Tag: fiction

A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck

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Cover ImageFinished 6-8-09, rating 4/5, young adult, pub. 1972

“But when you kill pigs for a living, you can’t always smell like Sunday morning.   You just smell like hard work.”                      Chapter 2

I finished this last night about midnight and it was a two tissue book.  I know many read it as kids, but not me.  I had no idea what to expect or else I may not have read it, but I’m better off because I did.  Maybe it hit me harder because I was already a little bummed after Jason and I watched the movie We Are Marshall last night.  It was a good movie, but not one to leave you happier than when you started.  Anyway…

Rob is a twelve year old Shaker living on a Vermont farm.  This book chronicles that year of his life as he grew into a man.  Rob’s life consisted mainly of his farming chores and school.  He was the last child left at home and he was the only one left to help his dad.  His story was exciting and heartbreaking.  Rob birthed a calf and received a brand new pig, Pinky, for payment.  Pinky and Rob became inseparable.  Rob had many life lessons that year and they were all touching  and some (three in particular) moved me to tears.

Being a city girl, these are a few of the things I learned about farm life.  Pigs and cows cannot live next to each other.  If you need to top your chocolate cake with nutmeats, kill a gray squirrel and take the chewed nutmeats out of his belly and toast them before putting them on your cake.  Weaseling a dog is barbaric.  There are more, but these were the ones that stuck, although I did gain a greater appreciation for farmers.

This is based on the life of the author growing up as a boy in Vermont and if you haven’t read it you should.  It will take you back to a simpler time when 13 year old boys were forced to become men.  It will make you smile and it will break your heart.

Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiaasen

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Cover ImageFinished 6-7-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2004

“At the stroke of eleven on a cool April night, a woman named Joey Perrone went overboard from a luxury deck of the cruise liner M.M. Sun Duchess.  Plunging toward the dark Atlantic, Joey was too dumbfounded to panic.

I married an asshole, she thought, knifing headfirst into the waves.”   –First three sentences of the book

Chaz throws his wife over the side of the cruise ship that they happen to be on to celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary.  He has planned and thinks that he has done everything right, the perfect crime.  Only Joey is rescued by ex-cop, Mick.  Revenge is sweet and Joey, instead of going to the police decides to play dead and drive her husband crazy.

Chaz has no redeeming qualities, except in bed, but even that skill has abandoned him after he kills Joey.  He is also a man on the take and his benefactor gets nervous and sends a bodyguard named Tool.  The detective on the case knows something is wrong, but can’t prove anything.  Chaz slowly unravels and tries to commit another murder and then one after that. 

I enjoyed this very much.  It was fun and zany and had all of the crazy characters you’d expect from Hiaasen.  I only wish Joey had more depth.  Tool was the character with the most growth and that was  an interesting choice for Hiaasen to make.  Not a bad one, just a little unexpected.  This is my second Hiassen novel and while I preferred the first one this one is good too.

Red Leaves, by Paullina Simons

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Cover ImageFinished 5-30-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1996

“This world isn’t a black amoral hole where your actions have no meaning, and where nothing you do matters.  Did you ever think of the people you hurt?”

“They weren’t strong.  I didn’t ask them to be hurt.”                                Chapter 9

 This book has been on my bookshelf for so long that I can’t even remember why I picked it up in the first place.  There is a two paragraph blurb on the back that did not do the book justice and, in fact, seems to misrepresent the book itself.  So, with that said, I LOVED this book and encourage you to put it on your reading list.

Kristina, Conni, Albert, and Jim were a foursome since freshman year at Dartmouth.  They were seniors now and the fractured friendships were showing signs of wear.  Kristina and Jim were having problems and Conni was convinced that Albert was sleeping with Kristina.  Kristina just wants to start over with a clean slate and thinks maybe meeting detective Spencer O’Malley is her chance.  This description only covers the first fourth of the book or so, but to say more would ruin it.

The layers of mystery and intrigue are perfectly done.  I was so wrapped up in Kristina, Spencer, and the murder that I couldn’t put it down.  The players in this drama were so full of themselves and it was fascinating to see the character flaws that led them to do questionable things.  Only Spencer remains seemingly untouched by the dark side of human nature.

If you love mystery and drama with all the trimmings of money, greed, envy and love, you will love this book.  Highly recommended.

2nd Chance, by James Patterson

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Cover ImageFinished 5-28-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2002

 I read the first of this series, 1st To Die, a few years ago because I had heard so many good things about it.  I did like it, but wasn’t blown away and didn’t read anymore even though my Mom passed them on to me.  I saw the first Women’s Murder Club on TV and didn’t think it was great either, but it grew on me.  So, I decided to see if the books would too.

The girls are all back and ready for murder.  Lindsay is tracking a serial killer whose victims seem to only be connected by race.  Claire uses her reporter smarts to help Lindsay look the right way.  Two of the girls are shot, one shot at, and one has a miscarriage.  This book is full of drama.

This was a very fast read and I enjoyed it more than the first one, but who can know if it because I was picturing the girls from TV in the roles.  My ambivalence with the first book and this one has something to do with the relationship between the four women.  Their interaction and conversation don’t ring quite true for me.  But, I will read more of the series because the action is swift, the mystery is good, and Lindsay is spunky.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

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Cover ImageFinished 5-1-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2002

This is a book that I would not have picked up on my own.  I don’t think I have a very good sense of humor when it comes to God or Jesus and the title alone might have offended me.  But, my friend Mark recommended it and that alone was enough for me to try it out.  I also felt better about it since Moore is a born and bred Buckeye (although he has left ‘paradise’ to suffer through the hardships of living in Hawaii and San Francisco 🙂 ).  Anyway, on to Levi also called Biff and Joshua who is Jesus.

Biff has been brought back to the land of the living some 2000 years later so that he can set the record straight on Joshua’s childhood and young adulthood.  The gospels of the New Testament leave out Biff and now Biff must write his own gospel about his time as Joshua’s best friend and constant companion from the age of six.  Biff was brought back and watched over by the angel, Raziel, and the interplay between the two is hysterical. 

Biff starts with when he and Joshua met when they were six.  Joshua was bringing a lizard back to life after his brother killed it.  After that they became inseparable.  Mary had told Joshua he was the Son of God, but when you are six what does that mean?  He and Biff spent their childhoods being boys and loving Mary Magdalene called Maggie.  This section of the book really brought to life the landscape, the people, and the politics of the time. 

Joshua decides he needs to travel to find the three wise men of his storied birth and Biff goes with him.  After all who will do all the lying, cheating, and sinning that is necessary?  As Joshua and Biff travel east to find each of the wise men we see where Joshua learns to be the Messiah.  He and Biff’s many adventures will have you laughing and wishing that you too had a best friend as loyal as Biff.

As they make their way back home the story becomes intertwined with the gospels and Biff tries to explain what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John got right and what they missed.  Biff’s story ends and we find out why he was left out of the New Testament altogether.

Moore writes with a light touch that is full of sarcasm and wit.  Given the subject matter I was surprised that Moore was able to bring so much humor and still respect the nature of Jesus. I could have done without Biff trying to explain sex to Joshua (although this may be more of a girl thing) and I didn’t like the swearing, especially in the last third of the book.  Actually, I loved the book up until the point when they return to Nazareth, but at that point it lost some of its heart in my opinion.  It was still worth the read and I’d still recommend it, because you’ll never meet another character like Biff.

I really enjoyed this book, although it probably is not for everyone.  If you think you have a wicked sense of humor or can take a certain amount of irreverence then you should give it a try.  You will laugh out loud, guaranteed.  Thanks for the recommendation, Mark.  You’ve helped add to my must read author list.

Hold Tight, by Harlan Coben

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Cover ImageFinished 4-19-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“In the end we’re just their caretakers, Mike.  We get them for a little while and then they live their lives.  I just want him to stay alive and healthy until we let him go.  The rest will be up to him.”  Hold Tight, Chapter 2

I mentioned in an earlier post that Jason and I went to a book signing by Coben in Houston a few years ago.  He was charming and smart and just goofy enough to make him interesting.  I was already a fan, but it was nice to know that I liked the guy whose career I was supporting.  I’ve read all of his books and have liked them all, some more than others.  I generally prefer his novels written in the first person because so few authors really do it well.  This wasn’t in first person, but it was fun and I finished it in one day so that must mean I liked it!

This is a book about parents – the love, the fears, and the lengths they’ll go to to protect their kids.  The Bayes fear that they are losing their teenage son, Adam, so they install a spyware program on his computer to keep tabs on him.  The decision was a hard one for them and one that plays out to reveal the real dilemma parents face today.  The Bayes are not the only parents with problems.  Their next-door neighbors need to find a kidney donor for their son.  Their daughter’s best friend was ridiculed by a teacher, school has become unbearable, and her father wants to move to protect her.  The Hills have just lost a son to suicide and the father needs to move on while the mother needs to know why.  The police chief has a stoner son and is willing to lie and intimidate to protect him. 

Amazingly all of these stories come together in a fast-paced thriller that will leave you hoping for the best until the end.  This is a terrific book, especially if you have a teen in the house.  It wasn’t just about the technology, but also many of the pressures kids face today like drugs and bullying.  Coben manages to hit on current issues while keeping the story compelling and the action swift. 

This is just the lastest installment in Coben’s bestselling library.  Enjoy!

Angels Fall, by Nora Roberts

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Cover ImageFinished audio 4-17-08, rating3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2006

Reece is a woman haunted by her violent past in Boston who ends up in Wyoming trying to recover.  She finds a small close-knit town that looks at gossip as a badge of honor.  They watch out for their own.   Reece takes a job at the local diner and begins to heal.

As Reece tries to normalize her life she is shaken when she witnesses a cold-hearted murder.  She finds a new friend in Brody, who believes her, but some distrust among others when no body was found.  Having been in a psychiatric hospital not long before Reece begins to think that she may be going crazy.  Brody’s belief in her gives her hope for her sanity, but she is feeling  more and more fragile as the town watches her seemingly fall apart.

I enjoyed this novel even though I thought I knew the killer right away and I was right.  It had a great story about a woman putting her life back together, with romance, surprising friendships, and a murder mystery.  I rarely read Nora Roberts, but I’d recommend this one.

The Fires of Paradise, by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished 3-12-08, rating 4/5, romance, pub. 1992

 This is the best historical romance I have read in years.  There is the beautiful woman born into privilege and there is the hardened escaped convict watching his back.   The two are thrown together at random, but stay in each others orbit through circumstance and lust.  Lucy is a proud woman who is used to getting what she wants and Shoz is a proud man used to getting what he wants.  What they both want is each other. 

Shoz goes to work for Lucy’s grandfather until he is shot in the back.  He is then thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and he takes Lucy as a hostage to escape.  They travel from Texas to Death Valley, where Lucy meets his son and is forced to work for a woman who despises her.  Eventually Lucy and Shoz marry, but they are forced apart by her family after they are discovered.  There is more adventure in a Cuba on the brink of rebellion and in New York, where Lucy’s reputation is ruined.

While I’ve always known I like my romantic heroes manly and flawed, the first chapter in the book goes further than even I was comfortable with in introducing us to the hero, Shoz.  I wasn’t sure that he could be redeemed.  This is also not a book for the politically correct.  When reading I was jarred by the use of the word rape and had to keep reminding myself it meant to ravish or plunder.

If you  are a fan of historical romances then this book if for you.  It is also a part of the Bragg saga if you are familiar with Brenda Joyce.  I’m looking forward to reading more from the series.

Fear and Trembling, by Amelie Nothomb

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Cover ImageFinished 3-8-08, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 2002

“How could our business partners have any feelings of trust in the presence of a white girl who understood their language?  From now on you will no longer speak Japanese.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You no longer know how to speak Japanese.  Is this clear?”

“But it was because of my knowledge of your language that I was hired by Yumimoto!”

“That doesn’t matter.  I am ordering you not to understand Japanese anymore.” 

“That’s impossible.  No one could obey an order like that.”

“There is always a means of obeying.  That’s what Western brains need to understand.”

–from pages 11& 12

This is just one of the many hilarious exchanges in this short novel by Belgian author Amelie Nothomb.  The spunky Western narrator is aptly named Amelie as well  and this is a record of her year long experiences working for one of the  largest Japanese companies.  Living in Japan forces Amelie to adopt the Japanese way of life and work and nothing could be more charming than Amelie’s oft misunderstood actions.

In the business hierarchy Amelie is forced from one humiliation to another until she can fall no further.  It is only through her sheer determination not to lose her honor that she withstands her torment.  Her travails will leave you smiling and heartbroken at the same time.

Thanks to my Belgian friend, Virginie, I checked this book out of the library and read it in a few hours time.  Thanks for the recommendation.  I loved it!

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

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Cover ImageFinished 3-3-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2006

  This is a beautifully written mystery, family study, and ghost story all wrapped up in one.  Margaret, lonely employee of her father’s bookstore and Vida, ailing best-selling author, come together for a wonderful tale that envelopes you completely.   Vida needs someone to tell her life story before she dies and she chooses Margaret, who has never before written a biography about a living person.  The friendship between the two women grows as Vida’s story is told. 

Vida draws us into a world of incest, neglect, insanity, love, murder, and jealousy.  Even as you are drawn in there is uncertainty about the truth which encourages you to keep turning the pages as fast as you can so that you can know what is real.  As Vida tells her story, we also are involved in Margaret’s life of loneliness and secrets.  The stories intertwine perfectly to make this a compelling novel.

At last the truth is revealed and all is right with the world.  My only small (very small) complaint was that the end seemed to wrap up a bit easily.  This book has been compared to Jane Eyre and Rebecca and I don’t disagree.  They feel similar although at its heart this is not a love story.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves books, words, and fans of Jane Eyre and Rebecca.