Loved loved loved this book. Reading this book was just about as close to a religious experience for me as anything else I've experienced in my life. Loved loved loved this book. Reading this book was just about as close to a religious experience for me as anything else I've experienced in my life. This book will make you change how you think about life.
Without giving away too many spoilers, this book is about a man who knows that the world will end on a particular day when he is 36 years old. Moreover, he has known this since he was in utero, when an omniscient panel of voices (who occasionally provide guidance throughout his life) so inform him. The book starts at chapter 97 and counts down, so the reader shares Junior's sense of impending doom. Aside from this somewhat sci-fi element, the book is primarily about an American family whose screwed-up-edness (brother copes with drug problems and then mental problems, mom battles severe alcoholism, father is unable to express affection) makes them both convincingly believable in the same way that authors like Jonathan Franzen and John Irving are able to do. The plot at times takes seemingly far-fetched turns of events such that I could never quite tell whether the narrator was truly receiving communications from God-like figures and whether the other preposterous things that happened to him were real, or whether he was simply schizophrenic. While the entire book was an amazing read, the last 30 pages were what makes the book worth reading (though whatever you do, do not skip ahead - it won't be the same!). ...more
Freakin' loved it. This book was incredible. It told the epic tale of Oscar Wao and his family's journey from the Dominican Republic to the US, and baFreakin' loved it. This book was incredible. It told the epic tale of Oscar Wao and his family's journey from the Dominican Republic to the US, and back again. Each chapter focuses on a different character - first Oscar, then his older sister, then his mom when she was growing up back in the DR, etc - but is told from the same omniscient narrator, who is eventually revealed as the subject of one of the book's later chapters. All of the characters were absolutely lovable and relatable. The writing style was a delight - like an urban, modern day, hip but slightly nerdy JRR Tolkien. The book also provides a chilling account of the history of the DR. So good. I have a hard time imagining who wouldn't love this book. ...more
I've heard Jonathan Franzen say that one of the things he strives for is to create characters that you both love and hate at the same time. He describI've heard Jonathan Franzen say that one of the things he strives for is to create characters that you both love and hate at the same time. He described his frustration with characters that were completely good or completely bad. This endeavor sums up Freedom in a nutshell.
The book is about people. A family, more specifically. It's not really about anything more particular than that, just people being people. The author has an incredible ability to put his finger on the most minor of insights into human nature. It's one of those books where you see the good and the bad in yourself over and over in the characters and their stories, because the author has crammed in so much humanity, it's impossible not to see yourself and the core of what makes you human in his characters. It feels like you are somehow reading your own diary that you didn't know you had written.
An incredibly well-written book and delightful to read. I can't wait for his next book. ...more
This book was so good. The book takes place in the 1980s in England. The main character is Nick guest, a young gay man living with the family of a ConThis book was so good. The book takes place in the 1980s in England. The main character is Nick guest, a young gay man living with the family of a Conservative member of Parliment. The book touches on themes like money, politics, power, and the AIDS epidemic. I think that Nick Guest is the most vivid and endearing character ever. Alan Hollinghurst now has a spot at the top of my list of very favorite contemporary writers (along with Zadie Smith). The writing/style was so graceful & insightful I found myself underlining favorite passages as I went along. It's no wonder this book one the Booker Prize in 2004. Read it!!...more
You've got to read this book. The best piece of feminist literature ever written. Maybe even the best piece of literature.
Set in the not too distant You've got to read this book. The best piece of feminist literature ever written. Maybe even the best piece of literature.
Set in the not too distant future, the story of Offred (Of Fred). Religious radicals have taken over the country, almost all women have become barren, and those that are still able to reproduce are used as 'handmaids' (childbearers) for privileged women. Offred isn't a radical, in your face character, she's just a regular woman who used to have a regular life. The story flashes back to her life in 'normal' America, her time during the transition as she was being trained to be a handmaid, and is set in her present life living in the house of a powerful commander for the new government.
I think this my very, very favorite book. Read it!!...more
This is one of my five all time favorite books (along with the Handmaid's Tale, On Beauty, the Red Tent, & Corelli's Mandolin). It is a patch work stoThis is one of my five all time favorite books (along with the Handmaid's Tale, On Beauty, the Red Tent, & Corelli's Mandolin). It is a patch work story of many characters' lives; by the end of the story, you see how they all intersect.
This was one of those books where when I finished the book I was completely invested in each of the character's life. The story is set in post-independence India and explores a number of social/political issues of the time (i.e. land reform, muslim-hindu relations, women's rights, arranged marriage, the caste system), but the political commentary doesn't hit you over the head, and the characters really drive the story.
Despite my enthusiastic recommendations, I've had a hard time finding anyone to read this book! At 1379 pages it is apparently the longest book to be printed in English in one volume. However I found it to be a total page turner. Just resign yourself to the fact that you'll be reading this book for a couple of months and give it a try. ...more
One of my top 5 all time favorites. This book deals with racial issues in America better than any book I've ever read.
The story follows the lives of One of my top 5 all time favorites. This book deals with racial issues in America better than any book I've ever read.
The story follows the lives of two rival families in a fictional Ivy League college town outside Boston. The fathers of both families teach at the college. As the book progresses, you follow the story of each member of the Belsey family's life. You can't help but just fall in love with each character, and flawed as they almost all are, you can totally see things from their perspective. Howard is the (white) patriarch, and has good intentions but is tragically flawed. Kiki is the matriarch and powerhouse of the family. Jerome is the eldest son, and despite always having been 'the good son' frustrates his atheist family when he becomes a born-again Christian. Zora is the take-on-the-world college aged daughter. Levi is the youngest (and in my opinion the most loveable!), and seems to struggle the most with his mixed-race identity and desperately wants to relate to 'real' african americans (as opposed to the upper class intellectual kind).
You've got to read this book. Then go read White Teeth too.
The good news is that Zadie Smith is only 33 and is bound to come out with lots more books!!...more
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