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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"The Imperfectionists" portrays several people who work at an English-language international newspaper based in Rome. Each chapter features a different person. The portraits are intense, some with jaw-dropping denouements. It also chronicles the changes in the fate of printed news over the past 50 years. An excellent book!
Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" is my selection for "the best book I read in the 2000-2009 decade." Why? For starters, it can't help but increase tolerance and understanding, things that seem to be lacking in our currently polarized American culture. "Middlesex" illustrates the truth that all human characteristics, including sexual identity and sexual preference, exist on a continuum. One woman might be more or less female than another, and likewise with men. Eugenides' book educates the reader about the roots of, and the impact of confused gender identity on the main character's life. In the process, he also informs the reader about genetics, some Greco-Turkish history, and changes in the American city during the 20th century. This book is rich, teaming with characters, plot, history, society and settings. It's even better if you can hear Eugenides talk about the amazing coincidences he experienced when writing the book. Both the book, and the writing of it, are wonderful stories.
Heather Lende lives in Haines, Alaska, a small town of 2,500 at the north end of Alaska’s Inside Passage. A short film available on the town’s web site confirms the beauty Lende describes . . . a historic old town on the water, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Lende writes the social column (“Duly Noted”) as well as the obituaries for the local newspaper. The book portrays myriad aspects of the life of this town. In describing the hunting and fishing, and traveling in and out by small plane and ferry, Lende does not shy from the associated danger and seemingly all-too-frequent deaths. She also provides a window on the day-to-day activities of school, church, local theater, parades, local politics, and changes as the town has become a popular tourist stop for cruise ship travelers and others. As the book progresses, it moves from the merely descriptive (albeit excellent and often amusing) to touching the reader’s heart.
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Nigeria's was created as a country by European powers after World War I, "uniting" three disparate groups of people: the Muslim Hausa in the North; Yoruba in the Southwest; and Igbo (or Ibo) in the Southeast. Nigeria gained its independence from the British Empire in 1960. Author Chimamandra Ngozi Adichie portrays the conflict that led to the Igbo declaring their independence as Biafra in 1967, and the ensuing war with Nigeria, through the stories of two Igbo sisters, Olanna and Kainene Ozobia, and their families and household members. The author provides richly detailed descrptions of the land and lives of numerous strata of Nigerian and Biafran society, and the devastation wreaked by the war that resulted in the starvaion of so many Biafrans. Adichi manages to enlighten the reader on everything from what the people ate to international policies that fed the disaster . . . an excellent work.
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New Zealand in the 1860's is the setting for this very enjoyable historical fiction by Rose Tremain. For reasons gradually revealed, Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, and Joseph's 65-year old mother, move from England to take up farming. Shortly after their arrival, a gold rush begins. In addition to the Blackstones' story, there is also the neighboring homestead, a successful sheep ranch, where a strong connection forms between the child Erwin, and his Maori nursemaid. Tremain's characters are well developed, the plot is compelling, the historical detail and landscape well portrayed. This is a book that is difficult to put down.
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reading4years has commented on (9) products.
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
reading4years, September 30, 2011
"The Imperfectionists" portrays several people who work at an English-language international newspaper based in Rome. Each chapter features a different person. The portraits are intense, some with jaw-dropping denouements. It also chronicles the changes in the fate of printed news over the past 50 years. An excellent book!Middlesex (Oprah's Book Club Selection #58) by Jeffrey Eugenides
reading4years, January 4, 2010
Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" is my selection for "the best book I read in the 2000-2009 decade." Why? For starters, it can't help but increase tolerance and understanding, things that seem to be lacking in our currently polarized American culture. "Middlesex" illustrates the truth that all human characteristics, including sexual identity and sexual preference, exist on a continuum. One woman might be more or less female than another, and likewise with men. Eugenides' book educates the reader about the roots of, and the impact of confused gender identity on the main character's life. In the process, he also informs the reader about genetics, some Greco-Turkish history, and changes in the American city during the 20th century. This book is rich, teaming with characters, plot, history, society and settings. It's even better if you can hear Eugenides talk about the amazing coincidences he experienced when writing the book. Both the book, and the writing of it, are wonderful stories.If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska by Heather Lende
reading4years, July 2, 2009
Heather Lende lives in Haines, Alaska, a small town of 2,500 at the north end of Alaska’s Inside Passage. A short film available on the town’s web site confirms the beauty Lende describes . . . a historic old town on the water, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Lende writes the social column (“Duly Noted”) as well as the obituaries for the local newspaper. The book portrays myriad aspects of the life of this town. In describing the hunting and fishing, and traveling in and out by small plane and ferry, Lende does not shy from the associated danger and seemingly all-too-frequent deaths. She also provides a window on the day-to-day activities of school, church, local theater, parades, local politics, and changes as the town has become a popular tourist stop for cruise ship travelers and others. As the book progresses, it moves from the merely descriptive (albeit excellent and often amusing) to touching the reader’s heart.(3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
reading4years, November 11, 2008
Nigeria's was created as a country by European powers after World War I, "uniting" three disparate groups of people: the Muslim Hausa in the North; Yoruba in the Southwest; and Igbo (or Ibo) in the Southeast. Nigeria gained its independence from the British Empire in 1960. Author Chimamandra Ngozi Adichie portrays the conflict that led to the Igbo declaring their independence as Biafra in 1967, and the ensuing war with Nigeria, through the stories of two Igbo sisters, Olanna and Kainene Ozobia, and their families and household members. The author provides richly detailed descrptions of the land and lives of numerous strata of Nigerian and Biafran society, and the devastation wreaked by the war that resulted in the starvaion of so many Biafrans. Adichi manages to enlighten the reader on everything from what the people ate to international policies that fed the disaster . . . an excellent work.(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
The Colour by Rose Tremain
reading4years, November 7, 2007
New Zealand in the 1860's is the setting for this very enjoyable historical fiction by Rose Tremain. For reasons gradually revealed, Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, and Joseph's 65-year old mother, move from England to take up farming. Shortly after their arrival, a gold rush begins. In addition to the Blackstones' story, there is also the neighboring homestead, a successful sheep ranch, where a strong connection forms between the child Erwin, and his Maori nursemaid. Tremain's characters are well developed, the plot is compelling, the historical detail and landscape well portrayed. This is a book that is difficult to put down.(2 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
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