Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing: Living in the Future
by Charles Bowden
Exceptional...pass it on (2/15/2009)
Bowdon's style is his strength, if you are ready for a ride through divergent landscapes in order to find continuity. The stark contrasts Bowdon draws may seem unsettling to some, yet they serve to illustrate the breadth of our existence and how difficult it is to understand it all. A really, really good book.
The Crow Road
by Iain Banks
Truth, myth, and magic: beautifully told (9/7/2008)
Truth matters, especially about one's family. That's what Prentiss McHoan discovers in his close-knit community in Scotland.
This is a beautiful and compelling story, well-crafted with insights into human nature and the life of a small town through multiple generations.
An excellent book!
Time of My Life: A Novel
by Allison Winn Scotch
A nice vacation read (8/1/2008)
Time of My Life is a clever exploration of the path not taken. The protagonist finds herself back in time to another relationship, but still endowed with the knowledge she's gained since them.
Scotch relies too heavily on telling a story directly through the narrator's thoughts than through action or dialogue. However, her use of a diary that the main character is a great technique. True to chick-lit style, references to contemporary NYC culture fill every page.
Overall, a fun read, but not memorable.
The Good Thief: A Novel
by Hannah Tinti
An exceptional tale (7/31/2008)
Eleven-year-old Ren doesn’t really know why he steals from his fellow orphans at St Anthony’s. But when nothing is yours but a ragged collar with three stitched initials, perhaps you stop believing in stories anymore and instead just reach for what is missing.
Hannah Tinti’s story is of lost boys – of any age -- for whom the dead mean as much as the living. The character of Benjamin Nab, who retrieves young Ren from St Anthony’s, weaves lies and truths together into a fabric that holds him at the same time it threatens to rip apart at any moment.
Ren’s story is well told, with characters that remind a reader of lost opportunity and the ephemeral nature of love and affection.
Characters are sketched with charcoal: gestures, movements, are sometimes finely rendered and other times only broadly suggested, to tell us of their essence. Tinti captures the wonder of small acts to a child and the sharp dangers in Ren’s life in a way that renders a haunting and compelling tale.
An excellent book!
