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Irma Voth by Miriam Toews – Blog Tour

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Can Lit | Canadian Author - (5 Comments)

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

From the back cover:

Nineteen-year-old Irma lives in a rural Mennonite community in Mexico. She has already been cast out of her family for marrying a young Mexican ne’er-do-well she barely knows, although she remains close to her rebellious younger sister and yearns fro the lost intimacy with her mother. With a husband who proves elusive and often absent, a punishing father, and a faith in God damaged beyond repair, Irma appears trapped in an untenable and desperate situation. When a celebrated Mexican filmmaker and his crew arrive from Mexico City to make a movie about the insular community in which she was raised, Irma is immediately drawn to the outsiders and is hired as a translator on the set. But her father, intractable and domineering, is determined to destroy the film and get rid of the interlopers.

I enjoyed this book but I’m having a really hard time knowing what I want to say about it. I have to be honest – I’m not really sure I got it. I’ve also read A Complicated Kindness and was left feeling much the same.

Irma was a likeable enough character but many times I had a hard time understanding her motivation for acting the way she did.  I felt she was a little flat, as were most of the other characters in the novel. The only character that was consistent and well developed was Irma’s younger sister Aggie. She ends up playing a major role in the novel and one might argue that she is the main character even though the story is told as a first person narrative from the point of view of Irma – Aggie and her actions drive the whole story.

As the story meanders along some alarming details about Irma’s family are revealed and it is these details that jump the story into high gear. I found this change to be a little jarring. The whole tone of the story and the writing changed. All of a sudden Irma becomes responsible for a whole lot more than just herself and it spurs her into action. She must take matters into her own hands in order to protect her sisters and she steps up. The sense of confusion I felt as a reader may have been intended to mirror Irma’s own feelings of inadequacy in the face of her new responsibilities.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel but I still feel like I’m missing something important that the author was trying to share with her readers.

Blog Tour: Q&A with Lesley Livingston author of Once Every Never

Posted by Lahni in Blog Tour | Canadian Author | Fantasy | Young Adult - (4 Comments)

Good morning! I have a special treat for you today! This is my very first blog tour and author  Q&A. Today I’ve got some questions for Lesley Livingston the author of Once Ever Never, a book about a teenage girl who instead of doing touristy things while she visits her Aunt in London, finds herself smack in the middle of a war between the Celts and the Romans. I sent Lesley some very unoriginal questions and she came up with some superbly fun and original answers!

Tell me a little bit about yourself. When I read a book I always want more information about the author than what is generally included in the author bio. Somehow it helps me to connect with the book more.

Lesley Fun Facts time! Let’s see… I used to water-ski. I also used to down-hill ski. Backwards. Sometimes, that ended poorly. I once had a hamster named Spartacus. When I was a kid, I named my shiny white and gold ten-speed bike Apollo. I chew my lower lip when I can’t figure out a plot problem. It’s highly surprising to note that I still have a lower lip. I own a pair of moss-green cowboy boots that I wear on an almost constant basis. They are awesome. I’m pretty sure I met a ghost once. By ‘met’ I mean it tried to push me down a hillside in the middle of Wales. I am not to be given chocolate-covered coffee beans. EVER. For the sake of myself and those around me.

Where do you get the inspiration for your books? (I know this is a pretty lame question but I am actually curious!)

That’s not a lame question at all! (Heh… there are days when I wonder that very same thing, myself!) I get inspiration from a lot of places, but I do find that I draw frequently and deeply on history and mythology and folklore. For Once Every Never, the germ of the idea came from a visit to the British Museum in London, where I spent a great deal of time staring open-mouthed at glass cases containing some of the actual artifacts that Clare comes into contact with in the story. I was, of course, also profoundly inspired by the story of Boudicca, the fierce Celtic queen, herself.

I’m not very good with history so can you fill me in on how much of the Boudicca parts of the story are true and how much is artistic licence? Were Connal and Comorra real people? Did they really find bodies in the Norfolk Broads?

Essentially, the basic storyline I’ve set out in the book sticks fairly closely to what happened to Boudicca—as far as we know. We don’t actually know a great deal, in fact, and what was written about her contemporaneously was, of course, written by Romans. Specifically the historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The details are sketchy, but the bullet points—her rebellion, the subsequent massacre, and her ultimate defeat in AD 60 or 61 are accepted fact. So, too, it’s a fact that she had two daughters. There names aren’t verified to my knowledge but Comorra and Tasca are the two possibilities I came across in my research that I liked best. As for Connal, he is a creature of my imagination. Sometimes, I like my imagination. (I like it too!)

As far as I know, there have been no known discoveries of bog bodies found in the Norfolk Broads… yet. But my Spirit Warriors are based on similar finds—specifically one bog body in the British Museum called Lindow Man, who was discovered in Cheshire in England.

 

I found Clare to be a really interesting character. I loved her attitude and her fearlessness. Is she like you at all?

Yay! Thank you for saying that. I’m very fond of Clare, too. She’s headstrong and generous and funny and sharp but not the most… how shall I say… ‘intellectually curious’ character I’ve ever written. At least, she doesn’t start out that way! Once she does find herself compelled to act by circumstances, though, I think you’re right—she is fearless. Part of that is a kind of ‘never say die, never think things through’ attitude, but it serves her well. I think I probably would have spent more time trying to work through the problems she faces—and probably would have just wound up getting impaled on a flaming arrow or something. So… Go Clare!

I haven’t read any of your other novels. Can you tell me a little bit about them?

Sure! The WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy is about a 17 year old girl named Kelley Winslow who, while rehearsing an off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, discovers that the Bard didn’t make all that stuff up: Faeries are real, she is tied far more closely to that supernatural community than she could ever have imagined, all of Central Park in New York City is a gateway to the Otherworld—the Faerie Realm—and it’s opening. Only one things stands between the city and looming Faerie peril, and that’s Kelley. And a fierce, handsome changeling named Sonny Flannery. Okay—that’s two things.  (Sounds interesting, I’m definitely going to look into those!)

What is your favourite book or author?

Can I say Shakespeare? I know his collected works can’t really be considered a ‘book’ per se, but man! That guy could really write! (Thank you, Captain Obvious…)

 

Doesn’t she sound friendly and fun! You should definitely check out Once Every Never – I really liked it and it was well written and original.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Historical Fiction - (5 Comments)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I’m probably the last person to read this book but I gave it to my sister for her birthday and she read it in only a few days and then lent it to me so I figured I’d better read it!

Jacob Jankowski is just finishing up his ivy league veterinary degree when he receives some bad news that causes him to walk away from his life and join a travelling circus. The circus crew is firmly divided into performers and others, with performers being the upper class. As Jacob is a vet he’s not technically a performer but since he is ivy league educated and in a vet, he seems to be able to bridge the gap. He soon is befriended by the beautiful Marlena and her husband August, the animal trainer, who is a cruel, abusive man. Of course, Jacob and Marlena fall in love and August can’t help but notice. To make matters worse the circus obtains a seemingly untrainable elephant.

I really liked the story, it flowed really well and pulled me right along with it. It wasn’t unputdownable (I know, not a word) but almost. The story is definitely original and Gruen did a lot of research and even based some of the plot lines on true stories. I really can’t wait to see the movie (even though the book is always better, am I right?) but I do have one complaint. And it’s the same problem I had with Ape House. I felt the ending was a little rushed. I didn’t love the ending either but that I could have dealt with. I just seemed like she kind of got bored of the book or lost steam and just decided to finish it up as quickly as she could. Other than that, though the novel was definitely enjoyable and worth reading.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Fantasy | Historical Fiction - (1 Comments)

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

This is only the second book I’ve ever read by Kay and I have to admit, I wasn’t all that impressed by the first book. But the publisher sent me this one so I thought I’d better give it a chance. And it’s big so I was a little worried about picking it up! But I am so glad I did. I LOVED this book. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down!

A little bit historical fiction, and a little bit fantasy this book was full of action and intrigue. The story was really about the Tang Dynasty and the An Shi rebellion in 8th century China but the name of Kay’s country is Kitai. I don’t know much about Chinese history so I don’t know how much of Kay’s book is fiction or speculative but it was definitely interesting.

As the book begins, a young soldier, Shen Tai, has taken on the task of burying thousands of sets of bones that have been left from several different battles between the Kitan and the Taguran armies at a distant lake. As Shen Tai is going about his task he receives word of a gift that changes his entire life and possibly the entire history of his people. Because of the gift he must give up his task and travel back into the heart of the dynasty, both physically and politically. I can’t say more about the story without giving away important plot points but I hope that’s enough to spark your interest.

As I said, I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The plot was intelligent and exciting, and the writing was good. I was never sure where the story was going to go next, yet it always came together beautifully. My only, teeny, tiny complaint was that the ending was a little disappointing. I was looking for more ends to be wrapped up in regards to one specific plot point but as I’ve thought more about the book, that wasn’t really what the story was supposed to be about so I understand what Kay was doing, but I still wanted a little more in that regard. Overall though, I thought this was a fantastic novel and I can’t wait to read more!

Firewing by Kenneth Oppel

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Challenges | Children | Young Adult - (1 Comments)

Firewing by Kenneth Oppel

Griffin Silverwing has heard all the stories about his famous father’s adventures and feels he will never match up to him. So when his friends dare him to steal fire he does it. Unfortunately, it results in one of his friends dying and Griffin being sucked into the underworld during an earthquake. When his father, Shade, finds out what has happened he follows Griffin into the underworld where they must make a pilgrimage in order to return home. And of course, Goth is back causing all kinds of mischief.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first two, if not more. This one was definitely darker and was written with older audiences in mind. I don’t know if this was intentional but there seemed to be a lot of religious symbolism which added some depth to the novel.

As with the previous two stories, the novel was full of adventure and although it followed a well established pattern for adventure stories, it was completely unique because of the nature of the adventures. I don’t want to say too much more because to do so would give away the story but trust me when I say that the adventure never stops and it’s really quite a captivating novel.

Once again, I can’t find enough good to say about Oppel as an author.  Not only does he tell a fascinating story but he writes it beautifully as well. I’ve found that reading books aloud to my son (as I did this one) has given me a greater appreciation for they way a novel is written. Some books are much harder to read aloud than others but never Oppel’s. His words just flow off the page and are a great pleasure to read out loud.

My son and I both enjoyed this book. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“I liked that the book was about bats. I liked everything about the book. Griffin was my favourite character because he was brave and he saved his friends. I would give this book a 10/10.”

Room by Emma Donoghue

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Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is the story of Jack, five, and his mother who have been living in a single room for as long as Jack can remember (and in fact he was born in Room, and his mother has been imprisoned there for seven years.) Although Jack and his mother are confined in an 11×11 room, Jack is actually pretty happy. He knows nothing else and his mother has gone to a lot of trouble to make his life as fulfilling as possible under the circumstances.

The novel is told from Jack’s point of view and that took some getting used to. However, that was one of the best parts of the book, for me. Once I got used to the five-year old narrator, I thought the book had great potential. I was was really enjoying it. But at some point it just came unglued. I was expecting a lot from this book because of it’s being included on the short list for the Man Booker prize, and I just didn’t feel like it delivered.

But first, let me say what I did like about the book. I thought it was well written and the story was engaging, the characters were likable and realistic. The story had the potential to be depressing but it wasn’t. It was really quite amazing to read about how hard Jack’s mother had worked to make his life as normal as she possibly could.

What I didn’t like about the book was the second half. It ruined the whole book for me. I can’t really say why without spoilers so I’ll just say that the tone of the book changed. Instead of being a literary piece is became more main stream. It became just another “issue” book, just another book written about the bad things that happen to people without really saying anything worthwhile. It was just really disappointing.

I know lots of people have enjoyed this book and didn’t find anything lacking in the second half so I’m probably just being picky. And, that being said, I did still enjoy the book – I’m just not sure it deserved that Booker nomination.

Sunwing by Kenneth Oppel

Posted by Lahni in Canadian Author | Challenges | Children | Fantasy - (2 Comments)

Sunwing by Kenneth Oppel

Those who read my blog regularly will already know this, but I love Kenneth Oppel.  He’s definitely one of my favourite juvenile authors.

In this novel, a companion to Silverwing, Shade Silverwing is still longing to find his father.  He begins by travelling to the human building with a few other silverwings and his brightwing friend, Marina.  And that’s when the adventure begins and doesn’t stop until the very last page.  I can’t do much more than that for a summary without giving away some major plot details!

I don’t know how many more of Oppel’s books I can review because I find myself saying the same things over and over but I do love his writing.  I read this one out loud to my son and I always find that to be a really good test for the writing.  Sometimes I read books aloud to my son and I find the wording trips me up and doesn’t seem to flow but not with Oppel, and this book was no exception.  It was so fun and exciting to read and even though this one took us quite a while to get through (because we haven’t had much time for reading, not because it was boring) we never lost the momentum of the story.  Every time we picked the book up again after a long break, we were both swept up into the story again within seconds.

And even though the story was packed with action and adventure, it never seemed like too much.  It was just fun and entertaining.  My son and I loved this book and we can’t wait to read the next one!

Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel

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Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel

Shade is a silverwing bat.  It’s nearing the end of the summer and it’s time for Shade and his colony to travel to Hibernaculum where they will spend the winter hibernating.  Unfortunately for Shade, he is swept out to sea during a storm and separated from his mother and the rest of the silverwings.  Shade is lucky that his mother sang him the colony’s sound map before he was separated and he and a brightwing bat named Marina undertake to find Shade’s colony.   Of course there are obstacles along the way the biggest ones being two vampire bats named Goth and Throbb who plan to follow them to the colony and eat the silverwings over the winter.

Now, I know what you’re thinking because it’s exactly what I thought before I read it the first time – “Who wants to read a book about bats?  It’s so weird!”  But actually the book is amazing.  As anyone who regularly reads this blog will know, I think Kenneth Oppel is brilliant.  His stories are always captivating and well written.  And this one is no exception.  It’s definitely intended for a younger audience than anything else of his that I’ve reviewed on this blog but that did not affect the quality of the novel at all.  I remember loving this book when I first read it (as an adult) and I loved it again.  I read it to my seven year old (who is already a huge fan of Oppel’s) and he liked it too.

The other thing I like about Oppel’s books is his ability to write to different age levels.  As I mentioned before, this one was aimed at a younger audience and the language reflected that.  But it wasn’t unreadable for an adult either.  The same goes for the story.  The target audience is children but it’s still an enjoyable read for adults.

A book with a bat as the main character could very easily be a difficult one to get into and feel a part of but not with Silverwing.  I felt just like I was there with Shade, soaring way up above the forests or roosting in the giant tree they called home.  It was simple things like measuring distance in wingbeats or the imagery of echo vision that made me forget that I was human for short periods of time.  My son and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Sunwing.

Ape House by Sara Gruen

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Ape House by Sara Gruen

Read for: Canadian Book Challenge 4

John Thigpen, a journalist, is fresh off a visit to the Great Ape Language Lab when he hears that the lab has been bombed, one of the scientists seriously injured, and the apes sold off in secret.  Isabel Duncan, the injured scientist, has made this project her life’s work and considers the apes to be family.  When she is sufficiently recovered from her injuries she is devastated to find out about the disappearance of the apes.  She does everything she can to find out what has happened to them or who is responsible for the bombing but finds nothing, until she sees the ads for a new reality tv show.  All of the apes are being recorded and broadcast around the clock.  The television show becomes the latest big story and John Thigpen is sent to get the story.  Isabel also heads to the site of the taping to try and protect her apes and hopefully get them back.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part.  The main story was entertaining, thought provoking and well written.  What bothered me were the sub plots.  Actually just one sub plot in particular.  John and his wife were having some issues that seemed unrelated to the rest of the novel and detracted from the story.  Also, John got involved in some weirdness that came out of left field and didn’t work in the flow of the story.  He also befriended some strippers that lived in the hotel he was staying in and while I can see where Gruen was trying to go with that relationship it just didn’t seem realistic.

Other than those small details though, I loved the book.  My favourite was reading about the apes and their interaction with each other and the humans in the book.  It was so interesting.  In the Author’s Note at the end of the book Gruen says that she was able to meet with the apes at the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa and many of the portions of the book that dealt with the apes were based on that experience.   She also says that most of the ape-human interactions in the book are based on actual conversations with great apes.  This book and Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel (which I reviewed just last week) have educated me and made me very interested in learning more about our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

The novel also got me thinking a lot more about animal testing.  This is something that I don’t normally think about but both Ape House and Half Brother are about the morality of using animals for testing drugs or in the entertainment industry.  My eyes were certainly opened when reading about the conditions that the animals are subjected to.  These issues are things I don’t know enough about to comment on but it’s definitely something I’d like to learn more about.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and it gave me a lot to think about.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

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Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Read for: Book club, Canadian Book Challenge

Kavita, a young Indian woman has given birth to two daughters.  After her husband took the first one and killed it, she was determined to save the second.  She manages to get to an orphanage in Mumbai where she leaves the baby before returning to her village.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Somer is coming to terms with her inability to conceive a child.  Somer’s husband (who is Indian himself) suggests they adopt a baby from India.  They travel to India and (surprise, surprise) adopt the girl Kavita left at the orphanage.

The story is told in short little chapters from the point of view of several of the characters.  This bothered me.  If the story had been told from the perspective of just the three women, I think it may have worked better.  Also, the chapters were so short, I didn’t have a lot of time to get involved in the story or get to know the characters very well.  It really broke up the flow of the novel.

Also, I kind of hated the characters.  Granted, they had some seriously emotionally troubling issues to deal with but I just found them to be kind of whiny and annoying.  Through most of the book I just wanted to smack Somer and tell her to “slap out of it.”  (Cougar Town, anyone?)  And Kavita, well she was just the stereotypical downtrodden woman.  And I’m not saying this isn’t realistic (how would I know, I grew up in Canada) but she just wasn’t likable, I felt no sympathy for her plight.  (Unlike women like Mariam in A Thousand Splendid Suns or Aminata in The Book of Negroes.)

I also found the book to be a little bit on the cheesy side.  I think it actually had a lot of potential but something about the writing just made it seem so movie of the week.  I can’t say exactly what made it feel this way but it was there.

Now I’ve made it sound like I hated the book.  I actually didn’t and to be honest I couldn’t put it down.  I really did enjoy the story and I think the characters made some important realizations and redeemed themselves in the end.  For a first novel, I think Gowda did a good job and I will be interested to see what she writes about next time.

Now, on a slightly unrelated note, I read this review on the Globe and Mail and I just have one small bone to pick.  The author of this review calls Secret Daughter chick-lit.  I know this has been a big issue in the literary world recently but I just have to add my two cents.  Why is it that just because a book is written by a woman, or for women it gets labelled chick-lit?  There are plenty of books out there written by women that are decidedly not chick-lit.  And, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with chick-lit.  I love myself some good chick-lit and there are some very talented writers that have devoted themselves to this genre.  (Nicolas Sparks, for instance…just kidding, he doesn’t write chick-lit — ha.  Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of Sophie Kinsella and Meg Cabot).  Anyway, this topic has been discussed to death in the book blogging world so I’m going to leave it at that, but seriously?  Notice how I’m not tagging this review chick-lit?

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