pontalba's 2010 Reading List

[pontalba]

Another great read from William Boyd, Restless tells the story of two women, mother and daughter. Eva Delectorskaya, a Russian emigree living in Paris, 1939 is drawn into the world of espionage and her life is never her own again.

 

Clever intertwining of the duo's story lines keeps the reader on their toes wondering just what will be the outcome. Both are very much a product of their time, and we vividly see the war years and then the '70's of the daughter brought to life.

 

Recommended. 5/5

[pontalba]

Just finished Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo.

 

It's a true story, telling all sides of the shark attacks of 1916 off the New Jersey, USA shore.

At the time, no one believed that a Great White, or any shark for that matter, was a man eater. There was simply no evidence available on a wide spread level that said so, only scattered reports from some sea faring men, or from far off lands that-goodness-knows-what-was-happening-there sort of aura about them.

 

This book covers the entire spate of attacks, tells the human society side, and fascinatingly so, the sharks side of it. Capuzzo has done the research for sure, both on shark habits, and the history of the areas of question. He also tells of the people and their families; the victims lives come across strongly. It was an era of huge transformations, the US wasn't into WWI yet, it was dreaded by all of course. The automobile was coming into fashion, farm life was giving 'way to city life. Everything was in upheaval, changing more rapidly than the eye could follow. Capuzzo captures all of that.

 

His chapters tend to alternate between the human history, and the shark's wanderings. I've learned so much about the why's and wherefore's of sharks...it's an endlessly fascinating subject. Capuzzo cites many instances of shark attacks, from Australia, to the American East Coast. I could go on and on about this story, it's non fiction that reads like a fictional thriller.

 

Highly Recommended.

Edited July 20, 2010 by pontalba

[Peacefield]

Exellent review, Pontalba! I too loved this book and couldn't get enough of the history and reading about the shark's natural instincts. I also found it fascinating how the shark's meandering path up to the shores of the northeast just happen to coincide with the newly-popular practice of sea bathing, which resulted in so much tragedy.

[pontalba]

Thanks peacefield. I think the thing that interested me the most was learning how the shark's senses could spot both electronic sorts of vibrations from long distances, but also even something like the leather oars. And literally a drop of blood miles away. /shaking head in amazement/

 

When those sharks go rogue, it's like a psychopath, or sociopath killer. A real form of insanity.

[pontalba]

I've recently finished The City & The City by China Mieville, and Elegy For April by Benjamin Black, both mysteries, or detective stories, and verra different.

 

Mieville's TC&TC is a crime/detective noir with a fascinating twist. Fantasy has never been something I intentionally seek out and actually this was no different. My OH had actually ordered this book, and the very day we received it, a discussion opened on it at another forum. Serendipity!

 

Imagine if you will two completely separate cities, boasting everything from separate governments to different languages and customs. Now, you are looking at a map of said cities, and lo and behold, they are in basically the same geographical location. Huh?

How did this evolve? How on earth do they manage? They are trained from infant hood to "unsee" the citizens of the other city. Fascinating process.

 

Now, throw in a young woman's murder, a disillusioned detective, a 'smart as a whip' sidekick, oh, and don't forget Breach. What is Breach?

 

When you find out, let me know. Could be anything, could be nothing...

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Now, Elegy For April by Benjamin Black is, to my mind, the best of this series. The characters are fully developed, the reader has established a real rapport with them. Whether we like or dislike said characters, we suffer right along with them.

A young woman is missing, is she only missing, or has she been done away with by a lover, or possibly one of her kith and kin?

 

Quirke muddles his way through an informal investigation, whilst attempting to repair his relationship with his daughter, a friend of the missing woman.

 

Black is all about feelings and motivations, no crime noir this, but a full bodied attempt to sort out the characters lives. To understand why. Why do people do the things they do. That's what I love about Banville/Black's writing. He is an explorer of the psyche.

 

Verra highly recommended.

[pontalba]

I just finished John Irving's A Widow for One Year. Devastatingly beautiful, moving, heart wrenching story/stories enfolded in a down to earth but lyrical prose that simply took my breath away.

 

Stories within and layered upon stories. Lives enmeshed over a period of roughly 40 years, entwined by grief, enduring, everlasting love wrapped up in fidelity. A marriage, death of children, a new child, inability to cope, flight, and above all Love. Lives colliding, separating, coming together in ways unimagined.

 

This is undoubtedly one of the most moving love stories I have ever read. More than one love story. I found myself alternatively laughing out loud, crying tears of grief and then happiness. Irving runs the gamut of emotion,

 

Highly recommended. Read. This. Book. !!!!

[poppy]

You have described this so beautifully Pontalba that I have reserved it right away at my library

[pontalba]

Yays! poppy,

I almost want to start it over.

Can't wait to hear your impressions.

[pontalba]

Last night I finished Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, a sprawling 933 page epic that has received mixed reviews as far as I can tell, thankfully I hadn't read reviews of it when I spied it on the shelf at Books-A-Million.

 

Shantaram is a work of fiction, based quite closely on Roberts own life. A life that was shattered by loss of his marriage, and losing contact with his daughter. Whether that was the whole cause, or the proverbial straw that broke the camels back I don't know, it wasn't covered in the novel. His spiral downward was spectacular. though and he ended up in what is apparently one of Australia's nastiest prisons, escaped by spectacular [there's that word again ] means and went on the run for 10 years.

 

This novel is the story of those 10 years. He ended up in Bombay, living in slums and then joining the local "Mafia", following his father figure into the early Afghanistan war. I can hardly imagine how he survived. The bones of the story are true to his life. He does wax a bit too philosophically and often, thus my 4/5 rating instead of 5/5. But I found it a true and heartfelt rendition of a man attempting to come to grips with himself and surviving himself.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Tonight I finished Caught by Harlan Coben, and it was, as usual for Coben, a twisty who-done-it, with a most satisfying ending.

A man is accused of being a pedophile, and a murderer. Is he? Is another man actually an embezzler? Is a reporter a stalker?

Find all this out and More! Read Caught.

Vintage Coben. 5/5

.

Edited August 13, 2010 by pontalba

[pontalba]

In A Dry Season by Peter Robinson is a middle of the series detective/mystery novel that grips from the very beginning. Robinson's use of individual narratives is well done, and while the time frame shifts are a bit abrupt, they work well, and are clear cut. Chief Inspector Alan Banks is a wonderfully complicated character, the book is worth reading about his complex life alone.

 

Skeletal remains are found quite by accident, in a place that one would truly think a safe place to bury a murder victim. Just goes to show, nothing is a sure thing in detective novels, as in real life. Who is the victim, and who is the killer, and is the killer the obvious choice? The foreshadowed, but in-obvious twist at the end was delightfully gasp-worthy.

 

I've found 4 more of this series, and can't wait to get to them!

[pontalba]

Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson

 

Death of the Adversary by Hans Keilson

 

Earlier this month I finished the two books by Keilson, and if we want to know how it really was in Germany, on a personal level, in the decade preceding WWII and through the war itself, at least in part, these books go a long way toward that goal. His style is understated, almost laconic in tone, leaving the reader stunned at his simplicity. The stories that he narrates are of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, reacting as best they can, sometimes to their own surprise.

 

In Death of the Adversary we know the adversary is Hitler, but he is never named, in fact no one is given their true name by the author, and somehow that makes it even more chilling. We, the reader, know who it is about....but really it could happen in any time, in any country to any people.

Comedy in a Minor Key too is anyone's story, at least anyone that has ever taken a chance, taken a risk to help his fellow man. The stakes are high, their lives in fact. A couple takes the risk. How could they know the end? Would they have chanced it in any case?

I'd like to think so. I'd like to think anyone would.

[Mac]

As usual, you cost me money with all these new authors I need to buy! Glad you like Coben. One of my favourites.

[pontalba]

LOL Glad to be of service. I do my poor best.

 

 

Right now I'm reading A Murder of Quality by John Le Carré, it's the second in his Smiley series. I'd read Call for the Dead, the first a while back. Thing is, my OH has just [re]read Call For the Dead, and from what he said, I don't remember much of it. So, after I read this one, I'll have to temporarily back track and read the first.

Edited September 13, 2010 by pontalba

[poppy]

I just finished John Irving's A Widow for One Year. Devastatingly beautiful, moving, heart wrenching story/stories enfolded in a down to earth but lyrical prose that simply took my breath away.

 

Stories within and layered upon stories. Lives enmeshed over a period of roughly 40 years, entwined by grief, enduring, everlasting love wrapped up in fidelity. A marriage, death of children, a new child, inability to cope, flight, and above all Love. Lives colliding, separating, coming together in ways unimagined.

 

This is undoubtedly one of the most moving love stories I have ever read. More than one love story. I found myself alternatively laughing out loud, crying tears of grief and then happiness. Irving runs the gamut of emotion,

 

Highly recommended. Read. This. Book. !!!!

 

I've just finished this Pontalba and enjoyed it very much. Took it away on holiday and read most of it in a week (and it is a big book) It's one of those books you just want to keep reading. Irving's characters are very interesting, flawed, vulnerable, human and multi-layered. I loved the end line ....that was an inspired touch. One thing that struck me as I read was that it felt like the author was a female ....did you feel like that Katherine? Thank you very much for the recommendation.

Edited September 17, 2010 by poppy

[pontalba]

I've just finished this Pontalba and enjoyed it very much. Took it away on holiday and read most of it in a week (and it is a big book) It's one of those books you just want to keep reading. Irving's characters are very interesting, flawed, vulnerable, human and multi-layered. I loved the end line ....that was an inspired touch. One thing that struck me as I read was that it felt like the author was a female ....did you feel like that Katherine? Thank you very much for the recommendation.

 

Re last line...yes, full circle, or picking up where they left off. I think of all the lost years and weep for them. But really, in some way I suppose those years were necessary, but still.....I wish.

 

It's funny, I hardly ever think in terms of an author's gender either way. This is the first book by Irving I've read, so can't compare to his others. His sensitivity is truly amazing though. This is a man that knows women.

 

I wish you could see the interview with Irving that is on the DVD of The Door in the Floor. That film closes with Marion's early departure. I'm so happy you enjoyed it poppy.

[pontalba]

Finished The Snowman by Jo Nesbo tonight. This is my 3rd Nesbo,chronicling the checkered career of Harry Hole, one of the more complicated detectives in fiction. Harry is a mess, his life is in total chaos, he is struggling not to drink and the love of his life has left him. Not to mention he is being stalked by a serial killer that his superiors think might not exist.

 

If you think the above sounds like somewhat typical detective/crime fare, wait! Think again. There are twists and layers to this novel that make it a must read for lovers of mysteries. I definitely rate it a strong 5 star entry.

[pontalba]

Finished Dissolution by C.J. Sansom in the wee hours of the morning, but mostly before midnight, so I'll count it in September.

 

I wasn't disappointed, but not exactly thrilled either. It's Sansom's first though I believe, so some latitude must be allowed. I believe the characters will develop in the next few books. Laying the ground work for a series always harbors some tedium.

 

Matthew Shardlake is an interesting sort for a lawyer/detective, the setting unique...Henry VIII's reign, and the dissolution of the monasteries plays a large part of this murder mystery. For me the most important part was the partial dissolution of Matthew's faith. Both his faith in his religion and his faith in his King. Good stuff. I look forward to more character development and further mysteries from Sansom.

[Ooshie]

Finished The Snowman by Jo Nesbo tonight. This is my 3rd Nesbo,chronicling the checkered career of Harry Hole, one of the more complicated detectives in fiction. Harry is a mess, his life is in total chaos, he is struggling not to drink and the love of his life has left him. Not to mention he is being stalked by a serial killer that his superiors think might not exist.

 

If you think the above sounds like somewhat typical detective/crime fare, wait! Think again. There are twists and layers to this novel that make it a must read for lovers of mysteries. I definitely rate it a strong 5 star entry.

 

Well, I have bravely held out for a few weeks, but the five Harry Hole books are on order from Amazon now! I couldn't resist any longer, they sound just up my street.

[pontalba]

Well, I have bravely held out for a few weeks, but the five Harry Hole books are on order from Amazon now! I couldn't resist any longer, they sound just up my street.

 

Yays!! Happy to hear of another convert.

 

I don't think there is any way you'd be disappointed. It's a great series. I hope you saw link to Jo Nesbo's interview that Karsa Orlong put up in the Jo Nesbo thread in Crime/Mystery/Thriller section, it's great.

[pontalba]

I just finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, and can rate it no more than 3/5.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can suspend belief with the most credulous of humans, and have an enormous amount of fun whilst doing so, but the Final Solution, the Coup de Grace [sorry I don't know how do do the mark over the "a"] of the story was just sooooo unbelievable, amateurish even that it put me off.

 

Niffenegger's characterizations were so well done, her portrayal of OCD was to my eyes completely on target that it's just a shame that in the final analysis the story simply didn't hold water. If a sequel is in the works, and the ending begs it, I don't know that I'd bother to read it.

[Ooshie]

Sorry to hear you had such a disappointment with Her Fearful Symmetry, pontalba - was it the very last section at the absolute end of the book

where Elspeth finds Robert is gone

that did it for you, or the way all the storylines were dealt with near the end of the book?

 

I do agree that the story is totally unbelievable, and perhaps if I had read it in another mood it would have irritated me a lot, but I just accepted its unbelievability all the way through and enjoyed it anyway! I must admit that when I think about the book, I really don't think about the ending at all. I hadn't particularly thought about its weaknesses, just glossed over them to retain my enjoyment of the rest of the book! (How shallow is that? )

 

Despite my enjoyment, though, I'm not sure that I would read a sequel either.

[pontalba]

Sorry to hear you had such a disappointment with Her Fearful Symmetry, pontalba - was it the very last section at the absolute end of the book

where Elspeth finds Robert is gone

that did it for you, or the way all the storylines were dealt with near the end of the book?

 

I do agree that the story is totally unbelievable, and perhaps if I had read it in another mood it would have irritated me a lot, but I just accepted its unbelievability all the way through and enjoyed it anyway! I must admit that when I think about the book, I really don't think about the ending at all. I hadn't particularly thought about its weaknesses, just glossed over them to retain my enjoyment of the rest of the book! (How shallow is that? )

 

Despite my enjoyment, though, I'm not sure that I would read a sequel either.

No, actually that ending didn't surprise me...I kind of expected it to tell the truth, given that person's personality. The part that really and truly irritated me beyond belief was

the way they kept the body cold. for days on end...for me it was just so beyond the realm of even vaguely possible that I couldn't stand it. But I kept reading, trying to suspend disbelief.

 

 

As you say, given a different mood, I might have been able to suspend disbelief, but not at that time and place. I have The Time Travelers Wife here in the stack, I suppose I'll eventually read it, once I've recovered. lol

Edited October 9, 2010 by pontalba

[Ooshie]

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that part; t was ... completely idiotic. I remember noting the stupidity of it at the time.

 

I enjoyed The Time Traveller's Wife, but it is a long time since I read it, and I can't remember now whether there is anything in it of the same type that stands out particularly. It is another book that is just totally unbelievable the whole way through, though!

[lexiepiper]

I really thought Her Fearful Symmetry was a load of rubbish, but The Time Traveler's Wife is my favourite book, so I'd definitely recommend to not let HFS put you off from reading it, it's a lot better imo

[pontalba]

I really thought Her Fearful Symmetry was a load of rubbish, but The Time Traveler's Wife is my favourite book, so I'd definitely recommend to not let HFS put you off from reading it, it's a lot better imo

 

Thanks, I'll keep TTW in the TBR stack.