Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians

The "rich" in this novel's title is a vast understatement.  These are people who own five homes, fly only on their private planes, and spend $250,000 on a single dress.  It's absurd...which is exactly why I lapped up ever delicious page.  I had no idea that this level of wealth existed, nor does Rachel Chu when she agrees to go to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick and then spend the next months traveling on vacation.  She has no idea what kind of well connected - royal, even - family her boyfriend of two years is a part of.  Of course, his private family sniffs her out and assumes the worst.  She's not rich and therefore must be a gold digger and not up to standard.  From the moment she arrives in Asia, Rachel is awed by the extreme opulence and basically goes from one over the top event to another while Nick's family judges her behind her back.

This novel seems to wild to believe.  Nobody actually lives like this, do they?  Where Gucci is trash?  What?  But as I Googled author Kevin Kwan, I learned that he actually grew up in a similar environment.   While the book is a work of fiction, Kwan admits he was inspired by his own family.  That means parties this insane actually exist.  This is a whole other level.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Good Girl

When I asked the man at the information desk where I could find "The Good Girl," he responded "um do you mean "Gone Girl?"  Both thrillers with similar names, such confusion was inevitable.  But I am sure once people start reading "The Good Girl" it will establish its own [deserved] following.

Mia Dennett has always been the black sheep of her family.  Her trophy wife mother has become detached and her father and sister look at her with disdain because she chose a more bohemian life instead of the legal profession they see as proper.  They don't pay much mind when she goes home with a man she met at a bar and doesn't show up for work the next day.  They think she is just being reckless until the days turn into weeks and worry sets in.

"The Good Girl" alternates between "before" and "after" and is told from the view points of Mia's mother, the detective working on her case, and her abductor.  Unlike "Gone Girl," this novel does not attempt to throw a surprise your way every five pages.  It's more of a slow burn as "before" and "after" meet at the present and we learn which characters, exactly, deserve our sympathy.

4 out of 5 stars.

      

Book Review: The Family Fang

Annie and Buster Fang grew up as part of their parents strange performance art.  As soon as they could, they busted out of their childhood homes and tried to forge their own paths as an actress and writer, respectively.  Turns out, being forced to participate in weird performances didn't train them to lead normal, well adjusted lives.  When things start falling apart they both decide to move back in with their parents while they piece them back together.  They seem to be managing until their parents suddenly disappear and Annie and Buster try to figure out if it is just another crazy work of art or if they could actually be dead.

I liked seeing Annie and Buster come to terms with how much their childhood scarred them.  I also enjoyed witnessing such a strong bond between siblings, especially when they're not same-sex siblings.  I only wish I was more invested in the characters.  I didn't know enough about them to really love and root for them.

3 out of 5 stars.

Letting Life Happen + Book Review: Instant Mom

My most personal book review to date just went live on Quarterlette yesterday.  Check it out, if you please!

Book Review: At Bertram's Hotel

When it was becoming apparent that I was becoming a real bookworm and bored with the novels around me, my Mom introduced me to Agatha Christie.  I fell in love with her mysteries and the gradual unraveling of secrets.  It had been years since I had read anything by Christie, but when I saw one of her novels on sale for $2 outside The Strand, I picked it up.  The fact that the title was "At Bertram's Hotel" intrigued me all the more as it immediately called to mind my own Grandpa Bert (short, indeed, for Bertram) who not only encouraged my reading more than anyone else, but [like Christie's novels] was always a bit of a mystery to me.

"At Bertram's Hotel" does not follow the same format as most other Agatha Christie mysteries.  There is a murder at some point, but it does not occur in the beginning and the overall plot is a bit wild and out there.  It was more "fun," I would say.  The allure of Bertram's Hotel is that it has maintained all the charm of old England, as if it was frozen in time.  But when Miss Marple stays there, she can tell that something is not right; after all, nothing can really remain unchanged after all these years.  So she begins to observe the comings and goings of the hotel's cast of characters.  There are clandestine meetings happening all over the place and they all begin to make sense as Miss Marple and Chief Inspector Davy learn more about the hotel guests.  It's a real caper - like a slightly more serious Scooby Doo episode for adults.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The House Girl

Lina Sparrow is assisting on a case that could make her law career.  Her firm is trying to get reparations for slavery and Lina is trying to find a slave's descendant to serve as the perfect plaintiff to help them win.  Her search leads her to Josephine Bell, a name that has begun popping up in her father's art world.  Josephine served as a house girl for Lu Anne Bell, a famous painter...only now it is believed that Josephine was actually the one holding the paintbrush and never credited.  As Lina searches for Bell's living relatives, the story shifts to Josephine's perspective and we learn of her plans to run away.

The novel begins slowly but just as Lina begins piecing everything together in the last 1/3 of the book, it really begins to pick up.  And yes, it does come together.  The truth is uncovered and we all learn that the release of secrets, even when troublesome, are ultimately satisfying.

3 out of 5 stars.

    

Book Review: The Arsonist

Frankie Rowley describes herself as "temporizing."  Though she has steadily held a job as an aid worker in Africa, she never felt it was her true home.  In search of something more permanent, she visits her family in New Hampshire, unsure if she will leave.

The town of Pomeroy, New Hampshire is a sleepy town with a major divide between the locals and the "summer people" who live there for the season only.  Frankie and her family were one of those summer families until her parents decided this season to retire in the town.  Just as they do, an arsonist begins setting fire to empty homes of those summer people, putting the whole town on edge.

I enjoyed watching the characters settle into the roles they define for themselves.  Frankie at first seems upset to be little more than a wanderer, but by the end of the novel is satisfied not to have planted any deep roots, just as Sylvia is content to not be swept off her feet.  I did, however, think the book was seriously lacking tension.  There is a string of fires, yet I never felt thrilled or tortured like I should.  In the end, nothing much seemed to happen and the pace of the novel seemed much like that of a sleepy New Hampshire town.

2 out of 5 stars.

 

Book Review: Cyrano de Bergerac

If you ever want to read a classic but don't want to devote all the time and brain power needed to digest a stuffy and old novel, I recommend a play.  "Cyrano de Bergerac" was my choice when I found it in the discount bin at The Strand for $0.48 ($0.52 with tax - big spendah).  Cheapness aside, I was interested in reading this play for a while since it is constantly resurrected and modernized.  (The movies "Roxanne," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," and "The Ugly Truth" are all based on it, to name a few.)

Sure there's tragedy.  Some of the main characters die at the end, but the parts leading up to it are cute and funny and even the deaths at the end come with closure for the characters so it's not too sad.  If that was too much of a spoiler for you, I'm sorry but this play was written over a century ago so I don't think it's a big deal.  It's also not the most important part.  Here's the stuff to care about:

Cyrano is a gallant guy who can take on 100 men in a fight, no problem.  But he's also a real softie.  He's got the makings of a real catch.  Except he's got this huge shnoz.  He's pretty self conscious about it, which keeps him from declaring his love for Roxanne.  It doesn't really matter, though, because Roxanne and [another dude] Christian see each other across a room and fall in love.  When it comes time for introductions, however, Christian is worried he'll come across as a fool because he's not really good at expressing himself.  Cyrano, convinced he has has no chance with Roxanne, helps out his boy Christian because he's got a way with words.  When she hears Cyrano's beautiful sentiments coming from beautiful Christian, Roxanne is all the more in love.  As the men go to war, Cyrano holds onto his love in secret, confident that he is doing the right thing by bringing two people together even if it means he will never, himself, know love.

3.5 out of 5 stars.  (I think I would have liked it better in its original French where the verses rhyme.) 

Book Review: Freakonomics

My sister in law has been referencing "Freakonomics" for years and even incorporates some of its chapters in her classroom.  I finally decided to read for myself what makes the [somewhat boring] subject of economics so interesting and found it more enlightening than much of what I read as part of my college curriculum.

Levitt and Dubner use piles of data to discover the simple answers to complex questions, like Why did lynchings die down when the KKK was at its strongest?  or What can parents do to raise a successful child?  The authors are able to boil each issue down to a eureka moment.  It will have you looking at age old issues in a new way and make you wonder if you've been looking at everything else all wrong, too.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: What Remains

Carole Radziwill has become a household name thanks to her participation on the reality show "Real Housewives of New York City."  I have always found her to be the sane one on that show with a biting sense of humor.  Maybe that's because she doesn't need Real Housewives to make her interesting so she doesn't try so hard or find it necessary to cause drama.  In fact, Real Housewives is probably the least interesting thing about Radziwill.

Let's start with her name: the Radziwills are a royal Polish family.  Little Carole DiFalco from working class Suffern, New York married a prince, making her a princess.  But even before that, Carole Radziwill had led a life worth following.  She worked her way up the ladder at ABC, producing pieces on the Gulf War and the Khmer Rouge, earning three Emmy Awards in the process.  While working there, she met and eventually married Anthony Radziwill.  This marriage carried with it much more than the title of princess for though the Radziwills are actual European royalty, they also married into what we consider to be American Royalty: the Kennedys.  Anthony's mother was Lee Radziwill (née Bouvier), the sister of Jackie O.  That means Anthony was first cousins and best friends with JFK Jr.  Now we're talking juicy, Page Six type stuff since John Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette were spread across the gossip columns daily.  But to Carole, these were just her best friends.

This book could have been a salacious look inside the life of high society folk, but it's not.  It is about the power of hard work and the enjoyment that comes from doing what you love.  It is about friendship and will remind every reader about the one person in each of our lives who can see into our soul.  It is about the life of a caretaker, a life that Carole is completely honest about.  When Anthony is diagnosed with cancer around the time of their marriage, Carole steps into the role of caregiver.  It was a long battle and Carole takes us through each stage.  She is at times in denial and at others simply tired.  We read as she reaches acceptance of her husband's death...just in time to be blindsided by the death of her two best friends a mere three weeks before Anthony succombs to cancer.

As a journalist, Radziwill is interested in learning getting to the bottom of the story and she describes her family, friends, and the progression of disease just as she would attack a news piece.  It is this somewhat objective view that makes her come out seeming strong, not vulnerable.  This strength of character - and not her "fabulous" life - is what intrigues me most about Radziwill and makes this memoir so nice to read.

Book Review: China Dolls

Three Chinese girls meet on the streets of San Francisco and immediately link themselves together for the next ten years.  They have little in common other than their desire to escape their current lives and the hole that is missing from never having real friends.  Grace, a wide-eyed innocent, has left her small, Midwestern town to escape an abusive father and to pursue her love of dance.  Helen does not know what she wants other than to experience life outside her "proper" Chinese family and their restrictive compound in the bubble of Chinatown.  Ruby wants fame, plain and simple.  They spend the next decade performing at "Oriental" clubs in San Francisco and around the Chop Suey Circuit, where their bond is often tested.

Always a fan of Lisa See's work, I was captivated by her portrayal of Chinese performers in America during World War II.  At the heart of it, however, is a study of female friendship and how it bends around jealousies, secrets, and prejudice.  

4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Goldfinch

"The Goldfinch" is intimidating.  It is a 771 page hardcover that really weighs down my tote bag on my commute to work.  I think that's the reason I put off reading it for so long.  But "long and heavy" is no longer a valid excuse when the novel is on every best list and then wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  All signs point to read.

Donna Tartt's novel is an epic with Dickensian tendencies.  Theo Decker can't seem to dig himself out of the hole that was created after he survives an explosion at an art museum.  His mother, unfortunately, does not make it out alive and Theo hops from home to home with little sense of permanence.  He first lands at the home of a friend, members of New York City's society who are happy to do the right thing but can't manage to show emotion.  He then lives for several years in Las Vegas where the one person who should care most about him practically forgets his existence.  By the time he returns to New York he is living in a fuzz of self medication.  The one constant is his obsession with a painting he saw in the museum.  As his last connection to his mother, the painting is the driving force behind every reckless decision Theo makes.

Theo, like almost all the characters in the book, is deeply flawed.  Also like all the characters in the book, he just can't seem to help himself.  He is his own worst enemy but seems to be content in knowing so.  His pursuit of The Goldfinch is his search for happiness which, like the painting itself, he may not be destined to have.

Subtracting a point because the last few pages literally spell out the book's themes for the reader.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Reconstructing Amelia

When Amelia commits suicide by jumping off the roof of her elite New York City prep school, things don't quite add up for her mother.  Amelia was happy and never showed any of the signs, but Kate doesn't start asking questions until she gets a mysterious text from a blocked number telling her Amelia didn't jump.  On a mission, Kate begins to sift through all of Amelia's texts and emails to see if she can figure out what exactly went wrong.  As she digs deeper, she uncovers a secret society and a world of gossip lying deep inside the prep school's walls.  With chapters thrown in from Amelia's perspective to fill in the blanks, we learn how secrets can tear people apart before they even know what's happening.

Though I'm proud to say I figured out most of the shocking twists in the story, I was not deterred from reading until I learned if I was right.  The only downside is that part of the climax felt a little melodramatic - very "and I woulda gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids."  I also felt some of the storylines fizzled, making me think the author took on a bit too much trying to develop them without letting them fully play out.  I suppose they ended as they would have in real life though so I can't be too upset about it.  

4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Me Before You

Louisa never ventured out of her small English town and was content working at a small café and spending time at home, doing nothing particularly exciting.  Will, on the other hand, was constantly venturing out.  He lived a fast life in London, making tons of money and spending his free time bungee jumping.  Then he gets hit by a car and becomes a paraplegic.  Two years later, he is living back home and his family has determined he needs a daytime caretaker to keep him company.  Louisa, having just lost her job, accepts the job as caretaker despite Will's irritable behavior.  

Soon enough, the two find common ground as outcasts in their own right and a lovely friendship begins to grow.  It's basically "Beauty and the Beast."  Over six months they try to prove to each other that life is worth living.

In Me Before You, Jojo Moyes shows off other sides of love, whether it be a strong familial bond or how sometimes the greatest loves are those that are simply deep friendships.  As a man stuck in a wheelchair with almost no range of motion whatsoever, life for Will is not bound to be "fun".  And that's sad.  But he and Louisa are able to give each other something intangible and watching that happen is satisfying.  Still sad, but satisfying.

It's a quick read so it's a good one for the summer.  Though I'm deducting points because I found the general theme overly predictable.  

2.5out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Go Ask Alice

"Go Ask Alice" has been used for years as a teaching tool for middle and high school students.  It is a supposedly real account written by "Anonymous" (to maintain authenticity) that is gritty enough to caution young people against using drugs.  Enough people told me how moved they were by the story that I decided to read it even though I am 28 and have very successfully avoided all drug temptation.

I know it is supposed to be an incredibly realistic portrayal of the descent into addiction, but reading it as an adult, I found it inferior to other memoirs.  The story is told as a series of journal entries over several years [in the 1970s] and shows how easy it can be for a goody-goody teenage girl to fall into serious drugs.  It lost plausibility for me when the narrator is so deep into drug use that she is homeless.  She can't find a place to sleep but she can keep track of a diary?  Seems fishy to me.  If, however, I was reading this as a young girl, I could see how it would scare me straight.  Maybe not great for a 28 year old, but definitely something I would want my kids to read as pre-teens.

3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet travels back in time to "The War Years," as Henry, the main character, calls them.  He was born and raised in Seattle; however, he is clearly Chinese, which makes him the recipient of endless taunting by his fellow students at the white prep school he attends on scholarship.  Though the Japanese are America's enemy in 1942, the other students only see "Asian" and Henry leads a life that is lonely but for the Jazz he discovers through a street saxophone player.

Though he, too, was raised by his traditional Chinese father to hate the Japanese, he soon forms a friendship with a new Japanese scholarship student, Keiko.  As outsiders in their school, they cling to each other for support.  Friendship turns into an innocent courtship and they vow to wait for each other, even after Keiko's family is moved to an internment camp.  It seems they could beat prejudice against all odds, but the book's shift to 1986 where Henry is mourning the death of his wife, Ethel, indicates they drifted apart.

Based on how much he hurts when his wife dies and his pride in their son, it is clear Henry went on to live a fulfilling life.  But even still, when he sees on tv that the Panama Hotel in old Japantown has been bought and hoards of belongings from evacuated Japanese families are discovered in the basement, he is drawn to the building to see if he can find what was lost to him 40 years ago.

Though there is a young romance in the works, this is less about love and more about hope.  Hope that friendship can survive impossible circumstances and hope that a young man can bridge the gap between his parents' old world culture and the new America they are raising him in.

4 out of 5 stars.

      

Book Review: Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence

I will always refer to Ross Matthews as Ross the Intern.  That was his title when he was introduced to me on The Tonight Show and that will forever be his title in my eyes.  That's because even though he's grown up to have a talk show of his very own, he still approaches life with wide eyed exuberance. 

Though his high pitched voice could be a turnoff, everyone loves Ross the Intern.  You can't help it.  He is as a pop culture junkie who absolutely freaks out about celebs.  That makes him completely relate-able, despite the voice that threatened to make him an outcast when he was younger.  But Ross knows who he is and loves it, which is why everyone else loves him, too.

3 out of 5 stars. 

Book Review: The Silent Wife

This book is very upfront about the fact that Jodi kills her husband.  It tells you right from the outset.  The rest of the book alternates between his and her perspectives to determine if the killing was warranted.  Todd cheats on Jodi all the time so Jodi seems in the right...but she knows he cheats and is ok with it as long as it's in a don't ask don't tell manner so does she really have a right to get upset?

While the book starts off as a poor man's Gone Girl.  A murder cuts through a seemingly perfect marriage and the story is told in alternating points of view.  That sounds familiar.  But while Gone Girl thrives on shocking twists and turns, The Silent Wife focuses more on the "why" of it all.  What makes Jodi decide that she suddenly needs to take action against her husband?  Why does Todd feel the need to cheat?  Will he ever feel happy?  Will she feel remorse?

3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Dare Me

Megan Abbott's "Dare Me" allows you to perch on the bleachers to view the dark inner world of high school cheerleading.  This is "Heathers" kind of dark.  Addy has always been happy to play second fiddle to her best friend Beth.  Beth rules the school and has a knack for crafting the perfect insult, the kind that cuts into the soul of her prey, making them doubt themselves, and securing her spot as top dog.  When a new coach joins the school, Beth sees her as pathetic but all the other girls on the squad are mesmerized by her.  As Coach gathers her minions, Beth's position as most popular and most feared becomes shaky and it looks like she will go to any length to regain her status.  At the height of the season a death tests Addy and Beth's loyalty.  Yes, there is death in a book about cheerleading.

3 out of 5 stars  

Book Review: One Last Thing Before I Go

Silver is a washed up musician.  After making it big as part of a one-hit-wonder band, he now lives in the only apartment building in his suburban town along with other sad, middle aged, divorced men.  He has made a mess of his life with no dating prospects and no relationship with his 18-year old daughter, who has just told him she is pregnant.  Why tell him?  Because he's not valuable enough to disappoint.  Just as he's wrapping his mind around the situation, he is rushed to the hospital and told that he will die without emergency surgery.  In a shock to the family who still loves him despite everything he has put them through, he decides to forgo the surgery and focus on being a better man and repairing his relationship with his daughter.  

Considering this is the third book I've read by Jonathan Tropper, I'd say I'm a fan.  I found this one a bit existential and did not enjoy it as much as This Is Where I Leave You or The Book of Joe; however it was still an enjoyable read as Tropper always injects sadness and humor into his writing in the perfect balance.

2.75 out of 5 stars (points deducted simply because I didn't like it as much as Tropper's other novels)