I’ve read a lot of books in the past few weeks, cause of the camping trip and because I didn’t have classes for three weeks or so there in August (which was nice!)
I finally got around to getting a library card at the Daly City Public Library and have since been raiding their shelves. It’s a pretty decent library- like most public libraries, it’s best not to go in with any specific expectations about a particular book. I picked these books out pretty much at random. I’ll give them ratings on a scale of 1-10
The Ruby in her Navel by Barry Unsworth: 7 out of 10. It’s set in the 12th century, which is a plus. The plot was fairly predictable, with the “intrigue” being not very intriguing. The main character was annoyingly callow, but of course he wises up in the end. Entertaining, but I wouldn’t go out of your way for it.
The Divine Economy of Salvation by Priscilla Uppal: 7 out of 10. Canadian convent-school girls do something horrible back in the 50’s or so and the main character, now an aging nun, is scarred for life. It’s an extended flashback kind of novel. There’s redemption in the end, in the form of an unexpected visitor to the aging nun’s convent.
Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund: 8 out of 10. This novel about Marie Antoinette is written by the same author who wrote Ahab’s Wife, which book I have Jessica’s copy of and need to get back to her. Ahab’s Wife is great. This book isn’t quite as good, but I think Naslund paints Marie Antoinette’s character really well and the story is fascinating.
The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason: 8 out of 10. Centers around a British piano tuner who travels to Burma at around the turn of the century on a mission to tune the piano of a mysterious quasi-Kurtz type of figure. He gets wrapped up in the beauties of the place in general and of one woman in particular, and at the same time becomes involved with quasi-Kurtz’s political maneuverings amongst the natives. It’s heavy on atmospheric description of Burmese jungle life; Mason really tries to hammer home the languor, timelessness, and humidity of the place, which stretches a 150 page novella out to 300 pages.
The Dissident by Nell Freudenberger: 8.5 out of 10. Cool culture-clash story about a Chinese artist who comes to the US under false pretenses and stays with a wealthy SoCal family, which, like any SoCal family, has problems of its own. Hijinx ensue. This is the first novel from an alarmingly young-looking Freudenberger. She’s pretty deft with characters, and her plot was tight and readable. I liked it.
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks: 8.5 out of 10. One of them war, love, and redemption stories. The war parts were pretty graphic and a bit hard to take- Faulks really hits the “war is hell” message pretty hard. The novel was set primarily before and during WWI, focusing on the character of Stephen Wraysford. It’s told in episodes: we see Stephen in France in 1910, then meet up with him again in 1916, etc. Intertwined with this story is the supporting story of a woman Elizabeth in 70’s England who finds Stephen’s encrypted diaries and tries to unlock the mystery of his life. It’s good, but heavy, stuff.
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry: 9 out of 10. I really liked A Fine Balance by the same author and so picked up this novel set in Mumbai about a semi-affluent Parsi family thrown into conflict when their aging father is injured and requires constant care. The situation is complicated by the father’s actions in the past. The dialog, which Mistry conveys faithfully in Indian vernacular, can seem a bit comical until you realize the underlying subtlety of the characters’ interactions. And, like in A Fine Balance, Mistry is brilliant at depicting the chaos and claustrophobia of Mumbai life.
