjoyed Adichie's [b:Half of a Yellow Sun|18749|Half of a Yellow Sun|Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327934717s/18749.jpg|1651408] so I was looking forward to reading this, and it didn't disappoint.

This book follows the story of two young lovers from Nigeria. One leaves to build a life in America, while the other one remains in Nigeria. Their lives diverge and it is a fascinating set of parallel stories. The one who goes to America struggles with ideas of racial identity, which didn't exist for her in Nigeria. The one who stays in Nigeria tries to emigrate to London. They both find relationships and friendships and build lives for themselves.

Their lives are a really great set of foils for each other's experiences. The book concludes many years later when they both find themselves back in Nigeria and back in touch. I completely enjoyed reading this book and look forward to her next one.



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Review: The Ghost Bride

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Disclosure: one of Webster's colleagues is friends with the author and they gave me a copy as a gift.

I think the only impact that knowing the author had on me was that I read a book I wouldn't have necessarily otherwise picked up. That said, I LOVED it.

The story is about a young woman who grows up in Malaya, a Chinese colony. Her family is bankrupt, her father addicted to opium, and it seems like her only option may be to become the "ghost bride" of the deceased son of a well-to-do family. She travels into the Chinese afterworld to investigate this man and ends up stumbling into a web of family secrets and wondering if she can ever return.

I could not put this book down. The first section, where she is in Malacca (a town in Malaya), was really interesting, learning about a new culture and surroundings. But the second part of the book, which takes place in the afterworld, was fascinating - I loved reading about the afterworld, how it was organized, its interactions with the living world - and I could picture it so clearly.

Part mystery, part fantasy, part novel, I won't forget this book for a long time.



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