pontalba

Finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt today. Review over on yonder book thread. Looking forward to next month's selection by Tartt!

The Goldfinch isn't what I expected. At all. Donna Tartt writes with an evocative style that puts the reader exactly in the middle of the protagonists life, thoughts, and more importantly, his emotions. His rollercoaster of emotions. Fear, love, loss, confusion, physical trauma, PTSD included are starkly real. I don't believe I've read a more poignant and tender description of the love between a mother and son before. From the loss by desertion of his father, to the unexpected and violent death of his mother his emotions are ours. Tartt exposes all the nerve endings, ruthlessly. The tension is palpable from the very beginning, never too much, or too little. Always enough to pull the reader along without swamping us. Because, after all, we have to know what happens to the boy. The author shows us, she doesn't tell us what to think. The reader must, finally come to their own conclusions about the right or wrongness of the situations faced by the boy, and later the man. Funny, heartbreaking, absolutely lovely. Recommended. I really look forward to the January selection.......

Gorgeous, muggle, just gorgeous!!

Thank you. x My Paternal Grandmother was very germ conscious. She actually went way overboard in her use of disinfectants. Way overboard. I could list the number of No-No's that she enlisted, but there isn't room on this board. heh A little of that rubbed off on my Father, but not that much. I was, however, brought up not to drink or eat after anyone. I still go by that, only eating after my husband. So, I can certainly agree with you about sharing saliva.

I would have finished The Goldfinch last night, but the battery on my kindle was telling me I had to recharge. I'm at 85% right now.

/phew!/.....the word "around" alarmed me a bit.... Thought it better to ask, than worry about it.

Not bloody likely.... Altho.....never say never.

Um, yes? I only meant that I tend to procrastinate, and hope you, or any mod won't move my 2013 thread until the first or after.

But, you won't move until the 1st or after, yeah? /fingers crossed/ Kate, The Procrastinator.....

/groan/

Awwwww, but I love Durante!! Thank you, Mrs. Calabash, where every you are!!!

I'll echo James..... The Sherman book is one of those, probably. The only possible difference is my ingrained prejudice against Sherman. I don't want to allow that to color my finishing, or not finishing the book. Interestingly enough, the book is based on Sherman's own diaries and letters. Apparently the man kept everything! So, that alone should make it more.....interesting? Insightful? Yeah, all of that.

Hah! I definitely appreciate not having to lug around a 10 pound book. For a couple of the Neal Stephenson's I've bought the kindle copies (in addition to the HBs) in self defense of my wrists.

I'll second both the James Clavell books and Memoirs of A Geisha. All excellent! I've read several of Clavell's, and was never disappointed.

We saw The Place Beyond the Pines a while back, and I thought it was good.....and then it grew on me. For weeks afterward, it haunted me.

Oh, meant to add. If you're interested in Chinese history, an easy and interesting book to read would be Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck.

Ouch! Sorry about the arm, but at least there is an up side.

LOL At first I thought he'd be grumpy.....but then he just let loose. Fantastic!

I've started The Goldfinch now, read about 18% so far. I have to say, though, that it grabbed me right away, from the very first page. Tartt drew the grief process so accurately, and poignantly.....it was truly stellar. Heh....I loved The Stand, only read it this year, for about the first time. I've never been sure, but I thought I'd read the shorter version when I was younger. But I might have read a bit of the Dark Tower series.....

Love it! I saw this yesterday, the article said that some people had been notified ahead of time, but most of it was, in fact, off the cuff. I loved the guy that mussed up his hair and gave it up for the music. But even funnier was the guy on the phone.....his reaction.../giggles/

Talisman, it's like they are giving you the run-around. I'm really sorry that this deadlock is happening, hope it clears before March!

Beautiful variety, muggle. Do you plant them later on? My mother used to plant them in the sheltered part of the yard, against the house. Some did pretty well. Some not.

LOL, thanks Julie. I can make them sound good, because I don't bother with ones I don't like. Hardly ever. Thank you, kindly. I'm actually wondering how frankie will rate the accuracy. I believe it is one of those books that can be seen in many lights.

Very interesting review, Ethan. Glad I've got it on my kindle already.

I finished Purge by Sofi Oksanen last night, and am torn between a three and four star rating. Finally deciding a 3.5/5 was a more fair rating. Beginning with a page from a hidden notebook, written by "Hans Pekk, son of Eerik, Estonian peasant". These brief notes, written by a seeming prisoner, are scattered though out the book. So, the mystery begins. Who is Pekk, and how did he become the prisoner? What is his fate? Who is the young woman, far from home that is driven by her own demons, that comes to find the notebook. What is her relationship to Aliide, the protagonist, a woman alone driven by her own demons? If any. The time frame is quite fluid, skipping back and forth from 1939 to 1992. It is, basically, the tale of a love triangle and it's terrible repercussions. The story is told against the backdrop of WWII and the Reign of Terror of Josef Stalin. It's ending is just after the official dissolution of the Soviet Union. Battles are not the only way to wage war. The reader gets the sense of the fluid terror that ordinary people were subjected to throughout. Not only that, but the mental and moral adjustments that they made along the way. Recommended.