A Great Book

I just finished GIRL IN TRANSLATION by Jean Kwok (2010) and I loved every word of it. Kimberly and her mother are recently arrived from China, do not speak English, and have no money. The mother's sister arranges for them to live in an abandoned building which she has access to, and for the mother to work for her in a garment making factory. Kimberly is on her own making her way through the New York City school system. Jean Kwok tells this story so well that you feel like you're living it along with the characters. What an inspiring story!

I Love Brave Women

I just finished a book that I really enjoyed. It had been recommended by a friend a long time ago, but I didn't make the effort to find it. Just recently, another friend gave me a brand-new copy, and I'm so glad that she did. The book is ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN  by Jim Fergus, 1998. Although it is fictitious, it seems so real that you have to keep reminding yourself that it didn't really happen. In it, Fergus starts with the truth that in 1854, a Cheyenne chieftain requested that the whites send 1,000 women to live with their tribes as a way of joining the races and the eventual end of war between the two peoples. The offer was considered outrageous and was instantly refused. In this book, the offer was quietly accepted and the first installment of women was sent on its way. These women had been collected from insane asylums, jails, and other places where they would be unlikely to be missed. The story is told in the journals of May Dodd, one of the first (and only) group. It's a wonderful story and shouldn't be missed.

Fascinating!

Amazon.com sent a recommendation for SATI by Christopher Pike (1990). I had to think about it a while, as this author usually writes teen or young adult books and I'm rather far from that age group.What I had read about the book sounded as though this might be a regular adult novel, so I decided to take a chance. And it worked! This is a remarkable book that I enjoyed cover-to-cover. If I may quote just the first line: "I once knew this girl who thought she was God." How's that for an attention-getter? I'll not tell you how it all turned out, but encourage you to read the book. I hope you'll love it. I sure did.

A Learning Experience

A new friend sent a book which was a quick, easy, enjoyable read. Indian Creek Chronicles by Peter Fromm (1993) is well worth your time. As a young college student, the author became enchanted with the "romance" of the mountain men of the past century.. Circumstances led him to accept a Fish and Game job living in a remote canyon in Idaho where his job was to keep watch over the two and a half million salmon eggs which had been planted in one of the streams that eventually connected to the Pacific ocean. The strong appeal was because he'd be living by himself for seven months during the winter season, He envisioned himself as a modern-day mountain man, until he was faced with the reality of complete isolation. Then it was an "Oh my God" situation. He made a lot of dumb mistakes and endured some less-than-wonderful experiences. But he learned -- and that's the beauty of the story.

A Disappointing Bestseller

There is nothing wrong with this book.It won the National Book Award,and had many enthusiastic reviews.It was only disappointing to me, and that's because of my own circumstances. The book is The Year of Magical Thinkingby Joan Didion (2006). In it, she tells the story of the death of her husband and her gradual recovery from the shock of it. She went on "automatic pilot" and she coped well, but internally, she was anticipating his return. That's the extent of the "Magical Thinking". My circumstances are that my own husband died less than two years ago and because of that, my thinking has changed a great deal. I bought the book hoping to read that someone else had experiences similar to mine. I'm in the process of writing my own book which will have a lot more of what some would call "magic", but I don't. I call it "contacts". Ms Didion is an excellent writer and award winner. I'm not.

You need to know about this one

My poor blog! This past year, I've been so caught up in my own life that I've only written about a couple of the excellent books that I've read. Time passes and you forget even the name of a good one because you're involved in something new. That is not the case with YOU'RE NOT YOU. Written in 2006 by Michelle Wildgen, the book tells the story of two women, one of whom has Lou Gehrig's disease, and the other, who is hired to take care of her during the husband's working hours. The caretaker has a lot to learn beginning with understanding the unclear speech of the afflicted lady. Does it sound a bit grim? It isn't. It's a story of growth and change and trust. Personally. I loved it.

A writer redeemed

A lot of years ago, I read Scott Turow's PRESUMED INNOCENT and loved it.The scene near the end of the book when we find out what really happened completely surprised me. I was so impressed with Mr. Turow's talent, and was delighted to find his next one, THE BURDEN OF PROOF -- which I hated. I decided that the author had one good book in him and I had already read it. I didn't even glance at the books that bore his name until this past week when book titled INNOCENT caught my eye in our public library. I saw Turow's name, but decided I could at least read the inside front of the cover to see what the book is about. It's about the same people that were in the book that I loved, and this one is every bit as good as the original. So much so, that I hated to see it end. Go find INNOCENT by Scott Turow (2010). If you haven't read the original, read it first and that way you'll have double the pleasure.