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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
jadelin has commented on (45) products
We Are Water
by
Wally Lamb
jadelin
, December 20, 2015
While I found this book compelling, engrossing and deep, I must say that some of the subject matter was written SO WELL that it was hard to read. It's fine to call me a hypocrite. I skipped a few particularly disturbing passages. Overall though, like previous novels, Wally Lamb's character development and exploration of the darker (or at least secret) side of human nature is believable and draws the reader in. Read it with caution--some aspects of the stories are, I'll just say, unpleasant.
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We Are Not Ourselves
by
Matthew Thomas
jadelin
, December 08, 2015
This book blew my mind. The story is relatively simple but the character development was so thorough, so compelling that I thought I was in her mind. It is a long novel but I could not put it down. The feelings evoked by the thick descriptions have stayed with me, weeks after turning the last page, like I lived through the experiences Thomas so skillfully, thoughtfully describes.
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The Emperors Children
by
Claire Messud
jadelin
, August 03, 2015
The Emporer's Children is s clever "now" story. While I was able to make my way through it and find myself surprised by some of the plot's twists and turns, I felt the experience had a "been there, done that" ring to it.
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The Bone People
by
Keri Hulme
jadelin
, August 03, 2015
At once gut wrenching, romantic, hopeful and seething with pain, Keri Hulme's Bone People grasp my attention and wouldn't let go until the end. And this is my second time around! The Bone People is so masterfully conceived and written, I can think of few pieces of literature that capture and regurgitate me like this one, perhaps A Fine Balance comes close.
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Everything I Never Told You
by
Celeste Ng
jadelin
, August 03, 2015
A poignant story about a family and the loss and pain experienced by each member. This book is a gem.
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White Woman on the Green Bicycle
by
Roffey, Monique
jadelin
, August 03, 2015
Powerful, intriguing and sad reflection on colonialism as depicted on a political and personal level...Roffey's novel is instructive on many levels.
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The Lowland
by
Lahiri, Jhumpa
jadelin
, November 02, 2014
The Lowland is a gritty, engrossing story of love. The love comes in many realms--parental, brotherly, romantic, obligatory--but sometimes it is not there at all. Once again, Lahiri has written an all consuming story, one that affected me at so many different levels. The images and pungent, grating descriptions of feelings are sobering. This is a well put together novel, a treat in the literary sense but all encompassing emotionally complex experience.
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Gone Girl
by
Gillian Flynn
jadelin
, October 01, 2014
I did not expect any of this! Gone Girl is a well written thriller in every sense and I did not want to miss a word thought or image. I could not put it down. Flynn has sent the reader on a wild wild ride. I highly recommend this book!
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Ill Be Right There
by
Kyung Sook Shin
jadelin
, September 25, 2014
A haunting, elegant, deftly written story. Like the novel "Please Look After Mother" Kyung-sook Shin has told the story of a complex and series of tragic situations and described them in a way that the reader has no choice but to be emotionally engaged, in a way that sneaks up. Curiosity will get the best of you. Somehow, though from the beginning there are already clues that this is no ordinary portrayal of a boy meets girl love story, boy and girl live happily ever after, the reader is compelled to be drawn into Shin's spell. The writing is so simple in its delivery but so complex in its meaning. "I'll Be There" kept me in its grip until the end and after.
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Fresh Off the Boat
by
Eddie Huang
jadelin
, September 24, 2014
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. While the end point is Baohaus, the restaurant that Eddie Huang eventually opens, the journey he experiences and describes is of much more than that end point, it's the compilation of the search to make sense of our lives. Huang is a great observer and hilarious writer. Though he writes candidly about his pain (which there is a bunch of) the reader also gets a dose of how he deals with being the first born son of immigrants. His tummy may lead the way, his appetite for his definition of living the good life made me want to find a way to happiness and resolution with the cards I've been dealt. This book may not resonate with everyone but it can serve as a resource which articulates insight into the Asian American and immigrant (or offspring of) experience.
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Exit The Endings That Set Us Free
by
Sara Lawrence Lightfoot
jadelin
, September 15, 2014
Interesting book. Professor Lawrence Lightfoot offers many vantage points for looking at the notion of exits. My perspective on the topic was broadened by the rich and sometimes sad stories of departures. It is poignant, personal and thought-provoking.
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Americanah
by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
jadelin
, September 09, 2014
Americanah is thoughtful novel that explores issues of race and politics in an engrossing and unexpected way. I thoroughly enjoyed how the novel reads--a page turner for sure! It's based on a "love" story between two Nigerian young people. Adichie follows their stories as it spans many many years and many many experiences. I felt the anguish of the identity crisis which occurs when people follow their dreams yet are pulled by their culture of origin. Americanah is a powerful story about immigrants as well, the ways some people adapt themselves to a new life in a new country while others remain steadfast in their sense of belonging to their roots. I highly recommend this novel--it's well written and exposed me to some lessons on parts of the world and experiences I have yet to find myself in!
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Ten Thousand Saints
by
Eleanor Henderson
jadelin
, August 09, 2012
A mesmerizing, gritty novel about the wants and pursuits of a small family/group of individuals seeking better. Eleanor Henderson has written a spellbinding page turner that at once makes your stomach turn at thoughts of hurt and more hurt but wants you to want more, better for her characters. It is a creatively crafted story and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy being enmeshed in the lives of those who have everything to lose.
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Perfect Chaos A Daughters Journey to Survive Bipolar a Mothers Struggle to Save Her
by
Cinda Johnson, Linea Johnson
jadelin
, June 23, 2012
This book took courage and deep experiences of pain to write. The world should be appreciative of what it represents. A mother and daughter, Cinda and Linea Johnson chronicle Linea's descent into her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The journey is so deep and dark and all encompassing. The most compelling moments are tender, where mother and daughter reflect on the power of mental ill-health and the unabashed reality and power of love. This book is a necessary tool for the public as the helplessness and utter ugliness this disorder inflicts on its victims. Moving, tear provoking and a true page turner, this book is truly a gift coming from a place that many have experienced but few are able to bring to the public sphere.
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Art of Happiness a Handbook for Living
by
Dalai Lama
jadelin
, June 08, 2012
A crucial book for anyone wiling to experience true happiness. This book transcends time and circumstance to guide, support, provide insight into the happiness we already have inside.
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Please Look After Mom
by
Shin, Kyung-Sook
jadelin
, June 08, 2012
Beautiful and haunting, this novel expresses the unexpressed, the secrets of a family as the result of a mother who shows up missing. It is beautifully written. Reflections, regrets and memories of a family's life and void around the powerful figure, their mother are shared by many voices within the family. Please Look After Mom stays with you for a long long time. Please read it.
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How to Read the Air
by
Dinaw Mengestu
jadelin
, April 12, 2012
Wow, one of the best books I have read in a long time. Dinaw Mengestu's How to the Read the Air is a powerful story or collection of stories of when people live in the gray area and the story is reality or the other way around. It doesn't matter. The book incorporates the story of a pair of immigrants who have survived hardship and separation and are strangers to each other. It is told through the lens of their son Jonas who seems to live life floating and grasping and unattached until he finds himself inadvertently attached to a marriage, job and his deceptions. The undercurrent of the book leads the reader meandering through tales woven together through stunning imagery and a flowing diction ultimately pushing toward what is the gray area that calls itself the end, the conclusion. Highly recommended.
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Space Between Us
by
Thrity Umrigar
jadelin
, May 24, 2011
This book is a page turner. Thrity Umrigar pens an emotionally gripping novel which exposes the jarring differences of caste life in India. Her storytelling is engaging as there are anguish filled twists and turns in the life of a mistress and her servant. The grinding hurt, suffering and disbelief at circumstance is highly reminiscent of Mistry's A Fine Balance. The Space Between Us is a story that draws the reader in by the compelling dilemma that links and contrasts the life of privilege and those who are left to suffer in the bowels of the slums, each hoping for a better circumstances and happiness. Is anyone really happy where they are?
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Alligator
by
Lisa Moore
jadelin
, November 27, 2010
Lisa Moore's debut novel is a story of stories woven magically together. The vignettes depict the lives of five individuals whose misfortunes shape their actions. These stories are not for the faint of heart as they are jagged and searing. The emotional vulnerability of these characters left me hurting and hanging. They are the stories packed away inside our neighbors, friends and loved ones, either by the internal scars of their experiences or the outward actions we witness. It's a book of highly skilled writing and edge of your seat storytelling. The rhythm of the book builds great suspense and provokes a longing within the reader to keep turning the pages and wondering what fate is waiting to greet its subjects. Alligator is a treat, a literary accomplishment and a sign of good things to come.
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Not Without Laughter
by
Langston Hughes
jadelin
, November 17, 2010
Not Without Laughter is an important book. It gives a glimpse of Sandy, a poor Black boy, and his life in the plains. Hughes captures the intense, raw experience of his coming of age. Though life for Sandy is filled with despair and empty spots, there are moments that depict his integrity. This is a no fuss, deep into the dialogue novel with plenty of the diction that brought Hughes, as a poet, great acclaim. Equally important and impactful are Hughes' narrative on the racial divides of this country.
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In a Strange Room
by
Damon Galgut
jadelin
, October 29, 2010
Reading Damon Galgut's novel, In a Strange Room, is like reading an intimate journal of a journey, of the travels of a South African man, named Damon. The writing style of the book is elegant and internally focused, there is a powerful sharing of the brooding moments that many of us experience but struggle to squelch. Damon's travels through parts of Africa, Europe and India expose intense interactions with fellow travelers, some who are very close and intimate, others who are strangers. Galgut is absolutely gifted in his ability to develop a tale or series of tales that crescendo into palpably emotional climaxes with the protagonist left with emotional turmoil to come to grips with what has happened. This is an involved, beautiful book.
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February
by
Lisa Moore
jadelin
, October 19, 2010
February is a powerful, intimate, bittersweet novel by Lisa Moore. It was shortlisted for the Booker Mann Prize for good reason. Helen, the main character, has lost the love of her life in a ship accident. She is left with four young children and the many challenges that a sudden and early death bring upon people. The book is written as narratives that weave between characters in the book, shifting between more recent times and the past. Moore's incredible gift for the art of writing was really the subject of the book for me. I was unable to shift my attention to anything but the stories in this book from the time I opened the first page. I found myself colored by the images and intense feelings depicted in February as I went about the mundane activities of my day. One of Moore's strengths is her ability to create stories that you want to see move along because you want to know what is going to happen yet you are so captivated by her intricate descriptions of the character's thoughts and feelings that you are happy to rest in the incredible prose and use of language. This is a novel of profound importance.
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Vagrants
by
Yiyun Li
jadelin
, October 09, 2010
Easily one of the most engrossing, thought provoking novels I've read, The Vagrants is sad, gritty and brilliantly written. Li Yiyun's use of language, prose and her incredible ability to weave stories into a story kept me from putting this book down. The political, social and cultural backdrop of Communist party dominated China are apt in providing some insight into our modern world in a global sense as well as that of the individual.. The anguish and suffering in The Vagrants reminded me of A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. The characters in both stories struggled the ultimate struggle of life versus freedom. I highly recommend The Vagrants to those who are interested in the culture of oppressed societies and those who are excited by being engaged by supreme literary gifts such as those of Li Yiyun.
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Vagrants
by
Yiyun Li
jadelin
, October 09, 2010
Easily one of the most engrossing, thought provoking novels I've read, The Vagrants is sad, gritty and brilliantly written. Li Yiyun's use of language, prose and her incredible ability to weave stories into a story kept me from putting this book down. The political, social and cultural backdrop of Communist party dominated China are apt in providing some insight into our modern world in a global sense as well as that of the individual.. The anguish and suffering in The Vagrants reminded me of A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. The characters in both stories struggled the ultimate struggle of life versus freedom. I highly recommend The Vagrants to those who are interested in the culture of oppressed societies and those who are excited by being engaged by supreme literary gifts such as those of Li Yiyan.
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Quiet As They Come
by
Angie Chau
jadelin
, October 07, 2010
Quiet As They Come is a vivid collection of stories describing the transition of a Vietnamese family to life in the US. Angie Chau's sparse, descriptive writing hurts with anguish, both spoken and quiet. Her ability to weave the voices of the family members throughout the book is convincing and gripping. I was very moved by this book and would highly recommend it as both an incredible literary experience as well as an emotional recounting that spans generations, tragedy and, at times, the bittersweet.
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Benny & Shrimp
by
Katarina Mazetti
jadelin
, September 24, 2010
Benny and Shrimp is a deceptively small book. It is a love story told in by the voices of a farmer and a librarian who are doing the loving and unloving. At first it was a little difficult to get into the story because the short chapters alternate briskly between the two voices. But then it seemed like a manageable way to negotiate the ever developing romance and my curiosity to hear each point of view hastened my page turning. Mazetti captures the two points of view in a convincing manner. I didn't want Benny and Shrimp to end!
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Seraph On The Suwanee
by
Zora Neale Hurston
jadelin
, September 21, 2010
Seraph on the Suwanee is a gripping novel set in the early 20th century in the southern part of the US. It's a timeless tale of the understanding of the self through the trials and tribulations of marriage, motherhood and experiences of pain and joy through relationship with others. Hurston's style incorporates the use of the most simple of circumstances, delivering powerful and deep emotions. This book is engrossing and raw with earnestness.
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The Sky Below
by
Stacey D'Erasmo
jadelin
, September 11, 2010
Be prepared for a journey that takes place deeply within the lens of Gabriel's head. The Sky Below is full of twists and unexpected turns, some believable and grounded in reality others which are believable because the writing is intense and grounded. Gabriel's story begins in his childhood as memories of a happy life, especially ones experienced with his fun loving mother turn to loss and struggle. From that point on, Gabriel lives by appearing to live in the world that we mostly inhabit but simultaneously coping by habitually ripping off others, ripping off himself. Stacey D'Erasmo is an immensely talented writer, keeping us locked inside Gabriel's mind and leaving us wanting to be there.
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Flight
by
Sherman Alexie
jadelin
, September 05, 2010
Sherman Alexie is a master storyteller. In Flight, he tells the story of a teenaged young man living in the foster system. He is half Indian. Through a series of dreams, Zits (the protagonist, presents the reader with various slices of la historical and current lived experience. In each dream Alexie displays glimpses of life that illustrate the plights that have faced indians throughout the history of this country. His wry writing style and unparalleled ability to weave complex plights of the challenging life of a people who have been continuously injured, insulted and prohibited from preserving and living life as their culture has defined are not to be missed. Flight is the story of a young man on the run from this fragmented, tortured past and into a hopeful life in the future. As usual, Alexie writes with clarity, depth and humor. Great book.
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Flight
by
Sherman Alexie
jadelin
, September 05, 2010
Sherman Alexie is a master storyteller. In Flight, he tells the story of an Indian foster teenaged young man. Through a series of dreams, he presents the reader with various slices of life. Through these dreams, he shares glimpses of life that illustrate the plights that have faced indians throughout the history of the colonization of this country. His wry writing style and unparalleled ability to weave complex plights of the challenging life of a people who have been continuously injured, insulted and prohibited from preserving and living life as their culture has defined. Flight is the story of a young man on the run from this fragmented, tortured past and into a hopeful life in the future. As usual, Alexie writes with clarity, depth and humor.
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Motel Life
by
Willy Vlautin
jadelin
, August 22, 2010
This is a story about the underbelly of American life. Centered around the lives of two brothers whose luck cannot be worse than anyone I've ever heard of, The Motel Life is a series of dialogues and tales of life on the run. It is gritty and at many times, very sad. However, the hope that was also displayed in Lean on Pete surfaces and the reader is left with a sense that despite being handed a lifetime of crumbs, there are those who survive on their inner strength.
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Lean on Pete
by
Willy Vlautin
jadelin
, August 05, 2010
Lean on Pete is a bona fide tearjerker. Willy Vlautin's powerful ability as a storyteller allows him to craft a story of a 15 year old boy, Charlie Thompson, orphaned by society. This story pushes us through the worst in human life--poverty, abuse, alcoholism, loss and abandonment. Charlie's journey to safety and hope is so filled with the most bitter of life's experiences, one cannot help but wonder how he manages to keep himself moving and living. There were times when I had to set the book down, mostly because the story was so poignant, so vivid and so compelling that I just needed to breathe and process it all. I highly recommend this book. While the emotional depths of Lean on Pete are a big draw, it is a readable book that exposes the underside of the world of horse racing.
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Good Fall
by
Ha Jin
jadelin
, August 05, 2010
Ha Jin has written a group of stories with the underlying themes of tension between cultures, anguish and the human struggle with what it means to lead a good life. There's the unlikely grad student, hired to tutor a young woman who is struggling in her studies and the eventual entanglement that occurs between the mother, daughter and tutor. Another story reveals the tension filled awkwardness as a mother visits her son and daughter in law and fireworks erupt. Torn between duty, their marriage and creating some sort of peace, the recent immigrant couple must come to some kind of resolution to the discord between mother produces with her presence. Further, the clash between generations and cultures, and individuation versus full filial obligation as has been the Chinese way are a theme throughout many of the stories. A man becomes strangely attached while pet sitting the parrot of a former girlfriend, whose relationship he is still in the dark about. The stories leave much to the imagination but capture the reader's attention with the frank depiction of emotional quandaries, suffering and the eventual realization that there exist universal human predicaments.
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This Is Where I Leave You
by
Jonathan Tropper
jadelin
, July 26, 2010
Deftly written, laugh out loud funny, This Is Where I Leave You combines the best and worst of human experience. Jonathan Tropper's clever writing keeps you at the edge of your seat, wiping away the tears of hilarity. It's the story of a man, Judd, who couldn't be more down on his luck. Having walked in on his wife and his boss locked in passion, he loses his wife, house, job and dignity in one fell swoop. To add insult to injury his father passes away and requests that Judd, his siblings and their mother spent 7 days locked together in the family home, receiving the well wishes of friends, in a event called shiva. This scene lays the stage for dysfunction and memorable and unmemorable acts to rise to the surface. Tensions and unleashed emotions get played out during this "family reunion." Read this book. It is wonderful. You will laugh out loud.
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Thread Of Sky
by
Deanna Fei
jadelin
, July 12, 2010
A Thread of Sky is so well written that it was hard for me to read. The story--the sudden death of a father and estranged husband provides the catalyst for a mother, her three daughters, her sister and her own mother to take a trip to "the homeland", China. Deanna Fei has crafted a novel that mingles the complex tales and experiences which are carried within families. Being together and traveling to a country which provokes inner conflict uncover the tension between the spoken and more deeply, the unspoken. Shame, ingrained familial myths and personal suffering serve as barriers which keep loved ones at bay. Fei deftly moves the reader from one emotional collision to another, to the spaces where tradition, culture and identity as self play out externally and internally. As a reader, my own memories of these dynamics were evoked, times when I was stuck choosing between one right and another wrong or one value system and another, only to realize that it is in seeing the personal truth that finally ushers the way out. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Fei's writing.
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Long For This World
by
Sonya Chung
jadelin
, June 24, 2010
Long For This World took my breath away. Sonya Chung has written a compelling look at unspoken realities and their impact on the lives of mambers of the Han family. The story moves from the past, war time and bittersweet farewells to life in countryside Korea and on to the front lines of war. The writing is incredibly beautiful, poignant and its rhythm mirrors the various stories being told. Through literary gestures that leave as much to the imagination as is definitively laid out, Chung expresses intense emotion, drawing the reader in and empathizing with the anguish that is omnipresent. Though the circumstances of many of the members of this clain's life can be thought of as sad, even tragic, the book does not weigh heavy. This is to the credit of a very skilled author.
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Elizabeth Costello: Fiction
by
Coetzee, J. M.
jadelin
, June 03, 2010
Elizabeth Costello is a complex, cerebral novel that drew me in like no other work. Coetzee's skill with words assembles a story that expresses his main character, an aging once bestselling novelist, Elizabeth Costello, through a series of lectures and her experiences related to giving these lectures. While there were times when I longed for more of a conventional approach to knowing the characters, this may have been more my own shortcoming rather than any failure on Coetzee's part. This is not a read for everyone. But for those who are intrigued by the experience of enjoying great writing and letting go of conventional expectations of novel reading I believe it is a worthwhile venture.
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Nothing Was The Same A Memoir
by
Kay Redfield Jamison
jadelin
, April 03, 2010
Nothing Was the Same is a beautiful and poignant story written by Kay Redfield Jamison, professor and researcher specializing in bi-polar disorder, about her marriage to Richard Wyatt, professor and researcher who specialized in schizophrenia. The story is an account of their marriage, which ended sadly in the death of Wyatt to cancer. The book chronicles the love that flowed between them, expressed in many ways including Wyatt's commitment to understand and support Jamison's bi polar diagnosis. This memoir is open by revealing the doubts and fears that Jamison faces in the impending death of her husband. She expresses her apprehension that she would not be able to manage her disease, without the strength and support of her husband. This is a love story. It is a demonstration of the kind of relationship in which the partners' devotion for each other is demonstrated by their determination to help each other succeed, despite the odds. Much like Jamison's book An Unquiet Mind, Nothing Was the Same is filled with passion and hope. I recommend this book highly.
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Surrendered
by
Chang Rae Lee
jadelin
, March 28, 2010
The Surrendered is a powerful, haunting and at times violent novel by Chang-rae Lee, his latest. Lee has written a thick and emotional story, with richly developed characters whose war time traumas impact their entire lives. He skillfully weaves various segments of the past with the current with his incredible mastery of the use of language. The basic story involves the plights of three characters--June, an orphan from the Korean War, Hector, an American soldier who fought in the Korean War and Sylvie, an American missionary. They live together in an orphanage, finding refuge from the turmoil of war while the shadow of what is to become of their lives, hangs heavily over their heads. The emotional scars of persecution and torture never leave these characters' psyches and their lives become roadmaps of hurt and abuse with an undercurrent of their unrequited souls' quest for love and to be loved. Reading this book was difficult at times, because Lee's story can make you feel like a voyeur to a train running out of control, not being able to do a thing about it but read on.
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Crescent
by
Diana Abu Jaber
jadelin
, March 06, 2010
Crescent is a story of stories. It is a beautiful, poignant and at times, bittersweet, love story, one with deep roots in history and culture. At first, the novel seemed to be headed in the direction of a conventional love story. However, about one-third of the way through, the author adds a tremendous amount of life by way of disclosing what is beneath the surface literally and figuratively--from the past and present, with hints toward what is to come. Be warned, the book revolves around detailed and scrumptious Middle Eastern cooking and food--you might not want to read it on an empty stomach!
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Fortune Cookie Chronicles Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
by
Jennifer Lee
jadelin
, March 03, 2010
Great book. It made me hungry and it made me laugh. While on the surface Jennifer 8 Lee seems to be exploring the origins of Chinese fast food in America, pop culture and even how ideas about food were exported from Asia, she is steering us on a path that many immigrants want to experience. This "chronicle" serves to document a sociological and historical ride of how Asians wound up in America and how their identities have been augmented by various circumstances. Some of these experiences seem downright funny and ironic and others are more somber. I especially enjoyed the images of Lee's bold conversations with gray haired wise Chinese and Japanese folk in their homeland, recounting their versions of the origin of a dish, its name and in their telling of the story, they spoke an oral history. Sometimes while reading the book, I found myself craving that greasy "Chinese" diner food accented with celery, chunks of meat and slithering noodles. At other times, I recalled the memories of family, gathered around a round table, greasy marked tablecloth, stuffed bellies, translating the fortunes that were in our futures to our Chinese grandmothers.
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Peace Like A River
by
Leif Enger
jadelin
, January 22, 2010
This book took me by surprise. It came to me highly recommended by a number of sources so I decided to take the plunge. Mr. Enger did not let me down. Peace Like a River is a very original book. The story line kept me very engrossed for the entire book. My heart thumped as I was taken on an amazing adventure, much of it quite outlaw and scary by this incredible landscape of words. I have never read a book like this--tender and gritty at the same time. Amidst the cold, a family struggles to stay together under unthinkable odds. Their tenacity is tested in so many ways. Each test reveals yet another level of sanctity and hope. Images of bitter winter winds and brutal survival tactics are soothed in poignant moments by the family's desire to live right. Highly recommended.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
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Optimists Daughter
by
Eudora Welty
jadelin
, January 22, 2010
An interesting and pensive book. The novel centers around the death of a man and of a way of life for a family. During this transition, there is a collision of personalities and forces, the daughter of the deceased, Laurel, is at the center of it. Laurel finds herself returning to her childhood home in response to her father's illness. There, her stepmother, who is her contemporary, awaits. A Southern life with mannerisms and beliefs which she has left behind serves as a backdrop to Laurel's struggle to accept her past, both distant and recent. This is a fascinating book because it explores that part of life that most of us long to skip. That uncomfortable, unidentified moment in which life is existing in a state of limbo. Welty forces us, as readers to live in that moment with her deftly written novel, its simple, yet thoughtful descriptions of Southern life and an unfettered story line which could only be produced by a truly fine writer.
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(5 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
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Vegan Soul Kitchen Fresh Healthy & Creative African American Cuisine
by
Bryant Terry
jadelin
, January 20, 2010
Great book and spectacular resource for cooking and music. I've made several recipes from this book and have enjoyed the experience of vegan-ness that Bryant introduces me to each time I open the book. I am most definitely not vegan. For instance, there is a pea leek dish that is so simple, so beautiful and so delicious. The best part is that the important components, in this instance, the vegetables, aren't hidden or masked under something. They get to star. The music suggestions are so awesome and provide a swaying, toe tapping backdrop (or maybe more than that) to the cooking.
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(9 of 14 readers found this comment helpful)
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A Fine Balance
by
Rohinton Mistry
jadelin
, January 17, 2010
This is a highly engrossing novel. While reading A Fine Balance, I found myself captivated by the gritty and real images of suffering and of life for its characters. At times I found this hard to read, but I attribute that to my own desire to escape thinking about the inner workings of those whose lives are lived yearning for better. Minstry's storytelling abilities are a true gift and I look forward to his next gift to us.
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(6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
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