In The Woods

I just finished Tana French’s first novel In the Woods. I feel content and yet somewhat dissatisfied. I hadn’t realized that she was beginning a series and so I expected more closure to the “bigger” mystery. In The Woods introduces the reader to Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, both detectives in the fictional Dublin Murder Squad. As partners they are called to the suburb of Knocknaree to investigate the murder of a 12 year old girl who was found near the woods that surround the town. The case becomes entwined with the twenty year old mystery of two missing children and their friend who was found bloody and clinging to a tree with no memory. The book follows Rob’s quest to solve the recent murder and the mystery of his missing friends because he was the found boy-a secret only his parents and Cassie know. Tana French does an excellent job of pulling the reader in and painting an excellent picture of the setting and the characters. I found myself reading as fast as I could through the middle, as the story began to stall. When it picked up again I was immediately engrossed. If you’re in the mood for a well written mystery, but are not necessarily a reader of the mystery genre then this book is for you.

Audrey Niffennegger and Elizabeth Kostova

Two of my favorite authors will be in Portland within two days of each other! Very exciting. Powells Books is presenting Audrey Niffenegger on Monday, January 25th at their Cedar Hills Crossing location and Elizabeth Kostova on Wednesday, January 27th at their downtown location. They both released books this fall, but they are in my favor for their books The Time Traveler's Wife (Niffenegger) and The Historian (Kostova). If you are in the Portland area then I recommend you check out powells.com and click on the tab "Stores and Events" and then "Events Calendar".

Gentlemen of the Road

Excellent short novel by Michael Chabon. In his afterword he wrote that he wanted the title to be Jews With Swords-his own joke. You'll have to read it in his own words to understand. Gentlemen of the Road shares with the reader a relatively short adventure in the lives of two best friends, Amran, the large African, and Zelikman, the skinny northerner in the Caucasus Mountains in 950 a.d. There is a map at the beginning of the book, thank goodness, for non-historians like me who need to orient themselves. Amran and Zelikman meet a young man who claims to be a prince of the Khazar Empire. This foul-mouthed and moody prince leads the friends into an adventure that risks both of their lives. Chabon explores the personalities of both main characters while keeping the action flowing. There is mystery, politics, and a tiny bit of romance that make this book very enjoyable.

Blue Bottle Mystery: An Asperger Adventure

The Blue Bottle Mystery is a children's/young adult chapter book in which the primary character is Ben, a 4th or 5th grade boy who becomes diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome during the course of the story. The mystery of the blue bottle was a cute story device and the descriptions of Ben's behavior and thoughts were consistent with what I understand about kids on the autism spectrum. However, Ben has a longtime best friend in the book, Andy, who is amazingly tolerant, which is not consistent with students I have known on the spectrum. Kids with autism have a very difficult time maintaining long term friendships with peers. I also didn't care for the fact that Ben is diagnosed with Asperger's by his family physician instead of a team of experts. Although this is not an uncommon practice, it is not the best practice. The author, Kathy Hoopmann, is a teacher in Australia and has written other books about kids on the spectrum and those diagnosed with ADHD. The parent of one of my students with autism recommended this book to me. She used it to help introduce her son to the disorder. I may recommend The Blue Bottle Mystery to other parents for such a use.

The Spellman Files

Everyone should read this book! It's funny, original, offbeat, and fantastic. The Spellmans are a family of private investigators (including Rae, a 14 year old girl) and their story is told by Izzy, the 28 year old daughter. Through this first book-there is a fourth currently in progress-we learn how the Spellmans' p.i. firm began and how the family navigates their personal lives around it. The author, Lisa Lutz, paints the most hilarious depiction of a not-so-perfect family living in an old Victorian house in San Francisco. The lifestyle and worldview of the Spellmans are tainted by their occupation as well as their interactions with each other. I laughed out loud everytime one of them smashed the headlight of one of their family member's car because it's easier to follow someone, or know they're following you. I can't wait to find out what's next in Curse of the Spellman's.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

As I have posted previously, I really liked The Kite Runner, Khalad Hosseini's first novel, and I was eagerly anticipating reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I was not disappointed. Hosseini takes us back to Kabul, Afghanistan again from the time before the Soviet invasion through the Taliban take over. Unlike in The Kite Runner, the main characters were not able to escape the country and so we live through these tumultuous decades with them. Mariam and Laila are very different women approximately 15 years apart in age, but they end up married to the same man. As Hosseini tells both of their stories he is also telling the story of many Afghan women who lived through the Soviet-run period (women are equal to men) and the Taliban-run time (women will not show their faces). Although written simply, Marian and Laila became vivid to my imagination and I found that I cared very much about what would happen to them. It was difficult to read about the sorrows of the Afghan people, but an important education in a culture I am not too familiar with.

The Sharing Knife-Beguilement

As I've mentioned before, I am not a particular fan of the fantasy genre. I have made another exception with one of my favorite authors: Lois McMasters Bujold. She is the author of the wonderful "Miles" series (sf) as I call it, so I decided to give Beguilement a chance based also on the recommendation of my friend, Cathy. Beguilement is the first volume in a series called The Sharing Knife. We meet Fawn and Dag, the two main characters who meet very unexpectedly and end up falling in love. I'm not giving anything away, it's on the back of the book cover. Fawn is the youngest child of a family of farmers and has run away to start a new life in a town. Dag is a Lakewalker patroller who is separated from his group and rescues Fawn. Lakewalkers are people who practice magic and fight secret evil forces to protect all others. The magic and fantasy part of the book are not overwhelming and, therefore, not a put off to someone like myself. Fawn and Dag are incredibly likable and I found myself in a state of wishing I could know them. This book is well written (goes without saying with Ms. Bujold!) and the characters are relatable even if in a world that is unlike our own. I have already ordered the second volume from my book club.