Finished April 11
101 Poems that could save your life: an anthology of emotional first aid
edited by Daisy Goodwin
This is a small collection of poems organized by theme for those life moments when we can all use a lift, a laugh, or a step back. Topics include everythings from Bad Hair Day to When You Lose Your Pet, and many things in between.
I found several old friends and made some new ones.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Friday, 11 April 2008
Second in a Series
Finished April 11
Crazy School by Cornelia Read
This is the second book featuring Madeline Dare. Madeline and her husband Dean have left Syracuse for a town in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. When the job that Dean came to do was delayed, Madeline took a job at a school for troubled youth. The rules surrounding both faculty and students at the school are bizarre, and Madeline finds the staff more troubling than the students. When Madeline tries to help the students in ways that are not necessarily those of the school, she finds herself targeted.
Given some of the stories in the news recently around private boarding schools, this plotline doesn't seem that much of a stretch. I loved the Madeline Dare character in her first book and continue to be a fan. She has an interesting background and a strong relationship with her husband and yet is very human.
I look forward to seeing more of her.
Crazy School by Cornelia Read
This is the second book featuring Madeline Dare. Madeline and her husband Dean have left Syracuse for a town in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. When the job that Dean came to do was delayed, Madeline took a job at a school for troubled youth. The rules surrounding both faculty and students at the school are bizarre, and Madeline finds the staff more troubling than the students. When Madeline tries to help the students in ways that are not necessarily those of the school, she finds herself targeted.
Given some of the stories in the news recently around private boarding schools, this plotline doesn't seem that much of a stretch. I loved the Madeline Dare character in her first book and continue to be a fan. She has an interesting background and a strong relationship with her husband and yet is very human.
I look forward to seeing more of her.
Children's Fiction
Finished April 11
100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison
This novel features Esme a second-grader whose father is a career soldier. The title refers to the length of a tour of duty, which Esme's father goes away on for a good portion of the book. Esme is a cute little girl, with the usual sibling issues with her younger brother Ike, a good attitude about school and friends and a zoo of stuffed animals.
The chapters are named for the stuffed animals alphabetically and include the story of how each was added to her collection. The book gives a glimpse of the life of a armed forces child and shows positive family situations.
100 Days and 99 Nights by Alan Madison
This novel features Esme a second-grader whose father is a career soldier. The title refers to the length of a tour of duty, which Esme's father goes away on for a good portion of the book. Esme is a cute little girl, with the usual sibling issues with her younger brother Ike, a good attitude about school and friends and a zoo of stuffed animals.
The chapters are named for the stuffed animals alphabetically and include the story of how each was added to her collection. The book gives a glimpse of the life of a armed forces child and shows positive family situations.
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Short Fiction
Finished April 10
Salt River by James Sallis
This lovely piece of fiction reads like poetry to me. So much is intimated at rather than spoken and yet is understood. The genre label on the back says this is mystery, but I would not describe it as such. There are some things that happen that the main character, Turner, feels are linked, and he is able to show how by the end, but that never seems to be the main focus of the book. I loved the nature that pervades the book and yet it was definitely not a gentle presence here. There is much loss here and yet despite all the 'getting over things' that the characters have to do, the book is hopeful. As one of the characters says at the book's end, "I am crying because the world is so beautiful".
Salt River by James Sallis
This lovely piece of fiction reads like poetry to me. So much is intimated at rather than spoken and yet is understood. The genre label on the back says this is mystery, but I would not describe it as such. There are some things that happen that the main character, Turner, feels are linked, and he is able to show how by the end, but that never seems to be the main focus of the book. I loved the nature that pervades the book and yet it was definitely not a gentle presence here. There is much loss here and yet despite all the 'getting over things' that the characters have to do, the book is hopeful. As one of the characters says at the book's end, "I am crying because the world is so beautiful".
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Nobel Prize winner
Finished April 9
Detective Story by Imre Kertesz, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson
This is a short but chilling piece of fiction by an extremely talented writer.
The story is told by Martens, a man in prison. Martens was previously an inspector (aka torturer) in the secret police of a recently overturned dictatorship. He tells the story of a particular case: the surveillance, arrest, torture, and assassination of Federigo and Enrique Salinas, father and son. The voice of Martens is very neutral, except for those moments when he excuses his actions or inactions by saying he was the 'new boy' at the time. It appears to be his way of distancing himself from his role. I could see, in the final pages, the obvious reference to the present. It is a warning of where the path could lead.
Detective Story by Imre Kertesz, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson
This is a short but chilling piece of fiction by an extremely talented writer.
The story is told by Martens, a man in prison. Martens was previously an inspector (aka torturer) in the secret police of a recently overturned dictatorship. He tells the story of a particular case: the surveillance, arrest, torture, and assassination of Federigo and Enrique Salinas, father and son. The voice of Martens is very neutral, except for those moments when he excuses his actions or inactions by saying he was the 'new boy' at the time. It appears to be his way of distancing himself from his role. I could see, in the final pages, the obvious reference to the present. It is a warning of where the path could lead.
Short Stories
Finished April 9
The People on Privilege Hill and other stories by Jane Gardam
I've loved Jane Gardam as a writer since I was first introduced to her at the age of sixteen, by a cousin I was visiting. This story collection is no exception.
I think her characters are all very realistic and I can connect to them easily. Here the title story has characters from her last novel, Old Filth, which was an unexpected delight.
The stories range wildly in situation, characters and setting, but all have a casual tone to them, a bit of the everyday even when something in the story changes lives.
I think one of my favourites in this collection is Snap, in which a woman, married thirty years to the only man she's ever had sex with, breaks her ankle in the ensuite bathroom of a hotel she stays at with her lover. Gardam has many great stories here though and I plan to revisit them soon.
The People on Privilege Hill and other stories by Jane Gardam
I've loved Jane Gardam as a writer since I was first introduced to her at the age of sixteen, by a cousin I was visiting. This story collection is no exception.
I think her characters are all very realistic and I can connect to them easily. Here the title story has characters from her last novel, Old Filth, which was an unexpected delight.
The stories range wildly in situation, characters and setting, but all have a casual tone to them, a bit of the everyday even when something in the story changes lives.
I think one of my favourites in this collection is Snap, in which a woman, married thirty years to the only man she's ever had sex with, breaks her ankle in the ensuite bathroom of a hotel she stays at with her lover. Gardam has many great stories here though and I plan to revisit them soon.
Monday, 7 April 2008
To Be Canadian
Finished April 7
The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are by Andrew Cohen
This is one of the shortlisted books for the Evergreen award. Cohen is a well-known journalist and he has researched his topic well. He looks at the Canadian identity: historical, mythical and realistic and makes suggestions for the future.
He draws on the writing of many others who have looked at this perpetual question, both Canadians and observers of Canada. He discusses our dismaying lack of knowledge of our own history, and how little we are required to learn of it.
He talks about our relationship with our neighbour to the south and how we like to deny the similarities we have. Yes, we do have differences, but we also are more similar to them than we are to any other nation. He includes our reputation for doing good, but also shows that, as a country we have done and could do much better. There is much to think about here, and a challenge for use to improve for the future.
We are, as he says, yet unfinished and have so much potential.
The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are by Andrew Cohen
This is one of the shortlisted books for the Evergreen award. Cohen is a well-known journalist and he has researched his topic well. He looks at the Canadian identity: historical, mythical and realistic and makes suggestions for the future.
He draws on the writing of many others who have looked at this perpetual question, both Canadians and observers of Canada. He discusses our dismaying lack of knowledge of our own history, and how little we are required to learn of it.
He talks about our relationship with our neighbour to the south and how we like to deny the similarities we have. Yes, we do have differences, but we also are more similar to them than we are to any other nation. He includes our reputation for doing good, but also shows that, as a country we have done and could do much better. There is much to think about here, and a challenge for use to improve for the future.
We are, as he says, yet unfinished and have so much potential.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
IMPAC Dublin Book Awards
The short list has been announced:
The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas (Spanish)
The Sweet and Simple Kind by Yasmine Gooneratne (Sri Lankan)
de Niro's Game by Rawi Hage (Lebanese Canadian)
Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones (Australian)
Let It Be Morning by Sayed Kashua (Israeli)
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (Algerian) [I've read this]
The Woman Who Waited by Andrei Makine (Russian)
Winterwood by Patrick McCabe (Irish)
I've read only one of them so far, so the list grows again.
The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas (Spanish)
The Sweet and Simple Kind by Yasmine Gooneratne (Sri Lankan)
de Niro's Game by Rawi Hage (Lebanese Canadian)
Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones (Australian)
Let It Be Morning by Sayed Kashua (Israeli)
The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (Algerian) [I've read this]
The Woman Who Waited by Andrei Makine (Russian)
Winterwood by Patrick McCabe (Irish)
I've read only one of them so far, so the list grows again.
Feel Good Novel
Finished April 2
The Best of Good by Sara Lewis
Tom Good is 47, a bartender who plays guitar, writing songs for himself and living in the same small apartment that he's lived in for years. Tom's life was heavily influenced by his older brother's death at 17.
When Diana, an old girlfriend, returns to town, Tom learns that she has a son who looks a lot like him. As Tom tries to come to terms with this information he begins to look at his life as others might see it, and becomes more interested in it himself.
This tale is very character-driven and we see Tom, who has been locked in a sort of limbo for years, grow into the person he should have become earlier. There is poignancy and humour and we feel for Tom as he cautiously makes contact with the people around him.
The Best of Good by Sara Lewis
Tom Good is 47, a bartender who plays guitar, writing songs for himself and living in the same small apartment that he's lived in for years. Tom's life was heavily influenced by his older brother's death at 17.
When Diana, an old girlfriend, returns to town, Tom learns that she has a son who looks a lot like him. As Tom tries to come to terms with this information he begins to look at his life as others might see it, and becomes more interested in it himself.
This tale is very character-driven and we see Tom, who has been locked in a sort of limbo for years, grow into the person he should have become earlier. There is poignancy and humour and we feel for Tom as he cautiously makes contact with the people around him.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Foster Child Memoir
Finished March 30
Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge
This memoir is from the former CEO/General Counsel of The Alliance for Children's Rights. Bridge was born into poverty, and lived first with his grandmother and then with his mother in extreme poverty. When his mother began to struggle with mental health issues, he was removed from her and placed first in institutional care, and then in foster care. His story as he learns to survive in all his environments shows how he clung to the love he was offered by his mother and grandmother through all the difficult years that followed. From the descriptions of how the social system failed his family, and how many of the people around them showed no concern, this memoir is open and honest. Bridge was not a perfect child, and he doesn't claim that he was, but he shows how he learned the system and did what he had to in order to get out of that system.
Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge
This memoir is from the former CEO/General Counsel of The Alliance for Children's Rights. Bridge was born into poverty, and lived first with his grandmother and then with his mother in extreme poverty. When his mother began to struggle with mental health issues, he was removed from her and placed first in institutional care, and then in foster care. His story as he learns to survive in all his environments shows how he clung to the love he was offered by his mother and grandmother through all the difficult years that followed. From the descriptions of how the social system failed his family, and how many of the people around them showed no concern, this memoir is open and honest. Bridge was not a perfect child, and he doesn't claim that he was, but he shows how he learned the system and did what he had to in order to get out of that system.
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