Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Guest Book Review: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri


Though many know Jhumpa Lahiri due to the success of her first novel, The Namesake, which was adapted to film in 2006, Lahiri is perhaps a more powerful short story-teller. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Interpreter of Maladies, is an amazing compilation of stories all having to do with the experiences of Indians and Indian-Americans.

Lahiri possesses a sharp attention to detail and simultaneous focus on the big themes that connect human life. For example, the story “This Blessed House” includes precise descriptions of religious trinkets found in hidden corners of a newly bought house. The story is given depth beyond the tangible, however, by allowing the discovery of the trinkets to shed light on the hidden elements of the married homeowners’ relationship.

The story that shares the book’s title is a powerful presentation of the clash between a vacationing Indian-American family and the country that has given them their ethnicity. Though the vacationers share skin color and physical appearance with the Indians around them, their difference in culture is strong enough to lead to a moving and tragic climax.

It is this quality of heart-wrenching tragedy that connects many of the stories in Interpreter of Maladies. But whether a story’s flavor is tragedy or joy, every tale in this collection is sure to evoke the reader’s emotions and imagination. I recommend this book to anyone willing to glimpse into a stranger’s heart, and consequently, their own.

-Ryan Barnette, Reference Assistant

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

An Affectionate Portrait of Britain


One of these days I'm going to visit Great Britain. London and its environs have been on my list of places to see since I was a kid who enjoyed Doctor Who and Monty Python (still do, actually). Most of my plans for a first trip are organized around cities, towns and tourist attractions, mainly because I doubt I'll be able to take more than a few weeks for vacation, or afford more for that matter.

Now, living in England is another matter. But that's what author Bill Bryson did for 20 years. Before returning to the U.S., Bryson took a kind of farewell "lap" and wrote up his experiences in Notes From a Small Island: An Affectionate Portrait of Britain. He made the trip mostly on foot or by public transport, traveling through England, Wales and Scotland. On his tour, he vividly describes regions, landscapes and architecture, and his interactions with the locals and fellow travelers are both humorous and highly entertaining. Written with a great deal of affection, Notes From a Small Island is not only for anglophiles, but anyone looking for a uniquely delightful read.

You can see other Bill Bryson titles by clicking here. Some of them may show up on this blog at a later date!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Chosen One

“I spent a lot of time wanting to cry while writing the book.”
– Carol Lynch Williams

(from an interview with fellow Young Adult author Shannon Hale on Hale’s blog,
http://oinks.squeetus.com/2009/07/squeetus-exclusive-carol-lynch-williams.html)

Last year, when over four hundred children were seized from the YFZ Ranch in Texas, I wondered what kind of living conditions could lead to such an event. One fascinating explanation has come just recently in the form of The Chosen One, a new novel by Carol Lynch Williams. It’s classified as a Young Adult novel, but don’t let that keep you from picking it up; the beautifully crafted prose and heartbreaking events of this novel transcend labels and keep readers of any age glued to its pages.

The Chosen One is narrated by Kyra, a 13-year-old member of The Chosen. She lives a simple, happy life with her family—one father, three mothers, and twenty siblings—inside The Chosen’s desert compound. When she’s not doing chores, she loves to climb trees, take long walks outside the compound’s fence, and play the piano in the Fellowship Hall. But things change when their Prophet has a vision and says Kyra must marry her 60-year-old Uncle Hyrum. At first, Kyra believes this is a punishment for her secret sins: she has kissed a boy, and she has read books from a library bookmobile she encounters on her walks. She soon learns, however, that she has been saved for Hyrum since her early childhood, that the Prophet keeps pairing young girls with elderly men, and that the girls who disobey are punished…or worse. Kyra struggles with her limited options: should she obey and marry Hyrum? Or should she run, and risk losing her family—or her life?

If Kyra’s story intrigues you, remember: this novel is not for the faint of heart. I found myself crying often during the last third of the book. The Chosen One is full of horrifying punishments, book burnings, and the dark cruelty of certain characters. But there is also a deeply human beauty in many other characters, and Williams has much to say about love and hope. I couldn’t stop reading, and like me you might stay up with Kyra late into the night, hoping for her survival.

-From Melanie Clark, Reference Assistant

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer


Shakespeare said "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Smells can trigger vivid memories almost instantaneously, and the sense of smell has been referred to as the "emotional brain". But what happens when smell is both totally pervasive and non-existent at the same time?

In mid-eighteenth century Paris, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with an incredibly heightened sense of smell. He is able to instantly retain and identify scents, and aspires to become the world's greatest perfumer. But as a young man, he comes to the shocking realization that he has no scent of his own, and thus does not feel fully human. This changes his ambition, as he determines not only to create a scent for his own body, but one that will make the world bow down before him- no matter what the cost, or who must die.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind is (translated from the German book by John E. Woods) was the 1987 World Fantasy Award Winner. It was also made into a dark and rather disquieting film with Alan Rickman, Ben Wishaw, and Dustin Hoffman.