The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow; 2010; $22.95; 264 pages; Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 978-1-56512-680-0; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, Woodstock; 1/20-1/24
Why did I pick this up? This is this years Multnomah County’s Everybody Reads book and I like to know what the book is about when someone asks me about it.
What is the story? Rachel is the daughter of an African-American father and a Danish mother, who have some bad family history. Rachel’s mother leaves her husband and moves to Chicago on her own, living with an abusive man. The mother takes her three children and commits an unspeakable act which only Rachel survives. She then moves to Portland and in with her African-American Grandmother. This is a story of race, privilege and attitudes in several different cultures.
Did I like it? I am not a fan of the narrative structure but it is a good well told story that will start many discussions about race, privilege and societal attitudes, which is the aim of the books chosen for the everybody reads books.
Grade-B
What is with the title of the review? This is the everybody reads for Multnomah County and the books are designed to get people to think and discuss issues.
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; 2011; $25.99; 512 pages; Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY; 978-0-316-12669-4; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, St. Johns; 1/18-1/20
Why did I pick this up? A co-worker recommended this and the background story is a baseball story.
What is the story? I can think of about 5 stories that are told throughout this book. The lead story is the story of Henry Skrimshander, a nobody high school shortsop, who is the most natural shortstop since Hall of Famer Aparicio Rodriquez. As he goes through his college career he becomes afflicted with Steve Blass disease. The story is of several journeys that characters take throughout the book, journeys of the self. They don’t travel great distances physically but they travel millions of miles emotionally.
Did I like it? Yes and no, some parts of the story were very exciting and some of them were down right depressing. Overall I like it.
Grade-B
What is with the title of the review? This book is supposedly about baseball, but that is only in the same way that Moby Dick is about Captain Ahab going on a fishing trip.
Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich; 2011; $28.00; 305 pages; Bantam Books, New York, NY; 978-0-345-52771-4; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, Hollywood; 1/17-1/18
Why did I pick this up? Because I have read the previous 17 and liked them.
What is the story? Pretty much the usual, Stephanie tries to apprehend bail jumpers, it ends funnily. Stephanie tries to decide between Morelli and Ranger, it doesn’t end. Stephanie loses a couple of cars in magnificent ways. Lulu, Connie, Vinnie, and Grandma Mazur are back helping us to laugh.
Did I like it? Yes, but not as much as previously. Things are too stagnant, every book is essentially the same.
Grade-C
What is with the title of the review? I will give Ms. Plum one more chance and then there will be a breakup if something doesn’t change. The story synopsis was cut and pasted from the review of the 17th book, I just took out two sentences. 18 books and Stephanie hasn’t improved as a bondsperson, Lulu still dresses she did in her previous job, Stephanie can’t decide two guys and neither of the guys has had the guts to tell her to make a decision. Look to Robert K. Tanenbaum to how a series should progress.
Vigilante by Stephen J. Cannell; 2011; $26.95; 312 pages; St Martin’s Press, New York, NY; 978-0-312-64611-0; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, Hillsdale; 1/15-1/17
Why did I pick this up? Because I have read everything that Stephen J. Cannell has written as a novelist and enjoyed them and all of his TV shows.
What is the story? Reality TV star Nix Nash and his show Vigilante TV have focused on Los Angeles and the murder of a critic of the LAPD. Scripted reality is what it turns out to be and the aim of Nash and his crew is to make fools of the department. Shane and his crew have to fight all kinds of internal politics and rich friends of the reality host. There are all kinds of red herrings and continuation of sub plots from previous Shane Scully novels.
Did I like it? Yes, Cannell can write suspense and police procedurals with the very best of them. It was a bittersweet read because Cannell died in September of 2010 and had just finished the manuscript for Vigilante.
Grade-A
What is with the title of the review? Stephen J. Cannell died in Spetember of 2010 just after he finished the manuscript for Vigilante, so I don’t think we will see anymore of Shane Scully and his supporting cast. Cooch is Shane’s son who expressed an interest in police science in this installment of the Shane Scully story. We won’t know where the story goes from here.
Unbroken, A, World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillendbrand; $27.00; 2010; 473 pages; Random House, New York, NY; 978-1-4000-6416-8; Purchased at Multnomah County Library Title Wave Used Bookstore; 1/10-1/15
Why did I pick this up? Our book group is reading this for our meeting. on January 21, 2012 and it fits one of my areas of interest, WWII biography.
What is the story? Louis Zamperini is an incorrigible youth in Torrance, California in the 1920′s. He stole and ran and hid. Running would be the first redemptive thing in his life, with the coaching and encouragement of his older brother, Pete, he became a running sensation nicknamed “The Torrance Tornado”. He qualified for the 5,000 meters in the 1936 Olympics and traveled to Berlin to compete. He drew the attention of teammate Jesse Owens and also the Fuhrer, who recalled him as “the boy with the fast finish.” After competing and getting the chance to go to the 1940 Olympics, which were canceled due to the war in Europe. He joined the Army Air Corps and became a bombardier on a B-24 flying in the Pacific. After several missions the plane he flew in was down for maintenance because of damage sustained in battle with Japanese forces. He and his crew were asked to fly a rescue mission to search for another downed crew. He and his mates were forced to ditch in the Pacific, 3 members of the crew survived and drifted for 46 days before being captured by the Japanese. The Japanese sent the 2 surviving members to several different POW camps where they were severely abused in several different ways. Louie was especially targeted by several of the guards for extra abuse who singled him out for horrific abuse. When the war was over, Louie was returned home and became the toast of the country. But because of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he more or less crawled into a bottle and began to lose those around him. His wife was going to divorce him until she went to a Billy Graham crusade and had a change in her life. Louie went to three different crusade events before that change happened in his life. Since then Louie has spoken all over the world, even speaking to many of the guards who had abused him during his time in prison camp and forgiving them. Louie is still alive, as of today, 1/15/12 and still going at age 95.
Did I like it? Yes. I had read Louis Zamperini’s autobiography “Devil at My Heels” back in 1998. This fleshed that out and gave it more historical context. I think Laura Hillenbrand could make a laundry list very readable.
Grade-A
What is with the title of the review? At one point during the time the crew was drifting they bring up Eddie Rickenbacker’s time spent in a life raft and a subsequent book about the time. The book was titled “We thought we heard the Angels Sing.”
