Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show - Frank Delany

Title: Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show
Author: Frank Delany
Published: 2010 Pages: 427
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

Venetia Kelly came into the world in a fashion of mythic proportions: "She sprang from the womb and waved to the crowd. Then she smiled and took a bow" (3). What do you say about a book that begins with such oomph? Set mostly in 1930s Ireland during a tumultuous political period, Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show is one man's attempt the understand how his world all of a sudden tumbled upside down. Writing the story as an aging man, Ben looks back to when he was eighteen years old and met the wondrous and compelling Venetia Kelly.

This book is so many things that it is difficult to capture in a short synopsis. It is a book about a young man who is asked to do things he should have never been asked to do; political development and upheaval during a time when the world was spinning faster than it was turning; young but forbidden love of two people who so belonged together but didn't; storytelling--how can you have a book set in Ireland without storytelling? Ben is a wonderful narrator who spares no details in his stories, and even though he is a self-proclaimed digressor (one who digresses?) every bit of his story is intriguing.

I have very little complaint about Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show. I did have troubles getting into the story at first, much like I did with Delaney's novel Ireland*, and I can't quite put my finger on why. The writing, though sprawling, is very dense and detailed, and I found myself having to pay close attention to the story as small bits and pieces would resurface. But once immersed into the writing I found I wanted to read one more chapter and then another and then cursing that my lunch break was over and I'd have to wait to read more (the chapters are generally short and usually cliffhangery).

I think my 4.5/5 rating shows that I would highly recommend Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show, but I'll say it again. This book is a perfect blend of plot and characters and I was sad when I came upon the last page of the book. I was so caught up in the story and felt so much emotion for the characters that I even got misty-eyed over the ending. Narrator Ben explains at the beginning of the book that the story isn't over and that was a tough pill to swallow, but in the end this was a very satisfying read--a read that satisfied my love of literature and beautiful writing but also my love of a good story that had me at the edge of my seat wanting to know more until I turned the last page.

*Back in my first week of blogging I wrote some thoughts of Ireland. It's actually pretty funny to read now as I mention my tendency to ramble which has only gotten worse (?) as the years have gone on.

A big thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for inviting me to participate in this tour. And a big thanks to Frank Delany for sharing the lives of Ben, Venetia, and even Blarney.

Holly's Inbox - Holly Denham

Title: Holly's Inbox
Author: Holly Denham (Bill Surie)
Published: 2007 Pages: 665
Genre: Fiction/Chick-Lit
Rating: 3.5/5

If you’ve been hanging around here long enough, you’ve probably noticed the absence of chick-lit from my reading lists. No, I’m not a book snob and I don’t have anything against chick-lit, it just doesn’t happen to fall into my hands while browsing for books at the store. I maintain that makes me selective, not snobby. Why am I defending myself?? Anyway, I first saw this book over at Bookfool’s and thought the idea of it was cute. A book entirely of emails? Sometimes that exactly what the doctor ordered. I was delighted when the author contacted me to read this book. I gave my standard “fair and honest review” response, which is what I’m fully prepared to give.

Holly’s Inbox is a rather chunky novel of emails. Think Bridget Jones minus the diary and with a lot more dialogue. And you know how much I love Bridget. The story? Holly has just started a new job as a receptionist at a busy London bank. Her fellow receptionist, Trisha, kindly takes her under her wing and teaches her the dos and don'ts of the company while also giving her the daily gossip about the other employees. Other emails include those from her family, including her crazy wine-loving Granny and nightclub owner brother Charlie, and her friends Jason and Aisha who work together at Holly's previous job.

All in all, Holly's Inbox was a lot of fun to read. I wasn't planning on reading this one until August, but Catch-22 proved to be a little too arduous in the evenings, so I picked this one up to read in bed. And let me tell you, it kept me reading for hours at a time--way past my bedtime! I kept thinking, just one more day, just one more week, just one more month! The story spans over five months and what to expect? Romance/lust, betrayal, secrets and lies, refound love, family bonding, heartache, and definitely above all a lot of laughs. Holly is much more competent than Bridget, but she still finds herself in a few uncomfortable snafus--especially when she sends her emails to the wrong recipient! And of course there is also the misunderstanding that can come from the written word rather than the spoken word. Tone is often misconstrued and it causes a lot of trouble for the characters.

I would recommend Holly's Inbox--especially as a light weekend read or a vacation read. Definitely perfect for the summer. It is highly entertaining and I was surprised at how much depth and characterization could come from simple conversations between the characters. I felt like I really got to know the characters of Holly's Inbox and cheered them on or cringed at their mistakes. A small complaint--I felt like some of the storylines were a little underdeveloped, even for an almost 700 page book. And then there were some stories that seemed to come out of left field and never really went anywhere after the shock wore off. But really? Not a book to dissect--just a book to have a lot of fun with. Note of warning--a bit of foul language and sex talk. Since the book is all email, though, it's just talk.

Do you email while you're at work? Have you ever gotten in trouble for an email that was sent or know someone who had a horror story?



Other thoughts on Holly's Inbox (let me know if I missed yours):
Bookfoolery and Babble
Melissa's Bookshelf
Diary of an Eccentric (Anna)
A Novel Menagerie (Sheri)
Peeking Between the Pages (Dar)

Visit Holly's Inbox for a taste of the emails

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Author: Junot Diaz
Published: Pages: 335
Genre: Literature/Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

Well, it's been over a week since I finished this book and I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts. This was my pick for my work book club and we certainly had more than enough material to talk about in our meeting--I didn't even have to pull out those discussion questions! I think the general consensus was that we all more or less liked the book, but all of us had troubles expressing just how we felt about it. Yup--looks like there might be a rambly book post down below.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is about so many things and I'm not sure it is even accurate for me to say it is mostly about the brief or wondrous life of Oscar Wao. In the prologue of the book, the narrator explains fukú--a curse that traveled first from Africa to the New World and inflicted generations of families. And as he explains: "I have a fukú story too. I wish I could say it was the best of the lot--fukú number one--but I can't. Mine ain't the scariest, the clearest, the most painful, or the most beautiful. It just happens to be the one that's got its fingers around my throat" (6).

So while this book is certainly about Oscar Wao and in many respects Oscar Wao is the unlikely hero of this tale, the story begins long before Oscar with his grandfather, Abelard, and his mother, Beli, in the Dominican Republic. Diaz (or more accurately the narrator Yunior) shares the history of the Cabral family curse beginning with Beli's beautiful sister who caught the eye of the Dominican dictator El Jefe (Rafael Trujillo), Abelard's famous last words, Beli's exodus to New Jersey after a tumultuous adolescence, and Oscar's eventual--well, I don't want to say it, but the title does imply that his life is brief...

Since there's no way to really explain this book, and because you all know how much I hate writing up summaries, I'll skip to the good part--the rambling part. Except there are so many things to talk about with this book that I have no idea where to begin. I could talk about the narration--how for at least half the book the reader is unaware who the narrator is, and even still I'm not exactly sure why Yunior is telling the story. Yunior roomed with Oscar for a short period during their time at college and he didn't really care for Oscar--or maybe he did but he just didn't know how to show it. Yunior was in love with Oscar's sister, Lola, though. I loved the narration style of this book. I felt like I was chilling with Yunior and he was telling me all about this geeky fantasy loving fat kid, Oscar, and his cursed family's even crazier story--the tone very conversational and intimate. In many ways Yunior is "in your face" but it somehow worked for this story.

And then there's the other stuff you've heard about this book--the language, the footnotes, the use of Dominican slang, the jumpy narration (Lola makes a few brief appearances as narrator), the fantasy references, the violence. It almost seems like Diaz made a big list of all the things he could throw into this book, but all of these things worked together to make an effective story (note: breaking these up into smaller paragraphs hopefully to make it easier to digest rather than one giant paragraph). The language is strong. For the most part it didn't get to me me, but there was about 50 pages in the middle of the book where I really struggled. There was an obvious tone change during this section (when Oscar and Yunior are roommates), but once that passed I was fine again.

The Spanish didn't bother me. The way that I look at it: the Spanish is mostly Dominican slang which means that a large majority of Diaz's readers can't understand exactly what is being said. I don't think he meant for us to understand everything that was being said. To me, it was like adding texture to the writing. The footnotes were at times distracting because I would forget what was happening in the narrative, but they were fascinating. I know very little about the Dominican Republic and I was glad to learn more about the country and culture.

The violence isn't over the top, the narration is a little confusing but manageable, and 90% of the fantasy references went straight over my head (although I was thrilled to understand the Watchmen references!). But like the Spanish, the fantasy wasn't a distractor--it just added to the complexity of the text and some people will get it and others won't.

And that's the thing about this book. I think everyone will take away something different and every reading will enlighten the reader just a little bit more. The book is incredibly rich and I could certainly use a second reading of the book to pick up all of the little nuances and subtleties that I missed the first time. I think some people would get frustrated by a book like this, but I love a book that will still have me thinking about it long after the cover has been closed (I'm still thinking about that Murakami book I read in January!). I couldn't recommend this book to everyone--especially because the language is quite strong--but it is one that I will continue to remember and think back on. Oscar is an usual character--in many ways he is a little bit irksome--but he is tenacious and I won't easily forget him or his family's story. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it a lot and the more I think about it the more it grows on me.

For a balance of opinions:
~ Heather J. ~ Nymeth ~ Sheri ~ Care ~RegularRumination ~
*please let me know if I've missed yours by leaving the url below. I was surprised at how few returns I got when searching my google reader for reviews.

Review: Ireland by Frank Delaney

Book: Ireland
Author: Frank Delaney
Date Read: June 12, 2007
Rating: 4/5

I'm not sure why I am absolutely incapable of writing a succinct review of a book, but I'm going to try try try with this one (ya right).

Although it took a little bit for me to get into this book, I ended up really enjoying it. I think the breaker was when my husband and I took a 3 hour car trip the other day and out of boredom (his, not mine), I read several chapters to him. We both talked about the stories, laughed, and enjoyed.

The plot of the novel is pretty simplistic. A young boy, Ronan O'Mara, meets a traveling storyteller one night and is bewitched by the stories he hears. After the third night (and third story), the storyteller is banished by O'Mara's mother, but Ronan begins a longwinded search for the elusive traveller. The book ping pongs back and forth between O'Mara's search/story and random stories of Ireland told by various narrators.

Of the many stories, the reader encounters accounts such as how the harp was invented and how George Fredrick Handel came to write "The Messiah." But the nice thing about the stories is that they follow a progression of the history of Ireland--beginning with its very formation and ending with more historical accounts of invasion, hardships, battles, and struggles for freedom. Along the journey in the book, the reader also encounters some rather colorful characters (My favorite is Professor Ryle), but I rate this book a B because some of the narrators blend together--I'm not sure their voices are quite as distinct as they should be.

Listen to me rambling on. Recommendation: While the book is lengthy (my copy was 650 pages), the reading flows well and is rather quick. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in Ireland, storytelling, history, and myth. Not the best book I've read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

*photo courtesy www.wnyc.org