Book 5 of 52: The Imperfectionists

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This is my book club required reading for February. We did a secret ballot of our book picks back in September and I really don't understand how this book got voted in. It seems like a "man" book to me (Is that sexist? Probably.) and we're a group of all women. The backdrop of the book is an international English language newspaper, published in Rome, struggling to survive in a world that is moving forward with technology. Not my cup of tea, but that's why I joined a book club -- to read books I wouldn't normally pick up.

My choice of books is usually based on far away places, like China and India, where I'd love to travel to; or tackling hard topics such as poverty, racism, or political persecution. Not the newsroom. Enough said. I had signed up for book club to expand my reading horizons and had to give it a go.

Each chapter is vignette that follows an individual owner, employee, or reader of the paper. I became more positive -- thinking the format would be great for a busy mom like me, who only has small snippets of time to read. Instead it was actually the opposite. I was constantly interrupted mid-story and whenever I picked the book back up to read I had forgotten which character I was reading about. Each individual story is so brief that none of the characters are developed enough to be sympathetic to relate to. The only character I felt a connection to was Kathleen the imperious and tempermental editor in chief. She's a strong woman in a 'man's world' which reminded me of my days on Bay Street when I was the only female (other than the administrative assistant) in an office of all men.

We also heard from 10 other characters including a corrections editor, business writer, freelance correspondent, a long-time reader, the publisher, and others. There was one particular set of characters that were hilarious: Winston Cheung a young aspiring reporter in Cairo who is manipulated by his competitor Rick Snyder, an obnoxious middle-aged man with an over-the-top ego. The author nailed these two characters and their dialogue was terrific. “That bombing was sweet, now let's kick ass on the Northern Alliance.”

I appreciated that characters from one vignette appeared in others so that we could see another perspective of them in others eyes, or another part of their life revealed. I felt the author did a great job at wrapping up all the loose ends and bringing the story to a good conclusion. I hate bad endings, and the ending here didn't let me down.

Do I recommend this or not? I probably would. Especially if you like good writing with some humour thrown in, and don't mind the back drop of a newsroom setting. Now, if you're more turned on by exotic places, historical novels, and political dramas....like I am...and have a long list of books already waiting for you, it won't hurt to skip this one.

Book 4 of 52: Peony in Love

 

In 17th-century China, Lisa See's heroine dies for love and returns as a ghost. It is a story based on an ancient Chinese opera that describes "lovesick maidens," young women who fell in love, quit eating, and literally wasted away. There is wonderful details described in this book, from the clothes that are worn, the food that is served, to the house that the characters inhabit.

I was completely taken in by the first few chapters. The main character, Peony has a wonderful sense of adventure as she wanders off to meet a man without her family knowing -- forbidden in Chinese culture at the time. But my enjoyment of the novel came to a halt when Peony dies and starts to narrate the story as a ghost. This beautiful historical novel turned into one of fantasies and ghost stories for me. The story become monotonous, a constant tale of stalking and obsessiveness, and the slow pacing became frustrating. I quickly lost interest but felt I had to stick with it because the first few chapters were so good. The only redeeming part of the second half of the novel is the discussion of the background history about the Cataclysm and the Manchu overthrow of the Ming regime, which was an interesting time in history I didn't know much about. I guess I'm a "realist" at heart -- I could have done without the ghosts. Maybe that's why I'm not much of a science fiction or fantasy reader.

That said, I really enjoyed the other Lisa See book I read last year called "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", so this bad experience hasn't put me off. I won't hesitate to try reading another of her books. I've been told by friends that "Shanghai Girls" and "Dreams of Joy" are both great reads and they're both on my Kobo to be slotted into the rotation sometime this year.

Book 3 of 52: The Lonely Polygamist

This is one of the longest books I've read in a while, with over 600 pages. I was lucky to be able to finish it over the past weekend, on a relaxing mini-vacation with my husband (sans kids!). I don't think I would have gotten through it so quickly otherwise. It's also the first book in a while that had me laughing out loud. It was both humourous and tragic at the same time.

One of my favourite quotes from the book sums up the overall theme of family disfunction: "Families are forever, and he wondered if the slogan was meant as a promise or a threat." However, this family is a little different. Golden Richards, the main character, is a husband to 4 wives and father to twenty-eight children. The entire time I was reading this all I could see in my mind was Kody Brown from the TLC show 'Sister-Wives'. Which leaves me wondering, has Kody Brown ever had chewing gum stuck in his pubic hair, and no earthly idea how it got there? This was only one of the hilarious moments in Golden's daily life described in the book, and was an excellent metaphor for his life -- all tangled and in need of a clean cut.

There were many serious topics also tackled in this book, from the death of a disabled daughter to nuclear fallout. I found it a little 'heavy' at times, and definitely enjoyed the lighter moments of the novel.

After reading this book I'm pretty sure that the author, Brady Udal, is actually a Mormon fundamentalist (one with a great sense of humour!).  The only people that might not enjoy this book are Mormon fundamentalists without a sense of humour.

Book 2 of 52: The Gargoyle

 

The Gargoyle begins with one of the most stunning opening scenes of any book that I've ever read. As I sat in the parking lot of the Canadian Tire starting this book, I desperately hoped the rest of the family would be stuck in a very long line up at the cash register. I actually think I ended up neglecting them for most of the afternoon once we got home.

I'd like to be able to describe this as a historical novel, or suspense/thriller, but I really can't categorize it. The plot crosses many genre lines and deals with a multitude of issues: from pornography to past lives. The story is about a man that is burned in a care accident and while in hospital meets a women, Marianne Engel, who is a sculptor of gargoyles. During the course of his recovery (with his burns described in rather horrific detail) Marianne revels to him a number of stories about love and past lives. Marianne herself is suffering from mental illness and goes through manic episodes of producing her gargoyle sculptures. To go into much more detail may give away parts of the story.

Personally, I really related to the main characters' time in hospital. Having worked in a transitional care unit that prepared long-term hospitalized patients for re-integration into the 'real world' I can tell you the author did an excellent job of explaining what it was like for a patient to undergo painful rehab sessions, learning to walk again, and eventually being released from hospital.

I will say that I while I usually get emotionally engaged with the novels I read, this one really drew me in. During the last couple of chapters I was on the verge of tears. The ending didn't quite wrap itself up in a nice neat package, but we were left with questions. This type of ending often bothers me, but in this case it was the right way to end it. I highly recommend this book and wonder if book 2 of 52 this year may be my top pick. We shall see.

Book 1 of 52: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I find it interesting that my first book to blog about is non-fiction. I don't read much non-fiction. The last book I remember reading that was Nelson Mandela's biography 'Journey to Freedom', but that was easily 15 years ago. I  wouldn't have picked this up, except that it is the January pick for the book club I belong to at our local library. I had heard of this book but resisted picking it up because it was 'non-fiction' and about cell biology. In fact, the book is much more of a discussion on race, class and ethics, with a bioethics lesson thrown in.

It was a great start to the New Year! An amazing book, especially for anyone that has taken some biology courses in univeristy or works in the health field. It reads more like a novel than a non-fiction book (probably why I liked it so much). 

So who is Henrietta Lacks?

Scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—have led to some of the most important medical advances in history. They were the first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, and are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons. HeLa cells have been used to develop the polio vaccine; involved in cancer research, invitro fertilization work, cloning and gene mapping.

This book brings Henrietta to life. Instead of thinking of her in terms of her cells, we learn about her, her family, and the author along the way. One of my favourite quotes in the book is from a lab assistant watching the autopsy of Henrietta Lacks: "When I saw those (red) toenails, I nearly fainted. I thought, Oh jeez, she's a real person."

The afterword in the book does an excellent job at tackling some of the bioethics issues discussed in the book. It leaves you wondering what happened to the vials of blood and pap smears you've given at the doctors office. Also, for those of you with children, the cord blood that every doctor takes from every newborn infant at birth. Where does it end up?

A wonderful read that I got through in only three days (leaving me more time for the next book of 2012!). We'll see what the book club members think when we meet next week.

Addendeum (Jan 12th) - the book club members all loved it as well!

It Starts...

I like to read....a lot. I didn't realize this until this past year. I gave birth to my second son, Charlie, in December 2010 and at the same time I began to read again. In the course of the year I read over 40 books. I think I did it to give me something for 'myself', an excuse to take a breather from the craziness in our household and exercise my brain a little. Well, it's about to get even crazier as I have just started back to work full-time with a 5 year old, 1 year old, and a husband that also works full-time and commutes over 2 hours daily. More than ever I'm going to need a little time to relax and reflect and reading will do this for me. My goal is to read a book a week. Yes, that's 52 books by January 1st, 2013. Some make take over a week, but I'm hoping there'll be some shorter ones out there that take less time, so I can catch up along the way.

Then why am I writing about these books in a blog? I regret not keeping track of all the great books I read last year - not even a list. When friends and family ask me "Can you recommend a good book?", I wish I could remember the titles of all the great ones and why I loved them so much. I also want recommendations on what books I should read and I hope that you will offer up your favourites. I need 52 in all.

Don't expect any great literary talent or extensive reviews. My degrees are in math, statistics, and nutrition. I'm not a writer, but I am a reader and hope to share with you the books I enjoy and what I've learned along the way.