She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
She's Come Undone is my most recent
read. It presents Dolores Price, a very
realistic character, dealing with more than realistic life challenges. I
felt that she was portrayed from a female perspective, which is surprising,
since Wally Lamb is male. He did a great job of creating what could have
been the true story of Dolores, from preadolescence through to early middle
age. All of the characters’ struggles
and pain rang true. As in real life, the
personal growth of the characters was unpredictable and varied. There were some
humorous parts, but on the whole, the story was dark. I have to admit that I skimmed a few of the
darker sections. While the ending wasn’t
a “happily-ever-after” ending, it was a satisfactory resolution that felt real
and complete. I definitely consider She’s
Come Undone a good read.
Ender’s Game
I’m going to begin my review of the entire Ender’s Game series
with a disclaimer. While I loved the
book and the series, I do not share, support or endorse the author’s political
and/or moral views. I am reviewing the
books, not the person. I also have to
mention that I have not seen, nor do I intend to see, the movie.
That being said, I loved the book when I read it in 1999. It was one of the best recommendations that
I’ve gotten from a former student. I
also loved the Audible audio version of the book. My husband and I listened to the series on
vacation and thoroughly enjoyed it. The
multiple narrators did a great job and added to the excitement of the
book. I would definitely recommend Ender’s
Game as a good read and a great listen.
Speaker for the Dead
Having read most of the series in 1999, it was great to revisit again as
an audio series in 2013. As when I
originally read it, I liked Speaker for the Dead even better than Ender’s
Game. In the Audible version, Orson
Scott Card explained that Ender’s Game was originally a novelette, which
he expanded to a book to introduce the characters for the series. It was in Speaker for the Dead that
the story real takes shape. It is
definitely science fiction at it’s best.
The multiple narrators make the Audible version of Speaker for the
Dead a great listen!
Xenocide
Xenocide was my favorite book of the Ender
series, even though it’s definitely long.
The Audible version was twenty hours and fifteen mminutes… but it went
FAST! It was action packed and very
engaging. The various narrators did a
fantastic job and added to the excitement and tension in the story. I didn’t want it to stop and was very happy
that there was a sequel. I loved Xenocide. It was a great read and an AWESOME listen!
Children of the Mind
Children of the Mind was a continuation of Xenocide.
In his introduction, Orson Scott card explained that it was originally going
to be part of Xenocide. However,
he realized that the book was going to be much too long, so he found a stopping
point and broke it into two books. While
Xenocide was long book that read quickly, Children of the Mind
was the opposite. It seemed to never
end. Instead of showing by action and
engagement, the book seemed preachy. The
characters spent a lot of time explaining their philosophical views. The thirteen hour Audible version seemed
twice as long as the twenty hour Xenocide. I would recommend the book if you have read
the entire series. It does tie up some
loose ends. However, it’s not the best
book in the series. It’s an OK read and
listen.
