What Strange Paradise - Omar El Akkad

 Title: What Strange Paradise (Bookshop.org)

Author: Omar El Akkad

Published: 2022 (first published 2021)

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary

Edition: Paperback

Source: Surrey Libraries

Thoughts:  I really wanted to like the book, as I thought, and the others in my library book club also thought, that it would be a good read.  And it was a good read; it's just that I couldn't get into it with the two different timelines that the author gave for the book.  The book really needs to be read either closely or multiple times to really understand the two main timelines.  It is definitely a fairly quick read, if you just want to go through it once, but I think that if you really want to understand the book, you may want to read it many times.

Bottom line: A really excellent read that needs to read multiple times to get a complete understanding of it.  I just feel like there was something more to the book that I missed that would have completed my understanding of the book better. Recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

Description: From the widely acclaimed author of American War a new novel--beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving--that brings the global refugee crisis down to the level of a child's eyes.

More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another over-filled, ill-equipped, dilapidated ship has sunk under the weight of its too many passengers: Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians, all of them desperate to escape untenable lives in their homelands. And only one has made the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who has the good fortune to fall into the hands not of the officials but of Vanna: a teenage girl, native to the island, who lives inside her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though she and the boy are complete strangers, though they don't speak a common language, she determines to do whatever it takes to save him.

In alternating chapters, we learn the story of the boy's life and how he came to be on the boat; and we follow the girl and boy as they make their way toward a vision of safety. But as the novel unfurls, we begin to understand that this is not merely the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world, it is the story of our collective moment in this time: of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair--and of the way each of those things can blind us to reality, or guide us to a better one.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty

Title: The Chaperone
Author: Laura Moriarty
Published: 2013 (first published 2012)
Pages: 402
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Surrey Public Library

Description: Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.
 
For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

Thoughts: I first read the book back in April 2013 and in the almost 7 years since I had read the book, I had forgot large portions of the book, but reading it brought back quite a bit of it back.  Reading it for the second time made me sympathize more with Cora and made me more aware of the actual story line than I had been the first time I had read it and I think I enjoyed it more this time around, but really did feel that the third part was too rushed and made little sense.

Bottom line: I enjoyed the book just as much as I did the first time around, but I empthetized with Cora much more this time around and would recommend the book.

Rating: 4/5

Such a Pretty Face - Cathy Lamb

Title: Such a Pretty Face
Author: Cathy Lamb
Pages: 467
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source Personal

Description: Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett was wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life. Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs. At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be: thin.

But for everything that's changed, some things remain the same. Stevie's shyness refuses to melt away. She still can't look her neighbors' gorgeous great-nephew in the eye. The Portland law office where she works remains utterly dysfunctional, as does her family—the aunt, uncle, and cousins who took her in when she was a child. To top it off, her once supportive best friend clearly resents her weight loss.

By far the biggest challenge in Stevie's new life lies in figuring out how to define her new self. Collaborating with her cousins to plan her aunt and uncle's problematic fortieth anniversary party, Stevie starts to find some surprising answers—about who she is, who she wants to be, and how the old Stevie evolved in the first place. And with each revelation, she realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: If it hadn't been for my book club, I probably wouldn't have not picked up this book due to not being aware of the author at the time.  And judging by the cover of the book, I probably wouldn't have picked it up either, but this was a time where the cover completely threw me.  It completely surprised me and possibly could be my sleeper hit for 2015.

I felt that the struggles that Stevie faced could be faced by anyone and could really empathize with what she had to deal with.  I could understand how food can become a way of coping for Stevie, as I have personally used food as a way to cope with things.

Bottom line: I would recommend the book for bookclubs, as it provides a lot of material to discuss about how we deal with things that aren't so pleasant in our lives.  Recommended.

 Rating:  4/5

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Brontë
Pages: 384
Published: 1985 (Originally published 1847; my actual copy is different then one pictured; am just using this photo because I have it in my album)
Genre: Classic, Historical fiction, Gothic
Challenges: The Classics Club, readalong through Unputdownables, Historical Challenge
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls in love with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: I first read this book when I was about 14 years old and at the time, I couldn't make sense of it and by the end of the book, I was wanting to throw the book across the room and probably because of the fact that I was unable to get myself to read the book again.  Of course I was able to understand it more after watching the BBC miniseries that came out a few years ago, I was able to make more sense of the story and the readalong that I participated through Unputdownables really helped me understand the story that much more.  And based on this last reading of the book, I was able to give the book a full appreciation of really how good the book was and it makes me wonder that if Emily had been able to live for a long time, how good her work could have become.  Maybe she would have become a one-hit wonder, or maybe she would have been a prolific writer, like her sister Charlotte, who wrote a number of well-known books through out her lifetime.

One thing that I liked about the book was that the book was basically told like a story that is being related to another individual.  I realize that this is stating the obvious, but understanding this fact, helps with the reading of the book, because you don't see Mr. Lockwood that much and hear mostly Nelly's retelling of the story between the two families that clearly dominate the area.  Another thing that I like about the book is that its a very complex novel, despite the fact that it really is a pretty simple story line. And that Emily Bronte is able to bring out complex emotions in not only her characters that are so vivid for a number of reasons, but also complex emotions in those that read the book.  Its almost a love-hate relationship with the book; there are characters that I absolutely adore and want more of (Cathy Linton [not her mom, who is also named Catherine]) and there are characters that I really do come to loathe (Heathcliff and Isabelle Linton-Heathcliff and possibly Edgar Linton).  

There also something extremely dark that kept me wanting to find out what it was and it felt like you got absorbed into that world, just like Cathy [the daughter] did after coming to Wuthering Heights. I think what Bronte does effectively is create a world that is both foreboding, but also inviting, almost like she is seducing the reader to continue on with the book, as though there is something forbidden behind the front doors of Wuthering Heights.

Bottom line: If you enjoy books that have a gothic feel to them, you will enjoy this.  I would say that if you are new to the classics, you may want to hold off on the book for a bit, as it is a bit complex and maybe something lighter would be easier to digest.

Rating:  4/5

Pages for 2012: 19265

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

Title: A Farewell to Arms
Author: Ernest Hemingway
File Size (Pages): 568 KB (332)
Published: 2012 (First published 1929)
Genre: Classics, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Challenges: The Classics Club
Edition: E-book
Source: Purchased

Description: Set in the waning days of the First World War, A Farewell to Arms (1929) is the epic love story of American ambulance driver Frederic Henry and British V.A. D. Catherine Barkley, drawn together yet torn apart by the tides of war. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: It was okay.  While I liked the overall story of the book, I just felt that Hemingway's use of voice wasn't my style and felt that the interaction between Frederic and Catherine was basically surface level type of conversation and that they really had no depth to their relationship.  And if it weren't for my book club group reading the book, I probably wouldn't have read it.  Its not that its a bad book, its just that I felt that there wasn't really anything deep between them and felt that Frederic's relationship with the men that he interacted with on a regular basis was more realistic than what he had with Catherine.  Then again, Hemingway is hard to understand and that it was my first venture into anything he had written and hopefully I will read another book of his.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book to those that are fans of writers of the 1920s and 1930s, basically if you are a fan of Hemingway's contemporaries.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 18062

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 250
Published: 2003 (originally 1818)
Genre: Classics
Rating: 3.8/5

At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What happens when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen’s last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all, it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts:  This was my first time reading this book and I thought it was ok, especially after reading 3 other Austen books that I enjoyed.  As I said to my book club last night during our discussion, this book felt that a little slower than Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma because there were no secondary plot that was discernible to that of Wentworth and Anne.  I am not saying that it was a bad book, it wasn't, but I just felt that it was a lot slower than that of the three of Austen's books that I had already read.  Recommended for those that have read Austen's previous books or that enjoy reading classic literature. 

12334 / 15000 pages. 82% done!

The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill

Title: The Book of Negroes (international title: Someone Knows My Name)
Author: Lawrence Hill
Published: 2007
Pages: 486
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5

Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle - a string of slaves - Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes." This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own. Aminata's eventual return to Sierra Leone - passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America - is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book.  I hadn't expected for a book that was so dense to be such a page turner.  I found it to be very eloquent and spoke to the true nature of the slave trade that existed over two hundred years ago.  The words seemed to melt into my soul like a plate of really good food.  I think what was fascinating about the book is that the main character seemed to avoid death, but never seemed to avoid tragedy.  An excellent read.

7028 / 15000 pages. 47% done!

The Mistress of Nothing - Kate Pullinger

Title: The Mistress of Nothing
Author: Kate Pullinger
Pages: 272
Published: 2010
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3/5

Lady Duff Gordon is the toast of Victorian London. But when her debilitating tuberculosis requires healthier climate, she and her lady's maid, Sally, set sail for Egypt. It is Sally who describes, with a mixture of wonder and trepidation, the odd menage marshalled by the resourceful Omar, which travels down the Nile to a new life in Luxor. When Lady Duff Gordon undoes her stays and takes to native dress, throwing herself into weekly salons, language lessons, excursions to the tombs, Sally too adapts to a new world, affording her heady and heartfelt freedoms never known before. But freedom is a luxury that a maid can ill-afford, and when Sally grasps more than her status entitles her to, she is brutally reminded that she is mistress of nothing. 

Thoughts: Thought that the first part of the book really dragged, but the second part really picked up in a big way.  I found it interesting in that I was delved into a world that I really had no clue about and found it very fascinating.  It was also fascinating that I was reading this book during the riots in Egypt, which their president was thrown out of office.   It was also interesting because it showed what sort of double standard that men and women servants had in that society. 

3069 / 15000 pages. 20% done!

Emma - Jane Austen

Title: Emma
Author: Jane Austen
Published: 1815
Pages: 512
Genre: Literature, Classic, English
Rating: 4/5

Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. 

Reason I read this book:  I had initially read the book about 14 years ago when the Gwyneth Paltrow adaptation came out and really could not make sense of the book.  This time around I read it due to the fact that it was a selection that my book club had made for this latest reading.


Thoughts: The first time I had read the book, I read it when I was about 16 years old and for some reason I never really understood it.  Part of the fact was that I didn't really understand what was going on and that I didn't slow down enough to read the book with much purpose.  On this reading of Emma, I decided to take a bit more time and read and listen to a free download of the book, even though I had only a month to read the book (normally I would have at least 2 months to read the book for my bookclub).  It really helped to slow me down and actually understand what was going on in the book, especially when it came to events between characters and to understand their motivation later on.


I suppose it also helped that I had seen at least 3 different adaptations of the book, so I was able to a greater understanding of the action of the novel and also to have an understanding of what the rooms, homes, etc may look like visually as I read the book.  I sometimes find that having a visual cue for what characters, settings, etc may look like allow me to greater understand the text.  While some people can't stand watching an adaptation before reading the actual book as they sometimes feel that the way they imagined characters are ruined.  But I find an adaptation helps in understanding the book a little better, as I can better imagine what the character may sound and look like and what a particular setting may look like, especially if one can find a faithful adaptation of the novel.


While some may find Emma to be one of Austen's lesser works, due to the fact that there is not really any sort of conflict with the main female character that is found in most of Austen's other works, I found it to be one of Austen's more complicated works, as the main conflict in the novel is found in one of the background stories and could quite easily have been the basis for the novel.   Quite honestly, Emma Woodhouse is quite a dull character, as there is nothing really that complicates her life, other than trying to meddle in the lives of those around her.


At the same time, it is book that really doesn't have strong main characters, other than Mr. Knightly, who seems to be able to stand his ground more than Emma, who seems to be slightly bored and can only amuse herself by meddling in the lives of those around her.  It almost seems as though she doesn't want to put her mind to something productive and doesn't have the aptitude of having a conversation that has any sort of consequence.  Unlike Elizabeth Bennett and Elinor Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse is shallow and so is her father, whose chief concern seems to make sure that everybody lives their life like his and that there are no drafts of any sort. 


It is not only Emma that don't really have any sort of depth to their character wise, but rather a number of them, including Mrs. Elton, who seems more concerned about letting everybody know about the connections that she has in Bristol, who have a lack of depth of character, unlike some of Austen's books, where a number of characters seem to have a bit of depth to their characters.  What I would have more liked would have been the Jane Fairfax/Frank Churchill storyline and how did they meet.  I know that they met while they were at Weymouth, but the circumstances concerning their meeting is curious.


Bottom Line:   While I enjoyed Emma, it is a book that does need a second read, as there is much that can be missed, especially in regards to the storyline regarding Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax.  It is also a book that when reread, one can find different things that one missed the last time it was read.  And unlike Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility, it isn't exactly a light read, as there is much important information that can be glossed over when read.