Everyday I Write the Book

"Midori by Moonlight" by Wendy Tokunaga

I read about Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Tokunaga on S. Krishna's Books (who, by the way, might be the most prolilfic reader I have ever come across in my life - my god!). Sounds like a fun book. From Amazon:

Aspiring Cinderella Midori Saito does not heed her mother's warning-"Running off with a foreigner will bring you nothing but trouble"-in Tokunaga's delectably frothy debut. Trouble is exactly what Midori finds after following English teacher Kevin Newbury from her native Japan to San Francisco, where Prince Charming quickly becomes Prince Alarming after a nightmarish engagement party. After Kevin dumps her to return to his ex-girlfriend, Midori doesn't want to tell her parents or return to Japan, although with little savings, no green card and only a temporary visa, she may have to. Fortunately, Kevin's old friend Shinji Nishimura, who met Midori at the ill-fated party, offers Midori refuge while she figures out her next moves-she's a talented baker-and Shinji ponders his.

From S. Krishna's review:

I can definitely say that this slim chick lit novel is the most fun I've had in recent memory while reading a book....  Midori is a feisty heroine whom the reader can't help but root for. She struggles with her English - while her knowledge of the language is passable, it's the idioms she has trouble with. Her misuse of colloquial phrases is an endless source of amusement in the novel. Midori is also determined and a very strong character, though she doesn't realize it. It takes courage to leave everything you know behind and forge a new life in a foreign country, and even more courage to stay there when all the circumstance change. Everything and everyone is telling Midori to return to Japan, but she refuses; her strength shines through.

I also loved the multicultural aspects of this novel. It was interesting to learn more about Japanese culture, especially with regard to how they look at young women. It seemed to be similar to Indian culture in that respect. While I think culture is important, I admired Midori for standing up to convention and forging her own path. ... It's a great book that I can't recommend highly enough, even for those who don't usually enjoy chick lit.

S Krishna is also giving away a copy of Midori by Moonlight - enter here before the drawing on February 8th.

Also, here is an interview with author Wendy Tokunaga from Brenda's Blog.

Winner of "Something Like Beautiful" and More on "Who By Fire"

First, congratulations to Lisa (not to be confused with Lisa C.), the winner of the giveaway of Something Like Beautiful by Asha Bandele!

Second, last week I reviewed Diana Spechler's Who By Fire. I am a member of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog community, and several members of the group also read Who By Fire for an online book club held yesterday. To read some other perspectives on this book, check out this post with links to many other reviews and impressions. I think I am the only one who didn't like this book - so if it seems appealing to you, check it out.

Survey About Book Blogs

Check out this survey about the impact of book blogs over at Literary License. It's very short. Here's her post:

"Recently, there's been quite a bit of online discussion about the impact (or the lack thereof) of lit blogs. To get a better sense of the influence of lit blogs on book-related purchasing decisions, I've created a (very brief) survey. Please take the survey, and forward the link on to your lit-blog-reading friends. I'll post a summary of the results on Friday, February 13th."

TBR: "All About Lulu" by Jonathan Evison

My TBR pile is out of control. Since I started blogging and researching books (not to mention requesting and receiving them (even unrequested) from publishers), I have amassed piles of books I want to read. Someday I will upload some photos of the various towers and shelves of books that are "next" on the to-read list.

In the meantime, rather than wait until I've read them to get the word out about these books, I thought I'd start featuring them on EDIWTB. Some of them have already been discussed, but I am going to start shedding light on the other ones that are currently waiting for exposure.

The first is All About Lulu by Jonathan Evison. From Amazon:

Evison's debut—of love and loss, growing up, throwing up and moving on—is a stunner. William Miller Jr. is a scrawny loner whose mother dies of cancer when he is seven years old, leaving him an awkward vegetarian with an ominously macho father and idiot twin brothers in mid-1970s Santa Monica. William's father, Big Bill, remarries a grief counselor named Willow, and Will spends the following decades in love with Louisa (Lulu, as she prefers to be called), his new stepsister. They are close throughout adolescence, but after a summer at cheerleading camp, Lulu returns home distant and hostile, leaving Will to pine for her in solitary desperation. Will finally appears to be on the path to normalcy in the early 1990s when he lucks into a radio talk-show hosting gig, but the stroke of good fortune is short-lived, as he discovers things about Lulu he'd rather not know. Evison provides readers a viciously funny and deeply felt portrayal of a blended family and one man's thwarted longing.

I learned about this book in a circular from the Elliott Bay Bookstore in Seattle, and requested a copy from the publisher, Soft Skull Press. Here are some blog reviews:

Minnesota Reads: "Basically this is a book about William Miller and the things that happened in his life. It might sound like a yawner, but it’s so not yawn-worthy at all. Will has an original and engaging voice. While Evison, the author, is coy about what happened to Lulu that summer choosing to dance around that information until a sort of climax, William, the character, is honest to the point of it being nearly painful. And it is awesome."

Largehearted Boy: "All About Lulu is an impressive debut novel, the moving story of a vegetarian, skinny boy in a family of bodybuilders who loses his mother and develops an obsession with his stepsister. Even the ancillary characters are well-written, and Evison shares surprises along the way in an incredibly satisfying read that seems way too short."

And here's an interview with Jonathan Evison about All About Lulu.

I will report back when I eventually read this book. It sounds excellent.

Giveaway: "Something Like Beautiful" by Asha Bandele

I received a review copy of a book from HarperCollins called Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story, by Asha Bandele. I'd like to pass it along to an EDIWTB reader.

From Amazon:

From the author of The Prisoner's Wife, a poetic, passionate, and powerful memoir about the hard realities of single motherhood

When Asha Bandele, a young poet, fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would live together as a family. Rashid was a model prisoner, and expected to be paroled soon. But soon after Nisa was born, Asha's dreams were shattered. Rashid was denied parole, and told he'd be deported to his native Guyana once released. Asha became a statistic: a single, black mother in New York City.

On the outside, Asha kept it together. She had a great job at a high-profile magazine and a beautiful daughter whom she adored. But inside, she was falling apart. She began drinking and smoking and eventually stumbled into another relationship, one that opened new wounds. This lyrical, astonishingly honest memoir tells of her descent into depression when her life should have been filled with love and joy. Something Like Beautiful is not only Asha's story, but the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them, and who believe they have no right to acknowledge their pain. Ultimately, drawing inspiration from her daughter, Asha takes account of her life and envisions for herself what she believes is possible for all mothers who thought there was no way out--and then discovered there was.

The Washington Post reviewed Something Like Beautiful today - you can read it here.

If you'd like to read Something Like Beautiful, leave me a comment here with your email address. I will pick a name at random on Tuesday. January 27.

"Who By Fire" by Diana Spechler

I just finished Who By Fire by Diana Spechler. From a quick review of blog reviews, Amazon comments, and some correspondence among the Silicon Valley Moms Blog community, I am in the minority when it comes to this book. I just didn't love it.

Who by Fire is about a family that has disintegrated, and itsefforts to connect again. There were initially three Kellerman siblings - Bits, Ash, and Elena. Elena was kidnapped when she was seven, for which her older brother Ash will never forgive himself. After Elena's disappearance, her mother (Ellie) and father separated and her father moves away; her older sister Bits sought unfulfilling sex, often with strangers, to fill the void in her life; and Ash turned to Orthodox Judaism to help him forgive himself and find meaning in his life. The story is about Bits' search for her estranged brother in Jerusalem and her attempt to bring him back to America to rebuild their family. Spechler tells the story in alternating chapters told from Bits, Ash and Ellie's points of view.

The writing is good - spare but satisfying. The depiction of Ash's life in a Jerusalem yeshiva was interesting to me - that's a way of life I don't often get a glimpse of. But I just couldn't get into this book. To me, the characters were cold - none of them seemed capable of genuine, affectionate love. They all seemed to be pursuing each other only because that's what families are supposed to do, not because they really loved one another or wanted to be in each other's lives. Bits was somewhat infuriating - I understand that she was lonely and damaged and made bad choices, but she seemed devoid of remorse, and totally unconcerned with the consequences of her actions. Asher just seemed miserable to me. His commitment to his faith made him more interesting, but the ease with which he was distracted and lured away by a woman he meets in Jerusalem made his declarations suspect, in my mind. Generally, the characters were underdeveloped and unconvincing. Their actions were extreme at times, but I didn't understand their motivations.

I have read several reviews by people who really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I wish I could say the same, but unfortunately I got to a point where I just didn't care what happened to the characters. And I found the end to be too pat and abrupt.  I realize that the book is about mistakes and forgiveness, about loving your family even if you don't understand them. But to me, in the end, it was unconvincing.

For a different take, check out:

Florinda at The 3 Rs blog

Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog

Julie at Booking Mama

Marie at Boston Bibliophile

"The Piano Teacher", by Janice Y. K. Lee

The January Marie Claire featured a book called The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y. K. Lee.  From the magazine:

Claire Pendleton's in a bad place. She just married a guy she doesn't like, who uproots her from her comfy British home to glitzy, racially charged 1950s Hong Kong. There, she finds a job as a piano teacher for a well-to-do family and falls for their brooding chauffeur, who harbors his own secrets. (OK, we'll tell - a former flame.) In her debut novel, Lee tells two engrossing love stories, both involving the same man. Just hide your phone before cracking this one open - or risk calling your ex.

Bookmarks Literary Blog enjoyed this book, giving it this positive review:

Lee's Hong Kong is evocative and cinematic. Sights, sounds and smells are all richly described and anchor the narrative firmly to a sense of time and place. Her background allows her a unique perspective of the city -- as both a local and an outsider. Born in Hong Kong, she lived there until the age of 15. A Harvard graduate and former editor at Elle magazine, she later returned to Hong Kong and lives there now. These experiences vitalize her narrative and help emphasize the cultural divide between locals and expatriates.

The Piano Teacher is a compelling story; at once raw, cutting and beautiful. It unfolds slowly -- characters and plot are selectively revealed, without judgment. Yet they remain fascinating and persuasive. The concealment and layering mirrors how carefully we choose to reveal ourselves to others -- especially when survival is on the line. And Lee deftly raises the question: Can others' perceptions of ourselves affect who we really are at our core?

Katherine at A Girl Walks Into A Bookstore wasn't quite as positive about The Piano Teacher, though her conclusion isn't too bad: "[The] writing is beautiful, the research is superb, and the setting is fantastic. I just wish that Lee had done more with her characters, because they had so much promise."

Has anyone read this book (which just came out)? Sounds like a good read - please weigh in!

UPDATE: The Washington Post Book World reviewed this book on 1/18 here.

Guest Review: "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout

Thank you to EDIWTB reader Nancy West for this guest review of Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout. I've not read this book yet, but I want to.

Several years ago, my book group discussed Ian McEwan’s novel Enduring Love. At one point, someone brought up the title: presumably it was an adjectival construction referring to love that endures, but was it possibly a word play meant also to draw upon the present participle – as in “How do we go about enduring love?”

Probably not, we decided; it seemed unlikely that the author of such a complex character-driven novel intended to distract readers (or book groups) with a clever word play, and we moved on quickly to a discussion of the novel itself. It is a long literary leap from the unforgettable page-turner by the highly acclaimed British novelist to Strout’s collection of interconnected stories about hard-on-their-luck folks in a midsized, rundown town in coastal Maine, but I found myself thinking back often to that earlier discussion. Strout’s book could indeed be called Enduring Love, drawing upon both meanings – because although the stories are ostensibly linked by the fact that they either center around Olive Kittredge herself or people with some connection, however specious, to the title character, the theme that truly connects the stories is how any of them, or presumably how any of us, endure love, as it grows old and complicated and tedious and distractible and… and on and on. Husbands endure obnoxious wives; wives endure cheating husbands. A young woman attempts to endure in a promising relationship despite the inescapable memories of her childhood; another young woman’s endurance is tested by her own self-destructiveness. An adolescent wonders if she can endure the peculiarities of her parents, peculiarities that drive her beloved older sister out of the house. Olive and Henry Kittredge endure the emotional fallout of being random victims of a horrendous crime; another couple their age has less success with endurance after crime rips their domestic life apart – because in their case, their child is the perpetrator. In one of the most interesting plot threads, Olive’s enduring love for her son is tested and tested again, with uncertain results.

Some survive; some do not. Perhaps the most compelling example of endurance, though, is the reader’s enduring affection for Olive. Though many others in this Maine harbor town find her to be odious, omniscient viewpoint enables us to understand her as they cannot, and to appreciate her as few can. Ultimately, we find ourselves rooting for nearly every character in this collection, hoping against fairly high odds that they can all survive, and endure, and that the love around which their lives are centered can somehow endure along with them.

Thanks again for the post, Nancy!

Winner of Giveaway of "The Pirate's Daughter"

Congratulations to the winner of The Pirate's Daughter - Nomadreader!

"The Uses of Enchantment" by Heidi Julavits

The absolute last thing I need is more books. I am drowning in books - they are piled up all over my room, and my TBR list is impossibly long. Yet, I am addicted to used bookstores and have a hard time exercising any willpower over used books. Any willpower.

There is a used bookstore downtown that I only visited for the first time about 6 months ago. I think that all of the books are donated, and most of the profits from the store go to charity (maybe homelessness?). Hardcover fiction is about $4 and paperbacks are $3. It's not in a particularly convenient location for me, but I've been having the urge to go there lately, so I stopped in today after a special visit to the downtown Trader Joe's.

I am proud of myself for leaving with only one book: The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits, which I bought in hardcover for $4.33 including tax. From Amazon:

On November 7, 1985, Mary Veal, 16, a not especially distinguished upper-middle-class girl, disappears from New England's Semmering Academy. A month later she reappears at Semmering, claiming amnesia, but hinting at abduction and ravishment. The events in Julavits's third, beautifully executed novel take place on three levels: one, dedicated to "what might have happened," is the story of the supposedly blank interval; another is dedicated to the inevitable therapeutic aftermath, as Mary's therapist, Dr. Hammer, tries to discover whether Mary is lying, either about the abduction or the amnesia; and the present of the novel, which revolves around the funeral of Mary's mother, Paula, in 1999. There, Mary feels not only the hostility of her sisters, Regina (an unsuccessful poet) and Gaby (a disheveled lesbian) but Paula's posthumous hostility. Or is that an illusion? This structure delicately balances between gothic and comic, allowing Julavits to play variations on Mary's life and on the '80s moral panic of repressed memory syndromes and wild fears of child abuse. While Julavits sometimes lets an overheated style distract from her central story, as its various layers coalesce, the mystery of what did happen to Mary Veal will enthrall the reader to the very last page.

But here's the danger of going into a bookstore without a list or having access to the internet: Amazon reviews have turned out to be pretty lukewarm, and I can't seem to find many blog reviews. Was this a bad purchase?

Has anyone out there read The Uses of Enchantment? Worth it?