read | The Never-Open Desert Diner

I have pretty much no interest in trucking, and now I've read two books this year on the subject. First was The Quality of Silence, and now I'm reviewing The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson. The books have a similar vibe and element of suspense, though QoS is in Alaska while NODD is in the desert of Utah. This book is about Ben Jones, who delivers goods to people along an isolated highway. It shows his relationships with each of his weird customers, and he eventually stumbles on to a woman hiding from her husband. The plot unfolds from there. The story is fine. My main issue is with the main character. He comes across as a bit of a stalker early in the book. He's also adored by everyone, and since the book is in first person, it comes across as arrogance. His superior emotional capacity or whatever is summed up in a line - "There aren't many men who would take the risk you did in telling me how you felt." Ew. Can you feel the admiration? I do love the cover of this book, though some of the pages were randomly speckled and splotchy. Everything was legible, but there's still a quality control issue.
OK, now I'm about to enter spoiler territory. You've been warned. NODD is a decent story, though I don't think Ben's relationship with Claire is developed enough. Ben does say they have a special bond that makes them close, but that doesn't count. I don't really buy the whole cello plotline, but if you suspend your disbelief it's tolerable.

2 out of 5 stars

I received this boom from Blogging for Booms for this review.

read | Wreck and Order

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore is a story about a woman who tries to find herself through different people and places. It wasn't what I expected, though when I reread the cover copy after I finished the book I realized it's actually a very accurate description. I really enjoyed the tone and writing style of this book. It's pretty bleak, but in a way that keeps you turning pages. And the writing is the perfect mix of straightforward and elaborate. There are some really great lines and descriptions in the book, but not so many that it's beating you over the head with them.

A good bit of this book takes place in Sri Lanka, which was a new experience for me since I'd never read anything in that setting before. I would say this novel seems like a dark version of Eat, Pray, Love. I haven't read Eat, Pray, Love, so this might be totally untrue, but it's the vibe I was getting.

The cover of this book is gorgeous. The fern pattern combined with the contrast in the title makes me think the publishers are trying to play off of the success of Fates and Furies, and while the books aren't too similar, I definitely think fans of one would like the other. I really enjoyed this read and look forward to more work by this author.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

read | Shylock Is My Name

I'm giving Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson two stars, but I want to be clear: I don't think this is a bad book. It's just absolutely not for me. I found it amazingly boring. Here's a plot summary: nothing happens. Okay, that's not strictly true, but this book is very slow.   Basically, a Jewish man is a) obsessed with how much he thinks everyone hates his race and b) profoundly against practicing his religion. But his daughter has to marry Jewish to keep the line going. The end. The last few pages were slightly redeeming, but not enough to affect my rating. I didn’t care about the plot. Or the characters. Or the writing style, which gets the job done but doesn’t make me want to run to the bookstore to find more by this author.

When I read The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, the first installment in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, I didn't think the summary of the source material at the beginning was necessary. But having read this adaptation, I've changed my mind. I've never read The Merchant of Venice, but while reading this book I was definitely curious to know how much was original and how much it drew from the play. I skimmed the Wikipedia entry for the play afterward, andShylock Is My Name is a much less literal adaptation than The Gap of Time. And for that reason, and that reason only, this book is two stars instead of one.

The one thing going for the book is its physical appearance. I'm loving how they're doing this series, with a smaller than average book size and covers that clash nicely. I’m not sure how many of these books I’ll come to own, given that the first two have been disappointments, but I do want to read the adaptations of Hamlet(because of Gillian Flynn) and Othello (because it’s my favorite). So if you love The Merchant of Venice or Shakespeare or Howard Jacobson or mind-numbing boredom (just kidding) (kind of), take this review with a shaker of salt. I think there’s an audience for it, but that group doesn’t include me.

2 out of 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

read | The Quality of Silence

The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton is about a woman who, when her husband is presumed dead in remote Alaska, takes her ten-year-old daughter (who's deaf, by the way) in an eighteen-wheeler on a perilous road trip to find him. I liked reading about such an unusual situation - I can say with confidence that this is the only book involving the Alaskan trucker scene I've ever read. The main story is a thriller/mystery, and it was more effective than I expected. I read the book in one day (not impossible since the book is under 300 pages) and it definitely kept me captivated the whole time.  

The main voices of this story are Yasmin in third person and her daughter Ruby in first person, which I appreciated because it made it very clear when there was a perspective change.We learn about the man they're trying to rescue, if he's even alive, through their memories of him. I liked this approach as a way to give a very contained story some variety, but I don't think the characters were completely developed. I feel like I have about eighty percent of a book. I need a little more time with the characters.

The ending really picks up, but the pacing feels inconsistent with the rest of the book. As you would imagine, Yasmin and Ruby spend a lot of time in the truck. They have ample opportunity to reflect on their lives, which they do, and in comparison the ending felt rushed.  It was interesting to have a deaf character, but I would have liked to see more of Ruby dealing with people other than her mother. I also don't think we learn enough about Yasmin to understand why in earth she would take a primary schooler on a life-threatening mission. We're told Ruby wouldn't want to stay with anyone else, but this still seems like a massively irresponsible decision on Yasmin's part. This is compounded by some subsequent moves, but they're kind of spoilery so I'll leave them out. 

What really surprises me is the quality of this book. My copy, at least, has a slipcover that's too big. I know that's not a huge deal, but for a list price of $26.00 I think it's strange. I'm really only talking about the things that bothered me, but overall I did enjoy the book, and if you can suspend your disbelief in a few instances it's worth a read.

3 out of 5 stars


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

read | When Lions Roar

When Lions Roar by Thomas Maier is definitely the most daunting nonfiction book I’ve ever read. It’s also one of my favorites. At 750 pages (640 once you account for the notes and other supplements at the end), this book will take more than a few sittings to get through. I read it in bits and pieces over the course of about two months, and that’s how I’d recommend reading this book. It’s not a page-turner in the sense that a thriller would be, but I constantly found myself deciding to read to the end of a section and then reading several sections past that before I put the book down.

The book tells of the political lives of the Churchills and the Kennedys, as well as their overlapping social circles, from just before World War II to 1970. The “main characters” are Winston Churchill and son Randolph, as well as Joe Kennedy and his son John. It was interesting to see how much the same people kept popping up in relation to the main characters. This book does an excellent job of building the relationships between the four men, using their interactions with each other and with their similar social circles to illustrate each politician. My favorite part of this book was the beginning, as WWII is looming, when the book is mainly about Winston Churchill and Joe Kennedy. I’d never felt a burning desire to learn much more about these figures, but now I’d love to read something more in-depth about each of them, especially Churchill’s role in politics before WWII.

My only point of contention with this book is that it does the occasional time jump, or it’ll talk about 5 years of Churchills and then go back to the same starting point for the Kennedys, and I lost track a few times. Also, just a tip, don’t look at the photos in the middle until you’re done with the book. Or at least don’t read the captions. I “spoiled” some events (though if you’re familiar with the history then you’d probably already know what’s to come) and I wish I hadn’t. Similarly, don’t Google people to see what they look like without being prepared to shield your eyes from any death dates or new spouses. I did appreciate having photos in the book, though, since the descriptions of people made me curious about their actual appearances.

I recommend this book to anyone with time on their hands – not necessarily all at once, just twenty minutes a day or so (but don’t blame me if you find it hard to put the book down)- or an interest in the Churchills or the Kennedys. I really enjoyed the experience and thought it was well worth the hours I spent reading.

5 out of 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

read | The Tsar of Love and Techno

The Tsar of Love and Techno is a short story collection written by Anthony Marra. The stories take place in Russia, ranging from 1937 to 2013, so you see the evolution of the country. Kind of. This is one of those works that serves as a reminder that people aren't all that different from one another, despite varying circumstances. So if you're looking for a Russian historical novel, this isn't it. I was excited to read something set in Russia since I haven't done so often, with the pseudo-exception of Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy. But I never felt truly immersed in the setting, maybe because each story is during a different time period. I think it's important to approach this book while keeping in mind that it's a series of stories. The stories are pretty closely linked, involving overlapping characters and generations, so it was easy for me to forget that it wasn't a novel. I've read books with more disjointed perspectives, so calling this a short story collection almost feels like a matter of opinion.

I did enjoy my reading experience and I really liked how the author revealed different aspects of the characters through the different stories. The book is kind of set up with a mix tape theme, and the stories support that perfectly. They feed into each other and are complementary without being too similar. It's strange to say that this is the literary equivalent of a well-formed mix tape, but I think that's pretty much the best way to describe it. And you can't go wrong with this cover. It's gorgeous. I'm tempted to shelve it facing out so I can fully appreciate it a while longer.

3 out of 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

read | The Dinner by Herman Koch

I recently read Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch, and while it wasn’t a favorite it did make me curious about his other novels. The Dinner, perhaps his most well-known book, was the next one I chose. It’s the story of – surprise – a dinner, with the culmination of events that are told partly through flashback and partly over the course of the meal.

It’s interesting to have read novels by the same author written years apart (this was first published in 2009). Of the two, I prefer The Dinner but I can see how Koch’s plot structuring improved by Summer House with Swimming Pool. Koch writes in Dutch so I’ve only read translations, but the growth is, conveniently, in areas that are unlikely to suffer by changing language.

I found the structure of this novel very interesting. The plot follows the pattern of the meal, where the main course coincides with the rising action and the novel is “polished off” with an aperitif at the end. Paul is continually annoyed by the restaurant staff, who interrupt the flow of conversation to continually over-explain the dabs of food that have been brought out. This annoyance carries over to the reader, as the story is cut off while the courses are described.

I was expecting more of a shock factor from this book, and while it definitely takes some unexpected turns, they’re still believable. I never had a moment that made me put the book down and say “Whoa.” And it works. The characters evolve so gradually that the next step is never a leap. As more of the plot is revealed, qualities I didn’t consciously process become suddenly relevant. I think the most unsettling thing about this book is how easy it is to accept. Its foot-in-the-door approach is disturbingly effective. The blurb on the front says that Gillian Flynn found The Dinner “unputdownable” and I have to agree. I read the book in two sittings, and I would have done so in one if I’d had the time.

4 out of 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.