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I just finished Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste. It was particularly of interest to me because my daughter is Ethiopian. It follows a family living in the capital during Ethiopia's communist revolution, which they lived under for 12 years. I knew that I needed to learn more about Ethiopia's history, and am embarassed by how little I know! It was an eye-opener. The writing was very pretty.
I just finished Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I really liked. Then I started (for the second time), One Hundred Years of Solitude also by GGM. I remember hearing Oprah trilling on and on, how great this book was. For the second time, I am probably putting it down. Anyone else have any thoughts on GGM and OHYS??
So funny- I loved LOVE in the Time of Cholera,( though towards the end I am not even sure if I actually did finish it honestly). I kept thinking that the translation was such a key part.
So then I tried One Hundred Years and although the writing was intriging I totally could not follow the characters with their names and all. I may try it again one of these days, but I totally had the same reaction you did!!
I just finished Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste. It was particularly of interest to me because my daughter is Ethiopian. It follows a family living in the capital during Ethiopia's communist revolution, which they lived under for 12 years. I knew that I needed to learn more about Ethiopia's history, and am embarassed by how little I know! It was an eye-opener. The writing was very pretty.
You might enjoy "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese then, a lot of it is set in Addis Ababa - and it is a good book besides.
The Postmistress - I finished this book a few weeks ago, but am not as enthusiastic about it as some other posters, not disrespect intended. It got great reviews so I guess I'm in the minority. The book is about how the news is delivered, and how the news is perceived by the general population.
I just finished reading this and I think perhaps I got different things from it than you did. I hesitate to recommend it because it was so disturbing to me, because it was so real. If I was in the mood for a light read, I wouldn't have been able to get into it at all. As it was, I just finished a series of light-hearted mind "candy" and (thought) I was in the mood for a bit more serious read.
The author's descriptions of person's cast out of their homes and left to wander the streets while the world put its attentions to personal interests and entertainment was a bit too close to present day reality, for me.
It left me feeling smaller and more vulnerable in a world less caring.
I just finished Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I really liked. Then I started (for the second time), One Hundred Years of Solitude also by GGM. I remember hearing Oprah trilling on and on, how great this book was. For the second time, I am probably putting it down. Anyone else have any thoughts on GGM and OHYS??
I read OHYS in high school and lo-oved it. I loved how he played with magic realism, perception, self determinism vs fate, historical context, time. Plus there was plenty of good angst for a teenager about to strike out on her own. I grew up in a family with a strong oral history so was predisposed to listening and accepting some pretty fascinating and funny family lore - delivered over the years by different voices who had their own interpretations and details to add to the same stories.
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Originally Posted by DFWgal
I'm reading "The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology". They are short zombie stories written by authors like Max Brooks and I think Jonathan Maberry.
Just starting but it looks promising. (I have a strong interest in zombies anyway, so a bit biased :P)
I love zombie movies but never considered reading a zombie book...hmmm...
I just finished Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I really liked. Then I started (for the second time), One Hundred Years of Solitude also by GGM. I remember hearing Oprah trilling on and on, how great this book was. For the second time, I am probably putting it down. Anyone else have any thoughts on GGM and OHYS??
Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you said this. I think I managed to finish OHYS, but really was never into it, and can't say I particularly liked it. I just don't know what the big deal is over this book. I have to say, I also thought Love in the Time of Cholera was too depressing. And I'm saying this as a person who can read literature from any time period, from the most classic to the most modern, and as a person who loves many latino authors such as Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel and Luis Alberto Urrea.
That reminds me, I haven't mentioned books by Mr. Urrea yet on this forum, other than to put his novel The Hummingbird's Daughter on my list of my favorite books of all time. People either love this book or hate it, but I think it's one of the greatest novels ever - it deals with Mexican history, spirituality, women's power...so many things...but all done with great humor. A somewhat lighter novel of his that is also great is Into the Beautiful North. Check them out!
I recently put all six books of Jean Auel's Children of the Earth on my Kindle, and am reading the fourth one now. The killing of the animals is upsetting (but probably fairly accurate for that time period -- I don't know), and I could do with less instances of the descriptions of love making (okay, but I get it already). But there is something about those books which brings to mind basic feelings about my own family, my culture, my country, the human condition. I find them very cathartic, though I normally don't read a lot of fiction, and very little contemporary fiction.
Awaiting on my Kindle, and I've dipped into a bit already:
The Emotional Lives of Animals
The China Study
Vegan for Life
Forks over Knives
(and a dozen other veg/AR books)
The Other Barack
Hardboiled Web Design
Hitch-22
Idiot America
The Moral Landscape
I just love my Kindle; I can carry around with me all the books I love, mostly by Bertrand Russell, Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, Friedman, Samuel Butler, etc. Wonderful device! Just wish I'd waited just a little while and not purchased the first one, which was, IIRC, around $600.00
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Sarah Blake's "The Postmistress"
