Swamplandia!

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A little spice can make a dull meal delicious, even heavenly. Too much spice can drown and ruin it. Great writing but too much of the clever, quirky, imaginative prose turns the simple story into an insufferable read. So modern, of course this kind of writing gets nominated for awards, but enough already.

As for story, it reminds of me of my reaction to Geek Love, which I read at the tender age of 18 - knowing it was delivered well, the darkness still hung about me in horrifying and unpleasant ways long after I finished it. Some of the story was implausible, but is that where "magical realism" kicks in to excuse the implausible? A few too many loose ends left dangling - the red alligator, Mama Weeds, Kiwi's drowning victim.

Glad I read it, only if to check it off a list. Otherwise, am quite glad to move on to the next story.

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The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Despite being a dog adoring person, I avoided this book for a long time. Uber popular lit fiction does that to me, oddly enough. But it kept falling into my hands (the book that is) and so I finally read the first few pages, and got completely sucked in. Tight writing, unique narrative, good symbolism throughout and well wrapped up at the end. Typical modern literary fiction, but that's not a bad thing. In fact, it's a shame how many current books can't hit all the right marks that this one did.

But to be honest, the real reason I loved this book is because I totally want to believe that this is what my dog thinks, for reals. I blame my second grade teacher, who aloud read to the class "Where The Red Fern Grows".

Was surprised by the racing metaphors, but it works. Of course, I don't know a damned thing about racing to begin with.

Fun delightful book, well written that makes good reading.

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The Angel's Game

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book as much as I liked Carlos Ruiz Zafon's previous one, Shadow of the Wind. Lots of potential, great beachy/summer read, but not without many flaws. Definitely not a great tome of literature, and I'm at a loss as to why so many people wish to compare it to Umberto Eco and Alexander Dumas. Not nearly as cheeky and funny as Dumas, not nearly as puzzling and plot-twisting and intelligent as Eco.

Contrary to a few other reviews, I found the first 2/3 of the book ho-hum, and only was the last 1/3 interesting, tighter and more action-packed. Many complained of being lost at the end, so maybe I paid extra careful attention, and it made sense to me.

As with the previous book, there was only one really great character that stuck out - Isabella. She came to life, and crackled on the page (though Fermin from "Shadow of the Wind" moreso). Her personality came through in her dialogue, her actions, she just shone. But everyone else was so mundane, and too much alike.

Pros: lots of great lines that beg to be underscored, but when is that the story, and when is that just the author trying to make a clever point? Love the setting itself - author, books, bookstore. Interesting plot twist, just enticing enough to make this a page-turner.

Cons: Extremely flowery prose, too much space dedicated to setting the atmosphere, over and over again, to the sacrifice of the action. A character walks into a room, and we get a description of the floor, the ceiling, the right wall, the left wall, the far wall, the doors, the windows. He walks into the next room, and again another paragraph dedicated to describing the floor, ceiling, walls, windows, and everything in between. I also found something off about the writing, which might just be a translational issue.

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A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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The Jane Austen Book Club

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a simple read, modern setting, perfect fluffy beach reading. The author writes very well, and I think I like that most about this book. Not the characters really, not the plot (was there one, really?), not the many references to Jane Austen (unfortunately, am not a fan). Was no gripping tension, not a page-turner, not keeping me up all night just waiting to see what comes next.

I do look forward to reading more of this Karen Fowler's books because of her writing.

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