The Bone Clocks

Title:  The Bone Clocks

Author:  David Mitchell

Publication Information:  Random House. 2014. 640 pages.

ISBN:  1400065674 / 978-1400065677

Book Source:  I received this book through the GoodReads First Reads program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "Power is the ability to make someone do what they otherwise wouldn't, or deter them from doing what they otherwise would ... By coercion and reward. Carrots and sticks, though in bad light one looks much like the other. Coercion is predicated upon the fear of violence or suffering. 'Obey, or you'll regret it.' ... Reward works by promising 'Obey and feel the benefit.' ... Power is lost or won, never created or destroyed. Power is a visitor to, not a possession of, those it empowers. The mad tend to crave it, many of the sane crave it, but the wise worry about its long term side effects. Power is crack cocaine for your ego and battery acid for your soul. Power's comings and goings ... are the plot of history. The empowered may serve justice, remodel the Earth, transform lush nations into smoking battlefields and bring down skyscrapers, but power itself is amoral."

I was introduced to David Mitchell's work through Cloud Atlas. I then went on to read The Reason I Jump, which David Mitchell did not write but did translate from the Japanese original.

Then came this book. As with Cloud Atlas, I finished reading this several days ago and have been thinking about how to describe it and what to say.

Like Cloud Atlas, this book is organized into six sections. However, this book is chronological, starting in 1984 (a nod to George Orwell, perhaps?) and progressing all the way to a post-apocalyptic world in 2043. At the heart of this book is Holly Sykes. We first meet her as a rebellious teenager who runs away from home after a fight with her mother. We meet her through all six sections in the book - at different points of her life all the way to her old age. In some sense, the reader grows up with Holly.

Along with Holly, we meet other main characters whose lives intersect with hers. Holly's brother Jacko whose disappearance alters the family forever. A young man who is a scholarship student looking to find his way to fame and fortune. A father whose career calls him repeatedly away from his family. An author whose is struggling in his career. The horologist. Some sections are primarily about these individual characters. Yet, Holly's appearance in all their lives unifies the six sections into one story.

Each section presents a philosophy of life according to the inclinations of the main character:

Holly - "What if ... what if Heaven is real, but only in moments? Like a glass of water on a hot day when you're dying of thirst, or when someone's nice to you for no reason or .... S'pose Heaven's not like a painting that's just hanging there forever, but more like ... like the best song every anyone ever wrote, but a song you only catch in snatches, while you're alive, from passing cars, or ... upstairs windows when you're lost..."

Hugo Lamb:  "Human beings ... are walking bundles of craving. Cravings for food, water, shelter, warmth; sex and companionship; status, a tribe to belong to; kicks, control, purpose; and so on, all the way down to chocolate-brown bathroom suites. Love is one way to satisfy some of those cravings. But love's not just the drug; it's also the dealer. Love wants love in return ... Like drugs, the highs look divine, and I envy the users. But when the side-effects kick in - jealously, the rages, grief, I think, Count me out."

Ed - "The world's default mode is basic indifference. It'd like to care, but it's just got too much on at the moment ... If a mass shooting, a bomb, a whatever, is written about, then at least it's made a tiny dent in the world's memory Someone, somewhere, some time, has a chance of learning what happened. And, just maybe, acting on it. Or not. But at least it's there."

Crispin Hershey - "A writer flirts with schizophrenia, nurtures synaesthesia and embraces compulsive-obsessive disorder. You feed your art your soul, and yes, to a degree, your sanity. Writing novels wroth reading will bugger up your mind, jeopardize your relationships and distend your life. You have been warned."

Marinus - "Magic's just normal you're not used to."

Holly (again) - "For a voyage to begin, another one must end, sort of."

The central conflict of this book almost occurs at the periphery of the world. It is a centuries old war. Battles have been won and lost, but the war continues. It involves old beliefs, magic, and powers - the world of fantasy mixing with the very real and gritty life of Holly Sykes. We catch glimpses throughout, and only towards the latter part of the book does this conflict truly reveal itself.

As with Cloud Atlas, each of the individual sections has its own tone and story within the context of the larger plot. Many of the characters differ; the locations differ; and the main story focus differs. For this reason, some sections appeal to me more than others; some drag on.

Because this book does have the context of Holly's story, some sections seem to veer too far off that central plot. The side plots are sometimes extraneous to that main story line. That is particularly true of the section about the author Crispin Hershey. He becomes and stays a part of Holly's life, but he has only a tangential role in the major conflict of the story. His musings about the life of an author are interesting to read and his friendship with Holly touching, but out of all the sections, that seems to be the section that does not belong with the rest of the story.

Overall, I am not sure I liked the entire book, but at the same time, I could not put the book down. That is a testament to David Mitchell's writing and his ability to weave a tale and incorporate a world of philosophy into that story. I am a fan!

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return

Title:  William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return (William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy)

Author:  Ian Doescher

Publication Information:  Quirk Books. 2014. 168 pages.

ISBN:  159474713X / 978-1594747137

Book Source:  I read this book based on how much I enjoyed William Shakespeare's Star Wars and William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back, the first two books in this series.

Favorite Quote:

"Shall my relations govern all my days,

Or may I yet escape mine origins? 

Shall all the father's sins be visited

Upon the child, or shall I triumph yet?

Be with me, All ye Jedi past and gone."

This book is the third in the series to rewrite the story of the Star Wars original trilogy in Shakespearean English. The first, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, was a delightful book. The second, William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back, was almost as good. This one meets the same expectations.

If Star Wars is not for you or you are not familiar with it, then this is not the book for you. If, however, you are a Star Wars fan, then this is a fun addition to the collection. The book stays true to the story, which I really appreciate as a Star Wars fan.

This book, like the other two, is one I can happily share with my children - even the somewhat grown up ones. Having all seen the movies several times and studied Shakespeare, we each find things to enjoy about the book and to have a lively discussion. In fact, Quirk Books provides a study guide to accompany the book which explains iambic pentameter and the use of Shakespeare's plays in creating this story.

The end of the book has a note by the author on some of his challenges in converting the story and dialogue into Shakespearean English. For example, how should the Ewoks speak? The author also presents the creative solutions he came up. Having learned from the first two books, I read the note first. It helped me to appreciate the book even more so. I would recommend reading that first even though it is at the end.

Finally, this book being the third in a series does not have the novelty value that the first one did. It did not surprise me in the way the first one did, but it is still a fun book to read and to share with kids. I now wonder if Ian Doescher will tackle the other trilogy.

"Luke, thou shalt find that many of your truths

Depend entirely on your point of view.

It well may be that thou dost like it not,

But does not follow that it is not so."

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

The Book of Unknown Americans

Title:  The Book of Unknown Americans

Author:  Cristina Henríquez

Publication Information:  Knopf. 2014. 304 pages.

ISBN:  0385350848 / 978-0385350846

Book Source:  I read this book based on its description.

Favorite Quote:  "We’re the unknown Americans, the ones no one even wants to know, because they’ve been told they’re supposed to be scared of us and because maybe if they did take the time to get to know us, they might realize that we’re not that bad, maybe even that we’re a lot like them. And who would they hate then?"

This is one of several books I have read recently that addresses the topic of immigration into the United States. GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love looks at the immigrant experience of British women in the 1940s. Americanah is about an immigrant from Nigeria. A component of Island of a Thousand Mirrors encompasses immigrants who came to the United States to escape war. The Invention of Exile looks at an immigrant who unsuccessfully tries to find his way back into the country after deportation. All the books look at different time periods and different nationalities, but all have the common themes of opportunity and prejudice. This book is by far the strongest and most heartbreaking look at the immigrant experience.

This book is about the experience of Latin American immigrants. The Rivera family lived happily in Mexico, doing well financially and surrounded by family and loved ones. Their only daughter Mirabel suffers a traumatic brain injury in an accident. So, the Rivera family leaves all they know and hold dear and come to the United States to seek help and opportunity for Mirabel. Arturo and Alma are trying to do the best they can for their daughter, just like any parent any place in the world.

Interspersed with the story of the Rivera family are short narratives from some of the people who surround them. Immigrants like them from all over Latin America. They come different national backgrounds, different economic backgrounds, and they come for different reasons. All come with one goal - to build a better life. In this new homeland, all find themselves grouped together under one label. All find themselves forced between worlds.

"The truth was that I didn’t know which I was. I wasn’t allowed to claim the thing I felt and I didn’t feel the thing I was supposed to claim.” These words come from a young man who feels that America is his home and that he is American. However, his family obligations reinforce a tie to the land he left behind, and prejudice in his adopted homeland forever reinforces that he is different and that he does not belong. "These people are listening to the media, and the media, let me tell you, has some ***-up ideas about us. About all brown-skinned people..."

The Riveras settle into an apartment complex in Delaware, near the mushroom farm where Arturo has a job and near a school that can meet Mirabel's special needs. They find a community of other immigrants. They encounter difficulties of language barriers, economic hardships, and prejudice. They also find some friendship and support, within the immigrant community and outside of it. Yet, just trying to survive economically and emotionally becomes a daily struggle.

"When I walk down the street, I don't want people to look at me and see a criminal or someone that they can spit on or beat up. I want them to see a guy who has just as much right to be here as they do, or a guy who works hard, or a guy who loves his family, or a guy who's just trying to do the right things. I wish just one of those people, just one would actually talk to me."

No spoilers in this review, but I will say I did not see the ending coming! It hit me hard for being unexpected and powerful. After reading the event, it makes sense in light of the news stories these days. It strongly reinforces the force of the prejudice and hardship immigrants often experience.

This book is a powerful statement in its ending and its characters - people who are just like you and me but who cannot escape prejudice against the way they look, the way they sound, and the place they come from. Strange and heartbreaking in a country that is full of immigrants and that prided itself on being a melting pot and a land of opportunity for all.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Neverhome: A Novel

Title:  Neverhome: A Novel

Author:  Laird Hunt

Publication Information:  Little, Brown and Company. 2014. 256 pages.

ISBN:  0316370134 / 978-0316370134

Book Source:  I received this book through a publisher's giveaway free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "You think you are never going to get back and then you are there and you wonder if you were ever gone."

According to the Smithsonian Institute, about 400 women dressed themselves as men and fought in the Civil War. Neither the Union nor the Confederate army allowed women to enlist, following the prevalent view of the times that women belonged in the home. The enlistment age for men was eighteen; however, many younger boys lied about their age and enlisted. Because the young men were not as developed physically, the women blended in more easily. The lack of facial hair and the slighter builds were simply taken as a sign of younger age and not of gender differences.

Neverhome tells the story of one such woman. Constance "Ash" Thompson leaves her farm and her husband and enlists in the Union Army. She is a skill hunter, forager, and shooter. The book begins with the start of her harrowing journey with her regiment and continues through the war to her eventual return home. Through her eyes, the book depicts battles, killing, betrayals, sympathizers, prisons, and the daily struggle of surviving a war, particularly as a woman in disguise.

Much as I looked forward to the premise of the book, this was not the book for me both because of gaps in the content and the writing style.

I love the premise of the book. A young woman taking on the garb of a man and going off to fight in the war. The story follows Ash's journey through the war and back home again. Unfortunately, the book never really fills in the back story. Why is Ash the one to go to war? Why does her husband stay home? Why does Ash talk to her dead mother? What in her life caused her to acquire the skills that make her a successful soldier? Without any of these answers, it is difficult to understand Ash, and since the book is entirely about her, it is difficult to get absorbed into the book.

The book is written as a first person narrative in Ash's voice. The character is depicted as a woman of her times, with little formal education but a lot of life skills. The narrative voice captures that lack of education, and there is no break from that voice. The narrative takes on a choppy quality and makes the book challenging to read in its entirety.

The first person narrative also makes the book take on a journal like quality. As a result, the book is very descriptive in nature. Ash tells the story, rather than the book showing the story and putting the reader into the middle of it. Again, this makes it challenging to truly delve into the book.

Also as a journal can sometimes be, the book tends to drift from topic to topic through the meanderings of her thoughts. Again, her thoughts touch upon so much in her background - her mother's death, her marriage, her husband, lost children - but these topics are never explored. Ash seems to have many secrets, but they seem to simmer beneath the surface and never emerge to the reader. It gets frustrating to get these glimmers of things that have led Ash to this point and then not get the answer. In fact, the question of "why" looms so large that it overshadows the ability to focus on her descriptions of her harrowing experiences of war and what comes after.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

All The Light We Cannot See

Title:  All The Light We Cannot See

Author:  Anthony Doerr

Publication Information:  Scribner. 2014. 544 pages.

ISBN:  1476746583 / 978-1476746586

Book Source:  I read this book based on its description and a friend's recommendation.

Favorite Quote:  "Don't you want to be alive before you die?"

A blind French girl and a young German soldier are the main characters in All the Light We Cannot See. The book is a World War II story, but it is not about the politics, battles, winners, or losers of the war. It is about two young individuals - one on either side of the conflict - who are both victims of the war.

Both, through varied circumstances, find themselves in the town of Saint-Malo, a small, walled city on the northwest coast of France on the English Channel. "This last citadel at the edge of the continent, this final German strong point on the Breton coast ... Water surrounds the city on four sides. Its link to the rest of France is tenuous: a causeway, a bridge, a spit of sand ... Four years of occupation, and the roar of oncoming bombers is the roar of what? Deliverance? Extirpation?"

Marie-Laure LeBlanc is alone in the house in Saint-Malo. She waits for her uncle to return. Marie-Laure's story, however, begins in Paris a decade earlier. Her father is the master of locks at the Paris Museum of Natural History. The museum is Marie-Laure's playground, even as her eye sight deteriorates steadily, leaving her blind. As war threatens them in Paris, she and her father escape Paris, eventually coming to her uncle's home in Saint-Malo. War, however, finds them there as well.

Werner Pfennig is hiding in a cellar, unsure of his survival and unsure of what is next as an attack against the Germans in Saint-Malo comes nearer. The start of Werner's story brings us to an orphanage outside of Essen, Germany, where he and his sister Jutta live. His self-taught knowledge of electronics, particularly radios, brings him to the attention of the German army. He sees an education and a way out of a life in the coal mines; he takes it. Behind the army rhetoric, however, he finds a world that leads him to terror and war.

As the individual stories progress, they begin to overlap. Although Werner and Marie-Laure do not actually meet until close to the end of the book, their lives have intersected before. As a reader, it adds so much to the book to see these overlaps when the characters themselves are not aware of them.

Underlying the characters is a sub-plot about a priceless diamond - the Sea of Flames, the legends surrounding it, and those who would do anything to acquire it. It incorporates into the book World War II  history about the theft of museum treasures and those who sought to save them. At times, it seems that the legend of the stone also provides an anchor and hope for Marie-Laure when it appears that there may be none.

The book is written in short chapters in somewhat of a circular fashion - circling between Marie-Laure in Saint-Malo as the attack comes, Marie-Laure's background from Paris onwards to the time of the attack, Werner in Saint-Malo, and his background from the orphanage to this point. Each short chapter moves an aspect of the story forward. It tells the story from the beginning and from the middle at the same time. An odd and intricate construct, but it works in this book.

The structure of the book as an interlocking puzzle mirrors the the motif of puzzles and locks  that recurs repeatedly in the book, particularly in Marie-Laure's story. Her father is a master of locks. The Museum of Natural History is a labyrinth of rooms and hallways. Delicate, maze-like patterns cover the shells Marie-Laure examines at the museum. Marie-Laure's father's gifts to her always involve a puzzle. The storage of the Sea of Flames involves a set of thirteen nested locks. The model of the city that Marie-Laure's father builds to help her navigate without sight appears to her at first as a maze. The grotto by the sea lies behind a locked door and an alleyway that is hidden until you are upon it. Finally, the observation"What mazes there are in this world. The branches of tress, the filigree of roots, the matrix of crystals, the streets her father re-created in his models. Mazes in the nodules on murex shells and in the textures of sycamore bark and inside the hollow bones of eagles. None more complicated than the human brain ... what may be the most complex object in existence; one wet kilogram within which spin universes."

The motif is an accurate description for the book itself - it creates its own beautifully constructed, interconnected universe with Marie-Laure and Werner spinning at its center.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Nest

Title:  Nest

Author:  Esther Ehrlich

Publication Information:  Wendy Lamb Books. 2014. 336 pages.

ISBN:  0385386079 / 978-0385386074

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "One thing I know is that you can keep someone company without ruining their privacy."

This story is told through the voice of Naomi "Chirp" Orenstein. Chirp is eleven years old and is growing up in a small town on Cape Cod in 1972. Her nickname comes from her fascination with bird and bird watching. Life has been good. She lives in a beautiful place and is surrounded by a loving family - her dad, her mother Hannah, and her sister Rachel.

Yet, all is not well now. Hannah is experiencing strange symptoms that are changing her from the vibrant, happy, loving mother Chirp has always known into a sad, distant person. The diagnosis of these symptoms and the ensuing events change this family's life forever.

Chirp finds solace in the birds and in trying to get things to be the way they were.  Her childlike belief that everything can be fixed is beautifully depicted. Her efforts and the efforts of her sister to make their mother happy are heartbreaking to read. They try music, dance, gardening and cooking - all the things their mother loves. They try being really quiet and not bothering their mother so she can rest. Nothing seems to work.

Chirp also finds a friend in Joey, the boy next door. Joey's character is an interesting one, viewed through eleven year old Chirp's eyes. For her, he is the boy with the tough older brothers, the boy who can be nice or not, and the boy who proves himself her friend. As an adult reader, the issues Joey faces become clear, and he elicits compassion. The fact that despite his own troubles, he reaches out to help Chirp make him an endearing character. Joey would an interesting point of discussion between an adult and a younger reader. What would a younger reader see in the glimpses we get of Joey's life?

Two characters whose role I don't understand in the book are Dawn and the lady in the woods. Dawn is a young girl in Chirp's grade. She faces many learning challenges and is often the target of ridicule. Chirp and Dawn are not friends, but Chirp is a friend to Dawn, sitting with her on the bus and helping her in school. The only role I see for Dawn in the book is to draw a picture of Chirp's character as compassionate and kind. Yet, for that, she is a big part of the book without really being a part of the story.

The lady in the woods is someone Chirp has never met and someone she never really meets in the book either. We never learn who she is. When Chirp takes to the woods to watch birds, the lady is "in her spot." Chirp offers help, but is rebuffed without any words or conversation. Perhaps, she appears again and perhaps not. Again, it's unclear what purpose the character serves in the book.

The religious references in the book also stand out because they center around the fact that the Orensteins are the only family of their faith in this small town. The references do not imply the comfort that religious beliefs can bring in a crisis. The references do no introduce teachings of faith and its implications in a crisis. The references only come up as the fact that their religion sets them apart. While many children can relate to that feeling of being different, this story already has enough setting Chirp apart to make anything additional unnecessary.

The target audience for this book is grades 5 and up, in other words, ages 10 and up. It takes on topics that many middle schoolers will relate to - school, siblings, friendships, and family. The main plot of book is a dark and sad story, taking on some very serious issues that I hope no child ever has to face. It's hard to say more without revealing the plot line. As an adult, I was moved emotionally at points. I am not sure a middle school audience is ready for the seriousness of this book unless they are unfortunately in that same situation, and I don't know that a young adult audience would relate to an eleven year old narrator. It's unclear where the exact audience for the book will lie and what their reaction will be.

Chirp and Joey are delightful, charming characters, but the darkness of the plot and the unclear components make the story less charming than the characters.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love

Title:  GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love

Author:  Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi

Publication Information:  William Morrow Paperbacks. 2014. 368 pages.

ISBN:  0062328050 / 978-0062328052

Book Source:  I received this book through the GoodReads First Reads program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "Just remember, you don't marry a man, you marry a whole family, and you've got to bend over backwards to make it work."

World War II Britain was ravaged. The young women living there faced a world of the blitz, of shortages of everything, and of all their "boys" gone to fight. When the American soldiers arrived, they brought with them some of the simple luxuries of life lacking in Britain at the time and something of the Hollywood glamour. They also brought hope and a way to a new, more prosperous life.

According to the New York Times archives, approximately 70,000 British war brides came to the United States between 1945 to 1950. This book captures the stories of four of these brides - Sylvia, Gwendolyn, Rae, and Margaret.

Sylvia met her soldier husband while volunteering for the Red Cross. Gwendolyn or Lyn met her soldier in her home town of Southhampton, when the Americans took control of the port to bring in the cargo and supplies for the Americans in Britain. Rae joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's branch of the British Army at that time; she married her soldier husband despite a conflicting desire to pursue her military career. Margaret found herself working for the US Army in London, with the opportunity to meet many soldiers. All four women fell in love. All four left their jobs, families, and home to follow their husbands to the United States.

At a aggregate level, the book does a vivid and dynamic job of depicting the conditions in wartime England. It also brings to light the harrowing journeys these women took to their new adopted homeland - the heartache of leaving home and family, the questioning, the physical searches, the conditions on the Army ships on which they travelled, the culture shock, and the social struggles they faced in the United States.

The copy of the book I received includes no images. That would be a wonderful enhancement to the book. The acknowledgements at the end of book reference the website http://www.gibrides.com with pictures and audio clips of some of the interviews that form the basis of this book.

When looking at the stories on a more individual level, I have two concerns about the book - one about the organization and one about the content.

The book is told in alternating chapters from the lives of the four women - Sylvia, Gwendolyn, Rae, and Margaret. It allows their stories to develop in parallel from war ravaged Britain, through their courtship, their journey to America, and their married life in America. As each has their own unique experience, the organization allows the different perspectives to be compared. However, at the same time, the organization of the book makes it difficult to follow the continuity of one woman's story. I often found myself referring back to the previous chapters related to each one to pick up the thread of her individual story.

The description of the book states, "Some struggled with the isolation of life in rural American, or found their soldier less than heroic in civilian life. But most persevered, determined to turn their warm romance into a life long love affair, and prove to those back home that a Hollywood ending of their own was possible."

The book encompasses a lot more of the struggle than of the life long love. These women married men they did not know and came to a place they did not know to begin their life anew. The expected clash of cultures and of family is clear throughout the book. In addition, the book depicts economic hardship, loss, illness, addiction, betrayal, and even abuse through these relationships. I would hope that some GI Brides found happiness, but the love and the happy ending are far less developed in the book than the heartache.

Overall, the book portrays an engrossing picture of a time of history and an amazing group of women.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.