Beach Read

I just finished On Chesil Beach and I couldn't put it down, unlike my experience with Atonement. For a more cerebral review, please visit the New York Times.

This tale of a wedding night gone wrong in pre-sexual revolution England is heartbreaking and maddening. Two people think they are so in love, yet are so incapable of communicating with each other on any meaningful level.

I found a few clues in the book that might explain why Florence behaved as she did, but then again, it might be that I worked too long for a group of Marriage and Family Therapists.....

The Book Challenge II starts on Friday and I'm hunting through my bags, stacks and bookshelves for a worthy first candidate.

Another Finish

I finished Wambaugh's Fire Lover while in Long Beach and passed it on to Kathy B. I was very interested in this book because John Orr's fires included several in the San Joaquin Valley where I used to live and also San Luis Obispo County where my parents used to live. He was a serial arsonist and also a renowned fire investigator who was found guilty of setting fires causing much property damage and the lives of four people.

It was choppy and hard to follow at times and finally, during the penalty phase of the trial I went into skim mode--something I seldom ever do. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't Wambaugh's
best.

I'm squeezing in On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan before the Book Awards Challenge II starts on August first. I tried to read McEwan's Atonement and bombed out, so was hesitant to try this one, but it seems pretty good so far.

Only a few days left until the Challenge starts and I'm not sure what to read first. I may opt for A Confederacy of Dunces, or perhaps The Reivers. We'll see.

Fire Lover

Gone Quiltin'

I'm out of town for a week and almost finished with Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh. In the wings, thanks to Becky are On Chesil Beach by Ian MacEwen and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Will keep you posted.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

I finished reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon last night, listed it on the Paperback Swap this morning and put it in the mail by noon today. See ya!

As I mentioned before, I'm not much of a book report writer, but here goes my paltry effort. The book is set in an imaginary Sitka, Alaska, a land given to the displaced Jews after the new state of Israel failed after two years. They are facing relocation yet again as the land is set to be returned to the Alaskans. Down and out cop Meyer Landsman is called to check out a suicide that takes place in the fleabag hotel he lives in following a divorce.

Michael Chabon is a master at developing his characters and I really love complex characters like Detective Landsman. I also love the smartass way Chabon writes dialog between his characters. The narrative is sprinkled with Yiddish and made-up Yiddish words "Sitka slang." Toward the end of the book the story takes a twist that might be more comprehensible to those who are either Jewish or Christians familiar with Revelations and the prophecy of "end times." As a pretty dedicated Agnostic, I found it confusing and convoluted.

In any case, I recommend it and will definitely seek out Chabon's other works.

I'm having a 3 week break until the Book Awards Reading Challenge II starts in August, so I'm indulging in a "beach read," Joseph Wambaugh's Fire Lover. I like Wambaugh and will rip this out while I'm on my vacation next week. I was going to make a snarky comment about Wambaugh not being an award winner, but while searching out this graphic I found out that this is an Edgar Award winner. Maybe I'll cheat and use this as my first book. Don't tell.