A GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore

This book is on many people's lists of the best books of 2009.  I have been wanting to read it for quite some time.  This one is going to be difficult to review.

A GATE OF THE STAIRS follows the coming-of-age of 20-year-old Tassie Keltjin in the months following 9/11.  Tassie is a small-town girl from farm community attending a local college.  In order to get a little extra money, Tassie applies to be a babysitter for a 40-something chef/restaurant owner who is adopting a child with her husband.  After a few failed attempts, the couple adopts a mixed-race child. The social, class and racial pressures surrounding this adoption in the post 9/11 landscape form the backdrop of the story.  As Tassie experiments with first love and her newfound independence, she is confronted with unexpected secrets from the people around her that have heartwrending consequences for everyone involved.

Many reviewers have described this book as a coming-of-age tale with lots of heart and humor. Others have focused on the dichotomy of small-town farm life versus college-town life as seen through the eyes of Tassie Keltjin. Still others have pointed out the complexities of race and class as seen through the adoption of the mixed-race child. The book is all of those things. However, I had a hard time with the book because I had no connection with Tassie. I did not find her to be compelling or particularly interesting character. She merely served as a construct for getting us through the story. The book itself is heartbreaking.  So many secrets and so much loss. It was hard to get through in an emotional sense.

BOTTOM LINE: Not recommended. It grieves me to say this but I was disappointed.  I think the subject matter is interesting and Moore brings up a lot of compelling issues in the post 9/11 world. However, the fact that Tassie was not an engaging character really damaged the book for me.  Tassie needed a bit more personality. Maybe even humor.  Moore does a terrific job dealing with some tough issues but overall the book left me cold.

I'm on the Random House Library Blog!

It's a small world after all.

Random House was nice enough to give me a shout-out on their library blog.

Find it here.

ALICE I HAVE BEEN by Melanie Benjamin

I received an advance copy of this book from Random House.

A few years ago, I read a biography of Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll.  I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the man who came up with the outrageous world of Wonderland.  I had never before heard the rumors of Dodgson's alleged inappropriate relationships and photography sessions with young girls.  Dodgson's alleged pedophilia has never been substantiated.  However, the photographs that still exist that he took of young girls still manage to raise a few eyebrows.  One of those photographs is of a young girl named Alice Pleasance Liddell. She is scantily clad as a beggar/gypsy girl.  It is a commonly held belief that this little girl was the inspiration for ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

In ALICE I HAVE BEEN, Melanie Benjamin tells the story of the origins of this famous book and the relationship between Dodgson and Alice Liddell from the perspective of Alice.  The book is broken into three parts: Alice's childhood, Alice's adulthood and Alice at 80 years of age.  Benjamin explores how being the subject of such a famous work may have affected Alice's life and the possible reasons behind the break between Charles Dodgson and Alice's family when she was 11 years old.  Benjamin manages to strike just the right tone. Some writers, like AS Byatt, are very gifted at being able to channel just the right tone and voice for their works of period fiction. Others fail miserably.  I believe Benjamin did an excellent job with this. I felt as if I were reading the private journals or correspondance of a real Victorian lady. In the first part of the book, the reader feels all the confusion of a child who is on the edge of growing up but doesn't yet understand the romantic innerworkings of adults.  When Alice is an adult, we view the events through the lens of an adult looking back at her childhood.  The third part of the book was the most moving to me as Benjamin deals with the tragedies of Alice's later life and how her view of events changes with her status as a mother. 

This book was fascinating and incredibly moving. It made me wish that we knew the truth about Alice's relationship with Dodgson. Because the two families destroyed many of the photographs, journal entries and letters, we may never know the truth.  Still, Benjamin offers a compelling look at the effects of being a Victorian "child star" on one individual.

This book will be released in January 2010.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.  Well written while offering a new look at a well-known children's book.  I guarantee you will be running to the library and internet to learn more about these enigmatic individuals and their story.

RAISING THE PERFECT CHILD THROUGH GUILT AND MANIPULATION by Elizabeth Beckwith

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins.

This is a tricky book for me to review. As a (relatively) new mom, I have found myself drawn to all sorts of child-rearing books lately.  This one sounded like it would offer a much-appreciated dose of humor to this often weighty subject.  Elizabeth Beckwith is a stand-up comedian who comes from a large Italian family well-versed in the art of the manipulation of children. Each chapter in the book focuses on a different area of this novel approach to child-rearing such as "Mind Control: Why It's a Good Thing."  Beckwith also includes tidbits from her own childhood throughout the book to provide a humorous look at family life in the Beckwith household.

While this book is certainly more of a spoof on child-rearing books than an actual "how-to" book, a lot of Beckwith's advice seems pretty reasonable while offering a dash of humor.  Beckwith is at her best when she offers accounts of her own childhood and family.  I often laughed out loud at those parts. Most will appreciate her dry and witty approach to this subject.  Especially those who are in their thirties who will recognize many of her references.

While this book is only 240 pages, I had a hard time getting through it.  It was amusing but not very compelling. I think the fault lies with me and not the book.  I don't seem to connect well to humorous child-rearing books.  I recently tried to read and review another book in this genre and just gave up.  I could not get into it.  I think that sometimes, Beckwith tried to be a little TOO clever and self-reflexive.  The discussion questions and "letters to the author" at the end of each chapter seemed unnecessary and a little too "clever."  If Beckwith had offered more of her own family/childhood stories rather than focus on creating a parody out of parenting books, it would have been much more effective.

BOTTOM LINE:  I will recommend this book for parents looking for a little humor in their child-rearing reading. While I was slightly disappointed, I still found much of it to be very amusing.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap

So many great bloggers are participating that I decided I had to join in!!  Sign up here.  But hurry!

 The registration closes on November 12!

I'm a Winner!

Just found out that I won a copy of CRANIOKLEPTY: GRAVE ROBBING AND THE SEARCH FOR GENIUS by Colin Dickey. It sounds fascinating!  I entered a contest where you were asked to answer the question, "Whose skull would you dig?"  They selected my entry!

See the winners here.

Can't wait to read it!!!

I AM Reading!

Hi everyone.

I am trying to finish my current reads but I am really dragging.  Maybe it is the unseasonably warm weather.  Maybe I am coming down off of a sugar high after Halloween. Maybe I am not getting enough sleep because Noodlebug seems to be coughing most of the night. We are assured by the doctor that he is NOT sick but just has a lingering cough....if one more person tells me to put him to bed with a humidifier I'm going to defenestrate them. We have tried every trick in the book but he continues to cough at night after a month. At least he seems healthy enough otherwise.

Current reads:

RAISING THE PERFECT CHILD THROUGH GUILT AND MANIPULATION by Elizabeth Beckwith (sent to me by HarperCollins)

HUNGRY MONKEY : A FOOD-LOVING FATHER'S QUEST TO RAISE AN ADVENTUROUS EATER by Matthew Amster-Burton

I am about to start:

GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore

ALICE I HAVE BEEN by Melanie Benjamin (sent to me by Random House)

I keep gazing longingly at my copy of AS Byatt's THE CHILDREN'S HOUR but I am trying to save it for my holiday vacation time. I want to savor it. 

Happy reading!!!

Logophile

What do the following words have in common?

book

trash

hot

up

brush

open

more

tickle

sock

shoe

baby

eyes

nose

mouth

ears

boo

moon

sit

ball

moose

Give up?



How about if I add these words:

Mama

Dada

Elmo

As you have probably guessed, these words comprise Noodlebug's current vocabulary.  He seems to be experiencing a word explosion right now and every day brings a new one.  It is an exciting time.  Although I have to admit, I find his baby babble very endearing.  20-25 word vocabulary at 17 months. Not bad.  Must be all those books I force him to read  read with him every day.

Now, if we can just get him to say "trick or treat."  Mama needs some chocolate.

Happy Halloween!!!

LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER by John Irving

I received an advance copy of this book from Random House. (Thank you!!!)

Reading this book directly after Dan Brown's THE LOST SYMBOL just about gave me whiplash.  Whereas

Brown seems to think that readers have the attention spans of gnats, Irving takes his time with his story whether his readers get impatient or not. 

LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER begins with a father and son working in the cookhouse of a logging camp in northern New Hampshire.  One fateful night, a tragic accident occurs that forces the father and his ten-year-old son to flee Twisted River and its vengeful constable.  The story spans fifty years and follows the father and son as they try to move beyond the past and make peace with the present. They always seem only one step ahead of the constable who is determined to kill them both.

It is difficult to describe this book with any accuracy.  It is much more than a tale of revenge and flight.  It is a story of relationships, survival and loss.  Irving is a truly gifted writer.  He takes his time with the story making sure the reader has a feel for the landscape as well as the characters within the book.  At the book's end, the reader knows the characters so well that it feels as if you have lived a lifetime with them.

This book makes a great read for fall/winter as most of it takes place in cold wintry climes.  I felt as if I had to wrap up in a blanket when I read it because Irving was so successful in conveying the cold and chill of the various locales. The story moves back and forth through time in a way that could sometimes be confusing but was ultimately effective. You often discover what happens to characters before you discover HOW it happened. 

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  A beautifully written and moving book that provides just enough of a challenge to make one feel as if you have accomplished something. Irving has redeemed himself in my eyes after his last disastrous novel. (UNTIL I FIND YOU)

Weekend Update

Friends---

It was a difficult weekend.  My family stood in line for three hours to get the H1N1 shot on Saturday. We are all vaccinated now but it was a long and difficult morning. There is a lot of stress and strife in my family right now that we are trying to work through. I'm desperately fighting off depression and trying to focus on all the good things around me like the beautiful fall weather and the fact that we are entering the holiday season which I always look forward to.

I am still working on Irving's book. I made a special trip to the bookstore with Noodlebug yesterday and bought AS Byatt's THE CHILDREN'S BOOK.  This morning, I heard from GoodReads that I won a copy of Michael Chabon's new book which is exciting. 

If I am sporadic in my posting over the next few days, please know that I am reading and will be posting reviews soon. And I'm reading all of your blogs and comments!!!!