I have wanted to attach a rating to books for some time. Now that there are a dozen of unreviewed books on the shelf, I think they provide a perfect opportunity to do this. It seems easier to do the rating with the books all laid out together for comparison purposes rather than rate each book in isolation.
So here goes; scale of five with five stars as the perfect score.
Drum roll please….
4.5 stars
1. State of Wonder by Ann Patchet (2011)
4 stars
Anders Eckman was reported dead after being sent by Vogel, his employer pharmaceutical company, to follow up on the progress of Dr. Annick Swanson. Nothing has been heard from Swanson for more than two years while working on a valuable drug. Dr. Marina Singh, co-worker of Eckman and former student of Dr. Swanson, was thereafter sent by Vogel with the hope that she’ll succeed where Eckman has failed.
The book raises a lot of ethical considerations on drug research, development, and marketing.
This is my fourth book by Patchet [Bel Canto (2001); The Magician’s Assistant (1997); and Patron Saint of Liars (1992)] and it did not disappoint. Patchet, as usual, is able to weave a mesmerizing story that is able to transport the reader right into where the heart of the action is.
3. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (2004)
4 stars
Chevalier, author of the Girl with a Peal Earing, comes up with the story behind the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries which Chevalier dates to have been made in 1490. The book is told from the point of view of the different characters – Nicolas des Innocentes, who conceptualized the theme of the tapestries; the Le Viste family (Claude Le Viste and Genevieve De Nanterre) who commissioned the work; and the weavers from Brussels who executed the design (Georges de la Chapelle, Christine du Sablon, Philippine de la Tour, Alienor de la Chapelle). Interestingly, we don’t hear the first person point of view of Jean Le Viste, master of the Le Viste household.
Beautiful book which aside from spinning a colorful tale, gives insights on the mores of 15h century Paris and Brussels.
4. The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (1998)
4 stars
Lucas Corso, a person one might call a book detective, has been given the assignment of authenticating a fragment of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. Little does he know that this seemingly simple assignment would turn out to be related to a highly complex plot involving murders and characters thrown in his way such that he starts feeling he has been drawn in right into the heart of the Three Musketeers story.
I think this is how a spy/adventure/thriller should be written. Highly intelligent, replete with historical and literary trivia, and full of witty conversations throughout.
5. Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje (2007)
4 stars
Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, comes up again with a riveting saga, this time, involving three children, Ann, Claire, and Coop in Northern California in the 1970s. The book follows what happens to all three children when they got separated after Ann and Claire’s father finds out about Ann and Coop’s teenage affair.
Ondaatje has to take care that he does not keep repeating himself in his future books. Several characters In Divisadero sounded very similar to those from The English Patient. All in all though, Divisadero is a good follow-up work to The English Patient and does not disappoint.
3.75 stars
No, I have not watched the movie and I was surprised at how dark and violent this book was that it gave me a whole sleepless night.
Allow me to quote from the dust cover: “Ada McGrath, her nine-year old daughter, and her piano arrive to an arranged marriage in the remote bush of 19th century New Zealand. Stewart, her husband, refuses to transport the piano, and it is left behind on the beach. Unable to bear its destruction, Ada strikes a bargain with Baines, an illiterate tattooed neighbor. She may earn her piano back if she allows him to do certain things while she plays; one black key for every lesson.”
The Piano has the texture of Bronte and D.H. Lawrence and I was torn whether to give this book 4 stars. But the graphic horror of Stewart axing Ada’s finger and sending Ada’s daughter to Baines (with the axed finger!) to tell him that if he does not keep away from his wife, there will be more fingers coming, just left a bad taste in my mouth.
3.5 stars
The book is a compilation of short stories which can be divided into two main parts. The first part is composed of stories of people who had brushes with Renoir, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Modigliani, and Morisot. The second part is a compilation of contemporary stories of how art has seeped into the lives of people.
I think Life Studies would have been much better if it were actually two books instead of the two parts squeezed in one work. It gives the feeling that the author rushed the publication of the book.
8. With Violets by Elizabeth Robards (1964)
3 stars
"With Violets" is a historical fiction set in the 1860s involving Berthe Morisot, one of the movers of Impressionism, and Edouard Manet.
My main gripe with this book: Morisot is a highly intelligent and accomplished artist and she was reduced into a one-dimensional simpering love-sick fool in “With Violets”. I think Robarbs did her a big injustice.
9. I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson (2002)
3 stars
Kate Reddy is a British hedge-fund manager, wife, and the mother of two toddlers. She is on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to be the perfect career woman and the perfect mother.
This one of those hysterical books which do not help in clearing age-old issues; rather, it just manages to add kindle to the bonfire. My two-cents worth: Family life is team work. If Reddy wants to become superwoman by sidelining her spouse and pretending at work that having two toddlers has not changed her life a bit, fine. But please, no more books on this addled concept. There are those out there trying to improve legislation on working conditions of working mothers and giving equal opportunities to both genders.
And making a movie of this book with Sarah Jessica Parker on the lead role just aggravated the matter.
10. The Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf (2011)
2.5 stars
Story based on the biblical Esther. While interesting how Wolf filled out the details, overall, the book is one sappy read.
11. The Weekend by Bernard Schlink (2010)
2 stars
Schlink, writer of “The Reader” sets again this story in post-war Germany. Jorg, imprisoned for 24 years has been pardoned. His sister has asked close friends for the weekend to welcome him home.
I don’t know about you. But this weekend with Jorge did not feel like two days but closer to the 24 years he spent in prison. The story just dragged on and on and I, together with his guests, heaved a sigh of relief when the weekend was over.
12. Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin (2011)
1 star
So-Nyo, wife and mother of five-grown up children, got lost en-route from her small town to Seoul with her husband. What follows is a series of finger-pointing and guilt-tripping among the children while they search for their mother. While I get the point of the unacknowledged and taken for granted mother, I don’t get the point of the tedious story all throughout told from the perspective of So-Nyo and the children. Kyung-Sook Shin was not able to give a distinct voice to the characters and the technique has fallen flat.
The cover of this book says that Please Look After Mother purportedly sold a million copy. Did I miss anything here?
No comments:
Post a Comment