This was an OK month of reading. Overall good books, not as many great books, but nothing I wished I hadn't read or had to slog through. Here are the details:
Atalanta - Jennifer Saint - fiction - four stars - I'm really enjoying all the mythical retelling books that have come out recently. This is another good one. Atalanta is a somewhat minor character, known especially for being one of the Argonauts. I like that a great deal of the book focuses on her backstory, how she grew up with the wolves, then lived with the nymphs as a follower of Artemis. She was chosen by Artemis to be part of the Argonaut crew. As a follower of Artemis she was sworn to never marry. Following the voyage of the Argo, she was involved in the Caledonian Boar Hunt, and then the race for the golden apples. If you enjoy these types of books, you'll like this one too.
The East Indian - Brinda Charry - historical fiction - four stars - This one was more like three and a half stars rounded up. Tony's mother is mistress to an official for the British East India Company. When his mother dies, the official arranges for him to go to England as an apprentice with an acquaintance. This man dies on the journey to England leaving Tony stranded and alone. He meets some friends and starts to build a life there, but is then kidnapped and sent as an indentured servant to Jamestown, Virginia. The book tells about his journey from working as a field hand to working for a doctor, and later working for himself. This was just OK. I never really felt connected with the characters, and a number of the situations as Tony's life progressed seemed too convenient.
Going Solo (Roald Dahl's Autobiography, #2) - Roald Dahl - autobiography - five stars - Roald Dahl is a favorite author around these parts. I hadn't realized that he had written an autobiography, actually two, this book focuses on Dahl's adult years, his time working in Africa and as a pilot during WWII. Dahl is such a good storyteller and this was just fun and readable. I've passed this one on to Ellie, and I have Dahl's first autobiography, about his boyhood, on the way from the library. If you're a Dahl fan this is a must read.
A History of Burning - Janika Oza - historical fiction - five stars - I love family saga stories that span multiple generations. This book fits the bill. It starts with Pirbhai, a young Indian boy who is tricked into going to Africa to help the British build the railroad. Rather than return to India following completion of the railway, he decides to stay in Africa, where he marries into another Indian family and eventually settles in Kampala. The story follows his children and grandchildren through the good years and then the turbulent years in which Indians fall out of favor. They must eventually flee, they are scattered, but eventually come together again in Toronto. Oza does a fantastic job with character development, although some of them were very frustrating to me. Highly recommend.
Paper Names - Susie Luo - fiction - four stars - This one was really three and a half stars rounded up. It tells the story of Tony, a Chinese engineer who emigrates to the U.S. shortly after the birth of his daughter Tammy. The book tackles challenges of emigrating to the U.S. at the time, his degree doesn't transfer, so he works as a doorman while he completes the required U.S. classwork to work in his field. In some ways his is the classic story of the American dream, coming to the U.S., working your way up the ladder, buying a home, buying a better home, giving your children an education, etc. But Tammy's life resonated with me as a first generation American, the challenges she had with her father, how strict he was, etc. Overall though, I had a difficult time connecting personally with the characters and I wasn't crazy about how the book ended.
The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells - fiction - four stars - This was my classic for the month. I haven't read any Wells, and thought this would be a good first book. It's about a scientist who was able to make himself invisible, the only problem is that he can't figure out how to reverse the effects. He's somewhat an outsider to begin with, and being invisible starts to push him towards the edge of sanity and morality. I thought it was an interesting book. I liked learning about how he became invisible and how he survived while invisible, but I thought the ending was kind of a let down. It reminds me of some of the Disney+ shows I've seen where the episodes are great, the story builds, and then in the last episode feels so abrupt and rushed because they are racing to wrap up all the loose ends.
The Book of Charlie - David von Drehle - biography - four stars - This was kind of a mixed book for me. van Drehle moves in across the street from Charlie White, who lived to 109. They become friends, and over the course of time van Drehle learns about Charlies life which was pretty amazing. This would have been a five star book if von Drehle would have focused on Charlie, but there were all these asides - discussions about Stoicism and whatnot. I thought those really distracted from and took the focus away from the star of the book. Charlie's life is definitely worth reading about, the rest is skim-worthy.
The Wind Knows My Name - Isabel Allende - historical fiction - three stars - There are two intertwined stories: Samuel Adler, from Vienna, a gifted violinist whose mother sends him to England on the Kindertransport, whose parents both perished in the Holocaust, and who ended up in the U.S. as a musician; and Anita, a blind seven year old girl fleeing El Salvador, who is separated from her mother at the border and is fighting to stay in the U.S. with the help of a nonprofit organization. I felt that the book was stretching to connect the Kindertransport with the current immigration situation, to me it was a bit more political than it needed to be. I also felt like between the Samuel and Anita's stories, as well as the plot line involving the attorneys working Anita's case and the story of Samuel's housekeeper, everything could have used a little more development, that the stories were too top level and needed more depth. Just OK.
Lady Tan's Circle of Women - Lisa See - historical fiction - five stars - I am a huge Lisa See fan and was so excited she had a new book. This tells the story of Tan Yuxian who is born into a wealthy Chinese family during the 15th century. When he mother dies, she is sent to live with her grandparents. Her grandparents are wonderful, a true team, and they are both doctors - her grandfather a traditional doctor, her grandmother the rare female doctor. She begins to learn under her grandmother and also develops a friendship with Meiling the daughter of a local midwife training to follow in her mother's footsteps. When Yuxian marries, she struggles to please her new mother-in-law who does not support profession or her friendship with Meiling. I really loved the character of Yuxian, how she dealt with her trials, her friendship with Meiling. Just a very enjoyable read.
Favorites this month were A History of Burning and Lady Tan's Circle of Women. I'm currently reading The Covenant of Water which I am loving. As always, I love to hear what you guys are reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment