The Nominating Committee of Reading Across RI is busy reading books for the 2009 selection from the list of over seventy titles nominated this year by readers all over the state. Join in the discussion of the ten books on the 2009 Short List by posting your comments about these books (each title has its own post):The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
Trudy's Promise by Marcia Preston
Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat
Song Yet Sung by James McBride
The Nightbirds by Thomas Maltman
The Girls: A Novel by Lori Lansens
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Five Skies by Ron Carlson
Behind the Scenes of the Museum by Kate Atkinson
4 comments:
Please post your comments about the 10 titles on the 2009 RARI Short List! We're inviting more involvement in the selection process this year - Please help out!
Five Skies - Ron Carlson
This very well crafted novel traces the lives of three men, the ways in which they come together to work and their manners of conflict resolution. Relative to its selection, it is clearly a western with its myriad of utility poles, augers, stock fences, semis, flat-bed trucks, Red Wing boots, truss braces, grader blades--whew--so would not have wide appeal. In addition, I looked for greater character development in a novel that seemed to be dominated by narration.
Song Yet Sung - James McBride
Unfortunately, I did not take notes when reading this novel. As I recall, however, it carries a message that is relevant today as the story takes place during our country's pathetic period of slavers and slavery. Although I did not enjoy the topic and the grim reminder of a past not to be forgotten, the author paints a poignant picture with a breadth of well drawn characters who prophetically reveal that one cannot measure the power of the human spirit.
The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
This charming story about an 11-year-old boy who, having lost his mother and gained a step-mother (and later, a new brother), immerses himself in books and fantasy. The books talk by virtue of The Crooked Man who enters his life and adds to the enchantment. The variations on (Grim)fairy tale themes, the likes of Hansel and Gretl, Snow White, as well as the battles with wolves and monsters in an underground raised garden might very well tax the endurance of many readers.
Trudy's Promise - Marcia Preston
This novel has been well received by Amazon readers; however, there is an absence of legitimate critical commentary. Perhaps, it was because I could not seem to get beyond Rolf, in the opening pages of the novel, swimming under water with "wire cutters clamped to his teeth," because I then continued to find the story contrived, refueled often with more contrivance, particularly toward the end of the story when Trudy refuses to sign a document that would ensure reunion with her baby whom she had not seen for a year, and this out of a pride and courage the reader is expected to admire. The wall of terror that divided East and West Berlin, the Kennedy era, and the "tearing down of the wall" during the Reagan administration bring a sense of reality and history in this otherwise well-told tale.
However, it reads more like a young adult novel that would, therefore, have greater appeal for junior high/high school students.
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
This novel is a well-kept secret that would make an outstanding read for RARI. My two book club groups reviewed it last spring, and to a one, everyone liked it very much, ranking it higher than any novel we had read during the year. The fact that it is not well-known is a plus. (It was published as an adult read in Australia, a young adult read in the USA.) Surely, everyone enjoys originality and creativity, qualities that enrich this novel. The story is told by a narrator who is Death--but not the Death that we intuit, but rather a humble being who grieves with the grievers. It is but one of few novels that speak of a heinous era in the world's history, the Holocaust, from the viewpoint of the Germans, and through the voice and experiences of a young girl who grows to maturity in the bitter duration and aftermath of a wartorn country. Because of the author's use of voice, the character development, originality, and playfulness to counter disaster, the novel would appeal to the great majority of our readers, readers of all ages.
When reading the novels described in this blog reply, I found myself comparing and contrasting each with The Book Thief on character development, originality, and the effective use of literary devices: voice or point of view, symbolism, imagery. setting, conflict, theme, etc. In each case, I found The Book Thief was the more outstanding read. It is also both character driven and plot driven. It appeals to both emotion and intellect, and promises to raise the tone of our intellectual life.
I highly recommend The Book Thief as the RARI pick for 2009.
Five Skies has to be one of the worst and most boring books I have ever read. Water For Elephants was no better! How does the selection committee come up with such losers? Neither one of these titles has 'wide appeal.' Five Skies was not only boring, it had too much swearing and a poorly resolved ending. There are so many great books to read; it is a shame that you expect the whole state of RI to read books that have little relevance to the majority of people. If I had school age children, they would certainly NOT be reading Five Skies!
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