I recently finished a couple of books, for which I'll post reviews in upcoming weeks, but I thought I'd clear out some that I had written and saved some time back in 2007.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Grade: C+
This story of four daughters and their mother dragged to the Congo by their preacher father on his mission to spread the word of God to the natives had my attention for about three-fourths of the book. Through the eyes of the women, the narrative recounts the hardships the family faces in the jungle due to the differences in the terrain and wildlife, as well as the differences in the culture. At the same time, the father -- who echoes the same degree of one-sightedness that made the father in The Mosquito Coast by Paul Thereaux so frightening -- is so determined to convert the locals to Christianity that he lacks understanding of their culture and refuses to learn anything about it, which results in even more grief for his family. I couldn't put the book down as long as they were in the Congo, but once they left, it felt like I was reading a different book entirely. Time speeds up tenfold, and one character in particular becomes so political-minded that, even though I might agree with many of her sentiments, I became exhausted just reading her narration. I finished the book, but it literally became a chore to read.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Grade: A
I had never read Gaiman before, other than an article or two a friend had forwarded to me, and anything that begins in prison is not usually something that's going to pique my interest, but the cover, with its greenish hue and its bolt of lightning striking a two-lane road, enticed me to give it a shot. (I like storms.) It begins with convict Shadow getting an early pass from prison after his wife dies. With his wife gone and no home to go to, he accepts a job offer from a mysterious man named Mr. Wednesday, who seems to know an awful lot about him. Then, Shadow and Mr. Wednesday travel a path paved with humor, tragedy, the mysterious, the mythical, the past and the present, as the cross the country seeking support for a coming battle.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Grade: A+
Still in awe of American Gods, I headed off to the bookstore to find more by Gaiman. In Neverwhere, meek Richard Mayhew, after helping Door, a girl whom most people would overlook, literally falls through the cracks of London society, into a world with warriors and floating markets and Rat Speakers and a whole cast of characters not usually seen by "normal" people. Richard lends Door a hand on her quest to find out who killed her family, and finds he's not as meek as he thought he was. It took me a little bit to get into this book because it feels a lot more like fantasy than anything I have read since I read A Wind in the Door back in grade school, but by the end, I had to rate it even better than American Gods.
2 comments:
My favorite Neil Gaiman novel is still the one he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Propheicies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. A bit of a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy feel to that one
Hmmmm, I just looked that one up on Amazon, and it sounds pretty interesting, too. I'll have to keep that one in mind. I purchased Anansi Boys several months ago after I finished Neverwhere, but I was in the mood for something a little different, so it's still in my "to be read" pile.
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