Diane L

• Rated 2 stars

“This book seemed to be a mishmash of her grief after the death of her daughter AND he grief at aging. Disjointed. While I loved The Year of Magical Thinking, this one did't do much for me at all.”

Diane L wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“SInce we are going to read The Paris Wife for our June book club, I decided to read this as background. This is Hemingway's memoir of his time in Paris from 1921 - 1926. Not my cup of tea, but I did find his time with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald to be fascinating. Really a 2.5 only because it is not my taste.”

Diane L wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Tea Obreht is an author to watch. She has great potential ... a wonderful way with words. This is a good debut novel. The writing was so beautiful I wanted to give it more than 3 stars, but for some reason I couldn't. Maybe because there was so much magical realism I think I somehow did not "get" all of it. I especially enjoyed the combination of reality/mythology/superstitions. each chapter is almost a story onto itself. ”

Diane L wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“After taking a very long time to get into this historical fiction novel, I ended up liking it quite a bit. This is the story of Jews, in 70 AD, who defied the Romans at Masada ... a topic I knew nothing about. Told in four sections from the perspective of four strong women, this book had a great sense of place and well-developed characters. The depth of emotional strength and determination of these women fascinated me. Although from different "tribes" and different personalities, they worked together for their children. Included was a love story component and, as typical for Alice Hoffman, a bit of magical realism. I could not give more than 3 stars because it took about 100 pages to get into the story. The characters stayed with me after I finished reading.”

Diane L wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Ken Kimble is a "serial husband". Mrs. KImble delves into his three wives, each very different than the other. He's a snake, I don't like him at all. However, I found the three Mrs. KImbles interesting, but really only liked Dinah. Good novel and character development for Jennifer Haigh's first book. I'd like to read another by her.

I liked the ending ... a sort of blended family of his 3 children, third wife, and Wayne. What I don't understand is why some women fall for a man like Ken Kimble, a man they hardly know. Never knew the "rule" the French have about a wife/mistress --- half his age, plus 8 years!!”

Diane L wrote this review Monday, January 9, 2012. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Another book about sailing that I could not put down ... an exciting adventure. Because I just read Abby Sunderland's book and this tied so well into the dangers of sailing around the world, they were a perfect back-to-back combo, even though this is fiction. The timeframe is in the mid-1860's. A good look at the life of a sea captain's wife at home during his long journeys and of her life accompanying him on his travels. Their young children travel with them too. Also a realistic look at the changes husbands and wives go through in a marriage.”

Diane L wrote this review Tuesday, January 3, 2012. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Loved this book - fast read, adventure, but not very well-written. She is a remarkable young lady. Can't even begin to imagine sailing single-handedly anywhere, yet alone around the world! ”

Diane L wrote this review Monday, January 2, 2012. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Fascinating subject matter - brain injured woman who does not see or notice anything on her left (left of her plate, left arm, left side of room, etc.). If I had liked Sarah more, I would have given it 4 stars. She was a very high-powered business woman who had an accident while using her cell phone as she was driving. Jobs, money, and big house meant more to her and her husband than family. As Sarah progressed in her recovery, she came to see that she could no longer do it all. Even if she wanted to, she realized family and time were more important than money.

A good portrayal of someone, and the whole family, coping with the recuperation of a brain injury. Many changes for everyone ... acceptance, not giving up hope of recovery, adjustments, moving to a small town. The family has learned to celebrate the life they have and not bemoan the life they lost. There is a subplot of a mother -daughter relationship.”

Diane L wrote this review Friday, December 23, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“A very poignant book. A best-seller in Korea. I can see it being a best seller everywhere. The mother-dughter, mother-son, and wife-husband relationships are universal. When their elderly mother gets lost in Seoul, her children and husband put up flyers, look for her, and privately look back at their relationships with her. My relationship with my mom was not always easy, so I could relate to the guilt the daughters sometimes felt for things said and things unsaid. The husband only realized he loved is wife after she went missing. He learned things he never knew about her and realized how he could have helped her ... so sad to realize too late.

Written in the second person, which makes it a bit difficult to read at first, the story is told in four sections ... her daughter, her son, her husband, and the mother. In her section we see her inner life. This book brought back what I often think of ... do children ever really know their parents? We are also slowly shown how ill both parents are at this point in their lives.

I'd love to read more of Kyung-Sook Shin's books if they ever get translated to English.”

Diane L wrote this review Sunday, December 18, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 3 stars

“Kept my attention, I wanted to give it a 4, but just can't and I am not sure why because I enjoyed this psychological thriller. Christine has amnesia ... many memories erased as she sleeps. She starts keeping a journal, feels like Ben, her husband, is lying to her ... twist at the end.”

Diane L wrote this review Thursday, December 15, 2011. ( reply | permalink )