Customer Comments

Catherine Malcolm has commented on (9) products.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Catherine Malcolm, December 7, 2012

I loved The Night Circus. It is written so fluidly by a new author. Beautiful detailed descriptions of wonders at the circus and at the hands of the 2 main characters make this book one to reread for sheer pleasure.A great underlying sense of suspense and chapters out of chronological order keep the reader wanting more!
A friend with a twinkle in her eye told me that this book magically appeared on her desk at work and I was hooked.

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Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Catherine Malcolm, April 3, 2012

Half Blood Blues is riveting fiction. This edgy book won much critical acclaim including the 2011 Giller Prize.Edugyan deftly weaves flashbacks to the Jazz era. Black American jazzmen clubbed and created music in cities from Berlin to Paris before and during W.W.II.
Hiero,'the kid,'lead horn, attracts the attention of Louis Armstrong and the resentment of narrator and bassist, Sid. Chip, their drummer,and guest diva, Delilah are both sly devils. These are the complex main characters. Period slang shines.
Broad strokes of the desperate past feather artfully into Sid and Chip's present story.
Esi Edugyan has chops!

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Catherine Malcolm, February 26, 2012

How does Rebecca Skloot make a history of cell development so entertaining?!
Learning the background of bioethics is valuable and easy to read about because of the controversies among all people involved.
The true life relatives of Henrietta are a difficult family to investigate. They endured many letdowns and mysteries trying to unravel the story about their famous kin.Rebecca Skloot was amazingly persistent in gaining their trust.She is a storyteller who draws you in to the family views.No civil rights or public awareness or cell donation for research initially creates outrage in any readers' mind.
Henrietta Lacks,the HeLa cell donor, was responsible for incredible progress in medical research starting in 1951. Billions of her cells multiply each day yet the Lacks family cannot afford health care.
Ripping yarn.Non-fiction we all need to know.

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Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda

Catherine Malcolm, January 27, 2011

Translated from a French bestselling novel, my book club gave this book two thumbs up unanimously.(Rarely the case) Many of us said ,"This one's a keeper and I will buy copies of it for friends. We're lucky to have a reader from France to have introduced it to us!"
The characters' relationships ebb and flow together the way that your food supply would if you were hunting and gathering.The starving artist,Camille; burly, temperamental motorcyclist/chef,Franck; beloved institutionalized grandmother,Paulette; and stuttering Philibert,a gentleman at the mercy of his ancestry;teach us something about joie-de-vivre as their unpredictable story unfolds.The revealing dialogue makes this character-driven book go by too quickly. At the same time each of the characters, out of step w/ society, endears us to him/her.Gavalda writes along that fine line which takes us to the edge of silly while remaining true to the tone of the story.There is a lot to laugh about. Set in present day Paris the novel could just as easily take place in New York or London.
Don't miss it!

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Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

Catherine Malcolm, November 26, 2010

The "flavour" of this well-written short book draws readers in. Delicious, whimsical but bittersweet.Persian recipes introduce each chapter as three sisters open the Babylon Cafe.Enticing aromas invite the quirky Irish residents of the small town of Ballinacroagh into its exotic warmth. Mysterious flavours parallel flashbacks to the sisters' narrow escape from the Iranian revolution.Recipes blend metaphor with emotional climate in this piece of magical realism.
Yes, there is a love story, a villain and fear of the unknown to make you and me want to read on.

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