So, yesterday was the official kick-off of the Keep Portland Weird festival here in Paris, which meant that I had a reading/screening in the...
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While this is a book of some very harsh realities, it is also just beautiful. Sometimes, perhaps, a "Romeo & Juliet," other times the tale of immigrant children struggling with tragic pasts. You will never forget the main characters: both Vaclav and Lena will stay with you for a very long time. As they should.
Scott Simon (NPR, Weekend Edition) recommended this book a few weeks ago. Enough for me!
When I finished reading this novel, I had to hug the book before returning it to my local library. "Vaclav & Lena" is a lovely, beautifully written book. Two Russian immigrant children (Vaclav and Lena) meet and are the best of friends as children, are separated for a number of years, and are re-united after that period of time. No, it's not completely a "happily-ever-after" ending but it is a hope-filled one. Tanner gives her characters just the right voices, and provides the reader with a beautiful read. You will NOT forget these characters after you read this book!
I just finished "Super Sad..." and while it is not the type of fiction I generally enjoy, the book really did keep me reading, on and off, realizing that I was in the "future" and then again, not too far into it. The protagonist is a somewhat sorry but likeable man, but the real "main character" is the world in which he lives, soon to be our world in so many ways. A cautionary tale? Perhaps. A good, satirical read? Yes.
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(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
I have enjoyed Patchett's previous work, but this novel is a departure and a good one. A page-turner, it takes us on a journey with Marina Singh from America to Brazil to the Amazon, all the while the reader wonders what will go wrong. And much does, but in the end Singh has learned about her own heart despite (perhaps because of?) her sojourn.
Really, just about the best novel I have read in a long time. READ IT! You won't be disappointed.
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(2 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
Recently read Mark Vonnegut's memoir and highly recommend it to those interested in the waves of mental illness that come and go, apparently for no reason. Vonnegut does NOT blame his highly acclaimed & eccentric father or mother for his brushes with this crippling illness. Instead, he provides some very good life lessons to any reader. While the book is at times a bit difficult to follow (the narrator strays from a timeline often), it is most certainly worth the read.
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(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
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FBB has commented on (27) products.
Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner
FBB, January 8, 2012
While this is a book of some very harsh realities, it is also just beautiful. Sometimes, perhaps, a "Romeo & Juliet," other times the tale of immigrant children struggling with tragic pasts. You will never forget the main characters: both Vaclav and Lena will stay with you for a very long time. As they should.Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner
FBB, August 19, 2011
Scott Simon (NPR, Weekend Edition) recommended this book a few weeks ago. Enough for me!When I finished reading this novel, I had to hug the book before returning it to my local library. "Vaclav & Lena" is a lovely, beautifully written book. Two Russian immigrant children (Vaclav and Lena) meet and are the best of friends as children, are separated for a number of years, and are re-united after that period of time. No, it's not completely a "happily-ever-after" ending but it is a hope-filled one. Tanner gives her characters just the right voices, and provides the reader with a beautiful read. You will NOT forget these characters after you read this book!
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
FBB, August 3, 2011
I just finished "Super Sad..." and while it is not the type of fiction I generally enjoy, the book really did keep me reading, on and off, realizing that I was in the "future" and then again, not too far into it. The protagonist is a somewhat sorry but likeable man, but the real "main character" is the world in which he lives, soon to be our world in so many ways. A cautionary tale? Perhaps. A good, satirical read? Yes.(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
FBB, June 28, 2011
I have enjoyed Patchett's previous work, but this novel is a departure and a good one. A page-turner, it takes us on a journey with Marina Singh from America to Brazil to the Amazon, all the while the reader wonders what will go wrong. And much does, but in the end Singh has learned about her own heart despite (perhaps because of?) her sojourn.Really, just about the best novel I have read in a long time. READ IT! You won't be disappointed.
(2 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So: A Memoir by Mark Vonnegut
FBB, April 30, 2011
Recently read Mark Vonnegut's memoir and highly recommend it to those interested in the waves of mental illness that come and go, apparently for no reason. Vonnegut does NOT blame his highly acclaimed & eccentric father or mother for his brushes with this crippling illness. Instead, he provides some very good life lessons to any reader. While the book is at times a bit difficult to follow (the narrator strays from a timeline often), it is most certainly worth the read.(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
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