Remembrance
by Rita Woods
Wonderful Story! (10/23/2019)
I really enjoyed this book. The story was well written and kept me engaged. The descriptions of location and characters were beautiful. I also appreciated learning more about the experiences of slaves, including the history going back to Haiti in 1700s.
There were some details of each character that I found a little hard to follow at the beginning. I found myself going back to previous chapters to re-read the details.
Overall, I think this is a wonderful book and recommend it others!
Beirut Hellfire Society
by Rawi Hage
Great idea, okay execution (5/20/2019)
I was initially drawn to this book because I wanted to learn more about war in Lebanon. The author does provide an interesting view of Pavlov's life. However, I felt like it was mostly disparate stories of Pavlov that didn't really come together until the last section of the book. The first three quarters I would find myself distracted and not engaged with reading more. It was an interesting idea, just not my style.
House of Stone
by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
This book was a struggle (12/18/2018)
I had a lot of difficulty reading this book. I wasn't able to follow the story line and frequently had to re-read the description on the back to remember what the point of the story was. It appeared to consistent of random stories about people and I was never really sure how this flowed.
I was intrigued by the description initially. I struggled to get through this book and am not even now clear on what it is about. This writing style just isn't for me and I hope others are able to enjoy this book more.
The Kinship of Secrets
by Eugenia Kim
Glad I stuck with this book (10/11/2018)
This book started out a bit slow for me. I found it difficult to remember the details from chapter to chapter and I was slow to keep picking this book up again.
About half way, I became much more interested and the book picked up quite a bit. I'm glad I stuck with it thru the slow beginning, as this story unfolded beautifully.
I also learned information about the Korean War.
I really enjoyed this book once I got into it.
Island Beneath the Sea: A Novel
by Isabel Allende
Great read (5/12/2018)
I really enjoyed Island Beneath the Sea. Isabel Allende painted a detailed picture of 19th century St Domingue (now Haiti). Although this is book is fiction, the story of a woman slave during this period was realistic. I learned much about the history of Haiti and the slave rebellion. Absolutely beautiful book, I will likely read it all over again.
Lilac Girls: A Novel
by Martha Hall Kelly
Difficult to read, but very good (5/9/2018)
I really enjoyed this book - the intertwining story and the women themselves were well written and developed. Even though I've read several books about atrocities in WWII, I learned a lot more about women during this period and Ravensbruck.
I will note for other readers that this book is fairly graphic and disturbing. I think this really adds to understanding the story and how women at Ravensbruck were treated, but also realize this may be too much for some readers.
I greatly appreciate the author's attention to telling this story compassionately.
The Summer Wives
by Beatriz Williams
Ok read (4/23/2018)
For me personally, I will label this book as "just fine." The story line started out interesting enough, but towards the end of the book, the plot felt unrealistic yet predictable. The quality of the writing felt a bit jumpy in the last third of the book as well, it was almost as though the author was rushed to finish or wrap up the ending within few remaining pages. This book would be fine as a low-key beach type of read. Based solely on Summer Wives, I don't feel inspired to pick up any other books by this author.
