torontoc's Club Read 2012 reading

Just setting up for the new year.

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka. This novel was on the longlist for the Orange Prize. Otsuka is a writer of " spartan" prose. She compresses a lot of emotion in her account of a Japanese-American family forced from their home in California into an internment camp in Utah during World War II. Each chapter has a different member of the family narrating the story of leaving their home, the journey and the life in the camp. The reader doesn't not learn names and sometimes what is not told or left out in the story is as telling as the related details. This is a very powerful story about what has been called a " shameful episode" in American history. The Canadian experience is similar and there have been novels about the expulsion of Japanese Canadians from coastal provinces as well.

I've wanted to read to When the Emperor Was Divine for such a long time ever since I read Picture Bride back in high school. It's now moved up to higher priority on the wishlist.

I am going to look for her new book The Buddha in the Attic. I read an excerpt from it in Granta and was impressed.

The Reconstruction by Claudia Casper The main character in this novel is a sculptor who specializes in reconstructing animals and modals for museums. During the course of the novel , Margaret reconstructs a detailed statue of Lucy, a famous link in the development of man. The reader also learns of Margaret's failed marriage, her suicidal mother, her dental problems and her inability to deal with her world. There is a positive change in Margaret's life as she finishes her model. The reader is treated to a very detailed analysis of the internal structures of the Lucy model. An interesting novel but the amount of detailed anatomical information on model construction does get in the way of the plot for me.

The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb. The author has written a really good novel about contemporary Vietnam and the ghosts of the past. Three key characters provide the story of past and present. Hung cooks the Vietnamese soup pho in his battered cart that he moves to different places in Hanoi. His customers have to find him as he avoids the authorities. A young man, Tu and his father, Binh, keep an eye for Hung who used to have a store and was friends with Binh's late father, Dao, a dissident writer. Maggie is a young American-Vietnamese woman who , with her mother, escaped from Saigon as the Americans left Vietnam. Her father, an artist was left behind and disappeared. All three interact in a search for information on Maggie's father. The struggles of the families to survive and the hardships are described in the memories of Hung. The author explains in an afterward, that journals published and suppressed by the government in the novel were in fact real. Gibb combines a history of survival with the qualities that are important to the families described- loyalty and respect

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen. Before I started my next Orange read, I decided to pick up this novel that has been on my TBR pile for ages. Set in Florida, this story of wierd and wonderful characters caught on a small island is funny and somewhat supernatural. Hiaasen has created some very quirky people who are hunted and hunting as they hide and try to get off Dismal Key. A lot of fun to read.

Cyrel - my book club read Beauty of Humanity Movement in November, but I just couldn't get interested enough to even track down the book. We had a small showing for the meeting, but the few who read it liked it okay. The person who suggested it liked it a lot. My friend, who has just started book club, couldn't make the meeting, but later she told me she read the book and hated it and so didn't think she should come. I told her that would have made for good conversation--if we all just like the book then it's boring. Anyway, I was interested in what you thought. Seems that most people like it to some degree.

I did like the book, Joyce- at first it was a little confusing to work out the relationships. Gibbs used the " tell some of the present and then go into the past technique" so that the reader knew that the old man had a problem with his neighbour but we found out the truth at the end of the book. The suffering by the various characters was also revealed slowly- I was horrified to read about how Binh's mother made sure that he was not conscripted by the army. The ending might seem a little contrived to some- but reading the afterward by Gibb made it more plausible.

Two Rings: a story of love and war by Millie Werber and Eve Keller. This memoir of a holocaust survivor has been written by Millie Werber , a survivor and Eve Keller, a professor who interviewed Werber at the request of her family.Werber finally told the story of her life as a munitions factory worker and as a survivor of Auschwitz. Werber was very young when her uncle insisted that she take a job in the factory near the Radom ghetto where her family lived. Her mother was taken to a concentration camp and killed but Werber and some of her other family members were saved by their work. Werber attracted the attention of a Jewish policeman who got her easier work in the factory. She did fall in love with him and married him. Heniek, Millie's husband, was transferred out of the factory and to certain death very soon after the marriage. Werber relates stories of executions, near misses at discovery and death and betrayals.( she hid under floorboards at the factory and was covered with rats at one point). She also was saved by kindness from complete strangers and the protection of her aunt and uncle who were with her in Auschwitz and the factory. The stories of how women hid jewellery and photos to avoid discovery in Auschwitz are astounding and sad. Werber adds to the list of horrors inflicted on concentration camp inhabitants and slave labour workers. Her account of meeting the man who became her second husband, Jack, just after the war their travels to find family, and their treatment by Jack's sister-in-law in the US, read as truthful and blunt. Werber does not sugercoat her opinions on the role of the Jewish policemen, the kapos in the concentration camp and her meeting with some of them after the war. She gives credit to those who helped her, both Jew and Gentile. She expresses her feelings on the treatment of Jews, for no other reason than their religion, by the Nazis. But I sense that Werber finally tells the story of her first love and how much she was affected by his love and loss. A very worthy addition to the memoirs of holocaust survivors- this book is important as many of these people are now dying and their voices must be remembered.

MetaMaus by Art Spiegelman. This book is really a source book for the work of Art Spiegelman and his books Maus and Maus 2. The author is interviewed by Hilary Chute about his life, and his relationship with his family. This memoir covers the artist's way of working, his inspiration for his work-particularly his technique in creating Maus- and his sources for style. The book package contains a DVD with the whole Maus and archive of interviews. What i really liked was the inclusion of preliminary drawings and plans for Maus. Spiegelman discusses the comic book style and the importance of some of his mentors. Of course every aspect is accompanied with visual examples. One stunning piece is the family tree of Spiegleman's father depicted twice- once with all the family members listed and the one with the survivors.Out of 75 or so, only 13 survived the Holocaust. This memoir is a good resource for artists and those looking to understand Spiegelman's process.

Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz. This slim volume contains a number of linked short stories about the small village of Tel Ilan in northern Israel. Each story is about one or two inhabitants- the aged former politician and his patient daughter, the mayor whose wife disappears, the couple who had a son who committed suicide and more. Characters who are a focus in one story show up a minor players in other stories. The last story is more puzzling- a dark unknown place that might be the beginnings of this same village years ago or not. The mood that Oz creates is tense, somewhat sad and a little mysterious.This farming village seems to be turning into a fashionable destination although Oz focuses on the lives of quiet people with secrets.
A very well written book by one of my favourite authors.

Nice review of Scenes from Village Life, Cyrel. Amos Oz is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors; which of his books do you like best?

mmm - I liked his memoir of his family, and his novels-Black Box and My Michael.

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt. This imagined biography of scientist Nikola Tesla combines a description of his last years living in New York with a story of a young woman and her father. Louisa and her father Walter work as a maid in a hotel and a night watchman respectively. Walter is a believer in the inventions of his friend Azor, including a time travel machine. Louisa befriends Tesla and learns the story of his collaborations with Edison and Westinghouse. Tesla made bad business dicisions as he was always thinking of the next invention. The story of belief and invention is fanciful in some ways and wonderful to read. The author recreates a life of the neglected scientist and new characters who believe in the promise of the future. A well crafted book and an Orange Prize nominee

I also liked A Tale of Love and Darkness. I own Black Box and My Michael, and I plan to read both books for the 3rd quarter Reading Globally challenge.

Nice review of The Invention of Everything Else. You might also enjoy Lightning: A Novel by Jean Echenoz, which is a fictionalized account of Tesla's life and career; I liked it a little better than Hunt's novel.

I will have to add Lightning: A Novel to my TBR list

The Woman Who Walked to Russia by Cassandra Pybus. The writer heard about a woman who had emerged out of the British Columbia wilderness in 1927, and said that she was walking to Siberia. Her name was Lillian Alling. She was said to be an immigrant from New York City. All traces of her seemed to disappear. The author, an Australian writer, was intrigued by this story and tried to track down the illusive woman . Scouring data bases of immigrants and ship's listings led nowhere. Pybus then decided to take a road trip through the areas of British Columbia, Alaska and the Yukon to see if she could find any traces of this mysterious woman. In a sense this book is really a travel diary as the writer really found very little about this particular story . ( spoiler- in the last pages she did find a satisfactory explanation) Pybus was travelling with a friend who she had not seen in many years and this decision proved to be a bad one. The book is a travelogue and compendium of stories and survival. The story sounded so familiar that I checked the sources for Amy Bloom's book Away. Bloom did use this book as a source for her novel.

Wow, Cyrel ... what an interesting story. I am going to track that down.

My mom had a friend who walked from somewhere around the Caspian Sea through China, and ended up here in British Columbia. Her brother self-published their family's story, and it was very interesting.

That would be interesting to read!

Stalingrad The Fateful Siege 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor. This detailed account of the siege of Stalingrad by Hitler's Sixth army and the subsequent encirclement by the Russian forces makes for fascinating reading. I hadn't realized that both Stalin and Hitler were so closely involved with the day to day decision making. The treatment of prisoners by both sides is tragic. The incredible loss of life on both sides and the suffering is hard to comprehend. Beevor's narrative follows the actions almost day to day. A very well written account of an important battle in World War II

Stalingrad has been on my wishlist since I finished Life and Fate. After reading your comments, I'm moving it near the top.

I have Stalingrad too and am hoping to read it this year. I seem to have a lot of nonfiction calling to me right now.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. This is the second of any " sequel" books that I have read that covers the characters of Pride and Prejudice. The tone of the book is curiously cool and detached. We see little of Elizabeth and really hear only from Darcy. The story is somewhat plausible and the solution to the mystery does seems a little farfetched. I am glad that I read it -considering the publicity but.. give me Jane Austen anytime.

The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch 1743-1933 by Amos Elon. This history of Jewish life in Germany over about two centuries was very well written and informative to me. Jews certainly struggled over the years to have full participation in German society. Elon explains the desire to be completely identified with German culture . In fact he recounts the successes and ultimately the failures of Jews to integrate into a country that they saw as their own. One telling example that Elon writes about-" A few weeks in spring 1933 sufficed to reduce the University of Gottingen, a world renowned center of advanced physics and mathematics, to the level of a provincial college. More than fifty professors were expelled among them the Nobel laureate James Franck and the future laureate Max Born." The note at the bottom of the page recounts how the Nazi minister of education asked a famous mathematician David Hilbert, if the institute had suffered from the expulsion of the "Jews and their friends". Hilbert replied: Suffered?It hasn't suffered, it no longer exists."
Elon covers the participation of German Jews in politics and literature. Highly recommended.

The Big Why by Michael Winter. I usually like books written by Newfoundland authors and settings on this very unique island. I have real mixed feelings about this novel about the American artist Rockwell Kent, who really did live in Newfoundland for a while. Winter portrays the tragedy of the lives of the fishermen and dangers of sailing in the north very well. His characterization of the outspoken Kent as a driven artist with no regard for his treatment of his wife, his infidelities, and disregard for local feelings is good. Kent's friendships with the men in the small village of Brigus and the US (including the real explorer Bob Barlett) are probably more important to him than those of his wife Kathleen and his previous mistress, Jenny. The description of the cold and inhospitable weather struck a very real note. ( especially since I was reading the book during a very cold snap at home). I can admire Winter's writing style. I just didn't like the main character and everything he stood for in terms of relationships and behaviour.

The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys. Humphreys's latest book is wonderful. She writes about the love affair between Charles Saint-Beuve, a journalist and poet, and Adele Hugo, the wife of Victor Hugo. This historical fiction novel covers most of the 19th century in terms of the French history and literature. The author has both Charles and Adele narrate the chapters of the books so that the reader has a real sense of distinct personalities and points of view. In fact some of the opinions and thoughts seem very contemporary. I cannot say more in that there is an interesting secret that Charles reveals that plays a part in the narrative. One chapter is narrated by Victor and Adele Hugo's unfortunate daughter, Dede. During the story of the love affair and it's aftermath, the reader learns about the lives of the three characters and their feelings. The book is well written and gives life to an interesting slice of history. Highly Recommended. Like all of Humpheys's books this one has great typography, and cover design.

Hot Breakfast for My Life with Harold Town by Iris Nowell. I have been looking for this memoir by Nowell for a while. It has been out of print. Nowell has written a very good biography of the Canadian painter, Joyce Weiland, and more recently a history of the Painters Eleven. However, her " infamous " past was as the "hidden"girlfriend of the Canadian painter, Harold Town. This was during a time when a married man( Town) would hide his mistress from his colleagues and friends. Nowell writes about this long term relationship and the development of Town's artistic career from the late 1950's to the 1980's. She describes the emotional ups and downs of catering to and assisting a man who was considered a talented but difficult artist. Her memoir reveals the strengths and weaknesses of this artist whose present influence is not really been assessed yet( in my opinion) .

It was really interesting to read books about artists who were considered powerhouses in their time- but today -I don't know. I thought the same way about Irving Layton's bio.

The Reinvention of Love sounds right up my alley. I've never read anything by Helen Humphreys so on the TBR list it goes!

Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman. I started this book about a number of Orthodox Jews who summered in a small village in the Catskills and thought- there is no drama. Although all the families and tensions were expertly presented, there were very few big plot lines. The family of the disciples of Rav Kirshner were divided by very different brothers and the Rabbi's relationship to his sons. Elizabeth Shulman's big decision was to start a small grocery store in the summer town. A young girl rebelled against her mother's plans for her. But while I read about the developments of each family unit and the thoughts about belief and practice, I found myself appreciating the thoughtfulness of the writing. Goodman describes the lives and changing traditions of a variety of Orthodox Jews with respect and clarity of vision.

I read Kaaterskill Falls about 5 years ago and found it an intriguing peek into a world I know little about.

Allegra Goodman writes with a lot of empathy in her novel for the Orthodox families that she describes.

Ashenden by Somerset Maugham. This was the first ebook that I read on my new Kobo. It was an interesting experience trying to turn the pages and getting the movement of the fingers right. I read an excerpt of this book last year and it is accomplished and great to read. Maugham indicated in his introduction that some of the details may have come from his own experiences. The story of the British writer, Ashenden, and his work as a spy in Europe was both tragic and comical. His work was at times boring and methodical and sometimes dangerous. A well written book that I enjoyed.

I read Intuition by Goodman and thought she did a very good job portraying the atmosphere of a cancer laboratory. That one had an overarching plot though, but she was sympathetic to all sides. Sounds like Kaaterskill Falls is pretty interesting also.

Witches on the Road Tonight by Sheri Holman. Sheri Holman is a writer who cannot be pigeon-holed into one " kind" of writing. I loved The Mammoth Cheese and her first book,A Stolen Tongue. The Dress Lodger is one that I put down for no apparent reason and have to pick up again some time. Historical Fiction or contemporary dramas, Holman writes about some very unusual characters. In this semi-gothic ghost story, a young boy. Eddie , lives in primitive conditions in 1940s Appalachia with his mother, Cora, who is a witch. A writer and his photographer wife almost run Eddie over and in the course of helping him, introduce the boy to film. The man also is bewitched by Cora and his history becomes part of the mystery that Wallis, Eddie's daughter helps solve many years later. The narrative is carried by many of the characters.-Eddie , when he is about to die, Wallis as a 12 year old livng with her parents and an orphan, Jasper adapted by her family, an older Wallis recounting her history, and Tucker, the writer who disappears. Holman's imagination gives the reader Cora, a witch who sheds her skin, Eddie a performer who presents horror movies, Jasper, an angry boy who discovers Eddie'secret.and and unstable Wallis, a reporter who lives in danger. I liked the book but thought that several story lines were cut short and could have used more detail. Recommended.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Two mysterious men, one a magician and the other, a man in grey, arrange a competition. The players are the young daughter of the magician and a young orphan,the protege of the man in grey. Throughout the book, the reader sees both young people grow up, and learn how to create incredible illusions in a night circus. Both Celia and Marco do not know who they are " playing against" in this game without any rules. The author has created an intricate plot that introduces the reader to a number of intriguing people, and beautiful descriptive images of new worlds set into the circus that opens only at night. The only fault that I have with the book is that sometimes each character in the novel does not have a different " voice".i.e. Isabel could be Celia.Some of the incidents that take place in the book also have no sense of morality- no retribution for some innocent people who are killed .The book itself is designed well with an elegant script and distinctive page separations. Highly recommended.

I really like authors who are able to write on completely different subjects or genres and I loved Sheri Holman's The Dress Lodger and The Mammoth Cheese. Witches on the Road Tonight was already on my wish list, but now I'm growing impatient.

I agree- Hilary Mantel is another writer who writes on a great variety of subjects- I can hardly wait for her next book.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. This very long ( 564 pages) novel about painters and obsession has good points and some bad. The author really knows how to describe the work of artists and how they paint. This asset drives the story about a psychiatrist treating a very silent artist who has attacked a painting in the National Gallery in Washington. The doctor, Andrew Marlow, interviews the artist-Robert Oliver-his ex-wife Kate, and his last girlfriend, Mary. They provide the story of Oliver's life with them and his interest in an unknown woman who is the constant subject of his art. Oliver, had in his possession a series of letters from 19th century France from a young woman artist, and her mentor, an older artist who is her husband's uncle. Marlow tracks down the tangled story of their lives through the letters and paintings that he discovers. He feels that solving the mystery of these artists will help his patient move on with his life. The so called surprise ending is a little convoluted with a plot device that is totally unexpected and unbelievable. The story ends happily for the modern characters.I think that the resolution is a little too complicated. Interesting read for the material on painting.

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman. After reading the last book about an imaginary artist, I decided to read one about Mary Cassatt. The author has written a very lovely and sensitive novel about Cassatt's sister, who was ill. Lydia lived with Mary in Paris with their parents and was the subject of a number of her paintings. Each chapter covers the one painting-thoughtfully provided along with the text. The author gives a very good description of the painting process. although from the point of view of the sitter. The reader learns about Cassatt's family, Lydia's lost love, and the relationship between Degas and Mary Cassatt. I enjoyed this novel although I thought that Mary Cassatt was probably a lot tougher in nature in real life from the research that I did.

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by Don Thompson.This book by a professor of economics is really a primer on the art and auction world. Thompson explains the role of art dealers, auction houses and collectors in the art world. He explores how money and prestige or branding make a contemporary artist saleable. The material is enlightening in understanding the power structure of art collecting.

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. Wow! I have been reading this book ( a mere 874 pages ) for about two weeks now. Mantel had done an excellent job of combining real quotes and recreating of the lives of Robespierre, Danton, and Desmoulins. Mantel gives so many people who participated in the French Revolution distinct personalities. Sometimes the relationships between these men and their wives and lovers seem bizarre. The author says in her introduction that "a rough guide:anything that seems particularlyunlikely is probably true". The novel starts from the early lives of the three men and ends at the execution of Danton and Desmoulins. The thoughts and actions of the women and men who played an active role in the revolution are complex and the examination of their philosophy is thorough. I highly recommend this novel to those who are interesed in history. I did use my copy of Simon Schama's Citizens to see what happened to some of the players

Great thoughts on A Place of Greater Safety! I just finished it as well and loved it too. I also thought their relationships were so strange, but they reflected the chaos they were all going through at the time. Camille was such an interesting person (or at least Mantel's view of him is!). I also loved the line from the introduction that you quoted. It really set the tone for my reading of the book.

Regarding The Night Circus, I was just lurking over in the 75 Books Challenge and saw that people were waxing eloquent about it. One person said it was in the top five books he had ever read in his life! Strong words for a fifty-something reader! I'm intrigued enough to add it to my ever growing wishlist.

Glad you loved A Place of Greater Safety, which is my favorite Mantel. I've been meaning to read Citizens ever since I read APoGS; it's such a tome, and so un-subway friendly that I'm not sure when I'll get to it. I just saw a new biography of Robespierre by Peter McPhee in the bookstore today, but it must be a UK import because it was $40! I didn't buy it. Hopefully, it will come out here and/or in paperback.

Hmm- I'll check Canadian sources- for the Robespierre book- sometimes we get the UK books- and sometimes not-

I did like The Night Circus but -in the top five that I have read? No- I think that the author writes a good story. I still think that the characters themselves were not given distinct personalities.

Ooh, another enticing review of A Place of Greater Safety! I may not be able to wait until the summer to read it.

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. I feel that sometimes I can appreciate good writing but not like the story- I am finding this in my read of this book. Eco's main character, Simonini is terrible. He complains about and hates everyone- Jesuits, Catholics, Masons, various political groups and most of all against Jews. The premise- that all the minor characters were based on real people doesn't make the story less distasteful. The protaganist is a forger and creates mischief in Italy and France in the mid to late nineteenth century. He seems to be one of the first authors of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Eco is also contemptuous of his reader- he includes a plot outline at the back of the book for anyone who gets confused. He includes some latin phrases that are not translated ( thank goodness for my high school latin class). There are lists of French dishes that are eaten at various points during the story. Is the book a warning against individuals who plot against and poison the plans of various nations? There is no morality in this novel- people are killed and disposed of with no remorse. I think that the reader will understand what Eco is trying to do but I don't think that it is necessary.
I have to go and read something more uplifting now-

Hmm, I was looking forward to reading that, Cyrel, and now I'm not so sure . . . Especially the part about being contemptuous of the reader!

You know- I didn't put it down-I wanted to see if there was some sort of redemption at the end- but it was really a fictional account of the origins of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion plus a lot of spying. I did find out something about the unification of Italy-but have to read a history of the time to see what the real story was about.

Finally catching up with your thread for the first time this year. In the past I've always found myself jealous of all the great books you manage to read, this year so far, even more so. So many interesting Jewish themed titled. I will add The Pity of It All to my wishlist. in Post #30, yours is the second very interesting review I've read about The Night Circus. Some day I would also really like to read When the Emperor Was Divine & The Invention of Everything Else.

And, very interesting and intriguing review of The Prague Cemetery.

Interesting review of The Prague Cemetery. I still intend to read it, but it's nice to know what to expect. I certainly never expect Eco's books to be easy, but this sounds particularly uncomfortable.

#41 - Cyrel, I read some critic recently say that Eco is brilliant thinker who only had one good novel in him (Name of the Rose--I haven't read Foucault's Pendulum so not sure what his issue was with that one). This mostly makes me laugh, but it has also relieved me of any pressure to read more of him. I have Baudolino on my TBR stack, but if it doesn't thrill me in 70 pages, it's history. I was excited about the Prague Cemetery, but after hearing only negative comments, I've decided to give it a pass. I may try some of his non-fiction though.

It would be interesting to know who it was that said Eco only wrote one good novel. If I had to choose, it would be Foucault's Pendulum, which I have read three times. I think it is a tour de force, but that's just me.

I also have The Prague Cemetery here ready to be read but have not gotten to it yet. I am eager to do so.

From what I have read, it was Eco's intention in this book to demonstrate how powerful forgeries are by focusing on the particularly odious Protocols, which were exposed as a forgery by 1921 yet are still to this day being used in the promotion of antisemitism. He purposely rendered the main protagonist as a despicable character so there would be no question where he stood on this subject.

In Eco's collection of essays called Serendipities he goes into this phenomenon of the inexplicably long lives that exposed forgeries tend to have, including the Protocols, despite continuing efforts to discredit them. Sadly there is a streak of intellectual dishonesty in some people that raises its ugly head from time to time and costs real lives.

As for being contemptuous of the reader, I doubt that, seriously. Eco is a semiotician who loves lists and he has a sense of humor. The first clue should be his choice of title for the end matter: "Useless Learned Explanations." If anything, he was having fun, for himself if no one else. I'm surprised he didn't include an index, because someone has joked that some of his novels should have one. My kindle edition lacks the Latin phrases and lists of French culinary delights so I cannot comment there. But just browsing here makes me curiouser and curiouser to read it.

It would be interesting to know who it was that said Eco only wrote one good novel. If I had to choose, it would be Foucault's Pendulum, which I have read three times.

Sorry, I really don't remember. I don't even remember if the article was any good--I just felt a relief of pressure :-)

I understand. Eco is definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

I think he's cool, I just wish he wasn't so difficult. Last summer I read the first 108 pages of The Island of the Day Before. I loved the concept, and some parts were really fabulous. But there were too many pages where he just lost me. I wish I could have focused enough to enjoy it, but I really wasn't having fun and abandoned it.

He is definitely cool — and difficult. Island is particularly abstruse. But it has a great cover! ;-)

Gorgeous cover! I donated the hardcover to charity and kept the dust jacket to use in an art project.

I am now reading a wonderful book by Modris Eksteins- Walking Since Daybreak: A story of Eastern Europe, World War II and the Heart of Our Century.

I will say that Eco is thought-provoking!

Indeed!

Walking since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II and The Heart of Our Century by Modris Eksteins. I really enjoyed reading this history of the Baltic States that concentrates on the time period of the two world wars and the author's own personal history. Eksteins traces his roots back to his maternal great grandmother in what is now Latvia. The chapters on the history of the politics of Germany and Russia regarding the Baltic land alternate with the author's own story of immigrating to Canada. The battles, the changing of sides between Russian and German influence and the terrible destruction in Latvia and Germany are described in this history. I do believe that this book certainly fills in the gaps in my knowledge of Baltic area. However, in order to get an understanding of the whole picture of World War II, the reader should also read works by Antony Beevor.

That does sound interesting, Cyrel. I know a little about the changing sides between Germany and Russia, but less for the Baltics than for parts of eastern Europe.

I saw a wonderful film about Estonia, the Balts, Germans and the Russians at the Toronto film Festival a couple of years ago. It covered some of the politics of the area just before the First World War. It was called The Poll Diaries ( 2010) -directed by Chris Kraus- see it if you can- very powerful.

The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I follow a few historical fiction series and this one about the adventures of Spanish soldier, Captain Diego Alatriste, is fun to read. The author describes the politics of seventeenth century Spain and the plots against the King, Philip IV. The captain seems to be involved with the actress who the king is interested in and there are further plots to incriminate Alatriste with crimes against the monarchy. The adventures are swashbuckling and still the reader gets a sense of the life of the rich and the poor.

I have read several of his books (The Flanders Panel and Club Dumas come to mind) but have not heard of this series until now. For a long time not much of his work was available in English translation. But it's been a while, so I'll have to look into this because I did enjoy his earlier books.

I really liked his The Painter of Battlesand The Queen of the South-both very different.

Tides of War by Stella Tillyard The author has written some great historical biographies -Aristocrats and Citizen Lord to name two, and I believe that this is her first novel. Tillyard's subject is the Peninsular War. Her wide range of characters explore both the history of the struggle between Napoleon and Wellington and the personal stories of both fictional and real people of that time. The reader learns about Wellington's wife , Kitty and her independence from a husband who really does not care about her, the role of Nathan Rothschild and his bank in supporting the war as well as the fictional characters who represent some of the issues of that time. A good read for those who like historical fiction.

Hugo Movie Companion by Brian Selznick. I borrowed this book from a friend. I read the original book and saw the movie. This book about the background of the making of the film was really interesting. The drawings and plans of the sets, the research on the filmmaker George Melies and the explanations about the jobs of the many people who worked on the film were informative. I found out that a former student had a key role in the 3D process. I was also surprised to learn that the real George Melies really did have a toy store in a French railway station. Lovely read if you have seen the film( and in 3D).

The Night Manager by John Le Carre. I became interested in Le Carre's work after seeing the movie based on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The story of a British hotel worker with a background in cooking and the army, Jonathan Pine, and his minders in the secret service is fascinating. I am not sure whether I was more interested in the story of the plots and fights in the government services or the way Pine went undercover to trap an arms dealer. A good gripping read with lots of suspense.

The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips. The author has written a very unusual story. He writes as if the book was the introduction to a newly discovered play by William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Arthur. And indeed the name of the character is Arthur Phillips, novelist, brother to a slightly disfuctional twin sister ,Dana, and son to a man who spends most of his life in jail. Whether the play has been written by his father is one of the themes as well as the " unreliable narrator' motif. In addition, Phillips produces the Shakespearean play, complete with footnotes. Who or what is the truth?. Like the narrator in Julian Barnes who " doesn't get it", the reader really is left with many questions about the reality of this family, the details lifted from the novelist's life or not, and the nature of revenge and repentance. A very interesting read.

The Tragedy of Arthur sounds very intriguing. Did the Shakespearean play seem convincing at all?

Hmm- yes and no- I am amazed that anyone would spend so much time writing it and the footnotes- some of the words are a little strange and " off".

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Greene is one of those writers that you pick up and wonder why you haven't read his work sooner. I read Greene years ago and am now filling in the gaps in my read of all his books. This is a masterful story of a British reporter in Vietnam in the early fifties. He meets a young American who is working as an economic attache but is really involved in the politics. This young man seems very innocent in his opinions and actions but events prove him to be dangerous. He also takes the British reporter's girlfriends from him. The story of the relationships and the outcomes of the conflicts between the French and the various warring factions in Vietnam are strangely prophetic. An excellent book.

In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield This is another reread of an author that I read many years ago. The short stories are about various inhabitants of a small German spa town, I believe in the early 1900's-the English woman there without her husband, the visitors from Germany,and the pension owners. The author is a keen observer of personality and makes very critical comments about the role of women and the assumptions of the men of the time.
A very good reread.

The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst. I think that this is one of my favourite books that I have read this year. The only problem with reading it on my Kobo is that it is hard to go back and reread chapters ( I am gadget-challenged). Hollinghurst tells the story of a charismatic young poet who dies in the First World War. The memories of his relationships with men and women, the legacy of his writing, the unreliable narrator problem, and the problems of biography are the main themes. The story starts before the war and continues to 2008. The reader meets various people who have a relationship with the family introduced in the first chapter. There are questions of reliability- who is telling the truth? A wonderful read!

Field Gray by Philip Kerr. This is the latest installment of the saga of private detective/ spy/soldier Bernie Gunther. Kerr takes the reader from 1954 Germany where a variety of spy services are using Gunther ( French, American) to find war criminals to 1940 and 41 Germany and Russia. The stories of Gunther's time in Russian work camps- alluded to other books- are described here. The lies and deceptions on all sides are exposed and the reader is left with an unease at the betrayals and deals. Kerr uses the details of real war criminals and places in the story. I look forward to the next book Prague Fatale

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier. I was disappointed in this book. Although the poet and artist William Blake plays a major role in this novel, the story is more of a young adult account of London in 1792. The author uses the real Astley's Circus and the character of the owner, Philip Astley. The story revolves around three young people in Lambeth, a brother and sister whose family have moved to London from the country and a street wise girl who is their neighbour. The author uses Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience in the plot but I wanted more.

Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsuzsi Gartner. This book of short stories was nominated for the Giller Prize last year. The stories are quirky, funny and in some cases quite horrific. Gartner knows how to pack a punch as she targets the film industry in Vancouver, international adoption, real estate and terrorism. Sometimes the prose seems a little convoluted and the plots meander through a dense series of actions. Gartner does make her point. An interesting and sometimes uncomfortable read.

Pirates of the Levant by Arturo Perez-Reverte. This is the latest in the series about seventeenth century Spanish soldier, Captain Alatriste. Previous books have been set in Madrid. This story has Alatriste and his seventeen year old charge, Inigo , serving aboard a ship on the Mediterranean looking for pirates and protecting Spanish outposts in North Africa. In fact this book really doesn't have much of a specific plot as much as the description of a series of battles. What was pivotal was the description of the treatment of the Moors and other unfortunate captives in the galleys. The author describes the very brutal fate of peoples caught in the wars between the Muslims in the Levant and Spain. This was the key feature of this particular novel. As well, the reader learns of the fate of ordinary soldiers who fought in the name of the king and got very little in return.

It's not Inigo Montoya, is it?

Robert

mmm , no I think Balboa- will have to go back to the book.

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz. Horwitz writes well about his physical and intellectual journey throughout the southern states in search of the American Civil War sites. There are amusing stories about travelling and joining a group of " hardcore" civil war reenactors who recreate the conditions of the civil war soldier- bad food, exhaustion and no hygiene. Horwitz visits historians, civil war battlefields and monuments and the present day towns and people who live near them. He is really looking into the reasons southerners still have strong feelings about the Confederate nation and past battles today. He finds a great divide in the south that encompasses attitudes towards big government, integration and style of life. I found this book very revealing in the description of feelings by both black and white Americans towards the civil war and civil rights. Horwitz writes well about the difficult and sometimes troubling ideas found in the veneration of southern civil war leaders and events.

I read Confederates in the Attic a few years ago and wanted to go watch a Civil War enactment right away.

I know- it sounds interesting !
The Paper Garden :An Artist Begins Her Life's Work at 72 by Molly Peacock. This is a wonderful book! Molly Peacock not only described the life of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany-she integrated the stories of her own life in this biography. Peacock used the beautiful papercuts that Delany started to created at age 72 to intrioduce various themes into the narrative. The fact that each of the book's chapters began with photos of the art helped enormously understand the artistry that Delany developed. Mary Delany was brought up to be a member of the royal household of England in the 1700's. That really didn't happen until she was in her 70's with a friendship with King George III and Queen Charlotte. Delany's uncle arranged for her first marriage at age 17 to a much older friend of his. This horrendous match to a drunkard ended with his death and left Mary in a much better position as a widow. She was able to live more or less independently ( as much as a woman could in the eighteenth century) until her second marriage in her forties to a clergyman from Ireland. This was a love match and thye lived very happily until his death when she was 72. The art of recreating flowers began when Mary lived with her good friend, the Duchess of Portland. Encourgement and the time to devote to this " craft" led to the most extraordinary work. Peacock describes her own life as a poet and her rediscovery of her first love who she marries. The encouragement by either Mary's friend, the Duchess or the husband of her first biographer ( a distant relation of Mary's) is a constant theme in this memoir of discovery of talent. Well written and inspirational.

I ran across The Paper Garden on Amazon and sent a copy to my mother who loved it. Guess I'll have to wait til I visit her to read it.

The Paper Garden sounds fascinating. What an interesting story that is.

The book was designed well- each chapter starting with one of the papercuts discussed and relating to a theme in Mary Delany's life.

Twelve Days in Persia: Account of a Journey Across the Bakhtiari Mountains of South-western Persia by Vita Sackville-West This book was first published in 1928 and is an account of the author's trek into the Bakhtiari mountains with her husband and a few other Englishmen. The descriptions of the countryside are precise. This book is also a record of the life of a remote tribe in present day Iran. Sackville-West's observations on the oil fields of the time and the hope for a better life for the people that she saw are very much coloured by the prejudices of the time. The modern day reader might wince at the opinions of this English writer but I think that Vita-Sackville just expresses the thoughts of most western visitors to this region. This was an interesting exploration of the past and might help explain some present day problems with outsiders to a Middle east region.

Twelve Days in Persia sounds fascinating. Onto the wishlist it goes.

I have to find her earlier book on , I think, Tehran.

A Mountain of Crumbs :a Memoir by Elena Gorokhova. This memoir about the author's early years growing up in the Soviet union is well written. Gorokhova's descriptions of her schooling, family and her assumptions about Russian society provide a glimpse into the lives of ordinary Russians during the 1960's and 70's. Eventually the author left the Soviet Union having married an American citizen. This memoir is really an intense introduction to Soviet life. Some of the descriptions of dreams could have been omitted but overall an interesting book.

The Cost of Living: Early and Uncollected Stories by Mavis Gallant.This is a great collection of short stories by Mavis Gallant. I enjoyed the perceptive introduction by Jhumpa Lahiri and then the stories about a variety of lost souls and awkward young people affected by bad parenting. The tensions between men and women caught in world of the 1950's were well described. This is a collection by a master of the short story.

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris. The memoirs of a woman who may have destroyed the family of a young painter in Glasgow is a plot that sneaks up on the reader. At first the descriptions of the International Exhibition in 1888 and the family befriended by an Englishwoman of means seems to be quite normal. Later as the narrator describes her present day life in 1933 and her attempts to recall and write about a momentous time in her life, clues lead the reader to a difficult conclusion. Who is telling the truth? This is a book that I want to go back to again to see if I can spot more of the inconsistencies in the story earlier than I did the first time reading. Excellent novel.

I do love Mavis Gallant, and I must have read the Lahiri intro but I don't remember it (but then, I'm not a Lahiri fan). I keep hearing about Gillespie and I, so I guess I'm going to have to look for it.

I have one more book by Gallant in my book pile that I have to get to soon.

The Wandering Jews by Joseph Roth. and translated by Michael Hofmann This little book- really a reporting about the life of "Eastern Jews" according to Roth- written in the late 1930's seems very dated now. Roth explores the differences between Jews living in "Western Europe" ( assimilated German, Austrian and French Jews) and those who come from Poland and Russia. In a way the book is somewhat patronizing of the customs of these religious Jews who are most conspicuous in their poverty and beliefs. The vexing question of what will become of them is not answered although the reader knows the end of the story. An interesting report by a perceptive writer and observer of the tensions in Europe between the two world wars.

Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov. A friend of mine who has similar tastes in reading recommended this book. Shalamov spent about 17 years in total in the Soviet prison system in Kolyma in Siberia and his short stories reflect his experiences. The reader learns of the breaking down of the spirit of the so-called political prisoners and the brutality of the guards and convict prisoners. In fact the real convicts seem to be encouraged to degrade and steal from those who have been charged with being on the wrong side of the system. The list of former heads of Russian institutions who end up in the labour camps seems strange to the reader but becomes understandable after reading the book. The power of these stories is great. They add to the horror of the more recent non-fiction accounts of life and death in the Gulag.

Just catching up on your reading, Cyrel. I do hear about it in other places :-) but I like to see it altogether sometimes. Perhaps you might consider adding your movies and other culture adventures to your thread? I think there are people here who would enjoy hearing about them. Just a thought.

I've had Kolyma Tales on the TBR since someone else (Lisa?) mentioned it. Anne Applebaum quoted from it in Gulag, so I've been interested in it for some time. Thanks for your review.

Hmm- good idea , Lois.

Rebecca- I think that the Shalamov book just reinforces what Anne Applebaum writes about in Gulag.

Embers by Sandor Marai. Marai is one of those rediscovered authors now translated from Hungarian and then German by Carol Brown Janeway. The book was originally published in 1942. The author recreates the world of the Austrian- Hungarian Empire. An aged General who has lived a solitary life in his castle for many years prepared to entertain a friend who he has not seen for over forty years. He narrates most of the story of his life and then tells of the incident that involved this his late wife and this former friend. The General was wealthy, smart and was married to a beautiful woman. His friend was not as well off but was treated as a trusted family member by the general's late father and mother. When the friend turns up at his home after living in the Far East and later England, the General feels as if he has waited for this occasion. The book becomes not only a recounting of the important incident that changed the General's life, but a meditation on the meaning of relationships. The reader finds out why the event was so important and what happened to the people involved. A really interesting and beautifully translated story

Oh, good. I have that on my TBR.

I have to find more of Marai's work!

Stalin The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore The author has done meticulous research on this book, using recently opened Russian archives and interviews with some of the survivors. In a way, the story of Stalin's time in power in Russia from the early 1930's to his death in the 1950's reads like a surreal novel. While mililons of people were tortured, shot or sent to the Gulag, Stalin used his band of cronies and their families to entertain him in never ending dinners. At the same time the close circle of rulers of Russia changed constantly with ministers and or their wives arrested and exiled or shot. Life went on when one's family disappeared. The reasons were trumped up- usually based on rivalries or jealousy. The battles during the Second World War were successful because of the millions of Russian soldiers available. Casualties were not important. The subservience of the rulers surrounding Stalin and their role in the deaths of so many Russians is astounding. The depravity of the ruling party is astonishing. Only now are memoirs telling part of the story. This book really must be read with Gulag by Anne Applebaum

I'll definitely look for that one, Cyrel, as I've been reading a lot about Stalinist Russia over the past few years, fiction and nonfiction.

Nice review of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. It looks very interesting.

Right on about it reading like a surreal novel

Did you read Young Stalin by the same author as well? It shows how he got to power in the first place, but oddly enough was written after The Court of the Red Tsar. I agree about your linking with Gulag and would also add Koba the Dread

Oh, so maybe I should read Young Stalin first. It will be interesting to have the benefit of the Soviet archives, since the only other Stalin bio I've read is the Stalin material in Hitler and Stalin, which was written before those archives were available. Gulag benefited from them so much, as have other books I've read.

I have Young Stalin in my TBR pile and will get to it soon.

As to Lois's request- i am going to the Hot Docs Film Festival this week and will report on the films that I am seeing.

The first documentary that I saw yesterday was an old CBC special that was also on an American channel when it came out in 1985. It was part of a tribute to filmmaker John Kastner. The Lady and the Lifer followed an inmate of Collins Bay Penitentiary who became involved with a woman from the community. This meeting- a programme that involved volunteer visitors-changed Ron Cooney's life.The film makers were allowed in the prison and followed Ron as he took part in programmes to curb his temper ( yoga, mediation, biofeedback). applied for release to another prison, and his eventual release on day parole. The couple also allowed the film maker to record their relationship at both good and bad times. Kastner was at the screening and talked about how Ron Conney was able to turn his life around and ramifications about present day legislation. Very interesting.

and book finished

All That I Am by Anna Funder The author takes the lives of real people and creates a novel that is part historical fiction. She says in her notes that some of the situations are imagined yet there is a sense that it is real.One reviewer said that the real story was so compelling that perhaps the author should have written it as a non-fiction story. Yet, we the reader are left with characters who were real people with extraordinary lives. Ernst Toller, writer and political exile from Germany, tells his story from a New York hotel room in 1939. Ruth Becker, living in Australia and at the end of her life in the present relates her involvement with Dora Fabian, her cousin, and her husband Hans Wesemann in 1930's Germany and later 1935 England. Alternating between the narration of Ernst and Ruth, the story of political attempts to oppose Hitler and the rise of the Nazis, the exile and threat of assassination and eventually the betrayals is a thrilling plot. However the reader knows that most of the events did happen. A really interesting book.

>96 torontoc: thanks, Cyrel!

Hark A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. And now for some comedy relief. Beaton has a nice take on history, and some authors through her cartoons. I liked her view of the Bronte sisters and their attraction to unsuitable men for their heros. This books was fun to read and view although I wish that some of Beaton's captions were clearer.

Two more films from the Hot Docs Festival

Ethel directed by Rory Kennedy. The filmmaker, the 11th child of Robert and Ethel Kennedy was born six months after the assassination of Robert. Rory Kennedy assembled her brothers and sisters and her mother to talk about their lives as a family. The film really concentrates on the time up to the assassination. There are wonderful home movies that show the meeting of Robert and Ethel on a skiing vacation in Quebec, their marriage, and more about their home life.( complete with wandering horses, dogs and briefly a seal). The political events that shaped the Kennedys are shown along with the interviews with Ethel and her children. The viewer sees the joy in this family and the commitment to social justice that was given to them by their father and continued by their mother. This film was wonderful.

Oma and Bella directed by Alexa Karolinski. The director was going to produce a book about her grandmother's cooking but decided to interview and follow her grandmother, Regina and her close friend, Bella in their apartment in Berlin. Bella had been living with Regina since Regina's leg operation. She had her own place that she checked once a week. The director filmed the two women cooking in a very small kitchen and slowly revealed the story of their Holocaust experiences and life as young married women in Germany just after the war. We see more cooking and family events. The director was at the screening and explained why both women stayed in Germany although they were from Lithuania and Poland. The film was lovely and very interesting.

Two more movies from Hot Docs-both dealing with family relationships.

El Huaso directed by Carlo Guillermo Proto (Canada) I thought that this film was going to be about "an aging man's dream of being a rodeo horsemen in Chile" ( paraphrase from the brochure) but it was not. Instead the subject was this father's ( the director's father) obsession with getting senile and thoughts of suicide. We see him in the doctor's office undergoing tests, his dialogue with his children , grandchildren and wife and his travels back to Chile from Toronto. In fact the contrast between sunny and warm Chile and very cold wintery Toronto is made many times. The father's conversations with his son over his thoughts of suicide and determination not to be a burden on his family and his children's distress is the main subject. An interesting film about family dynamics. ( spoiler- the father turns out not have any signs of senility but his memory loss is from severe anxiety and depression) The audience ( or me ) wonders why the father puts his family through such mental torture.The son reveals that the father has been talking to him about suicide since he was thirteen. I guess this particular family accepted this behaviour and dealt with it.

Private Universe directed by Helena Trestikova ( Czech Republic.) The director has been friends with a family that she has filmed since 1974 with the birth of their first child. The husband kept photo and written journals as well as home movies that provide story of how the family lived in Czechslovakia under Communism. The story is about an ordinary family- with growing children-the son a rebel who now lives happily in Spain and the daughters who are more educated and now in the process of seeting up theri own families. Political events are inserted into the narrative. Very well filmed and edited.

I saw a very good film today
Ballroom Dancer directed by Christian Bonke and Andreas Koefoed ( Denmark) The directors followed a Russian former world ballroom dance champion as he works toward a comeback with a new partner. His former partner has been world champion with her new partner for a couple of years. Slavik and Anna are also partners in real life outside the dance world. However the viewer sees the breakdown in communication as the couple go to competitions and are ranked fifth.This is a film about obsession and the ending is sad. Really well done.

I envy you going to Hot Docs. I have been following it on CBC radio. So far I have heard about Bananas and a film about a man who finally made it as a blues singer in his 70s. I saw the Kastner film a few years ago and you're right; proposed changes would affect his outcome adversely. Interesting.

Bananas is going to get a run at the Bloor theatre this May- so I am trying to see other films now and see it at the Bloor.

The Arrogant Years One Girl's Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn by Lucette Lagnado. I read the author's last book that centered on her father's history and life. This book follows the family to Brooklyn but the focus is on Lagnado's mother and really the author herself. Edith Lagnado has the beginning of a promising career in Egypt as a teacher , and a second role as a librarian-advisor to a Pasha's wife. When she married Leon, this all ended. In fact the story of the family's situation in Brooklyn contrasts greatly with their life in Egypt. Lucette is the hope of the mother in the United States. However, Lucette developed cancer. After she is treated, Lucette searches for her own satisfaction in career and lifestyle. Her mother does get a job in the library system. The story relates how Lucette and her mother adapted to the US while her father seemed to be invisible in this account. The suffering of Edith as she ages and Lucette's role in helping her end the memoir. I felt that the first book had a more colourful story about the history of the father's family. This book does skip some of what could have been interesting sections ( the story of her grandmother's life and the relationships with her sister and brothers) but it is possible that the author is saving them for another book. An interesting read about self discovery.

I am interested in your review of the Lagnado book, because I was disappointed in her first book, the one that was mostly about her father. I definitely had high expectations for it which obviously weren't fulfilled so that may be part of the reason I didn't like it that much; if I'm remembering right (which is always doubtful), I think it annoyed me that there was so much in the book about her, rather than about her father. It sounds like this one is a lot about her too.

In this book, her father does not really come alive. This book is about Lagnado's own development and her relationship with her mother.

More Hot Docs or doc today.

China Heavyweight directed by Yung Chang ( Canada, China) The director follows one coach and two young men from central China as they train for the regional boxing championships. The coach had stopped boxing professionally and recruited young people in a middle school to train. The lure of a better life is an important factor as the audience meets the parents (who are farmers) and sees the boxing matches. Each boxer takes a different route-from training with the national team to quitting and taking a labourer's job. the coach decides as well that he wants one more match. Beautifully filmed. The director and his team were at the screening as well as the coach- this film will open in Canada next week. The director filmed for two years before editing the footage.

Five Bells by Gail Jones. The author tells the stories of four people who in one day have to be on the site or around the Sydney Opera House .Ellie and James are schoolmates and former lovers who are meeting for the first time in years. Pei Hing is on her way to visit someone and we learn of her story and her imprisonment in China during the Cultural Revolution. Catherine is Irish and has come to work in Sydney. She also carries the memory of her dead brother. The author describes the area of the harbour and how each character moves through it engaged in their own thoughts. A beautifully written book with good characterizations and excellent descriptive passages..

That is a book I really hope to get to at some point. Jones does write beautifully.

ETA a fix -replaced "right" with "write"...sigh

Gail Jones seems to be a highly regarded but under-appreciated writer. I don't have any of her books, but Five Bells seems like a good one to start with.

The Phoenix Land by Miklos Banffy I read this memoir about Banffy's life as a diplomat in the service of Hungary just after World War 1. He wrote it in 1945 and certainly Banffy's knowledge of history, politics and diplomacy is impressive. The reader learns of the backroom negotiations behind treaties at conferences, and the history of various failed and successful revolutions. The one fault of this book is the detour that the author makes more than once to explain theory or thoughts on events. The style is not straightforward. Banffy still provides interesting information on a part of the world and a time that I did not know.

Oh, that sounds interesting, Cyrel. Did you read Banffy's series of novels, They Were Counted/They Were Found Wanting/They Were Divided? They deal with a lot of the same issues. The translator of the edition that I read noted that he cut a lot of the political detail from the novels. This put me off initially, but I ended up getting very absorbed in the novels, despite a somewhat soap-opera-ish aspect to parts of them, for much of the reason you cite, "a world and a time I didn't know." I also found some parallels to today.

I tried to order the first of Banffy's novels from Amazon.ca- they can't get the book after 4 months and the only copies are second hand for over $200! I might end up ordering all three novels for my ebook- they are only $6.99 each.

That's weird, Cyrel. I bought them in a local bookstore in NYC just last summer although they may have been imported from England. But when I checked Amazon and the Book Depository, they had the second two volumes but not the first. The ebook definitely sounds the way to go!

I will be adding the Banffy novels to my Kobo reader.

Two great documentaries from the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.
I saw "In Heaven, Underground "last year at the Hot Docs Festival and wanted to see it again. This year, I took my 88 year old aunt who likes films and film festivals. The history of the Jewish Cemetery ( Weissensee) in East Berlin is beautifully directed by Britta Wauer. The film also serves as a history of the German Jews-Wauer interviews a descendant of a very wealthy family who left in 1933, a man who used the cemetery grounds as a playground during World War II and the people who maintain it today. The cemetery was never destroyed by the Nazis. Some of the very grand monuments are being restored. The lush forest in the middle of the city is unusual but a lasting monument to a group who were an important part of German society. Excellent film.

"Portrait of Wally"( directed by Andrew Shea) refers to a painting by Egon Schiele of his lover. The painting was taken from it's owner in Vienna,. Lea Bondi, when she was about to leave Austria just before World War II. The film is the story of how this painting was passed to an Austrian museum and then traded to the Leopold Collection. After the painting was in an exhibit in New York at MOMA, it was held for 13 years as the heirs, the government and the Austrian gallery battled over ownership. This story is about making restitution of property stolen by the Nazis during the war. The speaker after the film was a man whose family had been involved in a similar case.

The Free World by David Bezmozgis. The author has written a novel about a family of Latvian Jews who are waiting in Rome for papers to immigrate to the West. The time is 1978 and we view the past and present situations facing Samuil- a Red army veteran, his sons Karl and Alec and their families. Samuil has emigrated unwillingly- he had a good life as the head of a factory in Riga but suffers the indignities of leaving the Soviet Union for his family's sake. I wish that the reader learned more about his past which is described briefly. The novel has more of a focus on Alec-the younger son who has a job with the immigration society in Rome and his wife Polina. The story of the infidelities of Alec and the not so legal pursuits of his brother and some of his friends becomes messy. I am not sure whether I liked the plot or tone- I have to think about it for a while.

Cyrel, you are getting to see some pretty interesting films. I think I'd find the one on Bobby Kennedy's family intriguing. It been interesting to see what the 3rd generation of Kennedys have done with their lives. Some have had flamed out as youth men but come around and made something of themselves. Few have gone into politics, although Bobby's grandson, Joe III, is running for congress here this year.

And even "El Huaso" sounds interesting. I did see an interesting older movie last evening. "Nowhere in Africa," which I suspect you have already seen. I thought the family story was done very well and was quite moving, but the relationship with the Africans seemed a bit cliché.

I am interested in your review of The Free World since several people, including one of my cousins, told me I would like it. (I don't think any of them really know my reading tastes!) Yet somehow I've been resisting buying it, and after reading your review I'm just as ambivalent.

Rebecca, I have mixed feelings about The Free World. Some episodes are definitely worth reading the book for- but I didn't like any of the main characters-they seemed very " cold". That is not to say that the reader has to always like the characters in evey book but... I am still thinking about it.

Lois, I didn't see " Nowhere in Africa" but will look out for it. It will be easier to view documentary films in Toronto now. The Hot Docs Festival took over a big theatre that has been restored and will show documentaries there year round.

Suddenly A Knock On the Door by Etgar Keret I really like the writing of Etgar Keret. This new book of his does not disappoint me. It is funny, surreal at times and bizarre in the unlikely combinations of events. I found that these stories have more of a focus on human nature.My favourite stories were "What , of this Goldfish, Would you Wish? and the lead story "Suddenly, A Knock on the Door."They combined whimsy, black humour, and the bizarre combinations of events that make up Keret's style. Some stories are dark and some are uplifting. Definitely worth reading

The Birth House by Ami McKay. This novel is so rich in it's use of issues about women controlling childbirth, their own sexuality, and more. Set in a small town in Nova Scotia just during the first World War, Dora Rare is the youngest in her family of all boys. She eventually befriends and becomes the apprentice to the midwife,, Miss Babineau. A new doctor in the area tries to get all the women to come to his clinic for their deliveries.. The clash of " modern methods" using forceps and ether, and old fashioned herbs leads to conflict and trouble for Dora. McKay writes about the use of vibratory treatments for hysteria, the aftermath of the Halifax explosion and the effects of the Spanish influenza epidemic.This is a very good and compelling story.

>119 torontoc: I read this a few years ago after it showed up on the IMPAC Dublin longlist, nominated by several Canadian libraries. I liked it for the very reasons you state.

My sister-in-law is currently reading my copy of The Birth House. Sounds like I need to get it back sooner rather than later. I have to admit that I was turned off the book by the obnoxious Debbie Travis when she presented/defended it for CanadaReads a few years ago. She certainly didn't do the book or the author any favours from where I sat!

I remember being interested when I first heard about The Birth House and then hearing some negative reviews. You've piqued my interest again! I'll add it to the TBR list.

I really liked McKay's writing style- I also want to try the cake recipe at the back of the book.

The Same Sea by Amos Oz. This is a lovely book that was written in 1999. Oz has combined both poetry and prose to tell the story or rather a slice of the lives of Albert, a grieving widower whose son Rico is travelling in Tibet, the ghost of his wife Nadia, his new friend Bettine, his son's maybe girlfriend Dita and her other male friends and the Narrator. We are not sure if the narrator is Oz himself although certain biographical details are similar. Oz also uses allusions to Biblical verses in the poetry and prose segments. A very satisfying read.

The Liberated Bride by A.B. Yehoshua. The storylines in this very long book revolve around the main character, a very irritating professor of Near Eastern Studies at Haifa University. Controlling in a very underhanded way, Yochanan Rivlin is stuck in his work on a new book and he is obsessed by the divorce of his older son, Ofer, from Galya. Ofer has not said a word about why he and his wife split after a year old marriage and in fact has exiled himself to Paris. Rivlin uses the death of Galya's father to see the family and try to find out what happened from Galya, her mother, and a trusted family employee Fu'ad. Rivlin's wife, Hagit, wants him to stop asking questions and accept his son's actions. At the same time, Rivlin is in contact with his mentor, a brilliant hypochodriac professor, Carlo Tedeschi, who wants him to look at the research of a recently murdered scholar. The papers in the form of poems and stories from old Algerian newspapers lead Rivlin to ask his MA student who has been absent from class for a year,Samaher, to translate them into Hebrew. There are many trips to weddings, lectures and cultural events where Rivlin tries to find out about things that are not necessarily his business. In fact, in the middle of the book, the reader learns from unsent letters from Ofer to Galya and his mother, Hagit, what terrible event led to the divorce. The reader is in the position of knowing what Rivlin doesn't know. This fact leads the reader to wish along with Hagit that Rivlin would just leave things alone. However then the plot would not be as interesting as the relationships between Arab and Jew are explored along with the foibles of academia. Yehoshua creates very interesting characters and writes about very strong females- Hagit the district judge who is married to Rivlin, Samahar the student who has everyone helping her, and Galya who never lets Rivlin know what happened. I read some of the reviews of this book and some readers took exception with the translation and the length. This is a long book and there could have been more editing. But I did like it and find that Yehoshua is one of those writers whose style is different in each book.

Great review of The Liberated Bride. I have owned this one for some time now and really should at least get it onto the TBR shortlist.

Thank you-I have two more Yehoshua books in my book pile that I have to get to.

Stray Bullets by Robert Rotenberg. Lawyer and writer Robert Rotenberg has written the third in his series of legal mysteries that take place in contemporary Toronto. He uses the same cast of characters giving some major roles and others minor ones in each of the three books. The pace is fast and the plot believable. A little boy is killed outside a Tim Horton's donut shop when three young maen confront each other. No one knows the complete story and the reader follows the detectives, the lawyers and the witnesses during the trial. A good and fast paced read.

Consider, This Senora by Harriet Doerr. This novel was pleasant to read. Each chapter focused on a different American who lived in a small town and new development in northern Mexico. This was not the dangerous world of today but a sleepy part where not much happened . The author describes failed romances and a little scandal. The writing is evocative of a place where the beauty of the landscape is marred by nature with drought and floods. I wasn't bored by this book as the skill at characterization was good. I just found the plot- not dramatic enough.

Upon a Dark Night by Peter Lovesey I think that summer brings on an urge to read mystery novels ( or maybe it is the 25 C plus weather ) and I found a new author to me, Peter Lovesey. This is the second of the Peter Diamond books that I have read. A number of murders and a missing person all turn out to be related in an intricate plot. I like the not perfect characters and the location in Bath, England. A good read for the summer.

Consider, This Senora is on my TBR, so I'm glad to read your review. But, I am wondering why you mentioned that you weren't bored.

Hmm- I just found the plot to be very " gentle", the writing good and I didn't want to put it down ( the author had a habit of telling the reader what was going to happen way before it did) but I guess that I wanted more drama.

OK. I'm still looking forward to it...one of these days.

A good characterization of Consider, This Senora. Not the action, but spending time with these characters makes it an interesting read. I entirely agree with your assessment that although not much happens, one does not feel bored reading this novel, provided you take your time, and are willing to fall into the rhythm of the life of the characters. Harriet Doerr is clearly an author far removed from Main Street literature. Beautiful descriptions, a true feel for Mexico are indicative of the high quality of the writing. Just a wonderful book.

I have to look for more books by Harriet Doerr.
Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr This latest novel in the story of Bernie Gunther is set in 1941. Bernie is working for the police in Berlin and is trying to find out who killed two men with the same knife. He becomes involved with a woman who is connected to one of the murders. The story then shifts to Prague where Bernie is asked ( or told) to solve another murder of one of Reinhold Heydrich's adjutants. The story weaves together the murders, espionage and the plot to assassinate Heydrich. I enjoyed the twists in the story and wait for another chapter in the continuing story by Kerr.

The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva. This spy novel is another instalment in the series featuring spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. The story about a stolen Rembrandt portrait, Nazi war loot, arms dealers and multinational companies moves fast. Silva sometimes writes plots that have similar formulas but I found this story interesting and with convincing twists. A good summer read and my 75th book this year.
I don't know it is about hot weather that makes me want to read mysteries and spy novels.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. What can I say about this newly appointed Orange Prize winner. I found the beginning not as engrossing but the last half was amazing. The story of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus and the struggles between the Greek forces and the Trojans are handled expertly. Characterization is excellent with the mortals and Gods not only written about but given distinct personalities. An excellent book to read.

The Song of Achilles is on my wish list. Just heard about the Orange Prize today, a happy confirmation. Haven't read any of Daniel Silva's art world novels. I also blow hot and cold on thrillers, going on veritable binges at times and then not touching one for years. Been reading some Maigret recently to work on my French, so I feel a new need for thrillers coming on . . . ;-)

I also go through stages where thrillers are what I want to read- then I go off them.

Zoo Station by David Downing. This spy/historical fiction novel is the first in a series about John Russell, a journalist living in 1939 Berlin. He has lived there for a number of years and has an actress girlfriend and a son living with his ex-wife. Russell gets involved with the secret services of a number of countries and helps a Jewish family to get out of Germany. I liked the book enough to plan to read the whole series. There are no adventures as there are in Alan Furst's books. There is a delicate playing of wits as Russell follows his conscience in doing what he believes to be right.

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. This novel of the lives of two women in India, one the middle class housewife and the other the servant began very well. Sera Dubash survived a husband who beat her and now lives comfortably with her daughter and son-in-law. Her servant , Bhima is a survivor, living through desertion by her husband and the death by AIDS of her daughter and son-in-law. Umrigar used flashbacks to describe the early lives of both women who have been together for over 20 years. However the story becomes a melodrama at the end with a very unbelievable turn of events. Umrigar makes all her main male characters villains. The end is supposed to show the strength of Bhima. It didn't register with me because of last action that was totally out of character with the rest of the novel. Too bad - I really liked Umrigar's memoir but not this book.

Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous. I discovered this author when I heard him read at the International Authors' Festival in Toronto a few years ago,. I looked forward to this second book. The narrative is told by two very engaging characters. Christian is an Italian of Turkish descent who speaks perfect Arabic. He is asked to impersonate a new immigrant, Issa. in Rome and find a terrorist cell. Sofia is a spunky Egyptian woman living with her husband and daughter in the area that Issa is living in-the Viale Marconi neighbourhood. The novel explores the attitudes towards the relationships between Muslim men and women, living in a foreign environment and different views of religion. I really liked the way Lakhous created his plot but was not happy with the last few pages- what is it with a number of good novels that fail to sum well or give satisfactory ending. Recommended with a warning about the end.

They Were Counted by Miklos Banffy. This novel is the first in a trilogy about Hungary in the first part of the 20th century. The author was involved in the government and a diplomat representing Hungary. His novel does focus on the politics and the upper class.He uses his two main characters Balint,a member of parliament and a landowner in Transylvania and Lazslo, a noble who becomes a gambler, as his lens to view Hungarian society. To a modern reader the customs seem quaint, restricting and very old fashioned. Both men have unhappy love affairs that seem to end badly. However the picture of the Hungarian world that Banffy portrays is fascinating- the complicated politics of a dual monarchy, the gulf between classes the helpless role of women and the very romantic view of relationships The story doesn't end- there is a sense of an intermission. I will have to continue with the next two novels.

I got hooked on this last year, Cyrel. Glad you are enjoying it.

Yes- I just got the remaining two books in the trilogy for my Kobo e reader.

Silesian Station by David Downing. This book is the second in the series about newspaperman and spy John Russell in just before the war Berlin. Russell investigates the disappearance of a young Jewish girl at a Berlin railway station, gets involved with spying for the Americans, Germans and Soviets and plans escapes for a number of people. The pace is not as fast or action filled as in other spy novels but is probably more truthful in the plodding work of investigation. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

I'm enjoying the David Downing books, too.

I am glad to found this series! Up there with Alan Furstand Philip Kerr

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. This book as just as good as I hoped it would be. I couldn't put it down. In this story, the reader sees the downfall of Anne Boleyn and four of her suitors. Mantel creates very distinctive characters for Jane Seymour and her brothers, and the arrogance of the men surrounding Henry. Cromwell is depicted as colder and more chilling as he methodically goes about bringing down the Queen as Henry has tired of her and wants Jane. Cromwell is doing the King's dirty work. His methods of befriending and then getting what he wants from courtiers and ambassadors and his uneasy friendship with other men who assist him give the reader a taste of what will happen next -hopefully in the third book that Mantel is ( will be) writing.Excellent book

Stettin Station by David Downing. The third volume of the story of John Russell in wartime Berlin is a little more exciting as he conducts spy missions on behalf of the Americans and Admiral Canaris. I enjoy this series and look forward to the next in the series.

They Were Found Wanting by Miklos Banffy. This is the second book in the trilogy about Hungary in the 1900's and the lives of two cousins. Balint is still trying to get Adrienne, his beloved to leave her husband. He is also an observer of the complicated politics of Hungary and the relationship to Austria. The real politics of the time mark the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire, However, Banffy makes the observation that the Hungarian politicians ignore what is going on in the rest of Europe. Banffy through the eyes of Balint describes the beautiful lands of Transylvania. In a way these books are a love story and tribute to the world that Banffy lived in for a good part of his life.

They Were Divided by Miklos Banffy. The final novel in the trilogy about Hungary from about 1905-1914 is really a farewell and maybe an elegy by the author to Transylvania. Banffy continues the story of the love affair between Adrienne and Balint. He also concentrates on telling the frustrating story of Hungarian politics that really paralyse the government. The descriptions of the landscape are precise and create a vision of an almost wonderland of rural life. Banffy also describes the customs of the society balls and entertainments, the duals and the lifestyle of the rich. This tribute to a lost society has been a learning experience for me although the politics were frustrating to follow. An excellent but in some cases an old fashioned book to read.

Potsdam Station by David Downing. The fourth in the series on the adventures of John Russell- spy and journalist - is the most exciting. Russell is trying to get into Berlin at the end of the war in order to find his girlfriend, Effie and his son Paul. He makes a deal to be parachuted into the city by the Soviets just before they capture it. Three strands follow the lives of the characters as they make their way in a city about to be captured. Effie is hiding and changing her identity as she had been helping Jews escape. Paul is with a unit of the German army trying to fight the Russians as they enter the city. John Russell is looking for his family as he is working with the Russians. The descriptions of the situation -the fighting, the casualties and the cruelty- ring true.

Glad you enjoyed the Banffy trilogy, Cyrel.

I'm glad the John Russell series continues to be well written and entertaining.

I thought that David Downing'stories about John Russell got better in the last book- I liked the way he handled the three main characters .

Kraken by China Mieville. Every one of Mieville's books that I have read has such a different style- from the young adult Un Lun Dun to the "Balkanish" feel to the mystery The City and the City. Kraken a fantasy-science fiction- mystery-thriller does not disappoint. Mieville has created a London where all kinds of occult beings exist. The story revolves around the disappearance of a giant-squid corpse from the Museum of Natural History. The curator who discovers the missing squid, Billy Harrow, is drawn into a search by the most amazing characters ever created- a disgraced member of a church that worships the squid, a being that flits from statute to statue and organizes union animals,police who work with the occult, a tatoo that lives on the back of a captive, the sea as a real being, and a being that may or may not be dead. Two of the most chiiling villains. Goss and Subby are working with the "Tatoo" to terrorize anyone who might know fo the squid or " Kraken's" wearabouts. There are rumours that there will be massive destruction of London by fire by an unknown group. Billy and Dane-the former church of the squid adherent- are on the run as they try to avoid capture and to find the Kraken. This is a great thriller.

Kraken sounds very good, thanks to your compelling review, Cyrel. I should give Miéville a try; I've been told that I should start with The City & the City, so I'll look for it this coming week.

#150 - that was just a terrific review. If I ever get to Mieville, I think you have just encouraged me to start with Kraken.

The City and the City is indeed a good book to read by Mieville.

Prophecy by S.J. Parris. I have discovered another mystery/thriller/historical ficton writer. S.J. Parris has written books about a former monk Bruno Giordano, a spy for Sir Francis Walsingham in London during Elizabeth's reign. Giordano lives at the French ambassador residence and is supported by the French king. His job is to keep an eye on conspirators plotting to put Mary Stuart on the throne, while working as a scholar. Two murders of the Queen's maids of honour lead to inquiries about sinister plots and eleborate schemes to replace Elizabeth on the English throne. I look forward to reading the rest of the series

Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding. What a beautiful book! I agree with Deborah- this should have won the Orange Prize. Harding writes sensitively about a sick deaf mute who travels to a city in post war Romania. He is looking for the woman whose family his mother worked for before the war. He is actually found by Safta, the young woman who is now a nurse. Augustin, the man, draws and constructs figures out of paper. His story is told through his art. The memories of Safta and Augustin reveal the stories of their lives and the changes that the war brought. A well constructed book about memory and loss. Highly recommended.

Heresy by S.J. Parris. What is it about the summer and warm weather that brings out the urge to read mysteries? I discovered S.J. Parris and have just finished her first historical fiction novel ( I read the second first) that follows the adventures of Giordano Bruno. Modelled after a real person, the fugitive monk -who did flee Italy, write many books, was indeed a favourite of the French king and did spend time in Elizabethan England-is portrayed as a spy for Sir Francis Walsingham. He is sent with Sir Phillip Sidney to Oxford to see if he can find a hidden Catholic network. Bruno encounters three very symbolic murders at the college where he is staying. He also becomes involved with the Rector's daughter, uncovers a number of Catholic plots and escapes death a few times.
A good series to follow

Afterwards by Rachel Seiffert I know that this is a very skillfully written novel about the trauma that soldiers suffer. However, I found myself not very engaged and struggling to finish it. Alice is a physiotherapist in London who meets Joseph, a former soldier. The story of their awkward relationship with it's unexplained stops and starts forms the basis of the plot. Joseph does some house repairs for Alice's grandfather, David, who was an airman in Kenya with the British forces during the Mau Mau rebellion. Both men struggle with the memories of actions that they had to take as soldiers. Alice does not know Joseph's story as he deals with his past behaviour and his struggles to understand what he did. The reader is taken through the events of both their lives as they go on holiday together and deal with everyday life and family relationships. Sigh - I wish that I could like this book better but I don't.

Sorry for the overuse of the word struggle in the last review- you can see that I did " struggle" to finish that book and could not get that word out of my mind while I wrote.

The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin. This book and the wonderful use of language and the so very interesting plot made this work a joy to read. Grushin was nominated for the Orange Prize for New Writers in 2006 for this book. A very comfortable bureaucrat in a key role in the official Soviet culture scene in 1985, Sukhanov, attends the private showing of his father-in-law's art show. As his wife has left early, he starts to walk to the subway and meets an old friend and former fellow artist who he doesn't recognize at first. This encounter sets off a set of memories about Sukhanov's past life as a struggling artist and his relationships with his family. The novel is constructed so that the reader at first does not know what is past reality or dream and what is present. Sukhanov seems to forget the names of people who were close to him as well as the obligations that he has as an editor. As the book progresses, the reader learns of the choices that Sukhanov made for love and eventually comfort. Unfortunately his carefully chosen world seems to fall apart with his children and wife making choices that alienate him. The descriptions of official art and the forbidden works of Chagall and Kandinsky, Dali and Picasso emphasize the restrictions that the Soviet Union put on originality and creativity. I found this novel to be a dazzling wrok of art about boundaries and consequences.

I must get to this one. I bought it after I read and loved Grushin's The Line, but it's still sitting on the TBR list.

I have that one too; I bought it after someone else gave it a great review here on LT, but I can't remember who.

I should look up Grushin's other works.

We Had It So Good by Linda Grant. I liked the previous two novels by this author but found her current book disappointing. Grant writes about an American man, Stephen, who goes to study at Oxford during the 1970's, stays in England, marries, and about his family in later years. There is an interlude of sorts with chapters about the life of Grace, a friend of Andrea , Stephen's wife. Grant writes about the values of the 1970's and the effect on the lives of Stephen and his friends or the changes in their situations as they mature. I really didn't see this book as representative of the 1970's generation. ( Being one myself) On to the next book.

Interesting about Grant's latest, too bad it doesn't work.

Yes, interesting. Even though I really liked The Clothes on Their Backs, something's been holding me back whenever I see We Had It So Good in the bookstore, and now I'm glad it did. I was in my late teens and 20s in the 70s, so they had a big impact on me, and I would hate to see them misrepresented.

I really didn't think that Grant spent much time in the book really talking about the 1970's although that is what has been " promoted" . She relates more about Stephen's family past and present.

Oh, I must have misunderstood that in your review. Thanks for explaining.

I'm trying to think if I have read a book recently that really did show the 1970's- hmm I will have to go back to my book diaries.

Family Romance by John Lanchester Lanchester has written a memoir/biography about his parents. He found out that his mother had kept some secrets about her early life as a nun. Only when she died and he contacted her sister did Lanchester find out how old she really was, her true name and the details of her life as a nun. The author also traces his father's family and his father's story as well. Lanchester writes with a lot of empathy about his parents, understanding why they took certain actions that directed their lives. Lanchester's own life is part of the story and he writes extensively about his own problems and solutions. A very interesting book although I found some of the writing about causes of the actions that his parents chose a little too long.

Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick. Sometimes when I read a book that I really like, I feel like shouting" What a great book!!!". What a great book! Foreign Bodies was a terrific read for me. I think that the book would have been a worthy recipient of the Orange Prize ( it was on the shortlist) Ozick tells the story through letters and narrative from the point of view of many of the characters- shifting time in a way that does make sense to me. Her language and sentence structure is brilliant.In 1952, Bea Nightingale has been asked -or bullied - by her brother ( who never kept in touch with her and seemingly asks her out of the blue) to find his son who is in Paris. Bea then embarks on a number of journeys to find first her nephew, and then her niece and persuade them to return to California. Bea, ends up, setting up a number of events that change the lives of her relatives and former husband. Highly recommended

Cyrel - I read Foreign Bodies back in April, and I liked it and thought it was well-written, but I wasn't as thrilled with it as you are. I had to look back and my comments to see why, and found this:

"The thing I really didn't like about the book was an undercurrent of nastyness. I'm not talking just "dark," because I like dark. There was something else unpleasant going on, and I wonder if Ozick is a bitter and angry woman. This is reflected in both the characters and her word choice."

Maybe it was my mood. But did you detect this at all?

Haven't read any Ozick in years; thanks for the recommendation.

Joyce- I liked that fact that the characters were unpleasant ( the brother, the son, the ex- husband) or mixed up ( the daughter, the sister-in-law, the Romanian wife) and needy and weak, I found Bea to be a type-and indeed sometimes wrecking havoc on the lives of her nephew and sister-in-law. But whether Ozick was bitter- I don't know- has there been a memoir written about her?

Leo the African by Amin Maalouf. I found out about this book on LT and it was very intriguing. The author writes ( this is a novel) as if the main character is relating his memoir. Hasan al-Wazzan was a real traveller and writer in the 16th century. He lived in Muslim Granada at the time of the city's fall to the rulers of Christian Castile and moved with his family to Fez, Morocco. Hasan became not only a traveller and merchant but an emissary of the rulers to various African countries. He finds himself exiled to Cairo and then carrying a message to Constantinople. He marries a number of times. On his way to Tunis to rejoin his family, Hasan is kidnapped and taken to Rome to become a " servant" to the Pope. He converts to Christianity, endures the wars between the Pope, the French and the Emperor and finally makes his way back to Tunis. The adventures and for me, the history of the places and times are fascinating. A very interesting read.

Nice review of Leo Africanus, Cyrel. I'll move it much higher on my TBR list.

I read Leo Africanus many years ago, and enjoyed it, but didn't remember it that well. Thanks for bringing the story back to me!

Interesting review, Cyrel -- I'll have to keep an eye out for this one.

Leo Africanus does sound very interesting, Cyrel. Thanks for delivering it to my wishlist.

I have to look for more by Amin Maalouf.

Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam. I must admit that this book grew on me. At first, the story of a young girl-her mother dead and her father soon lost at sea- who was taken to live with her two aunts in an isolated house in the North East of England , did not seem that interesting. Polly Flint grows up without any schooling except for German lessons from a grim lady living at the house. She also embarks on a reading odessey in her grandfather's library. Her favourite book is Robinson Crusoe. Polly refuses to be confirmed- a choice that her church going aunts do not understand. She does meet a family living nearby and makes the acquaintance of brother and sister Theo and Rebecca Zeit- Gerrman Jews who have lived in England for many years and whose lives will make an impact on Polly later in life. After a seemingly sudden turn of events- her nice Aunt Frances marries the vicar and goes off to India with him and her Aunt Mary decides to go into a retreat at the nunnery nearby-Polly is invited by another family friend, Mr. Thwaite, to spend some time at a country house. This house has a number of artists as guests and Polly meets a young poet. Her very brief relationships do make an impact on her , but Polly always chooses to return to the house of her aunts and she does live there through the two world wars. She does change and the book deals with betrayals and choices that she make and did not make. Polly finally does have an impact on several people and throughout her life she relies on the lessons learned from Robinson Crusoe- a really interesting and well written book.

I've heard other good reviews of Crusoe's Daughter. I've never read Robinson Crusoe, though, so maybe I'll wait til after I get to that. Nice review!

This one is sitting near the top of my TBR list -- hope to get to it soon.

Stasiland Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder. This memoir is about the author's stay in Berlin after the fall of the wall, Funder decided to find those former Stasi or secret service members of East Germany who would talk to her. She also records the heartbreaking stories of a number of people whose lives were ruined by the illogical and intrusive power of the Stasi in East Germany. Seemingly innocent activities as well as abortive escapes led to prison and no jobs and lack of educational opportunities. Blackmail and threats could derail the lives of a whole family. The stories of the Stasi members were banal and most seemed unaware of the total damage that they inflicted on innocent people. A very interesting account

For a movie about the Stasi, I highly recommend The Lives of Others. I saw this several years ago and found it gripping.

I saw that movie! I then understood why it won the Best Foreign Film at the Oscars

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander. This book left me with an uncomfortable feeling. I can appreciate the style and the structure of these very good short stories. Englander seems to tap the unthinkable and fashion the fears of his characters into the stories that we do not want to face or consider.The night mare becomes real. There is certainly variety and skill in this work. I just feel queasy when I think of the situations that the author has written about.

Iris a Memoir of Iris Murdoch by John Bayley This memoir by Iris Murdoch's husband, John Bayley has been called a " love letter.. I agree. Bayley tells the story of their meeting, courtship and marriage. He recounts how they live with her Alzheimer's disease that changed their lives. The stories of their writing patterns, their friends, travels and house are done in such a loving way. Bayley does not sugarcoat the difficulty of dealing with some one who does not remember much of the past. A beautiful book about compassion and love

Sleeping With the Enemy Coco Chanel's Secret War by Hal Vaughan. Vaughan has written a comprehensive study of Coco Chanels' involvement with the Nazi military intelligence service during Germany's occupation of Paris. The author does set the scene by outlining a brief biography of Gabrielle Chanel- her life and her lovers and her work. Vaughan also explains the basis of her views on Jews and anit-semitism, detailing her affair and ties to the Duke of Westminister. It is ironic that a lot of her fortune was linked to the Wertheimer family who ran and owned most of the famed Chanel perfume business. They also helped Chanel after the war with a lucrative financial deal . The stories of her collaboration with the Nazis and her love affair with the spy Baron Dincklage are based on documents that the author researched. It seems that Chanel was protected from charges after the war by Churchill. The author feels that a trial would have led to damaging information on the Duke of Windsor being revealed. The people and characters who were spies and their histories make for a fascinating read.

>180 rebeccanyc: Thank-- one of my favourite movies, but I couldn't remember the title. Makes it very difficult to recommend to others!

Never knew all that about Coco Chanel -- very interesting.

Nice review of Sleeping With the Enemy, Cyrel. I didn't know that about Coco Chanel, either.

Hi, Cyrel. Enjoyed catching up on your comments about the books you're reading. I don't think I'm going to like Englander's book, When We Talk About Anne Frank, nearly as well as Ministry of Special Cases, if only because I prefer novels to short stories, but I want to read it anyway. Englander's writing isn't the most beautiful that I've read, but The Ministry of Special Cases was a story that I kept thinking about all year.

Englander is definitely a writer to watch- but I found the last book difficult to read.

The Fall of Berlin 1945 by Antony Beevor. I think that anytime I read one of Beevor's history books , I want to read more. The author outlines precisely the movements and activities of the Russian and German armies in Berlin in 1945. He takes the time to look at the attitudes of the people on both sides and does make editorial comments on the futility of the battles that resulted in senseless deaths and destruction. German generals followed the commands of Hitler even when it was clear that the war was lost. Russians could withstand the enormous loss of life by their soldiers as there were many replacements. Beevor also documents the use of rape by the Russians. He writes about the negotiations over who was to occupy Berlin first and the lack of understanding by the Americans of Russian plans for central Europe in the post war era. An excellent history of the times

I keep meaning to read some Beevor! Thanks for reminding me.

I really like Antony Beevor as a historian- I have to get his books on D-Day and the Second World War.

Farewell My Queen by Chantal Thomas. This is a reread of a very good book. I saw the French movie made from this book and had to read it again. I found that the film was fairly faithful to the book and visually had the impact of the author's descriptions. Thomas wrote about the almost total lack of understanding that the inhabitants of Versailles had about the real world of poverty and rebellion in France. The fall of the Bastille sets off a series of events that the main character, a reader to the Queen, sees. The depiction of the eccentric minor nobility, from the courtier who never bathes to the foolish suitor for the Queen's affections takes the reader to a world that doesn't understand the current society of France. The very mean back corridors of the palace contrast with the claustrophobic and richly appointed rooms of the Queen. I recmmend both the book and the film.

Adding Farewell My Queen to my wishlist.

I am going to the Toronto International Film Festival starting tomorrow - I will report on the films that I see- ( I don't see the film stars- they don't show up to the screenings that are not premiers.)

Films!
Yesterday I saw two

On the Road
France/ Brazil
Walter Salles -director ( he directed The Motorcycle Diaries)
Jack Kerouac's novel certainly influenced many - I see films with a friend who commented that she had never seen so many men in a daytime audience. She hated the film and I sort of liked it. The direction and scenery were wonderful. The main characters were excellent. The minor roles were played expertly by actors that I recognized ( Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen,). However there was really no plot except for the endless drives across the country and the revealing of the character of the mesmerizing Dean Moriarty ( stand in for the real Neal Cassady). The editing was a little choppy and several gaps didn't explain how characters changed.
I do have to get back to the book- it may have been written to show youth finding freedom and flouting society.

Stories We Tell
Canada
Sarah Polley -director

This film was so interesting and amazingly edited. It is really a combination of documentary and fiction. The director interviewed her own extended family-half brothers and sisters, her father, and her mother's colleagues and friends to tell the stories about her mother Diane. Polley's mother died when she was 11 years old and she was raised by her father as the rest of the family had grown up and moved out of the home. There seem to be many home movies in the film illustrating the family's history.
Bit by bit the director unravels the story of her mother's life. One startling story has to do with Sarah Polley's parents. When Diane Polley went to Montreal for a few months to act in a play, she had an affair and became pregnant. Sarah was the result of this brief affair. The family joked that she looked different than her other brothers and sisters. When Sarah started to do some research, she found out the truth from her mother's friends and did find her biological father, a film producer in Montreal. The film explores the ideas of what is the real truth as told by each person. The audience realizes that many of the home movies have been staged by actors. Sarah had to tell her father recently about her discovery and infact he wrote and narrated this film within a film.
Highly recommended

What was interesting as well was the question and answer after the film. All of Sarah's family was there- father, family biological father and new half sister , actors and the crew. The film was really a tribute to her mother and it worked.

The idea of blurring the lines between documentary and fiction is taken by Michael Winterbottom in the film that I saw tonight.

Everyday
United Kingdom
Michael Winterbottom -director

The director was asked to make a film about the prison system. Instead he took five years to film this story about a family living with the father in prison. The reason for filming a session every year was to observe how children actors in the story grew and coped with their situation. In a way the film was like a documentary as the director mixed the real with the staged sections. The two actors who played the mother and father were excellent ( Shirley Henderson and John Simm). The four children were played by real brothers and sisters. In fact the house where they lived in the film was in fact the children's real home. ( found that out during the question and answer after the film showing). The stress of visiting in prison and the length of time it took to get there and the passing seasons were sensitively protrayed. The story was about real life and set in real time. I enjoyed this immensely. I always like to see what this director does.

Enjoyed your movie reviews. I think that is a bit of a wow with Stories we Tell...plus Having the family there during a question session sounds

It was interesting that Sarah Polley has establised good relationships with all involved.

Today I saw

Cloud Atlas
Germany
Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski-directors

For those of you who have read the book by David Mitchell, it sounds like an impossible mission to film the multi-time period story that ranges from the mid 1800's to the future. I was amazed at how true the directors were to the story and how the various time periods and stories were combined so that the viewer really saw all five almost at once. This is a fabulous film with excellent editing. The actors all played multiple roles. I loved this film!

The second film of the day was interesting-

Zaytoun ( olive)

United Kingdom,Israel, France
Eran Riklis-director

This is a " buddy" film about an Israeli pilot who was captured by the Palestinians just before the war in Lebanon in the 1980's and a young Palestinian boy. The boy helps the pilot escape with the promise that he will take the boy to the village where his grandfather had lived. The situation and tensions between various groups are show yet the journey is the main part of the story. It did remind me of one of Riklis's previous films "The Human Resources Manager"- nice relationships established yet a " flat ending

Enjoying your film reviews

Me too! -- I hope Cloud Atlas hits the art film house here in Sarasota.

Thanks! This is a good year for films adapted from books.

Yesterday I saw two wonderful films! The nice thing is that most of the screenings have had the directors at the film for a question and answer period. This is more than last year.

Midnight's Children

Canada, United Kingdom

Deepa Mehta-director

I seem to be seeing many films that have been adapted from the book. This film's script was written by Salman Rushdie and he also narrated the film. The complex story of three sisters and then later of two babies switched at birth on the evening of India's independence is not hard to follow. Rushdie's story takes the young men through many turbulent times in the history of India and Pakistan. The sets and costumes are gorgeous and the acting and flow of the narrative is terrific. Although this is a long film, the editing and direction lead the audience through the story effortlessly. The director introduced the large cast to the audience after the film. This film was made in Sri Lanka in secrecy and shut down once. Mehta has had previous film shootings stopped in India. She did say that she has had inquiries about showing the film in India recently. I really liked this film- highly recommended.

When Day Breaks

Serbia, Croatia, France

Goran Paskaljevic-director

This was a beautiful and sad film. A recently retired professor of music in Belgrade is informed that a box with materials pertaining to his history was unearthed on the site of the former fairground of Belgrade. ( and the site of a concentration camp during the Second World War.) A photo of a Jewish family , an uncompleted piece of music written by the father and a letter reveal that the professor was Jewish and given to a Gentile family to hide when he was two years old. His parents were killed. The professor is shocked as no one ever told him about his history. He visits a friend of his real family, his adopted brother, the synagogue and the concentration camp site in order to understand what happened. He decides to complete the musical compostion and have it performed at a memorial service. His trials in doing this and his relationships with friends who are Roma and persecuted themselves are part of this powerful film. The director was at the screening and talked about his co-screen writer who was a hidden child during the Holocaust and the Macedonian musiclan who wrote the haunting music score. The audience was very moved by the story and sensitive portrayals.

I'm enjoying your film reviews. I was on the fence about Midnight's Children, but perhaps not. I'm also interested in Cloud Atlas.

I'm so glad you think that Cloud Atlas is good. I'm eager to see it.

Thank you

Two good films today and one mystery read in the subway on the way to the films

Hyde Park on Hudson

United Kingdom
Roger Mitchell- director

Bill Murray is surprisingly good as Roosevelt in this film about a pivotal meeting of FDR and the King and Queen of England at Roosevelt's home one weekend before the Second World War. The story is narrated by Roosevelt's distant cousin, Daisy. She is one of many women that Roosevelt has affairs with-although in this story we see their courtship and her role in the household. There are interesting sketches of Eleanor Roosevelt ( it seems that the marriage is one of convenience at this point), and the King and Queen. Interesting but certainly not as engrossing as some of the other films that I have seen this week.

Hannah Arendt

Germany
Margarethe von Trotta-director

The director has taken one slice of the life of Hannah Arendt and dramatized it- the result is a taut drama about the power of ideas. Arendt goes to Jerusalem to write about the Eichmann trial. Her articles are really about political thought- her concept of "The banality of evil". The material is quite controversial. The film shows how upset her work made some of her closest friends. In a way the movie shows the two sides of the writer- her warmth towards her family and friends and her intellectual coldness and strength in defending her ideas. The audience was also devided- well done .

The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey.

This mystery set in Bath and surroundings was the perfect book to read on the subway as I was travelling to the film festival. A criminal profiler is found murdered on a beach. The detectives on the case have to solve the mystery of this crime as well as look at the case that the profiler was working on. Both cases may be linked and Detective Peter Diamond has to prevent a further murder by a serial killer.

How do you sleep at night after watching so many films? I find that when I see movies that I'm really interested in, they overtake my dreams at night. I couldn't imagine having dreams about what you've written--I'd be exhausted!

But if that's not an issue, wow, how fun! I love film, but don't see much, so this all sounds really fabulous. I want to see all of them.

I find that the week of the film festival, I really don't get anything else done- everything is on hold while I go to the films- I used to see three a day- can't do that anymore- I also see most of them during the day and early evening. It is fun . One the best parts is also hearing the directors talk and answer questiona about their work.
Off to see two today.

I am with you torontoc, it's great to get immersed in an arts festival of some kind and put real life on hold for a bit.

I am tired but happy.

Today- two very fine films

Fill the Void
Israel
Rama Burshtein-director

This is a very unusual film. The director is an Orthodox Jewish woman who previously made films exclusively for women in Israel. This film about this community is told from the point of view of " an insider" according to the director, ( a nice feature this year at the festival is the increased number of appearances by directors at screenings) A young woman, Shira, is excited about a forthcoming engagement to a young man in the community. ( the girl really just sees the young man once- her parents should then make arrangement for the couple to meet). However, Shira's sister dies gving birth to her first child. When the father is considering marrying again and moving to Belgium, Shira's mother suggests that Shira marry her brother-in-law. Shira is shown as a young woman who wants to do what is right for her family. ( the director said that the family is all important in this community) The stress of making a decision and being true to herself is really the theme. The ending is ambiguous- the viewer could take either an optimistic or pessimistic view. Very thought provoking!

A Late Quartet

United States
Yaron Silberman-director

The director of the documentary Watermarks has written a wonderful film about the personalities and tensions in a famous string quartet in New York. A strong cast( Christopher Walken, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener,Mark Ivanir and Imogene Poots) and a great screenplay take the viewer into the world of musicians. The group's oldest and founding member, the cellist ( Walken) finds out that he has Parkinson's disease and wants to leave the quartet. This decision leads to splintering in the group as a marriage between two of the players seems to fail, the second violinist wants to share the first violin duties, and the lead violinist falls for the daughter of one of the musicians. How the cellist tries to put everything back together and the beauty of the music of the lead piece-Beethoven's Late String Quartet- is quite stunning.
See this film!

What a great collection of films. Enjoying all your comments here.

Thank you! This has been a good festival for me.

One film today- I migth be getting movied out

A Royal Affair

Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic ( filmed in Prague)
Nikollaj Arcel- director

I love historical drama- and this is based on a real story. George III of England's sister is married to the King of Denmark. He is eccentric or mad so the union is not very happy. ( the role of the king was played by a young man just out of drama school) A German doctor, Johann Struensee becomes the physician to the king and soon influences him to introduce democratic reforms to the country. Struensee also becomes the lover of the queen who is interested in reform as well.. However soon the reactionary forces in the country led by the Queen Mother, overthrow Struensee and tragedy ensues. The acting is excellent and there are gorgeous costumes and palaces.

Today the theme was grim films- I wouldn't recommend them unless you are in the mood for depressing and films made from books.

In The Fog

Germany/ Russi/Latvia/Belarus/The Netherlands

Sergei Loznitsa-director

This film about the second world war takes the viewer to Russia ( Belarus today). Three men have been hanged for sabotage. The fourth has been let go. Partisans find the fourth man and take him to be killed. The stories of the three men are told in flashback as they struggle in the forest. This fourth man has been set up so that the Nazis can find the partisans. His story is the most gripping, The other stories reveal character.
Very grim- the film was based on a novel by Vassily Bykov.

and

Therese Desqueyroux

France
Claude Miller-director

Miller has adapted the 1927 novel by Francois Mauriac. Set in south west France, the story of the marriage of Therese and Bernard is about the same kind of tensions that the reader sees in Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary . To escape the dreary provincial life that she once enjoyed, Therese tries to free herself from Bernard and his family. Her plan backfires and the viewer sees her suffering although Therese is not really an admirable character in her behaviour. The sets and costumes are beautiful but the pace is slow.

on to more films tomorrow

I hate that TIFF is in September, rather than when I am off for the summer! I'm only a short GO Train ride away, in Burlington, but the first few weeks of teaching are just so tiring that evening movies in Toronto are out of the question. I am beyond jealous of all the films you are seeing - but loving reading the reviews!

For those of us vicariously followingCyrel and the Toronto Film Festival, here's a look at it from the New York Times.

Thanks!
I couldn't go to the film festival while I was teaching- too much happens in the summer and the process of obtaining the tickets is still annoying!

Yesterday

Emperor

Japan
Peter Webber-director

This film presents a true story, although the romantic part was invented. General MacArthur comes to Tokyo as the commander of the occupying forces just after the defeat of Japan. He charges one of his generals-Bonner Fellers- to investigate whether the emperor was guilty of war crimes and to determine whether he should stand trial. Fellers was an expert on Japan ( in real life) and also had a romantic interest with a Japanese teacher before the war. ( invented). The focus of the film -besides revealing of some MacArthur's personality " quirks", was Feller's double search for the truth of Hirohito's actions and for the whereabouts of his lost love. The encounters with the Japanese officials and the devastation of the city of Tokyo provide good insights into the Japanese culture. The director was at the screening and talked about filming the war scenes in New Zealand- and the Japanese actors who played some of the key roles and how they prepared. The actor who played Hirohito was a Kubuki actor who had only played women's roles. Both Tommy Lee Jones as MacArthur and Matthew Fox as Fellers were very good. I had a little problem with the background musical score ( too loud and too heroic). an interesting film.

Capital

France
Costa-Gravas-director.

What a great satiric film! The directors takes on the issue of bank scandals and greedy big business. A fictional bank in France is forced to look for a new CEO after the present one has a heart attack. The directors promote a young man who was the CEO's assistant- they believe that he will be a stand-in until the former CEO gets better or they can find someone else. This man astounds all by aggressively taking on a push by American investors to follow their demands, reducing the staff and improving the profits. Meanwhile- in asides to the film audience, this " new man" knows what the plots are about and sets out to thwart his detractors and not get caught. He traps the American investors who are about to stage a takeover and avoids entrapments by a glamourous model ( or maybe not-we are never too sure). In the end we see what the true nature of this bank is and it's supporters want. Very vicious and quite enjoyable.

My last film of the festival- I actually skipped one because I was so tired ( and had an empty fridge- one of the casualties of the festival.)

The Last Supper

China
Lu Chuan-director

I like to see at least one historical fiction film based in China. This epic tells the story of the beginning of the Han dynasty. Three men fight against the Qin dynasty- Lord Yu, General Xin and the commoner Liu Bang. Liu Bang leads his army to victory and goes inside the Qin palace. There is a celebration and supper hosted by Lord Yu for the three and their supporters. There are disagreements, betrayals and Liu flees. He eventually becomes emperor having defeated Lord Yu and capturing the General. The " Banquet at Hong Gate" is a famous event in Chinese history. The director recreates it in much detail to record the relationships between the rival soldiers. At the end of Liu Bang's life, his empress has many of the emperor's former comrades killed. ( spoiler) Lots of battles and bloodshed- not my favourite epic but not the worst ( that was last year).

and the book that I read at night during Sept.

Wellington by Elizabeth Longford. I really liked this biography of Lord Wellington. The author had written a two volume series that she combined and shortened for this book. Wellington's early career and exploits in India and his Peninsular war activities were emphasized over the post war period when he was in politics. However there is still a good outline of Wellington's work as a parliamentarian and Prime Minister. I was also fascinated with the description of his relationships with his wife Kitty and his other many female friends. I enjoyed this biography.

I also read my Early Reviewers book.

Christened with Crosses by Eduard Kochergin. This memoir reads like a modern day Charles Dickens drama. The author's father and mother were arrested by the authorities in Leningrad just before World War Two. Eduard was placed in a special orphanage for children of political prisoners in Siberia. His recollections of the bizarre and cruel treatment that he received there are followed by his incredible resourcefulness in escaping and travelling for six years to reach Leningrad. Kochergin hopped on trains. learned survival skills and stopped at orphanages on his way home. He turned out to be a skillful artist and used that ability to trade for food. The kindness and help that he received contrasted with the cruel behaviour of the orphanage staff.
A fascinating book!

Curious about Christened with Crosses, but that's just too many c's... Anyway, nice review.

Thanks- the crosses refer to the prisons- and the book is really grim but the determination of Kochergin to escape and travel to his home is amazing.

I'm thrilled Therese Desqueyroux has been made into a film. I'll have to see it, although, being in a small city where the few theatres only screen blockbusters, I'll have to wait until it's made available on DVD.

Great reviews of TIFF. Every year I feel the urge to decamp to Toronto for the duration, but sadly it has never happened. Maybe next year.

Enjoyed your film reviews, and I am sorry they have come to an end.

Thanks!
It is a highlight of the year to go to the festival. I don't see any film stars- just directors who come to talk about their films. This year there were more talks with the directors.

I'm also enjoying your film reviews, Cyrel. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Metrostop Paris History From the City's Heart by Gregor Dallas I really enjoyed this book about French history and more. The author framed each chapter on a Metro stop in Paris. He would start by describing the architecture and city plan past and present and then segue to a related reference- be it Oscar Wilde and Alfred Drefus to Debussy, Zola, Montgommery, and Sartre. Dallas writes about the 20th century as well as the 16th. A very interesting study of istory.

That book sounds like fun, Cyrel, especially since I've been reading Zola lately, and also about the French revolution.

I have Metro Stop Paris, but I haven't read it yet. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, Cyrel.

I did -and want to read about some of the people mentioned- the author has a bibliography listed at the back of the book that I am going to look at-

1776 by David McCullough I really enjoyed this history of the year 1776 and Gerorge Washington's actions during a number of battles during the American Revolution. I found that McCullough is a very easy historian to follow and that his descriptions of battles and personalities on both sides- British and American to be thorough. His discussion about tactics and judgements by the British and the Americans were very interesting. I have to read more of his work.

Murder in Clichy by Cara Black. I hadn't read any of the Aimee Leduc mysteries before. This story is very action filled. There are certainly a lot of bodies, murders, plots and conspiracies to keep a mystery lover busy. I don't find this series as thoughtful as some of the other ones that I am following. However, I think that if I want a very fast moving story, I will go back to this series.

Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld. I haven't read anything by Appelfeld in a long time.. This novel is about a 10 year old Jewish boy who is hidden in a cupboard from the Nazis by a prostitute,Mariana. She was a classmate of the young boy- Hugo's mother. Hugo is saved by Mariana who is very moody and keeps him ignorant at first of where he is. The plot is very simple - most of the story is taken up by Hugo's memories of his previous life and his parents and later his discussions and travels with Mariana. After the Germans are driven out of the town by the Russians, the two go on a sort of odyssey-trying to avoid any authorities. The book could have been edited into a novella in my opinion. The story of displacement and loss is very sad and well written.

I don't find this series as thoughtful as some of the other ones that I am following.

Well, there's an understatement!

Yes! The Aimee Leduc series has a lot of action- and escapes from the bad guys!

The Artificial Silk Girl by Irmgard Keun. The history of this book is as interesting as the story itself. Keun wrote the book in 1932- it was a best seller but the Nazis blacklisted it in 1933. The author left Germany but eventually had to return and hide during the war. The story is written as a diary by a young woman who is amoral. poor and scrambling to get by- she has a brief career in a theatre, ends up stealing a coat and moving to Berlin. Doris exists by living with those who are as desperate as she is with very little in possessions or a job. Doris has been described as similar to the heroines in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. However, the reality of Doris is one of brief encounters with men who she stays with and many spells of homelessness. Her only touching relationship is with a blind veteran of the First World War. Keun is a relevant voice of Germany between the wars.

Finally catching up here -- thanks for all the wonderful film reviews -- I hope some of the foreign films make it here to the Sarasota Film Festival in the spring or to our art house. What a great preview of what may come!

Thank you! I did enjoy this year's festival- I know that several of the films that I saw are being released in the US- watch out for the Sarah Polley film.

Why Men Lie by Linden MacIntyre. This novel is sort of a sequel to the author's previous book-The Bishop's Man. MacIntyre looks at Effie- the sister of the priest Duncan, the central figure in The Bishop's Man. Effie has a very complicated emotional life with two ex-husbands and a new lover, JC, who knew her brother and former husbands in Cape Breton. Effie has also not resolved her own abused background. A professor of Celtic at a university in Toronto, she now adds to her life the very mysterious affairs of JC, a man who works in television. JC's behaviour leads him to injury in number of events.The plot is a little hard to figure out at first with so many issues that are raised. I did enjoy MacIntyre's prose and liked the novel although not as much as his previous one.

Hadn't realized Why Men Lie was related to The Bishop's Man, which I thought was an excellent novel. MacIntyre , like Alistair MacLeod, has a wonderful sense of Cape Breton and the displaced Maritimer. Maybe it will magically turn up in my TBR pile.
As part of the continuation, is there a religious significance to JC?

Good point! JC does try to rescue people and ends up in trouble doing so- good insight- do read it and tell what you think. I think that the two books were to be part of a trilogy- I will have to check whether that means a trilogy with a previous book or a next planned book.

The Blondes by Emily Schultz. This is the second novel that I have read by this author. This story, like her first novel, mixes quirky humour with some macabre imaginings. A young woman, Hazel has travelled to New York to work on her PHD thesis. However , she finds herself in the midst of a new epidemic. Blonde women are now susceptible to a virus that makes them attack and kill randomly. Hazel finds that she is pregnant after an affair with her thesis supervisor, Karl. She tries to go back to Toronto in the midst of the Blondes scare, attacks and responses by the US and Canadian governments to this crisis. The many levels of this story point to a number of targets- the stereotype of the blonde, the role of women and discrimination.An interesting read!

Memories from the Abyss But I Had a Happy Childhood by William Tannenzapf and Renate Krakauer This memoir by Holocaust survivors is one of many published by the Azrieli Foundation. This particular book is interesting in that the story is by the father and the daughter. William Tanennezapf relates his story about surviving in the Stanilawow ghetto along with his wife , Charlotte and their daughter, Renate, born in 1941. Eventually the Tannenzapf family had to hide their daughter with a friendly woman as they went into hiding in the forest and in the out buildings in a small village. The memoir follows that family with a description of life in post war Poland and later a DP camp in Germany. The family emigrated to Canada and the daughter's story describes her early school experiences in Montreal. The voice and experiences of father and daughter are quite different.

Last week I also saw a dramatic adaptation of the novel No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. The play had been produced in 2004 and this version added more music - a great idea and very successful.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell. Mary Doria Russell is one of those writers that I have started to follow. Her books are all different in style and subject matter. In this historical fiction story, the author follows and dramatizes the life of "Doc Holliday"- the consumptive dentist and gambler who will become famous in the story/legend of O.K. Corral. The reader learns not only about the early life of Doc Holliday, but also about Wyatt Earp and his brothers, and Bat Masterson. All these names that I remember from bad and sanitized television shows of the past are given a more truthful edge in this novel. The role of women is interesting as well. The author describes the prostitutes in Dodge City and the southern women relatives who Doc remembers. The plot centres on Doc and Wyatt Earp's activities in Dodge City and has a lively account of the politicians, gamblers, murder conspiracies and the life of the old west. A great read.

Another positive review of Doc. I bought this after reading bragan's review in December and am looking forward to reading it in the depths of winter. ...bad and sanitized television shows... is a great description. What child could ever have guessed what Miss Kitty really did?

Back at >233 torontoc:: a trilogy would be a great thing, as it sounds as if there are ends that need dealt with.

RE: Bad and sanitized television shows-I know- how many " bar girls" in short dresses hung out in the bar- in how many westerns?

There but for the by Ali Smith. It is hard to know what to make of this book- is it brilliant or confusing? The story is primarily about a man, Miles, who goes to a dinner party in Greenwich, England, goes up to the spare bedroom upstairs, locks the door and won't come out or talk. He in fact stays for a number of months. Chapters in the book focus on a woman who knew the man briefly when they were teenagers on a trip, the man who brought the Miles to the dinner party, a vicious retelling of the conversation at the dinner party ( my favourite part) before Miles excused himself and the thoughts and talks of a particularly precocious 10 year old girl who is a witness to most of the actions. I have read books with a stream of consciousness style of writing. Sometimes it is terrific and sometimes it is very iritating as , you the reader, think- get on with the plot or what has this got do with the story? An interesting read because of the characters.

I guess I'm going to have to read that one for myself--I can't tell from comments whether it's a good one or not. You do have me interested, though.

I gave up on There but for the. Just wasn't interested enough when I tried it. But it could have been me.

>231 torontoc: I really liked MacIntyre's The Bishop's Man and hadn't realized it was actually part of a loose trilogy, also including The Long Stretch. Unfortunately, other than The Bishop's Man, MacIntyre's books do not seem to be easy to find here.

Maybe it will be easier to find when the novel is in paperback?

Embassytown by China MievilleI find it interesting that the author plunges the reader right into a new world where the concepts and surroundings are truly foreign. Avice Benner Cho lives in a world on the edge of known civilization. Embassytown is an enclave on a world inhabited by the Ariekei , a live force that communicated with the Ambassadors- humans altered in way that they can communicate with this life form. Avice , however, is considered a part of the Ariekei language as a living simile. The explanations of how this language works and almost destroyed is part of the fascinating story and adventure. As good as Mieville's previous book, Kraken, this story is both science fiction and adventure at its best.

Going Ashore stories by Mavis Gallant. I really like the stories of Mavis Gallant. This book was supposed to publish stories that are considered " missing" or from books now out of print. Unfortunately outside of some very brief stories, I have readmost of the work in another book published in the same year. Very disappointing. the book has a good introduction by Alberto Manguel

Too bad about Going Ashore. I love Mavis Gallant and would probably have snapped it up without your warning.

I think I might still look for it since as you say much is now out of print. Alberto Manguel is always worth reading.

Are you going to the authors' festival? I read that Alice Munro has just had to pull out.

Going Ashore had some of the same stories as The Cost of Living Early and Uncollected Stories.
I am going to the Authors' Festival! I don't know who I am going to ehar just yet- alice Munro did cancel- no word as to why

I went to the interview session at the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront today. Eleanor Wachtel was interviewing Mohammed Hanif. They talked about his latest book, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti and his last book A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Eleanor Wachtel always asks interesting questions about the books, the author's history and some comments on life in present day Pakistan. The session will be on CBC radio and probably pod casts.

Regeneration by Pat Barker. This novel is the first i n the author's trilogy about World War 1. Barker writes about a true incident- the real life meeting of psychologist W. H. Rivers and poet Siegfried Sassoon at am army hospital. Craiglockhart, in 1917. Sassoon had written a declaration condemning the war after leading his men during some trying battles. He has also received an award for bravery. . One of his friends gets him sent to the hospital and a second chance as it were, to find out what troubles him and avoid a court martial. The story is really about many of the encounters that Rivers had with injured soldiers and his treatment of them. Today we would call the nightmares and physical ailments Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.Rivers has been described by the author as a very empathetic doctor. Very Interesting and I have to read the second in the series.

Cyrel - did you know that there is a movie version of Regeneration? It's called Behind the Lines, or something like that. It's pretty good--I first viewed it at university when I took a class on literature about WWI. Also, Robert Graves's memoir, Good-bye to All That, talks about some of the same people and Craiglockhart. It's my favourite WWI book (I even prefer it to the also excellent All Quiet on the Western Front).

I read the Regeneration trilogy two years ago in November, in honour of Remembrance Day. The same month I also read the Wars, by Timothy Findley, which I also really enjoyed. I had also planned to read Birdsong, but ran out of time. And also, I had also burnt myself out on WWI. However, it's my "favourite" war, and I think I might be ready for some more WWI fiction soon.

Good to hear you're enjoying the trilogy.

Joyce- thanks for the information- I have Birdsong somewhere in my TBR pile.
I am eagerly awaiting the new spy series that David Downing is writing about world War 1-the first book will be out in 2014- I got this information from the rep from Soho Press who was at the "Word on the Street" festival.

Oh dear, what about John and Effi? Actually I think there may be one more after the last one I read, Potsdam Station.

There is- Lehrter Station- I am waiting for the book to be published in paperback.

Catherine the Great Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie. I really enjoyed this biography of the Empress of Russia-Catherine the Second- as she styled herself. Massie has a very readable style. I thought that the information of Catherine's early life as the wife of the heir to the throne , Peter, and the relationship with the Empress Elizabeth, was the best part of the book. Massie writes about the history of Catherine's lovers and fathers of her children to her success in the wars with Turkey and relationships with Prussia, Austria, England and France. I wished that Massie would have written more about Catherine as an art collector and builder of palaces.The account of her interest in French intellectuals and the way she thought she could adapt some of the ideas to Russian life was interesting. He has created a very informative and engrossing book about Catherine's life. Highly Recommended.

#253 - I'm going to have to track down that one. Thanks for the recommendation.

Ru by Kim Thuy This very brief novel of a privileged life in Vietnam, a refugee experience in a Malaysian camp and then life in Quebec is very poetic. Translated into English by Sheila Fischman, this book won the Governor General's Literary Award in French and the English version was on the Giller Prize shortlist this year. The passages are really set in a kaliedoscope fashion- with memories of relatives in Saigon turning into incidents taking place in Quebec, and Hanoi where the lead character worked for three years.This book reads like a memoir and I believe that it mirrors a little of the author's experiences. Beautifully written.

I also saw a terrific film last night at the Diaspora Film Festival in Toronto.
Kuma by Umut Dag was about a young Turkish woman who thinks that she is marrying a young man living in Austria but is really set up to be his father's second wife. The first wife has cancer and she is trying to arrange his family's life as she thinks that she might die soon. The story of this family- the anger of the daughters-the son's reasons for taking part in the deception,- the docility of the young woman to this situation and the surprising changes make the plot very interesting.

Almost Dead by Assaf Gavron. This is a very clever novel that takes place during the second Intifida in Israel. A young man employed by a high tech firm in Tel Aviv - his nickname is the "Croc"-avoids death three times when he escapes two suicide bombings on a small bus in Tel Aviv and a cafe in Jerusalem. His car is damaged and a hitchhiker that his just picked up is killed when the Croc is ambushed on the road to Jerusalem. He is interviewed on Israeli television and unknowingly becomes the next target. Half of the chapters in the book are narrated by a Palestinian bomb-maker, Fahmi, who is in a coma. The reader learns how the two eventually meet and the resulting actions. The author creates realistic characters in the Croc and Fahmi and writes about their individual dilemmas and lives. Highly recommended.

Almost Dead sounds interesting; I'll add it to my wish list.

In light of what's going on now- a relevant read!

Love and the Mess We're In by Stephen Marche. I have to mention the designer and type setter of this novel- Andrew Steeves. Steeves and Marche collaborated on the look of this book which is story and unusual design at the same time. The blocks of print float like waves, and looks like a movie script at times where the reader can choose to read either of the thoughts of the two talking. The print takes on a variety of forms throughout the book. Viv and Clive are meeting in Buenos Aires for a week. Viv's husband, Tim is Clive's good friend. But Tim is living in a modern asylum in Newmarket and Clive is a journalist researching a story in the South American city. The novel relates how they all met and Tim's descent into madness. Most of the book is given over to the conversation and later lovemaking of Viv and Clive on the night of Viv's arrival in Buenos Ares. The language is poetic and sometimes the reader is considering prose or poetry as the book progresses. I like the idea of the structure although the actual story is surprisingly brief.

Ivan's War Life and Death in the Red Army 1939-45 by Catherine Merridale. The author interviewed many veterans of the Red army who fought in World War Two in addition to reading many letters and diaries. Her work really shows how Stalin and his advisors used the army with no regard for loss of life. The conditions in the Russian army initially were very grim with no real uniforms, and a shortage of weapons. The expectations and the punishments for surrendering were horrendous. In fact, in one incident, soldiers were expected push forward through a mine field although there would be many casualties. The conditions did get better for the soldiers after 1943. Merridale discusses the roll of the veteran after the war as well. This is one of the many histories that realistically looks at the cost of the war on the Russian people.
Excellent history.

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman. I found this memoir of the author's life as a Satmar Hasidic woman fascinating. Feldman had an unusual background. Her mother left the Satmars and her father was mentally ill. She was raised by her grandparents and aunts. The author describes the life of a Hasidic family although she herself was a bit of a rebel, reading English books and finally escaping and leaving the Satmars. She has a lot of courage in describing the most intimate details of her life as a married woman. However, the author has a sense of how she wanted to live and entered college. Very interesting memoir of a life in a specific Orthodox Jewish extreme group.

Both very interesting reviews and very interesting books. I've looked at Unorthodox in bookstores but haven't been moved to buy it (yet).

Interesting reviews. Ivan's War is in the house waiting to be read.

Here is Deborah Feldman being interviewed about Unorthodox http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/04/17/unorthodox-the-scandalous-reject...

Cyrel, will you be going to the tjff presentation of Policeman/Ha'Shoter? It looked quite interesting in today's paper. I would be interested in hearing your opinion if you do.

No- I have other plans- I hope that the film will be shown in the movie theatres this coming year!

One more word about Unorthodox- I asked two of my " Modern Orthodox" friends whether they hdd read the book. Both were very uncomfortable with the book although their religious practices are nowhere near what the Satmars follow. I think that the personality of the author gives them some problems. I realize that for a different perspective- the film "Divan" gives another view of a young woman who leaves a Hasidic sect. In "Divan" the filmmaker whom left still has a good relationship with her father and relatives.

Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie. I think that one of the reasons that I like to read memoirs is that the reader is allowed to eavesdrop without guilt on the lives of famous people. This account of the author's time hiding " in plain sight" from any assassins from Iran answers the question- how did Rushdie hide for so many years? The story of the author's attempt to live a normal life -with his British secret service protectors, his inability to be seen in public without government permission, the difficulties in getting his books published - seems a little surreal as Rushdie was in a kind of protective custody as long as the fatwa against him was in force. However the book is terrific- a compendium of imaginary and real letters that he wrote to friends and government officials as well as the story of his everyday life with his family, ( the books talks about his four wives,two come off well-the other two-not really) loyal friends and not so supportive publishers, politicians and authors. Rushdie does seem to be able to forgive and make amends well with those who he was in conflict with during his time in hiding. Great read.

Cyrel - both of those are on my someday list. When I first heard about Unorthodox I thought it sounded like a must-read, but then I heard something that made me think "maybe not." Don't remember what that was though. Maybe that the author is unlikable? Not sure.

Could be- again- look at the film "Divan" to get another point of view on leaving an Orthodox sect or group.

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. The more that I think about this book- the more I like it. It is tragic and funny and satiric. Murray writes about an exclusive boys' school in Ireland. One very smart boy, Ruprecht, is always involving his friends at school in very unorthodox experiments that fail. Skippy , his friend, is on the swim team, and his family is very troubled. Skippy is in love with Lori from the next door girls school- who is hooked on pills and loves Carl, described as the school's resident psychopath. Howard is a history teacher, with a crush on the new temporary geography teacher and cursed from an incident that happened when he was in school. The acting head of school , Greg is looking to take the place of the father who was the headmaster but is now in hospital. From a story of foolish pranks, the author takes the reader to some darker places with drug dealing, sexual abuse and coverup, anorexia and death. Really well written.

I'm glad that you liked Skippy Dies, Cyrel. I've had it for a couple of years but haven't read it yet. I'll be sure to get to it next year, though.

Some of Skippy Dies is laugh out loud funny- and parts are quite shocking but definitely in character ( from my experience in teaching teenagers). I have to look for more of Paul Murray's work

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire. This story is the last in Maguire's alternate tale of the Wizard of Oz - Wicked the story of Elphaba- the so-called Wicked Witch of the West, Son of a Witch -the story of Elphaba's son , Liir, and A Lion among Men -the story of the Cowardly Lion, Brr. Maguire takes the reader on a series of journeys with Rain, Liir's daughter who has been hidden for many years as a servant with Glinda. We see Rain reuniting with her hidden parents, and meet Brr again, who has travelled with the important book of magic.The return and characterization of Dorothy as a jarring and ungainly personality in uneasy situations is really fun to read. The book reminds me of Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods. Fairy tales are not necessarily happy and bad things do happen. Marriages fail and bad decisions are made. Everything is not wrapped up nicely., But Maguire has given the reader a very satisfying alternate world of fantasy.

Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch. I really was impressed by the way the author described some very unusual events- the hunting and capture of a Komodo dragon and life at sea in the 1850's. Some of the events were taken from history. The collector of exotic animals for sale, Mr. Jamrach was a real person. The event that forms the climax of the book and story did happen. Birch has a wonderful way of creating the atmosphere of the docks of 1857 London. Her descriptions of the whaling ship and subsequent capture of a whale and later the " dragon" are detailed and to me the reader ( with not much knowledge of sailing or fishing) are fascinating. The story of Jaffy Brown and the terrible thing that he had to do is very good and worth reading.

I just picked up a copy of that, so good to hear your positive comments, Cyrel.

Sounds right up my sea-adventure loving run. Add Victorians and I'm sold. I didn't know of this book or the author but will be sure to look for it. Thanks for no spoilers.

You are welcome! I have a good friend who was discussing the third season of Downton Abbey and she told me some important spoilers before I changed the subject ( am waiting to see it this January)

The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler.This book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. I thought that it was a good story but not a great one. ( definition of great- see Nicole Krauss's Great House) Lily Azerov has survived the Holocaust and has arrived in Montreal to be married to Sol Kramer. He rejects her when they meet but she does marry his brother , Nathan. Lily has secrets- an uncut diamond, a diary belonging to a young women who died in Europe and the story of her life that is revealed slowly in this novel. Lily leaves her three month old daughter and her husband and disappears. She sends her daughter, Ruth, rock specimens. The story is told by Ruth as she grows up and tries to discover who her mother is, by Lily on her life and by the grandmother, Bella. I found the mystery of changed identities really interesting although I thought that the ending was a little weak.

The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy. This novel about a Canadian-Chinese family pre-war Vancouver is beautifully written. The authors has three out of four children of a family narrate their own story about growing up in an immigrant family with ties to both the old and new countries.. The stories that the children tell are about changing cultures and their awareness of who and what they are. Recommended.

One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston. I heard an interview with the author this fall. Livingston did come from a family of - as she put it-hustlers and used this background in her latest novel. Sammie is a teenager who is living with her girlfriend's family in Burnaby, B.C. Her mother, Marlene has tried to commit suicide and her father , Sam is living in Toronto and not in touch. Sammie describes the " hustles" or petty crimes that her family has committed. Her values are very different than those of her mother and father. The story describes the summer after Sammie's grade 11 year in high school, and her very mixed feelings towards the lives of her parents and the family that has really adopted her. A very good read

#273 - That sounds interesting, Cyrel. I heard very good things about an earlier book by Livingston, but haven't had time to get to it yet. This one is going on my wishlist.

Good to read your recommendation (and reminder) of The Jade Peony. It's been on my TBR for far too long. Will you be reading the follow up?

I read Skippy Dies over a year ago and I'm still thinking about it. Glad you had the same reaction.

I had read two? Or one? of Wayson Choy's books - this one is my favourite.I want to put Billie Livingston's earlier books on my wishlist- I like her writing style.
Skippy Dies- so well written and so much to think about!

Restoration by Rose Tremain. I have had this book on my wish list for a while. I did see the film based on this novel of England in the time of King Charles II. The novel is really good. I like the way the author portrays the main character , Robert Merivel. Merivel is originally a physician who comes to the attention of the King because of his father, glove maker to the royal house. Merivel is seduced by the good life at the court. He is asked or commanded to marry to mistress of the king. Given a royal residence in the4 courtry, Merivel leads an indulgent life until he makes a fatal mistake- that of loving and wanting a relationship with his wife. Abandoned by the king and sent out of his home, Merivel embarks on a second career,living and working at a home in the country for madmen with a group of Quakers , led by his college friend, Pearce, Merivel's change of character is charted by the author. The reader can see Merivel's eventual salvation, journey to maturity and understanding of a worthwhile life. I understand that Tremain has written a sequel and I look forward to reading that book.

Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy This well crafted book of short stories won the Writers' Trust Award this year. The stories are all connected in some way with the history of the siege that place in Hungary at the end of World War II. The story of Soviet Troops fighting their way into Budapest, the defence by Fascist Hungarian and German troops and the atrocities thatr both sides committed haunt and define the many of the stories. Dobozy sets his stories in Canada and Hungary but the characters are marked by their history. Well written and intriguing. I certainly learned much about Hungarian history

Sounds like a good book for the Reading Globally first quarter theme read on 20th/21st century Eastern/Central European literature.

Yes- I think that it would be!

Granta 80 The Group Pictures from Previous Lives edited by Ian Jack. I really don't know why I have stopped reading Granta. For many years, this quarterly magazine ( really a book) gave me insights into many themes and new authors. I still have some of the early editions with wonderful interviews, memoirs and excerpts of fiction. i think that maybe I didn't like the selections and themes of the newest editor or maybe I found out about new authors by going to the International Book Festival and being part of Librarything. This issue is from 2002 and was in my book pile. Everything in this book reminds me of the good memories I have when thinking of Granta. The theme- authors taking old photographs and writing about memories and people and lives attached to them is very good. Maybe I will check out the latest issue

. Limassol by Yishai Sarid and translated by Barbara Harshav. This novel is written in a brutalist spy life is hell way- the only comparison I have is watching the BBC spy series " Spooks". ( renamed MI-5 in North America) This Europa edition is also notable for having erroneous information about the plot ( wrong name of one of the characters) on the end page.- I haven't seen that before) The prose seemingly skips the brutality of some of the actions taken by the main character- an interrogator for the Israeli secret service.The reader realizes that things have taken place that are ugly after they happen. The main character ( unnamed) has been relieved of his duties after his treatment of two prisoners and has been given the task of befriending and gaining the confidence of a woman ,Daphna, who has a relationship with a dying Palestinian poet. Hani , The poet has a son who is a main terrorist leader. Before Daphna will help the interrogator, she want her own druggie son, Yotam, rescued from a drug dealer. The interrogator deals with his estranged wife and son, the self destructive Yotam, the very fragile and dying Hani and his own conscience. The ending is surprising. This story is worth reading and very compelling.

This is my last book of the year.

The Art of Living according to Joe Beef a Cookbook of Sorts by Frederic Morin, David McMillan and Meredith Erickson. I ate at Joe Beef in Montreal last year. If anything this place proved to me beyond a doubt of the very different culture of Montreal and Quebec.( from the point of view of a Torontonian!) The food was terrific and there was lots of it. In fact if any readers do go- my advice- share!!! There was enough on my plate for 3 or 4 people to eat. This is more than a cookbook- it is about the philosophy of food and wine by the owners, Morin and McMillan. I would only make some of the salads and desserts- the other recipes have a lot of bacon, butter and whipping cream in the ingredients. The photos are wonderful, and the history of Montreal food and restaurants and wine choices very informative. I also like the proposed 2 day foodie tour of Montreal. A fun read!

Here is my list of 2012
It was a good reading year- I like several genres

Mystery/Spy
This year I read most of David Downing's books about a journalist/spy living in Berlin before and then after the World War II- I liked the first one that I read ,Zoo Station and the last one Potsdam Station. Potsdam Station was a real thriller tracking several characters as they tried to find each other in Berlin as the Soviets were advancing on the city.
I also have followed Philip Kerr's detective who lives through the war and has adventures in post war Argentina and Cuba.
I also read Ashenden= a wonderful series of spy stories by Somerset Maugham.

Historical Fiction
One of my favourite genres of writing- The best has to be Hilary Mantel and her second volume on Cromwell-Bring Up the Bodies. I like the fact that ther reader can trace the coming betrayals. I also read her story of the French Revolution A Place of Greater Safety.
Helen Humphreys is another favourite writer. I thought that her story about the affair that Victor Hugo's wife had with a poet was excellent.The Reinvention of Love
I also reread Farewell My Queen by Chantal Thomas after seeing the excellent film about the last days of Versailles before the Revolution.

Unreliable Narrators-

I loved The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst and Gillespie and I by Jane Harris.

Memoirs and Biographies
a guilty pleasure sometimes
Hot Breakfast for Sparrows My Life with Harold Town by Iris Nowell-the mistress of a famour Canadian painter tells all.
The Paper Garden: Mrs Delany Begins Her Life's Work at 72 by Molly Peacock. -not only an interesting life but photos of the wonderful paper collages as well.
Catherine the Great Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie
Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie.

Interesting Canadian Authors

One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston
Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy- won the Writers' Trust Award
Ru by Kim Thuy- French version won last year's Governor General's Award
Love and the Mess We' re In by Stephen Marche-great design
The Blondes by Emily Schultz- quirky book that also fits into the Science Fiction category
The Birth House by Ami McKay- why didn't I reas this earlier?

Science Fiction or maybe just interesting fantasy.
The Blondes- see above
Kraken by China Mieville- great imagination!
Suddenly a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret.

Books that I liked a lot for great plots and writing and point of view- i am sure to forget some.

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Foreign Bodies by Cynthia Ozick.
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding
The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin
Five Bells by Gail Jones
The Liberated Bride by A.B Yehoshua

Histories
anything by Antony Beevor- The Fall of Berlin, Stalingrad-the fateful Siege and
Simon Sebag Montifiore -Stalin The Court of the Red Tsar

Very interesting list, and I like the way you broke out your categories!

Love your list and enjoyed reading your thread all year. I've added many of your favorites to my wish list.

Joe Beef is, foolishly enough, now on my wishlist.

Robert

Great way to list your favourite books.