Month: October 2007

The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

by Gregory Maguire

Of all the retold fairy tales that I have enjoyed over the last few years, this is definitely one of the most complex. Wicked is the other side of the well-known story The Wizard of Oz. It tells of the Wicked Witch of the West’s origins as the misunderstood green-skinned girl Elphaba, child of an alcoholic mother and preaching father. She grows up surrounded by the Munchkinlanders’ struggle for economic stability and then leaves her backwater home to attend University in the city. Studious, witty and constantly questioning the status quo, Elphaba becomes concerned with the struggles of the talking Animals for equal rights. With a few select followers, she becomes an underground revolutionary… I don’t want to give away the story so I won’t say much more.

Suffice to mention that this is not a book for children. It has very adult themes and several sex scenes. Besides the political and economic overtones, it also addresses issues of religion, social class and education. Wicked is a very convoluted book, sometimes difficult to read and keep track of all the threads of the story. The familiar Wizard of Oz characters are only minor figures here, although Dorothy does play her key part in the end. It is a fascinating look at how one character’s difficult moral choices lead to her being called evil by the world at large.

Warriors: I
by Erin Hunter

Some juvenile fiction is good, some is poor. So I always give interesting looking kid\’s books a chance. This one was a miss. I saw a whole series on the shelf, about feral cats who live in groups and thought it would be similar to two old favorites of mine, Ratha\’s Creature by Clare Bell or Tailchaser\’s Song by Tad Williams. I was very disappointed. Into the Wild is about a young housecat seeking adventure who joins a group of feral cats in the forest, becomes an apprentice warrior and helps them fight off neighboring clans. Although this book attempts to create a full bodied world, it just doesn\’t quite make it. Yes, there are kitty legends and culture, friends and foes, pretty lady cats and nasty old toms, acts of betrayal and courage. Enough stuff for a good story. But it\’s not very well written. The characters are rather flat, their actions and the plot pretty predictable. There is nothing here that really makes you feel like you\’re in the secret lives of felines. It wasn\’t worth my time continuing the series.

Rating: 2/5                288 pages, 2007

by Barbara Kingsolver

In the 1960’s Nathan Price, a Baptist minister, drags his family from Georgia to the Congo with the intent of converting the native “heathens” to Christianity. Arriving in the steaming jungle, they find themselves woefully unprepared to live there. Nathan’s insistence on bringing the Congolese to Jesus without understanding them first is ultimately doomed to failure. The story is told in five voices: those of the mother and four daughters (three teens and a five-year-old), each with their own distinct style and personality. The different ways in which they all try to adjust to their new situation in a tiny African village is a telling story all by itself, humorous and tragic by turns. When political turmoil causes all the other missionaries to leave Africa, Nathan Price stubbornly refuses to go. His inflexibility and religious zeal bordering on fanaticism alienates the villagers and eventually his own family as well.

I absolutely love The Poisonwood Bible. It is brilliantly written. The language use is beautiful, the characters very realistic. It is a strong and vivid portrait of Africa in a time of struggle for independence. This is the kind of book that makes you really think. Each time I read it there are new details and things to ponder that I didn’t notice before. It has some heavy themes, but the wry humor and wonderful descriptions of Africa and its people make it a joy to read.

Rating: 5/5
543 pages, 1998

Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them?

Yes, these things have caused me to close more than one book! It depends on the proliferation of the offending material and how gratuitous it is. I don\’t like to read a book that has profanity in every sentence, or \”romance\” scenes all over the place. It just makes me uncomfortable and well, bored! However, if it isn\’t too excessive and has a good reason for being there, I can take it in stride.

Question provided by Booking Through Thursday

by Anastasia Hobbet

Environmentalism, land use, neighborhood politics and love at first sight are all themes of this novel set in a Wyoming ranching community. The Pleasure of Believing centers around six characters: Roberta Shea- a wildlife advocate who converted her family\’s cattle ranch into a raptor rehabilitation center, her politician husband Glen, her niece Muirie who comes to visit, Sherman the local vet, a hardworking sheep rancher Carl and his artist wife, Flo. It is all about conflicts of interest and the estrangements that have come between these people. Two key developments are Carl\’s move to protect his sheep which endangers local wildlife and unleashes Roberta\’s suspicion and anger as she searches for the prepetrator, and Sherman\’s and Muirie\’s attempts to teach a blind hawk to fly against Roberta\’s better judgement. The outcomes of these two parallel events unfold together towards a tragic ending that speaks of difficult choices and strength of character.

I liked this story, but I was disappointed in it. The ideas and characters were potentially interesting, and I wanted to learn more about the details of bird rehabilitation. Unfortunately, I felt that the author was a good storyteller, but not a great writer. This is the kind of book I could easily read with background distractions going on and my toddler talking to me every five minutes, and not miss much. It was just… rather dull. If it had been more literary, it would have received a higher rating and stayed in my library. As is, I\’m moving on.

Rating: 3/5                 325 pages, 1997

by Annie Dillard

This is a book of wonder. It is a poetic, lyrical wandering into nature. The author takes your hand and shows you all the marvels and unseen things that happen practically under your nose. Every minute detail and occurrence that you would never see on your own is brought to light. She follows the turning of the seasons and the life cycles of small creatures, most of them insects. She explores the intricate web of nature, displaying how beautiful and often inexplicable it can be. There is also some examination of people and their impact on or relation to the natural environment. Dillard sees things how they are and does not shy away from moments of death or brutality. There is some humor here as well. It can seem to wander at times, but always circles back to the topic of nature. Mostly it is fantastic descriptive writing: the brilliant metaphors and figurative language paint a very vivid picture in the reader\’s mind. A veritable pleasure to read and experience.

Rating: 4/5        304 pages, 1975

by Eileen Dunlop

Fox Farm is a lovely little book. The main character is Adam, a young boy who is living with a foster family on a rundown farm in England. Although his foster brother is quite amiable and wants to help him, Adam doesn\’t want to have anything to do with his new family. He is deliberately rude and unfriendly. But when the two boys discover a fox cub and try to raise it in secret, they have to work together and reluctantly become friends. When the little Foxy is threatened by a flood, the boys have to face revealing it to their family- with a surprising result. This story has a bit of a mystery woven into it as well, regarding an old rich family that lives nearby, and rumors of a curse that lingers on the land.

I believe this book is out of print.

Rating: 3/5                160 pages, 1987

DISCLAIMER:

All books reviewed on this site are owned by me, or borrowed from the public library. Exceptions are a very occasional review copy sent to me by a publisher or author, as noted. Receiving a book does not influence my opinion or evaluation of it

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