Isn't it Romantic by Ron Hanen
Natalie Clairvaux, a Paris librarian specializing in Americana at the Bibliotheque Nationale, embarks on a grassroots "See America" bus tour of out-of-the-way U.S. landmarks in an effort to escape the unwanted attentions of her philandering fiance, Pierre Smith, scion of a family of French wine sellers. Maddened by her unexplained disappearance, Pierre tracks her down and catches up with her tour group in Omaha. The quarreling couple abandons the tour at a tiny crossroads outside of Seldom, Nebrask, (pop. 395), on Wednesday, agreeing that Natalie will reach a decision about their wedding by noon on Saturday.
The book takes an almost Northern Exposure turn as the townfolk announce that the couple will be elected king and queen of an annual local festival honoring a Frenchman who founded the town. Of course all manner of rather predictable fun and games begins. No hankypanky before marriage so Pierre is quartered with Owen Nelson. Owen is the local mechanic and his penchant for wine making is second only to his obsession with Cornhusker football. Natalie is moved into a women only boarding house. Natalie soon becomes captivated by handsome Dick Tupper, a 50-year-old rancher. And, true to form, womanizing Pierre starts hitting on Iona Christiansen, a comely waitress at the local cafe.
This is a very light book only scattered with sarcastic whitisms of French phrases that the locals think are just too cute. The locals plan a wedding between the couple but each find themselves torn between what is love and what is just new and different. It is quite the contrast as most people go to Paris to find something new and different and here we have these Parisians come to Nebraska to show us it with fresh eyes. I won't say this was the best book I ever read but very sweet.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Live Bait by P.J. Tracy
2nd title in Monkeewrench series.
Elderly Jews are being murdered in Minneapolis, and detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth work to solve the case. On the surface it appears to be some kind of crazy serial killer who is going after old people. But as they delve into the details in the victims lives it becomes apparent that the people who were being killed have more in common than what meets the eye.
We also have the original characters from the Monkeewrench crew in the story but in a much more background mode.
While the mystery was not as good, the storyline and development of the police detectives are excellent as always. Plus we see more develop between Leo and Grace.
Book five comes out in a few months so I'm re-reading this as it's been a few years. Can't wait!
2nd title in Monkeewrench series.
Elderly Jews are being murdered in Minneapolis, and detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth work to solve the case. On the surface it appears to be some kind of crazy serial killer who is going after old people. But as they delve into the details in the victims lives it becomes apparent that the people who were being killed have more in common than what meets the eye.
We also have the original characters from the Monkeewrench crew in the story but in a much more background mode.
While the mystery was not as good, the storyline and development of the police detectives are excellent as always. Plus we see more develop between Leo and Grace.
Book five comes out in a few months so I'm re-reading this as it's been a few years. Can't wait!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan by Christina Lamb
Former British journalist Christina Lamb return to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to observe the land and its people firsthand. Because of her previous experiences in Afghanistan she is able to interview locals, Afghan warlords, former members of the Taliban and other influential personalities ignored by the Western media. Lamb paints a vivid picture of Taliban rule and offers a broader sense of life devastated by two decades of war. Her well-written and moving account also reveals the heroism of the Afghans, who not only survived but also resisted their Soviet occupiers; clandestine literary circles and art preservation techniques, for example, helped Afghans salvage their education and history from total destruction.
It offers a very interesting perspective and one I did not expect to have. I think for the first time there is a face on the people of this wartorn country and I can't help but feel empathy for a country that will never be the same again. The photos are truly amazing as there are photos she took during her time there in the 1990's and post-911. Such destruction and so much history and literature lost forever. Personally I am not a non-fiction reader but I found this book fascinating.
Former British journalist Christina Lamb return to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to observe the land and its people firsthand. Because of her previous experiences in Afghanistan she is able to interview locals, Afghan warlords, former members of the Taliban and other influential personalities ignored by the Western media. Lamb paints a vivid picture of Taliban rule and offers a broader sense of life devastated by two decades of war. Her well-written and moving account also reveals the heroism of the Afghans, who not only survived but also resisted their Soviet occupiers; clandestine literary circles and art preservation techniques, for example, helped Afghans salvage their education and history from total destruction.
It offers a very interesting perspective and one I did not expect to have. I think for the first time there is a face on the people of this wartorn country and I can't help but feel empathy for a country that will never be the same again. The photos are truly amazing as there are photos she took during her time there in the 1990's and post-911. Such destruction and so much history and literature lost forever. Personally I am not a non-fiction reader but I found this book fascinating.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
Told from the point of view of the youngest daughter, Nadezhda, this family saga is set in London. During one of their many phone conversations, her 84 year old father announces he intends to marry a blonde, big-breasted 36 year old Ukrainian woman. He met her at the local Ukrainian Social Club in the English town where he lives, just north of London. It is clear to Nadezhda and her sister, Vera, that the femme fatale Valentina is only after Western luxuries—certainly not genuine love of any kind. Smitten with saving two Ukrainian lives, their father forges ahead to help Valentina settle in England, spending what little pension he has buying her cars and household appliances and even financing her cosmetic surgery.
In the meantime, Nadezhda, a socialist, and Vera, a proud capitalist, confront the longstanding ill will between them as they try to save their father from his folly. As time goes Nadezhda, starts to feel differently about Valentina and wants to discover who she is. Nadezhda has never known much about her parents' history, starts asking questions and actually listening to the stories her father tells her. She starts to piece it together with her sister and learns that there is more to her father than she once believed. The story alternates with narrative from her father's book "Short History of Tractors" which she helps him translate into English.
I listened to most of this on CD until I put the final CD in to discover it was a repeat of the previous CD. So I had to finish it in print. I really enjoyed this story but found myself getting fixated on the time frame. Initially I thought it took place in current times but then when Nadezhda talked about her birth being in the 1940's and she was 48 I knew I was a bit off. The conversations between the daughters and their father were fascinating. The fights between Valentina and their father were hysterical as both get their English confused. You get a real feel for the Ukrainian immigrants who settled in the UK during the war. I did skim over the tractor history though, it was a bit much.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos
Set in the fictional town of Emlyn Springs, a Welsh Town in Southeastern Nebraska. We explore the life of the Jones family. Much of the story is told in the voice of Hope Jones as she meets and falls in love with Llewelyn Jones and after going with him to attend a relative's funeral falls in love with Emlyn Springs his hometown. The couple marry in the early 1960's and settle down in Emlyn Springs. It is a town that honors all their Welsh traditions and has many traditions such as singing for funerals and the Little Miss Emlyn Springs competition in which the winner wins a carved chair. Llwellyn becomes the town Doctor and Hope a stay at home mom, who suffers several miscarriages before giving birth to 3 children. We also discover that she suffers from MS which her husband keeps from her until she becomes pregnant with their 3rd child. While Hope loves Emlyn Springs for it's rich history and tradition she is also stifled of her independence and has trouble making friends. She develops a friendship with her husband's nurse, Alvina "Viney" Closs , a widowed at a very young age many years ago.
Much of the story swings between Hope's diary of her marriage and current day. We see how the 3 children are affected by the death of their mother in the 1978 tornado, especially since her body was never found. Current day brings the Jones children together for their father's funeral after he's killed by a lightning strike. Larken, the oldest, is an overweight professor at University of Nebraska and is beset by fear of flying; son Gaelan, is a television weatherman and focused more on weight lifting than developing relationships and has too many women in his life; while the youngest, Bonnie, who stays in Emlyn Springs working odd jobs - she is almost like the Pied Piper as the children of Emlyn Springs follow her everywhere. Bonnie is also known as "Flying Girl" she survives the tornado that kills her mother - discovered in a tree still atop her bicycle. We learn more about Viney - nurse and eventual lover to Llewelyn. While they were together for over 25 years Viney discovers that she doesn't know Lleweyn at all. Together they have lived in her house under a strict exercise and vegan lifestyle. When she goes to clear out his house (the family house) it is full of junk food, alcohol and meat! This complicated relationship is slowly unveiled through flashbacks and Hope's diary entries.
This is a very complicated story and at times found myself wanting to tell the adult children to snap out of it. All 3 are stuck in some way, Larken with her compulsion to eat, Gaelan with only sleeping around without ever developing a relationship and Bonnie is stuck on nostalgia as she canvas's the town looking for things to collect that might connect her with their mother. None are challenging themselves and just do what needs to be done to get by.
I have been finding the descriptions of small town life fascinating as all 3 have to come to terms with loss and find their place in the world. Since I grew up in Omaha, NE I was intrigued to see how the author wrote about this region. There are two tornado sequences and are portrayed more romantically than what really happens but made for a good story. I had to suspend some sense of disbelief during these sequences.
Set in the fictional town of Emlyn Springs, a Welsh Town in Southeastern Nebraska. We explore the life of the Jones family. Much of the story is told in the voice of Hope Jones as she meets and falls in love with Llewelyn Jones and after going with him to attend a relative's funeral falls in love with Emlyn Springs his hometown. The couple marry in the early 1960's and settle down in Emlyn Springs. It is a town that honors all their Welsh traditions and has many traditions such as singing for funerals and the Little Miss Emlyn Springs competition in which the winner wins a carved chair. Llwellyn becomes the town Doctor and Hope a stay at home mom, who suffers several miscarriages before giving birth to 3 children. We also discover that she suffers from MS which her husband keeps from her until she becomes pregnant with their 3rd child. While Hope loves Emlyn Springs for it's rich history and tradition she is also stifled of her independence and has trouble making friends. She develops a friendship with her husband's nurse, Alvina "Viney" Closs , a widowed at a very young age many years ago.
Much of the story swings between Hope's diary of her marriage and current day. We see how the 3 children are affected by the death of their mother in the 1978 tornado, especially since her body was never found. Current day brings the Jones children together for their father's funeral after he's killed by a lightning strike. Larken, the oldest, is an overweight professor at University of Nebraska and is beset by fear of flying; son Gaelan, is a television weatherman and focused more on weight lifting than developing relationships and has too many women in his life; while the youngest, Bonnie, who stays in Emlyn Springs working odd jobs - she is almost like the Pied Piper as the children of Emlyn Springs follow her everywhere. Bonnie is also known as "Flying Girl" she survives the tornado that kills her mother - discovered in a tree still atop her bicycle. We learn more about Viney - nurse and eventual lover to Llewelyn. While they were together for over 25 years Viney discovers that she doesn't know Lleweyn at all. Together they have lived in her house under a strict exercise and vegan lifestyle. When she goes to clear out his house (the family house) it is full of junk food, alcohol and meat! This complicated relationship is slowly unveiled through flashbacks and Hope's diary entries.
This is a very complicated story and at times found myself wanting to tell the adult children to snap out of it. All 3 are stuck in some way, Larken with her compulsion to eat, Gaelan with only sleeping around without ever developing a relationship and Bonnie is stuck on nostalgia as she canvas's the town looking for things to collect that might connect her with their mother. None are challenging themselves and just do what needs to be done to get by.
I have been finding the descriptions of small town life fascinating as all 3 have to come to terms with loss and find their place in the world. Since I grew up in Omaha, NE I was intrigued to see how the author wrote about this region. There are two tornado sequences and are portrayed more romantically than what really happens but made for a good story. I had to suspend some sense of disbelief during these sequences.
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