Tag: thairishgrl

Noticed you liked She's Come Undone, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in reviewing my new novel and posting your comments here as well as a few other book-related sites. Thought you might like my book since it's also about a disturbed young girl's downward spiral and a bit dark. I could e-mail you the novel in an e-book format if you'd like (I'm out of physical copies at the moment). Let me know if you're interested. Here's a link to a summary in case you're interested:

http://christophertusa.com/

Thanks,

Chris

cmtusa által bejegyzett 2:08 pm (EST) -kor a May 9, 2009

Yes-I did go see No Country for Old Men without reading the book first. I usually prefer to read the book, then see the film, but didn't this time. I'll probably read it soon though, because I'm eager to compare the two. I thought the script was extremely well written, and I wonder how closely it follows the book.

I would highly recommend the movie. It is extremely violent, however, so I don't think it would be appropriate or enjoyable for everyone. I am a great fan of both Javier Bardem and the Coen brothers (loved Fargo) so it was a great choice for me.

Let me know what you think once you've either seen the movie or read the book.

Beth

mcna217 által bejegyzett 11:27 am (EST) -kor a Dec 3, 2007

Hi Kim,

I'm so glad you loved Arranged Marriage! I was worried I might steer you wrong. But I'll probably never forget that book as long as I live. And I'll never look at an Indian woman again without remembering it, either. I loaned my copy to a young Indian woman where I work a few weeks ago, and she actually liked it very much, too. So I've done my job of sharing a really great book. :-)

Well, for other recommendations... I wish I could recommend another book "like it," but Arranged Marriage was a unique reading experience for me. C. Divakaruni did write another book of short stories, "The Unknown Errors of Our Lives," and I bet it's just as good as Arranged Marriage, if you really wished it had not ended so soon. I'll definitely be reading it someday. And I suspect many of he novels have a similar quality, though the pace of a novel has to be different.

But for something entirely different off the "Eastern kick" - I was thinking about it at dinner and was going to recommend Maguire's Wicked, but I see you already read it and didn't even like it! But I would also have recommended the Ugly Stepsister book, and you did love that. It's a little hit and miss.

But I still would say, take a look at BEAUTY by Sheri S. Tepper. It's been long enough now since I've read it that I've forgotten the details, but it was very moving in the same way as was Arranged Marriage though it's a different sort of book, being a novel instead of short stories. I remember the ending extremely well - it was astonishingly beautiful. I would give it a score of 10 out of 10, something I do not assign a book lightly. (But I also did the same for Wicked...)

Also, I noticed you really liked the book about Biff, Christ's Pal. I haven't read that one - I can only imagine... :-) But I read a different rather tongue-in-cheek book having to do with religion which was quite amusing and at the same time actually very deep and meaningful, and you might enjoy it very much if you enjoyed reading about Biff. The message was that you can talk all you want to about religion, but in the end it's us who have to take responsibility for our deeds and our lives, and that if we are able to take that responsibility, we can, perhaps with God's blessing, leave the baggage behind and live good and happy lives. Sounds maybe a little simplistic stated that way, but the means of delivery is amazing, the message is touchingly delivered, and it is tremendously enjoyable for a thinking person. Take a look at TOWING JEHOVAH by James Morrow. Originally copyright 1994, but I'm sure it was in paperback and should be readily available. The premise is that God dies and his mile-long body falls into the ocean, and his last angel arranges for the protagonist, a ship's captain responsible for a monumental oil spill in the past and trying to live down the mortifying memory, to tow God's body to the North Pole where it will not decay. I thought it was totally unique and another totally unforgettable read. Very different in character from Arranged Marriage, but every bit as good in its own way.

Back to the "women in books" theme, another super book is Charles de Lint's ONION GIRL, about a young woman with a very difficult past who is desperately injured, but who can walk in a land of fantasy whole again. In her youth she left her little sister with her family of father and brothers who abused the protagonist and would no doubt abuse her sister as well, and she spent years till her injury dealing with the guilt of abandoning her sister. A book of redemption, and really just wonderful. Not at all the downer it sounds like it might be, though not to be taken lightly. It's another book you would likely never forget. (It could be a door into Charles de Lint's world, also. He's written many wonderful books. Another I loved is 'Someplace to be Flying.')

Another book about a woman, not so serious but starring an absolutely captivating female protagonist and a fascinating story is Kage Baker's IN THE GARDEN OF IDEN. (And if you like that there's a whole series of 9 or 10 more books following it, though the first book is quite stand-alone.) I'm very picky about what I read and normally a book of its sort - not necessarily trying to make a big point, nothing really but an interesting story - wouldn't pass my muster at all, but it has a very special quality about it. I recommended it to another person who said she absolutely loved it, and I hope you might too! I really did think it was tops.

Another book very people-oriented though not about women in particular, is DAYS OF CAIN, by J.R. Dunn. It takes on the monumental question of why is there such evil in world? What sort of purpose could it ever serve, and how can one get past involvement with the worst sort of evil and find some sort of decent life beyond it? It is a time travel book. I would say not light reading. Not difficult, but it's just not light-hearted. Yet, at the end, it is worth every second reading it, a hundred times over. Or so I found it. I read one of the author's other books and also liked it very much, but I don't think he/she has published anything for several years now. But this one book is definitely worth getting, in my opinion. I'd read it again in a second - as with all the books I've mentioned.

So OK, those are my other recommendations. Thanks for trusting me with Arranged Marriage, and for inviting other recommendations. It makes me feel really good to give somebody pleasure and maybe a little more richness in their lives. Let me know if you try any of these and like them. I hope you had a very nice Thanksgiving and have a really fun holiday season coming up!

bibliojim által bejegyzett 2:38 am (EST) -kor a Nov 27, 2007

Hi Kim,
I thought I'd let you know, I wrote a lengthy review of Arranged Marriage tonight. You could probably tell from it if it's the sort of book you'd enjoy.

bibliojim által bejegyzett 2:02 am (EST) -kor a Oct 19, 2007

And Chitra Divakaruni's middle name is Banerjee, not Bannerjee. :-)

Thanks for your note. I do have Mistress of Spices, but have a huge backlog of books to read. I'm sure I'll NEVER get through them all. I'm kind of a collector for sure, and I buy faster than I can read. A lot faster, unfortunately. But I'm so impressed with Arranged Marriage I'm absolutely planning on getting to other books of hers. I hope you like Arranged Marraige! I think Mistress of Spices was kind of a lighter sort of read, based on what I heard about the book. The short stories of Arranged Marriage though not fantasy, are a lot closer to where the author's heart really is, I bet. In general, the F/SF that is more about people and society than about science or resisting the bad guys is the kind I like best. It's not really that hard to find, but there is a lot of other stuff there as well. Arranged Marriage is all about people.

Another book you might like is Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper, if you haven't read it. She's written many books, of which I've only read four, and she has a reputation as a very good writer. One, her very latest, I didn't like at all. I know she's getting quite old and I think maybe it's showing in her writing, sad to say. And she has a penchant for lecturing in her novels on what's wrong with treatment of women in our society, which can be hard to get through, especially if you're a man who agrees with her and doesn't enjoy being lumped in. But she really is one of my four or five favorite authors nonetheless, and her novel Beauty is simply a beautiful book. If you like Beauty, you may well enjoy Plague of Angels and Raising the Stones as well. If you like those two, she's written perhaps a couple of dozen other novels that would keep you busy exploring for a while. But anyway, try Beauty sometime. I looked at the ratings/reviews on LibraryThing and am amazed it doesn't get a straight 5-star from everybody, but I guess it takes all kinds. I thought it was an incredibly touching and meaningful book.

Take care, and if you enjoy any of those, let me know sometime. :-)

Jim

bibliojim által bejegyzett 12:57 am (EST) -kor a Oct 9, 2007

Hi Kim,

I saw you loved Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and for the heck of it took a look at your profile page. Forget my profile page, I just joined over the weekend and haven't really entered much of anything, just a few books to my library and reviews. I read mostly fantasy and science fiction. I don't know if our reading lists would typically have much in common, but I happen to be reading a book I bet you'd absolutely love because you said you like women-centered stories that aren't chick lit. Try 'Arranged Marriage' by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni. It's a short story collection by a female author who was born in India but has lived in the U.S. for much of her life. The stories are about women, mostly but not entirely about Indian women living in the U.S. and how their cultural heritage impacts their American lives. I have found the stories very powerful and broadening of my horizon, and if you loved 'Confessions,' I bet we have similar sensitivities so you'll like Arranged Marriage as well.

She has written several novels. Her first was 'Mistress of Spices' and was well-noted as a fantasy novel, and I think a few of her other books also qualify as fantasy. I haven't read them, but I bet they are also very good.

Jim

bibliojim által bejegyzett 8:49 pm (EST) -kor a Oct 8, 2007