The Last War
Author Ana Menéndez strikes again with a beautifully crafted and executed work of words. The Last War is the story of the photojournalist known as Flash and her correspondent husband Brando. Flash puts her dreams, plans and desires on hold for a long time without even noticing, to follow Brando around the world to conflict areas as a freelance photojournalist. When she lingers in Istanbul, entranced by the city and enjoying the tastes and sights of peacetime she is confronted with a mysterious letter incriminating her husband Brando in an affair. From that day her world turns a sour, she questions the validity their relationship, the truth of that letter, her husband and even herself. Could this be the one conflict her lens can't overcome?
I love Menéndez's writing, it is precise and defined, while still doted with description. It is the language of a confident author- but not overly so that she doesn't mind being vulnerable on paper. I did enjoy this novel, I love the stories of photojournalism wishing that one day I could be carried to far off places to capture moments on film in crucial times. I really felt Menéndez had familiarized herself with the life and work of a photojournalist and correspondent extremely well, so well that this novel acted as non fiction and I had to remind myself that it was not!!
If that sounds a little too dark, deep and not something you are interested in- I just have to say, it is all not what it seems. As in life our minds wander, our fears get the best of us and we sometimes begin to live as though life has crumbled from underneath us. Stunning twists and turns make The Last War just one more reason to snap up anything by Menéndez you see. It gets my award- a stellar five chicken book award, reserved only for the best of the best.
What is that clucking about?? You will just have to read it and you'll find yourself clucking about it too.
Title: The Last War
ISBN:9780061724770
Subtitle: A Novel
Author: Ana Menéndez
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Subject: General Fiction
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 256
Translation is a Love Affair
Translation is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin
This is the story of a writer and his translator. A young woman arrives in Quebecois to meet a writer with a bad back, a cat with an SOS message attached to his collar, and a little girl who loves animals just like she does. The journey is a take on love, of a different kind of love than the romance of feelings met and encouraged-but one where the desires are known, yet never spoken. The translator, and the writer join forces on books, memories and most mysterious of all the search for the owner of the cat with the secret message.
Poulin consumes the reader in this modern love story where love is time, time is slow and a cry for help is all that one needs to jump out of their own life to reach into another's nightmare. Goodness it is breathtaking!! If you don't mind thinking as you read versus the modern novelist gibber that so many are pumping out these days-this read will make you think, make you wonder and amaze you with its richness.
A publisher at Archipelago sent me this book a while back telling me that I would like it. I have yet to doubt anything that comes from that press. The skill of Archipelago strikes again with the decision to translate this modern-day gem. I followed Jacques Poulin page after page and marveled at the excellent translation by Sheila Fischman. Pick this one up, it is art inside a pretty cover. I recommend it for those looking for an artistic and rare approach to the meaning of love with mystery tucked inside. Enjoy!
Archipelago Books I have reviewed:
Plants Don't Drink Coffee
Mourior
The Vanishing Moon
Sarajevo Marlboro
The Waitress Was New
Moving Parts
- ISBN: 9780981955704
- Author: Poulin, Jacques
- Publisher: Archipelago Books
- Translator: Fischman, Sheila
- Subject: Literary
- Copyright: 2009
- Publication Date: November 2009
- Binding: Paperback
- Language: English
- Pages: 144
I am an affiliate of TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!
Guernica
(I liked both covers for this book so I just HAD to include them!!)
Guernica
by Dave Boling
372 Pages
Literary Historical Fiction
Spanish Civil War
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
September 2009
This is the narrative of the Basque life through several generations. By starting out the novel showing the beauty and strength of the Basques it allows the reader to fall in love so that we care about the people when we dive into the historically accurate battle of Guernica. More than a battle it is a massacre, a test that Germany uses to figure out if these planes and weapons could cause total devastation. When the screams quiet and people crawl out into the light again they see the complete flattening of all they knew. And soon the one thing that they hate, the shooting in Guernica is what unites them. This common bond of humanity brings culture from the shattered buildings and the people out of their lonely homes.
I found this book to be incredibly historically accurate and loved that it filled in the human aspect of the whole conflict. I love history but more than history I love the social aspect of history (history's impact on humans) and I loved this book because it did just that, gave a face to the Basque nation and also a voice to their past. I have recently read several others on this time period and about this location which are amazing reads as well (links posted below). There is so much to learn from history, and so much that we just can't bear to repeat. Spain during the civil war was destroyed, and then the dictator Franco brought even more horrors to the people.
Guernica Painting by Picasso
Dave Boling is accurate, intricate and completely detailed in his re-telling of this devastating time. Having lived in Spain I could feel the hardship as I read his words. The characters he created were to die for, they were versatile, lifelike and entirely relatable.
This is a great book, it made me cry and laugh and realize that after the valley of pain we are able to feel joy better than we could before. I highly recommend that you pick this one up for any history lovers, or anyone who wants to read an amazingly hopeful and insightful book about this dark time in Spain. Yes, it gets my highest praise Stellar Five Chicken Book Award -enjoy!
Two other books I have reviewed about the Spanish Civil War and the Basque Nation:
The Return
Plants Don't Drink Coffee
Want to get your hands on Guernica by Dave Boling??
I am a Powell’s affiliate and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any book you buy using my links. Thank you!
Catching Fire
Catching Fire
The Hunger Games #2
by Suzanne Collins
391 Pages
Young Adult
Science Fiction
Scholastic Press
September 2009
DG Score: 75/100
If you haven't read The Hunger Games, and you read this review stuff will be spoiled for you.
However by reading this review nothing in Catching Fire should be spoiled for you.
Catching Fire continues the story of The Hunger Game's heroine Katniss along with her feuding romantic interests Gale and Peeta. The reader is taken on a journey that has the intensity of one of the most thrilling of roller coasters. Katniss is aware that when she challenged the Capitol during The Hunger Games she was taking her life into her hands, but she had no idea of the vastness of the reach of devastation that could be caused by her choices. She didn't think about who it could hurt, and much less that it would cause a stir in the people. Big changes are coming there is no question!
I loved the first book in this series, but this second one was an obvious middle book in a trilogy for me. It was still good but I was disappointed by it in two ways: Catching Fire seemed to repeat so much information that I was already clear on from my reading of The Hunger Games causing me to want to skim pages-which never crossed my mind in book one. Second, the love triangle gets old, and to me at least annoying.
With all that negativity out of the way, it is still a great read! Catching Fire is entertaining, enjoyable and thrilling. I had a great time getting to know the peeps a little better. There is much more character development and relationship building time in this one, as the story seems to progress at a slower pace. The writing was good, the story was interesting and the plot was as intense as ever. I will read (and buy) book three no question, but I just wished this one were better than it was.
What did you think of Catching Fire? Have you read it or are you planning on it? Does anyone know what book three will be called?
Interested in the first book of this series, The Hunger Games? Read my review.
After reading a Review Copy that the lovely Trish at Hey Lady let me borrow, I purchased this book at Powell's Books, and you can too!
The Return
The Return
by Victoria Hislop
416 Pages
Historical Fiction
Spanish Civil War
October 2009
Harper Collins
Advanced Reader's Copy
Sonia's life is dull and passionless in the midst of what most would consider a dream. She is married to a dashing Englishman, has a great job, and lives in an exquisite apartment. No matter how much she tries though, she feels something is missing. Stumbling upon dance is the most important thing Sonia does for herself. There is no question that it immediately fills that longing inside her. When her childhood friend Maggie books a trip to Spain, the land of Flamenco for her birthday and buys a ticket for Sonia as well, she is in dreamland.
Sonia thinks she is going to Spain for herself, but what she doesn't know is that dance and Spain is in her blood- secrets her mom took with her to the grave will be laid bare. An unlikely stranger will tell her of a family history of life in the Spanish Civil War riddled with loss, love and tragedy. Up from the turmoil, come clapping hands and stomping feet to the elegant picking of a Spanish guitar. Flamenco is the heart and soul of survival for Sonia's mother could it be what saves her as well?
Goodness, The Return was amazing! I seem to be obsessed with Spanish Civil War books as of late and I am thrilled by the history of that time period. I can't believe I didn't know more about the history growing up, since it is pretty much my patria or homeland. Vicoria Hislop outdoes herself in this brilliantly penned historical fiction take on the events that shaped Spain into what it is today. A book filled with deep emotion, and love that stand the test of history, The Return will give the reader history in bite sized morsels, while best of all telling of the human will to live during that dark period.
The Return is a book that like the Flamenco dance evokes emotion, does not shy from expressing pain, and yet snaps its heels to a dramatic finish that will leave the reader open-mouthed (and wondering how long their mouth has been open for). I highly recommend this book, to everyone- which is why it will get my supa cool Stellar Five Chicken Book Award! It is perfect for the dancer, the historian, the lover of books or any person who wants to spend hours in a far away land hearing the perfectly clickety-clacking of well worn dance shoes in their thoughts while they read. Loved it.
Remaining TLC Tour Stops:
Wednesday, October 21st – Write Meg
Thursday, October 22nd – Literate Housewife
Monday, October 26th – Diary of an Eccentric
Tuesday, October 27th – Drey’s Library
Wednesday, October 28th – Book Chatter and Other Stuff
The World In Half
The World in Half
by Cristina Henriquez
305 Pages
Fiction
April 2009
Riverhead
Advanced Reader Copy
978-1594488559
Rating: 4/5
Miraflores grows up living with her single mother. Her mother had an affair with her father while she and her husband were stationed in Panama. She was the result. Was she the deal breaker? Miraflores longs to know more about her father, about the decisions and why she never knew him, why her mother left Panama. When she goes back home to take care of her ailing mother her questions are answered, her mother and father loved each other deeply, and there is one secret that kept them from being together to raise their daughter.
The World in half is a book of family drama, but not the way that you'd think. It is settled so far in the past that all the emotions have cleared and the story that lives under them is able to shine through. Stunningly written, with life filled characters, it is a read full of mystery, intrigue and true deep love. The story has turns and twists and things that wouldn't be expected. This was a hit for me for many reasons, but mainly because of a family's love that overcomes the separation of time and space.
North of Beautiful
North of Beautiful
by Justina Chen Headley
373 Pages
Young Adult Fiction
Little, Brown and Company
February 2009
We all have things that we would change about ourselves, ears, nose, feet, something. What if you could cover up what haunted that image of perfection that you had? Terra, the heroine of North of Beautiful has always done just that. Beautiful, tall, blond, and incredibly fit, but she will never be good enough-all because of the port wine stain on one half of her face. Her mom has taken her through many painful laser removal treatments that have had no impact on the intensity of the mark on her face. Over the years she has just learned to cover it up and really, what no one knows can't hurt them- or Terra. She is known at school for her jock boyfriend, and that she hangs with the popular crowd and none of them have ever seen her without her mask on.
Through some interesting events Terra meets Jacob, makeup or no make up he has the ability to see right through the image she is trying to live. He seems to know her before she has even said a word. This is disarming to Terra, as not even at home is she able to be honest. Terra's father is verbally abusive, her mother takes the brunt of any mistake the kids make- Terra isn't allowed to be imperfect. Will honesty feel too uncomfortable after so many years in hiding?
I have a HUGE claim to make and maybe to some even preposterous. All that Twilight gets so wrong- North of Beautiful gets just right. This, not Twilight, is the book I think teens should read. Forget the sickly-super-vamps and feeble-minded-females, this Young Adult novel is worth its paper and much more. Justina Chen Headley rocked the world of Young Adult Literature when she typed this one up. I can't say enough about it. The writing is great, the characters are flesh, the truth is true and there are no mind games. This one goes in my 'must keep' pile.
North of Beautiful brings the message to kids that imperfection isn't what we should hide, but what we should be proud of. Beauty comes from security and knowing that you are just as you should be- no matter what way our world goes. Beauty-shmooty...who is the judge of that?
And with easy, relaxed strides it takes my Stellar Five Chicken Award. This is what Young Adult should be like!
Author Justina Chen Headley Links:
Blog: Wordlings by Justina
Website: Justina Chen Headley
Other Young Adult Books You'll Eat Up! Enjoy.
The Hunger Games
The Boy in Striped Pajamas
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Plants Don’t Drink Coffee
Plants Don't Drink Coffee
by Unai Elorriaga (in original Basque)
Translated by Amaia Gabantxo
208 Pages
Fiction
Archipelago Books
July 2009
In Plants Don't Drink Coffee the reader follows the story of four very diverse yet intersecting people while enjoying a ride of lightheartedness and depth. Tomas a young boy with the desire above all else to be intelligent, is the star of this novel or maybe one of the stars. He is precocious and witty and incredibly funny to read. When reading his thoughts you can hear him saying these things in a pre-adolescent, high-pitched and non-stopping excited sort of way. There is a main story which unites all four people that is clever and has a mystery feel to it, or adventure.
This book for me was a complete success. Unai did everything right in his writing and the translation was incredible as well (by Amaia Gabantxo). It was one of those books where you feel the need to keep reading it through the chapter breaks, and every time you sit down you want to lap it up. Reading about the Basque culture was very interesting to me, as it is a people group that intrigues me in their strength and resourcefulness.
I took this with me on the plane on my trip to Spain and it was the perfect read to keep my attention all through the long hours of sleeplessness on the plane, and then to help me pass some of my jet lag mid-night reading sessions after we arrived. Plants Don't Drink Coffee never failed to impress me, I loved most the honesty of the voice, the transparency of failures, the clever voice of a child and the witty actions of everyone. It is one of the best books I have read this year. Loved it.
It is my honour to bestow upon Plants Don't Drink Coffee my 'can't cluck enough' chicken award!
Other Lives
Other Lives
by Andre Brink
316 Pages
Fiction
Sourcebooks Landmark
September 2008
Three men living in South Africa whose lives are intertwined to a degree in the matter of hours change their identities, they loose what perceptions they had of themselves. The man that is white awakes to find himself staring in the mirror at a black man, the man who has not been able to have children gets home after a days work to find that he has kids and a different wife! The way this story is told creates mystery and introspection in the reader. What would it be like if you lived in a nation filled with racism, struggling through apartheid to find yourself the other race? What if something you had tried for for years were suddenly there, but you felt guilty in having it?
The concept of the book is good, well, no- it is amazing! However it didn't live up to the hype it set in the first couple chapters for me. I was thrilled to think it was a mystery, but then bummed to realize that it was more a situation created to cause the reader to think, and not really a book that ended with a conclusion to its own plot. Still, it is very well written, the characters are precise and you could swear they were made of flesh and bone, and the interweaving storylines really is intriguing. But, it just wasn't my delight, too much idea and brilliance and not enough of what sells me books-a story that has beginning, middle and end. The beginning was there, the middle was too and the end...I guess that was left up to me. Maybe it is my imagination that is lacking!
Make sure you check out what the NY Times has to say, because I enjoyed reading it:
The Sunday Salon: Why I Read. And You?
I suppose it depends on what types of books you read, but since I read novels, mostly I read to live a life other than my own for a while. I read to get away, to dream of somewhere far away, or to understand where someone is coming from better. I love international fiction because I can travel somewhere I have never been, or walk the streets in a well known village 8,000 miles away. I am teleported through reading to a dream or a nightmare, depending on the book. I can live an exciting night, even though I don't have a million dollars for travel fees and a babysitter that night!!
I guess movies could be the same thing, but they really aren't, for me at least. Because they don't allow me to take my time, I am on their schedule and just working on keeping up most of the time with what is being said and the images that flash on screen. In reading, I live longer in the places I want to and skip-run-jump through those that freak me out. I like reading.
I have recently been transported to China while reading The Kitchen God's Wife (Amy Tan), to a Russian threatened Afghanistan in The Photographer (graphic novel), and through racial and spacial bounds in Zimbabwe in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. Where have you been lately? Have your travels taken you pleasant places or nightmareish-ones? Do you read for the same reasons as me or different reasons?
