Kingsolver, Barbara "Pigs in Heaven"

Kingsolver, Barbara "Pigs in Heaven" - 1993

This is a follow-up of the novel "The Bean Trees", not necessarily my favourite by Barbara Kingsolver, whose stories I usually really like. But I think the main reason that was not my favourite, and this one won't be either, is what happens to the protagonists.

First, a baby is left with a young woman who then tries to bring her up without much help from outside. A couple of years later, someone finds she shouldn't have been able to adopt the child after all because the little girl is Cherokee. Well, I understand the native Americans but I really feel for the mother who fears having to give up her child. Such an impossible dilemna which doesn't seem to be so rare, after all, the story is based on true-life stories.

I like to read about different cultures, I like to read about problematic scenarios, maybe this was just a little too much for me, I don't know. I still liked the writing and will read more books by Barbara Kingsolver.

From the back cover:

"When six-year-old Turtle witnesses a freak accident at the Hoover Dam, her insistence, and her mother's belief in her, leads to a man's dramatic rescue. But Turtle's moment of celebrity quickly draws her into a conflict of historic proportions that will envelop not only Turtle and her mother but everyone else who touches their lives."

I have also read other books by Barbara Kingsolver, you can find my reviews here.  She remains one of my favourite authors.

Patchett, Ann "The Patron Saint of Liars"

Patchett, Ann "The Patron Saint of Liars" - 1992

With my former book club, I read "The Magician's Assistant". But that was years ago and I didn't really like it very much.

So, when this book was suggested to my present book club, I was a little careful, to say the least. I was certainly not prepared to pay 30 Euros for it. But, luckily, I found an arrangement with one of the other members and therefore didn't have to buy it and could indeed read it.

I was glad I did. The story is interesting, the writing captivating, the characters are somehow mysterious but also loveable. The heroine's life is full of secrets, there are so many lies and everyone seems to know there must be lies but can live with it. An interesting life, both for the mother as well as the daughter.

There is not a lot I can see about the novel itself without revealing everything but that the family lives near a home for unmarried mothers, the daughter grows up in this environment. Having grown up in a Catholic village myself, I could relate to a lot of the problems the people in the novel had.

A good read. Looking forward to more Ann Patchett novels.

From the back cover:

"'I was somewhere outside of Ludlow, California, heading due east toward Kentucky, when I realized that I would be a liar for the rest of my life.'

With these words we meet Rose Clinton, a woman in flight from her marriage and her past in flight from everything, it turns out, except the child in her womb, the girl we will know as Cecilia. Rose will ever be an alluring and mysterious woman; it is Cecilia, though, who becomes the ultimate heroine of this novel, and we watch her life with mounting wonder and apprehension.

With The Patron Saint of Liars, Ann Patchett has given us an utterly fresh novel, enchanted and enchanting. Much of its action takes place in the unlikely location of St. Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers, in Habit, Kentucky. St. Elizabeth's is a place of indigenous sorrow but surprising humor, a place of love and lies. It is here that Rose finds refuge and decides to keep her baby girl. Here she takes a job as a cook and makes a marriage to the stolid, generous, and infinitely melancholy groundskeeper, names Son. Thus Cecilia grows up - thinking her life, as children will, 'normal' - finding nothing strange about a mother without a history and an extended family consisting of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls.

In the end, Rose's past must be reborn. We know this, and yet we resist knowing it, fearing for its effect on Cecilia. This remarkable novel, which begins by beguiling and entertaining us, gathers deepening folds of emotion until it becomes a story about nothing less than the war in our hearts between knowledge and faith. The Patron Saint of Liars introduces a young writer of extraordinary accomplishment and wisdom."

The funny thing, the person who suggested the book to be discussed in May 2015, never returned to the book club and then there were the holidays, so we never actually discussed it.

Azevedo, Francisco "Once Upon a Time in Rio"

Azevedo, Francisco "Once Upon a Time in Rio" (Portuguese: O Arroz de Palma) - 2008

A beautiful story of an immigrating family, a Portuguese couple that settles in Brazil, has their children and their work. Their son tells the story over a whole century. How his aunt collected the rice thrown at his parents' wedding and passed it on as a lucky charm.

The author has a wonderful way of telling this story, as lovely as most of the Southern American storytellers I love so much. He has a beautiful voice, knows well how to jump back and forth between the decades, weaves a family tale that is exceptional. He tells about beautiful members of the dynasty, both inside and out, how they link together, the small and the big dsiputes that you will find in any family, the love they share, the dreams they dream. The narrator "cooks" a family story, the recipe is easy and yet complicated. In the end, we have a wonderful book to read. A brilliant family saga.

From the back cover:

"From well-known Brazilian playwright Francisco Azevedo, a heartwarming debut novel about three generations of a family whose kitchen contains the secret ingredient for happiness - sure to appeal to fans of Like Water for Chocolate.

Once Upon a Time in Rio is a spellbinding family saga beginning with José Custódio and Maria Romana and their search for a prosperous future. As newlyweds, José and Maria immigrated to Brazil at the beginning of the twentieth century, accompanied by a special gift. During the dinner preparations to celebrate their centenary wedding anniversary, their eldest son Antonio, already a grandfather, looks back at the lives of his parents, his aunt, his brothers, their children and grandchildren, as well as his own.

Antonio knows that family is a difficult dish to get right and that happiness must be cooked up day by day; however, what separates his family from any other is its possession of a secret ingredient for happiness: the sack of magical rice given to his parents on their wedding day. With the help of the rice, whose magic is as old as fire and time, Antonio's family has been guided through the most trying of life's tribulations.

Lyrically written, Once Upon a Time in Rio bares the fragile yet strong nature of the human spirit and with great insight captures the solace provided by loved ones in times of need. Already an international bestseller, this is a beautifully told tale about the wisdom of past generations and the inextricable ties of family."

Mankell, Henning "Daniel"

Mankell, Henning "Daniel" (Swedish: Vindens son) - 2000

A non-crime fiction novel by a crime author, well, an almost non-crime novel. But one that doesn't focus on the crime.

This is the story about the South African boy Molo who lives in the late 19th century. When his parents get killed (by white people, of course), a Swedish biologist gives him the name Daniel, takes him back home and tries to "adopt" him which in his case means he takes him to exhibitions and lets other scientists measure him, draw him, use him for their curiosity.

The boy is completely homesick. Nobody really cares for him and he tries to get back home.

Not a bad story but I expected it to be more about Africa than Europe. However, the story captures you, the boy is described in a way that you cannot neglect his wishes. It is easy to understand why he doesn't feel at home in this cold country where everything is forbidden that used to be normal in his old life. A dark story, but seeing how people in 19th century Sweden lived was quite interesting, as well. Let's hope that we all evolved from that.

The various translators didn't seem to agree on the title, as happens very often. While the French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Finnish versions keep the original title (Son of the Wind), the Portuguese call it simply "The Antelopes" and the Germans and Russians choose "The Red Antelope", the English selected the title "Daniel".

From the back cover:

"In 1878, aspiring entomologist Hans Bengler travels to the Kalahari Desert in hopes of making a name for himself by discovering a previously unknown insect or two. There he encounters a boy named Molo, an orphan whose family has been killed by European colonists. Bengler 'civilizes' the boy by rechristening him Daniel, teaching him to pray to the Christian god, and finally bringing him home to Sweden. The boy is bewildered and awed by the new land, cut off from his culture and the spirits of his family, and Bengler finds that raising a child across a great cultural divide is more difficult than he imagined. A psychological drama of one boy’s struggle to find his place in a new land far from home, Daniel is a compelling novel for our modern globalized world."

Guterson, David "Ed King"

Guterson, David "Ed King" - 2011

Certainly not my favourite book by David Guterson but what a story! You only notice to the very end that you know it already and I am not going to reveal here what I mean but if you read any other description, even some of the book jackets, you probably will. I was glad I didn't before I read this and my copy didn't spoil anything for me, either.

This is the story of Ed King as well as his parents and foster parents, a child born out of wedlock at a time where this was definitely not possible to raise a child alone without the support of anybody. So, he ends up with foster parents who couldn't have loved him any more. They give him all the opportunities they can, both financially as well as in any other way. A dream life. Or is it?

There is always something unsettling in Ed's life, some shadow that follows him around, some foreboding that he might not end up where everyone sees him. In the meantime, there are a lot of sub-plots and twists that make reading this novel all the more pleasurable. It's a classic story with a modern setting.

Anyway, cleverly written, I do like David Guterson's style. As I said above, not my favourite (that would definitely be "East of the Mountains") but I am a huge fan of his writing and will carry on more of his novels.

One last remark: David Guterson received the "Literary Review's bad sex in fiction award" for this book and he totally deserved it. That still does not make the whole book bad, though.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"In 1962, when Walter Cousins sleeps with his British au pair, Diane Burroughs, he can have no sense of the magnitude of his error: this brief affair sets in motion a tragedy of epic proportions, upending Sophocles's immortal tale of fate, free will, and forbidden desire. At the centre is Ed King, an infant given up for adoption who becomes one of the world's most powerful men. But beneath the gripping story of Ed's seemingly inexorable rise to fame and fortune is a dark and unsettling destiny, one that approaches with ever-increasing suspense as the novel reaches its shattering conclusion."

Gowda, Shilpi Somaya "Secret Daughter"

Gowda, Shilpi Somaya "Secret Daughter" - 2010

One of the book club reads that I knew from the beginning wouldn't belong to my favourites. It already had a chick lit feeling to it when I read about it when it was suggested.

However, it did bring up quite a few questions that were discussed in the club, adoption, fitting into another culture, why are boys more desired than girls in certain part of this world. A lot of people adopt children from another culture when they can't have one of their own or for different other reasons. Some manage to give these kids a feeling that they still belong to both cultures, others don't manage to do this.

The whole story is told in a very superficial way, the way this little Indian girl grows up in her American family, without anyone really caring about the other. The characters were not described very well, they remained unrealistic and two-dimensional. It almost reminded me of a Bollywood movie with people breaking out into a song every other minute.

I would have preferred to read a non-fiction book about a subject like this, or one that is not as black and white. I know I am quite alone with my opinion because I usually research our book club books for our members and I found mainly praise and delight about this novel. Maybe I am too critical.

Some comments by our members (written down by someone else as I unfortunately had to miss this meeting):

A very easy read and the author did a good job in writing, being her first novel. We all felt it was a bit refreshing! A simple story where all the pieces were put together in an obvious way but a good springboard for discussions.
About the characters: We all were in agreement that Somer was a very selfish, self-absorbed and self- indulgent person and we all detested her! Kavita was totally unselfish and willing to go through so many sacrifices for the love of a child, her husband and her son. We all agreed that Chris, as a South Asian living in the US was so enthralled with this new culture that he failed to explain his own culture to Somer. Chris’s mother was the matriarch with patience, forgiveness, understanding and love for her granddaughter and her son. The difference in social status was so obvious to us. You’re either rich or poor and the two never meet.
Does having a child make you more a women in the eyes of the world?
How important is it to follow the norm?
Does the internet make a difference? People know more about corruption, human right atrocities and a whole different way of thinking.
It is hard for the Western culture to understand why the Eastern cultures see girls as a burden to society. In the Indian culture, they have to think of feeding, dowries, education, and divorce. Being a male in these cultures is just more economically sound to them because they can work and earn money for the family. How do we, as "Westerners", try to wrap our heads around this … we just don’t think the same.

We discussed this in our international book club in March 2013.

From the back cover:

"Somer's life is everything she imagined it would be - she's newly married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco - until she makes the devastating discovery she never will be able to have children.

The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away. It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.

Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha's journey of self-discovery leads her back to India.

Compulsively readable and deeply touching, "Secret Daughter" is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families affect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms."

Oates, Joyce Carol "Mudwoman"

Oates, Joyce Carol "Mudwoman" - 2012

Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favourite authors. She surprises me with every new novel. As she did with this one.

Meredith Ruth (M.R.) Neukirchen is an abandoned and then adopted child that grows into a very successful woman. When she is at the top, she starts struggling with her past.

It is amazing how ordinary events can bring up topics you have long forgotten. And it is close to a miracle how Joyce Carol Oates can bring this to life on her pages. An almost fantasy-like story, although more magic realism, a story that has it all, it's a thriller, but it's so much more than a thriller. It's a philosophical book as well as the description of a journey to find oneself.

A quote to think about: "Earth-time is a way of preventing everything happening at once."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"A riveting novel that explores the high price of success in the life of one woman - the first female president of a lauded ivy league institution - and her hold upon her self-identity in the face of personal and professional demons, from Joyce Carol Oates, author of the New York Times bestseller A Widow’s Story.

Mudgirl is a child abandoned by her mother in the silty flats of the Black Snake River. Cast aside, Mudgirl survives by an accident of fate - or destiny. After her rescue, the well-meaning couple who adopt Mudgirl quarantine her poisonous history behind the barrier of their middle-class values, seemingly sealing it off forever. But the bulwark of the present proves surprisingly vulnerable to the agents of the past.

Meredith 'M.R.' Neukirchen is the first woman president of an Ivy League university. Her commitment to her career and moral fervor for her role are all-consuming. Involved with a secret lover whose feelings for her are teasingly undefined, and concerned with the intensifying crisis of the American political climate as the United States edges toward war with Iraq, M.R. is confronted with challenges to her leadership that test her in ways she could not have anticipated. The fierce idealism and intelligence that delivered her from a more conventional life in her upstate New York hometown now threaten to undo her.

A reckless trip upstate thrusts M.R. Neukirchen into an unexpected psychic collision with Mudgirl and the life M.R. believes she has left behind. A powerful exploration of the enduring claims of the past, Mudwoman is at once a psychic ghost story and an intimate portrait of a woman cracking the glass ceiling at enormous personal cost, which explores the tension between childhood and adulthood, the real and the imagined, and the 'public' and 'private' in the life of a highly complex contemporary woman."

Find links to all my other Joyce Carol Oates reviews here.

Diffenbaugh, Vanessa "The Language of Flowers"

Diffenbaugh, Vanessa "The Language of Flowers" - 2011

When I saw this book first, I was attracted by the title. "The Language of Flowers". I love languages but I had never heard that flowers have a language. Of course, we all know that roses are supposed to mean love but there seems to be so much more to it.

I enjoyed reading this story very much. Set as a diary of a young girl who grew up in foster homes, this book is telling two stories at the same time, the time she spent in various institutions and homes until her eighteenth birthday and the time after. Same as the time divides the protagonist's life, the book is also divided into two different parts, the story of the girl and her problems, covering an extensive range of psychological issues she has with this world and the story of the flowers, how they came to mean something special.

I was quite happy to learn that the stephanotis I had chosen as the main flower of my bridal bouquet about thirty years ago was promising happiness in marriage, and I can say that this is entirely true. I did not like the fact that my favourite flower, the peony, stands for anger. Maybe it's a good thing they are only available for a very short time during the year.

Now, whether you believe in the language of flowers or not, this book offers so much more than just that. It picks up a lot of different topics without getting too confusing or chaotic.

There was a whole "Flower Dictionary" on the Random House website but since they now published a book about the topic - "A Victorian Flower Dictionary" (Goodreads) -, they discontinued it. However, there is a list elsewhere on the net, here.

From the back cover:

"A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it's been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what's been missing in her life, and when she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness."

Fitch, Janet "White Oleander"

Fitch, Janet "White Oleander" - 1999

The story of young Astrid is the story of millions of young children who don't grow up in a loving family. Very sad.

However, the book didn't leave such a great impression on me. I read it with my Dutch international book club about a decade ago and remember that we were not really overwhelmed by it. It was alright but that's about it.

From the back cover:

"Janet Fitch's debut novel, White Oleander, is a stirring, poetic work of great imagination. Young Astrid is an only child with strong attachments to her brilliant if unstable mother, Ingrid, and their idyllic life together. Astrid's world is shattered, however, when Ingrid murders her lover after a devastating rejection. Her life becomes a constantly changing whirlwind of strange new faces and foster homes."

Osorio, Elsa "My Name is Light"

Osorio, Elsa "My Name is Light" (Spanish: A veinte años, Luz) - 1998

A highly interesting novel about something that didn't happen that long ago, yet is not so widely published. Of course, everyone knows there were a lot of problems in Argentina but I have not read a novel where it was described this well. A deeply moving story that was awarded the Amnesty International literary prize. So worth reading.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Twenty-year-old Luz, an Argentinean, is on holiday in Madrid with her husband and new-born son. But secretly she has a mission - to find her real father. Carlos was a 'desaparecido' - one of the many political activists in Argentina who literally 'disappeared' during the country's brutal military dictatorship in the seventies - while her mother, a political prisoner, was killed trying to flee the country. As a baby, Luz was secretly adopted by a wealthy couple, unaware of her true origins. My Name is Light is a gripping, emotionally charged book, a powerful story about a young girl's quest to find her identity and to uncover the deadly secrets of one of Argentina's darkest periods."

Streatfeild, Noel "Ballet Shoes"

Streatfeild, Noel "Ballet Shoes" - 1936

Three adopted orphan girls take dance lessons. That's the main plot. They all have different kind of talents and different kind of views, that makes the story interesting.

I must admit, I never heard of this author before watching "You've Got Mail". But Meg Ryan described it so nicely, when I saw the book in our library (helping my son to find books), I just had to borrow and read it. It is a little old and you notice this when you read it, but, it's quite a nice story that you can still read more than half a century after it's been written.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Pauline longs to be an actress.

Petrova is happiest playing with cars and engines.

And if she could . . . Posy would dance all day!

But when their benefactor Great-Uncle Matthew disappears, the Fossil girls share a future of a dazzling life on stage, where their dreams and fears will soon come true . . ."

Tyler, Anne "Digging to America"

Tyler, Anne "Digging to America" - 2006

 Two very different American families meet while adopting a Korean baby. One family are immigrants themselves, from Iran. The families become friends and start a tradition for both of them. The book demonstrates all the different parts of family life, the joys and the problems.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Anne Tyler has a great way of giving her characters life, describing both ordinary and extraordinary lives.

A lot of topics come up for discussion. How far do you want to keep your adopted child from another culture to stay in touch with this culture, how much are you as a family willing to adjust to this culture? How much are they willing to adapt themselves? How much is a marriage threatened or able to grow through an act like that? All these questions show what a great book this would be for a book club.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Two families meet at the Baltimore airport while waiting for their baby girls to arrive from Korea. The Iranian-American Sami and Ziba Yazdan, with Ziba's elegant and reserved mother, Maryam, in tow, wait quietly while brash and all-American Bitsy and Brad Donaldson, plus extended family, are armed with camcorders and a fleet of balloons proclaiming "It's a girl!" After they decide together to throw an impromptu "arrival party," a tradition is born, and so begins a lifelong friendship between the two families.

As they raise their daughters, the Yazdan and Donaldson families grapple with questions of assimilation and identity. When Bitsy's recently widowed father sets his sights on Maryam, she must confront her own idea of what it means to be other, and of who she is and what she values. Rich, tender, and searching, Digging to America challenges the notion that home is a fixed place, and celebrates the subtle complexities of life on all sides of the American experience."

I also read "The Accidental Tourist" and "A Patchwork Planet"  but wasn't that impressed with either of those novels. However, I loved "A Spool of Blue Thread".

Tyler, Anne "A Patchwork Planet"

Tyler, Anne "A Patchwork Planet" - 1998

The story of a man who is socially regarded as a "loser", his failure, the disappointment of his family. Same as "The Accidental Tourist", I read this ages ago but the book didn't leave a huge impression. Nicely told but I couldn't warm to the characters.

From the back cover:

"Barnaby Gaitlin is a loser - just short of thirty he's the black sheep of a philanthropic Baltimore family. Once upon a time he had a home, a loving wife, a little family of his own; now he has an ex-wife, a 9-year-old daughter with attitude, a Corvette Sting Ray that's a collectors item but unreliable, and he works as hired muscle for Rent-a-Back, doing heavy chores for old folks. He has an almost pathological curiosity about other people's lives, which has got him into serious trouble in the past, and a hopeles charm which attracts the kind of angelic woman who wants to save him from himself. Tyler's observation is more acute and more delicious than ever; her humour slyer and more irresistible; her characters so vividly realised that you feel you've known this quirky collection for ever. With perfect pitch and poise, humor and humanity, Anne Tyler chronicals, better than any writer today, the sublime and the rediculous of everyday living, the foibles and frailties of the ordinary human heart."

Not at all like "Digging to America" which I enjoyed very much.

Read my other reviews about Anne Tyler's novels here.

Schmitt, Éric-Emmanuel "Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran"

Schmitt, Éric-Emmanuel "Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran" (French: Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran) - 1999

What a wonderful story. A young Jewish boy in Paris meets a Muslim grocery store owner. The two of them enter a father-son like relationships. A simple story, quite an easy read, as well. And yet, there is so much to this. Wonderful language, a lot of wisdom from both the religions. Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt manages to put that all together and create a very compassionate story.

I read this book in the French original but I've heard the translation is quite good, too.

We discussed this in our international book club in May 2016.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Paris in the 1960s. Thirteen-year-old Moses lives in the shadow of his less-than loving father. When he's caught stealing from wise old shopkeeper Monsieur Ibrahim, he discovers an unlikely friend and a whole new world. Together they embark on a journey that takes them from the streets of Paris to the whirling dervishes of the Golden Crescent.

This delightful, moving play has already been a huge hit in Paris and New York. Performed in thirteen countries and published in twelve languages, it is also an award-winning film starring Omar Sharif.

Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Qur'an received its UK premiere at the Bush Theatre on 17 January 2006."

I later read "Oscar and the Lady in Pink" (Oscar et la dame rose) and liked this just as much.

Kingsolver, Barbara "The Bean Trees"

Kingsolver, Barbara "The Bean Trees" - 1988

After having read "The Poisonwood Bible" and "Prodigal Summer" with the book club, I just had to read more of this fabulous author's novels. I only learned later that this had been her very first one. Quite an interesting plot about a girl who ends up with a baby that is just left to her. But a lot of other people appear in the novel, abused women and children, illegal immigrants, people who help and people who don't.

I think Barbara Kingsolver can write about any subject, whatever she chooses is interesting, she has a way about her that just makes you want to keep on reading.

There is a follow-up to this story: "Pigs in Heaven".

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

Book Description:

"Plucky Taylor Greer grows up poor in rural Kentucky with two goals: to avoid pregnancy and to get away. She succeeds on both counts when she buys an old car and heads west. But midway across the country motherhood catches up with her when she becomes the guardian of an abandoned baby girl she calls Turtle. In Tuscon they encounter an extraordinary array of people, and with their help, Taylor builds herself and her sweet, stunned child a life."

I have also read other books by Barbara Kingsolver, you can find my reviews here.  She remains one of my favourite authors.

Allende, Isabel "Daughter of Fortune"

Allende, Isabel "Daughter of Fortune" (Spanish: Hija de la Fortuna) - 1999

Even though I loved "The House of the Spirits", I thought this one was even better. It is situated mostly in the United States, especially California, and talks about different cultures getting together at around the time of the gold rush. That's a favourite topic of mine, the first couple of decades of the U.S. where people came together from all over the world with the wish to work as hard as they could and get on with people from other countries ... It sort of reminds me of my own life in different countries in an international environment.

Anyway, this is probably my favourite from the trilogy though I liked them all. The last book is called "Portrait in Sepia". Another great book by the same author: "Island Beneath the Sea".

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Orphaned at birth, Eliza Sommers is raised in the British colony of Valparaíso, Chile, by the well-intentioned Victorian spinster Miss Rose and her more rigid brother Jeremy. Just as she meets and falls in love with the wildly inappropriate Joaquín Andieta, a lowly clerk who works for Jeremy, gold is discovered in the hills of northern California. By 1849, Chileans of every stripe have fallen prey to feverish dreams of wealth. Joaquín takes off for San Francisco to seek his fortune, and Eliza, pregnant with his child, decides to follow him.

As we follow her spirited heroine on a perilous journey north in the hold of a ship to the rough-and-tumble world of San Francisco and northern California, we enter a world whose newly arrived inhabitants are driven mad by gold fever. A society of single men and prostitutes among whom Eliza moves -- with the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chien -- California opens the door to a new life of freedom and independence for the young Chilean. Her search for the elusive Joaquín gradually turns into another kind of journey that transforms her over time, and what began as a search for love ends up as the conquest of personal freedom."

Find more reviews of Isabel Allende's books here.

Trollope, Anthony "Barchester Chronicles"

Trollope, Anthony "The Warden" - Barchester Chronicles 1 - 1855
Trollope, Anthony "Barchester Towers" - Barchester Chronicles 2 - 1857
Trollope, Anthony "Doctor Thorne" - Barchester Chronicles 3 - 1858
Trollope, Anthony "Framley Parsonage" - Barchester Chronicles 4 - 1861
Trollope, Anthony "The Small House at Allington" - Barchester Chronicles 5 - 1864
Trollope, Anthony "The Last Chronicle of Barset" - Barchester Chronicles 6 - 1867

I love these novels because there are so many different themes in the whole series. If you look for a long term commitment and like classical novels, this one's for you.

Trollope, Anthony "The Warden" - Barchester Chronicles 1 - 1855

This novel from the middle of the 19th century describes the life of the people in the Victorian world, a fictive town, Barchester, in a fictive county, Barsetshire, with a cathedral and all its paraphernalia. Trollope describes mainly the life of the ecclesiastical population, this time the main character is the warden of an almshouse and his conflicts.

From the back cover:
"This book centres on Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity who is nevertheless in possession of an income from a charity far in excess of the sum devoted to the purposes of the foundation. On discovering this, young John Bold turns his reforming zeal to exposing what he regards as an abuse of privilege, despite the fact that he is in love with Mr. Harding's daughter Eleanor."

Trollope, Anthony "Barchester Towers" - Barchester Chronicles 2 - 1857

I read this second and probably most popular novel of the Barchester Chronicles with my former book club in England, so more than a decade ago. In the meantime, I have finished them all, so I put the descriptions about all of them into one post.

The novel centres around the appointment of a new bishop and all the intrigues around that. It continues the story of the warden and his daughters and introduces new characters that will become more important as the story progresses.

You can read this novel on its own but it is so much more fulfilling if you read "The Warden" first.

As I said above, I really love these novels, they are so diverse.

We discussed this in our British Book Club in July 1999.

From the back cover:
"After the death of old Dr Grantly, a bitter struggle begins over who will succeed him as Bishop of Barchester. And when the decision is finally made to appoint the evangelical Dr Proudie, rather than the son of the old bishop, Archdeacon Grantly, resentment and suspicion threaten to cause deep divisions within the diocese. Trollope’s masterly depiction of the plotting and back-stabbing that ensues lies at the heart of one of the most vivid and comic of his Barsetshire novels, peopled by such very different figures as the saintly Warden of Hiram’s Hospital, Septimus Harding, the ineffectual but well-meaning new bishop and his terrifying wife, and the oily chaplain Mr Slope who has designs both on Mr Harding’s daughter and the fascinating would-be femme fatale Signora Vesey-Neroni."

Trollope, Anthony "Doctor Thorne" - Barchester Chronicles 3 - 1858

Even though I like all of the Barchester Chronicles, this is my favourite.

Trollope manages to describe the people in his fictive city so well, you think you live among them. The life of Mary Thorne and her uncle is quiet though there are quite a few skeletons in the closet.

From the back cover:
"Doctor Thorne, considered by Trollope to be the best of his works, is a telling examination of the relationship between money and morality.

It recounts the story of the son of a bankrupt landowner, Frank Gresham, who is intent on marrying his beloved Mary Thorne despite her illegitimacy and apparent poverty. Frank's ambitious mother and haughty aunt are set against the match, however, and push him to make a good marriage to a wealthy heiress. Only Mary's loving uncle, Dr Thorne, knows of the fortune she is about to inherit - but believes she should be accepted on her own terms. The third book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire."

Trollope, Anthony "Framley Parsonage" - Barchester Chronicles 4 - 1861

As all the other novels of the Barchester Chronicles, this book is very interesting as it describes the life of ordinary and non-ordinary people of the author's time so well. The problems the main character has seem so well known even a century and a half after his story. He is a young clergyman with ambitions who gets caught up in politics. As in all the other novels, Anthony Trollope manages to tell the story with great compassion.

From the back cover:
"The fourth of the Barsetshire Chronicles, Framley Parsonage was published in 1860 to wide acclaim and has always been one of Trollope's most popular novels. In it the values of a Victorian clergyman Mark Robarts, are put to the test. Through a combination of naivety and social ambition, Robarts is compromised and brought to the brink of ruin. Trollope tells his story with great compassion, offsetting the drama with his customary humour. Like all the Barsetshire novels, it is an extraordinarily evocative picture of everyday life in nineteenth-century England.

The only printing of Framley Parsonage that Trollope himself supervised was the serial version in the Cornhill Magazine. The editors of this edition have returned to that text and thus present Trollope's work as he himself would have wished, avoiding hundreds of later corruptions and restoring a number of manuscript readings."

Trollope, Anthony "The Small House at Allington" - Barchester Chronicles 5 - 1864

A lot of events happen in this novel that would probably not happen today, at least not in that way. However, as all the other books in this series, Trollope is able to portray some very lively and modern personae, describe life at the end of the 19th century in a very interesting and accessible way and write a fascinating and enthralling story.

From the back cover:
"Engaged to the ambitious and self-serving Adolphus Crosbie, Lily Dale is devastated when he jilts her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina. Although crushed by his faithlessness, Lily still believes she is bound to her unworthy former fiancé for life and therefore condemned to remain single after his betrayal. And when a more deserving suitor pays his addresses, she is unable to see past her feelings for Crosbie.

Written when Trollope was at the height of his popularity, The Small House at Allington contains his most admired heroine in Lily Dale - a young woman of independent spirit who nonetheless longs to be loved - and is a moving dramatization of the ways in which personal dilemmas are affected by social pressures."

Trollope, Anthony "The Last Chronicle of Barset" - Barchester Chronicles 6 - 1867

As the title suggests, this is the last book in the series. It includes a couple of scandals and a lot of other social problems. We see many of our old friends again and meet quite a few new ones. This is the longest of the novels, almost 900 pages, very detailed and descriptive. Together with “Doctor Thorne”, this is one of my favourites.

From the back cover:
"When Reverend Josiah Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, is accused of theft it causes a public scandal, sending shockwaves through the world of Barsetshire. The Crawleys desperately try to remain dignified while they are shunned by society, but the scandal threatens to tear them, and the community, apart.

Drawing on his own childhood experience of genteel poverty, Trollope gives a painstakingly realistic depiction of the trials of a family striving to maintain its standards at all costs. With its sensitive portrayal of the proud and self-destructive figure of Crawley, this final volume is the darkest and most complex of all the Barsetshire novels."

I am glad I read the series.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

Walker, Alice "The Color Purple"

Walker, Alice "The Color Purple" - 1982 

This is one of the best stories I have ever read. They story of a woman who seems to have no rights whatsoever and manages to get out of the hell she lives in with the help of others but mainly by being very strong herself. Alice Walker received the well-deserved Pulitzer price for this in 1983.

If you haven't read this book you certainly have heard about it or watched the movie (which is also very good, by the way). The story includes everything, joy and pain, family, religion, violence, rape, destruction, resurrection, racism, poverty.

The book starts when the main character, Celie, is fourteen. She lives with her mother, sister and stepfather. She is treated badly, ends in a bad marriage where she is treated even worse and nothing seems to be good for her, ever.

I liked the way Celie developed from a little girl into a strong, independent woman, the love for her sister, her search for her children. She seems a very likeable person who has to endure so much and always stands up again.

Apparently, Alice Walker used a lot of her own life in this novel, described personal experience. Maybe that's the reason it seems so true. She also wrote sort of a sequel "The Temple of My Familiar", if you liked "The Color Purple", you will love this one, as well.

A very interesting read about Alice Walker's life: "The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart".

Alice Walker received the Pulitzer Prize for "The Color Purple" in 1983.

From the back cover:

"Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Zusak, Markus "The Book Thief"

Zusak, Markus "The Book Thief" - 2005

This was really a success in our book club. Most of the members loved it, only one said she couldn't get into it easily, the other one didn't like certain parts, e.g. Death as a narrator.

From the beginning: This is the story of a little girl in Nazi Germany. Her parents have been taken away and she grows up with foster parents. Liesel, the little girl, steals books, makes incredible friendship, but the most important part, Death tells the story. An account of little girls growing up, Nazis, Jews, theft, death but most of all, a lot of hope. A warm story, real people dealing with devastating events. We were all deeply touched by it.

One point our members brought up that I didn't see as being German myself, the author managed to draw a picture of the ordinary German people, the non-Nazis. It was good to see another side of the war. People in Germany suffered the same as the people in other countries. They liked the description of that side of the Germans. This novel brought up "cultural memories", it's a secondary story, a story about the losers of the war.

I liked Death as the narrator, I think the author gave death a human face. Now we can compare humans and death, see a picture that is more innocent.

Zusak captures the personalities of all the characters very well, good or bad, he makes them very believable.

All in all, a very interesting book, easy to read (it is officially a young adult novel), yet very deep.

We discussed this in our international book club in January 2011.

From the back cover:

 

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

 
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist - books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

 
This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Edwards, Kim "The Memory Keeper's Daughter"

Edwards, Kim "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" - 2005

1964. A doctor delivers his own twins during a blizzard. The son is perfectly healthy, the daughter has Downs syndrome. He is shocked and has to act fast, before his wife is awake again. What would you have done? What do we do with children today that are born with disabilities? That was the big question we asked ourselves. Can we judge someone when he did something in a different time or culture?

Everyone in our book club enjoyed reading the book although it sometimes made some of us sad and others angry. The book was an easy read, yet the writing was very interesting and it gave us lots of good thoughts.

The great thing about a book club is that you can share youre feelings and experiences, in this case various experiences with disabled children, either as a caregiver or through friends.

Years ago, I was told a story by a mother of a disabled child. She had read it in a magazine. I was lucky to find it on the internet, here's a link: Welcome to Holland

The book also showed us how one decision can change the rest of somebody's life and it taught us to be grateful for the things you have.

Lots of thought-provoking issues. The dynamic of the lie, a lie starts disturbing everything.

The title was only mentioned at one point in the book, so we thought it might be hard if you like to flick through the pages.

We also had a discussion about translated titles, e.g. in this case the German title was translated as "The Photographer's Daughter", some of us thought it was not as good, others thought it was better. Then there is "Gebroken licht" in Dutch (Broken Light), "Figlia del silenzio" in Italian (Daughter of Silence) and "Billede af et barn" in Danish (Images from a Child). So many different titles to choose from.

We discussed this in our international book club in January 2008.

From the back cover:

"Kim Edwards's stunning family drama evokes the spirit of Sue Miller and Alice Sebold, articulating every mother's silent fear: what would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? In 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins, he immediately recognizes that one of them has Down Syndrome and makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and to keep her birth a secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an astonishing tale of redemptive love."

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.