Book #21 Week #19, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

In The Lovely Bones we follow the aftermath of the brutal murder of fourteen year old Susie Salmon on a cold December night. Her untimely death happens right off the bat in the first few pages of the book. Then we are introduced to her family: mother and father, sister who is a year younger and a much younger brother too young to understand fully what has happened. Oh and a cooky grandmother.

The Lovely Bones was made into a movie and based on the previews of that movie I was lead to believe Susie is trying to get her family to figure out what has happened to her and for justice to be served. The book is sort of like that but not entirely, mostly Susie just cannot move on from her "life" and is watching how her family copes from her version heaven. Even though the subject matter is heavy and my heart broke over and over I liked this book. I found reading from the view point of heaven new and interesting. Also I thought the characters were well developed especially Susie's dad, it was nice to have a warm and caring father figure. Furthermore this is the second book, after last week's The Memory Keeper's Daughter, I've read recently with a detached mother : /

Quote:
“Between a man and a woman there was always one person who was stronger than the other one. That doesn’t mean the weaker one doesn’t love the stronger.”

Book to movies and misc.

I've seen a few book-to-movies this year and thought I'd update them here instead of procrastinating like always.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest (Swedish version) finally watched it on Netflix and thought it was pretty good. There were some changes as to be expected but nothing too far from the main plot line at least. The husband like this movie the most from the series.

Water for Elephants I borrowed from the library (score! I love the library). I was a little nervous with Robert Pattinson (of Twilight fame) playing the male lead but he did surprisingly well! Reese Witherspoon was lovely like always. My biggest complaint was that the character of Uncle Al was cut out completely and that left August to fill the role of ringmaster and owner of the circus. Other changes were minor in comparison for me. Over all I loved the film.

The Hunger Games saw this in the theater with the hubs. I thought it was great. The acting was really good and after this and X-Men First Class I am really liking Jennifer Lawrence. And Liam Hemsworth is a very attractive young man : ) Personally I thought the connection between Katniss and Peeta was a little lost especially with the cutting of a key scene (the hovercraft scene at the end of the games) but on the flip side the hubs, who hasn't read the books, thought  the connection was there. The movie was filled with action but wasn't too gory or cheesy. And I thought the addition of the announcers giving play-by-play on the going ons of the arena really helped fill in people who have not read the books on how the games and the arena work. We both really liked it.

On an unrelated note... due to a pipe bursting in the wall in our apartment I missed the Christopher Moore book signing in my area. So so bummed.

Book #20 Week #18, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Let me start by saying my husband thinks I am nuts. We had gone to the library together and I grabbed two books (this one and the next one) because I recognized the titles. However I knew this book was on my to-read-list, couldn't remember what it was about and didn't bother to read the jacket (I do this often btw) but he read the cover and wished me luck.

Well The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an emotional book and hit sort of close to home which made it more emotional for me. We start off during a rare blizzard in 1964 when Dr. David Henry's wife, Norah, goes into labor three weeks early with their first child. The pair head off to David's clinic where his partner just so happens to be an OB/GYN but due to the storm David is forced to deliver the baby himself with only the aid of his nurse. The delivery goes smoothly with David remaining calm and cool and the nurse Caroline, druging up Norah at just the right moments. Before you know it a little boy has entered the world perfect as can be but he is soon followed by a little girl, however the little girl has Down's Syndrome. Unfortunately in 1964 little was known about conditions such as these and often the affected children were placed in institutions, luckily things have a way of changing and when my brother-in-law and his twin sister (her with Down's Syndrome and he without) were born in the mid 1980's the family remained intact .


David makes a rash decision while his wife is still unaware of the second baby and he hands the little girl to Caroline along with an address of an institution for her to take the child to. Reluctantly Caroline agrees to go with the promise from David that he will tell Norah about the little girl. However when she reaches the institution and sees the state it is in she decides she cannot leave a helpless baby there so they go home together. At first Caroline, unmarried and childless in her thirties, is torn between wanting to keep the baby and hoping David and Norah have a change of heart and come to claim their daughter. But a few days later she sees it, a memorial in the newspaper for the Henry girl lost at birth, then the decision is made for her. She leaves town and takes on a new role of mother and advocate for children with learning disabilities. 


Life goes on and despite having a healthy child at home Norah find it very difficult to move on from the daughter she believes died at birth. David is consumed with so much guilt and Paul their son has a hard time connecting with his emotionally distant parents. Meanwhile not too far away little Phoebe is having a wonderful life.


I loved The Memory Keeper's Daughter I thought it was surprising full despite having quite a few characters to follow. And although I did cry a bit it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be so don't be afraid to give it a shot.


Quote:
“You can't spend the rest of your life tiptoeing around to try and avert disaster. It won't work. You'll just end up missing the life you have.”

Book #19 Week #17, Blind Sight: A Novel by Meg Howrey

Blind Sight: A Novel by Meg Howrey. This was a new one for me, I don't believe I've ever read a book with a teenage male narrator until now. Blind Sight follows seventeen year old Luke. I like Luke, like me he loves science and needs evidence before he will believe in anything, but Luke has a very interesting home life. He lives in Delaware with his New Age, hippy, bohemian mother, his religious grandmother, and two older half sisters Aurora and Pearl.


It is the summer before his senior year in high school and Luke is spending it with the father he never knew in California. When Luke was born (the result of a fling) his father was young and carried on with his life, moved away, changed his name and become a big TV star. His mother Sara (not a fan of TV) didn't even realize this until Mark contacted her in hopes of finally meeting his son. 


Even though this book was on my reading list for some time I found myself passing up in the library over and over. I really wasn't sure if I could connect with a book about a teenage boy but I was wrong! I enjoyed Luke's maturity and the quirky people all around him. I've read complaints about how the narrative changes from first person (Luke) to third person (Luke writing college essays) but I liked it. I think the essays gave insight into Luke's personal life and relationships that would have been lost otherwise. In the end, after spending most of the book together, Luke and Mark bond really well and Luke returns home to the funny women in his life and a twist I didn't see coming! If anyone else has read Blind Sight I'd LOVE to hear your take on that.


Quote:
“Without evidence, you just have hope, which is nice, but not reliable.”

Book #18 Week #16, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

In State of Wonder we follow the tale of 42 year old Dr. Marina Singh. Marina is a research scientist working for a pharmaceutical company in Minnesota, a far cry from her earlier ambitions to be an OB/GYN. The story starts off with C.E.O. (and lover to Dr. Singh) Mr. Fox coming to show Marina a simple letter sent from Marina's former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, telling of the death of her research partner, Dr. Anders Eckman, who has died of a fever in a remote part of Brazil.

The news floors Marina and she along with Mr. Fox must deliver the news to Anders' wife.  Not surprisingly Mrs. Eckman does not take the news well, she worries about their three boys and is not happy that her husband's body has been buried in some remote jungle without her. Soon she begs Marina to travel to Brazil and attempt to bring his body home however she starts to doubt if he is really even dead. Next thing you know Mr. Fox is on the same page and also wants to send Marina to Brazil. However his motives are a bit different, he wants Marina to make contact with Dr. Swenson and see how her research is going. Despite being funded by Mr. Fox's company for years, Dr. Swenson is secretive, refuses to carrying a satellite phone or check in in anyway. 

The story flies from there! The mystery surrounding Anders' death. What is really going on with Dr. Swenson's research? Research on a new fertility drug that will allow women to have babies very late in life. Living in the middle of the jungle with an indigenous tribe and exactly how dangerous is the nearby tribe of supposed cannibals?

I really liked State of Wonder. I've read some review where people have said the story moves too slowly but I didn't think so at all.  And some quotes:

“Hope is a horrible thing, you know. I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not. It's a plague. Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”

“It is said the siesta is one of the only gifts the Europeans brought to South America, but I imagine the Brazilians could have figured out how to sleep in the afternoon without having to endure centuries of murder and enslavement.”

Book #17 Week #15, Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore

My latest read was Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore. This book has only been out for two weeks and I couldn't wait to read it. In Sacré Bleu we follow the tale of Lucien, a young baker/painter, and his best friend the painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. At first the pair are working to try to solve the mystery behind the supposed suicide of Vincent van Gogh but there is a lot more mystery to be uncovered than just what is behind the death of one artist.

Christopher Moore takes us through history (although not entirely accurate : ) while we go deep into the Impressionist era. What I really loved about this book is it is printed in blue and has pictures of the works of art of painters we are introduced to along our journey. These painters all seems to have something in common in Sacré Bleu, a vibrant ultramarine color in their paintings, a loss of time and mind among the painters and often a mysterious woman and a strange man lurking in the shadows. You will ask yourself how does this all tie in with Lucien and Juliette, the stunning woman who broke his heart, and the death of van Gogh? But it all comes together in the end. As they say great art takes great sacrifice.

I love Christopher Moore and while Sacré Bleu is a "comedy d'art" I didn't particularly find it too funny. It had its moments don't get me wrong but I found Fluke, Fool, Blood Sucking Fiends and Dirty Job funnier. However I did really enjoy this book, I thought the story line was well written and engrossing and surprisingly a lot of little details were historically accurate.

If you are into art, particularly the French Masters, you might enjoy this satirical look into their personal lives. Give it a go, you just might like it!

Book #16 Week #14, The City & The City By China Mieville

The City & The City by China Miéville. After finishing this book I read some reviews online and people seem to believe if you haven't read anything by China Miéville before, this is the worst book to start with. Unfortunately this was my first book from this author : /

Here is the synopsis from the dust jacket itself:
"When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he investigates, the evidence points to conspiracies far stranger and more deadly than anything he could have imagined.

Borlú must travel from the decaying Beszel to the only metropolis on Earth as strange as his own. This is a border crossing like no other, a journey as psychic as it is physical, a shift in perception, a seeing of the unseen. His destination is Beszel’s equal, rival, and intimate neighbor, the rich and vibrant city of Ul Qoma. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, and struggling with his own transition, Borlú is enmeshed in a sordid underworld of rabid nationalists intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman’s secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them and those they care about more than their lives."

It took me about 14 chapters in to get interested in this book. Even though I wanted to walk away in the beginning I was determined to finish. The story was good but it was very confusing at first and quite slow as well. There was a lot of set up on how the two cities function and the differences between them.  However by the end the story got good, there is obviously a murder and I can honestly say "whodunit" remained a mystery until the end. I thought that was nice. I hate when you figure out who the murderer is seemly right away and spend the rest of the story waiting for the characters to catch up with you, that is a very hard story line to pull off well.


So I can't really say I recommend The City & The City but I might be open to checking out something else from the works of China Miéville.

Quote:
“Books are always obviously having conversations with other books, and some times they're amiable and sometimes not.”