Brown Book Loft Blog

Against Love by Laura Kipnis: Despite its tedious reading at times and over-the-top generalizations, Ms. Kipnis has achieved her goal which she states at the beginning: “it’s just supposed to shake things up and rattle a few convictions.” Reading this book will force you to think about the relationships in your life. You may not agree with her arguments or assertions, but you can’t deny that she’s engendered new thoughts about beliefs you probably hold dear. As a polemic, Against Love succeeds in providing a conviction-rattling read.

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde: The Big Over Easy is silly, entertaining, and unlike any murder mystery you’ve read before. Whether you enjoy reading humor or mystery, Jasper Fforde can satisfy both tastes with this novel. If you enjoy them both, especially if they’re done over the top, then The Big Over Easy is right up your alley. Just go along for the ride with Jack Spratt and Mary Mary and be prepared for non-stop plot twists and a fairy tale ending. Oh, did I mention the beanstalk?

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani: The plot in The Blood of Flowers flows smoothly and quickly. While not a novel of taut suspense, the threads of the young narrator’s life and her relationships with the different women in her life create a literary fabric that might rival the Persian carpets of the story.

Blood of Victory by Alan Furst: Blood of Victory is not a powerful book that grabs your emotions or one that is filled with war action to keep pages turning quickly. The book is a quick read, though, since it weaves sympathetic characters through realistic depictions of life in Europe during 1940, and their humanity never plays second fiddle to the war story. Ilya Serebin could be a man turned cynical and self-centered by his unlucky lot in life, but in the midst of war, he continues to search for beauty and truth. In the guise of a spy story, Alan Furst has given us a story about a man with the courage to retain his humanity, his love, and his hopes in the face of evil. Without realizing how expertly he has drawn us into Serebin’s world, we are enriched by the short time we’ve stayed with him.

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett: John Burdett has perfectly captured a sense of place that is so ultimately foreign to most of us and made it seem familiar. Even his mixture of different ethnicities, Thai, Khmer, Karen, Lao, Chinese, Russian, Burmese, and Siberian, gives this novel a feeling of the larger world outside the U.S. that we consistently ignore. Sonchai Jitpleecheep is our travel guide, daring us to think differently and inviting us to enjoy his home. Feel free to lose yourself within Bangkok 8 and enjoy your visit abroad. It’s time well-spent. Bangkok 8 is one of those novels you finish with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart for a story, and a place, that is well told and satisfying.

Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett: Bangkok Haunts is another fascinating and entertaining excursion through Sonchai’s world. The investigation of Damrong’s murder allows him to educate us farang about his exotic world and different way of thinking. At the same time, it challenges Sonchai with forces that may be outside his control, in this world and the next. The novel never loses its pace or suspense, and it lets its humor and wit lift us above the dark story it tells. Bangkok Haunts finds John Burdett at the top of his game.

Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett: You might think Bangkok Tattoo suffers from a sophomore slump, and it does it some ways. While it doesn’t live up to the level set by Bangkok 8, it’s still an enjoyable book with plenty of wry observations from Sonchai and a wild journey through a world so few of us know. Can you enjoy Bangkok Tattoo without reading Bangkok 8? Probably, although I’d suggest reading Bangkok 8 first, for no other reason than it’s a great book on its own that will thrill you with its introduction to Sonchai’s world. Any time spent with Sonchai Jitpleecheep is sure to bring a smile, and Bangkok Tattoo surely fits that bill.

A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker: For those readers who can enjoy a novel without much plot but filled with these “aha” moments, then A Box of Matches will satisfy them. Personally, I need more structure and character development in the novels I enjoy, so a lot of this book was like being stuck next to Emmett at a party. I kept needing my drink refilled.

Annette Lybacki hopes that you found this piece helpful and invites you to read her articles on The 411 on Annuity Loans for some Hints and Tips on Annuity Loans.

categories: book reviews,books,novels,reviews,mystery,fiction,science fiction,hobby,read,reading,story

The Ha-Ha by Dave King: Dave King avoids easy answers and neat resolutions to Howard’s dilemma. Howard knows that eventually Sylvia will come home and Ryan will leave his house. He’s afraid that his life will revert to the way it was before Ryan came, and now that he’s had a taste of something better, he can’t go back to that again. He also doesn’t know if there’s anything he can do about it.

Forever by Pete Hamill: Pete Hamill’s endeavor was probably an impossible task. There is too much history, too many stories and interesting historical figures, to fit into one story of New York City. Cormac O’Connor fails to carry the story, and ultimately, the city is unable to carry it either. Pete Hamill’s love for the city is evident throughout this book, and those already steeped in its history may find this novel more enjoyable than others. I suspect most readers, though, will finish it with a dissatisfied thud unless they’ve tossed it aside long before they get there.

The Diviners by Rick Moody: There are those who will probably enjoy this book more than I did. Those who know the people and industries satirized here or are part of that big city madness to make money, be seen at the right events, and profit at your adversary’s mistakes. Perhaps more of those “aha” moments ring true to those intimately involved with them. For me, though, The Diviners was a disappointment on a promising premise that never played out to my satisfaction.

Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje: This is Michael Ondaatje’s gift to the rest of us, his net for holding everything dear to us, even if it eventually leads to heartache and the divisions in our lives. There is nothing predictable in Divisadero and each thread leads to another story that mirrors each other, turning back on itself, so that even its divisions are blurred. This is the poetry of this novel, and the poetry of our lives, that has been expertly captured here.

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh: For the most part, The Hungry Tide is a compelling book about ordinary people bound together in an exotic place that can consume them all. It’s the basest of human emotions, love, jealousy, pride, and trust, that will make the difference. That’s a lesson we all can learn, again, as we follow Piya, Kanai, and Fokir into the heart of tide country.

Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes: Easter Island is a satisfying read that explores the mysteries of the human soul in the most isolated place in the world, the navel of the earth. Both Elsa and Greer find that searching for oneself can be fraught with peril, since no man, or woman, is an island.

Islands of Silence by Martin Booth: The chapters in this novel alternate between the present-day Alec and his story as a young man, striking out on his own as an archaeologist in 1914. The elder Alec tells of the discipline necessary to maintain his silence, the kindly doctor who wants to draw Alec out of his shell, his dreams that content or frighten him, and the horrors and evil he has seen in the past. He is a man most certainly sane, lucid in his thoughts, and convinced of the nature of evil that exists outside of his controlled environment.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a wonderful, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable novel. I am glad I came under Susanna Clarke’s enchantment and I’m eager to press this novel into the hands of family and friends and urge them to read this book.

Annette Lybacki hopes that you found this piece helpful and invites you to read her articles on Do You Need a DUI Lawyer? for some Hints and Tips on DUI Lawyers.

categories: book reviews,books,novels,reviews,mystery,fiction,science fiction,hobby,read,reading,story