Cover to Cover

‘The Devil’s Arithmetic’

Written by Jenni on February 15th, 2010

By: Jane Yolen
Year: 1988
Genre: Teen

Find this book at Amazon.com

One day, I was looking at my daughter’s spelling list. The words were difficult so I asked my sweet little fourth grader about the list. It turns out, the words were from the book she is reading in school; a book called “The Devil’s Arithmetic.” With a name like that, I had to find out more.

Hannah (the main character, not my daughter), is a 12-year-old girl who is unwillingly going to her grandparent’s house for the Passover seder meal. It’s not cool and she doesn’t like these rituals that don’t really mean anything to her. She doesn’t like remembering things she doesn’t know. Hannah especially doesn’t like spending time with her grandfather. You see, when she was little, she used a pen to write numbers on her arm like the numbers her grandfather has on his. She thought it was something he’d like. Instead, he got angry and started yelling at her in Yiddish. No one has ever explained to Hannah what these numbers were for and why he was angry.

At the seder meal, Hannah is selected to open the door for the prophet Elijah. When she opens the door, Hannah expects to see the apartment across the hall. Instead, she finds herself transported to Poland during World War II. As a member of the Jewish community, Hannah is on her way to a wedding in another village when the villagers encounter the Nazis. All of the villagers are taken, via a terrible four-day train trip, to a concentration camp where Hannah eventually learns what the numbers mean and what her grandfather lived through.

Even though this book is for younger readers than I am, I couldn’t put it down. I read this book in one day last week and STILL find myself thinking about it. Yolen tells a moving story for younger readers (reviews I’ve read had all ages from late-elementary through high school having to read this book for school assignments) but I’m pretty sure adult readers would be moved as well. Yolen doesn’t pull any punches. The camps are not rainbows and butterflies. Children die. They are shamed and beaten. The fear is palpable and Hannah must try to survive. An especially difficult task since she paid attention in school and knows what is going to happen in the camps and to the Jewish prisoners.

This is a moving story and it is well written. Of course there are a lot of movies and literature—both fiction and non-fiction—around experiences from the Holocaust. This book doesn’t share a new story about Jewish experiences in concentration camps. But it is so well written and so well written for children and teens, that you can’t help but feel the horror and fear as Hannah experiences it. To me, that is the mark of an exceptional book. This book is a must-read and I’m trying to convince my other daughter to read this as well (We’ll see, so far she is waffling).

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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‘Odd and the Frost Giants’

Written by Jenni on February 4th, 2010

By: Neil Gaiman
Year: 2009
Genre: Children

Find this book at Amazon.com

If you have ever read any of Neil Gaiman’s adult novels, you would know that he has a fondness for mixing mythology and modern times. In “American Gods” Gaiman weaves the story around the battle between old European gods brought to America by immigrants with the new American “gods” such as the internet, media and technology. In “Anansi Boys” the story follows a sensible British man dealing with the death of his father (who he finds to be the trickster character from African mythology). “Odd and the Frost Giants” brings that love of mythology to a younger audience.

Odd is a young Norse boy in the age of plundering Vikings (not the kind who lose the playoffs). His father has died and his mother—who was pillaged from a Viking trek by Odd’s father—has remarried a man who doesn’t like Odd. Odd himself broke his leg when he was younger and has trouble walking. In the midst of a winter that has gone on far too long, Odd leaves home. What he finds are a bear, eagle and fox who claim to be Norse gods who have been thrown out of Asgard by the Frost Giants who keep the world in perpetual winter. Odd decides to come to their aid and get them home.

This is a very short book. Much shorter than Gaiman’s previous children’s novels “Coraline” and “The Graveyard Book” and not nearly as dark or creepy. It is well written and interesting. It’s just very short. It was originally written for Wold Book Day in the UK in which authors write a book for free, publishers publish the book for free and those new books are sold for £1 tokens which the children are given for free (Gaiman writes about it here. Wish they’d do something like that in America!). This book wasn’t originally available in the US. Thankfully, it is now. While I certainly paid more than a few dollars for this book ($10 through Amazon.com), it is a beautiful, hardcover edition with illustrations.

Right now, one of my nine-year-old daughters has taken the book to read and I believe she will like this a lot. There isn’t anything too graphic in this story (heck, the book is too short for that!) and while Odd’s mother was indeed pillaged, there are no violent specifics of what pillaging really was. If you’re children have read “Coraline” or “The Graveyard Book,” then “Odd and the Frost Giants” will be a piece of cake.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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‘The Diva Wore Diamonds’

Written by Jenni on January 20th, 2010

By: Mark Schweizer
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery

Find this book at Amazon.com

I love a good, silly book and this is a good, silly book.

The story follows Hayden Konig, the chief of police and the music director/organized at the local Episcopal church in a small town called St. Germaine, North Carolina. This is the seventh book in Schweizer’s “Liturgical Mystery” series. Each book, which is easily read on it’s own, has the author just tossing in side stories as they come to mind. Schweizer does this is such a fun way, that it doesn’t seem like things are just being added for humor.

In “Diva,” it’s early summer and residents are awaiting the grand opening of the newly built Episcopal church (which burned to the ground in the last book). When breaking ground, a box was found which residents assume is a time capsule and are going to open after worship on the first Sunday in the new building (it doesn’t contain what they expect it to). There is also a new “Christian Formation”director who had decided to have a Bible school with other congregations in town, a “new” Henry Purcell piece called “Elisha and the Bears” and a building that burns down when lightening (from God?) strikes it down during a protest. All of these events lead to plenty of motive for the murder of one of the town’s residents.

I found these books in the depth of the seminary bookstore (the one section that is fiction). They are so much fun, especially if you work in a church. The writing is crisp and light-hearted. The characters are quirky and the situations unrealistic. I lived in a small town, it was not this charming or irreverent. This is obviously an idealized view of the perfect small town. Enough tourist business to maintain the businesses but not so much that the town is world-weary. Everything is… perfect. Of course it’s not real life. It’s fiction and Schweizer has a lot of fun in this fictional world. I especially like the running gag through the series about finding someone to take on the children’s ministry (my future line of work). The church has bad luck finding ministry staff (both pastoral and educational). But the results are oh-so-funny.

One complaint I’ve had about the series is the editing. It seems like a small publishing house with editing not as sharp as it should be (but getting better as the series moves on). I understand extra words (changing a sentence mid-thought and forgetting to fix it) and bad punctuation getting through, but as a graphic designer, I know the very last step should be a final spell check and the error I found in this book would have been flagged by a spellcheck. That is something that I am willing to overlook, though, because these books are so much fun.

Oh, and I forgot the best part. The main character owns a typewriter and hat used by Raymond Chandler. He is sure those two items will help him write the perfect hard-boiled detective novel. Through “Diva” (and the other books) we are given his attempts at writing. They are fabulous in their badness!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Finger Lickin’ Fifteen’

Written by Jenni on January 15th, 2010

By: Janet Evanovich
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery
Find this book at Amazon.com

Let’s see if I can summarize this book for you: Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has bounties to catch. She does this with the “help” from her ex-hooker friend Lula. But they make a big mess of it, bounties don’t get caught and a car is started on fire (or explodes). Something “BIG” happens that is the primary mystery of the book which involves cop Morelli and bounty hunter/security specialist Ranger (both sexy hunks Stephanie wants to and has slept with). Meanwhile, Stephanie’s grandmother pulls a gun, Stephanie and her grandmother cause a scene at the funeral home, Stephanie’s dad just wants dinner, Stephanie has to live at Ranger’s house (but no sex!), her nemesis makes an leather-bustier appearance and Stephanie somehow saves the day.

Now, the mystery is, which of author Janet Evanovich’s 15 Stephanie Plum novels am I describing? Psych! So far I’m describing the last several books. Is “Finger Lickin’ Fifteen” the same as most of the books in the series? Pretty much. Is it a fun, easy read? Pretty much.

Evanovich is an easy writer to read. Everything is just a little silly. The problem is, Evanovich has become extraordinarily predictable. The last several Stephanie Plum novels are truly like a Mad Libs. Basic situations and events in each story are always the same. Certain things always have to happen. At first it was fun to see these things happen to Stephanie every time (Goodness gracious? Another car destroyed? Oh my goodness, what did Grandma do in the funeral home now?). Now, these events are just predictable and are quickly crossing into ridiculous.

Here are my biggest complaints:

After 15 books—which even in book time have to span several years—Stephanie should have some basic understanding on what she needs to do to collect her bounties. She makes stupid mistakes (to add comic relief which is becoming tedious and predictaable) on what should be an easy catch. By now, why hasn’t she learned some fighting and capture techniques?
After 15 books, Stephanie should realize Lula is self-centered, greedy and disrespectful. She ruins every capture and doesn’t help Stephanie in any tangible way. Their relationship is a weird, co-dependent mess. And why doesn’t she have any other friends?
After 15 books, I am tired of the “Should she go with safe Morelli or sexy Ranger” waffling. She must be phenomenal in some as-yet-unmentioned ways for these men to be hanging on for so long and allowing her to jump from bed to bed with no real consequences.
After 15 books, can we PLEASE shake up the formula? No one important ever dies or suffers a true loss. There is nothing riding on Stephanie’s choices (which, by the way, she never has to deal with any consequences of her bad actions). In fact, Stephanie’s moral dilemmas are silly and she never has to live with the guilt or anger from making a tough choice. Even her hamster has lived for much longer than a real hamster would. I’m not saying to get rid of the light, breezy silliness and turn these books into dark, dire reality. I’ve read authors who deal with tragedy in a lighter manner as a coping mechanism. Stay light, but have some deeper issues to give the books some substance.

So, why did I add my name to the waiting list? Because despite my irritations, these are quick and silly books to read. In the midst of heavy worries in life and deep theological readings for school, it’s fun to just read a book that is quick, easy and doesn’t require me to focus too much. Evanovich is a consistent writer. You can pick up any one of the 15 books and be hooked into the novel. Back story isn’t really a concern because each book is essentially the same book. It doesn’t matter if you know that Stephanie lived with Morelli or not, because the specifics of their history don’t bring about uncomfortable consequences.

I will continue to read Evanovich’s novels. I will probably continue to be a little disappointed if they remain the same, but not enough to stop reading them. They’re good, pretty clean, silly fun.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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Site News: Summaries

Written by Jenni on January 13th, 2010

I’ve decided to stop including the Amazon.com summary in the body of my reviews. It just makes the entry so much longer than it need to be. I’ll still include the link, though.

I’m thinking of deleting the summaries from all of my previous entries. Any preferences?

Posted in Site News | 3 Responses »

‘Heat Wave’

Written by Jenni on January 10th, 2010

By: Richard Castle
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery

Amazon.com summary:

A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. She’s hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren’t her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

“Hmmm,” you say. “That author’s name is familiar, but I haven’t see it on the New York Times Bestseller List,” you say. Okay, well, um, I’ll be upfront. See, Richard Castle isn’t a real person. Richard Castle is a character on a TV show. You see, what happened here is that my worlds have made a complete circle and I’m pretty sure reality is in the process of collapsing.

“Castle,” a TV show that I love, is centered around a writer writing a book and following a New York City cop as research. Much bantering and hilarity ensues. In season two, the book is published and this is the book, which was really written in the “real world” and published and losers like me check it out from the library. Oddly enough, the book is “written” by a writer following a cop who wrote about a writer following a cop to write a magazine article. See, the snake is eating it’s own tail!

The book is good. It’s a generic New York cop detective novel. The kind you read during a cold weekend and finish up pretty quickly. It’s very formulaic. It doesn’t deal with anything ground-breaking or earth-shattering. The author had a checklist of what was supposed to be in a mystery novel (tough woman—check, jaunty smart-assed man—check, murdering who-dunnit—check, little nookie—check) and made sure to get each item in. But it’s fun. And if you like the TV show “Castle” it’s a lot of fun. The author’s bio is that of fictional character Richard Castle with actor Nathan Fillion’s picture (in the interest of full disclosure: I have had a crush on Fillion since finding “Firefly“). The acknowledgements are written in the voice of Rick Castle and mention the characters on the TV show (until the very end when the real author—who is never named—mentions the actors’ real names and gives his or her own thanks briefly).

In “Heat Wave” we meet Nikki Heat, a rough-around-the-edges-but-with-a-heart-of-gold homicide detective. She is being trailed by magazine writer Jameson Rook (get it, Castle… Rook, get it?). There is a strong attraction between the two as well the anticipated antagonism. They are investigating the suicide—or is it a homicide?—of a real estate “tycoon.” Soon the two of them find out the case is much more while dealing with an August heat wave in New York city. Cliché? Absolutely. Fun? Definitely.

I do have one complaint about the book which truly makes me look like the loser I am. Okay, so this is supposed to be written following Detective Beckett on “Castle” right? Well, book character Nikki Heat has issues with witnessing her mother’s murder. If you watch the show at all, you’d know Castle got into big trouble for looking in the murder of Beckett’s mother and promised to drop it. Wouldn’t Beckett be furious to read this book (which watchers know she did) and see that part added in? I would think so. Of course, it’s a fictional writer writing a fictional book based on a fictional TV show character, so maybe I should just let it be…

Despite my obvious television-neurosis, I suggest reading this book if you like the mystery genre (it’s even better if you imagine it read in the voice of Fillion). This book is othing new, but loads of fun.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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‘The Carnivore’

Written by Jenni on January 3rd, 2010

By: Mark Sinnett
Year: 2009
Genre: Fiction

Amazon.com summary:

When Hurricane Hazel tore through Toronto on October 15, 1954, it left its mark on both the city and its inhabitants. In the aftermath, a young cop named Ray Townes emerges as a hero—numerous accounts detail the way he battled the raging Humber River to save those trapped in their homes—and his story is featured prominently in the newspapers, thrusting him into the spotlight as a local celebrity. Meanwhile, his wife Mary is wrestling with doubts about her husband’s heroism. While performing her own miracles the night of the storm as a nurse at a mud-filled, overcrowded emergency room, Mary met a woman—disoriented and near death—with a disturbingly peculiar recollection of events. While Mary tries to shake her suspicions about Ray as they rebuild their life in the shell-shocked city, she can’t help but wonder about her husband and that fateful night. When a reporter comes knocking 50 years later to revisit that horrendous night, the truth begins to surface and threatens to destroy them.

In spreading my (reading) wings with my library card lately, I’ve realized there are a ton of quirky and different ways to tell a story. After reading Mark Sinnett’s ”The Carnivore” I realize there are very few fantastic storytellers. Sinnett is one of them.

I picked up this book because—surprise, surprise—the cover design drew my attention. The liner note (which didn’t match the above at all) sounded interesting (about secrets from the hurricane coming out 50 years later and Ray and Mary’s roles in that secret). Well, sometimes, we shouldn’t judge a book by the liner notes. In this case, the liner summary was totally wrong about the book (though the above is closer). The truth doesn’t surface 50 years later, it surfaces soon after the hurricane and begins to destroy their relationship immediately after. The reporter’s attention simply bares old wounds to new scrutiny.

This is a beautifully written story. Sinnett writes so well and tells a story so moving, that the reader cannot help but be swept along. It is told in alternating turns by Mary and Ray as they are waiting for Ray to die. Both tell stories that weave from past to present and back again. And Sinnett does so as only a master storyteller could. As I was reading, I almost felt like Mary and Ray were telling the story directly to me over coffee. Normally I get tired reading long paragraphs of exposition, but I was surprised that I showed no hints of boredom or skimmed long, descriptives as I normally do. Aside from the beautiful writing, this is also a compelling story. Mary and Ray share their choices and secrets as well as the pain they are now living with as a result.

I can’t say enough how beautifully written this book is and how compelling the story was. I was just enthralled by the writing and have realized how easily we now settle for quirk and difference at the expense of beautiful writing which is a little sad. I recommend this book as a reminder of what a compelling storyteller is like, but also because it is a really good story.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Mommywood’

Written by Jenni on December 29th, 2009

By: Tori Spelling
Year: 2009
Genre: Biography

Amazon.com summary:

Tori Spelling might have grown up with everything a girl could wish for, but these days she’s just another suburban working mom…whose toddler regularly recognizes her in the pages of Us Weekly. Welcome to Mommywood, where the stars are two feet tall and your neighbors know who you are before you move in.

Like most parents, Tori wants her children to have the one thing she didn’t have as a kid—a normal family. On their hit Oxygen reality show, Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, the starlet and her husband Dean McDermott regularly wrestle dirty diapers, host the neighborhood block party, and tackle temper tantrums on the red carpet. But when the cameras aren’t rolling, Tori’s still having awkward run-ins with a former 90210 costar at a laser tag birthday party, scooping rogue poo out of the kiddie pool on a resort vacation, and racing to win back her pre-baby body before the media starts calling her fat. For all her suburban fantasies, Tori Spelling is no June Cleaver.

With the same down-to-earth wit that made her entertaining memoir sTORI telling a #1 New York Times bestseller, Tori tells the hilarious and humbling stories of life as a mom in the limelight. From learning to be the kind of parent her own mother never was to revealing what it’s like to raise a family while everyone is watching, Mommywood is an irresistible snapshot of celebrity parenthood that you won’t get from the paparazzi.

I had read and loved “sTORI Telling” and immediately put my name on the reserve list at the library for “Mommywood.” Finally my name moved to the top of the list and I ran to the library through the first of our snowy weather to pick up my reserved copy. I got home, snuggled in and started reading. That turned out to be the high point of this book.

The first book was full of the behind-the-scenes gossip readers look for. Spelling showed herself to be intelligent, self-effacing and funny. In this second book, Spelling focuses on what it is like to be a mother in the world of celebrity and Hollywood. She spends a lot of time talking about what her mom did wrong and how she is going to be different.

So what did I learn about Tori Spelling from this book? She’s is whiney, spoiled and more passive aggressive than a church full of Minnesota Lutherans. She puts her children before her husband, but it would appear they are all after her career (though she doesn’t let us forget how guilty she feels about it). Spelling has no idea how to interact with “regular” people (as can be seen by her neighbor issues through a good chunk of the book) but she thinks she’s more “regular” than celebrities (see how she reacted to meeting P.Diddy at his daughters’ birthday party).

And there are the issues with her mom. When I read the first book, I thought Spelling was absolutely right about her mom and their broken relationship. When I finished with this book, Tori Spelling’s mom might not be the villain we are led to believe. Tori wrote some angry things about her mother in the last book and instead of addressing them before (or even after) the book came out, Spelling offers some half-assed, “I didn’t know what to say in an e-mail so I figured I’d let her come to me” excuse. If I was her mom, I be pissed with that reply too.

Then there are her parenting techniques. Let me share one with you. Her two-year old throws a tantrum about who is putting him to bed (he wants daddy, Spelling wants to bond with her son and insists she’s going to put him to bed). So, how does our “regular” celebrity deal with this bed-time tantrum? She spends 45 minutes talking him “through” the tantrum. Things like, “I know you’re angry.” “Daddy’s in bed” and “Mommy loves you.” I’m sure this will be a kid who grows up well-adjusted and able to deal with things not going exactly how he wants them to. When they’re at a resort (where they got to go for free), they stay in their suite after her son poops in the pool. Because no other toddler has ever done that. And he won’t feel like there is something wrong with him because every time he’s in a pool he poops and his mom freaks out. I’m sure this kid is destined to be normal and well-adjusted.

I was surprised at how upset this book made me. I have always been on Tori Spelling’s side as a “down-to-earth” celebrity. Really, after this book? She’s just whiney, passive and non-confrontational. (But I’ll probably still watch her show.)

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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‘Dead and Gone’

Written by Jenni on December 22nd, 2009

By: Charlaine Harris
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery

Amazon.com summary:

The Louisiana town of Bon Temps—along with the rest of the world—is about to be rocked with some big supernatural news: like the vampires before them, the Were people—humans with the ability to change into animals—are about to reveal themselves to humanity. Psychic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse is apprehensive about the revelation, given the way some people in the small town revile anyone with extraordinary powers, including Sookie herself. While the initial announcement seems to go over smoothly with most people, tragedy strikes when Sookie’s brother Jason’s estranged wife, a werepanther, is found murdered and nailed up on a cross. Jason is the prime suspect, but Sookie has even bigger problems to deal with when she learns that a vicious fairy prince is determined to kill her. Darker and more ominous than earlier entries in the series, Harris’ latest raises the stakes (pun intended) for lovable heroine Sookie and comes up a winner. With HBO’s True Blood, a series based on Sookie’s adventures, renewed for a second season, expect demand for this latest gripping installment. —Kristine Huntley

I waited for two months on the library waiting list for this one. I was almost ready to go out and buy it, but I’m trying really hard to leave my purchases to books that I must have. As much as I love Charlaine Harris, this was not a book that I wanted to spend money on the hard-cover version if I didn’t have to. Finally—finally—it came in for me!

If you’re read any of the Southern Vampire Books, you know what to expect from this one. Harris isn’t paving new fiction pathways, she isn’t curing cancer or creating characters who will change all of modernity. She writes fun fiction about the supernatural with a nice touch of humor.

I’ve read several negative reviews of this book. Complaints of plot holes, character flaws and inaccuracies in regards to previous books are floating around the Internet. Perhaps. This story was a little jumpy and the writing wasn’t the best I’ve seen from Harris. But I’m also not one of those fans that seems to have a mental timeline of when everything happened and who did it. I’m realizing the real (little-bit-crazy) die-hard fans are the ones who didn’t like this book. I guess it doesn’t bother me too much if the never-seen-sibling of a tertiary character is misnamed in passing. I was a little disappointed in the direction Harris is taking protagonist Sookie. The series is becoming darker and not quite as light-hearted as before and that is obviously taking it’s toll on Sookie. It will be interesting to see where Harris takes this.

I really like this series and look forward with anticipation for each new book. Of course I suggest it (and others by this author except for her “Aurora Teagarden” mysteries which I think are forced and badly written), and of course I suggest reading from the beginning.

As an aside, let me talk about the HBO series “True Blood” which is based on this series of books. I have watched season two and am now going back to watch season one through Netflix. When I first watched this, my husband watched me as I yelled at the T.V., “That’s now what happens!” Every time. I finally realized I can’t look at the show and the books the same. The show is not bad (lots of sex and violence), it’s just not the same as the books. The books are more of a jumping-off point and should be looked at only that.

And for what it matters, even before watching “True Blood” on HBO, I’ve been Team Eric since the beginning!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Erased’

Written by Jenni on December 14th, 2009

By: Jim Krusoe
Year: 2009
Genre: Fiction

Amazon.com summary:

When Theodore receives a postcard saying “I need to see you,” he initially ignores it—after all, it’s unsettling to open mail from one’s dead mother. But when another card arrives he can no longer put off the urgent meeting, and so Theodore treks to Cleveland to track his mother down. In this strange, thoughtful novel by Jim Krusoe, Theodore travels through the worlds of Uleene, a member of the all-girl biker club Satan’s Samaritans; art; rodent extermination; and sport fishing, all the while realizing that the line between life and death is remarkably fluid.

I love the quirky writer. I love the witty writer. I love the self-assured writer. I hate it when they think they are too quirky, witty and self-assured for their own good. Sadly, this book turned out to be written by such an author.

It started out quirky enough. The protaganist, Theodore, seems to be lucky in life despite being as naive as an adult can possibly be. He grew up with a woman named Linda who used to sell medicinal “rare kelp” (obviously pot) and he sells high-end garden tools that have started to be used for high-profile murders across the country. In the midst of this, his mother disappears and he eventually receives notice that she has died. And then he gets a postcard from her. Theodore decides to go on a trip to Cleveland to find out what is going on.

At first, this was a refreshing book. The naivety of Theodore and his love of Cleveland as the most perfect city in the country was enjoyable to read. It was fun the first couple times Theodore and Uleene visited weird women’s clubs around town. It was refreshing as he enjoyed his new-found love of sculpture. But the same thing kept happening each time he visited a women’s club…over and over. His naivety became irritating and I started to wonder how he was even able to wash his face without drowning. By the end, I didn’t much care how the book ended, which turned out to be some kind of esoteric, post-modern comment on life and death. And apparently we’re supposed to be smart enough to figure out what the loose ends Krusoe never ties up mean. I guess I’m just not smart enough.

Despite my high hopes, I have to give this a low rating. And for the first time, I’m giving a half star. This book wasn’t good enough for a three star, but not bad enough for a two star. And because I don’t want to keep adding star categories, the category rating for this movie is higher than my actual rating, so it looks better than it was.

My rating: 2.5 out of 3 stars

Posted in 3 Stars, Review | No Responses »

...A glimpse into the books I read