Book Review : The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein
Written By: amodini
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May•
08•21
Author : Garth Stein
Genre : Contemporary
Publisher : Harper
Pages : 321
Rating : 4.2/5
The protagonist of this tale is a dog. Literally a dog. His name is Enzo and he is the faithful pet of racecar driver Dennis. He tells us Dennis’s story from his doggy point of view – Dennis’s fluctuating career, the love of his life Eve and their daughter Zoe. Of course, he’s a dog so he can’t go everywhere but he presumes and he surmises and he ties stuff together to make a cohesive story complete with philosophical musings and natterings about his favorite films, and racecars and television programs.
People are always worried about what’s happening next. They often find it difficult to stand still, to occupy the now without worrying about the future. People are generally not satisfied with what they have; they are very concerned with what they are going to have.
Enzo believes that he will be reborn as a human and he prepares by gleaning knowledge and learning from watching people, events and the television. He talks but no-one can hear him, which he knows and accepts. He can also sense emotion – happiness, sadness, anger and grief from the faces and voices of his people and he responds to their needs by being the best dog he can be. I don’t own a dog but if I ever did, I’d want one like Enzo. Enzo is lovely.
When I return to the world, I will be a man. I will walk among you. I will lick my lips with my small, dexterous tongue. I will shake hands with other men, grasping firmly with my opposable thumbs. And I will teach all people that I know. And when I see a man or a woman or a child in trouble, I will extend my hand, both metaphorically and physically. I will offer my hand. To him. To her. To you. To the world. I will be a good citizen, a good partner in the endeavour of life that we all share.
Through Enzo’s telling, we get to know Dennis, his family and friends, and it is an interesting story with lots of emotional push and pull – left me weepy-eyed. Dennis is a good guy but he has some very hard times to go through and we are rooting for him because Enzo is. The story goes backwards and forwards in time to give us the whole picture, but it is coherent and well-paced.
A heartwarming read – recommended.
Book Review : The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Written By: amodini
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Apr•
07•21
Author : Sujata Massey
Genre : Mystery
Publisher : Soho Crime
Pages : 432
Rating : 4/5
Young Perveen Mistry has just joined her father’s law firm. Although she has her law degree Perveen cannot practice in the courtroom because of the current laws preventing women from being admitted to the bar. Perveen handles wills, contracts and other office work, and while doing so reads the documents for Mr. Farid’s will. Farid was a wealthy client and on his death his assets are to be split among his three wives, all of whom live in strict purdah. In the paperwork though, the three wives have signed over their inheritance to a wakf (charitable trust). Perveen is perturbed for the widows, because this signing away of their wealth could potentially mire them in penury.
Because the women are purdahnasheen, they will not speak to men outside of family. So while it is difficult for Perveen’s father to approach them, Perveen, the only female lawyer in all Bombay, can. As Perveen digs into the matter, she finds misinformation and deceit. She is threatened and attacked but persists; women’s rights are important to her as is plain justice.
This was such an entertaining book because of the description of the times – the culture, the people, society during the British occupation. I also read “Circling the Sun” around about the same time and it was fascinating to compare the lives of two women (McClain and Mistry) striving to make independent lives for themselves in very different societies during the 1920s, a time which curtailed women’s professional growth in favor of domesticity. Perveen, with her painful past, is a very interesting character. She is bright and bold, and supported by her forward thinking parents.
This is an engrossing mystery, although Massey’s writing can be clunky and the transitions abrupt. Still she keeps up the pace, peppering us with surprising discoveries, and mashing together past and present events coherently.Post-read I’m pleased to find that The Widows of Malabar Hill is the first of a series. I look forward to reading them all!
Book Review : Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler
Written By: amodini
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Mar•
10•21
Title : Ladder of Years
Author : Anne Tyler
Genre : Contemporary
Publisher : Vintage
Pages : 336
Rating : 4.5/5
Anne Tyler has written The Accidental Tourist, a book I haven’t read (but mean to) which was transformed into the fabulous film of the same name starring Geena Davis and William Hurt. Recently I tried to get into Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl but had to give up on the book after a few hours. So Ladder of Years is almost a sigh of relief – a lovely book I read into the wee hours of the night.
Delia Grinstead is the wife of Dr Sam Grinstead, and the mother to three now grown-up children. On their annual vacation to the beach which Delia has spent much effort planning, she walks off and away from her family. The act is spontaneous, but Delia does not return even after much time has passed and overtures have been made. The rift, and Delia cannot clearly identify it, may not ever heal.
Tyler’s writing reminds me of Richard Russo’s (the lovely Empire Falls is one of my favorites). Her words are un-complicated, but so astute. She doesn’t use flowery language, and I could read a paragraph, a page, 20 pages of straightforward prose without realizing that she is building pictures, making delicate tragic-comic observations, getting to the heart of the matter, without ever appearing to do so. Such skill!
In “Ladder of Years” she draws her characters with sympathy. Delia’s reasons for leaving are never firm or finite or expressed in definitive words, but we can sense her despair and sadness.
Sometimes she felt like a tiny gnat, whirring around her family’s edges.
Even though I can’t identify with Delia’s actions, I thoroughly sympathize with her. Tyler fleshes out her innermost thoughts and her vulnerabilities; the book made me weepy-eyed more than once. The end left me a little stumped, but then life is strange. Strange and sad.
Highly recommended.
Audiobook Review : The Dry by Jane Harper
Written By: amodini
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Feb•
10•21
Author : Jane Harper
Narrators : Stephen Shanahan
Genre : Thriller
Publisher : Macmillan Audio
Listening Length : 9 hours 59 minutes
Rating : 4.3/5
Narrator Rating : 4.3/5
Federal Agent Aaron Falk has returned home to Kiewarra after any years, for friend Luke Hadler’s funeral. Luke has shot his wife and son and then himself. The only survivor is his baby daughter Charlotte. Falk is at the funeral because of Luke’s father’s threat-like request, hinting at buried past secrets. Falk himself features in them, since he left Kiewarra amid suspicion of having drowned a local girl, and he has no wish to suffer the taunts and insults of a town that believes him guilty.
The rumors were fed well…and grew fat and solid. They sprouted legs and heads, and they never died.
When Luke’s sorrow-stricken mother asks Aaron to investigate the suspicious deaths – she does not believe Luke would have killed himself, much less gunned down his family – Aaron cannot refuse and begins to assist local cop Raco. As he pokes around he finds underlying tensions fueled by the poverty of the region – the land is dry and droughty and the farmers of Kiewarra are getting the brunt of it. Raco and Falk dig into the alibis of the potential suspects, and Jane Harper goes in several different directions opening up possibilities – a jealous ex-girlfriend, financial troubles, a violent temper – to account for Luke’s death.
Bloody tragic.’ The farmer at Falk’s side spoke out of nowhere. His arms were crossed, fists wedged tightly under his armpits. ‘It is,’ Falk said. ‘You knew ’em well?’ ‘Not really. Only Luke, the –’ For a dizzy moment Falk couldn’t think of a word to describe the man in the largest coffin.
I recently read Jane Harper’s “The Lost Man” and that was very good. The Dry is just as suspenseful and thrilling. A hair-raising set-up, dubious suspects, plentiful red herrings and a compelling protagonist make this book a must read/listen. Narrator Shanahan is excellent although he has a strong Australian accent. I have heard Australian narrators before, like Caroline Lee narrating The Husband’s Secret, but I haven’t ever had to concentrate so hard :). I got used to it after some time though, so it was all good.
Book Review : Circling The Sun by Paula McLain
Written By: amodini
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Jan•
13•21
Author : Paula McLain
Genre : Historical
Publisher : Ballantine
Pages : 400
Rating : 2.5/5
Beryl Clutterbuck is a rancher’s daughter in 1920s Kenya. Brought up by her father, after her mother, sick of the hard-scrabble life of the farm, ups and leaves with her younger brother, Beryl grows up with very few restraints, running wild and free with the local children, and learning to ride and hunt like a man would – in those times. She finds her independence severely curbed when her father’s farm goes belly-up and she must, at 16, make a marriage of convenience. Life is rocky and uncertain when Beryl, unable to keep up the “homely” act and hankering for the land and the horses, returns to working for an acquaintance as a horse-trainer.
Buffeted by unfortunate circumstances, Beryl goes from job to job, and into different personal relationships developing a reputation in the British colony’s small social circle. She remains focussed on her work however, striving to keep her love for her horses above it all.
Circling The Sun was a quick, placid read. It read almost like a memoir or a personal journal, with Beryl at the center of it all. The writing is good and the descriptions lyrical, giving us a feel of the land and the people that inhabit it. While I understood Beryl’s need for independence, and her quiet rebellion against a society which severely penalized women for not kowtowing the line, she did come across as calculating and grasping. It’s not that I don’t sympathize with her – being thrust into a marriage and fending for oneself at 16 will probably make one grow up fast – but her actions seemed self-centered and dilletante-ish.
This book is not feel-good or fantasy, it is a chronicling of the real world, where it is all a give and take. While our heroine does have a few wins, the overall tone is one of gloom especially after she falls in love with Denys Hatton Finch, a man she can never have. Beryl is celebrated as the Kenyan aviatrix and was the first person to fly solo non-stop from Britain to North America. Despite her spirit and her many accomplishments, she is a hard heroine to root for.
