Following Atticus by Tom Ryan

Part Of The Synopsis From Back Cover:

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner.  Ryan and his friend, Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire's four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity.  It was an adventure of a lifetime, leading them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland.  At the heart of the amazing journey was the extraordinary relationship they shared, one that blurred the line between man and dog.

I'm the kind of guy who still cries when I watch Old Yeller.  For that matter, Nestor, The Long Eared Christmas Donkey has me in tears every time I watch it.  I even cried when they went deer hunting on Silver Spoons.  Let's just say I'm a sucker for animals.  So stick a cute dog on a cover, and I'm going to agree to anything you say, just so I can read the book.

Because of the adorable Atticus M. Finch on the cover, it was almost a sure bet that I was going to enjoy the book.  What wasn't a given, was whether or not I was going to enjoy the voice used to tell the story.  As much as I love dogs, I tend to not enjoy books written by journalists that feature their own lives as the subject material. I understand that you have to have a bit of an ego to write a book about yourself, but for some reason, journalists seem to revel in their own self importance.  In the case of one book I reviewed earlier this year, the journalist in question was so self involved, I actually lost respect for him after reading the book.  So when I finally found the time to crack the book open and dive in, it was with a bit of trepidation.

At the very beginning, I was almost convinced that I wasn't going to be pleasantly surprised.  When the author talks about his paper and the roll he played in town, I was reading some of the same words as I did in the book I read earlier this year.  It was a little too self congratulatory for my taste.  So I hunkered down to delve into the world of Tom Ryan, hoping that I would get something out of what I was reading.

As I kept on reading though, I started to enjoy the time I was spending with Tom as he meandered his way across town.  The man I quickly judged, just a quickly started to surprise me.  As Tom started to talk more about himself, my brain started to change what I read as ego, into pride.  Pride for what he had built with his paper, and pride and gratitude for the story he was about to relate to his reader.  He opened himself up in ways that few of us would be willing to do.

It's when, first Max then Atticus come into his life, that Tom truly comes across on the page as a humble man who feels blessed to have had these two wonderful dogs in his life.  To my fellow dog lovers out there, you know what a wonderful blessing it is to have a canine friend share your life, both the triumphs and the setbacks.  What Tom shares with his readers as he recounts the time spent with Atticus up in the mountains isn't a travelogue or a manifesto on the joys of mountain hiking.  What I found in the pages of Following Atticus, was a story of two friends who come together and help each other heal in ways that neither could have expected in the beginning.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review the book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Miss Me When I'm Gone by Emily Arsenault (Giveaway Included)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Gretchen Waters is most famous for her book Tammyland - a "honky-tonk Eat, Pray, Love," a memoir about her divorce and her admiration for Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton.  When Gretchen dies falling on a set of stone steps outside of a library, everyone thinks it was an accident or a botched mugging.  Jamie, Gretchen's best friend from college, certainly has no reason to suspect foul play.  That is, until she becomes Gretchen's literary executor.  Gretchen's latest manuscript is much darker than Tammyland - ostensibly about her favorite classic male country singers, it's really about a murder in her family that haunted her childhood.  From beyond the grave, Gretchen opens up a sinister new world through her writing, and suddenly, her death seems suspicious.  And then Jamie finds herself in danger as well...

When I'm at a loss to how to start a review, I find it's easier if I just admit it up front.  The few times I try and get around that fact, the review just doesn't seem to come out well, and I end up redoing it anyway.  So let me start by saying I'm so stuck on this one that I feel as if my fingers are encased in molasses.  I have no idea  what I want to say, because I have no idea on what I feel towards this book.  I don't want anyone to think that ambivalence means I didn't like it, because if you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I'm not shy about telling you that I didn't like something.  I think I just had no reaction to it.

I really did want to like this book.  As most of you know, I'm a huge mystery fan, which should mean that I end up liking books that fall into the "suspense" category as well.  For the most part, that's proved true, but too often I end up not enjoying the book as much as I wanted.  If that was my only interest in reading this one, I would just chalk it up to trying something knew that didn't work out.  I would move on and let it go at that.  But the other factor that hooked me on giving this one a go, was the country music angle.  I adore classic country stars like Dolly Parton so I said yes before I really thought about it.

I'm afraid that it's the country sections of the book that almost killed this one for me.  The story is told in the first person by Jamie as she reacts to her friends death and tries to fulfill the obligations she feels toward Gretchen.  Over time I got to like Jamie and enjoyed the time I spent in her company.  What threw me off was the way the author chose to insert Gretchen's voice into the narrative.  From the beginning, we get glimpses of Gretchen through excerpts of Tammyland and from her new manuscript.  I almost closed the book for good after the first two chapters because of it.  I'm not normally patient with books that use journal entries, newspaper clippings, book pages, or letters to tell the story.  I think Dracula is about the only book that I ever liked that uses that storytelling device.  So when it's mixed in with first person narrative, it tends to really get on my nerves.  It's hard to concentrate on the story when it's being told in such a jumpy manner.  Dolly, Tammy, and Loretta where the only thing that saved those sections for me.

Where the book worked for me was in the present, and Jamie's attempt to finish Gretchen's book.  What starts off as an attempt to fulfill an obligations she feels toward Gretchen, quickly turns into something more.  By reading the manuscript and notes, listening to interview tapes, and talking to the interviewees themselves, Jamie begins to piece something together.  Gretchen stumbled upon something she wasn't looking for, at least not right away.  Jamie becomes immersed in Gretchen's search for her biological father and what happened to her mother all those years before.  It's a journey that may have ended Gretchen's life and could possibly end Jamie's.

So while I may have liked the underlying story, I'm not a huge fan of the way it was told.  I know I'll be in the minority on that one, and I'm okay with it.  There are plenty of books out there that I love, but other's just don't connect with for one reason or another.  After typing away for a good while, I wish I could tell you what I couldn't say in the first paragraph.  I'm still not sure what I think of this book, I didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it either.  I think it's a wash for me, and I'm okay with that too.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment with an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.  The giveaway is open to US/Canada residents only and will run until 11:59 pm on August 23rd, 2012.  I will use random.org to pick the winner.

Challenges: A-Z

The Twilight War by David Crist

Part Of The Synopsis From The Dust Jacket:

For three decades, the United States and Iran have engaged in a secret war.  It is a conflict that has never been acknowledged and a story that has never been told.

This surreptitious war began with the Iranian Revolution and simmers today inside Iraq and in the Persian Gulf.  Fights rage in the shadows between the CIA and it's network of spies and Iran's intelligence agency.  Battles are fought at sea with Iranians in small speedboats attacking Western oil tankers.  This conflict has frustrated five American presidents, divided administrations, and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations into open warfare.  It is a story of shocking miscalculations, bitter debates, hidden casualties, boldness, and betrayal.

I dare anyone to walk into a mall, stop 10 people, and ask them the capital of Iran.  You may even ask them to point to Iran on a map.   I would be surprised if more than two people were able to do either thing.  Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if none of them could.  Think it's just a problem with Iran.  Do the same thing for Syria, Egypt, or for that matter Germany.  You will more than likely get the same results.  The idea of most Americans not being able to answer those questions, scares the hell out of me.

I'm not going to sit here and say that the present day is any more dangerous than those that have came before them.  I think human civilization has always lived on the brink of self annihilation, but we are living in a world that makes that outcome a lot easier to accomplish, and in less time.  I think at a minimum, we should at least know the players in the game and the history behind the present circumstances.  Wanting to grow my base of understanding is the whole reason I chose to read/review this book.  Our history with Iran is one that I know very little about, and I wanted a resource that could put our relationship into context.

Now I'm not going to say that The Twilight War is for the casual reader, because it's not.  At times, I felt as if I was back in school reading a well written text book.  It's a dense tome, full of dates, names, and events.  Granted, those dates, names, and events are the meat of the book and could not be left out.  With them, Crist paints a broad and concise picture of our relationship with Iran since the Carter administration.  He chronicles our failures and our successes with a country that most Americans don't understand, but should know more about.  It's one of those books that everyone, who is wanting to get a better understanding on the Middle East, should read.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review the book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino (Giveaway Too!)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

When the nanny to the young Darrow boys is found mysteriously murdered on the outskirts of the village of Blackfield, Charlotte Markham, the recently hired governess, steps in to take over their care.  During an outing in the forest, they find themselves crossing over into The Ending, "the place for the Things Above Death," where Lily Darrow, the late mother of the children, has been waiting.  She invites them into the House of Darkling, a wondrous place filled with enchantment, mystery, and strange creatures that appear to be, but are not quite, human.

However, everything comes with a price, and as Charlotte begins to understand the unspeakable bargain Mrs. Darrow has made for a second chance at motherhood, she uncovers a connection to the sinister occurrences in Blackfield and enters into a deadly game with the  master of Darkling - one whose outcome will determine the fate of not just the Darrows but the world itself.

I have never thought about reading a slightly lighter Lovecraftian tale told within the confines of a Victorian  Gothic novel.  It's not something that I even considered before, but now that I've read it, I'm slightly confused as to the reason why nobody thought of doing this before.  Now when I say Victorian and Gothic, I'm still speaking of terms of being slightly lighter.  None of the thematic elements really dominate the structure of the novel.  Instead it's like the author used them as the basic outline of the structure, then filled those lines in with something else.  What that something else is, I'm still not sure I have a word for it.

Now despite my apparent confusion, I'm here to tell you that I actually really enjoyed this one.  Sadly, I can't really tell you the reason though.  There are sometimes, no matter how much you think about or analyze something, you can't really explain your reaction to it.  I know I liked it.  I know I enjoyed getting to know The Ending and those that dwelled inside.  I know I loved the way those denizens were structured after some of Lovecraft's well know Elder Beings.  I even liked the civil war the author forced them to fight.  I never thought of the Elder Beings as being political or of having schisms amongst themselves.  I also thought of them as monstrous beings bent on ending the world as we know it.  The author took the world of Lovecraft and made it more human, something I didn't think I would like until I read it.

I think the only thing that would have made this book stronger, at least for me, is that I would have liked to see the "romantic" elements be a bit stronger.  I guess I can't really enjoy a good Gothic novel without there being a strong romantic element.  The main "romance" was between Charlotte and Mr. Darrow.  It was never a relationship I ever bought into or liked, and it always felt as if it existed in her head more than anything else.  It was a bit too forced for my taste, and because of the direction the book took, it was doomed before it left the ground.  Similarly the minor romantic liaisons never felt all that explored and the one I liked the most was barely touched upon.  One one of their trips to Darkling, the oldest Darrow boy is introduced to a young man who belongs to a race of creatures that inhabit the world.  The particular family takes a human visage, and the two hit it off.  It's obvious from the get go that there is something between them from the start.  Of all the relationships, it was the only one that developed a real sense of affection, though it was only shown a few times towards the end.

I was going to ramble on about the causes behind the civil war, the landscape that Mr. Darrow and Charlotte traveled through on their last foray into the world, and the way Death is introduced; but I won't.  All these elements are interconnected and I think it best that a reader discover them on their own.  I was even going to touch upon the idea of a parent striking the deal that Lily Darrow made in order to see her children once again.  But her character and her motivations are, once again, best left to the reader to explore themselves.  What I will say is that whether you end up enjoying the book or not, Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling will be more than worth the time.

Now onto the giveaway.  One lucky reader will win the book for themselves, though that reader must reside in the United States or Canada.  All you need to do is leave a comment letting me in on a secret.  I want to know about a book that you liked, but can't really explain why.  You also need to leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.  The giveaway will run until 11:59 pm CST on Monday, August 13th.

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Barcelona, 1957.  It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate.  They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermin Romero de Torres is about to wed.  But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past.  His appearance plunges Fermin and Daniel into dangerous adventures that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship.  The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives.

There are certain authors I always hear about.  Everyone I know seems to love their writing, rave about the characters they create, and worship the creative mind behind it all.  For whatever reason, those are the authors I tend to stay away from, at least for a little bit.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's that part of me that insists I can't like something, if everyone else does.  Everyone who knows me, personally, teases me about it.  I don't see it that way.  I see it as having different tastes than everyone else.  So when I kept on hearing how great Carlos Ruiz Zafon is, I found myself not paying a ton of attention.

His first book, The Shadow of the Wind, sounded like something I might like.  But I wasn't in a big hurry to find out.  I figured I would let the dust settle for a while, then find out for myself if this was something worth reading.  Then when the second book, The Angel's Game, I put both of them out of contention for my attention.  Now if I had been offered a chance to review either one of those books, I may have been more inclined to find out what everyone else was talking about.  That's how I ended up reading his third book, The Prisoner of Heaven.  I was willing to give it a go, if I didn't have to put much effort into getting my hands on it.
     
I'm going to admit that even after I got the book in the mail, I wasn't feeling that burning desire to open it.  I actually had to force myself to sit down and start reading.  And while I'm being honest here, I have something else I need to admit.  For most of the book, I really didn't get what everyone else was talking about.  I wasn't seeing the second coming of (insert your favorite author).  That doesn't mean I wasn't liking what I was reading, I just wasn't getting the hype.  It was okay, but it wasn't rising to the level I was expecting after all the glowing reviews I read after the first two books came out.  I really enjoyed getting to know Daniel and Fermin, who by the way is a great character.  I was drawn into the story and even found myself wanting to know what happened next.  Even after all that, I wasn't in a huge hurry to read the two previous books.  While I may have liked Daniel and Fermin, I wasn't chomping at the bit to read any more.
   
Then right around the last 30 pages, my internal attitude started to change.  I found myself buying into the Kool-Aid a bit more.  I was starting to understand what everyone else was talking about.  I began to appreciate the subtleties of the author's style and world building.  I'm not at the same level everyone else I know is at, but I'm now at the point where I want to read the first two books.  I want to, for myself, discover what everyone else is raving about.  After reading Prisoner of Heaven, I'm now convinced that I have some great reading ahead of me.
   
I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Let The Devil Sleep by John Verdon (Giveaway Included)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

The most decorated detective in NYPD history, Dave Gurney is still trying to adjust to life of quasi-retirement in upstate New York when a young woman who is producing a documentary on a notorious murder spree seeks his counsel.  Soon after, Gurney begins feeling threatened; a razor-sharp hunting arrow lands in his yard, and he narrowly escaped serious injury in a booby-trapped basement.  As things grow more bizarre, he finds himself reexamining the Case of the Good Shepherd, which ten years before involved a series of roadside shootings and a rage-against-the-rich manifesto.  The killings ceased, and a cult of analysis grew up around the case with a consensus opinion that no one would dream of challenging - no one, that is, but Dave Gurney.

Mocked even by some who have been allies in previous investigations, Gurney realizes that the killer is too clever to ever be found.  The only gambit that may make sense is also the most dangerous - to make himself a target and get the killer to come to him.

To be perfectly honest with everyone, while I love mysteries, I'm not normally a huge fan of thrillers.  There have been a few over the last few years that grabbed and held my attention, but none refused to let me go once I got started on them.  Let the Devil Sleep is the first thriller that I didn't want to put down, and if it weren't for that fact I'm getting old and tire easily, I would have stayed up all night reading.

I was sucked in from the very beginning, and I'm not even sure I can truly say the whys of it.  I wish I could tell you what made this book so much better than the other thrillers I've read in the past.  If I had to make a guess, and a weak one at that, I would have to pick the fact that I loved the characters.  For me, there wasn't a weak one in the bunch.  Dave Gurney has to be one of the most interesting male protagonists that I've read in a thriller, since most of what I've read stars female leads, I'm not sure that really means anything though.  I found him to be compelling and someone I couldn't take my attention away from.  I haven't read the other books in the series, but he seems to be a character that has a lot of history and depth to him.  All of which has shaped who he is and how he reacts to situations.  He is joining a group of strong male leads that I'm discovering this year.  Now I just need to get caught up on the series.

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment letting me know of another strong male lead you have come across lately.  You will also need to include your email in order to contact you if you are the winner.  The giveaway is open to residents of US/Canada only.  The giveaway will run until 11:59 pm CST on Tues. Aug. 7th.  Winner will be chosen by random.org.  I will contact the winner will have 48 hours to get back to me or another winner will be chosen.

Darkness All Around by Doug Magee (Plus Giveaway)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Within the span of one harrowing week, Risa's alcoholic husband, Sean, disappears, and her best friend, Carol, is brutally murdered.  Eleven years later, Risa has seemingly put her life back together again, comforted by the love of her new husband, who is a local politician, and the knowledge that Carol's killer has been convicted.  But then just as suddenly as he had disappeared, Sean resurfaces - sober, plagued by horrific recollections of Carol's murder, and convinced he was the real killer.

Sean's startling claim buzzes through their small Pennsylvania community, and Risa is left to wonder if the man she still loves actually committed the grisly murder.  Her growing belief in his innocence sends her on a treacherous search for the truth:  a search that reveals ugly secrets that her hew husband and the town's law enforcement community are hiding.

When I was offered this book for review, I almost passed on it.  I had read and reviewed the author's last book, Never Wave Goodbye, and I wasn't in love with it.  I enjoyed it, but wasn't sure I liked it enough to give the author another look.  To make the decision even harder was the fact that I had just given up on a book from an author I had given a second chance too.  I wasn't really open to the idea of doing it again.  For whatever reason, I ignored my doubts and jumped right in.

Every issue I had with Never Wave Goodbye, seemed to disappear in Darkness All Around.  The narrative was tighter and more cohesive.  The characters, because there were fewer of them, seemed to be solider this time around.  I was able to emotionally invest in Sean and Risa.  I wanted and was able to root for them.  I wanted them to be able to put the past behind them and carry on with their lives.  I wanted them to work out why Sean thought he was the one who killed Carol.  I went along for the ride, and I loved every moment of it.

Now I can't say that I was on pins and needles the entire book, but I do think that the author was able to build a tension that ebbed and flowed naturally.  None of the action felt forced or driven too hard.  It was a ride that would make me short of breath for a bit, then allow me to relax and get comfortable before giving me another adrenaline high.  It was a solid addition to the suspense genre, and I'm looking forward to the author's next contribution.

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

The giveaway will run until 11:59 pm CST on July 24th.  The giveaway is open to US residents only.  Entering is easy, just leave a comment with your email address.  I will us random.org to select the winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email.

The Girl Below by Bianca Zander

Synopsis From Back Cover: 

Suki Piper is a stranger to her hometown.  After ten years in New Zealand, she has returned to London only to find herself more alone than ever before.  But a chance visit with Peggy, an old family friend who still lives in the building in which Suki grew up, leads Suki to believe she has discovered a way to reconnect with the life she left ten years before.  As she becomes more and more involved with Peggy's family, Suki finds that she is mysteriously slipping back in time to one night, a party her parents threw in their garden, and an incident that took place in a long-unused air raid shelter there.  

I'm feeling a bit like Typhoid Mary right about now.  Not the historical version, more like the Marvel supervillain.  My mind has fragmented into a few different reactions regarding this book, and I'm not sure what I'm actually going to be able to say about it.  I need to find a way to separate the way I felt about the writing and the way I felt about the story itself.  Really not sure if that's even possible, but I'm going to try.

I think I'm going to start off with the writing, or the Mary side of my conflict.  For the most part, I enjoyed the way the author used language in the crafting of her story.  There are not a lot of authors who are able to manipulate language in such a way that I can find myself falling in love with a book, despite myself.  She created, through her words, a world that held me captivated and confused.  I can't say that style got in the way of substance, I actually think the style is the only thing that saved the substance, but I'm not sure it allowed the story to really go anywhere either.

Which takes us into the Typhoid territory of my conflicted brain.  I don't normally mind jumbled narratives that have a reader trying to figure out what's what and why things are happening.  I actually tend to enjoy books that allow me to fill in the gaps and do some critical thinking on my own.  What I don't like are jumbled narratives that uses so much misdirection and blind alleys that even the basic information needed to fill in those gaps, may not be there.  I'm pretty sure I know where the author was wanting the reader to go, but I'm also pretty sure that's not where I went.

And that leaves the Bloody Mary side to explore a bit.  If any of you don't already know, I'm a huge mystery fan.  What that means regarding this book, who the freak knows.  I'm still trying to figure out where the mystery aspect comes in.  I know that while it wasn't a strict mystery, there were so many elements that were picked up, examined, and then tossed away that I'm still a bit confused by the whole thing.  The many hints and clues given to explain Suki's behavior as an adult, just never panned out for me.  She is floundering in her life, and supposedly the answers can be found in a troubled childhood.  If that's the case, she needs to get the hell over it.

From the impression I'm left with, she refuses to grow up because her father left and her mother died from cancer.  You know what, a lot of us lose one or both parents and a young age and we don't act like a 12 year old when we are almost 30.  Now if what was hinted at in the book actually happened to her, then I may be able to give her the benefit of the doubt.  I can't even count the many glaring hints of sexual abuse, whether at the hands of her father, two male friends that where at the party that night, a creepy neighbor, or some stranger that never showed his face; were just thrown out there.  Disembodied hands that would undo dress bows being the most obvious.  The problem, it never went anywhere.  I can't tell you what happened in that bunker, other than a girl losing her balance and knocking out some teeth.  But from what I can tell, the sexual abuse didn't happen.  So what I really don't get, is why all the hints.  What was the point of building it up, then never going in that direction.

To be honest with you, I don't know what happened to her as a kid, and I don't care.  I don't even care if she was actually time traveling, or if it was all some sort of walking memory.  I don't care about any of it.  This is one case where the author's adapt use of language, which she obviously has, could not save the book.  For all I care, Suki can move into that bunker and mope for the rest of her life.  I don't think she will, because from what I can tell she finally got over the "trauma".  I just wish I knew what the trauma was.  On second thought, no I don't.  I just don't care enough.

For those of you who are interested, the author visited the Mystery forum at the Barnes & Noble website, the conversation can be found here.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review the book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Challenges: A-Z

The American Bible by Stephen Prothero

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Since Thomas Jefferson first recorded those self-evident truths in the Declaration of Independence, America has been a nation that has unfolded as much on the page and the podium as on battlefields or in statehouses.  Here Stephen Prothero reveals which texts continue to generate controversy and drive debate.  He then puts these voices into conversation, tracing how prominent leaders and thinkers of one generation have commented upon the core texts of another, and invites readers to join in.

I love politics.  I don't think there is anyone around me who doesn't know that fact.  I follow it as much as I can, as much as being a single father with a full time job will allow me to.  I know enough to follow elections and debates with a degree of understanding.  Hell, I follow it enough that I'm pretty sure I could identify every sitting Senator, if not by name, by face.  I volunteer for campaigns.  I wear campaign shirts.  I voice my opinion, sometimes too much. I have never missed an election, primary or general, since I turned 18.  I take politics seriously, but not personally.  What I do not do, is make a religion out of my political, national, or world views.  What's more, though they don't realize it, I think the vast majority of Americans do make a "religion" out of their beliefs.  I'm still debating in my head, if this book simply reflects that, or if it glories in it.  I am leaning towards the reflection side.

By the way, I have a feeling this is going to be a rather long review, so for that I apologize.  You guys won't hurt my feelings if you don't feel like reading the entire thing.

From the title to the layout (more on that later), it seems as if the author is glorifying the idea that nationalism and our identity as Americans has turned into a quasi-religion.  All you have to do is turn on cable news for anything longer than 30 minutes to understand that for a lot of us, being an American has taken on some rather overt religious tones.  A lot of us consider this nation and, by default, ourselves as God's chosen.  It's a concept I have serious issues wish, least of which is that when you think you are doing what God wants you to do, or that you represent God's chosen, it's a little hard to have a serious debate that may actually change hearts and minds.  It's a concept that has set into stone, certain ideas and beliefs that doesn't allow any room for growth or compromise.

The book itself is broken down into chapters that mirror the Bible.  It's starts with Genesis and ends with Epistles.  I must admit that part of me was awfully glad that it didn't end with Revelations.  And it's in the way the author structures these chapters that redeemed this book for me.  Each chapter follows the same basic flow.  He introduces us to the topic, giving us a brief background and history on it.  Then, except in one case, gives us the material in it's entirety or if it's from a longer work, an excerpt of it.  That is then followed by commentary, both past and present.  Other than in the introductions, where some of author's biases come through (I dare anyone to write a book like this and not have that happen), the material is presented in a pretty straightforward manner.  The commentary we are presented with comes at the subject from all angles and all political persuasions.  I think he did a rather admirable job at giving the reader a cross section of opinion, allowing the reader to take everything in.

As you may suspect, Genesis, starts us off at the beginning of our nation.  It delves into the idea of how The Exodus Story has influenced our history and our present political climate.  It moves on through "A Model of Christian Charity" by John Winthrope, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, The Declaration of Independence, and The Blue-Black Speller by Noah Webster.  In each of these cases, the author makes a compelling argument for how each speech or book influenced the way Americans viewed themselves and the country at the beginning of our history.  He makes the cases that these are the foundations of what an American identity was built upon.

Law, introduces us to The Constitution, a document that many of us revere but have never read all the way through.  It's, in my view, one of the pillars of our country, but it's not widely read or understood.  You don't need to watch cable news to discover a lot of Americans not only don't know the history of The Constitution or the fights our founding fathers had in crafting it, but they really don't know what's in it.  Outside of the Preamble and the first 10 amendments, our schools really don't cover it enough to allow our children to really have a grasp on not only what The Constitution says, but what it doesn't say.   This chapter also delves into two Supreme Court decisions that altered society in ways that we are still fighting about, Brown V. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade.

Chronicles, delves into the novels that have formed and changed the way Americans relate with each other, racial minorities, and their government.  Of all the chapters in this book, this is the one that seems to be the most subjective in terms of what was included and left out.  It only lists three novels, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe,  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  Now that first two books I get.  I can understand how both books fundamentally changed the way society understood and changed in regards to race in this country.  I don't think either book worked alone in that aspect, nor did either one work miracles, but they both got a conversation started.  It's the third book I find to be an odd choice.  Don't get me wrong, I love Atlas Shrugged, and despite how it conflicts with my politics, it's one of my favorites.  And maybe when it first came out, it helped to define the current conservative movement in this country, but I think that's where it ends.  I think the politics and beliefs behind the book have a rather powerful cult following, but I think it's small.  I actually wonder how many people underneath the age of 40 have even read the book, outside of a college campus that is.  I'm not saying it shouldn't be included because it has made an impact, I'm just thinking there were other novels that should have been included before it.

The musical heritage of our country is diverse and strong, so I think it's fitting that there should be a Psalms chapter.  And while I think the three songs included deserve to be there, I'm not so sure they are the only three songs that have shaped our nation's identity.  Nor do I think they are the only three songs that have shaped our view of our place in the world.  "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key, "God Bless America", Irving Berlin's response to the national anthem, and Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" are important songs.  I'm just not convinced, even after reading this book, that there shouldn't be an entire book on this subject alone.

Proverbs was by far the quickest chapter to read and one of the most entertaining.  Here is where we are introduced to one line sayings from Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Joseph, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Regan, but the author lets us in on some of the background and history behind the words.  They are all sayings we are familiar with and I must say I'm amazed by the staying power of some of them.  There can be a pretty strong argument made in regards to how some of these proverbs have shaped the American identity in ways unrivaled by any other aspect of this book.

Of all the books I've read before this one, I don't think I've ever had Henry David Thoreau, Dwight Eisenhower, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X put into the same section before.  In Prophets, the author makes a compelling argument for lumping these men together.  Whether it's in Thoreau's treatise on  "Civil Disobedience", Eisenhower's farewell address, King's "I Have a Dream" speech, or The Autobiography of Malcolm X, these four men were giving us a glimpse into the future of this country.  In some cases they were meant to serve as a warning, in others, a celebration of where we were going.  But in all cases, they were men who were trying to give us their vision of our country's future and for the most part, they are visions that have stuck in our collective minds and hearts.

Lamentations is the one chapter that surprised me the most.  There are only two subjects discussed in the book,  Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin.  I guess what surprised me the most was the controversy that both of those things stirred up and how both of them were used in such ways, by people who should have know better, to score political points.  When it comes to mourning our dead and how we choose to remember them, I think it should be off limits.  Sadly it never is, and this chapter made that all too clear.

Thomas Jefferson's and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first inaugural address and Ronald Reagan's speech that introduced him politically to the nation are what the author set as the Gospels.  They are three speeches that changed the way Americans viewed themselves, their government, and their role in the world.  They were speeches that tried, and in large degrees managed, to shape the country's attitude and direction.  They were speeches that told a story, whether true or not, in order to alter the political landscape.

The shortest chapter, and the one chapter I could have done without, was Acts.    Apparently the only thing that warranted inclusion was The Pledge of Allegiance.  Now I don't want to rehash the fights we have had in this country over the Pledge, but it's not something I'm ever been comfortable with, especially after I learned the history of it while I was still in high school.  I'm not going to give my opinion of how I view it, I would just hope that everyone takes it upon themselves to find out where the Pledge came from and why it was altered to fit a certain narrative during the 50s.  Now with that being said, I'm not sure what else the author could have included, but I would be curious to find out if anything else was considered.

And that leaves us with the last chapter, Epistles.  Of all the chapters, this was the one I paid the most attention to, reading it twice.  The author includes George Washington's farewell address, Thomas Jefferson's "Letter to the Danbury Baptists", and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."  This chapter, more than the others, though only by a small degree, allowed me to get behind the eyes of the three men as they wrote down their words.  I was familiar with all three works, some more than others, but this book allowed me to look at them in a way I haven't done before.

I'm still not sure how much this book will allow people to be more open to political dialogue in this country, but I think the author has made a good opening move in that direction.  We seem to be living in a time that doesn't allow people to view those with opposite viewpoints as anything else but evil.  I live in a state where I'm in the political minority.  I have been called a communist, socialist, and been told I was going to Hell.  Granted, it's normally by people who don't really know the definition of the words they are using, but that's beside the point.  I guess my point is this, no matter how bad the discourse seems to be now, it's been worse.  As a country we have always been able to figure out a way to come back together and do the right thing for ourselves and the future of our country.  I have no doubt that though we deal with forces (cable news, blogs, talk radio) that seem to divide us even further apart than we have ever been, that books like this will have their own impact.  That eventually, especially after we remember where we have been, that we will figure out how to keep moving forward.  We just need enough people who are open enough, that aren't dogmatic in their beliefs, to reach across the political divide and get back to work.

I would like to thank Jordan of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

An American Family by Peter Lefcourt

Part Of The Synopsis From Goodreads:

The sprawling narrative of five siblings, born in the 1940’s, beginning on the day John Kennedy was shot and ending on 9/11. Between these two iconic dates, we follow the fortunes, love affairs, marriages, divorces, successes and failures of the Pearls, an immigrant Polish-Jewish family, from the Lower East Side of New York, to Long Island and beyond.  


The oldest, Jackie — a charming, womanizing attorney — drifts into politics with help from the Nassau County mob. His younger brother, Michael, a gambler and entrepreneur, makes and loses fortunes riding the ebb and flow of high-risk business decisions. Their sister, Elaine, marries young and raises two children before realizing that she wants more from life than being merely a wife and mother and embarking on a new life in her forties. Their sensitive and brilliant half-brother, Stephen, deals with the growing consciousness that he is gay in an era that was not gay friendly. Stephen goes to Vietnam as a medic, comes home, becomes a writer, and survives the AIDS epidemic of the eighties. The baby of the family, Bobbie, high-strung and rebellious, gets pregnant at Woodstock, moves to San Francisco as a single mother during the “Summer of Love,” then winds up in Los Angeles as a highly-successful record producer.

When I was given the opportunity to read a new Peter Lefcourt book, I jumped at the chance.  Now granted, I've only read one of his books before, but that book is one that I've read countless times.  I can't even remember the first time I read The Dreyfus Affair, but it was love at first read.  I was enamored with the characters, the  humor, and the way the author was able to write this compelling love story but make me laugh, cry, and regain my faith in my fellow man all at the same time.  So when the chance to read An American Family came up, it was a no brainer.  I had to do it.

Once I had done it, I found myself comparing it to another book that I read for the first time when I was in the 5th grade.  If I was sick and at my grandparent's house, I would pick up whatever book was available for me to read.  Because of that, I read a lot of books I should never, ever admit to reading.  One of those was Family Album by Danielle Steel.  It was a book I fell in love with, and probably need to reread sometime soon, for a lot of the same reason I loved An American Family.

Both books follow a family through the decades as they got through trials and changes.  They both deal with the 60's counter culture and the Vietnam War.  They both focus on the individual members of the family as they grow up, fall in love, and mess up throughout their lives.  Now the families are from different ethnic, economic, and social backgrounds, but I loved them both.  But where they both hooked, then and now, is how they dealt with one of the brood  growing up gay in a culture that wasn't ready to deal with it.  both Lionel Thayer and Steven Perl are characters that will remain close to my heart for a long time to come (possible FFC posts).  Steven and Lionel, though going through different circumstances, were characters that I could find a bit of myself in.  They were the kind of characters I needed to read about as a teenager.  I needed to know that it was possible to grow up gay and know that I could live a happy life.  A lot of the books I found back then, high school, were on the opposite side of the spectrum.  So it's nice to know there are characters, written by straight men/women, who affirm being gay and not make it a burden for the character.

Now I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm basically saying both books are identical and that if you read one, you read them both.  That's not the case at all.  The two authors have completely different styles and they focus on two different aspects of the family.  Since Danielle Steel is primarily a romance author, that's where her focus stayed throughout the book.  Family Album chronicles the love lives of the character,  and the dynamic between the family was secondary.  An American Family does the opposite.  It focuses on the dynamics between the siblings, their father, mother/stepmother, and great uncle.  It's the romantic relationships outside the main family unit that get second billing.  Of course Peter Lefcourt brings his own style and wit to An American Family that I loved in The Dreyfus Affair.  It's the way he writes those relationships that makes this a book that may remind me of another, but stands out on it's own.  You may be able to get a hint of the relationship between Nathan, the father and his second wife Marylin, from this excerpt.

Maybe Marilyn’s life hadn’t been perfect, but whose was? You made the best of things. She had married Nathan, knowing full well that he was not Prince Charming. He was almost ten years older than her and had three small kids. But he made a living and he didn’t drink. And he had brains. He could speak Polish and Yiddish, as well as English.

Nathan’s problem was that he needed to be prodded to do things. It was she who had to convince him to buy the house in Garden City, right after the birth of Roberta, in 1950. If it had been up to him, they would have stayed in the apartment in Jackson Heights and had the kids double up in the bedrooms. They had scraped together the down-payment for the $19,900 wood frame house on Stratford Drive, which was now worth close to $30,000.

I would like to thank Kate for inviting me on the BookTrib tour. Please visit the tour page to visit the other participating blogs.

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd

Synopsis From Back Cover: 

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe.  Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well.  But war and disease are not the only killers to strike.  Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered.  Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touched her deeply.  Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news, Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu.  By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself.  Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served.  But the tenacious and impetuous nurse must be vigilant.  With a determined killer on her own heels, each move she makes may be her last.

I need to cop to two different things right now, the first of which I feel horrible about.  For some strange reason, I had it in my head that this review was supposed to go up today, the 15th.   After looking at my schedule though, I realized it was supposed to be posted on the 12th.  I haven't done this before, so I wanted to apologize to everyone up front for not having this done on time.  The second admission I must make, is that for the bazillionth time, I have started a series well past the first book.  I really don't know why I do it, what makes me decided I want to jump in on what in this case is the 4th book.  Now I need to go back and read the other three, otherwise I'm going to feel as if I'm doing the character of Bess Crawford a disservice.  She is one of those characters that I fell in love with from the start, and I would never want to hurt her feelings by not going back and reading the other books.

Earlier this week I posted another review that is classified as historical fiction and I mentioned that the only part of that genre I seem to enjoy are mysteries set in the past.  It doesn't seem to matter the era, year, or culture that is being explored, if there is a murder, sign me up.  If there is a plucky amateur detective investigation the murder, sign me up even faster.  I would just put the blame on the fact that I'm a mystery lover anyway, but I'm not sure if that would be the right reason.  But don't ask me what else it could be, cause I have no clue.  I'm just going to set back, relax, and enjoy.

Much like the Maisie Dobbs books, there is a gentleness and calmness about the writing that I find refreshing and unique in a mystery.  Now that might not make much sense given the fact that the book starts in a French field hospital, with maimed and dying soldiers all over the place.  Only in these two series have I ever found authors who are skilled enough to enmesh their readers into such a horrific and well realized setting, without making the reader feel overwhelmed by the violence.  The miasma of despair that would naturally follow a plot and setting such as this is missing.  Reading the horrors of war and watching Bess investigate a murder, which puts her own life in danger, never felt bogged down.  I was relaxed and optimistic the entire time.  Now I'm not so sure this is the reaction the authors were looking for, but I'm not going to complain.

Evey setting, every character is well drawn and fully imagined by the authors.  At no point in time did something jump off the page and feel unauthentic to me.  Everything felt right for the period and the characters never acted out of character.  Both of those characteristics are blessings to a reader, and sadly blessings that don't always occur in a mystery novel.  I'm really curious to see if this is a pattern that continues with the other books.  I already have the one that occurs before this one, but haven't gotten started on it yet.  But if it is anything like this one, I'm going to love it.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Equal of the Sun by Anita Amirrezvani (Plus Giveaway)

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Iran in 1576 is a place of wealth and dazzling beauty.  But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult.  Princess Pari, the Shah's daughter and protege, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess's maneuvers to instill order after her father's sudden death incite resentment and dissent.  Pari and her closet adviser, Javaher, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry of secrets and information that reveals a power struggle of epic proportions.

I think I've finally come to that point in my relationship with historical fiction, and I'm going to stop bashing my head against a wall.  I'm going to surrender and admit defeat.  Historical fiction is just not for me, and I need to quit pretending that it is.  Now don't get me wrong, there have been a few books I have enjoyed in the past, but after some careful analysis, they all belong within the same sub genre.  If it's a mystery or police procedural, give it to me.  If it's not, I'm going to pass for now on.

The really sad thing, I can't really tell you why Equal of the Sun, and all the other historical ficiton books I've tried over the last few years don't work for me.  For the most part, and I include this one, they are well researched books that explore points in history that I'm not all that familiar with, but would love to know more about.  They explore cultures in such a way, that at their best, makes the reader feel as if they have stepped back in time and are experiencing everything for themselves.  But most importantly it's the characters, both real and fictional, that drive the action on the page.

Princess Pari Khan Khanoom Safavi, is one such character.  She was a driving force, behind the scenes, in her father's court and amongst the other women in her society.  She was born during a period in Iran where women were not allowed to rule, despite the fact that they were sometimes the best choice for the job.  This was at the same time that Elizabeth I was ruling England, so the geography involved makes the issue even more tragic in it's results.  She highlights the fact that there is so much about world history, especially the history of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa that those of us in the United States know absolutely nothing about.    She makes me think of everything else I don't know, but would love to know more about.  This book and others like it, makes me want to know more about those time periods, the cultures involved, and the people who populated them.

Now for the part I don't like so much, and this is my own reaction, so please don't feel as if you need to defend the genre to me.  With Equal of the Sun and other books I've read, there seems to be a sterility about them that I just can't seem to get over.  And to tell you the truth, I'm not even sure I can explain what I just said.  But sterile is the one word that constantly reverberates around my skull when I'm reading a work of historical ficiton, that is not a mystery or based on a true crime.  As detailed as the settings are and as rich the cultures are portrayed, the people never seem to come across as real to me.  Which is strange, because most of them are real people.  There is just something missing, something about the way they are drawn that just doesn't feel right to me.  Like I said, I know this is just me, so please don't get too mad at me.

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page, where I know you will find lots of reviews by bloggers who adored this book.

Now, since I know most of you would love this book, I would love to be able to offer a copy to a lucky reader.  All you need to do is leave a comment telling me why you love historical ficiton, without yelling at me cause I don't.  And if you know of a book in the subgenre of mystery/true crime that you think I would like, please let me know that as well.  You don't need to be a follower of the blog, but it would be appreciated.  You do need to live within the United States though, sorry.  The giveaway will run until 11:59 pm CST on Monday, June 25th.  I will use random.org to draw the winner's name but since I will be on vacation, I will not be sending the email until after that Wed.

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchen at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday.  But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor - and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.

The cook toils over mock turtle soup and chocolate cake covered with green sugar roses, which the hungry band of visitors is not invited to taste.  But nothing, it seems, will go according to plan.  As the passengers wearily search for rest, the house undergoes a strange transformation.  One of their number (who is definitely not a gentleman) makes it his business to join the birthday revels.

Evening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens:  Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking.

You know that moment when you go home for the first time after you left.  You may have been away at college for the semester and this is the first opportunity you've had to get back home.  You just know that your mom is going to make your favorite dinner your first night back.  She even told you she was going to do it.  Then you sit down and instead of having her lasagna, it's potato dumplings.  You love them both, but you had been looking forward to the lasagna the entire trip home.  You really can't say your disappointed, but you had to readjust your thinking in about 10 seconds.  That feeling, is the exact same way I felt about this book.

For some reason, after reading the synopsis for the first time, I was expecting something more akin to a mystery novel.  What I got instead is something I can't for the life of me really explain in a way that makes sense to me, let alone anyone else.  I can't say it's a mystery, though there may be slight elements involved.  I think it's more of a cross between a comedy of errors, societal satire, family drama, and urban fantasy (if urban fantasy was regularly set in 1912 England.)  It's this strange, metaphysical dream like book that I absolutely adored.

I really don't think there is one aspect of The Uninvited Guests that I didn't love.  From the characters to the setting, I fell in love within the first 6 pages.  Then Sadie Jones' brilliance as a writer kept that streak of love going until the last page was turned.  She was able to bring to life the complicated, messy night this family is going to have to face.  By the end of the night, they will be different.  They will have faced a past full of secrets and deceptions.  They will have survived a complete transformation of what is socially acceptable.  They will have weathered a vengeful visitor, ravenous hordes, horse manure, and by the end will rediscover what makes them a family.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other opinions.

The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Years ago, they were all the best of friends.  But as time passed and circumstances changed, they grew apart, became adults with families of their own, and began to forget about the past - and terrible lie they all shared.  But now Gordon ("Go-Go"), the youngest and wildest of the five, has died unexpectedly and the other four have come together for the first time in years.  Suddenly each of these old friends has to wonder if the dark secret they've shared for so long is the reason for their troubles today... and if someone within the circle is trying to destroy them all.

Monday, April 1st, 2012 and Friday, September 18th, 2009 will always be connected in my brain.  Believe me, it's not a good connection.  One of the most agonizing things to have happen as a book blogger is to agree to a review and then not be able to finish a book.

I've had books that I really didn't connect with, but still be able to find something about it to get me to keep reading.  I've even had one book that I hated more than anything else in my life, but the anger I had towards it compelled me to finish it.  It's a horrible feeling to have a book that you expected to like, agree to review, and then have this kind of experience with it.  Part of me feels like I'm letting someone down, but I guess the show must go on.

I guess in hindsight I should have know better.  Back in September of 2010 I reviewed another Lippman book and pretty much had the same reaction to it.  I just wish I would have refreshed my memory by reading that review first.  I had the same problem with both books.  I think the writing is technically flawless, the story lines are interesting, and the characters are supposed to be dynamic.  With all that I still can't, for whatever reason, connect with anything that I'm reading.  It's as if the character sketches and plot points were plugged into a computer and pages of a meticulously written story were spit out.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for me, there is no emotional connection behind anything I'm reading.  It's just a little too cold and sterile for me.

I tried to force myself to feel something, anything that would keep me reading.  I just wanted some little crumble of emotion to grab onto.  I kept trying and trying, then I had to face the truth.  For whatever reason, Laura Lippman's writing is just not for me.  I can't force myself to like something, so I gave up on page 122. I feel bad for it, but my brain and eyes feel just a bit better.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page for other reviews.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Kamila Sadiqi's life changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.  After her father and brother were forced to flee, she became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings.  Banned from school, confined to her home, and armed only with determination, she picked up a needle and thread to create a thriving business that saved their lives.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban.  A story of war, it is also a story of family, faith, and resilience in the face of despair.  These women are not victims - they are the glue that hold families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation.  Kamila Sadiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time. 


For those of you who have been reading the blog for a while, it will come as no surprise that I'm a huge fan of NPR.  I listen to it in my car and at work, when I can get away with it.  One of my favorite programs is The Diane Rehm show as she is one of those interviewers who can talk with her guests about any issue.  Politics, war, literature, music, health care, and I would say the kitchen sink, but that may be a bit redundant.   There is nothing she does not discuss on her show.  So needless to say I'm always intrigued when she is interviewing an author about a new book.  I'm constantly writing titles down that I plan on rushing to the bookstore and purchasing as soon as possible.  Well needless to say, I have a rather long list of books that are still not bought.  Thanks to blogging though, I have had the opportunity to not only read, but review, a few of those books on that list.  The Dressmaker of Khair Khana is one of those books.  I heard the interview on March 17th, 2011, and about a year later I was given the opportunity to read it for myself.  I would encourage everyone to click on the link above in order to listen to the interview as well.

I can only imagine what it would be like to have your entire life and country turned upon it's head.  To have your life, which was on one track, be completely altered by things totally out of your control.  Kamila Sadiqi is one of those individuals who not only managed to adapt to a country and it's rulers that wanted her behind closed doors, but she thrived.  When she is told that her education is over, that her career path is no longer valid for a woman in Afghanistan, she is left floundering for a bit.  It doesn't take long before she decides that she needs to do something for her family and eventually her community.

She faces the risks, which included beating, imprisonment, and even death, and starts her own dressmaking business.  From what starts as a her and her sisters sewing dresses to sell to some trusted local merchants, turns into a business that employees and teaches hundreds of women.  She felt a true calling to teach other women to fend for themselves in order to take care of their families.  Kamila is one of those people who manage to inspire me just by being who they are.  She weighed the odds, and in the end decided the risk was worth the danger.

As I was reading the book, I felt as if Kamila was telling the story.  The author does such a wonderful job of pulling her reader into the life of Kamila and her sisters, that despite the first person narrative that she opens the book with, the author was able to convey a sense of such intimacy.  It was a pure pleasure to read, and at only about 243 pages, it was a quick read as well.  I read it every chance I could, and would put other things aside just to pick the book up again.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews of the book.

A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois (Plus Giveaway)

Synopsis From Back Cover:

In St. Petersburg, Russia, world chess champion Aleksandr Bezetov being a quixotic quest: launching a dissident presidential campaign against Vladimir Putin.  He knows he will not win, but a deeper conviction propels him forward.  And in the same way that he cannot abandon his aims, he cannot erase the memory of a mysterious woman he loved in his youth.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, thirty-year-old English lecturer Irina Ellison is on a improbable quest of her own.  Certain she has inherited Huntington's disease - the same cruel illness that ended her father's life - she struggles to find a sense of purpose.  Then Irina finds an old, photocopied letter her father had written to the young Aleksandr Bezetov, in which has asked the Soviet chess prodigy a profound question:  How does one proceed in a lost cause?  Since he had never received an adequate reply, Irina travels to Russia to find Bezetov and get an answer for her father, and for herself.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that is both beautifully written and depressing enough that I didn't want to finish it.  I found myself getting lost in the narrative voice of both Aleksandr and Irina.  Now normally when I say that, it's a good thing.  It would normally mean that the voice being used was so compelling that I became enraptured int he book and could no longer pay attention to anything else going on around me.  This time, it's a different story.  Both characters are so wounded psychologically that I really did want to get lost.  As in, put the book down and pretend it wasn't there.  I wanted to go out into the world of sunshine, kittens, and My Little Pony.  Needless to say I'm not a huge fan of any of those things, so for me to want to seek those things out is a little strange.

Irina was forced to watch her father die twice.  The first death was of his brain, which for both of them, is the most important aspect of living.  Once the mental abilities were gone, Irina observed the slow death of his body.  Now that she is facing the same disease, she kills herself first.  I'm not saying her character is a ghost, because she is still alive, but she isn't living life.  She has already given up, but she forces herself to believe she is doing the "right" thing.  She doesn't want to see pity from others nor does she feel she can really connect with someone else in anyway that is both true and real.  She has chosen to take the false stoic approach, which in my opinion means she's dead in everything but having her body in the ground.

Aleksandr on the other hand has been living in a limbo of his own.  He is in a loveless marriage that is more about habit than anything else.  He hasn't really ever let go of the prostitute he fell in love with as a young man or of his guilty in giving into the party system when he was playing chess.  He is living because of his guilt and anger, trying to correct things that really can never be corrected.  He is a shadow of his past and it's not until the end of the book that he really starts to live in the world again.

Both Irina and Aleksandr are compelling characters that I would have loved exploring on separate terms.  When the two of them were put together, it was just a bit much for me to deal with.  There was just too much life wasting away, not being fully lived.  It was a disheartening, depressing, and not something I could really enjoy at this point in time.  Now with that being said, I do know and can say with absolute conviciton, that one day I will pick this book up again, and I will love it.  I will be in the right frame of mind and be able to really connect with the characters without allowing their sadness to overwhelm me.

I would like to thank Lisa of TLC Book Tours of the opportunity to read and review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews (most of which raved about the book.)

Now onto the giveaway.  All you need to do is leave a comment (that actually touches on the review) with your email address.  The giveaway will run for two weeks, ending at 11:59 PM on 4/18.  The winner will be selected by random draw and will be contacted by email.  The winner will have 48 hours to email back with their mailing information or a new winner will be drawn.  The giveaway is for US residents only.

Elegy For Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Synopsis From Back Cove:r:

Early April, 1933.  To the costermongers of Covent Garden - peddlers selling fruits and vegetables on the streets of London - Eddie Pettit was kindness itself.  A little "slow," he was a gentle soul, more boy than man, with a gift for calming the most challenging horse.  His recent death in a violent accident has shocked his friends and neighbors.  They believe Eddie was the victim of foul play, but the police won't investigate.  Their only hope of finding the truth is Maisie Dobbs.

Maisie has known these men from childhood, when her father, Frankie, worked alongside them.  Determined to do right by Eddie, she plunges into the investigation.  They search for answers begins amid the working-class streets of Lambeth, where Eddie lived.  But before long, Maisie is following threads of intrigue to a powerful press baron, a "has-been" politician lingering in the hinterlands of power named Winston Churchill, and to the doorstep of a writer who is also the husband of her dearest friend, Priscilla.

In a series that is 9 books long so far, it's to be expected that at least one of them will in some way not be what you where wanting it to be.  Now granted this is only the 5th one that I've read so far, but I think it's safe to say that I finally reached that point with Elegy for Eddie.

I wish I could sit here and give you a point by point, detailed reason on why I was not able to connect with this one as much as the previous books, but I'm not sure I can.  On one hand, I found the mystery to be compelling.  I wanted to know why Eddie had to die and see those behind the killing punished for their crimes.  Sadly, both the reason for his death and the identity of his killer make both those things a bit harder to accomplish.  I understand why the author went this route with the book, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it.  The mystery itself was used more as a vehicle to tell a story that is more about the lead up to World War II than anything else.  Most of the action and characters revolve around the idea that Adolf Hitler is not the good guy some want him to believe.  They are concerned about a second great war that hasn't even been announced yet.  I found all of this fascinating, but wish the mystery wouldn't have had to be a third victim to the plot.

I think the other issue I had was in the character of Maisie herself, and this is where skipping some of the middle books may be kicking me in the ass (though I read the two books that precede this one.)  I found her to be a little too angst filled this time around.  She just can't seem to make up her mind or be happy with anything that is going on with her personally.  She is unsure of her romantic relationship, doesn't know what to do about her father, and is having a hard time dealing with the fact that she now has a lot of money.  Too much of the story was taken up with how Maisie seemed to be feeling sorry for herself, stuck in a malaise, and just a tad bit too whiny.  Now I know that a lot of the issues have to do with her experience in the Great War, the death of her mentor and improved fortune that resulted from that, and the fear that her country is going to be pulled into another war.  This book is all about transitions in that regard.  I just wish it wouldn't have been so painful to read.

Now I'm not saying this is a bad book or even an okay book, because it's better than that.  The writing is as great as it has been throughout the series, the story lines are intriguing  and never bore, and the supporting characters keep the pace moving at a brisk pace.  I guess what I'm saying is that in every series there are going to be books that don't make me coo with pleasure the entire time I'm reading them.  That's not a bad or good thing, it's just the way things are.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the wonderful opportunity to read and review these books.  Please visit the tour page to read reviews of this book and the rest of the books in the series since the entire month of March is being devoted to them.