02/10/08: Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

What can I saw about this book besides...I read it in less than 24 hours. I could not put it down.

It deals with the fact that we often create judgements without cause or exploration. The ramifications of these judgements can change lives forever...and not always in a good way.

Exploring the psyche behind the various victims of school bullying that escalates to the point of violence, Nineteen Minutes clearly shows that there are more than two sides to every story...and many incidents that contribute to the life-altering decision to kill. This book is a story of surprise and sentiment. It's spellbinding and, as I said, impossible to put down.

01/31/08: Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

Loved the story, hated the book. Hated the story, loved the book. Can such a relationship truly be possible? This is a timeless story, as relevant when it was written as if she had published it this very year.

In many ways, Rand prophetizes the future because what she wrote about has truly come to fruition. What happens when the world is run by business? This book details that results, especially when someone dares to stand up to the world of big business in order to salvage humanity.

The book is the size of a phonebook and it took me a long time to read (months) but it was worth it. I have a new perspective on big business and the decisions behind the decisions that impact each of us on a daily basis. It isn't always what we thought but the truth is rather surprising.

06/20/06: Candide

By Voltaire

I admit it, I'm a geek. I picked this book up because it was on sale at Barnes and Noble (and because I'm going to be teaching a Philosophy class so I wanted to brush up on some classic philosophers). I read the book in about three days and thought it was brillant. Candide is so naive to the world and a magnet for every bad thing that could possibly happen to a person. His love for Cungemonde (spelling) is eternal, even after she becomes less than the picture-perfect beauty of his youth.

His faith in his teacher is boundless. I found his teacher's philosophy that "everything is as it should be" to be rather interesting. There really isn't anyway to argue that, especailly when the rest of us would give up but Candide keeps goings. There are times when you want to yell into the book that he's a fool but you also find yourself liking him for his ability to believe in people...to trust them, even when we (as the reader) know he's going to really get the short end of the stick. A good book and one that I'm proud to add to my library.

03/09/06: A Widow For One Year

by John Irving

This was a book club book and, even though the rest of the book club didn't seem to like it, I did. I am a John Irving fan. I loved The World According to Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, and Cider House Rules (the book, not the movie). Again, another one that I read so long ago that I forget what it was about (great review, eh?) but it was a good read for the seriour reader, perhaps not so for the more casual one.

03/09/06: I Know This Much Is True

by Wally Lamb

I found this book at the garbage dump (long story...don't ask) but, even though it is almost 900 pages, I could hardly put it down. It was fantastic.

I read it so long ago but here is the review from Amazon.com:

The topics it unflinchingly exploresAmental illness, dysfunctional families, domestic abuseAare rendered with unsparing candor. But thanks to well-sustained dramatic tension, funky gallows humor and some shocking surprises, this sinuous story of one family's dark secrets and recurring patterns of behavior largely succeeds in its ambitious reach. The narrative explores the theme of sibling responsibility, depicting the moral and emotional conundrum of an identical twin whose love for his afflicted brother is mixed with resentment, bitterness and guilt. Narrator Dominick Birdsey, once a high-school history teacher and now, at 40, a housepainter in upstate Connecticut, relates the process that led to his twin Thomas's schizophrenic paranoia and the resulting chaos in both their lives.

The book opens with a horrific scene in which Thomas slices off his right hand, declaring it a sacrifice demanded by God. Flashbacks illuminate the boys' difficult childhoods: illegitimate, they never knew their father; diffident, gentle Thomas was verbally and physically abused by their bullying stepfather, who also terrorized their ineffectual mother. Scenes from the pivotal summer of 1969, when Dominick betrayed Thomas and others in crucial ways, are juxtaposed with his current life: his frustrating relationship with his scatterbrained live-in, Joy; his enduring love for his ex-wife, Dessa; his memories of their baby's death and of his mother's sad and terrified existence.

All of this unfolds against his urgent need to release Thomas from a mental institution and the psychiatric sessions that finally force Dominick to acknowledge his own self-destructive impulses. Lamb takes major risks in spreading his narrative over more than 900 pages. Long stretches are filled with the raunchy, foul-mouthed humor of teenaged Dominick and his friends. Yet the details of working-class life, particularly the prevalence of self-righteous male machismo and domestic brutality, ring absolutely true.

Though the inclusion of a diary written by the twins' Sicilian immigrant grandfather may seem an unnecessary digression at first, its revelations add depth and texture to the narrative. Lastly, what seems a minor subplot turns out to hold the key to many secrets. In tracing Dominick's helplessness against the abuse of power on many levels, Lamb creates a nuanced picture of a flawed but decent man. And the questions that suspensefully permeate the novel (about the identity of the twins' father; the mystery of the inscription on their grandfather's tomb; the likelihood of Dominick's reconciliation with his ex-wife) contribute to a fully developed and triumphantly resolved exploration of one man's suffering and redemption.