The Most Beautiful Book in the World

The Most Beautiful Book in the World:  Eight Novellas by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, translated by Alison Anderson

Published:  2009 by Europa Editions

Source:  Purchased

  I am by no means an expert about books, especially about books in translation; but since I do read a lot I am often asked by friends and colleagues to suggest something to read.  If I am ever asked to suggest a book in translation for someone who has not read one before, I will tell them to pick up The Most Beautiful Book in the World.  Immediately.

  Though the title of this collection comes from one of its stories (side note: they are referred to as novellas, but their length suggests short stories to me), it is an apt description for the entire book.  Each story is quite different, but all of them are engaging and - for me anyway - take you from happiness to sadness and back again all within a few pages.  Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt does an amazing job of creating interesting and identifiable female characters as well.  Several times I found myself in a story, because I could completely relate to the situation being faced.

  I can't claim a favorite story in this book because I really and truly enjoyed them all.  The good thing about a short story collection is that you can dip in and out as you have time; but I raced through all eight in an afternoon, and I know I will return to them.

  Highly recommended.

The Submission by Amy Waldman

The Submission by Amy Waldman

Published:  2011 by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux

Source:  Purchased (e-book)

  Few historical events have had the widespread impact of the attacks on September 11, 2001.  It seems everyone's life changed to some extent - from the minor inconveniences of airport security searches (my opinion:  they aren't a problem if you have nothing to hide) to the much greater effects of "average" Muslims being persecuted and the loss of family members and friends.  And it became an event that caused division and conflict, which Amy Waldman so wonderfully portrays in her novel, The Submission. 

  I loved this book.

  The book opens about two years after the attacks, where a jury of artists and political appointees are reviewing blind submissions for a memorial to the attack that will be built in New York City.  One of the members of the jury - Claire Burwell, widowed due to the attacks and the only family member on the jury - aggressively fights for one of the entries, a garden design.  Eventually, the jury agrees with her and votes for the garden, but when the name of the winning designer is revealed, all are shocked to find out that he is Mohammed Khan, American born and raised, but Muslim.

 

  So begins the conflict arising from this choice.  Although the jury is sworn to secrecy until they decide what to do about this issue, the name is leaked and Khan becomes a public figure to be denounced by anti-Muslim and 9/11 family groups and to be lauded by Muslim activists.  Mohammed (Mo, to his friends)  and Claire not only are the center of attention in this controversy, they are also conflicted within themselves, wavering between maintaining support for the garden or giving up and bow to the detractors. 

  Through the novel we see the issue from three other perspectives:  Sean Gallagher, the ne'er do well brother of a firefighter killed on 9/11 and who is now trying to do right by him; Asma Anwar, an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant whose husband - a custodian at the World Trade Center - was killed and who wants recognition of her loss; and Alyssa Spier, a journalist trying to establish her career on this story.  What I found so engaging about the novel is that Waldman weaves everyone's narratives together; so that even though you may be reading one perspective at a time, you also see one or more of the other characters and gain insight into their opinion as well.

  As I read this book, I was at times happy, sad and angry.  The whole issue of what constitutes a proper memorial and who has the right to create it becomes polarizing rather than unifying.  One reviewer mentioned that she wavered back and forth on who she supported, and while I didn't do that I can completely understand that feeling.  The novel does not provide answers,  but it does show that ugliness can reveal itself anywhere. 

  Highly highly recommended (and it would be perfect for book group discussions)



Help! What Should I Read Next?

  I have a few books on my to-read shelves.  Well, a more than a few.  A lot.  And it has caused me to be paralyzed with the overabundance of choice -- how to choose what to read next?  In a brief moment of clarity I thought of an idea (yes, it does happen occasionally) -- why don't I let others decide for me? 

  So ...... introducing my first readers' poll!
  Since I read both fiction and non-fiction, I've selected three of each from which to choose:

Fiction:

• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
• The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
• The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

Non-Fiction:

• The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit by Lucette Lagnado
• Carrots 'N' Cake by Tina Haupert
• In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

  You have until September 30 to vote in the polls to the right.  The winning books will be on my October reading list - and I promise to read and review them.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

What's in a Name Challenge - Quickie Reviews

I've been a bit lazy (ok a lot lazy) and have a stack of books sitting next to my computer patiently waiting for me to compose review posts.  Several of them are for reading challenges so to kill two birds with one stone I am going to do quickie reviews for my remaining books of the What's in a Name Challenge 4:

The Monster of Florence  by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi.  This is a bizarre true crime story about a serial killer in Florence.  Preston, a fiction writer, moved his family to Florence to research a book when he discovered that his home was near the scene of one of the murders.  With Spezi, a prominent journalist who had followed the case since its beginning, he describes the crimes and the bizarre, seemingly inept search for the killer/killers.  I normally don't read true crime but I did find this story quite interesting and would recommend it to those who enjoy thrillers.

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.  This is a wonderful novel about a young Mexican girl, Nayeli, who with three friends makes an expedition from their small village to the United States to convince the village's men - and specifically for Nayeli, her father -  to return and help protect them from the drug-dealing gangs that are harassing the residents.  The issue of immigration - legal and illegal - is the underlying theme of this novel and as a result there are some not-pleasant moments, but unlike such books as  The Tortilla Curtain, to me the tone of this book was uplifting.  If you enjoyed The Tortilla Curtain, then I would definitely recommend this novel as well.

Woo hoo!  I've completed a challenge!

Far to Go by Alison Pick

Far to Go by Alison Pick

Published:  2010 by House of Anansi Press/Harper Collins Canada

Source:  Purchased

  This novel begins with a prophetic sentence:  "I wish this were a happy story."  Given that much of the narrative is set in Czechoslovakia at the time of Nazi occupation just before the beginning of World War II, one can immediately assume what type of unhappy story this will be; but it is more than that.

  The novel interweaves the narrative mentioned above - the story of Pavel and Anneliese Bauer, a prosperous Jewish couple who waver on sending their young son, Pepik, on a Kindertransport, and Pepik's nanny, Marta - with that of an unnamed narrator.  This narrator is a professor of Holocaust studies at a university in Canada and her area of interest is the children who were evacuated from Eastern Europe to England in the Kindertransports; she is obviously a lonely person and through her story we start to see the connection between this and her area of specialty.  She has a particular interest in the Bauer family, and she has kept a detailed file of their archived correspondence. 

 

  Marta is the focus of the historical narrative, and she is an interesting character.  Working for the Bauers after fleeing an apparently abusive home life, she finds comfort with them, and even though she questions the logic of her loyalty once persecution of the Jews begins, she realizes that the Bauers are the closest thing to a family she has known.  Pepik adores her - as she does him - and Pavel and Anneliese treat her as more than just a servant. 

  As the first sentence indicates, this novel is not a happy story.  That said, Alison Pick writes it so well that it is a pleasure to read - not only for the language she uses, and the interweaving narratives with copies of some letters from the archive; but for the mystery she creates, so even though you have an idea of the outcome, there are lingering questions throughout the novel that keep you reading. 

Highly recommended.

 

  

Book Blogger Appreciation Week -- Reading and Blogging

  So it's Book Blogger Appreciation Week!  For some strange reason there isn't a Hallmark card for this occasion, but greetings to one and all nonetheless.

  I've missed much of the activities earlier in the week because I had some stuff going on, but I thought I needed to write something about today's topic -- how has blogging changed your reading habits?

  I have always been a reader, but I always did it quietly.  My tastes are somewhat eclectic and all over the map, and very rarely did I ever find anyone who had read a book I was reading or had read.  When I discovered book blogs and podcasts, though, it seemed like a whole new world opened up to me, and I felt comfortable expressing my passion for books and for reading; at first just in post comments, and eventually into my own blog, and I now will easily talk about books to anyone who will stand around long enough to listen.

  Book blogs have also introduced me to books that I might not have tried on my own, and to books that I never would have heard about otherwise.  As a result, my to-read list is long and the piles of books to be read on my shelves never seem to get smaller (my name is Suzanne and I am a bookaholic).  It occurred to me that I started a feature called A Blogger Recommended last year but didn't do more than a few posts - I think I need to resurrect it to properly highlight the contributions of so many bloggers to my reading life.

5 Best Books: (Recovering from) Tragedy

The 5 Best Books is a meme hosted by Cassandra at Indie Reader Houston.

  To coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, this week's topic is the 5 Best Books on Recovering from Tragedy. 

1. The Submission by Amy Waldman.  Ok, I've only just started this book but I think its subject matter is directly related to the healing process surrounding such a massive tragic event. 
2. Far to Go by Alison Pick.  I've just finished this novel (review to come) and it shows a different perspective of recovery from the tragedy that was the Holocaust.
3. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill.  I don't know that the tragedy of slavery is something from which one can recover, but Hill's Aminata is an amazing strong woman despite what she endured.
4. Night by Elie Wiesel.  Just the fact that Wiesel lived to tell this tale is a testament to some sort of recovery of his experiences
5. Season to Taste:  How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum.  A wonderful memoir by an aspiring chef who lost her sense of smell (and almost her life) after a major car accident.  Inspirational story of making lemonade when life gives you some lemons.