StellaMac

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 1 stars

“Couldn't finish this. Two of the dreariest characters in fiction. I won't read anything else by Shreve based on the strength of this.”

StellaMac wrote this review Sunday, February 28, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Up in the North of Scotland, a woman called Isserly is looking to pick up hitchhikers. She's only interested in well-muscled, fine male specimens (aren't we all, sir?) that she scopes out thoroughly, driving past them three times before stopping to give them a lift. Once she has her man in the car, she engages them in conversation to discover their background, whether or not they have any family, any job to go to, etc. Meanwhile, the hitchhikers can see that there's something not quite right with this large-breasted, thick-bespectacled woman who has taken pity on them and given them a ride. It's soon apparent to the reader that there's nothing right with Isserly at all and everything is wrong, all wrong.

This is quite an atmospheric book which takes you on a ride somewhere and you're never quite sure where you're going to end up. With little clues dropped here and there, you think you know what's happening and then some giant clanger will be dropped in your lap and you discover that you have rethink the whole scenario all over again. At least I did. It was a rollercoaster of a ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that I felt that some of the social themes could have been explored with a tad more subtlety and some of the imagery made me feel slightly queasy. A quick, exhilerating read, well worth the time and energy.”

StellaMac wrote this review Thursday, February 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“From the back of the book, "One one of the most important days of her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has lead them to the White House, and faces contradictions years in the making.Weaving race, class, wealth and fate into a brilliant tapestry, this remarkable novel lays bare the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love."

A good, quite lengthy (over 600 pages) read, this one. It really does weave race, class wealth and fate successfully through a story of one woman's lifetime and adds sexual politics into the mix. Alice is an engaging storyteller and thoroughly convincing. I admit I tired of the excesses of America's overly rich and privileged at one point. In fact, I nearly put the book down but I'm glad I plugged on in the end. The rest of the story made up for that. I found the whole tone of the book quite sad but ultimately, Alice's inner strength and belief in her convictions as a woman fundamentally opposed to her husband's politics rewarding.

Apparently, Alice Blackwell shares some of the same life experiences as former First Lady Laura Bush which leads one to believe that the story may give a vague insight into the life of a woman married to one of the most hated men in recent history. In fact, a friend once said she was a little afraid to read this book because she'd heard that it might make you sympathise with Laura Bush. Certainly, when Alice says, "...his election is my fault, his presidency is my fault, his war is my fault. Why couldn't I have just let him be an alcoholic. Plenty of wives out up with it every day!" I think it's a little hard not to feel sorry for her. Despite that, I enjoyed this story. Lets say, 7 or 8/10.”

StellaMac wrote this review Thursday, February 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“There is a presence in 66, Star St, watching over the residents, telling us their stories. The stories of Lydia, the evil pixie and her two Polish flatmates; Katie who works in the music industry and has a boyfriend, Conall, who is flash with his cash but comes up short when it comes to demonstrating any real affection, so she feels; Matt &; Maeve, who wrap themselves around each other while watching telly at night and do random acts of kindness through the day; Lydia, an old lady who lives with her dog named Grudge, can feel the presence but doesn't know what it is and who is looking forward very much to a visit from her foster-son, Fionn, a soon-to-be big star tv gardener. All at once, the residents of 66, Star St have their lives turned upside down by fate while the mysterious presence is running its own race against time.

I enjoyed this book up to a point. All of the characters were lovely enough, except perhaps Katie who just got my goat for some reason. Matt & Maeve were heartbreaking and endearing. Fionn for all his annoying-ness was a loveable tit. I loved the evil pixie, Lydia, and her Polish friends. I laughed and I cried, like I always do with a Marian Keyes but I also had a great moment of eye-rolling exasperation at the point where I realised the crux of the story and the purpose of the mysterious presence. Seriously, it detracted enormously from my enjoyment of this book. Had the magical element been taken out of this novel (and Lydia's ending been changed to the way I wanted) I would have said this was a top read. As it is, I can really only say it was one of those OK reads. I've read worse but I've read way, way better and certainly from way better from Marian Keyes.”

StellaMac wrote this review Thursday, February 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Carolyn Mackenzie is a 26 year old lawyer in New York. Her father died in the terrorist attack of 9/11 and her brother, Mack, has been missing for the past 10 years. Mack calls home once per year every Mother's Day. This year, Carolyn decides she has had enough and tells her brother during his yearly call that she is going to find him. Despite a warning note, left in their priest uncle's collection basket at Sunday mass, Carolyn gets the police involved in Mack's disappearance. It just so happens that at the same time, a young woman goes missing. The young woman calls home to tell her family she will now call once per year, on Mother's Day. Mack, his family and friends soon become suspects in the disappearance of this young woman and others who have gone missing through the years. Carolyn now has her work cut out for her to find her brother and clear his name or find her brother and defend him against the allegations.

This is not usually my type of read. I find Mary Higgins Clark novel a little superficial for my taste and not really challenging enough. However, you may or may not know that January was a rough month for my family and me. My clever friend, an Air Hostess with Swiss, reads these airport bestsellers to keep up her English skills and then passes them along to me. I've been thankful for them of late since I picked this one up to re-establish my concentration levels which were shot to an all-time low with the recent events. Again, I found the story superficial and unchallenging but it was a fast, easy read with a Dickensian cast of characters and real page-turner of a climax. Exactly what I needed to get back into the swing of reading again. I enjoyed it a fair bit. So much so, that I picked up another that my friend had given me and am currently ripping through that too. Unpretentious, entertaining and enjoyable.”

StellaMac wrote this review Thursday, February 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Grace Marks is an Irish emigrant to Canada who has left her alcoholic, abusive father and gone into service. After a short but happy time working alongside a new friend, Grace finds herself a new position in service to a Mr Thomas Kinnear, working with his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. It's not long before Grace and another house employee, James McDermott are arrested, tried and sentenced for the murders of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery. Grace, by virtue of the fact that she is either unable or unwilling to recall the envents surrounding the murders soon becomes one of Canada's most notorious criminals. A psychologist, Dr Simon Jordan visits the prison to interview Grace, using a series of new techniques to try and restore Grace's memory. Will we ever know what happened that day.

This is a historical fiction, based on the real-life case of Grace Marks, convicted of murder in 1843. Margaret Atwood has wound the true story around a series of fictional characters, chiefly that of Simon Jordan cleverly. Grace's story is compelling and intimately told, in an authentic voice. The characters surrounding Grace are fun and interesting as well, particularly Dr Jordan who has to deal with his bothersome mother's correspondence which provides comic relief regularly throughout the novel. I picked this book up as soon as I got home from the Margaret Atwood reading since she had told us that she started writing it in Zürich all those years ago and started reading, all excited. It was a great read. Loved it.”

StellaMac wrote this review Monday, January 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“In a dystopian future, Toby and Ren are two former members of God's Gardeners, a cult which prefers to grow their own food from the ground and only resorts to eating meat in the very direst of straits. Separately, however, it seems that Toby and Ren are in the direst of straits since they seem to be the only two people on earth who have survived "the flood", a catastrophe foretold by the leaders of God's Gardeners which has wiped out civilisation as they knew it. In their two separate voices, Toby and Ren tell their stories of life as members of the cult, life after the cult and how they managed to avoid falling foul of the catastrophic events which lead to their current predicaments.

The Year of the Flood is a sequel to Oryx and Crake, the book I raved about in my last review. A few of the same characters make an appearance in this story which is more or less a retelling of Oryx and Crake from the pleeblands. However, I don't think it must necessarily be read after Oryx and Crake. The God's Gardeners and the rebel/vigilante groups actively fighting the police state are explored intimately and with affection by Toby and Ren who tell their compelling stories well, with distinct voices (apart from the first and third person voices, that is) and make you care about them. I was particularly drawn to Ren, the younger of the two women and turned the pages frantically in the hope that all would turn out well for her. Snowman/Jimmy makes a return in this book and I read and read greedily until we discovered his fate.

Another fantastic and fully satisfying read. Before starting, I was worried* that this book would taint my view of Oryx and Crake with an inferior story and silly, unnecessary explanations** but I needn't have been concerned. This stands alone as a story in and of itself but is a brilliant companion to one of the best reads of the year. I *heart* Margaret Atwood. She's just amazing.

*for about a nanosecond.
**you know, like the sequels to Highlander? Travesty.”

StellaMac wrote this review Monday, January 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Somewhere in the future, Snowman lives in a tree. He is able sleep here with no fear of being attacked by the various strange splices of creatures roaming freely since civilisation collapsed. He lives close by an odd group of people he calls the Crakers. The Crakers are curious about Snowman and look to him for answers to their questions about their strange existence. What they don't know is that Snowman used to be a boy named Jimmy. Jimmy grew up in a police state where families of corporate employees lived on compounds and didn't mix with those from outside the compounds, the pleeblands. Jimmy recalls his past and takes us through his lifetime right up until the events which caused the collapse of the world as he knew it.

By the time I was a third of the way through, I realised excitedly that this book was going to challenge The Handmaid's Tale as my favourite Atwood novel and even perhaps become one of my favourite books of all time. Fast moving, the story is intriguing and the characters fascinating. The world Jimmy grew up in is strange and yet recognisable as a direction we find ourselves moving in now, making the dystopian future the author creates entirely plausible and ever so creepy. Science fiction with a love story/adventure twist, I could hardly put this book down. This is the kind of book I would buy for friends and insist they read it immediately so I can talk at them about it. Can't recommend it highly enough. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.”

StellaMac wrote this review Monday, January 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Claireece Precious Jones (known as Precious) is an obese black, 16 year old, mother of one child, pregnant with another living in Harlem. Her own father has been sexually abusing her since she was around three years old and has fathered her two children; her oldest, born when Precious was 12, has Downs Syndrome and lives with Precious's grandmother. If that's not enough, Preecious's mother beats her and also sexually abuses her.


Precious is expelled from school for being pregnant, much to her annoyance. However, the teacher who expels her has organised for the illiterate Precious to attend a different school programme, Each One Teach One, to earn her GED. Although Precious is at first furious with her teacher for removing her from school she attends the new programme and is pushed to learn to read. Through learning to read and write Precious learns that she and her children are entitled to a better life and she works towards providing that.

In this story of poor unfortunates who fall through the cracks of society, Precious's voice is a stream of consciousness written in her own dialect which took a few pages to get the rhythm of but once established was fairly easy to read. However, the subject matter is often painful to read; the sexual and violent abuse she suffers is told by Precious in some detail and often I wondered how one person could possibly survive blow after blow as Precious does. She survives it because she never succumbs to victim mentality. One of the things I loved about Precious was her clarity of mind and her determination to lay the blame for what happened to her squarely at the feet of those who deserved it. Of course, it's a moving read; in all of the horror the moments when Precious finds kindness in others brought me to tears and I loved seeing Precious blossom on the page as her reading and writing skills improved with her time in Each One Teach One. This is an unforgettable story which depressed, shocked and angered me but thankfully, left me hopeful. It's a book that can be read in one or two sittings but shouldn't be read without a packet of tissues very handy.”

StellaMac wrote this review Monday, January 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

0 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 1 stars

“Elspeth Noblin, twin sister of Edie has died. She has left her diaries and private papers to her lover, Robert, and the rest of her estate- money, second-hand book business and London flat- to her sister's twin daughters, Julia and Valentina. This is on condition that the twins live in the flat for a year before selling it and that Edie and her husband are never to set foot in it.

Julia is keen to seize the opportunity to move to London and althought reluctant, Valentina agrees. Their new flat overlooks Highgate Cemetery where Robert is a guide while working on his Ph. D. thesis. Robert also lives in the flat below the girls while above the girls lives Martin; crippled by OCD and unable to leave his flat, or indeed, look out of his windows, Martin's beloved wife Marijke has finally had enough and left him. While Valentina and Robert hit it off, Julia makes friends with Martin. While her friends and neighbours are getting to know her nieces, Elspeth has found herself in a new life as a ghost, haunting her old flat. Everybody has to overcome something in order to move on.

I desperately wanted to love this book. So much so that I even bought it in hardback (I never do harback). I had read The Time Traveler's Wife and wasn't so enamoured with it as some others had been but the synopsis of and general hype surrounding this book had me intrigued. Sadly, I have to report that it started oh, so promisingly but descended into nonsense by about the half-way mark. And not just the plot which could have been strengthened by the characterisation but didn't since it tended toward cliché- I had decided I was bored with Valentina, the younger (by minutes), weaker (physically and mentally), yet somehow more desirable twin within the first couple of chapters. A gaping plot hole (as far as I could see) didn't help and there's a big secret too; a secret which, in a better planned out story, could have been used to great effect in characterisation but in this case was reduced to a pointless sub-plot of sorts. Really, it's a bit of a mess.”

StellaMac wrote this review Monday, January 11, 2010. ( reply | permalink )