More Book Reviews

More of my condescending reviews. Got some good 'uns today.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell has style, wit, and grace in the face of charged social issues, both in the delightfully repressive 1800s as well as now. Cranford is no different even though it has a different ring to it. Unlike North & South, Wives and Daughters, and Mary Barton, Gaskell focuses on a different crowd and practically removes romance from the equation. Her focus is on elderly, single women who rule the small town of Cranford with an iron fist. The humor is satirical and winsome, and the plot unfolds naturally with surprising grace. So long as 19th century vocabulary and elderly British women don't annoy you, I recommend this one. 4/5 stars.

Desert Solitude by Edward Abbey

Ever been to Arches National Park? If not, you should go. Now. Drop whatever mind-addling exercise you are doing and go. It's only a few hours away, and you deserve a break every once in a while. Just don't bring Edward Abbey's Desert Solitude (inspired by Arches) with you. He manages to make it try and a little laborious to read. I quite like Abbey in general. He's an interesting man, and The Brave Cowboy is my favorite Western novel. In fact, that one is worth dropping everything to read. This one? Not so much. 2/5 stars. (Don't tell Rutter.)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book was a surprise. I started reading it, expecting your basic WWII fall out story with a wonderful literary twist, but this book is different. For starters, it's told from the perspective of DEATH, who is fascinated by this girl he sees when he collects her brother. She displaces her sense of lost by stealing books. It's a little difficult to get into Death's head, though, so I'm deducting points for presentation. 4/5 stars.

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

We all have our guilty indulgences. Mine, as many know, are fluff books which I read only for entertaining dialogue and ridiculous characters. Even I had to be a little convinced to read these books. The series is a trilogy (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Gold) exploring a fantastical world that plays with demons, angels, family, werewolves, vampires, etc. Yes, I was skeptical. The Stephanie Meyer endorsement on the color dramatically injured the case. However, despite all of this, I read these. Voraciously read them. These are fun, fun books, and if you enjoy a good plot, interesting characters, thwarted teen love, and near death experiences, read them. If you don't . . . yeah, really don't. You'll hate them, but I give it 3/5 stars in the normal world, and 5/5 stars in the fantasy world.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

This book follows an autistic boy who is trying to unravel the mystery of his neighbor's dog's death. As the mystery deeps, it starts to raise questions about his mother's death years before. The hook in this is how the boy, Paul, tries to figure out his world and compute his discoveries. I loved it. It was clever and fresh and endearing. Read this. It's wonderful. 5/5 stars.