7 Minis! From romance to sci-fi, from 1 star to 4.5!

Cloud Atlas

I particularly enjoyed the New Seoul section (LOVE the way Mitchell wrote the concept of a corpocracy!). And I wasn't as thrilled w/ the Hawaii after-the-fall section. But, overall, a very satisfying and enjoyable read! Mitchell is clearly a master at enveloping his reader in the setting in which he's writing ... in a book that covers 6 completely different eras and perspectives, this challenge was nevertheless met with apparent ease. I can't wait to see the movie now! It's waiting for me at the library :) And I can't wait to read more Mitchell!
FOUR of five stars


The Golem and the Jinni

Just a beautiful written tale. It's about a golem (generally, a mass of clay made into human'ish form for the purpose of serving its master, usually for a brief, intense, and muscle'y task) who finds herself master'less almost immediately after being brought to life, while on her way to New York at the turn of the century. This is one "half" of the book -- what and how Chava (the golem) do in a small Jewish community in Manhattan. Around the same time, a jinni (genie), named Ahmad, is brought back to existence by a clueless Syrian in a small community, also in Manhattan. And of course they 2 meet. Amid their stories and challenges, including the one that may challenge their very existence, we get a little mythology and a little history of the 2 and the others who impact their lives. It is not fast-paced, but it is well-paced. It never seems to slow really, just keeps on going. It was a very complete and satisfying read and I'm glad I finally got to it!
FOUR of five stars


The Phantasmagorical Astrarium Compendium

which I received from NetGalley (for free in exchange for an honest review)... Ugh. Almost immediately, I began reading sentences to my husband, who begged me to stop because it was so bad. I got to about 5% and he asked why I was still going, and I said I thought I owed it at least 10% (it's ~400 pages.. I had it in Kindle format, so I'm not sure how many pages, exactly). It just... it's one of those books where every 3rd sentence (on average) ends in an exclamation point. Seriously. It was almost impossible to take it seriously. It also had .... I really didn't see the originality in it. It purported to be original, and it sounded interesting, but it pulled (way) too much from other classics and... well, at 10% I just couldn't anymore.
ONE of five stars


Paper Magician

Another great disappointment. I did finish this one (and it read quickly enough)... it just was... blah. It was incredibly predictable and cliched, even while attempting to do something different (a paper magician -- one who uses magic via paper).  So.... yeah. Ready to move on...
TWO of five stars


From Notting Hill with Love Actually

I know some people really enjoyed this (including a good friend of mine!), but I couldn't do it. I understand the concept was that the main character is obsessed w/ movies, but McNamara took it too far and made too little story up herself. The characters are flatter than 2-dimensional, and if the ooooooobvious love interest grins one more time.......... argh. So Yeah. Couldn't.
ONE of five stars


Queen of the Tearling (audio version)

great book! (though I did listen to it on audio, as mentioned, and I think the reader deserves a lot of the credit... I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much as a self-read book?) I found myself often moved by the story, and the characters have been richly drawn and compelling. I'm very much looking forward to reading the 2nd - Invasion of the Tearling! (and I also can't wait to see the movie, starring Emma Watson!)
FOUR AND A HALF of five stars


Bellman and Black

I also really enjoyed this. Glad that I had read the reviews criticizing it for not being just like Thirteenth Tale (which I loved)... it isn't just like it. It's a completely different book and, in most ways, a completely different kind of book. But Setterfield is still an excellent writer and I really enjoyed it. EsPECially once the whole "Bellman & Black" bit takes off (about halfway through). Probably surprisingly, I was somehow newly inspired in my own ... erm, desires that resemble B&B (no spoilers -- but, for those who've read it, not the macabre aspect of it all ;))
FOUR of five stars

Big Brother by Lionel Shriver

Review based on ARC.

Anyone who was around me while I was forcing my way through this book suffered for my having to finish it.  Why did I have to finish it? Because it was an advanced readers' copy, and I felt like I needed to finish the whole book in order to fairly review it.

But oh, the pain.
So, the premise. I was interested in this book and definitely wanted to read it because of its premise! (this is no more spoiler than what appears on the back cover) Main character (Pandora) picks up her brother (Edison) from the airport after not having seen him for several years and doesn't even recognize him at first because he's gained so much weight. On top of now being a morbidly obese person, the narrator also takes issue with her brother's other developed-habits, such as breaking furniture, convincing high school kids to drop out of high school, etc. So she has to decide between her husband and her brother, which is essentially what the book is about--that choice and the repercussions thereof.

Ok, yeah, sounds interesting! Good of her to take on a less developed theme in current literature and try to tackle the psychological reactions that people have in these types of tough situations. So I was excited.

Then I got the book and started reading. And this is what it was like: Imagine if I told you that a very interesting special was going to be on tv, but it was only going to air once and you couldn't record it because you don't have a DVR or anything. So you are excited about the special and are eager to get to the story, but as soon as it starts playing, your roommate just gets up and stands in front of the tv and starts waxing poetic about anything and everything---his/her opinions, theories, views on politics, social issues, his/her childhood, etc. Just keeps talking. And then they finally wind down and sit down and you are watching the special again, and just as you start getting into the special, s/he gets back up again and does it all over again.  Over and over and over.  That's what it was like reading this book. Shriver (or, purportedly, her narrator) just could. not. shut. up. shut up. shut up. It was infuriating attempting to read the story with the narrator constantly streaming her look-how-smart-I-am consciousness. And yeah, she had a few interesting things to say and said a few things in interesting ways, but I just couldn't CARE after she just kept GOING and going and going.

So around page 100, I decided I couldn't do it anymore. The book was literally giving me a headache and I was doing anything to avoid reading. I took a breather.

After ~a week, I decided, no, I can finish this. And so I did. Unfortunately, not only was Shriver's writing style infuriating, but her story was a disaster. This was one of the least convincing attempts at "understanding" fat people that I've ever been confronted with. It felt like Shriver literally knew NO-ONE who had ever really struggled with a lot of weight. And I understand that her real-life brother died from morbid obesity, weighing approximately what she puts her "big brother" at in the book, but it doesn't appear as if she spent any real time with her brother or talked to anyone who's ever spent substantial time around people who struggle with this kind of weight issue.

As someone with actual perspective here, I can assure the unknowing reader that Shriver is way off the mark. And it's offensive. And, frankly, it takes a lot to offend me. Shriver's fat guy is reckless, selfish, unaware, and stupid. Of course, because he's fat, right? It was a childish viewpoint and impossible for me to read without a scowl on my face.

So what's extra unbelievable about this whole thing is that Edison supposedly exhibits his I'm-a-disgusting-slob person while in the house of not only an essential stranger (his brother-in-law), but also while being openly judged and loathed by said-stranger. Fat people don't do that, Ms. Shriver. But yeah, supposedly, this guy will eat powdered sugar straight from the bag, but in the process just gets powdered sugar everywhere because of course he's a slob; takes a first serving at a first meal that is more than half of a casserole so that others are left hungry because of course he's hungry, stupid, and selfish; insists on making the rest of the skinny family inordinate amounts of terribly unhealthy food because he's inconsiderate, pushy, and stupid; etc.

And every single thing that "Pandora" (or, perhaps, really the author?) says about her brother, who she supposedly loves, comments on his fatness. Like, WE GET IT. HE's FAT. He doesn't just have a big jacket, his jacket is so big it is like carrying a sleeping bag. He doesn't just sit on furniture, he breaks it. Oh and of course he doesn't just sh**, he poops so much that there's literally poop chunks floating down the hall. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Not to mention the fact that his gaining just over 200 pounds in 4 years does not actually match up with what he supposedly eats in a day.

And this is all just in the first half of the book, and I haven't even touched on the celebrity childhood or her famous company, which she also insists on talking about ad nauseum. At page 176, I mistakenly believed it was going to get better. Something actually changed. It wasn't just going to be 400 pages of Shriver...  er, Pandora judging fat people but pretending to care about them. So narrator has to make a choice... choose her jerk of a husband or her fat disgusting slob of a brother.

What choice does she make? How does it turn out? What're the spoilers that everyone is so carefully avoiding? Here's the non-spoiler answer: who. cares.  Take it from someone who suffered through reading the whole thing... it didn't get better. It's not worth knowing. It's worse than pathetic. (if you really want the spoilers? go to bottom and highlight text to reveal)

In sum, I would recommend this book to literally no one.  I would not recommend this book to anyone who has struggled or is struggling with weight because it is unaware and offensive. I would not recommend this book to anyone who knows someone who has struggled or is struggling with weight because it is unhelpful, patronizing, and offensive. I would not recommend this book to someone who knows no one who has this kind of weight issue because it will simply give them the wrong idea about how fat people are in the so-called privacy of their own homes. Just say no. No.

ONE of five stars. A touch of credit can be given because she's poetic with her language.

THE SPOILERS:

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE END SPOILED

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

1. she chooses her brother. and is annoying and holier-than-thou in her choice. so she moves into a separate apartment with her brother to go on a crazy crash diet with him for a year. And I mean crazy. We're talking 6 months of less than 600 calories a day. And of course no one cheats. And they lose all kinds of weight. And then they have to struggle with reintroducing food. Etc. And than jerk husband wants a divorce. And crazy fat brother is happy. But then after all the weight is lost, husband wants Pandora back and Edison loses it. and eats a chocolate cake. like the slob that he is. smearing chocolate all over his face and clothes, etc. And then gains all the weight back. All of it.

2. But wait, Shriver thought she'd try to be clever. None of that happened. She didn't go live in an apt w/ her brother, she just let him leave. And be fat. and die. 

END SPOILER


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I mean. really? People enjoy this?