16 posts tagged “reviews”
Dear Gabriel is a
memoir of the author (Halfdan Freihow) and his autistic son. Together,
Gabriel and his father (along with his mother, sister Victoria, and dog
Balder) live on the edge a of small Norwegian town, almost north of the
tree line.
Unlike For the Love of Anne and some other nonfiction parent-child stories about autism, this is not the saga of a struggle to overcome the problems of autism.
This book intersperses descriptions of the harsh yet beautiful Norwegian scenery with episodes from the life of father and son. Most of the scenes take place over a few months, although a few flashbacks recount earlier stories, such as when the author and his family first moved from Oslo.
If you are familiar with autism, it will seem that Gabriel is high-functioning. He is able to go to school and seems to communicate a lot verbally. During his treasure-hunting expeditions with his father, playing pirate, it is easy to forget he is autistic. Until the next scene in which he might start screaming inconsolably.
His parents (at least his father - the mother is barely mentioned) is tender, sensitive, and loving. This book could almost be about any tender father-son relationship.
This short book is a quick enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone interested in autism, to people interested in the non-tourist areas of Norway, and to fathers and sons.
Unlike For the Love of Anne and some other nonfiction parent-child stories about autism, this is not the saga of a struggle to overcome the problems of autism.
This book intersperses descriptions of the harsh yet beautiful Norwegian scenery with episodes from the life of father and son. Most of the scenes take place over a few months, although a few flashbacks recount earlier stories, such as when the author and his family first moved from Oslo.
If you are familiar with autism, it will seem that Gabriel is high-functioning. He is able to go to school and seems to communicate a lot verbally. During his treasure-hunting expeditions with his father, playing pirate, it is easy to forget he is autistic. Until the next scene in which he might start screaming inconsolably.
His parents (at least his father - the mother is barely mentioned) is tender, sensitive, and loving. This book could almost be about any tender father-son relationship.
This short book is a quick enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone interested in autism, to people interested in the non-tourist areas of Norway, and to fathers and sons.
Tobias Buckell's first novel is an awesome science fiction novel, full of: swash-buckling adventure, steam punk, nanotechnology, and even a star ship.
More importantly, the characters have depth, seem plausible, and captivated my interest. And they're not all white! Actually, most are shades of brown (being either Aztec or Afro-Caribbean).
The preface to this book intrigued me, but then the first thirty pages seemed to drag. I started wondering if this was really a fantasy novel, and a bad mish-mash of cultures. I kept reading, however, for the promise of the preface, and was rewarded in spades, as the steam punk kicked in, adventure kicked into gear, and explanations that made sense were provided.
I'm looking forward to reading his second book, Ragamuffin.
More importantly, the characters have depth, seem plausible, and captivated my interest. And they're not all white! Actually, most are shades of brown (being either Aztec or Afro-Caribbean).
The preface to this book intrigued me, but then the first thirty pages seemed to drag. I started wondering if this was really a fantasy novel, and a bad mish-mash of cultures. I kept reading, however, for the promise of the preface, and was rewarded in spades, as the steam punk kicked in, adventure kicked into gear, and explanations that made sense were provided.
I'm looking forward to reading his second book, Ragamuffin.
I used to read short stories fairly often. My teen years were spent with a subscription to "Fantasy and Science Fiction." Even later, I continued to read short stories collected in anthologies.
But in recent years I found myself reading almost exclusively novels. I stumbled upon the Vision anthology accidentally--My friend Kate Baggott won second prize in the 2007 University of Hertfordshire Writing Award, and I won a copy from her blog.
Since reading these stories, I now have a renewed interest in short stories. I picked up an issue of Maison Neuve, and might start reading science fiction short stories again.
Vision is an interesting anthology. The prize-winning short stories are all excellent. I loved some of the short-listed stories as well, but others not so much. Even when reading stories that did not work as well, however, I liked seeing what the author did with the vision theme. Sometimes the vision is an integral part of the story, as in the first prize "The Snow Child" by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi, about a Finnish woman's vision of a child. Other times the vision is only one piece of the story, as in Kate Baggot's "The Three Wives," in which the third wife taps into the world of visions.
But in recent years I found myself reading almost exclusively novels. I stumbled upon the Vision anthology accidentally--My friend Kate Baggott won second prize in the 2007 University of Hertfordshire Writing Award, and I won a copy from her blog.
Since reading these stories, I now have a renewed interest in short stories. I picked up an issue of Maison Neuve, and might start reading science fiction short stories again.
Vision is an interesting anthology. The prize-winning short stories are all excellent. I loved some of the short-listed stories as well, but others not so much. Even when reading stories that did not work as well, however, I liked seeing what the author did with the vision theme. Sometimes the vision is an integral part of the story, as in the first prize "The Snow Child" by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi, about a Finnish woman's vision of a child. Other times the vision is only one piece of the story, as in Kate Baggot's "The Three Wives," in which the third wife taps into the world of visions.
I picked up the curious incident of the dog in the night-time based on a recommendation. The idea of a book told from the point of view of an autistic teenager seemed unusual.
What I didn't expect was such a fast-paced emotional read. I finished this book in less than a week, which is unusual for me these days. At first I was drawn to the story of this boy who is trying to figure out who murdered the neighbor's dog. And I loved the quirkiness - he decides whether he's going to have a good or bad day based on how many red and yellow cars he sees on the way to school - after all, it's no less arbitrary than someone deciding based on the weather (if that person spends the day inside).
But this book is much more than a mystery. Although we do learn "whodunit", we also go on an emotional roller coaster, as Christopher learns the truth about his family and explores outside his comfort zone.
What I didn't expect was such a fast-paced emotional read. I finished this book in less than a week, which is unusual for me these days. At first I was drawn to the story of this boy who is trying to figure out who murdered the neighbor's dog. And I loved the quirkiness - he decides whether he's going to have a good or bad day based on how many red and yellow cars he sees on the way to school - after all, it's no less arbitrary than someone deciding based on the weather (if that person spends the day inside).
But this book is much more than a mystery. Although we do learn "whodunit", we also go on an emotional roller coaster, as Christopher learns the truth about his family and explores outside his comfort zone.
Blindsight was one of those books that I almost stopped reading. I didn't like the protagonist, and the characters I could identify with appeared far too little. Not to mention the confusion of three men whose names all start with "S" (and weren't names I was accustomed to) and one character with multiple personalities (sometimes I thought some of the multiples were other crew members).
But I ploughed on, because there were interesting bits, a cool idea, and a number of recommendations (including being nominated for a Hugo).
As I approached the half-way point in the book, I grew to like the characters - including the narrator Sri. And it became more than just a cool book, more than just super-alien aliens, interesting philosophy, and a vampire. Eventually I couldn't put the book down, I had to know what was really going on, and was surprised by the twists.
If you've ever wondered about what is consciousness, what is self, and what is language, then I recommend this book - which is all that in a cool hard SF setting with weird aliens. And if you want a scientific explanation for vampires, check it out - or at least read the author notes at the end.
Bruce Alexander's Murder in Grub Street appealed to my love of historical mysteries. The historical details were intriguing: London in the 1700s (prior to my more familar readings in Victorian London, but involving some of the places featured in Anne Perry's Thomas Pitt mysteries), Samel Johnson, Hassidic Jews, and a blind magistrate playing detective who is none other than the brother of Henry Fielding.
The historical facts and the mystery itself were satisfactory. The story, however, felt lacking, as there seemed so much missed opportunity to provide emotional depth to the characters.
It was worth reading once, but it's sitting in my donation pile, as I don't want to read it again.
The historical facts and the mystery itself were satisfactory. The story, however, felt lacking, as there seemed so much missed opportunity to provide emotional depth to the characters.
It was worth reading once, but it's sitting in my donation pile, as I don't want to read it again.
Last night I stayed up too late to finish Camilla Gibb's Sweetness in the Belly.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Lilly, an English girl whose
hippy parents led a nomadic life, moving from country to country in
Europe, and then to Tangiers (Morocco). When the eight-year-old Lily
wants to spend the day studying with a muslim teacher/philosopher, she
never sees her parents again - for they are killed in a car accident.
Lily has always longed for stability and embraces her new islamic life.
She makes a piligramage to Harar (Ethiopia). Most of the book is
divided between her life in Ethiopia in the early 1970s (in the years
leading up to the revolution) and her life in London in the 1980s,
working as a nurse and working in a 2-woman volunteer organization to
help reunite Ethiopian refugees.
This book was wonderful. The language is poetic. Camilla Gibb is an anthropologist who did professional research in Ethiopia. The character Lily, who is both absorbed into the world and always to some degree an outsider is the perfect narrator to introduce us to that world.
The love stories are very sweet. Although the eventual outcomes was somewhat predictable, the details and reactions of the people involved was charming and felt plausible.
This book was wonderful. The language is poetic. Camilla Gibb is an anthropologist who did professional research in Ethiopia. The character Lily, who is both absorbed into the world and always to some degree an outsider is the perfect narrator to introduce us to that world.
The love stories are very sweet. Although the eventual outcomes was somewhat predictable, the details and reactions of the people involved was charming and felt plausible.
I picked up Star Dust at the Ad Astra convention. It didn't immediately grab my attention, but I thought it might be interesting to try a science fiction romance, and, besides, I was purchasing direct from the author.
Unfortunately, the first chapter didn't grab my interest. The angel on the cover makes two appearances in that chapter, but I just didn't believe it. The second half of the first chapter had too much info dump of a back story that didn't seem necessary to know at this point. And then the chapter ended by confusing me.
Maybe other chapters would appeal to me more, but I'm just not motivated to continue.
Unfortunately, the first chapter didn't grab my interest. The angel on the cover makes two appearances in that chapter, but I just didn't believe it. The second half of the first chapter had too much info dump of a back story that didn't seem necessary to know at this point. And then the chapter ended by confusing me.
Maybe other chapters would appeal to me more, but I'm just not motivated to continue.
If you haven't yet read The Number One Ladies Detective Agency, start with that first book in the series. It's funny and poignant, an unusual diversion from typical mysteries.
Tears of the Giraffe is a light-hearted mystery, but without some of the depth of the first. I felt like it took too long to start the mysteries in this book, but I enjoyed reading about the children and look forward to finding out what happens to them in future books.
Tears of the Giraffe is a light-hearted mystery, but without some of the depth of the first. I felt like it took too long to start the mysteries in this book, but I enjoyed reading about the children and look forward to finding out what happens to them in future books.
I just finished Scott Griffin's My Heart is Africa, the story of his flight to and around Africa in his Cessna. Yes, he actually flew from Canada to Africa in a prop plane.
This book is an entertaining memoir of his experiences. It starts with his flight to Africa. It introduces you to the people he met, briefly covers his work with the non-profit Flying Doctors of Africa (he neither a pilor nor a doctor for them),and recounts his adventures in Africa.
I bought this book after hearing Scott Griffin speak at my library. He claims not to be a writer, but the pacing is easy, and the description marvellous. I felt like I had met the people and seen the landscape.
This book is an entertaining memoir of his experiences. It starts with his flight to Africa. It introduces you to the people he met, briefly covers his work with the non-profit Flying Doctors of Africa (he neither a pilor nor a doctor for them),and recounts his adventures in Africa.
I bought this book after hearing Scott Griffin speak at my library. He claims not to be a writer, but the pacing is easy, and the description marvellous. I felt like I had met the people and seen the landscape.
