August 25, 2014

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

By Douglas Adams

Narrated by Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry is wonderful and did an awesome job of narrating this version of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  I would give this 4 stars for his narration alone.  I think Stephen Fry could read the telephone directory and I’d love it.  His reading performance made the Hitchhiker’s Guide alive and exciting.  The story was a bit dated, but still entertaining.  It was fun listening to it in 2014, realizing that much of the science fiction was not reality in 1978, when the original BBC radio series aired.  I was a little let down by the ending, which kind of came out of nowhere.  It might have worked better, and even have been necessary, with the radio series.  I’m interested enough to read more in the series to see where they go with the story. Good book with a great narration… and a very good listen!

China Dolls

By Lisa See

I have read and loved all of Lisa See’s books.  Her books are always well researched, full of history and culture.  China Dolls was not my favorite.  I think this is because of the time period and cultural setting, rather than See’s writing.  It was set during WWII and revolved around San Francisco and the ‘Chop Suey Circuit’, just prior to and during the war.  The book was interesting and everything, including the dialogue, seemed authentic.  For some reason, it just didn’t resonate with me.  I read the entire book and didn’t hate it.  I just wasn’t as engaged as I normally am with Lisa See’s books.  China Dolls was an interesting read, without the same emotional impact as her other books, such as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan or Shanghai Girls. 

Below the Stairs

By Margaret Powell

Narrated by Mary Wells

Below the Stairs is a case of another good book with a very good narrator.  Mary Wells provided a great first person narration of this Audible version of the book.  Below the Stairs is the memoir of Margaret Powell, a kitchen maid and cook in the 1920’s.  Originally published in 1968, Amazon.com claims that this book was the inspiration for ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ and ‘Downton Abbey’.  It definitely conveys what life was like for those living downstairs.  Powell describes her various jobs with wit and good humor.  Having enjoyed both television series, I found Below the Stairs an enjoyable listen… and would likely have felt the same reading the book, too.

August 20, 2014

The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel

By Cristina Henríquez

The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel should be required reading in American schools.  It tells the story of two Latin American families and their neighbors, who have immigrated to the USA and are living in Delaware.  While the book is fiction, it clearly describes the experiences of families coming to the USA without knowing how to speak English.  The challenges for the different family members are told through first person narratives.  As one who is involved with adult literacy programs, I found the stories to be heart wrenching.  The bibliography at the end contains an excellent list of books that explore the Latin American experience in the USA.  The book of Unknown Americans: A Novel is definitely a significant read. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox

By Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl remains one of my favorite children’s authors and Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of his best books.  I just reread it after viewing Wes Anderson’s movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox.  The book is a simpler version of the movie, but I think that the movie was very true to the feel and intent of the book.  All of the characters in the movie seemed very true to the original characters in the book, as did the plot.  I loved the simplicity and the humor when I originally read the book to my own children and with students in school many years ago.  It was like revisiting an old friend as I reread it today.  Definitely a great read!  Highly recommended as a family read aloud for children 5 to 10 years old.

Big Little Lies

By Liane Moriarty

I picked Big Little Lies up as a vacation book, thinking it would be a light read.  It was a quick read, but definitely not light.  I read it in one day and was unable to put it down.  I thought that it would be about school moms, and it was.  The main characters were a variety of stereotypical PTO parents.  The setting was an eccentric community and grammar school in Australia.  The format was unique, introducing a murder mystery through quotes from members of the community, running parallel to the story.  Trigger alert: While at times very funny, Moriarty’s was a very serious look at domestic abuse.  There were some fairly graphic descriptions of domestic violence throughout the book.  I wasn’t expecting that and I think it’s good to know in advance.  With those words of caution, I do recommend Big Little Lies as an engaging and entertaining read with social value. 

August 19, 2014

Daughter of Fortune

By Isabel Allende

Translation by Margaret Sayers Penden

I really enjoyed Daughter of Fortune.  Allende wove a great, romantic story that was rich in descriptive passages.  It had all of the elements that I love in novel:  a strong female protagonist, diverse historical and cultural elements, and a great story.  The setting was during California gold rush and the country of Chile during the mid 1800s.  The plot followed a young woman’s journey to find her lover from Chile to California.  It was an enjoyable and engaging read. 

My only criticism would be the ending.  Without giving away any spoilers, a new, unexpected element was introduced in the last few chapters.  I was somewhat shocked that something that significant would be left to, or brought up in, the last few chapters.  It is also an ending without a clear, definitive resolution.  The reader is left to decide what really happened.  Not a bad ending, but also not entirely satisfying.  I am interested in reading more by Allende. Kudos to the translator Margaret Says Penden.  I would definitely recommend Daughter of Fortune.  It was a good read.

Divergent

By Veronica Roth        

We listened to the Audible version of Divergent on a recent road trip and loved it.  I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t make any comparison.  The novel was clearly a young adult fiction, and had all of the elements that you would expect: resistance to adult authority, peer bonding and teen romance.  The science fiction and dystopia elements made the story engaging, even for adults.  We immediately went on to, and are now listening to the next book, Insurgent. I can see how Divergent could make a good movie.  It was definitely a good listen!  I highly recommend the Audible version.

Insurgent

By Veronica Roth

After raving about Audible versions of Divergent, I cannot say the same about Insurgent.  I’m not sure a teen or preteen would feel the same, but as adults, it was long and tedious.  The immaturity of Tris and the never-ending, chaste, love scenes made it almost annoying for adult listening.  The romantic scenes did nothing but slow the story down.  There were far too many of the exact same scene… over and over again.  Where were the editors?  Did anyone even look at this book before it was published?  The three books in this series could have been trimmed to two and made for better listening/reading.  Not a great listen… and I doubt that reading it would have been any better.

Allegiant

By Veronica Roth

After listening to Insurgent, we were ready to stop listening to the Veronica Roth series.  The reviews for Allegiant were mixed, so we almost didn’t continue.  I’m glad that we decided to finish the series.  From my perspective, Allegiant was better than Insurgent and tied everything together into a satisfactory ending.  The change in format helped.  The narration alternated between Tris and Tobias, which was refreshing, as was the separation of the two characters. 

After listening to all three books in the Divergent series, I have to say that it wasn’t great.  I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of exceptionally good young adult fiction. The Divergent series was average, at best.  All three books could have had better editing.  The passionate, romantic scenes between Tris and Tobias and the word “body” could have almost all been eliminated.  There was a lot of repetition and scenes that added nothing to the development of the story.  There was also too much graphic violence.  The writing lacked depth and maturity.   Maybe they will make great movies.  However, none of the books were a great listen  and I doubt that they would have been a better read.