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observatory mansions
edward carey
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Francis Orme lives with his family and an assortment of lonely misfits in a crumbling apartment building called Observatory Mansions. He keeps a collection of stolen and found items in the basement (his “Exhibit of Love”), he wears white gloves at all times (when they get too dirty he saves them as an autobiography of sorts), and he earns his meager living as a living statue. His life and the lives of the other residents are thrown off balance when a strange young woman by the name of Anna Tap takes up residence in their building.
This is a really wonderfully sad and beautiful first novel by Carey (who’s also a playwright and an illustrator). Part gothic romance, part catalogue of obsessions; this is a very odd book, though it never comes across as gratuitously strange. Carey’s simple prose is really perfect here. This is a book that could have been painful or unpleasant to read but I found it a lot of fun and difficult to part with.
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reviewed by: JohnLawton |
October 2004 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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olive kitteridge
elizabeth strout
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Curmudgeonly old Olive Kitteridge figures into all of the thirteen stories of Elizabeth Strout's "novel in stories" collection. Appearing more prominently in some stories than others, Olive can be found lingering in someone's memory or right in their face. For the residents of tiny Crosby, Maine, almost everyone has had some contact with Olive or her pharmacist husband, Henry at one time or another. Maybe they had Olive as a teacher, or maybe they've seen her on her Dunkin' Donuts visits or have been the recipient of a sarcastic quip from her. Each story contains that quiet desperation of life in a small town chock full of gossip and drama as well as life and hope. This has been one of my favorite collections of short stories to come around in a long time and I can't wait to reread it.
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2009 [link] |
recommend
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on a pale horse (incarnations of immortality, bk. 1)
piers anthony
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| I'm sorry that I'm on a fantasy kick lately. I know that it annoys many people. I DO remember someone saying though that the smartest people read fantasy, so ALL RIGHT. This was a book that was in the same "realm" as the other Piers Anthony book I read: "Tangled Skein". I wouldn't say it was a better book, but it's subject matter was more philosophical than the last book. The novelty had worn off though, and I knew all the precepts for the fates and stuff. This book dealt with death and one's connection to a large whole. I'll probably read the other book about the Keeper of Time, and then not read a Piers Anthony book again. He's nice and all, but the themes are much more important than the characters in these books, and I much prefer to fall in love with the world AND the characters. I'm missing my Richard Jury and Inspector Wexford (I've read all the books in their series.) Ahhh I'm an anglophile at heart. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
November 2000 [link] |
recommend
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on the water: discovering america in a rowboat
nathaniel stone
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| chasing a childhood dream, the author sets out on a 6000 mile rowing journey from the brooklyn bridge, up the hudson, across the erie canal, down the mississippi to the gulf of mexico. then he takes a few months break and returns to new orleans to continue through the gulf, around florida and up the east coast to maine. filled with anecdotes of friendly strangers along the way and plenty of reflection of a possessions-free life this book is funny, touching and inspiring. i liked that he pointed out that except for a small stretch of land in ohio, the part of the u.s. east of the missississippi is pretty much an island. kool. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
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one hundred years of solitude
gabriel garcia marquez
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| This is the book I (at this writing) just finished. It has taken me the longest to read of any book ever just because I kept putting it down. If this book were a wine, it would be a very complex wine. I tried reading it in the Caribbean, but I really wanted a quick read there. The back of this book said it should be required reading - like the Bible. I don't agree. Although, I liked the ambience, it was really no big whoop. Very deep and meaning of lifey although it tries to be cute and droll. I liked the "love in the time of Cholera" book by him better. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
July 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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open: an autobiography
andre agassi
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| After reading and hearing good things about this sports autobiography, I cracked it open with much enthusiasm even though the cover photo looked like a headshot from a character in A Chorus Line. I soon learned in this fast read that image is not everything as Agassi presented himself, his receeding hairline, and his hatred of tennis with humor and grace. What do you do when the thing that you are the most talented at is also the thing you hate the most? Can you really hate it or can you just learn to live with yourself and it? Andre Agassi has written a book with a lot of balls and a lot of love. |
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reviewed by: jen |
June 2010 [link] |
recommend
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orange is the new black
piper kerman
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| Remember all the crazy stuff you did in your 20s? Piper Kerman remembers all too well as some of it caught up with her when an old drug-dealing flame rats her out for carrying drug money out of the U.S. Kerman is indicted on money laundering and drug trafficking, pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 months at Danbury's minimum security women's prison where every vestige of personal space and privacy is stripped away and the Smith graduate finds herself to be a minority as an incarcerated white woman. In her fascinating look at prison life, she is taken in and cared for (as most of the woman are) by prisoners with much longer sentences than her (a 70-year old grandmother has a sentence of four years for taking phone calls for her drug dealing grandson which is part of the many injustices of the U.S. "justice" system). Kerman learns the ropes of the prison system, builds incredible friendships and learns electrician skills at her job in the prison workshop all while trying to just get through each day (she ends up serving 13 months of the 15 month sentence). I found myself unable to put this book down and the second I finished, my husband picked it up too because, as Kerman herself points out, there's just not a lot of prison books out there written from a woman's point of view! In the end, Kerman's patience, humility and strength drive an already interesting story and elevate it into a crafty piece of non-fiction. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2010 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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our band could be your life: scenes from the american indie underground, 1981-1991
michael azerrad
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The decade covered in this book was a fine time in the whole indie/punk rock scene here in the USA, and Azzerad documents the heck out of the scene with interviews from all the influential people involved. A great introduction (or refresher course) to a scene that laid the groundwork for the ‘alternative’ music explosion in the 90’s. I personally found it interesting how a few core people kept weaving in and out of different scenes at different times throughout the book.
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reviewed by: rich |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend
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out
natsuo kirino
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once in awhile a book comes along that is just SO GOOD that it propels you along and you find yourself calling into work sick just so you can finish it. "out" is this kind of book. a huge best-seller in japan, it was also made into a movie there and awarded lots of "best mystery/thriller" recognitions. aside from a loaded and wonderfully complex plot, the language and writing (translated, obviously, from japanese) is amazing - so full and brilliant.
the plot follows four women who work the night shift in a boxed-lunch factory as one murders her philandering husband and the other help to cover it up. not only do we get a glimpse of modern japan but we get a peek into the the japanese underground of gambling, the mob and clubs. a deliciously vindictive and satisfying book for the dark side in all of us. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2005 [link] |
recommend
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