I have been a very bad 50 booker recently and have completely fallen off the thread. Also been a bit slack with reading in general, as the pre-Christmas demands of work, school and life conspire to squeeze my free time.
Hello to all the new posters and here are my mist recent reviews, all of which have a distinctly American flavour.
61. American Wife – Curtis Sittenfield
I heard this being highly recommended on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and it’s been lurking on my TBR pile for a few weeks. A work of fiction, based loosely on the life of Laura Bush. The plot follows her path from a very ordinary existence as a school librarian in middle America to First Lady. I preferred the sections about her early life growing up with her parents and Grandmother to the later sections focusing on life in The White House, but nevertheless a pacey and very well written novel.
62. Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver
I usually love Barbara Kingsolver and although this was undoubtedly a good read, IMHO it was not one of her best. Never one to shy away from commenting on political issues of the time, and particularly their connection to the environment and the natural world, I felt that here she sacrificed character and plot to drive her point home.
Although I completely agree with the message she seeks to convey here: she is unsurprisingly, not a big fan of Donald Trump for example, I felt the characters began to seem a bit like props moved round the stage to prove a point.
Briefly, the book focuses on the occupants of a house in New Jersey in present time and in the early 1880s. Comparisons are drawn between the two periods. For example, the shifts in thinking demanded in the past by the emergence of Darwin’s theory of evolution versus the shifts in thinking required now, as middle aged Willa and her family struggle to cope with financial problems, climate change, healthcare and global economic meltdown.
For me, there were too many passages of dialogue making explicit points about all of the above, at the expense of Kingsolver's beautiful expressive prose which was in short supply. It felt like a lecture, albeit one I actually agree with. Enough of the politics – this is meant to be a novel.
63. Small Wonder – Barbara Kingsolver
Just to show I’m still with Barbara, I next read a book of her actual essays about important issues without the messy complication of characters or story to worry about. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend to anyone who is interested in living more mindfully and being a better human.
64. Becoming – Michelle Obama
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one. A bit slow to get going, it progressively became more readable and interesting as it went along. Although this was 400+ pages long I tore through it in a couple of days. An inspirational tale of hard work and positive thinking, she really comes across as being the kind of person you’d want to have as a friend. Also provides a fascinating insight into life as the "first family", warts and all. Funny, kind and wise. I’m recommending this to everyone. Would make a good Christmas read.