Girls in Tears by Jacqueline Wilson

This is from the British Big Read list, which contains quite a few of Wilson's books.  She writes children's books geared toward pre- and early-teen girls.  This is another of those.

Girls in Tears is about a ninth grade girl and her challenges with friends, family, and her boyfriend.  Wilson is a great writer and draws you in, but this isn't my favorite just because of the content.  Some of the main worries (like how far to go with boyfriends) seem too old for a 13-year-old girl.  I wouldn't want my kids to grow up that fast!

It is a super easy read that is done really quickly, so it is probably worth the time.  I wouldn't recommend it to particularly young readers, though.

King and Maxwell by David Baldacci

I have been disappointed with Baldacci's recent books, so this one was a welcome change, at least until the end.  Then it suddenly wrapped up without having a real climactic moment and seemed somehow unfinished.

This book is obviously about the ex-Secret Service agents turned private investigators, Sean King and his partner Michelle Maxwell.  In a strange coincidence, they run into a high school boy whose father has gone missing in Afghanistan after a botched mission and has been declared dead by the army.  Of course they get involved and end up saving the day.  The autistic computer genius, Edgar, from the last book in this series reappears in King and Maxwell and seems like he will become a regular character in the series.

It is an easy read, so probably worth the time, but it isn't his best.  If you're looking for a Baldacci book, try The Winner, Absolute Power, Last Man Standing, or The Camel Club first before reading this particular book.  It isn't his best.

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

This is definitely not my favorite Dickens' book.  And I usually quite like Dickens!  It took me more than a month to finish this book, and I am a fast reader.  I would even venture to say it is one of his worst books.

Little Dorrit doesn't have enough plot to support the story, and quite often seems rather dull.  It does have some excellently eccentric characters to liven things up in typical Dickens fashion, but not as many as would usually populate one of his books of this length.

This book takes forever and is definitely not worth the time.  Read David Copperfield instead!

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

I have mixed feelings about this particular book.  It's a bit sad and depressing, but it is also interesting and is well-written.

A Passage to India tells the story of Dr. Aziz, an Indian gentleman who wonders whether it is possible to be friends with an Englishman, Adela, a young English schoolteacher, and Mrs. Moore, and older English lady who befriends Dr. Aziz.  A group of people including these three go on a day trip to some caves.  Adela is accosted and accuses Dr. Aziz of the crime.  The trial and its surroundings are full of racism and prejudices, which is pretty sad.

This book makes me wonder how accurate Forster is about British India and how much he actually knows about the Indian mind.  I know he did spend actual time in the India he is writing about, but he obviously was never an actual Indian to know how their minds work.  He frequently gets inside Dr. Aziz's thoughts and he attributes most of his thoughts and attitudes to his race.

It is worth the time, but it is a bit of a challenging read and takes quite a bit of it.  Definitely not a beach read!

Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara

This is a depressing book, and I didn't love it the whole time I was reading it.  Then, at the very end, there is a telling of the story that inspired the title and just that one clever quote made the book all right. 

This is the story of Julian English and how he destroys his life in three days.  He makes repeated bad choices (most of which seem like old habits).  He drinks heavily, cheats on his wife, and contemplates suicide.  He acts in impulsive ways.  It is pretty hard to read about his incredibly stupid behavior.  The final quote and title are references to fate or destiny and how English's end was inevitable.

This book is worth the time, but it isn't light-hearted or uplifting.

Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow

This book is a little bizarre, but strangely satisfying.

Henderson is a large, well-to-do middle-aged man who feels unfulfilled with his life.  He decides to go to Africa.  In Africa he sets out on his own with only a native guide.  He tries to help local tribes, but is too bumbling in his efforts to actually help.  His actions tend to be rather comic, although he also engages in philosophical wonderings and discussions during the course of the book, which is one of the reasons I find the book bizarre.  Another is because at the end (spoiler alert!) there is no indication of whether he actually found what he was looking for or if he still has the inner voice saying, "I want, I want, I want."  The book does end hopefully, though, as he decides to return home.

This book can be a little long; I found the philosophical passages especially hard to get through and even skipped part of a particularly long one!  It is definitely worth the time, though, and is interesting and very well written.

Heartwishes by Jude Deveraux

I was disappointed in this book by Deveraux.  They are usually a bit better.  The plot line wasn't just predictable, which is common for books with a romance in them.  It was also unexciting and lacking in interest.  Deveraux usually does a better job.

This is another Edilean novel.  It tells the story of a history PhD candidate who gets a job in Edilean doing research to write the Frasier family history.  She finds information regarding a legend about a "heartwishes" stone that grants the wishes of Fraiser family members.  Of course, she also finds romance and love.  Deveraux can usually make her supernatural aspects feel realistic in the story, but in this book the mystery isn't believable and the solving of it is anticlimactic.

There are a couple inappropriate scenes involving descriptions of physical intimacy that are easily skipped over.

This book isn't worth the time.  Try a different book by Deveraux if you're looking for a romantic mystery with a supernatural aspect.

A Christmas Garland by Anne Perry

This is one of Perry's Christmas mysteries.  They are much shorter than her usual books and aren't part of her book series.  They do usually deal with a fringe character from one of her two Victorian mystery series and an incident in their lives.

A Christmas Garland tells about Victor Narraway, a very young lieutenant in the British army in India after the gory rebellion and violent reprisals.  A medical orderly is accused of helping a prisoner escape by slaughtering a guard.  The prisoner had knowledge of a patrol and it's movements, and the patrol was ambushed and almost all the men killed.  The well-liked orderly is accused because he is the only soldier in the area whose movements aren't accounted for.  Narraway is assigned the impossible task of defending him and making sense of his crime.

There is discussion of very gruesome actions that occurred during the war, including the brutal slaying of women and children.

This is a great read.  Perry's books are always high quality.  It is quick and easy as well.  It is definitely worth the time.

The October List by Jeffery Deaver

I was very skeptical before I started this book, since it is billed as "a novel in reverse."  I really like Deaver, but I'm not usually a big fan of messing with the time line in stories.  It took a bit to really capture my interest, but it definitely did!

The book starts (ends) with a woman waiting to hear from her kidnap negotiators about her daughter, but when the door opens, the kidnapper comes in.  It goes backward from there.  One of the plot twists was very obvious to me right away, so I was worried that I would have no surprises and that made me enjoy the book less.  Luckily, Deaver had a couple more surprises in store, so I was still happily taken aback by a couple of last minute plot twists.

Spoiler Alert!  One of the big drawbacks of this story for me is that there are no good guys.  Maybe the police partners who play a very fringe role in the story, but mostly everyone is a bad guy doing bad things for their own gain.  It's nice to have someone to root for, and this book misses that.

There is swearing in this book, especially a large use of the f-word.  I don't remember Deaver using it so often before, but I found it very overdone in this particular book.

Since it is shorter than his usual, this book is worth the time.  I don't know if it would be if it was longer, though.  It is limited because of its structure, but the structure also makes it interesting if only for the novelty of it!

Wild Texas Rose by Jodi Thomas

Thomas writes romance novels, so this has the weaknesses- predictable plot, cheesy dialogue, descriptions of physical intimacy (although not beyond necking and petting), and the strengths- guaranteed happy ending, easy reading, lightly entertaining that are generally inherent in that genre.  Thomas usually overcomes the weaknesses better than she does in this particular novel.  It's really not very good.

Wild Texas Rose is on the surface the story of Rose MacMurray, part of the MacMurray clan that appears in many of Thomas's books.  Since she has already developed Rose's character and story so much in past books, though, this book is largely actually about three other romances that happen simultaneously.  Interesting things in the story are the inclusion of a Confederate soldier who volunteered as a Union soldier on the frontier after being taken captive and the discussion and desire of many Confederate members to continue the Confederacy in South America.

This book has inappropriate descriptions of physical interaction, but my policy is always just to skip it.  The dialogue tends to be dumb and non-essential and if you've read one, you've read them all.  This book does fall short of describing the actual sexual act and sticks to heavy kissing and petting.  (I think.  I skimmed just for this review, but I really do skip reading it!)

If you're looking for a fluffy romance of the historical variety, try one of Thomas's many other historical romances set in Texas.  This one is an easy read, but it still isn't worth the time. 

Jesus Out to Sea by James Lee Burke

This is a short story collection.  I always enjoy short stories because you can squeeze them in whenever you have a few minutes, and they don't take the time commitment of a novel.  These particular short stories are well-written.  The collection is very cohesive.  They aren't very cheerful, though, and as usual for Burke, the characters' motives and actions are completely incomprehensible to me.  They put me in mind of Kerouac.  It is an interesting look at mostly Southern men, although some of the stories are about Southern boys.  While their actions are incomprehensible to me, I do enjoy seeing a different life than anything that is familiar to me.

This book probably isn't appropriate for younger readers.  Many of the people live in sad, depressing situations that can be upsetting to read about.  There is a story that involves child abuse, and many of the stories have talk of violence and prostitutes.  There are also a few swear words, but not a lot and not the "big" ones.

It is a pretty short book, so it doesn't take too long to read.  And like I mentioned previously, it is easy to fit a story in whenever you have the time, which makes it worth the time commitment.

The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews

This is another Meg Langslow mystery;  I just recently reviewed one of them (Some Like it Hawk).  Somehow my library got two of them in at about the same time.  This is the more recent story in the series, but every book is able to stand on its own.  Don't worry about having to read the entire series to know what's going on!  As usual for these books, it is very funny and amusing.  It is also eccentric and a little off the beaten path.

Meg has been suckered into being the deputy director of the "Un-fair," a local fair they started when the state fair looked like it would close for financial reasons.  The fair focuses on heritage animal breeds, but it also has a Midway located in the neighboring county.  The first night starts with a great many problems, as they discover two chickens have been stolen, a giant pumpkin has been smashed, and a quilt has disappeared.  During the following days of investigation, a dead body turns up and things turn more serious.

The Meg Langslow books are always clean.  It does contain a murder, but it isn't particularly gory or violent.

This is a quick easy read that is very entertaining and definitely worth the time!

Something Borrowed Someone Dead by M.C. Beaton

M.C. Beaton writes humorous mystery series.  This book is one of the Agatha Raisin series.  Agatha Raisin is a middle-aged private detective in the Cotswolds.  In this book, she is hired to solve a murder in a small village.  The villagers seem to have closed ranks and are not answering questions.  They won't answer questions and seem to be convinced it was an outsider when that makes no sense.  Agatha is too determined to give up and continues to search for the killer.  She succeeds in the end, of course, although the killer isn't exactly straightforward, and the ending seems strange.

This book is clean.  Of course it's a murder mystery, so it has talk of that violence.  There is also discussion of affairs.

This book is worth the time, but the Hamish Macbeth series is the better choice of Beaton's books.

Some Like it Hawk by Donna Andrews

This is another in the Meg Langslow mysteries.  Meg is a southern woman who works as a blacksmith in a small Virginia town.  In this book she and her husband have twin toddlers, she continues to deal with her ragtag family, and their home is still a stopping off place for all sorts of characters and incidents.  The reason I love these mysteries is that they are funny.  This particular one may have fewer funny places than the best of them, but it is still very amusing.

In Some Like it Hawk the town of Caerphilly has been taken over by the "Evil Lender," a bank who is trying to foreclose on the town's buildings.  The previous mayor absconded with the town's funds, making them unable to pay their mortgage payments.  A county clerk has barricaded himself in the basement of the city hall to protest and to protect the archives.  The bank has brought in a security service to try to discover how the town has been resupplying him for the year.  A corporate member of the bank is shot and killed outside the barricade, and it looks like the clerk is responsible.  Meg of course solves the murder and saves the day.

These books are always 100% clean and appropriate for all readers.

This is sheer entertainment, so don't expect to be intellectually challenged.  It is an easy read and is definitely worth the time.

Native Son by Richard Wright

This is a depressing story, so don't read it if you're looking for a pick-me-up.  It is interesting in its own sad way.

Bigger Thomas is a young black man living in the city.  He feels trapped and powerless and unable to do anything or make his own choices.  He feels like his destiny is pre-decided by those around him and their expectations of violence.  Since he is a young black man, he sees no other choice but crime.  So of course he commits crimes (two really terrible crimes, not like robbing the corner store) and ends up in prison.  There he befriends a white man to his own amazement.  His friendship makes him think that men like him could maybe be reached earlier.

I found this story too long.  It really made me think (especially since I have an adopted black son), although I can't feel as negatively about the situation as Bigger Thomas.  But I was ready for it to be over before it was.  It felt like it dragged on a bit to me.

It isn't really worth the time for straight entertainment, but if you're looking to be more aware of racial tensions and challenges in the United States, it is a unique perspective.
 

Midnight Rambler by James Swain

I didn't love this book because of the ending, but I did enjoy it.  James Swain's Tony Valentine books are his best works, and I would recommend them first if you are new to his books.  They are more intelligent, while this is a pretty straightforward crime story. 

Midnight Rambler is about Jack Carpenter, a missing persons expert who works as a consultant to various police departments in missing cases.  This time, however, he is dealing with the midnight rambler case, which is his last case from when he was a police officer.  He isn't hired as a consultant on the case but feels responsible anyway, since he put the suspected killer behind bars for one murder when there were eight.  No bodies were ever recovered in the past, but now one has shown up in an unlikely location that casts doubt on the original conviction.  Carpenter has long been obsessed with this case and these victims, so he is quickly drawn in and is willing to compromise the law to find the truth.

Spoiler Alert!  I dislike the ending because Skell, the "midnight rambler" has always been a very careful killer, leaving no evidence behind.  He behaved cautiously and intelligently in the past.  Then, in the end of this book, he seems to throw all caution to the wind.  He kills his wife and her agent in the hotel room right after being released from prison, with the FBI right outside!  He throws a woman overboard in front of multiple witnesses.  It just doesn't fit with all his previous behavior, so I didn't really like it.  Although, it was a happy ending, and I do prefer those!

You're safe again.  This book is clean, but it does deal with prostitutes and murder.  There are a few swear words, but not very many and nothing too serious.

This is an easy read that goes really fast.  It has some definite suspenseful moments.  It is worth the time if you're looking for an entertaining crime book.

La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith

I generally enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books a great deal.  I found the beginning of this one disappointing, though.  I wasn't even sure if I wanted to actually finish reading it, but it picked up.  I really enjoyed most of the book and loved the ending.  So, don't get discouraged if you find the beginning uninteresting or slow and keep at it!

This book tells the story of La (short for Lavendar) a youngish woman who ends up living in the country in Suffolk at the start of WWII.  It tells about her "war work," taking care of hens for a local arthritic farmer and starting a small amateur orchestra for the nearby air base and the local villages.  It is very compelling and I really enjoyed seeing a different perspective of the war.  It does begin with a chapter from the future and then flashback to the actual story.  Sometimes that works, but it isn't the best in this particular story.  I actually read parts of the first chapter after I finished the book, and that worked better for me.  The ending is clever the way it is, and I understand they wanted you to know what happened after that, but I do think the editing could have been managed better.

La's Orchestra is completely clean and appropriate for all readers.

It is a fairly quick charming read (once you get past the beginning chapters) and worth your time.

Slaghterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

What a depressing book!  I know the title isn't exactly reminiscent of flowers and sunshine, but I was still surprised at the lack of positivity in this book.  Most war stories have touching or honorable moments, but this one is just sad, scary and negative.  (So probably a pretty accurate description of actual war.)  It is well-written and thought-provoking, but certainly not uplifting.  One of the characters uses tons of slang and is rather hard to understand as well.

Billy is a soldier who is very afraid and doesn't want to fight.  He is captured and kept in an old slaughterhouse by the Germans (slaughterhouse five, of course).  It is no longer used but still has animal carcasses hanging in it (a rather gruesome war image).  Because it has a cellar where the guards and prisoners go during bombing raids, they are among the survivors in the city.  I won't tell you the end, so as not to ruin the story, but I will warn you being survivors is probably the happiest thing that happens in the book!

Obviously this book contains violence.  It was particularly unsettling to me, since the violence occurred in places other than the actual war like among prisoners and after the war had ended in a fictional future.

It is worth the time for the experience, but it isn't something to read when you need cheering!

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

I honestly don't know why this book is included on the 100 Best Books List.  It is overly dramatic and sentimental and sooo long.  I was very tired of it and ready for it to be over long before it finished.

An American Tragedy tells the story of Clyde, a young man who has been raised doing missionary work on the streets with his parents.  He gets a job at a hotel and is introduced to alcohol and prostitution.  He gets in trouble with the law because of this and has to leave to another city where he gets a job through family connections.  He continues to make stupid choices and to be motivated mostly by greed and ambition and ends up in jail writing to his heartbroken mother.

This book is mostly clean, although it deals with a lot of mature subjects like prostitution, abortion, and murder, although not in detail.  It probably isn't appropriate for younger readers.

This book isn't worth the large amount of time it takes to read.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

I know this is supposed to be a really great (hence its inclusion on the 100 Best Books list), but I really didn't love it.  Plot is secondary.  There isn't much dialogue or action.  It's largely introspective thoughts and philosophical musings of all the characters.  It also feels unrealistic in the ending when suddenly everything is okay between Mr. Ramsay and his children who have always had a difficult relationship.

It is short and good to read just because of Woolf's influence and ability.  But it is kind of boring, too, so be warned.

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

It's been a while since I've made a post involving one of the Modern Library's books.  I, Claudius is written as an autobiography of the emperor.  In it, he claims to be "telling the truth" as opposed to all other books about the Caesars, which have to appease the royal families and courtiers who surround the emperors.  Claudius writes his autobiography and hides it for future generations to find, so he can avoid input from those around him.  Claudius battles with himself because he believes a monarchy is bad, yet he wants to rule.  He is a good and benevolent king, which he feels is a disservice to his people because it makes them think a monarchy is a good thing.

This is an interesting book, especially if you have any interest in politics.  It can be thought-provoking, although it certainly isn't life-changing.  It isn't one of my favorites, but it is pretty good.  Since it isn't very long, it is worth the time it takes to read.

The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver

This is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel.  Lincoln Rhyme is a quadriplegic forensics expert who works as a consultant for the New York police department.  He partners with Amelia Sachs, who is also his romantic partner.  There are a lot of Rhyme books.  This one is good, but certainly not the best.

It does have an interesting premise.  Rhyme is approached by an attorney who is trying to build a case against some members of a secret government organization who assassinate terrorists.  They made a mistake due to selective intelligence and killed an innocent man, so this lawyer wants to find the evidence to prosecute them for murder.  Of course there are numerous complications and plot twists.  (Deaver is very fond of those.)  But Rhyme always gets his man, and this case is no exception.

This book is clean, although there is talk of torture and some description of knife work that are pretty gruesome.

It is worth the time, but if you're new to the Lincoln Rhyme novels, start with an earlier novel in the series.  They're better!

The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde

Jasper Fforde writes hilarious fantasies.  They are very involved, complicated, and unique.  They are also intelligent and literature-oriented.  This is the latest book in the Thursday Next series.  It isn't my favorite Thursday Next book (That honor would probably go to Lost in a Good Book or The Well of Lost Plots.), but it is very good.

Thursday was a member of SpecOps in Swindon as a literary detective.  In the last book, she was seriously injured.  She has been forced to retire and in this book becomes involved with the Wessex Library Services.  She continues to fight against the Goliath Corporation and it's power-hungry executives.  One of the criminals she caught in the past (Aornis) has escaped and can't be found.  There is a smiting due soon in Swindon, and her daughter Tuesday continues to work on an Anti-Smite Defense Shield.  Her son Friday has lost his purpose, since the ChronoGuard has been disbanded.  The whole family is in transition and struggling.

This is a clean book, although the series does have a repeated joke that involves a questionable word choice (a Goliath executive called Jack Schitt) that continues in this book.  There is also some violence.

This book is a pretty easy read, but it is a bit long.  Fforde is one of very few authors who writes books that can me laugh right out loud, usually I just smile.  This book is definitely worth the time! 

Midnight at Marble Arch by Anne Perry

Anne Perry is one of my very favorite authors.  I always love her books.  She is a great writer and incorporates historical events and facts from the Victorian era with social issues that still feel relevant today.  This is the latest Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery.  It isn't the very best of these, but it is still excellent.

Midnight at Marble Arch continues Pitt's career as the head of Special Branch, although the case they are investigating isn't a typical Special Branch case.  The Portugese ambassador's teenage daughter is distressed and accidentally goes through a second floor window when a young man is taunting her at a social event.  The ambassador asks Pitt for his assistance with it.  Another woman is found dead after a brutal rape.  Victor Narraway, the former head of Special Branch, is asked by her husband to look into it.  Another young girl is assaulted as well.  The crimes don't seem to be connected, and a seemingly innocent man is being tried.  The crimes are taking place at the same time as the Jameson trial and controversy when an Englishman attempted a raid in South Africa and failed.

Due to the nature of the crimes, this book is probably not appropriate for young readers.  There is some detail discussed (although not too terribly graphic) as they try to connect the different crimes to each other and one perpetrator.

This book is definitely worth the time as are all of Perry's books.

Three men in a boat (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome

This book was a bit of a surprise to me, mostly because of my own ignorance.  I didn't realize it had been published before 1900, and most of the time it feels like a more modern book.  Then every now and then there's an old-fashioned comment or somewhat jarring note because my mind wants to think it was more recent.  Like I said, that's my own fault due to preconceived notions and not the result of the book itself.

Three men in a boat is the humorous story of three men (and a dog of course) who decide to take a holiday up and down the Thames.  It has some really funny moments; it also has some poetic descriptions.  It is a very quick easy read as it is a super short book.

It is easily worth the time, but don't expect a life-changing experience.

The Hit by David Baldacci

I really loved Baldacci's early books.  They were so creative in their premises and really felt like something different.  His more recent books just don't have the originality or the pizzazz.  This book is another one that reads just like the ones before.  It is still entertaining, though, just don't expect anything special.

The Hit is another book about Will Robie, the larger-than-life government assassin who seeems indestructible and unbeatable.  In this installment, Robie is sent after a co-worker in the assassin program who has gone rogue and is killing members of the CIA.  It is his biggest challenge as Jessica Reel is also larger-than-life and extremely capable and has received the same training as Robie.  It is complicated by the fact that he knows Reel and begins to wonder about her motivations.  Of course, everything ends well.

For the adventure/action type with no intellectual undertones, this book is decent.  It's an easy read and goes pretty quickly, although I was kind of ready for it to end earlier than it did.

Blind Justice by Anne Perry

I absolutely love Anne Perry and her William and Hester Monk books, like this one, are my favorites.  Blind Justice is mostly about Oliver Rathbone, their good friend who has recently become a judge.  The Monks and Rathbone get involved in a fraud case.  A minister has been embezzling funds that have been entrusted to him for the care of the poor.  Since Perry writes murder mysteries, there is eventually a murder connected to the case.

Perry is a great writer.  Her stories are interesting and suspenseful.  I enjoy reading about the Victorian era and Perry is great at including accurated historical details.  The issues in her books, though, are timeless and applicable to today's readers.

This book is very definitely worth the time as are all of Anne Perry's books.  I highly recommend all of them.

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

I probably shouldn't admit it, but I actually hadn't ever read anything by Kafka before.  I of course knew a bit what to expect, since I've heard of him and know the definition of Kafkaesque.  I was still a little surprised at how dark the story ended, though.  (I won't ruin it by telling you.)  A young travelling salesman who supports his family wakes one morning feeling very strange.  He soon discovers he has turned into a bug.  (I believe he's a cockroach.)  He is amazingly unfazed by this turn of events.  His family gradually loses their hope that he will change back and treat him accordingly.

This is a short easy read and worth the time, but don't read it if you're looking for a pick-me-up!

The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

This is another book in the Isabel Dalhousie series, which I absolutely adore.  Dalhousie's son Charlie is a young toddler now, and her boyfriend continues to live with the two of them.  Isabel is once again asked to help someone in a tricky situation, although this time the person asking for help (Minty from an earlier book.) appears to have an ulterior motive.  Isabel continues to face moral conundrums. 

I love the intelligent humor in the Dalhousie books, and this one continues that tradition.  Where else can you read about funambulism and escapeology?

McCall Smith is a clean writer, which I always appreciate, in spite of the fact that Isabel and Michael are "living in sin" as Grace the housekeeper says.

This book is definitely worth the time.  McCall Smith always delivers an enjoyable read!

Waterland by Graham Swift

This book is narrated by a history teacher who seems to be explaining the stories of his family history to his class before his forced retirement.  The family has a great deal of drama and intrigue in its past and it continues to do so in the present time of the book.  They live in the reclaimed lands of the fenlands, hence the title.  Swift is a good writer and draws you in, although sometimes this book seemed a bit long to me, especially the bits of the book that are stream of consciousness type writing rather than a straight narrative.  (There is a particularly long passage about the mating habits of European eels that is also quite dull.)

The story openly discusses sex and sexual situations, including a rather graphic description of an abortion.

I read this because it was on one of my lists, otherwise I don't think I would bother.  It isn't worth the fairly large amount of time it takes.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

This is a novel about Discworld, a fictional world Pratchett created and writes about in all his books.  I haven't read any of his books before, so it was all new to me!  Small Gods is about a young novice in the temple of Om who believes in the god with all his heart.  As the only true believer in the god, Brutha the novice has a personal encounter with Om.  This book tells about their experiences together.

I enjoyed this book.  I found it interesting to read about a whole new world, even if I felt a little lost, since I hadn't read any of the previous books.  Brutha is a sympathetic character who you'll cheer for as the book goes on.  Pratchett is a good writer and his characters seem real in their unreal world.

This book is appropriate, although it has references to a great deal of torture in the name of religion.

It is worth the time it takes to read this book.

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

Anne continues to grow up in this book.  Anne of the Island tells the story of Anne's college years in Redmond when she leaves the island to earn her degree.  I liked this one because Anne's romantic life is resolved at the end of the book, and we've been waiting for many books to know what happens to her.

This book is completely clean and uplifting.

It is worth the time, but only if you're invested in the story.  Anne of Green Gables is still by far much better.

The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson

Wilson has many books that appear on the Big Read and this is another one.  It is a preteen book and reads very quickly and easily.  It tells the story of Tracy Beaker (surprise!), who has been in and out of foster care all her life.  Tracy is a sympathetic lovable girl with definite behavior problems stemming from her experiences.  The entire story is told from her point of view and is even supposed to have been written by her.

The issues in this book are a bit grown up (foster care, death of parents, etc), but it is age appropriate otherwise.

It is so short that it is certainly worth the time.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

So with my American-centric view of the world, I was expecting a novel about the American Civil War when I started this book.  I was quickly surprised to learn the title refers to the north and south regions of England.  (As Dr. Who says, "Every planet has a north," eh?)  It is a period novel, so the reading isn't easy if you're only used to contemporary writing.

Margaret Hale moves to northern England with her family after her parson father has a crisis of conscience and can no longer be a preacher.  They come to Milton, an industrial town based on the manufacture of cotton.  Margaret quickly sympathizes with the workers and their plight and in consequence she has frequent clashes with John Thornton, a newly rich factory owner.  Hale idealizes the agrarian south that she misses so much.  The workers strike and the situation in Milton deteriorates.  The political situation is never resolved in this book, although Thornton does make changes and works with one of the strike's instigators.  The personal situation is resolved in a satisfactory manner.

This book is completely clean.  There is some violence during the strike but it isn't particularly descriptive. 

As a side note, there is a BBC miniseries of this book that was shown in 2004 and is available on Netflix that is absolutely fabulous.  Its focus is entirely on the romance, though, and less on the other aspects of the book.  (The book is more balanced.)  It is still really great, especially if you're looking for a good, sweeping romance to watch!

North and South takes quite a bit of time.  It is long and somewhat challenging reading, but it is worth it.

Trader by Charles de Lint

I tend to always have the same problem with de Lint's book.  I enjoy the set-up and most of the story.  Then at the end there is usually something too fantastic for me that I wish wasn't there that almost ruins the book for me.  De Lint is an excellent writer, though, so I don't hate them.  I just wish they had different endings!

Trader is the story of Max Trader who wakes up one morning in the body of Johnny Devlin, a low-life loser who was wishing he could be someone else.  Trader finds himself evicted with no job and no money starting all over with a mind full of confusion and emotional upheaval, especially depression, impatience, and a bad temper that have all been "left behind" by Devlin.  He wants his old life back but doesn't no how to get it.

This book is very clean and appropriate.  Someone does die a violent death in it.

Trader is worth the time in spite of its wacky unbelievable ending sequence.  (I know, the whole concept is unbelievable; it is a fantasy book after all.  But it feels believable until the spirit world gets involved.)

Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

In some ways this book is actually better than the original.  We know and love the characters already, so Fielding jumps right into the story.  Bridget Jones still smokes and drinks too much.  She is still obsessive about her weight and counting calories (and is heavier in this book also, although still not as chunky as she's portrayed in the second movie!).  Bridget continues to get into outlandish scrapes and to deal with them in lovable style.

This book has frank talk of sex and use of bad language, although there is much less usage of the f-word in this sequel.

This is an entertaining easy read and while it isn't at the top of my list, it is worth the time if you're looking for some light fluffy reading (brain candy).

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Conrad is a dark author, and this book is no exception.

It is told from the point of view of Marlow, an Englishman who is telling about an experience he had in Africa.  He was hired to be a steamboat captain on the Congo.  When he arrives, his steamboat requires repairs.  He needs to get it fixed to go check on Kurtz, a legendary stationmaster in the area.  I won't tell you what happens when they go to the station because I don't want to spoil the story, but it is unpleasant.

The story has some violence and Kurtz even recommends "exterminate all the brutes" when speaking of the native people. 

It is a good book and worth the time but a little slow and artistic.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This is another great book from the youth department, even for adults.  It isn't really anything like the movie and is much better.  I understand more now why so many people were disappointed with the movie after reading the book.

Ella Enchanted tells the story of a young girl who is "blessed" with the gift of obedience at her birth by a careless fairy.  Whenever she is given an order, she is forced to obey it.  She of course hates the gift and as she grows older she is constantly trying to figure out how to have it taken away.  It has the usual elements of the Cinderella story--wicked stepmother and stepsisters, a charming prince, and even a lost glass slipper, but it is much more as well.

This book is squeaky clean, although it does have wicked ogres who talk pretty violently.  Fortunately, there is always someone to thwart their evil designs.

It is an easy read that reads quickly.  It is a bit longer than some kids' books.  It is definitely and easily worth the time to read.

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

This book isn't nearly as good as Anne of Green Gables.  It was nice to read more of Anne's story, though.  Anne has graduated from her teacher training and has been assigned to be the teacher at the Avonlea school.   She teaches there for two years in this book.  She and Marilla end up with two orphans to take care of at Green Gables.  She makes new friends, and we hear about some of her old ones.  As usual, Anne gets into a few funny situations.

The Anne books are wonderfully appropriate for all ages and don't have anything questionable.

If you enjoyed the first book and want to know what happens next, this book is worth the time (although you'll still want to know what happens next after you've finished).  Standing alone, though, it isn't worth it.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

This is one of the "beat" novels, written for those who feel out of step with society or the world.  Those kind of novels aren't usually favorites of mine; maybe I'm too much of a conformist in spite of my desire to be a unique individual!

This book tells the story of Sal and his fun-loving friend Dean.  It largely deals with three big road trips that Sal takes.  It's interesting in that it seems to promote an alternative way to live without the domestic pressures and rewards but the people who live that way seem to be constantly struggling with their choices and changing their minds.  They don't seem very happy with the way of life they choose, even though they are always saying how much better it is.

This isn't a favorite of mine.  It is well-written and worth the time to experience the type, but it isn't an uplifting story and doesn't draw you in.  If you're looking to be intellectually challenged, read it.  If you want to be entertained, choose something else.

In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

This is billed as a short story collection, but I think it is more like a series of vignettes.  It is interesting how they make a cohesive whole as they are mostly disjointed.  There are characters who reappear, and it is interesting to see them again.  The brief descriptions at the beginning of each chapter are my least favorite.

There is some violence in this book, particularly gory descriptions of bull fights at the beginning of many of the chapters.  That isn't my style and isn't something I would want my boys to read.

I like Hemingway's concise writing and short declarative style, which is very ably demonstrated in this collection.  It is a very short easy read that can be squeezed in here and there, which is handy.  It is easily worth the time.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

I watched this movie (the edited version) some years ago and thought I should read the book, but I never got around to it until I had it on the Big Read.  Unusually I prefer the movie to the book.  All of the really funny stuff in the book is also in the movie, and some of the great stuff from the movie (the fight between Daniel and Mark, the line "I like you just the way you are") aren't in the book at all!  One very surprising thing to me--Bridget Jones is not fat!  She is obsessed with her weight and diets constantly and yo-yos up and down between 117 and 133 spending most of her time around 125, but unless she's extremely short, she is only the tiniest bit chubby at the peak and isn't usually heavy at all.

This book tells the story of Bridget Jones, a 30-something single living in London.  She is somewhat neurotic and scatterbrained and also very lovable.  She has a good set of friends, a quirky family, and a traumatic love life.  Fielding has a fun style and the whole story is very amusing.

Bridget Jones contains a lot of language, particularly the use of the f-word.  I know that's more common in Great Britain, but my puritanic American soul finds it somewhat shocking.  There is also a lot of frank discussion about sex.

It is an easy read and worth the time, although I would recommend spending the time watching the movie (the edited version) instead.  It is better.

Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson

This may seem like a strange book to be reviewing as it is written for young readers (about 10 I'd say), but it is on the Big Read, so that is why it is appearing in this blog.  It is obviously a quick easy read.  I zipped through it in one evening.

It tells the story of Mandy White, a young girl who is being teased and picked on at school by a group of three girls, one of whom used to be her best friend.  She is small for her age, shy, and has older parents, so she is a somewhat easy target.  An older foster girl moves in across the street and becomes her best ever friend and helps her learn to be braver and assert herself more.  In the end of the story, she has a new friend and a new teacher has fixed the bullying problem.

Some of the subject matter is a little mature, like a brief discussion of a mother committing suicide, so it may be a bit much for a particularly young reader or someone who is very sensitive.

I did find this book interesting and entertaining in spite of its being written for a younger audience.  It is well done and the characters are sympathetic.  As a parent, I'm not crazy over one aspect of the end, which is that the main bully no longer has any friends and has been isolated even in the classroom.  I'm sure that would feel like justice to many kids who read the book, but it isn't a solution I'm comfortable with, since she obviously needs friends, too! 

This book is easily worth the time and is a great book for younger readers as well.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This book isn't actually as dull as the title might suggest.  It tells the story of the Buendia family through many generations from the patriarch of the clan who sets off on his own and founds a new village, Macondo, to Aureliano Buendia, who perishes along with the town in a tropical hurricane.  The members of the family tend to be solitary in their personalities and even those who try to connect to others seem to end up on their own.  The characters are often bizarre, the story is outrageous in many aspects, and the behavioral choices of the main characters are baffling.  It reminds me of mythology in that it feels possible and somehow believable in spite of the complete implausibility of it all.  It is actually a very entertaining read.

It has the occasional swear word, although not often. It isn't descriptively immoral, although there are inappropriate situations (a relationship between aunt and nephew, for example) and other subjects that may not be good for younger readers (like a mass murder).

This book took me ages to finish, but that's at least partly because it's summer, and I don't have the time or the inclination to read as much.  It is a long read, though, so be prepared to devote a large amount of time to it.  It is worth it in the end!

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

I made the choice not to read this book, but since it on the Modern Library's list of 100 best books I wanted to include something about it on this blog.  I couldn't find it at my local library, so I looked it up online to see where I could get it.

After seeing some of the information available about it, I decided it wasn't a book I wanted to read.  It was widely considered to be pornographic when it was first published, which I never consider to be a good sign.  The narrative device is a man speaking to his counselor because then the author can say anything with the idea that coarse language and shameful secrets fit in that situation.  (Roth has specifically said that some of his choices would just be "obscene" in any other context, but for me the context doesn't change obscenity into acceptable language.  There was specific mention of detailed descriptions of masturbation including using a piece of liver.)  It is definitely not my scene, so I made the choice to skip this book on my journey through the lists of best books.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

This is a wonderful book.  I don't know how I missed reading it when I was young, but it is still great even when you are older!  It is on the Big Read, which is how I came to be reading it for this review.

It tells the story of Anne (with an e) who is an 11-year-old orphan in Nova Scotia.  She is mistakenly taken to a family who wanted to adopt a boy.  She quickly wins the hearts of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla who take her into their home.  The book tells the story of this imaginative girl and how she grows up to be a woman in their home of Green Gables.

It is a very simple story, but Anne's personality and misadventures are very winning.  The writing is great and will grab your attention.  It is wonderfully clean and appropriate for all ages.  It is definitely worth your time!

The March by E.L. Doctorow

This book tells the story of Sherman's march through the South at the end of the American Civil War.  It is mostly told from the point of view of a few fictional characters, although Sherman himself also features in the story a lot.  We hear a lot from Pearl, a freed slave who is very white like her slave-owner father and Wrede Sartorious, a brilliant army surgeon who seems emotionless in his treatment of the wounded.  We follow the actual marchers and don't hear about the individual cities and the people in them, which is a different point of view for me and one I found interesting.

There is some description of violence (like a man who has a spike blown through his head and continues to live while losing his memory), which isn't as extreme as it could be in a war novel.

I really loved this book.  It is well-written and grabs your attention right away.  The characters are believable and catch your interest.  It is sad that we only hear about the characters while they are part of the march.  Once they quit travelling with Sherman's army, we no longer hear their stories or what happens to them.  It is an interesting narrative tool to restrict the story that way.  It is definitely worth the time.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This book is described as one of the greatest suspenseful romances.  I found it mostly not suspenseful and definitely not romantic!  That said, it is still a good book and gets interesting after you get past the first half, which drags interminably.  I thought the real story would never start!

The story starts in the future and comes back to a young lady who is very unsure of herself.  She meets a wealthy older man and marries him.  They travel to his family estate where everything is still run as his first wife, Rebecca, dictated.  The second wife quickly feels extremely inferior to the mysterious Rebecca.  Maxim, the husband, is very secretive and extremely sensitive.  (At the end of the story, you get the impression that this may have changed, but from the initial glimpse of the future we know he is still very sensitive.)  No one speaks of Rebecca much, except the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who loved her to distraction.  Everything winds up in a dramatic finish.

The second wife is a little annoying.  She repeatedly excuses her timidity and reactions to being young and inexperienced, which is reasonable but this reader would still like her to have more of a backbone.  Maxim isn't much of a romantic figure to my way of thinking because he is sooo sensitive.  Even after everything has happened, he still turns white and goes into a downward spiral when his wife reads him a passage that reminds him of his family home!  We learn he has a good reason for his morbid sensitivity, but that doesn't change the fact that you have to read about it for the entire book!  Mrs. Danvers is by far the best character.  She is fantastically creepy while being imminently efficient.  Rebecca also feels like a very real character who plays largely in the story, even though she is dead before it begins.

This book is worth the time, if only because of its huge popularily!  Be prepared for a very slow start.

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

This is a novel about a platoon in the south Pacific during World War II.  It is definitely a war novel.  There are a lot of battle scenes depicted and explanations of military protocol as well.  Because it was published during 1948, though, the swearing has been replaced with the alternate word "fug," which I actually prefer.  There are some personal story lines as well, and we learn a bit about the Sergeant and Lieutenant Hearn.  It is sad, not just because war is terrible, but because the men don't seem to care that it is and there is almost no mourning or mercy or even sensitivity shown in the platoon.  It seemed very real to me.

It is an easy read and worth the time, although be prepared to get a realistic, not very positive view of the war.

The Secret Desires of a Soccer Mom by Robyn Harding

I was expecting a murder mystery when I started this book, but in spite of the mysterious murder, it is really straight-up chick lit.  Paige is a 38-year-old mother of two who goes into a crisis when her good friend Karen confides she is having an affair.  Paige becomes somewhat obsessed with the secret and its implications (including areas of her own life that seem to relate--her relationship with her husband, her too-small breasts, etc), and it only gets worse when Karen ends up murdered.  Paige does solve the murder, but it isn't a traditional whodunit and deals much more with the personal issues and relationships in the suburban neighborhood rather than clues to the suspicous death.

It started a little slow for me, but I eventually found myself very involved in the story and really wanting to finish.  There are a few questionable word choices and many references to sex, so it isn't a "clean" read, but it is free from sexual scenes and most swearing.  It is easy and reads quickly.  It is worth the time.

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

I didn't love this book and struggled to get through it.  It is very symbolic with a lot of detail.  The book has 12 chapters and is only one day long!  Each chapter is from a different character's point of view, which makes it feel a bit confusing and disjointed.  The book tells the story of a consul in a Mexican city whose wife left him one year before.  She returns at the beginning of the story to start the events of the day.  At the end, (Spoiler Alert!) the consul dies.  (You're safe again!)  I really didn't love it, and it takes some time.  It isn't worth it.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This is an absolutely wonderful book.  Steinbeck makes you really see the dust bowl and the people who live there and leave seeking a new life.  The reader also becomes completely involved with the Joads, one of the families who leaves Oklahoma to go to California.  The Joads seem very real and you really start to care about them and what happens to them.  My favorite part of this novel is how real it all seems.  Steinbeck does a fantastic job of describing things and is very faithful to his style of realism.

It is definitely worth the time!

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

I am not really super fond of Hardy, but this book is entertaining.  It does have the occasional appallingly bad piece of prose that is usual for Hardy, but it also has some words that are wonderfully inevitable as is also common for him.  The plot line is very structured and fairly obvious, but it wouldn't be right for it go any other way.  The main female character is rather pointless and not very well-developed.  And I will never understand the appeal of the "bad boy" character!  The male characters are all developed much better and greatly add to the story.  There are some very nice descriptions of nature and the world around us.  It is worth the time, but I wouldn't put it at the very top of my list!

Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

I am just not a Lawrence fan.  I don't particularly enjoy his style, and I'm never fond of his subject choices and his treatment of them.  So, don't expect a very positive review.  If you do like Lawrence, my thoughts are probably not helpful for you.

Sons and Lovers tells the story of a refined young lady who meets and falls in love with a miner.  They marry, and she joins the lower classes where she doesn't fit in and has nothing to do.  The two drift apart, and she puts all her love and attention on her oldest son.  (It's actually a strange relationship where the son takes the place of the father.)  The oldest son tries to leave her and ends up dying.  Then she places all her affection on the second son.  He also develops a strange relationship with his mother and seems unable to leave her, in spite of trying to have relationships with other women.  Then the mother dies, and he is cast adrift.

It is realistic in that I know plenty of mothers who let their children become their whole lives and are lost without them, but the undercurrent of incest (which is never outright stated, thank goodness) seems unrealistic and made me very uncomfortable.  Lawrence is also a somewhat challenging writer, and it is a long book, so it takes a lot of time to read.  It isn't worth it!

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

This book seems to be about Russia during the Stalinist purge, although Russia isn't named, and the dictator is always referred to as No. 1.  It tells the story of Rubashov, a somewhat older man who has been imprisoned by the same regime he used to be a part of.  He has a couple of fellow prisoners and two interrogators who are also characters in the story.

It is sad obviously, since it takes place in a political prison.  It is also sad as he is being held by his former comrades.  It is also interesting and a fairly easy read.  It is worth the time.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Obviously this is a well-known book, since the phrase "catch 22" has entered the English language.  I didn't know anything about the story, though, before I started the book.  When I started reading it, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through.  It has a lot of stream of consciousness writing.  It isn't chronological and has some made up words and phrases that were initially very confusing.  After a while, though, I got very involved in the story and didn't want to put the book down.  I would say this is one of the best books I've read.

It tells the story of Captain Yossarian.  He is a bombardier stationed with his squadron on an island in the Mediterranean Sea.  All the members of the squadron are trying to stay sane long enough to go home.  (And finding it challenging!)  The catch-22 of the title refers to the bureaucratic nonsense the military puts its men through.

This is a fairly short book although it is challenging due to its narrative style.  It is definitely worth the time.  Yossarian lives!

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Faulkner can be a challenging author to read, as he shuns the traditional narrative style and loves to write in "stream of consciousness" style.  I do prefer this book to some of his others.  The book is divided in four parts.  The first part is the most challenging as it jumps around chronologically and isn't a straight narrative.  It is all right, though, because it is being told from the point of view of a mentally challenged character and it feels believable that he wouldn't be completely clear and coherent.  The stream of consciousness style, which I don't usually like, seems to give a better understanding of Benjy's world and mental processes.  There are three more parts to the story that flesh out the story of the Compson family.  The connecting thread between all these parts is Caddy, the older sister.  All of the narrators are very focused on her and her life and her choices, although we never hear from Caddy herself.

This book can be a challenging read, but it is worth the time.  If you want to read Faulkner, this is the book I would recommend.

In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin

I listened to this as an audio book.  (I like to do that while I exercise.)  It took soooo long!  It was nice because a lot of the writing is quite poetic, so it's good to hear it aloud, but it is a big time commitment to listen to it rather than reading it.  It also has a few unexpected uses of the f-word (which feel strange because they don't fit the general style of the book) and I prefer to read those by skipping over them or replacing them in my mind, and you can't do that when you're listening to the book! 

This is mostly a love story between Harry and Catherine.  It is set in the 1940's.  It also has other story lines.  Harry has been home from the war for a year and he remembers quite a few war experiences.  Catherine is an aspiring Broadway actress and a wealthy socialite.  Harry's family business is in danger of failing due to the mafia extorting large sums of protection money.  Due to these story lines, sometimes the books reads a little like an army story or an action story.  Helprin doesn't write in that style, though, and the action sequences are interrupted by poetic thoughts or flashes to other places, so they never flow enought to really fit the action/adventure genre.  I found Harry's memories of the war particularly entertaining.

It is worth the time, although it takes lots and lots of time, especially if you listen to it rather than reading it yourself!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book is about Jay Gatsby, a mysterious young millionaire who lives on Long Island and seems to be in love with his married neighbor Daisy.  I find this hard to understand, as I find Daisy kind of annoying.  Gatsby makes a big sacrifice for her, so the story is kind of sad.  Forbidden love and sad endings are not my usual favorites, but I still enjoyed this book.  Of course Fitzgerald is  great writer which always helps.

It is a quick easy read, especially for a literary great.  It is easily worth the time.

Jazz by Toni Morrison

This is a very strange book.  Morrison tends to write odd stories, but this one is particularly disjointed.  It is like the music it is named after--a great deal of improvisation around a theme and sometimes it is only the tiniest bit related to the central theme.  The story starts with Joe, a 50-year-old man who shoots and kills his young lover.  His wife, Violet, tries to cut up the young woman's face at her funeral.  The story swirls around the two of them and their lives.  I didn't love it; I would prefer more of a straight narrative style.  And the story never really seems to go anywhere.

It's a pretty short easy read but not worth the time.

The Door into Summer by Robert Heinlein

Heinlein is always a very creative science fiction writer.  This book includes cryogenics and time travel.  It tells the story of Dan Davis, an electronics engineer who invents household robot help.  His partner and fiance conspire to betray him and steal his technology and place him into the "long sleep" for thirty years.  Thirty years later Davis wakes to a new world that he loves, but he soon feels it is important to go back to the past to change things for him and his former partners and discovers someone who can do so.  It ends with everything happy and those who deserve punishment being punished. 

It is a quick easy read.  It is also fast-paced enough to keep your attention in spite of not being particularly deep.  The title is clever, though, as it is explained early on and resonates with our experiences.

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

This is an expansion of Austen's novel Lady Susan, so for this review to make sense you need to know something about that novel as well.  A lot of my reactions come from the differences between the characters in the two novles.  Lady Susan is Austen's earliest effort at writing but wasn't published until after her death.  It is a novel completely composed of letters.  In it, Lady Susan Vernon is a manipulative flirt who is determined to get herself and her daughter married well.  Marrying well is a legitimate endeavor in Austen's time and novels, but Lady Susan does go about it in an unpleasant manner.  In the original book Lady Susan's letters show her to be an heartless coquette who doesn't care for her daughter or seemingly anyone else. 

In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, Lady Susan is a very admirable character.  Her reputation as a flirt is undeserved.  She has a good relationship with her daughter, who is also a much better character in this version.  In Lady Susan the daughter Frederica is uneducated and not socially adept.  In this expansion, she prefers nature because of a scholarly bent and is socially timid and inexperienced while still being polite and pleasant.  I prefer Lady Vernon and Her Daughter as far as liking the characters.  The authors try to stay true to Austen, the book contains a great many letters.  Some of the lines and dialogue in Lady Vernon are taken straight from Austen.  It isn't of course as good as Austen (because nothing is!)  The letters interfere with the flow of the narrative somewhat.  Becuase the authors have changed Lady Susan's character, it raises some questions about the story.  I kept wondering why Lady Vernon and her daughter did nothing to correct the misconceptions of those around them.  It is also odd that Lady Vernon would be close friends with Mrs. Johnson, the Manwarings, etc, when she is too good for them in this version.

It was an unusual story as they changed so much from Austen's original character.  It was nice, though, to get a more positive story that felt more like Austen's usual style.  Lady Susan didn't fit Austen's usual heroines.   It's also always fun to get more about Austen's world and characters and these authors do a good job of it.  It is a fairly long book for what it actually contains, but it is worth the time if you're a fairly fast reader.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This is a very hard book to read, not because of its reading level, but due to its content.  Lolita tells the story of Humbert Humbert and is told from his perspective.  Humbert is a pedophile and becomes obsessed with a 13-year-old girl.  This book tells of his seduction of her after she is his stepdaughter, when she is 15.  Can you see why it is hard to read?  The book surprised me because in popular idiom, a "Lolita" is a sexually precocious girl, so that's what I was expecting.  Although Humbert Humbert believes this of his stepdaughter and therefore portrays her that way in the story, she is only fifteen and he is middle-aged, so it certainly doesn't ring true.  Obviously Humbert Humbert has a warped view of the world.  He tries hard to engage the sympathy of the reader, but I can't imagine that happens very often.

It is an interesting book just because it is so different.  It is fairly short and reads easily.  I found it challenging, probably partly because I'm a mother!

The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the latest book in the 44 Scotland Street series.  The title is a bit misleading as Bertie does not turn seven and is actually still six at the end of the book, as he has been for almost the entire series.  It is fun to catch up with the characters and see the changes they are making in their lives.  Sadly, Bruce's changes seemed to be temporary, and he is apparently back to being his old obnoxious, narcissistic self.  Things are looking up for Bertie as his father helps him join cub scouts and find at least a small escape from his overbearing mother.

McCall Smith always writes very well with clever, intelligent characters.  He makes Edinburgh feel wonderful and real.  It is a quick read as it has short chapters that go really quickly.  It is easily worth the time.

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

What a marvelous book!  I really loved it.  It is the story of Jean Paget told from the point of view of her trustee.  Miss Paget is working in Malaya during the second world war and is taken prisoner by the Japanese.  The women and children she is with are not put into a prison camp but are instead marched all over the country, dying on the way.  She survives the war and then receives an inheritance from an uncle.  She heads to the Australian outback where she helps build a "town like Alice" Springs.  It is interesting to read descriptions of Malaya and the Australian outback and the way life is lived there.  It is an intriguing story that is very different from my daily life but still feels completely believable.  It is definitely worth the time.

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

This book tells the story of four generations of the Pontifex family.  It particularly focuses on Ernest, a young man of the latest generation.  He struggles with questions about his faith.  He assaults a young woman and serves a term in jail.  He becomes a tailor and marries a woman who ends up being an alcoholic who is already married.  Clearly his life isn't wonderful, and it makes for a rather depressing story.  He does reach an age where he gets a financial legacy from an aunt that improves things, so it's nice that it isn't all bad. 

I didn't love it.  It's fairly interesting and well-written but it's also sad and quite unpleasant.  It isn't too long, though, so it is still worth the time. 

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith

This is another installment in the 44 Scotland Street series.  These books were originally written and published in The Scotsman as serial novels.  This makes them very fast-paced and easy to read with short chapters and many characters with fast-paced storytelling.  One of the things I enjoy about these novels is that McCall Smith narrates from all different perspectives.  It is fun to see how successfully he can change from view to view, a precocious child to a scholarly woman to a committed bachelor to a dog!  This particular book has Bertie continuing to struggle with his overbearing mother, although his father does help him join cub scouts.  Matthew marries and goes on his honeymoon.  And Bruce undergoes a great change that bodes well for his likeability.

This is an easy, entertaining read that is definitely worth the time.  Because of its structure, the book seems to fly by.

Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson

This book tells the story of a young man who is banished from his family by mutual consent and sent to be the laird of a nearby family property.  He falls in love with a young lady there.  The story is confusing as two characters have the same name, and Stevenson didn't finish it, so it cuts off at an inopportune moment.

It reads fairly easily, so it's worth the time if you're a fan of Stevenson.  If not, you may not like to read it, since he never finished it.

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

I know this book is widely hailed as a masterpiece and is, of course, on many best books lists.  But I couldn't make it through!  I started it.  It is very "literary" and has many disjointed vignettes and stream-of-consciousness type passages.  Pynchon shuns the traditional narrative form.  It is also very long, and I wasn't enjoying it at all, so I quit!  It was also not awarded a pulitzer because of a scene of someone receiving sexual pleasure from feces (I never got to that part.), which I find quite gross and didn't want to read.  I guess I'm not a very "literary" person.  It definitely isn't worth the time.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

This is a great book, particularly for younger readers.  I first read it as a kid and read it much more that time.  I had my son read it as well (he's 13), and he quite liked it, in spite of the fact that he mostly loves fantasy and doesn't usually read a lot of adventure.  Treasure Island tells the story of Jim Hawkins, almost completely from his point of view.  Jim helps take care of an old pirate at a boarding house his mother runs.  When the pirate is dying, he gives Jim a treasure map.  Jim decides to find the treasure and adventure ensues, including meeting Long John Silver, the very famous one-legged pirate with a parrot who is one of the few characters in children's literature who fits in the moral "gray" area.

It's a quick easy read that is fun and adventure-filled.  It's worth the time.

Evening by Susan Minot

This book made me think of As I Lay Dying.  Obviously Minot isn't another Faulkner, but the story line has definite similarities.  Evening tells the story of Ann Lord, who is bedridden and dying.  It tells some of the things that are happening with her family while she is there (like Faulkner's story), but it the most linear and coherent story line is her memory of the great love of her life, Harris Arden.  Even though she only knew him briefly, at the end of her life that was where her focus went.  It is well written and mostly interesting.  It does have paragraphs/small sections of rambling that doesn't mean much if anything.  I don't enjoy that sort of thing and prefer a narrative style, but they are short enough and infrequent enough to be tolerable.

Ann's reminisces include some sexual activity with Arden, so it isn't a squeaky clean book, which I prefer.  It is also quite sad as Arden is engaged before he meets Ann and stays with his pregnant fiance, even though Ann at least seems to feel a very important connection. 

It is a fairly quick read and well written but not wonderful.

Looking Backwards by Edward Bellamy

This book is more a political statement than a story.  It tells of Julian West, who is put into a hypnotic sleep and due to a series of circumstances doesn't wake for 113 years until the year 2000.  He is still in Boston, but it is now a socialist utopian society.  A large part of the book consists of Julian West asking his guide, a local doctor, questions about the society and how it runs and the doctor answers these questions.  It's almost like a really long, fictional lecture about Bellamy's views.  There are some interesting parts, as Bellamy makes some fairly accurate predictions about consumerism and technology, but he is much more concerned with societal changes.  I suppose I am just too steeped in American capitalism and its ideas because this utopian society seemed unrealistic and impossible to me!  It isn't a book I would choose to read.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

I first read this book as a teenager and didn't really love it.  I read it again since it was on the list and still didn't love it.  It's an interesting subject and story but isn't very well written and is very preachy.  It is a quick read for how long it is, so that's nice.  I would say it isn't really worth the time unless you're interested in the subject for some reason:  the historical time period, slavery, abolition, etc.

Germinal by Emil Zola

This book surprised me.  I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not such an involved story of mining in the 1860's.  It seemed extremely realistic and made me wonder if it really was.  It made me curious as to how accurate the depiction of the mining process was.  It definitely seemed real, and the writing is good enough to get a person very involved in the story and the lives of his characters as they suffer so much the miners choose to strike.  Étienne Lantier arrives in a mining town and finds a job in the mines.  He gets involved with the people in the city, particularly those on his mining team, including a young woman he falls in love with.  There is a dangerous anarchist involved in the strike.  He blows the mine when some of the miners go back to work and traps them in the mine.  The story has a sad end, too, made more sad by the fact that the reader is very involved with the characters by the end of the book.

The story has many social implications.  It also deals a little with genetic predispositions in our current behavior and choices.  It is a rather long book and takes some time to read, but it is worth the time.

Erewhon by Samuel Butler

I didn't particularly like this book and even found it very boring at times.  The main character visits the country of  Erewhon, which is supposed to be "nowhere" backwards.  At first it seems like a utopian society, but it is quickly clear that it has some serious problems.  I don't enjoy utopian-type books or satires about society in general, so this wasn't a favorite of mine.  Occasionally it reminded me of Swift's Gulliver's Travels.  It read fairly quickly, so that was a plus, but I would still say it isn't worth the time.

Love Over Scotland & The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith

I finished Love Over Scotland and didn't want the story to end, so I immediately started The World According to Bertie.  These are books three and four in the 44 Scotland Street series.  It was fun to read about the characters we have come to know and love and see how they are doing.  Bertie continues to be my favorite story line.  He is a 6-year-old with a demanding mother who pushes him too hard and won't let him be a little boy.  It was also fun to read about Domenica's experiences with the pirates she left to study at the end of the second book.  In The World According to Bertie, I liked the character of Pat less.  I'm hoping I will like her again as she makes better choices in the next books.  I'm also looking forward to things improving for Bertie.

Alexander McCall Smith's books are always enjoyable.  He writes a clever story.  These two books are entertaining and are also quick easy reads.  They're definitely worth the time.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

I checked this book out from the library because it is on the British Big Read list of 200 best books.  I didn't know anything about it, so I read the front flap and the comments on the back cover before starting to read.  These areas included the comments:  "stirringly erotic" and "the most erotic."  I don't believe in reading books that fit those categories, so I decided not to read this book.  I wanted to include a review, though, since it is on the list and maybe somebody else also believes in not reading books of that type.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

This is a different book for Charles Dickens.  There are similarities to Dickens' other books, like the lack of personality of the female character.  But the style is different and it breaks the mold more than any of Dickens' other books.  It is also shorter, which makes it an easier read than the usual tale by Dickens.

This book largely tells the story of the dissolute Sydney Carton during the French revolution.  His story also involves Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat, and Lucie Mannette whose father is a doctor involved in the revolution.  The combination of characters causes some interesting conflicts and culminates in a dangerous situation for Darnay and a sacrifice by Carton.

I love this book, not as a great example of Dickens (which it really isn't), but a great book in its own right.  I have read it many times because I enjoy it so much.  It is also a much easier read than the usual Dickens' book and goes pretty quickly.  It is definitely worth the time.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

This book surprised me.  I have read a few books by Edith Wharton, and they were all set among New York high society.  This book is set in rural New England and deals with very poor people, which was a big change.  The narrative set-up of the story felt very awkward to me.  The narrator is a visitor to the town who meets the older Ethan Frome and tells the story that happened many years earlier as he learned it.  It doesn't feel like a realistic device as it is never clear how he could possibly have learned the story he tells.  The story is about Ethan Frome, who married a "sickly" woman who is tyrannical in her bad humor and her sickness.  She has a distant cousin who has come to help take care of her, who is a charming, happy young girl.  Ethan falls in love with her, and she with him.  (This reads strangely, since Frome wonders and worries about whether she feels the same about him in one chapter, and then in the next it seems their relationship is a foregone conclusion.)  The wife seems to suspect them, but regardless of what she knows, she makes it so the cousin has to leave.  Ethan wants to leave with her but doesn't feel he can.  On their way to the train station, they detour to take a ride on a sled.  The girl suggests they kill themselves by crashing into a tree on the sled, which they try.  Instead they are horribly crippled.  In the end of the story, they all three still live together in the same house, and the wife and young girl are both querulous invalids, although the wife improved after the accident.  

Obviously, it is a very depressing story!  Wharton loves to write about forbidden love, which she usually does in an interesting way, even if it isn't my favorite topic.  I felt like she wasn't as aware of her characters and their lives as she usually is in her society settings.  And I really didn't like the conclusion.  It's really short, though, and an easy read, so it is probably still worth the short amount of time it takes just for its classic aspects.

McTeague by Frank Norris

I didn't like this book.  I found it interesting at the beginning but then it got long and kind of boring.  And then it ended in a very unpleasant manner!  It tells the story a small-town dentist who is happy with his simple life.  He marries a miserly wife and they struggle financially.  Everything just goes downhill.  McTeague ends up beating his wife to death.  At the end of the book, McTeague is handcuffed to the dead body of the man who was a rival for his wife's affections.  He is in the middle of the desert without any water and no way to escape.

It took me a very long time to read, partly because for a large part of it, I didn't want to read it.  It is a sad story as McTeague degenerates from the dull-witted but simple man he was into a criminal.  This book isn't worth the large amount of time it takes to read it.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Dickens is always lengthy and wordy, so it takes a pretty big time commitment to get through one of his novels.  Great Expectations isn't my favorite but it is good.  I don't like the heroine in the story, which is probably why it isn't my favorite.  If you don't dislike Estella, this could easily be one of your favorite Dickens books.  The hero, Pip, has some really whiny moments when it's hard to like or even understand him.  I'm sure some of that is his reactions belong in a different time and society situation that we don't understand in this day and age.  As usual for Dickens, there are many fabulous side characters including the marvelously memorable Miss Haversham.

It is an enjoyable read and is very well written but be prepared to spend a lot of time because it takes a long time to get through it.

Lay Down My Sword and Shield by James Lee Burke

James Lee Burke is an excellent writer.  His prose is descriptive and poetic.  However, his characters tend to have tragic flaws, often stemming from alcoholism.  This early Burke story tells of the young adulthood of  Hackberry Holland, the sheriff in Rain Gods.  I found the first part of the book hard to handle as Mr. Holland drank constantly and engaged in stupid behavior.  And what I really struggled with was that he seemed to think his behavior was good and appropriate and continued to think so even at the end of the story when he is making better choices.  I still enjoyed the story because of Burke's writing, and he manages to make his very flawed characters sympathetic and even admirable as they try to be heroic and do the right thing in spite of their weaknesses. 

This book is shorter than many of Burke's works, so it reads pretty quickly.  I preferred Holland in Rain Gods and would recommend the Dave Robicheaux novels to new readers of Burke rather than either of the Holland books, but this one is still worth the time.

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

This book surprised me.  It was awfully realistic for a novel by a Bronte sister!  Like Jane Eyre, it is the story of a young woman, Agnes Grey, who becomes a governess in Victorian England.  She works for two different families during the story and struggles with the resulting experiences.  She ends up starting a school with her mother.

I enjoyed this book.  The prose is simple and straightforward.  Sometimes it is clever and witty.  It is a fairly long book but reads really easily, so it goes quickly.  It is worth the time.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

I have seen so many different film adaptations of this story that I felt pretty confident I already knew how the book was going to go.  It was still something of a revelation, though, as there are many details that I hadn't ever seen before.  And the original ending of the book isn't usually copied in the more modern versions.  Twain focuses a great deal on the nature of Hank, the main character who is an engineer from New England.  He is transported back in time where he uses his knowledge of modern technology to portray himself as a magician.  He is eventually prosecuted by the Catholic church because of his power.  Merlin casts a spell on him that makes him sleep for a millenia and return to his own time.

It certainly isn't Twain's best book, but it is interesting.  It has Twain's signature satirical humor in larger quanities than Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, but I didn't find the story nearly as entertaining as those other novels.  It is worth the time if you're a fast reader and can get through it quickly, but if you're a slower reader who will have to labor through it, it probably isn't worth it.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I love Jane Austen, but this is one of my less favorite of her books.  It is a spoof on the Gothic romance novel genre that was popular while Austen was writing her books.  Catherine Moreland, a "heroine in training" visits Bath with family friends and receives an invitation to visit an abbey that belongs to Henry Tilney, her romantic interest.  Since she is a big fan of the gothic novel, she expects the abbey to be exciting and imagines many dark and dramatic scenarios involving the Tilney family, which as you'd imagine is not very popular with the Tilney family.  There is enough actual drama in the story without Catherine imagining more as she is pursued by two suitors, and her brother's fiance carries on a flirtation with Henry's dissolute older brother.  Things turn out all right in the end.

Catherine has likeable moments; i.e. calling herself a "heroine in training" and being charmingly naive about improper behavior, but a lot of the time her imagination and gothic obsession make her a bit annoying.  Northanger Abbey was Austen's first completed novel and in spite of many revisions before its publication, it shows that Austen was less experienced at the time and hadn't really developed her distinct humorous style.  It's a quick easy read that is still probably worth the time, but if you're new to Austen, read a different book first.

Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac

I am not a Balzac fan in general, and this book was no exception.  It is very long and quite often boring.  It's also very sad as Goriot, the father of two girls, sacrifices and scrapes for his two daughters who are ungrateful and leave him all alone in squalor.  Balzac usually likes to punish the bad female characters in his books, but apparently these two girls aren't the right kind of bad for that, and they get off almost completely unscathed.  I felt very sorry for the poor old man!  Obviously, once I got far enough into the story, I became involved in the lives of the characters and cared what happened to them, so that was nice.  But it was a long road to get to that point.  Not worth the time.

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

This was a strange but interesting book.  It made me glad I was never in India during the British reign.  The "Anglo Indians" seem to behave badly as a matter of course, and the Indians in the story behave in incomprehensible ways, at least to my mind.  It tells the story of a young lady who goes to India with Mrs. Moore whose son works in the government there.  Miss Quested is going to see if she wants to marry the son.  Dr. Aziz becomes involved with the women through a chance meeting with Mrs. Moore in a mosque.  They take an excursion to some caves for a picnic.  Miss Quested accuses the doctor of attempting to assault her in the cave.  Fielding, an Englishman, supports Dr. Aziz against his own race.  It is unclear what happened to Miss Quested, although her subsequent behavior would seem to indicate it could have been an hysterical reaction.

I enjoyed the first part of the story, although it wasn't very exciting.  Then the cave episode occurs, and I didn't really like it anymore.  I didn't like that most of the characters seem to behave badly.  Miss Quested falsely accuses Dr. Aziz, the British leaders try to railroad Dr. Aziz in his trial.  Dr. Aziz doesn't really behave badly, but he is mercurial and seems to lie as a matter of course without considering it to be untruthful.  Fielding is really the only one who behaves admirably in a consistent manner.  The very end was also disappointing when Fielding and Aziz decide they can't be friends until the British leave India and India becomes a sovereign nation. 

I did like seeing India through a different perspective.  I found it well-written and interesting even when I didn't like the actual story line.  It took me a long time to read because it didn't hold my attention, and I didn't read it very often.  It is still worth the time but don't plan to zip through it.  It is easier if you read it a little bit at a time.

Silas Marner by George Eliot

This is my favorite George Eliot book I've read.  I had previously seen the Steve Martin movie, A Simple Twist of Fate and was surprised to realize it was based on this book!  Silas Marner tells the story of a miserly bachelor who adopts a young girl and develops a great attachment to her.  It is a very entertaining read.  The story is full of coincidences that somehow don't feel completely unrealistic but instead seem inevitable with Eliot's story construction.  It's a good read and definitely worth the time.

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

This book didn't make a big impression on me, although I enjoyed reading it.  It tells the story of Lucy, a young lady who seeks employment at an all-girls' boarding school after a family tragedy.  It is interesting that this main character conceals things she knows, even from the reader.  At the boarding school, she becomes embroiled in the lives of others.  She eventually forms a romantic attachment to a fellow teacher.  The people surrounding them conspire to separate the two of them.  The ending is unclear, although the reader is left with the impression that her lover dies on his ocean voyage back to Lucy from the West Indies.  As is typical for the Bronte sisters, it is a very dramatic story with high emotions and unusual situations (like a ghost and a man living in disguise).  It is entertaining and worth the time, but don't expect it to change your life.

Homicide for the Holidays by Jane Rubino, Kathleen Anne Barrett, & Fred Hunter

This book is a collection with a story by each of the three authors.  My assumption when I started Fruitcake by Jane Rubino was that they were three novellas relatively equal in length.  I kept thinking, "this is way too much background info. and extraneous information for a novella!"  The first story ended up being a full length novel (317 pages), so I suppose all there was room for all that information.  I don't know if it's because I was expecting something different and disliked the beginning, but I never really got into the story and loved it.  It felt unreal and a little pointless.  I had a hard time liking the main character, Cat, a 40-something widow with two kids who works as a freelance journalist and comes from a family of cops.  She seemed over-sensitive, obsessed with quoting authors and correcting grammar, and I just couldn't relate to her. 

The second story in the book, Milwaukee Winters Can be Murder, is by Kathleen Anne Barrett and is a quick, amusing read.  It's predictable and you'll know the murderer pretty early, but I didn't mind that in this case.  I am actually interested to read a novel featuring this debut character. 

A Perfect Time for Murder is a short story by Fred Hunter and ends the collection.  I didn't love it, but it was all right.  It was immediately clear where the story was going, which was a little disappointing.  I like a clever twist in my short stories (That's why O'Henry is the master of the genre!), and this story didn't have one.

Emma by Jane Austen

Since I completely love Jane Austen, I of course love this book as well.  It is a Regency-era novel that tells the story of Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy socialite who likes to interfere in the lives of those around her.  She fancies herself a matchmaker after the marriage of her governess to a neighbor.  Her matchmaking skills are very lacking and comedy ensues.  Eventually everything ends up happy, which I generally prefer.  Emma isn't the most likeable of Austen's heroines, but she does gain the readers' sympathy, and she makes changes and progress as most of Austen's main characters do.  I always enjoy Austen's clever and witty dialogue and the amusing foibles of the characters who people her books.  Emma is written in the formal, old-fashioned manner of Regency novels, which I enjoy, but I know some people don't.  Emma is definitely worth the time.

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

This is a charming book.  It is sub-titled "A Proper Romance," and it certainly is.  Donaldson is a fan of Austen and Heyer, and it comes through in her writing.  (Not that I would ever compare anyone to the great Jane Austen, but you can tell she's a fan.)  This book tells the Regency-era story of Marianne Daventry, who has been sent to live with her grandmother in Bath following the death of her mother.  She is completely bored there and is tired of dealing with an amorous, slobbery, middle-aged man.  She accepts an invite to spend time with her twin sister at an estate at the invitation of an old friend of her mother's.  A mishap with a highwayman on the way there starts a romantic adventure (Don't worry.  It isn't so cliche as to be with the highwayman!) that is both clever and clean.  The dialogue is modernized and the plot is quicker than an actual Regency story if you find Austen and Heyer too "old-fashioned."  (I never could, but I know some people do!)  It was a pretty quick read that was definitely worth the time.  I enjoyed it so much I stayed up way too late and read it in one sitting!

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe

It took me ages to finish this book.  I'm afraid I'm not a big fan of Thomas Wolfe.  I really struggled for the first 250 pages.  Then it caught my interest more, and I enjoyed most of the rest, other than a long seemingly pointless chapter about the "Younger Set" that listed names of all sorts of characters who had nothing to do with the story and who never appeared again.  Wolfe has frequent sections that don't seem to apply to the story, but this is the longest I remember.  Look Homeward, Angel tells the story of the dysfunctional Gant family.  It particularly focuses on the youngest son, Eugene Gant, an isolated introvert who feels lonely and separate from his family, except maybe his brother Ben.  After a traumatic experience, he becomes increasingly focused on his inner life and seems to be very narcisstic.  I didn't enjoy the end of the story as I couldn't understand 'Gene's behavior and it seems so strange to me.  Then the story didn't really resolve and ended with a dream sequence that didn't mean much to me.  I'm sure it was loaded with symbolism if I took the time to find it, but I couldn't get past the "ghost" and the moving marble monuments.  This isn't a book I would recommend, but if you read it, don't get too discouraged by the first half.  The second half is better!