this book is an example of what is wrong with publishing: the trend to write books by committee. there's some sort of checklist of identities, ethnicities, and social justice issues where the author keeps adding superfluous details until they've accrued enough checkmarks. at it's heart, this is a story of 4 siblings who are told the date of their deaths and how they react to this news. as one life comes to an end, the story moves - baton like - to the next sibling. and once you add all those required identities/ethnicities/issues, it makes for a wide but shallow story. many details of their past are brought up when it is convenient to explain a sibling's present behavior. And I think a better constructed novel would place those incidents in the correct chronology. The mother, watching death after death of her adult children, doesn't even merit a chapter? mind-boggling! …
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when a book is really bad, I get through it knowing I'm going to enjoy the trashing
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2% complete! crabbygirl has read 1 of 39 books.
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crabbygirl reviewed The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
seems written by committee
2 stars
this book is an example of what is wrong with publishing: the trend to write books by committee. there's some sort of checklist of identities, ethnicities, and social justice issues where the author keeps adding superfluous details until they've accrued enough checkmarks. at it's heart, this is a story of 4 siblings who are told the date of their deaths and how they react to this news. as one life comes to an end, the story moves - baton like - to the next sibling. and once you add all those required identities/ethnicities/issues, it makes for a wide but shallow story. many details of their past are brought up when it is convenient to explain a sibling's present behavior. And I think a better constructed novel would place those incidents in the correct chronology. The mother, watching death after death of her adult children, doesn't even merit a chapter? mind-boggling!
the characters all have the same voice (and entirely too modern for the time period) and because we don't spend any deep time with them, the reader doesn't connect with them. for a book explicitly about their deaths, it doesn't pack the emotional punch I'm sure the author wanted. lastly, I'm incredibly frustrated that (spoiler) Klara commits suicide and NONE of the family members really reflect on that or the fact that she left behind a one-year-old baby. Or how about Daniel (spoiler) becoming a murderer? Varya and her mother never address it except in the lightest, dismissive, sense.
crabbygirl set a goal to read 39 books in 2023
crabbygirl reviewed The Grandmothers by Doris Lessing
Review of 'The Grandmothers' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
my first doris lessing. after watching 'Adore' on screen and learning it was based on a Lessing short story/novella, i just had to read it! the plot of the story is just about the same as the novel, but - in print - the story is one moment, framed by the envy of a waitress that has seen this family come and go and has always wished to be a part of them. a great point of view as the scene deteriorates when the newly-learned truth is shared with both the other wife, and the grandmothers. a fine pivot point that lets the whole of the story be told without immediate judgement and distain because, afterall, it is already done and the punishment delivered.
the book also contains 3 other stories and i really enjoyed the sci-fi type one as well as the one titled: Victoria and the Staveneys. the …
my first doris lessing. after watching 'Adore' on screen and learning it was based on a Lessing short story/novella, i just had to read it! the plot of the story is just about the same as the novel, but - in print - the story is one moment, framed by the envy of a waitress that has seen this family come and go and has always wished to be a part of them. a great point of view as the scene deteriorates when the newly-learned truth is shared with both the other wife, and the grandmothers. a fine pivot point that lets the whole of the story be told without immediate judgement and distain because, afterall, it is already done and the punishment delivered.
the book also contains 3 other stories and i really enjoyed the sci-fi type one as well as the one titled: Victoria and the Staveneys. the author moves the point of view from one character to another and keeps it there - changing the point of the story and keeping you off balance. Lessing write a long, rich description of the sea journey during the war in 'A Love Child' but other parts of the story were sterile in comparison.
Review of 'Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
this is a book that future dd should have written. well, except for the depression parts. actually the depression parts were so bleak and so convincing that I changed my mind about showing this book to her (even though it is a great example of writing in your own voice, and drawing in your own style) - I truly fear that being exposed to the topic (the way she writes/draws it) might permanently skew her to that mindset. so yes - very powerful stuff!
it's too bad I won't show it to dd because this woman is also brutally honest about the tricks and lies we tell ourselves to cover up our bullsh*t. my only problem? she basically ends her self discovery by just admitting to herself that she's a crappier person than she'd like to be. I'd have preferred an attempt to really change; saying 'it is what it …
this is a book that future dd should have written. well, except for the depression parts. actually the depression parts were so bleak and so convincing that I changed my mind about showing this book to her (even though it is a great example of writing in your own voice, and drawing in your own style) - I truly fear that being exposed to the topic (the way she writes/draws it) might permanently skew her to that mindset. so yes - very powerful stuff!
it's too bad I won't show it to dd because this woman is also brutally honest about the tricks and lies we tell ourselves to cover up our bullsh*t. my only problem? she basically ends her self discovery by just admitting to herself that she's a crappier person than she'd like to be. I'd have preferred an attempt to really change; saying 'it is what it is' might make you feel better because you don't need to apologize for being less than perfect, but it also means you aren't sorry whenever you let someone down, and I prefer some hope in my endings.
crabbygirl reviewed The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Review of 'The Invention of Wings' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
a book that mixes the struggle for freedom from slavery with the a young feminist movement. i liked the earlier parts better - the description of life in the south - and i liked the alternating narrators (one black, one white) but i never got a sense of the purpose of the book. to equate the women's movement with slavery is an insult to the barbarism of slavery, and i can't help but notice the author is white and i'm a little sick of white authors inserting themselves (and their great white hope characters) into essentially black stories/narratives. i'm sort of surprised that Oprah would put it on her bookclub list...
crabbygirl reviewed Wherever you go, there you are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Review of 'Wherever you go, there you are' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
still kicking around after 10 years of being published, this book was supposed to be a bible of sorts for meditation. too bad I'm not ready to actually start meditating yet. this book is really meant to be an aid as you start up your practice and contains lots of imagery (which I sort of hated) to help in the meditation process. I found him too goofy at times, too medical at others. and certain phrases he loves to use trigger me to think blah-blah-blah.
Review of 'Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis #1-2)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
i must admit i know very litle about this time in Iran, when the people forced out the shah and then the supposed 'new' republic got hijacked by the Islamic fundamentalists. each chapter acts as both a history lesson and a childhood memoir. i know it was turned into an animated film, an i'm curious to see it.
crabbygirl reviewed Anne Frank by Sidney Jacobson
Review of 'Anne Frank' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
this was a good primer for someone who is going to read anne frank: diary of a young girl. it spans her entire life and so it covers alot of the political background of the time (even things that anne herself doesn't comment on in her diary). there are lots of asides that are labelled 'snapshots' and they do a good job of expaining world events or political movements in the context of her life. all in all, a great book that will emphasize - once again - that anne frank was not only a real person, but also a real talent that was lost when nazism spread across europe.
crabbygirl reviewed Life Itself by Roger Ebert
Review of 'Life Itself' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
i love this man. his humility and humanity are beautifully captured in this meandering memoir of a regular man who happened to find himself in and/or beside the spotlight of fame.
he starts the book with a summary and it's tone continues throughout the book - he's never mean, resentful or cynical. he freely admits it was a series of happy accidents that led him to his career in journalism, his launch as a movie critic (in print and on tv), and his success as a blogger. with his cancer and loss of lower jaw after 3 painful and unsuccessful attempts at reconstruction, he could easily be a miserable so-and-so. but no, he is grateful for his life and the flood of memories that this new silence has brought.
crabbygirl reviewed Blackout by Robison E. Wells
Review of 'Blackout' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
really exciting for the first two-thirds: teens with a wide range of super powers (some useful, some not - think the sidekicks at 'skyhigh' - i mean, the ability to kill plant life or blow hot breath is not exactly 'A' material)
i always enjoy the theme of teens as alien/other - capturing the awkwardness and isolation of high school culture. now a virus has broken out that infects only teens (giving them their powers) and the army quarantines them all. but is the army planning on neutralizing them, or using their powers to fight the war of terrorism? this is what really drives the momentum of the book. once it becomes clear who's the bad guy - it's a boring race to the inevitable finish line.
crabbygirl reviewed The fire-eaters by David Almond
Review of 'The fire-eaters' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
what a fine writer this david almond is. he wrote My Name is Mina, and so when this book came up during our history studies, i just had to read it alongside ds.
set during the heavy apprehension of the Cuban missile crisis, the story has fear hit home (his father may be seriously ill) and school (nasty teachers enforcing corporal punishment quickly and randomly). it's a well drafted theme that deserves a wider audience than junior fiction. which is pretty much how i felt about 'My Name is Mina - this author is too good to be missing from the young adult section.
crabbygirl reviewed The beauty of humanity movement by Camilla Gibb
Review of 'The beauty of humanity movement' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
yes, i guess she had to put 'a novel' otherwise this would look like a buddhist or self help tome. as such, the title was displeasing to me and i put off reading the book for as long as i could before bookclub.
with such a biais to start, i easily found myself not liking it. it was as if the author ate a delicious bowl of pho, became interested in making it at home, learned more and more about vietnamese cuisine, and eventually visited the country as a foodie tourist... the vietnam war and subsequent persecution under the communist regime was fortuitous plot extender.
beyond the idea of being so focused on your own misery, you become blind to the equal misfortunes of your fellow man - i didn't see any solid theme. like i said, it read more like a travel/cuisine guide. (and it irritated me that money …
yes, i guess she had to put 'a novel' otherwise this would look like a buddhist or self help tome. as such, the title was displeasing to me and i put off reading the book for as long as i could before bookclub.
with such a biais to start, i easily found myself not liking it. it was as if the author ate a delicious bowl of pho, became interested in making it at home, learned more and more about vietnamese cuisine, and eventually visited the country as a foodie tourist... the vietnam war and subsequent persecution under the communist regime was fortuitous plot extender.
beyond the idea of being so focused on your own misery, you become blind to the equal misfortunes of your fellow man - i didn't see any solid theme. like i said, it read more like a travel/cuisine guide. (and it irritated me that money was rarely spoken of. you can SAY you need beef and all these spices to make the pho, but where does the initial cash investment come from? when hung has his pots stolen, how does he procure another one? if they are so badly in need of money that lan sells hung's papers, how did she feed herself when hung turned his back on her?)
yup, i didn't like this one bit.
crabbygirl reviewed The fear by Peter Godwin
Review of 'The fear' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
this is a horrible book - the content, i mean - not the style or the writing...
i've read the author's other 2 memoirs of Zimbabwe and loved them. same thing this time, 2 or 3 pages in, and i immediately recognized how much i like reading his prose. although the material should be daunting and i should feel reluctant to immerse myself in all this true violence, i continually looked forward to the next time i could pick up the book.
of course, i feel angry about the content. i feel ashamed that this all went on while i lived my little life in 2009, only vaguely hearing the news reports. i feel disheartened over the ease in which some people embody evil.
Review of 'The Ultimate TFSA Guide: Strategies For Building A Tax-free Fortune' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
this topic did not deserve a full book. it could have easily been covered in a pamplet. the author gives a speil about how the conservatives came around to introducing the TFSA and how few canadians are properly taking advantage of it. but then he does his own comparision of this product vs RESPs for education savings and finds RESPs yield a higher rate. same thing when he does a comparison with saving for house using RRSPs - RRSPs are better. and RRSPs are better if you'll be in a lower tax bracket in the future, when you take out the cash. so really, didn't he just explain WHY so many people are not using TFSAs yet? they are choosing superior paths dependant upon their goal.
oh, and the author continually uses 4 or 5% as the annual growth of a TFSA - ha! more like 1-2%