State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I have seen this book on "must-read" lists on the internet so when I saw it sitting in the "hot picks" section of the library I snatched it up! This is an adventure story that kept me turning the pages.

The book follows the story of Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmacologist, who must travel to a remote part of the Amazon in search of answers surrounding the untimely death of her friend and colleague, Anders Eckman. She is also tasked with determining the status of research done on a fertility drug that her employer, Vogel Corp., has funded. Heading the research is Dr. Annick Swenson, who has guarded the results of the research to the point of ridiculousness. Marina must convince Swenson to be more transparent with her results as the company's bottom line is dependent on the drug's commercial success.

I liked this book - it was fun. It wasn't a high brow literary work with a deeper meaning but I found the writing to be quite good and the characters complex and engaging. Patchett painted a great picture of the heat and oppressiveness of the Amazon, but it still made me want to go!

My only criticism is that I didn't like the ending. I wanted more as far as the outcomes of the characters in the story. The harshness of life on the Amazon is a big theme throughout the book and the reader definitely sees that played out in the book. The ending is "happy" in one sense but utterly heartbreaking in another. The reader goes with the protagonist on this adventure into the heart of the Amazon and experiences that hardships that go with that. I think that the unsatisfying ending is engineered to leave the reader with just that sense of being changed by the trip.

I would recommend this book for it's readability and it's engaging storyline. It's a good read, yo!

-Laurie

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

I finished A Visit from the Goon Squad a few days ago. However, in between getting my teeth drilled and feeling like I got punched in the mouth, I haven't really had the time to post my thoughts on the book.

But I have thought about this book.

This book was hard to connect with emotionally. No two chapters are told from the same character's point of view and the chapters do not go in chronological order. Some of the characters are marginally connected to the others. I went from one chapter to the next surprised that such a minor character in the life of the previous narrator will be featured so prominently in the next chapter. It got a little difficult keeping track of all these people and why they were important.

There were so many characters and connections in this book that I drew myself a chart after finishing to help me visualize it all:

I know it's difficult to read all the character's names but it's not important - the network itself is important. Sasha and Bernie (at the center of the graph) are kind of the epicenter of the story which is why I highlighted their names. Sasha and Bernie are connected to each other for some time in the story and they are connected to others at various other points in time (but not forever - this chart shows connections without regard for when the connection existed).

The book focuses on these connections over time and how they break apart and new connections form. Time is also a big theme with "time" being the "goon" as referred to in the title: time ravages and destroys and it leaves no person untouched. Sasha and Bernie each undergo radical changes in their circumstances during the course of their lives (as do those connected to them).

The book discussed the music industry, the entertainment industry, and public-relations type things with many characters involved in these spaces in some capacity. I think the author dislikes the entertainment and music industries and uses the characters to communicate a distrust for these industries: they are false. I would have to agree with her on that point. It's all smoke and mirrors as far as I'm concerned and it's not satisfying in the end.

I did enjoy reading this book even though it was hard to really empathize with any of the characters. I was happy that the author didn't fall into the "Valentine's Day" trap (that movie with a billion high profile movie stars that falls flat). A Visit from the Goon Squad keeps things interesting by shifting time periods, perspectives, and mood and tone. The reader is constantly having to readjust mindsets for each new character. It was done well. It had serious moments without being too heavy. One chapter is told entirely in the form of slides (i.e. Power Point slides) - but it is still done so well and communicates the complexity of the relationships involved in that situation.

Overall, this book did not hit me with the full force of emotion but the characters were complex and interesting. The changing timeline was an adventure. I say: read it!

Until next time,

Laurie

This and That

Friday arvo (that's Aussie for "afternoon") I spent some time shopping in the downtown district of Melbourne. I went into Big W which is very similar to a Walmart State-side. I had to take a look at the book selection. I have to say, I was a little bit disappointed as there wasn't much to choose from in my favorite genres.

I did see a few books that peeked my interest...only because I know I would not spend the time to read them. Shocking!



Eh, sorry Snooki: I won't be needing your advice on how to keep my skin that shade of orange.



Ozzy is pretty cool, this might not be so bad as long as it as read as strictly humor.

 There was also a moment of nostalgia in the book store when I saw this book:

The Babysitters Club books are still around! Before sexually active vampires hit the scene, girls could read books that were pretty darned wholesome and entertaining. I read quite a few in this series in the fourth and fifth grade. In fact, they helped me develop the love of reading I have today. Good times!

Just a few thoughts today...still working my way through A Visit From the Goon Squad.

Until next time,
Laurie

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

I finished Breakfast at Tiffany's in about two hours (it's only a little over one hundred pages long). Since it is a classic I was expecting a much more difficult read a la Sinclair Lewis (still not sure how I managed to read Arrowsmith in its entirety). Maybe I shouldn't be so intimidated by classics after all.

Anyway, what did I think about the story? First of all, see this page for a synopsis.

Holly Golightly is the object of the narrator's story. On the surface she is a carefree party girl who makes the scene and the society section of the news paper. She has plenty of suitors, loves good fashion, and is in my opinion quite a flake. That's right: I'm not a fan of this character. I know Audrey Hepburn is cute as a button playing her in the film version, but the character, as created by Capote, has got some major issues and I feel for the poor soul.

There's a lot of symbolism floating around in the story with cages and her pet, a stray: mainly that she just can't imagine that anything should have to live inside a cage or be withheld from their wild nature. She and the cat don't belong to each other - they just found each other and they are in some sort of non-committed cat-owner arrangement. But PLEASE, darling: commitment is so passe...we couldn't possibly imagine such a trite concept! (sarcasm).

As the novel progresses and the reader learns more about Golightly, we discover that she's not a very happy person but it's her own doing. She left a marriage where she was loved and doted on. She flees for New York. Eventually, she chooses to flee New York and the friendship of the narrator whom she calls "Fred".

I can't be bothered with the whole "wild hearts can't be tamed" and "she's just a wild spirit" bullshit. The cage IS happiness! She refuses to get in the cage and thus she will never find contentment. It follows her around but she willfully turns it away. In the end, she puts her cat on the street telling it to "scram" or something similar (since they were never in a committed pet-owner relationship anyway) but she realizes that she is wrong. She and the cat DID belong to each other. But she leaves anyway in spite of this insight.

I'm happy that this book does not glamorize the Cut and Run Syndrome: it's emotional cowardice and I think this novel highlights that. Golightly is not a hero in the end but a victim of her own inner demons.

Given that I reacted to the Golightly character as strongly as I did, I do say that it is an effective story. I guess I could delve deeper into the meaning of everything in this book but I really don't want to (which I guess is an opinion in itself).

It's a classic - you should read it.

Tootles,
Laurie

Read the Awards Challenge 2012

I am participating in a reading challenge hosted by fellow book blogger, Girlxoxo. I decided to do this because I really want to read these books anyway so the planets aligned and off we go!

There are three levels for this challenge:

• Level 1 - Gold - Read 10+ books
• Level 2 - Silver - Read 6 - 9 books
• Level 3 - Bronze Read 1-5 books

I think I am going to keep things realistic and stick to the Bronze Level.

As fate would have it, yesterday I picked up a copy of A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (2011 winner of the Pulitzer Prize) so I am ready to get reading.

Here goes nothing!

Keep reading,
Laurie

Breaking News

I have joined a book club and February's book is Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. I'm so scared, y'all! I've only read the classics when I HAD to like in high school and college.

My mission for today is to find that book and read the first chapter. Stay tuned to see if my lazy ass will actually do it!

Laters,
Laurie

**Update: no need to worry - finished this 100 pager in about 2 hours. Done already!**

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go is a page turner that reminded me a lot of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (although Never Let Me Go is not a futuristic dystopia like BNW but more of a parallel universe dystopia as it's set in the late 1990's). In fact, there's no mention of any futuristic technology and Ishiguro makes a point to not do so. Thus, the reader can immediately draw close parallels between NLMG and our current reality.

The book is voiced by Kathy H., who has grown up at a school called Hailsham, which is located in an isolated section of English country side. As a reader, you are confronted immediately with Kathy's vocabulary usage of "donor", "carer", and "completed". Clues as to the meanings of these words are revealed gradually through out the novel and I think that is meant to mirror the growing awareness of Kathy and her classmates from Hailsham as to who they are and their purpose in life. Each of these clues adds to the disturbing feeling that the reader experiences as one realizes the nature of the madness that this parallel society (but it also makes the reader realize that actual society is not that much different from Ishiguro's creation).

Central to Kathy's story are her two best friends, Ruth and Tommy, who have grown up with her at Hailsham. Ruth and Tommy eventually become a couple and Kathy is close friends with both of them.

As the second part of the novel progresses, the reader sees how relationship complications of this threesome eventually come to break them apart. However, in the third part of the book, they are brought back together under completely different circumstances and the reader witnesses the depth of their love for each other.

In addition to the relationship between these three characters, the ultimate outcome and the purpose behind their existence and others like them is deeply disturbing. It got me thinking not only about how scientific advances thrust more power into the hands of humans who are ultimately incapable of handling it, but also about how societies throughout time have always had a class of people who are dispensable.

Harvesting internal organs can symbolically mean using the lives of some for the benefit of others...like slavery. Slaves lives were (are) basically given away to enrich a few. An example, the better off in rich countries use a disproportionate amount of the world's resources at the expense of the poorer peoples...their sacrifices make our posh lifestyles possible and we think little of it. It begs the question if true equality within humanity is ever possible and if this user-usee relationship will always exist in some form or another for the remainder of history. For all our "enlightenment" it seems like we have gotten no farther in this area. Ishiguro is just presenting yet another possible situation where that can play out.

This is a good book and I foresee it becoming a modern classic. There is so much to think about.

Now, I just have to figure out how I can get a rental copy of this movie!

Literarily Yours,
Laurie

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Welcome to Black and White and Read All Over! This is the very first post and book review on this blog. May this be the beginning of an enduring and successful project.

Today I will review the novel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides which was published in 2002 and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

We learn from the very first page that the main character's story is about gender identity (i.e. (s)he is a hermaphrodite). This first person account is not your typical After-School-Special coming of age story about sexual identity,  and that is the source of the author's mastery.

This novel goes beyond narrator's life story exploring the origins his gender ambiguity and how it is the result of decisions made by his forebears. The story begins in Greece with the scandalous coupling of his paternal grandparents. The reader witnesses their voyage across the Atlantic and subsequent settling in Detroit, Michigan. As his grandparents begin their new lives in the new world and their family tree grows into the next generation, the scene is set for the introduction of the protagonist along with his dark secret.

This novel was intriguing. Even though the protagonist was born a female and was reared as a female, the voice of Cal is undeniably male. There's a matter-of-fact tone to Cal's story that lacks the melodrama that a female voice might interject. Cal states the facts in an almost objective way and because of this, the reader does not pity Cal because he was wrongly labeled a female. Instead the reader is treated to the great journey through time culminating in this strange, marvelous entity that is fated from several generations back.

This book makes the reader question gender. "Gender" is really a societal construct. Science tells us that all children begin with the very same sex organs in the womb. It is only the hormones secreted that determine if those sex organs will form the female sex organs or male ones. But what if the hormones are insufficient? What of the individuals who are "in-between" sexes because of some chromosomal anomaly? How do they fit into a society that has such rigid definitions of male and female? This book raises a lot of questions not just about gender identity in society but also about identity in general. How much of our identity is really "us" and how much of it has come pre-constructed by society?

Like all good books, this novel does not seek to answer these questions but raise the concerns in the readers' minds.

This is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who can approach it with an open mind.

Keep reading,
Laurie