Room - Emma Donoghue

I didn't enjoy this book.  It was bleak (expected), but also creepy (not quite as expected).  This book tells the story of a mother and her five-year old son who are held captive.  The boy is actually fathered by the captor and has never set foot outside of their "room".

There are a number of reasons why I didn't enjoy this book, but two stand out.  First, I tend not to enjoy "stream of consciousness" books and perhaps because this book is narrated by the five year old, this is how the story is told.  I disliked We Need to Talk About Kevin for the same reasons (the narrative structure was really random).  I know that books narrated by children are often criticized because the child seems too old to be real.  After reading this book, I've decided that I quite like that style of narration and am willing to suspend disbelief in order to get a coherent narrative.  The other thing that I really disliked was the aforementioned creepiness.  I didn't like reading about the creepy results of being held captive, such as rotting teeth, blood stained carpets, and so on.  I am well aware that many adore this book and it was short-listed for the Booker.  Nonetheless, it simply was not for me.  It was oddly compelling enough for me to finish though, so points for that.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

In a nutshell

The story is told from two points of view at two different points in time.  The first story describes the life of a suicidal teenage girl (Nao) in Japan (in the early part of the 21st century), while the second describes the story of a woman (Ruth) reading Nao's diary after it has washed ashore on an island in the Pacific Northwest (presumably after the 2011 tsunami in Japan).  The story progresses as we and Ruth learn more about Nao's fate.

Did I like it?

It wasn't for me.  I couldn't connect with the characters and found myself wanting to be done.  I was compelled enough by the story to finish it, but not much more.

Will you like it?

If you enjoy stories where the author's play with the concept of time and our ability to control it, you may enjoy the story.  It's a bit of a "slow burn", so readers who don't mind waiting for things to happen, may also enjoy this one.  

What else happened while I was reading this book?

Almost done painting our kitchen (yes!!).  Ran the annual Round the Bays fun run on yet another beautiful day for the run.  Joined the masses who've seen House of Cards (loved it!).

Forgotten - Catherine McKenzie

Amid some great books that I read over the Christmas holidays was Forgotten by Catherine Mackenzie.  It tells the story of a lawyer who goes to Africa after her mother dies only to become trapped there after a natural disaster.  When she finally returns home, she finds that she has been declared deceased.  The book then follows the challenges she faces after finding this out.  Conceptually, this sounds really interesting.  However, its exploration of this issue is quite shallow and the main character is unbearably self-centered.  On the plus side, it is an easy read. 2/5 Stars.

Human Bobby - Gabe Rotter

This book has an interesting concept.  It tells the story of a man who had gone from being a doctor/husband/father to being a homeless person over the course of a couple of years.  Gradually, as the story moves on, the reader begins to learn what has happened to this man who had a life with such promise and Rotter does surprise.  My quibble with this book and it's a personal taste thing was the language.  It was peppered with slang that just grated on me after a while (though ultimately necessary for the plot device).  Nonetheless, it was a compelling book that I think many people would quite enjoy. 2-Stars.

Bride of New France - Suzanne Desrochers

I had high hopes for this book as Quill and Quire had named it one of the top books of 2012.  Alas, it was not to be.

The story itself sounds quite interesting.  Desrochers tells the tale of one fille du roi (Laure Bausejour), who travels from Paris to become a wife in New France.  Her husband will be selected once she arrives.  As it turns out, her husband is not only crass, but also quite incapable of providing the necessities of life in a Canadian winter.  Laure's salvation (in some ways) comes in the form of a First Nations boy, with whom she will have an affair.

Sounds complling, right?  And yes, I did keep reading BUT Laure's character was simply so self-centered and insufferable that I found myself cringing at every turn.  So, if you don't mind an egocentric main character, you may enjoy this book.  It was interesting to learn more about this era in Canadian history.

2/5 Stars.

The Hypnotist - Lars Kepler

I was actually really looking forward to this book.  I had heard many good things and its capacity to be a good page-turner made it a logical follow-up to Ann Patchett's amazing State of Wonder.  Or so I thought...  In the end, I came to realize that I've perhaps reached my Nordic crime fiction saturation point.  All these dark and gloomy heroes in dark and gloomy settings are getting a bit tiring.  In a nutshell, this book is about a hypnotist who finds out people's deep, dark secrets and this ticks them off (some more than others) and so the story begins/flashes back.  It's not a bad book, it's just didn't knock my socks off either.

Battle of the Network Ann(e)s

There are two Ann(e)s who I find to be "go to" authors: Anne Tyler and Ann Patchett.  So, this November, I was feeling particularly lucky to be reading both The Beginner's Goodbye (Tyler) and State of Wonder (Patchett).  So, who won this epic battle?  Ann Patchett, by a long shot!

The Beginner's Goodbye tells the story of a man who lost his wife in a tragic accident.  He begins seeing her soon after.  Ghost, hallucination, take your pick.  The story essentially shows him coming to grip with both her death and the failings of their relationship.  To me, it came across as a bit "twee" and was not up to some of my favorite Tyler works, such as Saint Maybe and Breathing Lessons. 2/5

State of Wonder is a far more interesting tale which explores issues related to medical ethics, culture, class, and friendship.  It begins with a pharmaceutical research finding out that her colleague and friend has died on a trip to South America.  She is tasked with bringing his body back, but perhaps more important to her boss and significant other, is finding out more about the medical research taking place in the small village that her friend had visited (he too had been sent to find out more about this research).  She goes on an epic journey that I loved and could not stop reading.  Highly recommended!!  5/5 Stars

Of note, State of Wonder was up to the incredibly difficult task of awesome holiday read!!  So do take it away or let it take you away :).

Four More...

And here I find myself again with four books to review at once.  With that in mind, the goal of this blog post is succinct!!

The Cookbook Collector - Allegra Goodman.  This book was neither good, nor bad--it just was.  It tells the story of two sisters living in Berkeley/San Fransisco during the dotcom boom (and then bust).  As with many sisterly tales, the sisters are opposites in taste and manner.  One is a dotcom "genius", while the other is a somewhat flaky philosophy major.  The book follows the sisters' mutual relationships during this rather turbulent time.  3-stars.

The Informationist - Taylor Stevens.  This book was fine and is likely an appropriate beach/holiday read.  However, I have grown somewhat weary of seeing versions of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo character cropping up all over the show.  Give me something new!!!  2-stars.

The High Road - Terry Fallis.  I really enjoyed Fallis' previous novel "Best Laid Plans" and while "The High Road" isn't quite as good, I still rather liked hanging out with these characters.  From the unconventional Scottish politician Angus McClintock to his assistant Daniel Addision, these characters are all great.  Well worth picking up.  4-stars.

The Glass Room - Simon Mawer.  This was an interesting take on World War 2 and the Nazi Regime.  The house (which holds the glass room) is the focal point for this novel and we follow the home's story as its original builders are forced to flee due to the influx of Nazi troops.  Beyond just its original role as a domestic residence, the home becomes a home to Nazi experiments, and later to a physical therapy facility.  I liked the fact that Mawer found a way to breathe new life into the World War 2 genre.  4-stars.