Friday, June 28, 2013

LPL Book Club Reads Bel Canto

The LPL Book Club met yesterday to discuss Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Overall, the group enjoyed the book and gave it a 4.5 on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being "hated it!" and 5 "loved it!"

This book is based on a true story. Terrorists took over the Japanese embassy and held over 70 men hostage for 4 months. In Bel Canto, the group has gathered in the Vice President's house to celebrate the birthday of Mr. Hosokawa, a businessman from Japan. The guests have a variety of motives for attending the party. The government of the unnamed country where the story is taking place hopes that Mr. Hosokawa will begin doing business there. Mr. Hosokawa, however, has no intention of doing business in this country and is only attending the party because opera singer Roxanne Coss is performing and he is a huge opera fan. During the party, a group of terrorists, 3 older and a group of much younger boys and girls, enter through the air conditioning ducts and take everyone hostage. Many are let go, including all the women except for Roxanne Coss.

Throughout the story of their long imprisonment the relationships between the hostages and their captors change, and the hostages themselves change. It becomes difficult for them to envisage a world and a life outside of their present situation. Mr. Hosokawa and Roxanne Coss develop a relationship, as do Gen, Mr. Hosokawa's translator, and a young girl, one of the terrorists. The story of how these relationships develop keeps the reader interested and wondering how things will turn out in the future.

Opera is a recurring theme throughout the book. Roxanne practices every day and the hostages and terrorists eagerly await her performance. One of the terrorists is found to have an extraordinary talent and she begins training him. She has big plans for his future, after this has ended, with seemingly little thought to the consequences of the kidnapping. Several other hostages and terrorists develop relationships of varying types, and make plans for "after" forgetting that things might not happen as smoothly as they would like.

There are several surprises at the end of the book that are somewhat jarring. Despite that, it's well worth reading.

The LPL Book Club meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at 4:00 PM. The next meeting will be July 25th and we will be discussing Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. This group is open to all.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

All That Is by James Salter


Buoyed by the 5 star ratings on Goodreads, I was excited to dive into this one by a respected author. I ususally don't do spoilers but seeing as how NOTHING happins in this book spanning 4 decades, I'm not giving anything away.  We start out on a promising note with a protagonist in the Pacific Fleet during WW2, and find out he was raised by a single mother.  OK, maybe these forces somehow shape his later life?  Nah!!

He ends up in New York, goes into publishing, marries, divorces, has a career and several love affairs, gets hollow revenge. But there's no emotion, no dramatic crescendo, no storyline - just an average white guy and his ordinary life, with ordinary friends and lovers meandering through their ordinary lives.  Salter definitely knows how to turn a phrase, but EXCUUUUSE ME - - I would like a PLOT please!!!    Sexist, with vacuous characters, this book feels like bad B/W movies from the '40s - - no wait! At least they had plots.  
Oh, and by the way, that guy swimming on the front cover?  Has nothing to do with the book.  






Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin

  Alright, so let me start by saying that a major perk of being a librarian is getting to read books before they hit the street.  This is one of those books.  Its official release date is July 23rd and you will definitely find it on our shelves after that.
  A Really Awesome Mess is a really awesome book.  The story is told through the alternating voices of Emmy and Justin.  Both have been sent to Heartland Academy (a.k.a. Assland), a reform school for emotionally disturbed youth.  Emmy earned her ticket by bullying a bully on Facebook (among other things) and Justin arrives after swallowing a fistful of Tylenol (among other things).
  Despite the seemingly grim circumstances surrounding their intake, neither Emmy nor Justin believes that they should be there.  As they get to know the other kids in their group, and one another, they find that they are all more alike than they want to admit.
  Ultimately, A Really Awesome Mess acts as a window, and sometimes a mirror, into the difficult lives of teens.  Family issues, eating disorders and sexual promiscuity all make an appearance within its pages.  Throw in friendship, romance and an escapade with a pig, and you've got one entertaining ride.  This book should not be missed. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Dinner  by Herman Koch

Translated from Dutch & billed as "A European Gone Girl", this book is a dark psychological study of parents & children, love & ambition. I am more apt to compare it to a Gillian Flynn novel ala We Need to Talk About Kevin,  except ALL the characters are - - uh, creepy?

The entire plot unfolds over dinner in a posh Amsterdam restaurant where 2 couples dance around an uncomfortable incident involving their children - who knows what? and how much? and when did they find out? and what do we do now?  Flashbacks abound to keep the reader puzzling - who ARE these people????   and what WERE they thinking????   Often described as fascist and voyeuristic, The Dinner is a delicious serving of evil that will leave your brain unsettled.  What a read for a book club!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Let me confess: I have hit a reading slump.  I decided to jump back into the pool with The Diviners by Libba Bray, simply because I had heard too many good things to ignore it any longer.  While the buzz was positive, I'm not a read-a-review before reading the book type of girl.  I like the element of surprise and the ability to form my own opinions.
The Diviners settles around our main character Evie who has been banished from her boring mid-west town for performing unusual party tricks.  This banishment suits Evie just fine, as her exile leads her to Manhattan.  The downside?  She has to stay with her uncle Will, an expert in all things creepy and the curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult.
As Solomon's Comet prepares to make an appearance, strange murders begin to occur, murders that mirror those that started fifty years ago, the last time Solomon's Comet came through town.  The police tap uncle Will to consult on the cases and Evie tags along.  Soon she realizes that her party trick may help them catch the killer.
The plot and characters are thorough and delicious.  The book is a certifiable tomb, but I found myself breezing through the pages, completely invested in the outcome.  I was annoyed once I got to the end and found that this is the first book in a series.  I guess that's where reading reviews, before reading the book, is helpful (sigh).  No doubt, Libba Bray has a set the stage for an unforgettable and un-put-downable new series.