By Kathleen Winter
This book received lots of praise, it was a Canada Reads book plus a finalist for the Giller Prize.
I am not sure what I expected, but I think I expected it to be a better book. The story is certainly unusual, a hermaphrodite child is born to a couple in a remote Labrador community. They are advised to select one sex for the child, the father opts for a boy, the mother would have preferred a girl.
The child seems to have a desire for some girly things, a shiny synchronized swimming costume (if I remember correctly). The father does everything he can to make the boy a man. The boy builds a bridge on the family land and he and a female friend decorate it with lights and fabric and spend a lot of time there. The father is fine helping the boy design and build the bridge structure but after he sees what the kids have done to it he dismantles it and buys his son a puppy an apology. The boy does not take to the dog and the father eventually gives it away.
The father is a trapper, he is a strange man. He is first to go out onto the trap line and the last to return. He seems to enjoy life more out in the wild on his own, wear he reads philosophical books, than the time he spends with his family. The child's mother is very depressed, she misses her life and the liveliness of Newfoundland. I had to wonder why he ever got married. The mother sufferes severe depression partly because of her anxiety about her child and the isolation of living in Labrador with such an unloving, inattentive husband.
The child is on hormones but isn't told why he is taking them. One day, a female friend of the family, who is also a local teacher, finds the boy in discomfort and decides to take him to the hospital because she cannot reach his parents. It turns out menstrual blood has been collecting in his body. The father is furious that she has chosen to do this and the teacher is suspended for her actions.
The boy is eventually told the truth about himself. In some ways he is relieved as it explains why he has always felt different. When he graduates high school he leaves for Newfoundland where he finds a job delivering meat. He decides to stop taking the hormones regardless of the consequences. He tells a boy he hardly knows the truth about himself, this person blabs to some other guys and they brutally rape the boy. The boy confides what has happened to his father when he comes for a visit. The father plots to revenge his son on the perpetrators. It isn't spoken of again but we assume he did. He also gives the son money he saved from buying gold stocks so the boy can finance a future for himself. So despite his harsh treatment of the boy in the past we know he cares about him.
Near the end of the book the mother and father seem to develop some sort of companionship, going out for dinner. Meanwhile, the family friend has tracked down the boy's childhood friend and arranges for him to visit her in Boston where she is living and studying.
He goes to visit her and realizes he thinks he could fit in in a university setting.
I found the book very sad, I think the boy's confusion about himself was portrayed adequately but I just don't understand why the character of the father had to be so cold and cruel. I also don't know why they couldn't have told the boy about his condition sooner. Was it because they didn't want to admit to the situation? I think the book could have included a bit more about the father's thoughts and the mothers.
I wonder if the appeal of the book was the unusual story, as I don't think the writing itself or the entire story were all that memorable. The story seemed to be about coming to terms with who you are, the father seems to have done this and the son near the end, but we don't see any such redemption/resolution for the mother. I have to say I was disappointed in the book. I spent more time asking "why" or "why not" than thinking "wow".
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
Open Secret
by Deryn Collier
I picked up this book at a bookstore in Nelson, BC. It is by a local author.
The book is the second mystery book by this author featuring the coroner Bern Fortin. Fortin is a retired soldier who it appears has PTSD or at least a lot of skeletons in his closet. He has served in Rawanda, Bosnia and Afghanistan in an Administrative capacity. But that has not prevented him from witnessing the horror and even contributing to it. One of his superiors is shot by a boy along the road. They shoot back and the boy is wounded. His superior wants him to save the boy but Bern knows the boy is dying so shoots him so he won't suffer more. Bern also had an affair with the wife of one of his senior officers and still longs for her.
Bern is now living in Nelson, serving as a coroner. He is living amidst a colourful group of characters including the local police. One family is grieving the disappearance of a native girl they adopted. She disappeared many years before but they still miss her, especially the adopted father (who it appears sexually abused her, but he was not the only one -- she was neglected and abused by her father and possibly also a male cousin.
Bern is out hiking one day when he hears a gunshot. His immediate reaction is to duck. He then sees the local doctor running to a downed man, but the man dies. It turns out he is a known criminal.
The Doctor keeps making excuses so she doesn't have to report to the police about the incident. At the same time as the murder a man disappears at the Can/US border. He had a panic attack and bolted from his vehicle. As the murdered man had been staying with him, much to the chagrin of the man's wife, he is suspected of being the murderer. He realizes his marriage is over but thinks if he can score some marijuana or the special ointment that the Dr. is preparing, which is illegal, he could set his wife and family financially. However, he is tricked by the local pharmacist and it appears doesn't get his payday.
As Bern and the police try to figure out why the crook was murdered they interact with a local woman suffering from MS, her son and his child and wife. There is suspicion that this group is growing illegal marijuana but no one can find evidence. Bern does stumble onto their grow op but it has been robbed and trashed.
As the story develops we find out that the runaway man knows what happened to the missing girl. He digs up part of her corpse so that it can be found and she identified. Then he writes the coroner a letter telling him where to find the rest of the body.
While all this is happening, the cousin of the dead girl arrives in town and attacks/kidnaps a local woman who bears a resemblance to the missing girl and a former soldier/reporter tracks Bern down and asks him to confess to some of his deeds to "save" another soldier who is on trial for killing a wounded Afghan man to put him out of his mystery. Bern is reluctant to tell his story at first but eventually decides to come clean even though there will likely be serious consequences for him.
Bern had told police about the local grow-op. This has the unintentional consequence of getting the woman with MS murdered... another death on his conscience.
This was a well written mystery. In some ways, with the off the beaten path local and the quirky local population, it reminded me of Louise Penny's mysteries. I enjoyed it.
I picked up this book at a bookstore in Nelson, BC. It is by a local author.
The book is the second mystery book by this author featuring the coroner Bern Fortin. Fortin is a retired soldier who it appears has PTSD or at least a lot of skeletons in his closet. He has served in Rawanda, Bosnia and Afghanistan in an Administrative capacity. But that has not prevented him from witnessing the horror and even contributing to it. One of his superiors is shot by a boy along the road. They shoot back and the boy is wounded. His superior wants him to save the boy but Bern knows the boy is dying so shoots him so he won't suffer more. Bern also had an affair with the wife of one of his senior officers and still longs for her.
Bern is now living in Nelson, serving as a coroner. He is living amidst a colourful group of characters including the local police. One family is grieving the disappearance of a native girl they adopted. She disappeared many years before but they still miss her, especially the adopted father (who it appears sexually abused her, but he was not the only one -- she was neglected and abused by her father and possibly also a male cousin.
Bern is out hiking one day when he hears a gunshot. His immediate reaction is to duck. He then sees the local doctor running to a downed man, but the man dies. It turns out he is a known criminal.
The Doctor keeps making excuses so she doesn't have to report to the police about the incident. At the same time as the murder a man disappears at the Can/US border. He had a panic attack and bolted from his vehicle. As the murdered man had been staying with him, much to the chagrin of the man's wife, he is suspected of being the murderer. He realizes his marriage is over but thinks if he can score some marijuana or the special ointment that the Dr. is preparing, which is illegal, he could set his wife and family financially. However, he is tricked by the local pharmacist and it appears doesn't get his payday.
As Bern and the police try to figure out why the crook was murdered they interact with a local woman suffering from MS, her son and his child and wife. There is suspicion that this group is growing illegal marijuana but no one can find evidence. Bern does stumble onto their grow op but it has been robbed and trashed.
As the story develops we find out that the runaway man knows what happened to the missing girl. He digs up part of her corpse so that it can be found and she identified. Then he writes the coroner a letter telling him where to find the rest of the body.
While all this is happening, the cousin of the dead girl arrives in town and attacks/kidnaps a local woman who bears a resemblance to the missing girl and a former soldier/reporter tracks Bern down and asks him to confess to some of his deeds to "save" another soldier who is on trial for killing a wounded Afghan man to put him out of his mystery. Bern is reluctant to tell his story at first but eventually decides to come clean even though there will likely be serious consequences for him.
Bern had told police about the local grow-op. This has the unintentional consequence of getting the woman with MS murdered... another death on his conscience.
This was a well written mystery. In some ways, with the off the beaten path local and the quirky local population, it reminded me of Louise Penny's mysteries. I enjoyed it.
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Boy, Snow, Bird
By Helen Oyeyemi
This book has been on the "Best of" lists at Chapters for long time. It is a very unusual story. It seems to reference fairy tales to some extent - there are two sisters one very blonde one black-- rose red and snow white, and the blonde one is even named snow. The main character, Boy, feels she has a spell on herself. The three main character's reflections don't show up in mirrors... this is never explained...
The story starts with the life of Bird. She is living with her very violent father, a rat-catcher, who beats her and torments her. Bird finally has enough and runs away from home. She loves him too. She jumps on a bus and arrives in a town where she remains for the rest of her life. She leaves behind a young man, Charlie, who is very much in love with her. She lives in fear of her father tracking her down and seeking revenge.
When she arrives at the end of her bus ride she follows some young girls to a boarding house where she is welcomed. She stumbles through various jobs eventually getting a job in a bookstore. She meets a man, who has a beautiful young daughter, Snow, who is adored by everyone. She doesn't love the man but he keeps persisting and eventually she succumbs and agrees to marry him. Before she gets married her former boyfriend contacts her and asks her to marry him, but she turns him down. Why?? Does she think she doesn't deserve to be happy. Her husband is a jewellry artist and at one point makes handcuffs and chains.... is he threatening her?? Later he makes a snake bracelet that extends from her elbow to her upper arm, she wears it all the time except when she is pregnant. What is his intention in this?
Her husband's mother and other relatives tolerate her but they dote on his daughter Snow. Everyone seems to think that she is perfect and can do no wrong. Bird likes her but is suspicious of her. When Boy has a baby girl the child is black in colouring. Of course people think she cheated on her husband but the truth is he is of negro ancestry, his relatives have pretended to be white to become successful. The story describes why the family felt it had to go north and act white to be accepted and respected.
Boy finds out that her husband's oldest sister was sent away as a child because she wasn't white skinned. After she finds this out Boy decides to send Snow away to live with her husband's sister. Everyone is shocked at this, they would have expected her to send Bird away. Bird refuses to have anything to do with Snow but her husband visits with her regularly and eventually Bird and Snow start a letter writing campaign.
As Boy wasn't loved by her parent you would think she would have loved both girls, but it seems that she resents the appeal that Snow has with everyone, figures she will have the strength to survive, but she doesn't want Bird to have to live in Snow's shadow. Bird eventually learns that she has a sister who was sent away. Her mother won't talk about her but keeps some letters she received from he daughter. Bird eventually finds these letters and reads them, including a letter from Snow addressed to her. Snow eventually has accepted the fact that she will not be returning to live with her father and stepmother. She accepts life with her black aunt and her family.
Bird is friends with a young chinese boy. He is the victim of some bullying because of his race. She seems to be the only one able to engage in a true loving relationship. Eventually Snow and her adopted family join the rest of the family for Thanksgiving. It is a meal from hell -- all the family tensions come out. Snow and Bird end up having a fight as they are washing dishes after the meal.
One day Bird is dragged down from a tree by a strange man. He tells her her mother is his daughter and that her mother is evil. She is a afraid of what he will do so agrees to go to a diner with him. He starts to tell a very different story than what Boy remembers of his life with the man. Bird's father finds them in the diner and sends the man away telling him never to come back.
Bird's friend (who had an abortion and trouble recovering from it) tells her that she has been doing research on her, Bird's, father. She has found out something amazing.... there is a birth certificate for Bird listing a mother's name but not a father's name. She then goes on to state that Bird's mother had been a graduate student showing great promise. She was a lesbian. She is raped. She runs away from college and gives birth to Bird, she then takes up a job as a rat catcher. Bird and her friend think the father? mother might be visiting to come clean.
They decide to set off for New York to find Bird's parent, only after she asks for advice on how to break a spell.... when you are fed up with it, it won't affect you anymore.
This book was very difficult to read, there was so much sadness and discord, lonliness, feeling of being rejected, not good enough. Why didn't Bird marry her first boyfriend, the one who loved her and whom she loved? Why couldn't they have lived happily ever after? As she didn't choose that route, she became the wicked stepmother.... rejecting her beautiful step daughter and sending her away in favour of her less attractive, less captivating black daughter. Obviously the book was making reference to the reverence, assumed goodness of "whiteness". Like Bird's husband's family pretended to be white, Birds mother decided to become a man. Would this be safer for her? Why was she so cruel to her daughter?
I never could figure out why the three women, Boy, Snow and Bird could never been seen in mirrors... something to do with them not being what others expected to see? not being real? a spell on them? I started to think that this was possibly a made up story to cover up something else that happened.... like Life of Pi, but that didn't seem to occur. A very puzzling story.
This book has been on the "Best of" lists at Chapters for long time. It is a very unusual story. It seems to reference fairy tales to some extent - there are two sisters one very blonde one black-- rose red and snow white, and the blonde one is even named snow. The main character, Boy, feels she has a spell on herself. The three main character's reflections don't show up in mirrors... this is never explained...
The story starts with the life of Bird. She is living with her very violent father, a rat-catcher, who beats her and torments her. Bird finally has enough and runs away from home. She loves him too. She jumps on a bus and arrives in a town where she remains for the rest of her life. She leaves behind a young man, Charlie, who is very much in love with her. She lives in fear of her father tracking her down and seeking revenge.
When she arrives at the end of her bus ride she follows some young girls to a boarding house where she is welcomed. She stumbles through various jobs eventually getting a job in a bookstore. She meets a man, who has a beautiful young daughter, Snow, who is adored by everyone. She doesn't love the man but he keeps persisting and eventually she succumbs and agrees to marry him. Before she gets married her former boyfriend contacts her and asks her to marry him, but she turns him down. Why?? Does she think she doesn't deserve to be happy. Her husband is a jewellry artist and at one point makes handcuffs and chains.... is he threatening her?? Later he makes a snake bracelet that extends from her elbow to her upper arm, she wears it all the time except when she is pregnant. What is his intention in this?
Her husband's mother and other relatives tolerate her but they dote on his daughter Snow. Everyone seems to think that she is perfect and can do no wrong. Bird likes her but is suspicious of her. When Boy has a baby girl the child is black in colouring. Of course people think she cheated on her husband but the truth is he is of negro ancestry, his relatives have pretended to be white to become successful. The story describes why the family felt it had to go north and act white to be accepted and respected.
Boy finds out that her husband's oldest sister was sent away as a child because she wasn't white skinned. After she finds this out Boy decides to send Snow away to live with her husband's sister. Everyone is shocked at this, they would have expected her to send Bird away. Bird refuses to have anything to do with Snow but her husband visits with her regularly and eventually Bird and Snow start a letter writing campaign.
As Boy wasn't loved by her parent you would think she would have loved both girls, but it seems that she resents the appeal that Snow has with everyone, figures she will have the strength to survive, but she doesn't want Bird to have to live in Snow's shadow. Bird eventually learns that she has a sister who was sent away. Her mother won't talk about her but keeps some letters she received from he daughter. Bird eventually finds these letters and reads them, including a letter from Snow addressed to her. Snow eventually has accepted the fact that she will not be returning to live with her father and stepmother. She accepts life with her black aunt and her family.
Bird is friends with a young chinese boy. He is the victim of some bullying because of his race. She seems to be the only one able to engage in a true loving relationship. Eventually Snow and her adopted family join the rest of the family for Thanksgiving. It is a meal from hell -- all the family tensions come out. Snow and Bird end up having a fight as they are washing dishes after the meal.
One day Bird is dragged down from a tree by a strange man. He tells her her mother is his daughter and that her mother is evil. She is a afraid of what he will do so agrees to go to a diner with him. He starts to tell a very different story than what Boy remembers of his life with the man. Bird's father finds them in the diner and sends the man away telling him never to come back.
Bird's friend (who had an abortion and trouble recovering from it) tells her that she has been doing research on her, Bird's, father. She has found out something amazing.... there is a birth certificate for Bird listing a mother's name but not a father's name. She then goes on to state that Bird's mother had been a graduate student showing great promise. She was a lesbian. She is raped. She runs away from college and gives birth to Bird, she then takes up a job as a rat catcher. Bird and her friend think the father? mother might be visiting to come clean.
They decide to set off for New York to find Bird's parent, only after she asks for advice on how to break a spell.... when you are fed up with it, it won't affect you anymore.
This book was very difficult to read, there was so much sadness and discord, lonliness, feeling of being rejected, not good enough. Why didn't Bird marry her first boyfriend, the one who loved her and whom she loved? Why couldn't they have lived happily ever after? As she didn't choose that route, she became the wicked stepmother.... rejecting her beautiful step daughter and sending her away in favour of her less attractive, less captivating black daughter. Obviously the book was making reference to the reverence, assumed goodness of "whiteness". Like Bird's husband's family pretended to be white, Birds mother decided to become a man. Would this be safer for her? Why was she so cruel to her daughter?
I never could figure out why the three women, Boy, Snow and Bird could never been seen in mirrors... something to do with them not being what others expected to see? not being real? a spell on them? I started to think that this was possibly a made up story to cover up something else that happened.... like Life of Pi, but that didn't seem to occur. A very puzzling story.
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Corpse With the Emerald Thumb
by Cathy Ace
This book is by a BC author. It is the third in her mystery series.
The book is about a BC prof whose expertise is forensics. She arrives in Puerto Vallarta for a week holiday with her boyfriend, a retired cop. She is watching him from the condo window as he goes into a grocery store and then the flower shop next door. The next thing she knows he is hauled away by the police for murdering the owner of the flower shop.
She knows he is innocent and despite advice to stay out of it she starts to try to figure out what happened and why. She does take the advice to move from the condo to a local Tequila company/residential development. The local police chief recognizes her as he is taking online courses and has heard of her work. He asks for her assistance and she is only to eager to try to help. She is shocked to learn that her boyfriend has actually visited Mexico on several occasions in the past year, using various passports. When she contacts a mutual friend she finds out he has also been involved with CSIS. She starts to wonder what else she doesn't know about him. Her boyfriend refuses to say anything to the police.
The people at the Tequila place are quite strange, they seem like "lost boys". She finds her building was broken into and searched while she was asleep. She thinks she is making progress to help this man she thought she knew. Then, suddenly she is under arrest as an accomplice to the murder. The young eager police officer found a picture of her and her boyfriend on the Internet.
Fortunately, the Federales who come for her and her boyfriend are willing to her explanation of who committed the murder in question and others.... is is possible that the Federales were contacted by CSIS or the FBI?
It was a easy, entertaining read, a good book for a summer day.
This book is by a BC author. It is the third in her mystery series.
The book is about a BC prof whose expertise is forensics. She arrives in Puerto Vallarta for a week holiday with her boyfriend, a retired cop. She is watching him from the condo window as he goes into a grocery store and then the flower shop next door. The next thing she knows he is hauled away by the police for murdering the owner of the flower shop.
She knows he is innocent and despite advice to stay out of it she starts to try to figure out what happened and why. She does take the advice to move from the condo to a local Tequila company/residential development. The local police chief recognizes her as he is taking online courses and has heard of her work. He asks for her assistance and she is only to eager to try to help. She is shocked to learn that her boyfriend has actually visited Mexico on several occasions in the past year, using various passports. When she contacts a mutual friend she finds out he has also been involved with CSIS. She starts to wonder what else she doesn't know about him. Her boyfriend refuses to say anything to the police.
The people at the Tequila place are quite strange, they seem like "lost boys". She finds her building was broken into and searched while she was asleep. She thinks she is making progress to help this man she thought she knew. Then, suddenly she is under arrest as an accomplice to the murder. The young eager police officer found a picture of her and her boyfriend on the Internet.
Fortunately, the Federales who come for her and her boyfriend are willing to her explanation of who committed the murder in question and others.... is is possible that the Federales were contacted by CSIS or the FBI?
It was a easy, entertaining read, a good book for a summer day.
Sunday, 27 July 2014
We Need New Names
by NoViolet Bulawayo
This is the story of a girl from Zimbabwe. The book starts with her young life in the country as she and her friends roam outside their neighbourhood to steal fruit on the trees, they are very hungry. The kids, despite their hunger, have some very creating games, Find Bin Laden, Country Game, etc. The all have unusual names. The main character is Darling and some of her friends include Bastard, Godknows, Jesus, etc. One of the girls, Chico, who is 10, the same age as Darling, is pregnant by her grandfather. The book can be graphic and brutal at times. At one point the children decide that Chico's belly is impairing her ability to play their games so they try to make the baby come out of her stomache. They are stopped before they hurt her.
Darlings father is away in South Africa trying to find work.We learn that the children used to have homes, and go to school but some fighters came and destroyed their homes and communities. This is why they are not going to school now and why they live in tin huts.
One day the children witness some blacks attacking a white house. They trash the house, and take away the owners. The children take this opportunity to eat the food in the house.
Darling's father returns, very ill, probably with Aids, and dies. Darling had been dreaming of going to America as she has an Aunt there who would take her in. She gets the opportunity to go to America and jumps at it. She misses her mother and friends but not enough to want to go back. When she gets to the States she is shocked by winter and how cold it is.
She does ask to go back to Zimbabwe for a visit but she can't because she is really an illegal alien. She came on a student visa but started working to send money back to her family and we find out that many immigrants are in the same boat. They think they are coming to America for "the good life" but instead they are working many low pay jobs, partly to send money back home, they have to hide from the authorities and if they get sick they don't have access to medical care. Her aunt is constantly dieting and exercising so she will be skinny like the women on TV and in the magazines. The uncle initially watches sports on TV all the time but when his son volunteers for the military he becomes fixated on war stories and news. He starts wandering around in his car.
The family in Africa think she is living a good life in America, they want her to come to visit and she tells them she will but she can't tell them the truth, that if she went back she couldn't get back in to the U.S. As the book ends she is trying to save money to go to university and get a career but she also misses her mother country. She misses or feels disjointed because she can't use her mother tongue. One day she starts writing phrases on the wall in her bedroom.
The book was very graphic and brutal at times. It does a great job of portraying the despair but also the remarkable resilience of the people in Africa. It also portrays the sad plight of the illegal immigrants. I found the book book more sad and upsetting than engaging.
A few years ago I read the book Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. It takes place near the Himalayas and part of the story is about a man who dearly would like to have his son back with him but he thinks his son is having a successful life in America, so he doesn't urge him to return. The son would love to return home but he thinks his father is proud of him and he doesn't want to admit that he is only eking out an existence. He is working in low paying jobs and is essentially homeless., sleeping in empty buildings. I found the Desai book a lot more compelling than this one. You really felt for and cared about the characters in her book. I wasn't really engaged with the characters in Bulawayo's book --- it was a story and things happened but I didn't care about them as much. Maybe I am getting desensitized to these tales with so much tragedy in the world these days.
This is the story of a girl from Zimbabwe. The book starts with her young life in the country as she and her friends roam outside their neighbourhood to steal fruit on the trees, they are very hungry. The kids, despite their hunger, have some very creating games, Find Bin Laden, Country Game, etc. The all have unusual names. The main character is Darling and some of her friends include Bastard, Godknows, Jesus, etc. One of the girls, Chico, who is 10, the same age as Darling, is pregnant by her grandfather. The book can be graphic and brutal at times. At one point the children decide that Chico's belly is impairing her ability to play their games so they try to make the baby come out of her stomache. They are stopped before they hurt her.
Darlings father is away in South Africa trying to find work.We learn that the children used to have homes, and go to school but some fighters came and destroyed their homes and communities. This is why they are not going to school now and why they live in tin huts.
One day the children witness some blacks attacking a white house. They trash the house, and take away the owners. The children take this opportunity to eat the food in the house.
Darling's father returns, very ill, probably with Aids, and dies. Darling had been dreaming of going to America as she has an Aunt there who would take her in. She gets the opportunity to go to America and jumps at it. She misses her mother and friends but not enough to want to go back. When she gets to the States she is shocked by winter and how cold it is.
She does ask to go back to Zimbabwe for a visit but she can't because she is really an illegal alien. She came on a student visa but started working to send money back to her family and we find out that many immigrants are in the same boat. They think they are coming to America for "the good life" but instead they are working many low pay jobs, partly to send money back home, they have to hide from the authorities and if they get sick they don't have access to medical care. Her aunt is constantly dieting and exercising so she will be skinny like the women on TV and in the magazines. The uncle initially watches sports on TV all the time but when his son volunteers for the military he becomes fixated on war stories and news. He starts wandering around in his car.
The family in Africa think she is living a good life in America, they want her to come to visit and she tells them she will but she can't tell them the truth, that if she went back she couldn't get back in to the U.S. As the book ends she is trying to save money to go to university and get a career but she also misses her mother country. She misses or feels disjointed because she can't use her mother tongue. One day she starts writing phrases on the wall in her bedroom.
The book was very graphic and brutal at times. It does a great job of portraying the despair but also the remarkable resilience of the people in Africa. It also portrays the sad plight of the illegal immigrants. I found the book book more sad and upsetting than engaging.
A few years ago I read the book Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. It takes place near the Himalayas and part of the story is about a man who dearly would like to have his son back with him but he thinks his son is having a successful life in America, so he doesn't urge him to return. The son would love to return home but he thinks his father is proud of him and he doesn't want to admit that he is only eking out an existence. He is working in low paying jobs and is essentially homeless., sleeping in empty buildings. I found the Desai book a lot more compelling than this one. You really felt for and cared about the characters in her book. I wasn't really engaged with the characters in Bulawayo's book --- it was a story and things happened but I didn't care about them as much. Maybe I am getting desensitized to these tales with so much tragedy in the world these days.
Saturday, 26 July 2014
The Hundred-Foot Journey
by Richard C Morais
I have had this book for about a year but didn't get around to reading it. Now I seen a movie version will be coming out this summer so I thought I would read it.
This is the story of a young Indian man and his family and their lives as restauranteurs and how he came to be an acclaimed French chef and restauranteur. The family doesn't really fit in, in India. They are Muslims. The father, a high energy, bombastic person starts with a few food wagons and then expands to build a restaurant on the border of the slums and high wealth areas. They are very successful but suddenly the neighbours attack their restaurant and set it alight. The boy's mother, who was much loved by her family especially her husband, is killed in the fire. One of the boy's favourite memories of his mother is of a time he and she had lunch at a fashionable French restaurant in India. The unique flavours impressed him.
The father decides they no longer belong in India and relocates the entire extended family to a house in London, near other family. Things seem to go well until the young man kisses his cousin. A rift develops between the family and the father loads up all his family and they set off on a tour of Europe. The boy enjoys the various foods they experience. During their travels in France they are driving through the Alps into a little village called Lumiere. Their car breaks down in front of a French restaurant, across from a large house that is for sale.
The father decides that they will settle here and he decides to buy the house and set up an India restaurant, with his son, who has little if any cooking experience, as the head Chef. The owner of the French restaurant is outraged at these foreign interlopers and tries everything she can to intimidate them and drive them out, even threatening produce sellers if they deal with him. When she visits the restaurant to "check out the competition" she observes the young chef wipe some spilled food back into the cooking pot. She is appalled and is sure they will be closed by health inspectors. But when she tastes the food she is speechless. She realizes the young chef is a genius.
A confrontation takes place between her and the boy's father and the woman pushes the father in exasperation. He falls against his son, who falls against the stove. His uniform ignites and he is badly burned. The woman comes to apologize and is rebuked. When the son recovers and returns home. The woman returns and offers to take the son on as an apprentice and teach him french cooking. The father is outraged but the boy wants to do it so eventually he walks the hundred feet to the other establishment and begins his apprenticeship.
He initially is only trusted with cleaning, cutting, setting the tables, but the woman teaches and tests him and gradually he is allowed to cook. After a few years he is offered a job at a prestigious French restaurant and as they say.... the rest is history. He goes on to open his own restaurant using his inheritance money and with his sister as a partner.
The young man suspects that his mentor has been a silent promoter for him in his career but she always denies it.
They are very successful. The young man is awarded his first, then second and then his third Michelin Star (his mentor only ever achieved 2 stars).
It was an interesting story. The main character is passionate about food but not all that interesting but the supporting characters, his father, his aunt, his mentor add lots of life and colour to the story. This was a book for those who like food and a happy ending from the ashes.
I have had this book for about a year but didn't get around to reading it. Now I seen a movie version will be coming out this summer so I thought I would read it.
This is the story of a young Indian man and his family and their lives as restauranteurs and how he came to be an acclaimed French chef and restauranteur. The family doesn't really fit in, in India. They are Muslims. The father, a high energy, bombastic person starts with a few food wagons and then expands to build a restaurant on the border of the slums and high wealth areas. They are very successful but suddenly the neighbours attack their restaurant and set it alight. The boy's mother, who was much loved by her family especially her husband, is killed in the fire. One of the boy's favourite memories of his mother is of a time he and she had lunch at a fashionable French restaurant in India. The unique flavours impressed him.
The father decides they no longer belong in India and relocates the entire extended family to a house in London, near other family. Things seem to go well until the young man kisses his cousin. A rift develops between the family and the father loads up all his family and they set off on a tour of Europe. The boy enjoys the various foods they experience. During their travels in France they are driving through the Alps into a little village called Lumiere. Their car breaks down in front of a French restaurant, across from a large house that is for sale.
The father decides that they will settle here and he decides to buy the house and set up an India restaurant, with his son, who has little if any cooking experience, as the head Chef. The owner of the French restaurant is outraged at these foreign interlopers and tries everything she can to intimidate them and drive them out, even threatening produce sellers if they deal with him. When she visits the restaurant to "check out the competition" she observes the young chef wipe some spilled food back into the cooking pot. She is appalled and is sure they will be closed by health inspectors. But when she tastes the food she is speechless. She realizes the young chef is a genius.
A confrontation takes place between her and the boy's father and the woman pushes the father in exasperation. He falls against his son, who falls against the stove. His uniform ignites and he is badly burned. The woman comes to apologize and is rebuked. When the son recovers and returns home. The woman returns and offers to take the son on as an apprentice and teach him french cooking. The father is outraged but the boy wants to do it so eventually he walks the hundred feet to the other establishment and begins his apprenticeship.
He initially is only trusted with cleaning, cutting, setting the tables, but the woman teaches and tests him and gradually he is allowed to cook. After a few years he is offered a job at a prestigious French restaurant and as they say.... the rest is history. He goes on to open his own restaurant using his inheritance money and with his sister as a partner.
The young man suspects that his mentor has been a silent promoter for him in his career but she always denies it.
They are very successful. The young man is awarded his first, then second and then his third Michelin Star (his mentor only ever achieved 2 stars).
It was an interesting story. The main character is passionate about food but not all that interesting but the supporting characters, his father, his aunt, his mentor add lots of life and colour to the story. This was a book for those who like food and a happy ending from the ashes.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The Jackal Man
By Kate Ellis
This is the fifteenth book in the series about Detective Wesley Peterson. It is the first book I have read by this author.
The story involves two time frames. One story is about a young governess who comes to work for a widower with a grown son and two young children. She has an affair with her employer and becomes pregnant. He insists she give the child up. She takes drastic measures to get her revenge on the man and his son.
The second story takes place in the present. A serial killer is killing young women. The attacker is reporting to be wearing a dog mask.
In another story a young woman has inherited a "castle". It was the estate where the governess worked. The house is full of Egyptian antiquities. The woman asks an archeologist to come and give her an idea of the value of the collection. As Eqypt is not his area of expertise, he calls in another colleague to document the collection.
As the murders continue the attacker is starting to mimic Egyptian burial rites, cutting out bodily organs and wrapping the victims in linen sheets.
The police try to determine if the attacker is a local skirt chaser or a researcher working on a biography of the Egyptian antiquities collector. The police find out that the modern murders are mimicing four murders carried out on the estate in the time of the governess.A lot of evidence seems to be pointing to the researcher especially when they find he has a book with sketches of the four women killed years before. The police also enlist the services of a profiler.
While Detective Peterson is trying to catch the killer, a former boss of his comes and seeks his assistance in tracking down an Egyptian antiquities theft ring. This seems a minor concern to him given all the murders but he tries to help his boss. It turns out that the researcher was actually stealing items from the estate and planning to sell them.
The book explores the idea of evil.It has many plot twists and then a surprise ending with the appearance of someone who was thought dead. The ending is very disquieting.
In my opinion this is one of the better mystery writers. There is more meat to this story than some and I don't like the stories which get tied up in romantic entanglements.
This is the fifteenth book in the series about Detective Wesley Peterson. It is the first book I have read by this author.
The story involves two time frames. One story is about a young governess who comes to work for a widower with a grown son and two young children. She has an affair with her employer and becomes pregnant. He insists she give the child up. She takes drastic measures to get her revenge on the man and his son.
The second story takes place in the present. A serial killer is killing young women. The attacker is reporting to be wearing a dog mask.
In another story a young woman has inherited a "castle". It was the estate where the governess worked. The house is full of Egyptian antiquities. The woman asks an archeologist to come and give her an idea of the value of the collection. As Eqypt is not his area of expertise, he calls in another colleague to document the collection.
As the murders continue the attacker is starting to mimic Egyptian burial rites, cutting out bodily organs and wrapping the victims in linen sheets.
The police try to determine if the attacker is a local skirt chaser or a researcher working on a biography of the Egyptian antiquities collector. The police find out that the modern murders are mimicing four murders carried out on the estate in the time of the governess.A lot of evidence seems to be pointing to the researcher especially when they find he has a book with sketches of the four women killed years before. The police also enlist the services of a profiler.
While Detective Peterson is trying to catch the killer, a former boss of his comes and seeks his assistance in tracking down an Egyptian antiquities theft ring. This seems a minor concern to him given all the murders but he tries to help his boss. It turns out that the researcher was actually stealing items from the estate and planning to sell them.
The book explores the idea of evil.It has many plot twists and then a surprise ending with the appearance of someone who was thought dead. The ending is very disquieting.
In my opinion this is one of the better mystery writers. There is more meat to this story than some and I don't like the stories which get tied up in romantic entanglements.
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