Linda Reads

A Tale for the Time Being

linda — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:47:15 +0000

This is quite the book! A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki will blow your little mind. It’s is very original. Not like anything I’ve ever read before. It’s fiction, with footnotes on some pages that translate Japanese words or expressions into English. It has appendices that explain various things mentioned in the story in detail. In Japan, time is running out for young Nao Yasutani. She wants to record the story of her great-grandmother Jiko who, at 104 years old, has been an anarchist, feminist, novelist and Zen Buddist nun. This diary that Nao (pronounced Now) writes somehow ends up inside a Hello Kitty lunchbox, along with a few other interesting artifacts, washed up on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. When Ruth discovers this strange package while walking along the beach, she brings it home and quickly thinks it could quite possibly be debris from the 2011 tsunami. The more she reads of Nao’s diary, the more involved she becomes in trying to discover the meaning of the strange contents, and whether or not Nao survived this catastrophic event. Believe me, you will be shocked by what you read, educated (who knew Japanese crows could be so fascinating!), filled with laughter & horror (you think we have a problem with bullying in our schools!!), “enlightened” (there’s even a page telling you how to meditate – remember Jiko is a Buddist nun) and often stop and think about what you just read (the parrallel between the flow & containment of water at the Fukushima nuclear plant with the flow & containment of information in our high-tech world is brilliant). Oseki is an amazing writer, but be forewarned, at times the descriptions are difficult to read. And some of it is pretty heavy to digest. I guess I’m slow on the take because I was almost half way through the book before realizing that Ruth, one of the characters in the book, has the same name as the author, they’re both writers, AND they both have a partner named Oliver. (I always read the “Acknowledgements”.) Fact turned into fiction, in tiny bits maybe? It made me wonder how much of the British Columbia part was based, even slightly, on their lives. When I picked up the book I wasn’t totally sure it was my “type” but I decided to give it a go anyway. Now I can’t say enough good things about it. Somehow it has flown under the radar screen, and I’m not sure why. It deserved WAY more praise and publicity than it’s been getting. Buy the book and spread the word. Tweet… skype… blog… facebook… do whatever it is you do and get the word out!!

If you want to see something beautiful go to http://www.ruthozeki.com/ and play the little video she provides as a backdrop to her book. It is breathtaking. And read about what the British publishers have managed to do with their version of this book. I really want to get my hands on one of theirs now.

Wave

linda — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:21:45 +0000

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala is a very powerful book. It is riveting in the depth of it’s despair. Almost unbelievable. It is so shocking that at times I had to remind myself that it was a memoir and not fiction. If you haven’t heard about this book yet, you definitely will in short order. It is the absolutely devastating story of how Sonali lost her husband Steve,7 year old son Vikram, 5 year old son Malli, her parents Aachchi & Seeya, and best friend Orlantha in the Boxing Day Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 while vacationing over Christmas in Sri Lanka. (Most of the reviews I read failed to mention the names of the family members she lost in this terrible tragedy - they’re just reduced to husband, sons, mother & father. I found this appalling!) It was the last day of their vacation, Orlantha knocked on their hotel door to see if they were ready to leave (in just a minute, Steve is in the bathroom)… and then all Hell broke loose. They saw the enormous wave, panic ensued, they try to escape in a jeep up into the hills (no time to even knock on her parents’ door) the water kept rising, then surged over everything, the jeep turned over, and they got separated. Sonali managed to cling to a tree branch while everyone else disappeared never to be seen again. Eventually rescuers spot her spinning like a top, covered in mud, minus her trousers. It’s unbelievable to imagine how anyone could survive this, never mind the years of agony to follow. When reality sets in and she is ready to admit that everyone is gone, years of absolute misery coping with this unbelievable tragedy follow. Interspersed with the details of her story are little snippets of memory, happy times, that give us a look into the lives and personalities of Steve, Vik, Malli, Mum, Dad, and Orlantha before that dreadful catastrophy took their lives away. Life really isn’t survival of the fittest, it’s survival of the most resilient. I can’t imagine anyone more resilient than Sonali.

Me Before You

linda — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:21:51 +0000

I knew nothing about this book, or the author, when I plucked if off the shelf. I’d just finished a series of historical fiction books about WWI and I really wanted something entirely different. A palate cleanser of sorts… I chose well. Me Before You is written by British writer Jojo Moyes. I love British writers. Spunky, funky-dressed, Louisa Clark is an ordinary 27 year old girl with an ordinary life, working at the local cafe (the Buttered Bun) and living at home with Mum, Dad, Granddad, sister Treena and her nephew Thomas. When her boss announces he’s closing the cafe and heading back to Australia, Louisa is desperate to find a job. Money is tight in the Clark household, with just her and Dad actually bringing home the bacon. Reluctantly she accepts a position as “care assistant” to quadriplegic Will Traynor, ex-Master of the Universe, former extreme sports enthusiast, world traveler and business tycoon. As her Dad said when she announced she’d accepted the position… “If it wasn’t punishment enough ending up in a ruddy wheelchair, then you get our Lou turning up to keep you company.” Humour abounds in this b0ok. But be forewarned, there is a very serious issue at the heart of the story. Will is often uncommunicative, moody, and bossy. Lou finds it a trial to deal with at first, and isn’t sure she can cope, but eventually realizes his happiness means more to her than she ever expected. She sets out to prove that his life is worth living, even though he has plans to the contrary. She soon discovers just how challenging it is, and in doing so, eventually comes to realize that Will has changed her life for the better in ways she never imagined. When I started this book I thought it would be verging on “fluff” but I was dead wrong. Moyes is a wonderful writer, and this is a great book. Give it a go.

Salt Sugar Fat

linda — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:43:57 +0000

Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss is a real whopper of a book. Sorry for the pun, it’s intended. This is a book that delves into the giants of the processed food industry and how they manipulate our tastebuds. It’s a real eye opener that illustrates how far from real food we’ve wandered during our quest for quick, cheap, easy to cook food. We waddle (cause we’re fat) like lemmings over the cliff of sensibility and reason into the processed food isles of the grocery stores to satisfy our addictions (to salt, sugar & fat) that we didn’t even know we had. These are the 3 ingredients used by the processed food industry that determine whether or not their products fly off the shelves & into our mouths or die a fast death due to low sales. Money is everything to the industry, and you won’t believe the billions made on sales of packaged products that are SO BAD for our health. There are way too many facts & figures in this book to even zero in on a specific product or company here, but I’m sure you can name a few yourself. The depth Moss goes to, to uncover the manipulation of our mouths, is mind-boggling. The more I read, the more I kept thinking that food journalist Michael Pollan has it right. In his wonderful book, In Defence of Food, he said one thing that has stayed with me for years… “If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it’s made in a plant, don’t.” Michael Moss just goes further into explaning why this rule is so important to our health today when nobody actually cooks a meal from scratch, and cheap junk food is everywhere to tempt our tastebuds. It’s “eater beware” now. Read this book and you may never look at the stuff on the grocery store shelves the same way again… at least I hope you won’t.

A Future Arrived

linda — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:02:49 +0000

A Future Arrived is Phillip Rock’s 3rd book in his trilogy of the Greville family at Abingdon Pryory set pre and post WWI (this book actually ends in October 1940.). Having enjoyed the previous two immensely, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. I’m sorry there were only 3 books in the series, I really wish Rock had decided to just continue with a social history of England set against the backdrop of world history. It would have been fantastic I think. He’s a wonderful writer (he died in 2004). The saga continues… Charles Greville finds love again, and becomes Headmaster of Burgate House, and journalist Martin Rilke continues to dominate the newspapers & airwaves of the world. The next generation, the Wood-Lacey twins – Jennifer & Victoria, as well as their younger sister Kate, and Colin Mackendric Ross (Alex’s son), figure largely as time marches on towards WWII. And we’re introduced to Albert Thaxton, Ivy’s brother, who follows in Martin’s footsteps as he travels through Europe headlining the turmoils & troubles of the world. I love historical fiction, and this series of books has been one of my favourites. I just spotted it sitting on the shelf in the bookstore and decided to take a chance. And I’m SO glad I did. Read all 3 books, you won’t be disappointed. ***** for all 3 books.

Circles of Time

linda — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:07:32 +0000

Circles of Time is Phillip Rock’s second book in his trilogy of Abingdon Pryory. You can read it without having read the first (there’s enough overlap of info that you won’t be confused as to who’s who and what’s what) but I suggest you start at the beginning. It’s like trying to watch season 2 of Downton Abbey without having watched season 1 – why would you? Time marches on at Abingdon Pryory, the Greville family are coping with the aftermath of WWI, rebuilding their precious “estate” to it’s former glory. William and Charles, both of who were wounded in battle - in different ways (I don’t like to give anything away) get on with dealing with their demons. Beautiful, smart Alex comes to admit to her mother’s desire for a proper marriage to a proper British gentleman, and along with Martin, the American cousin who has become an international success as a journalist, they all figure large in the book and it’s a great read. It’s the age of jazz, looser morals, changing ideas and ideals. But all is not good. On the horizon is the problem of what to do about Germany, left battered and broken by the war. Someone named Hitler has appeared on the scene and he’s slowly winning over the minds of the broken, hungry, and destitute. I love the book, maybe even more than book #1 (less war stuff) but it’s hard to say since that one was a favourite too. I just wonder why we’ve never heard of these books before. Rock wrote this book in 1981- he died in 2004. I bet it’s the Downton Abbey craze that has brought them to the forefront now. Better late than never is what I say. The writing is terrific, and you’ll get just as caught up in his 3 books as the blockbuster TV series. I want to keep book #3 to read when I’m away in a few weeks, but it’s going to be really hard to keep from peeking.

Green(e) is my Favourite Colour

linda — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 12:22:26 +0000

Two of our very own wonderful Canadian writers have new books arriving at your favourite store this spring. Barbara Fradkin, who writes the Inspector Michael Green series set in Ottawa, has The Whisper of Legends being released in early April, and Robert Rotenberg, famous for his Detective Ari Greene series set in Toronto, has Stranglehold appearing on the shelves in early May. Mark your calendars bookworms.

The Passing Bells

linda — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:17:54 +0000

The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock is a novel about World War I. I don’t usually read books with war themes, but this one looked different, and I was right. I found it fascinating. It is the first book in a trilogy about the British upper class Greville family at Abingdon Pryory. Lucky me – there are two more books to dig into! The war is front & centre in this book, but the goings on with the Grevilles and their servants at the Pryory serve to buffer all that nastyness of gaunt soldiers in muddy trenches, mustard gas and shell-shocked veterans with missing limbs. It sounds awful, and it is, but it’s so well written and there’s so much about British society and how the war changes everything that I was compelled to finish the book - even though at times I got confused as to which country was doing what to who. British aristocracy was forever changed by that war. Society women who’d never done a days work in their lives became “sisters” (nurses) tending to the wounded side by side with the downstairs staff who were elevated from pot scrubbing scullery maids, while Anthony Greville, 9th Earl of Stanmore, loses the 25 hunters and jumpers in his stables – the finest in England – to the war effort and… heavens!… is forced to drive his own “motorcar” since all the young, able bodied men are either off serving or have been called upon to aid the war effort in ways they’d never imagined. If you’re addicted to the very popular Downton Abbey TV series - this is a book for you! Immerse yourself in the fascinating story, the saga actually, of Abingdon Pryory and it’s inhabitants. I can’t wait to dig into book #2 Circles of Time. Stay tuned.

FREEDOM TO READ WEEK

linda — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:51:50 +0000

February 24th starts Freedom to Read week and I can’t think of a better way to start thinking about what this means than to read Globe & Mail writer Elizabeth Renzetti’s wonderful column “Censorship is alive and well in Canada – just ask government scientists”. Read this and make sure to pass it along to family & friends. Censorship isn’t just something that happens in other countries. Our alarm bells should have gone off a long time ago.

The Last Runaway

linda — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:27:39 +0000

The Last Runaway is written by Tracy Chevalier. She wrote the hugely successful The Girl with the Pearl Earring a few years ago. This novel starts off with Honor Bright accompanying her sister Grace to America, leaving behing their entire family and Quaker community in Bridport, England. Tragically, Grace dies of yellow fever while en route to Ohio where she is to marry a former member of their Quaker community, and Honor is left to her own devices, relying on people she doesn’t know to shelter, feed and take care of her in a strange land with strange customs – slavery being a major one. Honor soon learns that being a Quaker in England isn’t the same as being a Quaker in America. Even their timely passion of quilting is different. There’s a fair amount of info in the book relating to quilting (I paid attention… British quilters do patchwork quilts and Americans do applique quilts) and as research for her book Chevalier even learned to quilt. But the book centres on how the community of Quakers in Ohio deals with the whole issue of runaway slaves trying to make their way to Canada on the Underground Railroad. Honor soon realizes that her principles don’t mesh with some of those in her new homeland. And she is forced eventually to decide where her loyalties lie. It’s a great read. Chevalier is a wonderful writer. I do have a bone to pick with her though, and I know it’s silly but… Honor is British, so why wasn’t her name spelt with a “u”… “Honour”. It would have been more authentic. Chevalier was born in Washington D.C. but now lives in London, and I guess bowing to an American editor and with the book being geared to American readers… but I still think her name should have been spelt the British way. Anyway, that’s my 2 cents worth. Just a comment from an observant Canadian reader. But it’s a great book nonetheless.