three-bullet book review

The Time In Between by David Bergen (2006)

• emphasizes that visiting a place does not mean you know that place
• beautifully explores the unmappable spaces of grief and loss
• combines intellectual inquiry (memory, trauma, mourning) with lush, tactile description (a typhoon, fresh bread, thin wrists)

Recommended?

Yes. Despite dealing with painful subjects (war and death), The Time in Between is a smooth, fluid read. It hits all the notes: family, love, sex, travel, war, politics. It's a solid summer holiday book, if you want something lovely but not fluffy, though be forewarned that this book is full of moisture and will make you crave Vietnamese food. Best read in a dry climate or with help from an air conditioner, somewhere with easy striking distance of pho, bun and strong coffee.

three-bullet book review

The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst (2011)

• Follows fictional First World War poet Cecil Valance through juvenilia, initial fame, early death, canonization, standardization, neglect and revival.
• Casts aspersions on the intent, utility and reliability of literary history, especially biographical criticism and literary memoir.
• Hollinghurst's fictional reconstructions of English queer history neatly maps the closet's shifting borders, though I find I still prefer Sarah Waters. 

Recommended?

Yes, if the basic premise intrigues you. I liked it much better than his previous books which, though well written, failed to make me care about affluent white gay young men in Thatcherite England. In addition to being more up my alley -- war literature! memory! cameos by poets and critics I've studied! -- this has a richer cast of characters, more complex structure, broader scope than his previous books. Even if you don't read it, please enjoy this rather perfect bit: "after quite a lot of drinks you didn't care so much about good manners" (165). True enough.

three-bullet book review

A neighbor offered up boxes of used books. I dug through and found a copy of Elizabeth Taylor's Liz Takes Off (1988), the book she wrote about her weight loss. I love Elizabeth Taylor. So talented, so gorgeous, so very much exactly who she was. Unapologetically unconventional, forthright, intelligent. Fabulous. I wasn't looking for a weight-loss program, but the aforementioned fabulousness made me think this might be a fun read.

I would wear all of this. Right now. Especially the sunglasses.

• respect: she approaches weight loss and exercise in terms of working toward your ideal weight and shape rather than an ideal weight and shape
• says things you wouldn't think she'd say (examples: studios pumping Judy Garland full of pills, her disdain for her role in Butterfield 8 even though it won her an Oscar)
• good attitude towards aging, considering what a celebrated beauty and sex bomb she was: "all the surgeries and all the diets in the world will not make you look eighteen again, so stop trying."

Recommended?

Yes, but more for Taylor's whip-smart, deeply personal and often very funny writing than for the diet and exercise information. I didn't read that part and thus cannot evaluate it. Maybe her autobiography would be an equally fun read, without the recipes? On the other other hand, don't you kind of want recipes from Elizabeth Taylor?

I shall now use this three-bullet book review as an excuse to post a shot from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. If you've never seen this, do so as soon as possible. She's absolutely astounding in this film. (As is Paul Newman. Ahem. Whew! Almost too much hotness in one movie, truth be told. Don't say you weren't warned.)

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: CanLit Double-Double

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (1995)

• accolades, awards, "Have you read A Fine Balance? Oh, you really should."
• meandering narrative eased by smooth writing that lets you go with the flow
• very interesting historical setting

Recommended?

No. Despite the rave reviews, I have now abandoned this novel twice. The first time I tried to read it, I got about 60 pages in and then let in languish. This time I read almost 300 pages and still didn't really care about the characters. I used to feel a responsibility to finish books once I'd started them, but life's too short and there are too many other good books to read.

The Birth House by Ami McKay (2006)

• thoughtful exploration of the history of childbirth, particularly the shift from female-centric traditional midwifery to male-dominated obstetrics
• lovely phrase for booze-spiked tea: "tea with mitts!"
• strong portrayal of the power of female friendship, female community

Recommended?

Definitely. The first time I read this, it made me want to go to the Bay of Fundy (one of my favorite spots on the planet), hang out with fantastic women and have a baby. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it a second time as well, even though the novel's ending feels a bit rushed.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (2009)

• captivating portrayal of a historical prelude to major change: the years when Aristotle was Alexander the Great's teacher, just before Alexander conquered the known world
• subtle exploration of teaching / mentoring, including its potential and limitations
• humanizes major historical figures by revealing their complexities

Recommended?

Definitely, even if you're not a Classics nerd like me. Lyon's writing is smooth and dextrous, with lush attention to sensual detail. Historical fiction's necessarily predetermined endings can sometimes limit its allure for me, but Lyon's strong characters and gorgeous writing kept me coming back.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe (2002)

• Good writing, but sloooowwwwww pace.
• Thoughtful portrayal of Canadian Native and Metis cultures as distinct entities rather than as foils for Anglo-European culture.
• Rape and murder of teenage girl as plot device: overplayed.

Recommended?

Not really. This sat on my shelf for years before I got to it for good reason, it seems. If you're particularly keen on the 19th century West this may be right up your alley, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt (2009)

• fin de siècle social history framed via family saga totally holds together (easier said than done)
• lovely representations of artisanal craftsmanship made me want to take pottery classes
• large cast of characters written well enough that none seem superfluous

Recommended?

Yes. Fluid narrative, strong characters, solid historical research, beautiful writing. The plot unfolds much as you expect it to, and yet it's not boring. I liked this much better than Byatt's Possession.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story by Karen Connelly (2009)

• beautifully written autobiography by a poet combines vivid physical descriptions with searing emotional honesty
• unlike many travel writers and international activists, Connelly is aware of -- and openly discusses -- her privileged position
• forthright depiction of lust adds lush sensuality to a complex love story

Recommended?

YES. UNEQUIVOCALLY.

Burmese Lessons is personal, political, gorgeous and powerful. It melds so many genres -- memoir, travel writing, activist non-fiction, romance -- and turns on an excruciating question of choice. Who do you want to be? What life do you want to live? I devoured this in three days and intend to read it again soon.

p.s. to Karen Connelly: I love you.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks (1999)

• combines several of war literature's sub-genres: action, romance, espionage, trauma
• a subplot that bravely follows two little boys into the Holocaust left me sobbing
• subtle exploration of the relationship between the English and the French

Recommended?

Be forewarned that war literature was my primary academic thing and remains an area of immense personal and intellectual interest. That said, this is a very good read that anyone interested in war novels and/or spy novels could enjoy.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

(as recommended by E-Jo)

• Ishiguro builds suspense with astounding grace
• writing like glass: smooth, lucid, beautiful, shattering
• may keep you up at night, both in the I-must-finish-this-book way and the I-find-this-disturbing way

Recommended?

OH MAUDE YES. Go get this right now. Go get this and start reading it tonight. Read it before you see the movie, before anyone tells you anything about the movie. READ IT NOW.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: Dinner With Persephone: Travels in Greece

by Patricia Storace (1997)

• insightful exploration of how history, mythology, religion, language, popular culture and geography interpenetrate in modern Greece
• incredibly (and occasionally overly) detailed
• thoughtful approach to the complexity of Greek female gender norms clashes with dismissive views of Turkish women who choose to wear hijab

Recommended?

Yes, if you have been to Greece, are going to Greece, or have some other connection to the country. Otherwise, read Karen Connelly's One Room in a Castle: Letters from Spain, France and Greece instead.

three-bullet book review

Three-Bullet Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009)

• well-rendered classic Gothic: big fancy house in decay, family secrets, paranormal vs. psychological, mounting tension and creepiness as book progresses
• socio-cultural analysis of changes in the British class structure immediately following the Second World War
• surprising lack of lesbians

Recommended?

Definitely. Strong contemporary rendering of an old genre, very well written, hard to put down.

three-bullet book review

A long, long time ago in a classroom far, far away, my 17th-century literature professor suggested a study strategy: for each of the (many) poets we had studied during the course, identify three significant points and three important poems If you could list three important things about each poet and name three of his/her poems, you'd be able to get through the final exam. Make flash cards, he said, with the poet's name on one side and your three points and three poems on the other. This sounded reasonable until I tried it. It would be even harder now: after (many) years in English departments, I have become rather longwinded.

You knew that already, though, right?

Despite the aforementioned (many) years in English departments, I still love books. The blogtacular kingdom of Kelly in Beantown will thus include occasional posts on stuff I'm reading. In the interest of that whole brevity thing, book reviews will be three bullet points long. Unless I cheat.

Three-Bullet Book Review: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)

• requires a large grain of salt for all the blatant racism
• considering the American Civil War from the perspective of displaced Confederate gentry: an interesting mental exercise that I would never have come to on my own
• fantastic characters, particularly (obviously) Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, who I can only picture as Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable

Recommended?

Yes, if you like big juicy page-turners and have a saltshaker close at hand.