June 2006 Book Reviews

June has been an incredibly busy month. I managed to spread myself way too thin and haven't had time for anything. Except, of course, reading - I think I've actually read more than normal just to wind myself down from each hectic day. It's also been a truly banner month in terms of finding great books.

1. Y The Last Man, V. 6, Vaughan and Guerra, Rating: 2.8
What a disapointment! I love this series, but this installment is a real dud.
2. Y The Last Man, V. 7, Vaughan and Guerra, Rating: 4.3
A return to form! If you're not reading this series yet, what's wrong with you? It's truly magnificent.
3. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading, Maureen Corrigan, Rating: 3.0
Corrigan is the book critic for NPR's Fresh Air. Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably heard her voice before. I like her reviews--I frequently read books based on her recommendations--and I was excited to read about what it's like to be a professional book reviewer. Clearly it's a busy life: Corrigan is also a teacher at Georgetown (as she herself admits, books just don't usually pay the bills), and reviews for numerous other publications. This book is a (not-entirely successful) blend of literary criticism, book review, and personal memoir. I wanted more of everything--except, I suppose, the criticism. Corrigan devotes at least half of the book to a discussion of the merits of detective fiction, the loss of the "work" novel, and "female extreme-adventure tales" (a category that I don't quite buy). In fact, all of her literary passions, which the exception of 19th century women's fiction, I'm not interested in at all. The other half of the book (her life) is great. So...I'm not really recommending this, sadly.
4. Black Swan Green, David Mitchell, Rating: 3.2
Decent. While I didn't find the subject compelling (the inner lives of preteen boys in 1980s England), the writing is quite good.
5. Possible Side Effects, Augusten Burroughs, Rating: 4.2
Very funny. Burroughs has taken a page from Sedaris and is no longer trying to structure his true-life stories into novel form; they're just lumped together into a fairly cohesive collection. His life is bizarre to the point of being unbelievable, but it's fun to tag along and wonder how he's survived.
6. The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean, Rating: 3.8
I heard an interesting interview with Debra Dean on NPR recently. She's a former actress (which comes across in her very succinct pronunciation) and currently a full-time writer. This novel deals with the effects of Alzheimer's disease, intertwined with a history of the hermitage museum during the seige of leningrad in WWII. It's quite well done.
7. A Death in Belmont, Sebastian Junger, Rating: 4.3
Fascinating! Junger (of Perfect Storm fame) has thoroughly researched the Boston Strangler. It's very personal and bone-chilling--the Strangler actually worked as a contractor in his childhood home for a time.
8. My Life in France, Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, Rating: 4.7
This is absolutely the best book I've read in quite some time. It details much of Julia Child's life, focusing on a 20+ year span in which she married, lived in numerous European cities, and learned to cook. You can hear her funny, odd voice in every sentence. Her enthusiasm is boundless, she clearly loves all food and finds most people fascinating, and she lived a really remarkable life. (Prud'homme is her grand-nephew; he helped her assemble this book before she died, relying on letters Child and her husband sent to the states during their years abroad.)
9. Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl, Rating: 3.9
Reichl's first memoir, this deals with her childhood and early 20s. It's not so much food writing as a discourse on the evolution of a chef (who just got pulled out of the kitchen at the right moment).
10. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel, Rating: 3.4
This book is getting reviewed everywhere. It's a comic book memoir; Bechdel (author of Dykes to Watch Out For, a popular comic) writes of the death of her father and coming to terms with her own sexuality and that of her father (a semi-closeted, though married, gay man). The art is wonderful and very well integrated with the text. I failed to fully engage with the story, but I admire the effort and the willingness to be so open with such a private story.

May 2006 Book Reviews

This month: no books on mental illness. Actually, no, wait, there's a memoir about obsessive compulsive disorder. There's also one biography, 1 work of non-fiction, and a book published before 1970.

1. Devil in the Details, Jennifer Traig, Rating: 3.9
The aforementioned memoir about obsessive compulsiveness, Jennifer Traig, a currently functioning and fairly normal adult, writes about growing up with "scrupulousity," an odd manifestation of the disease that manifests itself in extreme religious behavoir(s). Traig, who also writes very clever young adult craft books, is quite funny. The book repeats itself and occasionally loses focus, but is overall fairly satisfying.
2. My Invented Country, Isabel Allende, Rating: 4.1
Do you have any interest in Chile? Plans to go there? Then definitely check this book out. This is a bit of a history of the country, but a very personal one--it's all about what Chile means and is for Allende. It's really quite interesting. You'll learn a lot about Allende along the way, too.
3. Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel, Rating: 2.8
Apparently Mantel is a fairly big deal in contemporary literary circles--this is the first book of hers that I've read, but her name shows up on a lot of lists. Honestly, I didn't like it all that much. It's odd, decently written, and just way too long. To quote the NYTBR, "Beyond Black is a fine work, and from a lesser novelist would have seemed a masterpiece. It is too long -- Muriel Spark would have managed the same effect in a hundred or so crisp pages."
4. Suttree, Cormac McCarthy, Rating: 3.6
Like most McCarthy novels, Suttree is intense, unique, and takes a bit of effort to get into the rhythm of the prose. There's certainly nothing wrong with this book, but I find his westerns much more compelling.
5. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark, Rating: 3.4
Speaking of Muriel Spark, I've finally read one of her books! I can't say that I found it a transformative experience, but Brodie certainly is a memorable character. She's a certain "type" that I'm sure has had great influence on other characters in books and film.
6. Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder, Rating: 3.9
I ran across a review of this title in a magazine recently, which said something to the effect that reading this book would make you a better person. A bold statement, right? Kidder writes about Dr. Paul Farmer, a surreal human being out to save the world. Farmer is an interesting mix of micro- and macro-manager: he founded a foundation that implements revolutionary programs for fighting tuberculosis around the globe; individually treats patients in Haiti; teaches and cares for patients in Boston; writes prolifically; and occasionally manages to spend time with his wife and child. I don't know if I'm really a better person now (honestly, reading about Farmer's life made me feel tired), but I really admire the man. This is a good read. As a sidenote, I really enjoyed learning about one of the secondary characters. Roald Dahl's daughter Ophelia was a long time girlfriend of Farmer and is currently director of the charitable foundation.
7. The Lost Painting, Jonathan Harr, Rating: 4.2
I didn't realize until listening to the author at the end (I listened to the audio version) that this is a work of non-fiction. It reads like a novel--compelling, well-paced, a little romance, a little mystery. Harr writes about the rediscovery of a painting by Caravaggio, and tells the story of the artist's life along the way. It's fun.
8. In Lucia's Eyes, Arthur Japin, Rating: 1.8
All I can say about this is that I was glad when it was over. Really boring.