Audiobook read by Meryl Streep which only added to my enjoyment of this absolutely exquisite novel. Maybe my favorite of Patchett’s works (and she is Audiobook read by Meryl Streep which only added to my enjoyment of this absolutely exquisite novel. Maybe my favorite of Patchett’s works (and she is tied for first place as my favorite living author, so I mean I LOVED this book. I wanted to crawl into it a live there.) ...more
The fourth book I've received in the holiday book exchange...this has worked well! And this was one I was interested in reading. Thanks to Mary Smith The fourth book I've received in the holiday book exchange...this has worked well! And this was one I was interested in reading. Thanks to Mary Smith in Asheville, NC.
I loved the author’s first book so much I couldn’t wait to read this one. It’s incredible. She now may be one of my favorites.
Four friends, roommates from a prestigious Boston college, and their lives, from their mid 20s to early fifties. The book focuses primarily on Jude St. Francis, lawyer. To tell much more about him would rob you of the wonder of unwrapping his layers yourself. And in the end the book is about what the title reveals, Jude’s life, as well as Willem’s, Malcolm’s and JB’s and this horrible, glorious world. The book is remarkable. ...more
I understand that it's got an overall GR rating of 3.7, but this is also the type of book to be assiARC for review - reissue.
This book is everything.
I understand that it's got an overall GR rating of 3.7, but this is also the type of book to be assigned in literature classes and it won't be for everyone (hey, even To Kill a Mockingbird has some one star ratings and I think that we, as a public, can agree that those people are crazy, right?). And I can understand why it might not appeal to some readers - it's long, it's old (published in 1962, but takes place in 1931), there are about a million characters and all the action (or inaction) takes place over a thirty day ship voyage from Mexico to Germany and is based on a similar voyage taken by Porter.
And I loved everything about it. Well, it took a few days before I could get the Robert Palmer song out of my head, and that was annoying, but that's hardly the fault of Katherine Anne Porter. Probably.
And even if it was her fault, I could forgive her, because she has created a masterpiece here - her dialogue, her description and her creation of an entire world on the second-rate Vera - I was often reminded of Paul Bowles.
The cast of characters may appear daunting (there are probably around forty named characters in the book, plus others who appear only briefly) but Porter manages to give life and color to each one - even the wonderful Bebe the bulldog has a distinct personality (an amazing achievement when so many authors struggle with one or two). Some are fairly bad, few are truly good and Porter strips everything away so that the reader sees the real person beyond the sex, race, nationality or class.
So, the plot. What happens? A ship's voyage, like so many others, shaded by what 1930s Mexico and Cuba were and what Germany was on the way to becoming. That's it. No murder to solve, no big event occurs, just many lives of people who normally might not have such close (or any) contact, but that ship life forces together. At the same time it's about everything in the world - life, death, family, love, hate, sex (both for love and money), honor, race, religion, class, youth, sacrifice, age, guilt and sin - a microcosm of our world.
I found myself highlighting way too many portions to list them all here, but I can't recommend this highly enough - I just wish I hadn't waited so many years to read it, and I'm glad it's being reissued so that it, hopefully, finds a new generation of appreciative readers. ...more
**spoiler alert** I cannot believe I waited so long to read this glorious book. Beautiful illustrations, too. This is not meant to be a review, these **spoiler alert** I cannot believe I waited so long to read this glorious book. Beautiful illustrations, too. This is not meant to be a review, these are passages I'm saving just for me, for when I need them. (I've already read entire book twice (it's only 70-some pages) and I've cried both times. Each one of these is somehow appropriate to the best dogs EVER, Baxter, Jake, Jerome, Sidney Marie, Geno and our Cutchie Boy. Bax, Jaker B. and Cutchie, we miss you, Jerome, you left us far too soon, but we've tried to take good care of your sister, and Siddy and Geeble, you've been with us fifteen years and counting, and we don't take one day of it for granted. We love you all.
How It Begins
A puppy is a puppy is a puppy. He's probably in a basket with a bunch of other puppies. Then he's a little older and he's nothing but a bundle of longing He doesn't even understand it.
Then someone picks him up and says, "I want this one."
Every Dog's Story
I have a bed, my very own. It's just my size. And sometimes I like to sleep alone With dreams inside my eyes.
But sometimes dreams are dark and wild and creepy and I wake and am afraid, though I don't know why But I'm no longer sleepy and too slowly the hours go by.
So I climb on the bed where the light of the moon is shining on your face and I know it will be morning soon
Everybody needs a safe place.
Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night
He puts his cheek against mine and makes small, expressive sounds And when I'm awake, or awake enough
he turns upside down, his four paws in the air and his eye dark and fervant
"Tell me you love me," he says.
"Tell me again."
Could there be a sweeter arrangement? Over and over he gets to ask I get to tell.
"But you were born in Florida?
'I was a baby, how would I know? But that's what I'm told.'" - The Traveler
"Well, how can you be keeping your eye on me when you're half a mile ahead? 'True,' said Bear. 'But I'm thinking of you all the time.'" - Conversations
"How beautiful is her unshakable sleep." - Her Grave
"Where goes he now, that dark little dog who used to come down the road barking and shining He's gone now, from the world of particulars, the singular, the visible
So, that deepest sting: sorrow. Still, is he gone from us entirely, or is he a part of that other world, everywhere?" - Bazougey
"For he was made small but brave of heart...
For when he slept he snored only a little...
For when he spoke he remembered the trumpet and when he scratched he struck the floor like a drum...
For he came to me impaired and therefore certain of short life, yet thoroughly rejoiced in each day...
For he took his medicines without argument...
For when he came upon mud he splashed through it...
For when he sickened he rallied as many times as he could...
For he was a mixture of gravity and waggery...
For his sadness though without words was understandable...
For there was nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest...
For he loved me...
For he suffered before I found him, and never forgot it...
For he could fling himself upside down and laugh a true laugh." - For I Will Consider My Dog Percy
"...I like everything a lot, every day." - You Never Know What a Conversation Is Going to Do
I felt the publishing gods had heard my prayers when I learned that both Donna Tartt and Allie Brosh were coming out with books this year, but is DonnI felt the publishing gods had heard my prayers when I learned that both Donna Tartt and Allie Brosh were coming out with books this year, but is Donna Tartt likely to include a chapter titled "Why Helper Dog is an Asshole?" And that is why my brain wants Tartt but my heart and soul will go with Allie every time.
Millions fell in love with Brosh through her blog and I was one of them (I hope my Simple Dog mugs that I gave as Christmas gifts last year become collectors items when Allie wins some big award!). She's talented, hysterically funny and incredibly honest. I wouldn't have cared if the book were simply her blogs collected in book form (I would have been happy to give her the money. Frankly, I could have had a hundred pages of pictures of Simple Dog cocking her head, but I might be a bit obsessed), but there is a mixture of new material with some of her best blogs.
If you've been a child, you'll adore this. If you have dogs, you'll go nuts for this. If you've suffered from depression, you need this (in fact, if you are in a bad place, go to her blog and read her recent entries on depression right now). Allie Brosh makes my heart happy.
****Edited to add: I have a hard copy. This book MIGHT translate to an iPad, but don't read it on a black and white e-reader or your phone. I would think this would be obvious, but I've already had one person ask. So there you go. I recommend the dead tree version. Trees have died for about 40 quadrillion copies of Dianetics, so we can spare a few for this. ...more
A perfect book? No. An excellent book? Yesyesyesyes! I LOVED this, but it's also just my cup of tea - mysterious, twisty, dark, occasionally confusingA perfect book? No. An excellent book? Yesyesyesyes! I LOVED this, but it's also just my cup of tea - mysterious, twisty, dark, occasionally confusing - more, please!
I read Pessl's well-reviewed Special Topics in Calamity Physics several years ago and was underwhelmed - so underwhelmed I can't even remember the plot of it. Reading a synopsis of this, I was intrigued, but not sure how Pessl would handle the execution. I'm thrilled to say that I thought she was largely successful, even with the ending which I feared might be a huge disappointment. It's hard to say much about this book so as not to give anything away - general summary is that a disgraced writer (and sidekicks) investigate the death of the daughter of a former subject, a famous and mysterious film director. Here the journey is the delight (and if you enjoyed the film aspects of the book, consider checking out the interesting Flicker) and I read this slowly, hating to see it end. Oh, and the format! How did I forget? The text is filled with photographs, portions of notes, articles, website pages, and the like, and I loved that Pessl used real sources (Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone) rather than employing the usual trick of making up similar but created titles that take me right out of what I'm reading. Kudos to the designers.
My few quibbles - the composer is SCHUBERT, not Shubert (how does an editor not catch this?) and Pessl desperately needs to stop with the italics already! I started to wonder if there was a hidden message in the italicized text, and it got so excessive it was a bit distracting (not to mention unnecessary and silly). Minor issues, though and I'm looking forward to discussing this with others.
Edited to add - she grew up in Asheville? Cool. ...more
I'm not, and will likely never be, a gamer. However that did not keep me from loving this book (read it in about a day, starting late afternoon on a fI'm not, and will likely never be, a gamer. However that did not keep me from loving this book (read it in about a day, starting late afternoon on a flight to Dallas and finished up at the hotel-I just couldn't stay away from it!). I'm guessing most children of the 80s will find something great here. It's part science-fiction, part puzzle mystery (a genre I adore and don't see nearly enough of), part love story, part pop-culture treatise and all absolutely fun and wonderful. Kudos to the author for turning his love of books, music, movies, TV shows, comics and computer games into this creative, thoroughly enjoyable gift.
I started reading this book, then went on vacation with my family and accidentally left it behind....and the whole time I was gone I kept thinking aboI started reading this book, then went on vacation with my family and accidentally left it behind....and the whole time I was gone I kept thinking about it, and wishing I had it. Now THAT'S a good book.
A mix of fantasy and horror, this book follows some of the survivors after an apolcolypse. The characters are incredibly well-written and the book is plotted extremely well, such that even the unbelievable elements are believable, in context....more
It is very, very rare that anything in a book will make me laugh out loud. I might smile, or appreciate the author's wit or turn of phrase, but seldomIt is very, very rare that anything in a book will make me laugh out loud. I might smile, or appreciate the author's wit or turn of phrase, but seldom is there actual laughter.
I'll bet I laughed aloud about ten times while reading this hysterical, irreverant book about a group of people who meet weekly to watch some great and not-so-great movies. This book is a must-read for any popular film buff (you won't see "Citizen Kane" or anything by Kurosawa in here). Incredibly enjoyable, and even holds up on the re-read. ...more
I adored this book as a child and it's a great re-read....the descriptions remind me favorably of Maud Hart Lovelace's.I adored this book as a child and it's a great re-read....the descriptions remind me favorably of Maud Hart Lovelace's....more
I listened to this book on tape and absolutely adored it....the story is interesting (a vague sort of plague has afflicted the U.S., and two sisters sI listened to this book on tape and absolutely adored it....the story is interesting (a vague sort of plague has afflicted the U.S., and two sisters struggle to survive) and the writing is just gorgeous. I had forgotten all about this book, and now I'm off to Powells.com to see if the author has written anything else...more
I'm not a science fiction fan and I read this book only after Entertainment Weekly included it in their "Top Ten Books of the Year". EW did not steer I'm not a science fiction fan and I read this book only after Entertainment Weekly included it in their "Top Ten Books of the Year". EW did not steer me wrong. This book has SF elements, but I don't know that I would consider it a SF book at all. It's more a meditation on a priests relationship with God and a metaphoric look at the way we as humans treat those who are different. Highly recommended to everyone (but the sequel CHILDREN OF GOD was disappointing)....more
This wasn't next on my "to-read" list, but I just saw that the movie version is coming out sometime this summer, so I guess I'll go ahead with it. I'vThis wasn't next on my "to-read" list, but I just saw that the movie version is coming out sometime this summer, so I guess I'll go ahead with it. I've heard mixed reviews on this one, so I approach it with some trepidation.
Sometimes it's hard to write one of these reviews, because I'm not eloquent enough to find the words for how I feel about a book, and this is definitely one of those times. I thought this book was fantastic, a dark, but ultimately hopeful view on the nature of humankind and the idea of society as well as a beautifully constructed story. There were many lines that I immediately reread because they were just so lovely or sad, and always true.
I will caution that this book is not for the faint of heart - if you hated Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD or Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE, you might not like this, and it's far more graphic. But, if like so many, you enjoyed those books, you must read BLINDNESS....more
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