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Thursday, May 28, 2009

A(n Almost) Mid-Year Book Revue

I can't believe it's almost June, and that it's been more than two months since I last posted a book review. Now that Jordy's nights are mostly settled, and he's pretty great at playing on his own on occasion, I've had more of a chance to get stuck into some good reading, even when he's not napping in the daytime! (Picture this: Just after breakfast, Jordy spends twenty minutes moving from toy to toy, babbling to each and chilling out, while mum enjoys a cup of tea and a short but intense read. HEAVEN! I don't know long this phase will last but I am relishing it while I can...)

Anyway, in between re-reading collections of Baby Blues and Get Fuzzy I borrow from the library, as well as the baby food bible by Annabel Karmel, here's a quick camel revue of what's kept me going cerebrally these past months:


The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Recommended to me by MIL extraordinaire, I couldn't put this book down. The blurb on the dust cover didn't sound too promising. Just wasn't something I would normally pick up, but I am SO GLAD I DID. The book retells the story of the Old Testament's Dinah, daughter of Jacob (brother of Esau and son of Isaac) and sister of Joseph (yes, he of the technicolour dreamcoat fame). In the bible, Dinah's story is almost a footnote; she is taken (in the Biblical sense) by an Egyptian prince, and her brothers avenge her honour. In The Red Tent, Diamant gives voice to many of the women in Genesis: Dinah, her mothers Leah and Rachel, her grandmother Rebecca, and Sarah before her. The themes of family, sisterhood, motherhood, loyalty, diaspora, autonomy and the self are all given voice by the different characters. The most compelling thing about the book was just the level of research Diamant had obviously done when describing the rituals, myths, beliefs and general day-to-day living of the characters. I've since found out this is a perennial book club favourite and I can see why. Loved it.

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
I think this is the first autobiography I've ever read. If you don't count the Diary of Anne Frank and Boy by Roald Dahl. I started reading it when Adrian and Sally were staying with us (they had a copy) and was hooked from the first page. Excellent prose, and made me think very nostalgically of The West Wing. In fact, now that there is nothing to watch on TV anymore, I think it's time for our annual re-visit of all seven seasons. Bring it on!


Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
Jordy's Mothers' Day gift to me. Thank you, you psychic baby! Interconnected short stories by the true master of the fallible narrator, this absolutely did not disappoint. The trademark first person narrators were a leitmotif, along with the themes of recalibrated dreams, ambition and resulting determination, all set to a beautiful sonorous prose. The whole thing felt... autumnal. More so than The Remains of the Day if that's possible!


The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Slightly tougher to read than the others, but well worth it. Verbally dazzling prose - the most original writing I've come across in some time. Pretty much in the genre of American immigrant writing, the story revolves around the lives of the unfortunate protagonist Dominican-American Oscar, his sister, his mother and her father. It deals with the harrowing history of the Dominican Republic under dictator supreme Trujillo, and the resulting diaspora to the US. It transcends your typical immigrant story because of the fresh mode of telling (which, without giving away too much, makes use of a copious amount of footnotes!). I also love the fact that the narrator is a manic, LOTR-quoting yet hot-blooded male. May not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it in the end.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Wonderful. Visceral. Unputdownable. Can't believe I never read it till now. Developed a minor crush on Mr Bourdain halfway through the book, then made the mistake of googling him, and realising that he's since divorced his highschool sweetheart Nancy, and shacked up with a woman half his age. They have a young daughter too. But back to the book. Now I know never to order mussels from most restaurants, never order fish on a Monday, and I'm never looking at Hollandaise the same way again.

Just Another Kid by Torey Hayden
Yet another book I would not normally read. From recollection, this is from my cousin J (thanks so much). Never really felt in the mood to read it, then spotted it two days ago on the bookshelf next to my love/hate Gina Ford The Contented Little Baby Book (I'd filed it under parenting you see). Well, this booked knocked me out! By knock out, I mean, I was stealing away to read a page here and there over the last days and managed to finish it this morning while Jordy was conducting an experiment involving his buzzy bee and an empty yogurt container. Written by a special ed teacher and child psychologist, it's a memoir of a year she spent teaching six special needs kids somewhere in the US. Particularly interesting as the book is highly contextual (written in 1988) and three of the kids she teaches were sent to live with relatives in America from Belfast, where they were traumatised from living right in the midst of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Can't believe the amount of non-fiction I am getting through these days. S-t-r-a-n-g-e but true!

Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
I started this comic series at series 2 I know. But then, Page One had run out of Series 1 and D had gotten me a couple for my birthday and I so badly wanted them and you get the idea. Anyway, I LIKE! Can't wait to get stuck into it again (Thanks A for lending me the first series so I can get the proper back story).

What am I going to read next?

Think it's more Baby Blues tonight, and think I'll also read the graphic novel Waltz with Bashir. D said it was pretty powerful, then I might read a book D borrowed from his boss called The Impressionist, or maybe some Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things (Thanks Sandy!)?

1 comment:

maree said...

wonderful Dora!! you will look back on this reading as a diary of your time as a young Mum ...it's the OTHER life that goes on for you...so rewarding.. the books I read when N & D were little remain favs. Am so excited - have a few wee books for JR - can't wait to read with him x