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Brenda Troisi has commented on (2) products.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

Brenda Troisi, January 1, 2012

Fabulous read. Using his old, English vicarage as the jumping off point, Bryson walks the reader through fascinating historical details about all sorts of things such as toilets, the crystal palace, and daily diets in Victorian era (servants couldn't be forced to eat lobster more than once a week!). He sets the stage describing the era the house was built, it's setting, and the then (enviable) situation of English vicars (salaried for life with no real responsibilities). Then each room provides an opportunity to riff on related information. Bryson imparts it all in a very readable fashion, illuminating connections between so many of the seemingly disparate topics.
Was a great book-on-tape for the car. It appealed to both us baby-boomers, our late teen children, and my parents. 10 months later I'm giving it for Xmas gifts.

Great choice!

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Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Brenda Troisi, September 20, 2011

Set in India. Based somewhat on the author’s life experience which caused one had to wonder how much was real (at least he labeled it fiction, unlike other authors...). The characters were very vivid (yes, I cried when [name elided to protect the reader] died…) The Afghan/Soviet war interlude seemed a bit forced. At 900 pages it was a bit longer than necessary mostly due to some long philosophical excursions. But it was compelling enough to keep me reading to the end. Good summer read.

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