= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Archive for November, 2008
« Previous Entries Sunday, November 30th, 2008Bookworms Carnival: Memoirs
Don’t miss the Bookworms Carnival on Memoirs over at Sheri’s blog Bookopolis. There are a bunch of links to some fabulous reviews of memoirs, as well as links to posts about the memoir as a genre.
The next Bookworms Carnival editions:
Edition 19 hosted by:Jackie at Literary Escapism
Deadline for submission: December 12, 2008
Theme: historical fiction
To submit a post, email: myjaxon at gmail dot com
Edition 20 hosted by: Marcia
Deadline for submission: December 26, 2008
Theme: Guilty Pleasures
To submit a post, email: woodbear97 at yahoo dot com
Nefertiti - Book Review
She was threatening and powerful and stunning. She looked at herself in the mirror as Thutmose came up behind her. He raised the flat-topped crown so all of us could see it, then fit the burden tightly around Nefertiti’s head. No one else could have worn it. It had been designed for her, tall and slender with an asp ready to spit poison into her enemies’ eyes. Nefertiti turned around, and if I had been a peasant in the fields, I would have thought I was staring into the face of a goddess. -From Nefertiti, page 206-
Michelle Moran’s debut novel Nefertiti is a sprawling historical fiction set in ancient Egypt. Nefertiti, the beautiful daughter of the Queen’s brother, is wed at age 15 to the Pharaoh’s son Amunhotep (who later renames himself Akhenaten). Nefertiti, chosen to temper the rash judgment of Amunhotep, must win the future Pharaoh’s heart to keep her place as Queen. Amunhotep becomes Pharaoh of all Egypt when his father dies under suspicious circumstances. When he turns his back on the trusted God Amun to worship Aten - the God of the Sun - and erects a new city in Aten’s honor, Nefertiti finds herself embroiled in the political dangers of the Court.
Narrated by Nefertiti’s younger sister, Mutnodjmet, the novel is full of vivid imagery and reveals the greed, power and wealth which surrounded the royalty of ancient Egypt. Nefertiti’s reign as First Wife and Queen, and later her ascendancy to Pharaoh-Queen is told in splendid detail.
I parted the curtains, and on every new temple and shrine was Nefertiti’s image: on the doors, across the walls, from the faces of crouching sphinxes. She was etched into every public space, her face engraved where the faces of Isis and Hathor should have been. And from the massive columns supporting the palace, in place of Amun peered the profile of Akhenaten. When the litter bearers put us down beyond the fortified gates, Nakhtmin stared up at the pylons, then looked out over the city. “They have made themselves into gods.” -From Nefertiti, page 373-
But it is perhaps the lesser story of her sister Mutnodjmet (Mutny) which enchants the reader the most. Mutny is loyal to her family, serves as doting servant to her sister, adores her vast and beautiful gardens, and is skilled in healing. Her romance with General Nakhtmin - a man with whom the new Pharaoh disapproves - forces her to re-examine her loyalties. It is through Mutny’s eyes that the reader grows to understand the sacrifice her sister makes to hold the ultimate power in Egypt.
No Pharaoh had ever granted the crook and flail to a woman. But when Nefertiti stood before the crowds to bless the, they pressed against each other and stood on stools simply to catch a glimpse of her face. -from Nefertiti, page 398-
Moran’s novel is a page turner, impeccably researched and satisfying. Nefertiti is full of intrigue, romance, and history. Readers who want to experience life in Egypt from 1351 BCE through 1335 BCE will not want to miss this book.
Recommended.
Sunday Salon - November , 2008
November 29, 2008
I hope that all my U.S. readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday wherever you found yourselves. I am looking forward to a relaxing Sunday here in Northern California and I have the perfect book to read: Nefertiti, by Michelle Moran. I have been reading this book for a few days now, and am very close to finishing it. Set in ancient Egypt, the novel is about Queen Nefertiti - the 15 year old who rose to power by the side of the Pharaoh Akhenaten.
She was threatening and powerful and stunning. She looked at herself in the mirror as Thutmose came up behind her. He raised the flat-topped crown so all of us could see it, then fit the burden tightly around Nefertiti’s head. No one else could have worn it. It had been designed for her, tall and slender with an asp ready to spit poison into her enemies’ eyes. Nefertiti turned around, and if I had been a peasant in the fields, I would have thought I was staring into the face of a goddess. -From Nefertiti, page 206-
The book is narrated by her younger sister Mutnodjmet. Its rich dipiction of royal life in ancient Egypt is fabulous. I should have a review up in the next day or so…and then I will be starting Moran’s sequel The Heretic Queen. Michelle Moran was kind enough to send me both books to read and review on my site - and I hope to be offering a holiday giveaway of them by next weekend.
With Christmas just around the corner, I have been seeing a lot of Holiday Gift Guides for books. A couple of weeks ago Dewey asked the Weekly Geeks to develop their own lists. I intend to still do that, but in the meantime, why not check out the New York Times “Books That Tower Above the Rest” and my favorite book podcast - Books on the Nightstand Books Recommended. Do you have some favorites you’re buying for people this year?
My wishes for all of you are for an enjoyable week filled to the brim with great books! Have a terrific day!
Thursday, November 27th, 2008Notable Books Challenge - 2009
**Button compliments of TypoGenerator
Perpetual Challenge
The Notable Books Challenge is now a perpetual challenge to read notable books from such lists as Publishers Weekly Best Books, New York Times Most Notable, and others.
There are a number of books I would like to read from these lists and in 2009, I hope to get to some of them. Here are the ones that I either have on my TBR stacks already, or ones I want to buy:
- Zoli, by Colum McCann (from Christian Science Monitor Bests - 2007)
- Heyday, by Kurt Anderson (from Christian Science Monitor Bests - 2007)
- There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene (from ALA Most Notable - 2007)
- Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson (from 2008 ALA Most Notable and NBCC Best Books- 2007 and NYT Most Notable-2007)
- The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer (from 2007 Christian Science Monitor Best Books AND NYT Most Notable-2007)
- The Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich (from 2008 PW Best Books)
- The Likeness, by Tana French (from 2008 PW Best Books)
- Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh (from 2008 PW Best Books)
- Day, by A.L. Kennedy (from 2008 PW Best Books)
- Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri (from 2008 PW Best Books and 2008 NYT Most Notable)
- The Boat, by Nam Le (from 2008 PW Best Books and 2008 NYT Most Notable)
- Away, by Amy Bloom (from 2008 ALA Notable Books)
- Five Skies, by Ron Carlson (from 2008 ALA Notable Books)
- Matrimony, by Joshua Henkin (from 2007 NYT Most Notable)
- What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman (from 2007 PW Best Books)
- The Whistling Season, by Ivan Doig (from 2007 ALA Notable Books)
- The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti (2008 NYT Most Notable)
- The Road Home, by Rose Tremain (2008 NYT Most Notable)
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007 NYT Most Notable)
In 2009 I hope to read 6 books from this list…
Thursday, November 27th, 2008Booking Through Thursday - Being Thankful
Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S.
Now, you may have noticed that the global economy isn’t exactly doing well. There’s war. Starvation. All sorts of bad, scary things going on.
So–just for today–how about sharing 7 things that you’re thankful for?
This can be about books, sure–authors you appreciate, books you love, an ode to your public library–but also, how about other things, too? Because in times like these, with bills piling up and disaster seemingly lurking around every corner, it’s more important than ever to stop and take stock of the things we’re grateful for. Family. Friends. Good health (I hope). Coffee and tea. Turkey. Sunshine. Wagging tails. Curling up with a good book.
So, how about it? Spread a little positive thinking and tell the world what there is to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. Readers - I am very thankful to ALL my readers who visit Caribousmom and share their thoughts and read my posts. I have met some of the most wonderful people through the book blogging community: readers, writers, publishers and publicists, and everyone in between.
I am also thankful for:
My husband Kip who is always there for me; who shares laughter and tears, challenges and triumphs and encourages me to follow my dreams.
My extended family - my Nana, my parents, my Grandpa, and my sisters and their families - who share my history and memories and love me despite knowing everything about me!
The animals that fill my life - my two dogs and two cats, the horses of Triple Creek Ranch, the strays that show up from time to time depending on me to find them a home, my friends’ pets, and the animals that have passed through this life at my side. I am always reminded of how simple life can be when I connect with an animal.
My patients - people who wake up each day facing physical challenges I can only imagine. Their hard work and focus on what is possible vs. what limits them reminds me to emphasize the positive and not let the little things get me down.
Our home - in this time of economic uncertainty where people are losing their jobs and their homes, I am incredibly grateful for our little home in the mountains and the security of our jobs.
My friends - those who live close by and those from far away. There are so many special people in my life who have blessed me with their humor, strength, insight and caring.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008The Robber Bride - Book Review
It’s a bright clear day, unseasonably warm. It’s a Tuesday. The Soviet bloc is crumbling, the old maps are dissolving, the Eastern tribes are on the move again across the shifting borders. There’s trouble in the Gulf, the real estate market is crashing, and a large hole has developed in the ozone layer. The sun moves into Scorpio, Tony has lunch at the Toxique with her two friends Roz and Charis, a slight breeze blows in over Lake Ontario, and Zenia returns from the dead. -from The Robber Bride, page 4-
Margaret Atwood’s writing is at its finest in The Robber Bride - a novel about three middle-aged women friends who first meet as college students. Their friendship is strengthened through encounters with Zenia, a cunning and beautiful woman with a penchant for enchanting men and wreaking havoc on their lives and the lives of their significant others. The story opens in the Toxique (conjuring up the words toxic, intoxicating, and toxin), an unusual restaurant in Toronto where Charis, Tony, and Roz are meeting for lunch. It is many years after their college experiences and a few years past Zenia’s funeral…although Zenia is always there in spirit - in the atmosphere and their unspoken words, and lurking in their shared history. So, when the physical, living Zenia (more beautiful then ever and with enhanced breasts and skin) walks into the Toxique, no one is entirely surprised.
Atwood spins her tale from the present, back to the past, and returns to the present - revealing the rich and complex inner lives of her characters and weaving together a story about truth, lies, and the paradox of good and evil existing at the same time and within a single person. A major theme of the novel is the idea of duality. Atwood writes about Tony:
She looks like a very young old person, or a very old young person; but then, she’s looked that way ever since she was two. -from The Robber Bride, page 19-
Tony Fremont is obsessed with history - specifically with war - and views the world both forwards and backwards. Abandoned by her mother, and somewhat of a loner throughout her childhood and into her young adult years, Tony creates an alter ego: Tonmerf Ynot (her name backwards) who is powerful and courageous.
She is not just Tony Fremont, she is also Tnomerf Ynot, queen of the barbarians, and, in theory, capable of much that Tony herself is not quite up to. -From The Robber Bride, page 447-
Charis believes in spirits and possesses the gift to heal and see into the future. But as a child named Karen, Charis was filled with rage fueled by an abusive upbringing. These dual parts of her personality create conflict for Charis, but also define who she has become.
Roz, a wealthy business woman, is both Catholic and Jewish - two conflicting religions she is unable to reconcile. Her twin daughters are a physical embodiment of the duality in Roz’s life .
And finally there is Zenia - a woman whose past is elusive. She is outwardly beautiful and charming, adept at uncovering exactly what everyone needs. But what lies beneath her exterior charm is a woman of contradictions and mystery. Zenia is almost a mystical creature, one to be admired and feared.
Tony was the first one of them to befriend Zenia; or rather, Tony was the first one to let her in, because people like Zenia can never step through your doorway, can never enter and entangle themselves in your life, unless you invite them. -from The Robber Bride, page 127-
The story of Zenia is insubstantial, ownerless, a rumour only, drifting from mouth to mouth and changing as it goes. As with any magician, you saw what she wanted you to see; or else you saw what you yourself wanted to see. She did it with mirrors. The mirror was whoever was watching, but there was nothing behind the two-dimensional image but a thin layer of mercury. -from The Robber Bride, page 509-
Atwood weaves the lives of these woman together brilliantly. The concept of history is a major theme - both the history of these woman, as well as the history of the world. History is a combination of facts and interpretations; of good and evil; of truth and lies.
We can’t really run it backwards and end up at a clean start. Too many of the pieces have gone missing; also we know too much, we know the outcome. Historians are the quintessential voyeurs, noses pressed to Time’s glass window. They can never actually be there on the battlefield, they can never join in those moments of supreme exaltation, or of supreme grief either. Their re-creations are at the best just patchy waxworks. -from The Robber Bride, page 121-
Atwood’s language in this book is rich and gorgeously constructed, baring the souls of her characters while weaving a compelling mystery. Disturbing and dark at times, The Robber Bride evokes what is essentially human about all of us, including those emotions we are most likely to conceal. When Atwood shows us Zenia’s character, we cannot look away:
Zenia is full of secrets. She laughs, she throws her secrets casually this way and that, her teeth flashing white; she pulls more secrets out of her sleeves and unfurls them from behind her back, she unrolls them like bolts of rare cloth, displaying them, whirling them like gypsy scarves, flourishing them like banners, heaping them one on top of another in a glittering, prodigal tangle. -from The Robber Bride, page 179-
The Robber Bride is the 6th Atwood book I have read - and it is by far my favorite of hers to date. Readers who sink into this amazing book will not soon forget its strong female characters and dark edges.
Highly recommended.
Mailbox Monday - November 24, 2008
The best part of Monday is Mailbox Monday - a weekly event hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. Here are the goodies that showed up in my mailbox this week:
The Lost City of Z, by David Graunn arrived as an Advance Reader’s Edition from Doubleday. This nonfiction adventure book is Grann’s account of the mystery surrounding Percy Fawcett’s disappearance during his quest for the Lost City of Z - an ancient civilization believed to be hidden deep within the Amazon. The book is due for release in February 2009.
After the Floods, by Bruce Henricksen arrived directly from the author. Published earlier this year, the novel begins in post-Katrina New Orleans and moves to a small Minnesota town which has suffered its own devastating flood. Billed as “lyrical, funny, sad, and thoroughly engaging,” it is a novel I am looking forward to reading.
Breathing Out The Ghost, by Kirk Curnutt also arrived from the author via TLC Book Tours (the tour is scheduled for January 2009). First published by River City Publishing in 2007, the novel is a psychological, noir thriller centered around a father’s search for the man he believes is responsible for his son’s disappearance. Stewart O’Nan writes (on the book jacket): “Curnutt knows how loss can curdle and turn into obsession, and how far off-track a man can go searching for what he thinks is justice.”
What came into your house this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page and leave her a comment!
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008Sunday Salon - November 23, 2009
November 23, 2009
(photo by riflegunn at Webshots channel)
Autumn has arrived in the mountains. The air is crisp and chilly and leaves pile up in the yard and gutters. The dogs smell of wind, pine and fresh air when they come inside at night. I love this time of year - it makes me start thinking about thick books of intrigue and atmospheric historical novels…the kinds of books perfect for curling up with in front of the woodstove while the wind blows hard around the eaves. Do you find yourself choosing a specific type of book at certain times of the year?
Since my last Salon post, I find myself still enchanted by Margaret Atwood’s Robber Bride. Her rich prose and stunning characters make this one of her more dark and mysterious books. What a gift Atwood possesses! I’ll be finishing this book sometime in the next day or so (if I did not have to go into work this afternoon, I would certainly be done by this evening). And then I am thinking of picking up Michelle Moran’s novel Nefertiti. I also should read Midnight’s Children, by Salmon Rushdie - but I’m not in the mood for anything too cerebral at the moment.
Speaking of cerebral, many of the prize lists are now appearing for 2008. The National Book Award announced its winner and shortlist. I have not read any of them!
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award panel announced its long list. I’m happy to say I’ve read several from that list (follow links to my reviews) including: The Outlander by Gil Adamson, The Gathering by Anne Enright, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini, On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, and After Dark by Haruki Murakami.
The Costa Award shortlists are also out. I was happy to see both Poppy Adams and Sadie Jones make the First Novel Award shortlist.
On November 11th, the Giller Prize announced Joseph Boyden the 2008 winner for his book Black Spruce.
And finally, the Booker Prize winner was revealed in October: Aravind Adiga for his book The White Tiger.
So, do you follow the prize lists? Do you have any which are your favorites or from which you always read?
Have a wonderful Sunday, readers! Hope this day finds you enthralled by a good book!
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008Walk On, DJ Gregory - A Story to Inspire
This 12 minute plus video is worth watching…for all those days you might wake up and feel overwhelmed by the challenges ahead, or when you wonder if your dreams can ever be achieved. DJ Gregory had a goal and went after it… and his story is truly inspirational.
Make sure to read D.J.’s Blog and see photos about his amazing journey.
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008Friday Finds - November 22, 2008
November 22, 2008
I’m posting this a day late because I was so far behind in my blog reading I had to spend part of yesterday catching up! There are so many good books out there. My ‘finds’ for the week are below (as always, clicking on the book title takes you to Amazon, and clicking on the review blogger’s link takes you to their review of the book):
Just After Sunset, by Stephen King as featured on Both Eyes Book Blog (a new blog I have just discovered and love!). Stephen King is an old favorite of mine. I have read nearly everything he’s written. His short stories are some of my favorites and so when Both Eyes Book Blog wrote: ‘…I want to tell you that Just After Sunset is vintage King‘ I was sold.
Hardly Knew Her, by Laura Lippman as featured on Sam’s wonderful blog Book Chase. I have yet to read a Lippman book, but I keep hearing good things about her work. This book is a collection of short stories and Sam writes: ‘[Hardly Knew Her]…is a fun-to-read collection that remains fairly light all the way through despite the gruesome crimes committed in many of the stories. Its many surprises and twisted endings help make it all go down pretty easy.‘ I’ve added this one to the wish list.
Sky Burial, by Zinran as featured on Michelle’s blog 1 More Chapter. The cover on this book immediately caught my attention, and then Michelle wrote: ‘Wow! What a beautiful sense of place.‘ and I knew I would pick this one up eventually. I love books set in other countries that capture place.
Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh as featured on Mystic Wanderer’s blog What Am I Reading. This one was on my radar because it was shortlisted for the Booker, so I’ve been looking for reviews of it. Mystic Wanderer writes: ‘To read an Amitav Ghosh novel is not merely to get a glimpse of the best of contemporary Indian writing, but also a snapshot of an oft-ignored episode of history.‘ This book is the first in a series and I wasted no time in dropping into my local Barnes and Noble and using a 50% off coupon to buy it.
The Diplomat’s Wife, by Pam Jenoff as featured on Amy’s blog The Sleepy Reader. This is a companion novel to Jenoff’s earlier work The Kommandant’s Girl (which I have not read). Amy writes: ‘…this book takes place mainly after World War II during the turbulent rise of Communism in Eastern Europe.’ It sounds like engaging historical fiction to me, and I love those kinds of novels.
To read Jenn’s Friday Finds for this week (and get links to other blogger’s finds) visit this post.
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