Feel good and foodie books – The School of Essential Ingredients and The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

Published between: October 18 2010 and January 29 2013

By: Putnam

Average number of pages: 264

Reading attempt: 1 per book

Average reading time: 2 days per book

Rating: «««

Advice: Light reading. Perfect for a rainy day or a vacation

Also available in French as: “L’École des Saveurs”, the second title is yet to come

The context

Have you ever had a week, or even a day, where you feel like total crap?  A moment where you hate your job and wish you’d have chosen a different career?  An instant where you’re under the impression that your life as no meaning whatsoever, where you feel utterly alone?

I believe we all go through a phase like this sometimes.  As a matter of fact, this is probably what pushed me towards Erica Bauermeister’s books in the first place.  My first encounter with her was last January while I was stuck at home on sick leave. Talk about feeling like crap!!!!!  

While surfing on the net, I received a notice from Indigo (yet again) concerning the arrival in store of “The Lost Art of Mixing”.  Reading the synopsis instantly made me smile: a foodie book!!!!!!!  What else could bring me more pleasure than this?  I ordered the first book “The School of Secret Ingredients”, and then its sequel... and the rest is history J

The story

Both books are built in a similar fashion: a collection of characters gravitate around a restaurant, its owner (Lilian) and the way she is able to touch people through her food.  Each section addresses a more specific character through a decisive moment in his or her life, his or her relationship to Lilian and how it came to be.

In “The School of Secret Ingredients” the characters are Lilian’s eight cooking students.  Each of them have their own lives and have come to the restaurant seeking a specific recipe for something beyond the kitchen.

In “The Lost Art of Mixing”, some of the original characters are back as their lives collide and mix with those around them.  Others are there to join them as they create a family of their own, one that is chosen, not given.

The common review

The author has chosen here a winning style where the background story moves forward through the eyes of the different characters that make it.  The result is reader friendly and relatively light, exactly what you need when you’re feeling blue.

As those books are mainly about the people that make them, Erica Bauermeister is quite gifted at quickly drawing us in with each character portrait.  For even though the time spent with each one may seem short, the author has a way of packing it with as much details about their situation as possible without making the book appear too dense.  She is able to give us just the right amount so that we don’t lose interest or feel like something is missing.

Last but not least, this is not solely a book about its characters; it is also a book about food.  It is a celebration of the love many of us have for food and how it affects every single one of our senses.  I for one found my stomach growling and my dinner menu plans changing many times a day while reading about some of the food that is prepared.  Just speaking of it right now, makes me want to change my dinner plan for tonight... again!!!!!

As always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.  Let me know what you’re reading or how you found it.  Who knows, you might inspire me my next great read J

Until next time

Ladybug

A testimony of loss and undying love – Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Published on: March 5 2013

By: McClelland & Stewart

Number of pages: 245

Reading attempt: 1
Reading time : 6 days

Rating: «««

Advice: This is not “The Impossible”

Available in French as: yet to be published

The context

Just like “The Dinner”, the idea to read this memoir came to me through an email advertisement coming from a certain English bookstore...okay it came from Chapters & Indigo bookstore.  There I said it.  Although it will come as no surprise to you that I receive daily advertisement s from this bookstore as well from Kobo eBook store and amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Needless to say that yours truly is guaranteed not to run out of book review subjects or inspiration for a long time J

The story

Just like the above advice states, this memoir is nothing like the story plot of the movie “The Impossible”.  As a matter of fact, they only have the same starting point: the 2004 east-Asian tsunami.

On the morning of December 26 2004, the author, her husband, her children and her parents are the witness of the approaching wave.  As they flee for their lives, water engulfs them and they are separated.  She will never see any of them alive again as she is the sole survivor.

The review

As I’m just finishing this book, I have to admit that it is not what I thought it was going to be at first... and yet I am not disappointed.  Unlike the happy-ending “The Impossible”, Sonali Deraniyagala’s heartbreaking memoir is a poignant account of the darkest aspect of this natural disaster.

It is a haunting chronicle of loss as the author becomes parent less, childless and husband less in an instant.  I was always on the brink of tears as I explored, through her words, the depths of her grief at having lost everyone she hold dear and every person that help define her as an individual, and also the depths of her guilt at having survived against all odds while they didn't.  The extent of her pain is quite tangible and you can’t help yourself but feel it deep within.

This memoir is also a touching tribute to the happiness those she lost brought her along the years she lived among them.  It is a testimony of her undying love for her family as she reminisces the defining moments of her life that are associated to either her husband, her boys or her parents.  She opens up about her family life, her love life in all its details and simplicity and shows us what it means when we say that happiness lies in the little things and that we should cherish life’s daily gifts.

Sonali Deraniyagala’s strength here lies in the description she renders so that we may understand the importance each of their lives had for her and never forget them or the impact these lives and their loss had on her own life.  A heartfelt chronicle written by a courageous woman who, event seven years after the event, keeps the memories of her loved ones alive and will continue to do so.

As always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.  As for myself, I will try and make my mind up on my next great read: Erica Bauermeister or Gillian Flynn, what will it be?  Stay tuned to find out...

Until next time

Ladybug

Shocking family evening – The Dinner by Herman Koch

Published on: February 12 2013

By: Crown Publishing Group

Number of pages: 292

Reading attempt: 1

Reading time: 2 ½ days

Rating: ««« ½

Advice: Not one to read lightly

Also available in French as: Le Dîner

The context

The first time I heard about this novel was when I was browsing through a French book brochure.  I have to admit that at first, I did not think much about it.

A couple of months later, I received an email notice from a bookstore mentioning this book and how they were highly recommending it.  Reading their synopsis, I got intrigued and decided to give it a try.  After all, who would not be intrigued by a novel that poses this statement:

                What would you be willing to do to save the ones you love?

The story

Divided into the five parts of a dinner, the novel starts by slowly telling the story of two brothers and their wives having dinner in a hip and chic restaurant in the Netherlands.  Based on this premise, the narrative, given here by one of the brothers (Paul), seems quite simple if not common.

Until, the dinner reaches its climax and we learn the true reason behind this family reunion: the sons of brothers Paul and Serge have committed what Minny in “The Help” would qualify as a “terrible awful”.  As the extent and consequences of this “terrible awful” are revealed, the parents argue on how they should react  and how to deal with this matter, even if it means going against all moral principals ... even the law.

The review

The book format plays here a good part in my appraisal of it.  Paul’s first-person narrative is easily readable and intelligent.  Moreover, Paul’s monologue is brutally honest in the description he makes of his son’s and nephew’s terrible act but also of who he is as an individual and how he might inadvertently have influenced this act.

Another good point in its favor (and also the main reason why this is not a book you should read lightly) is that the author’s aim here is not the obvious moral and ethic response we would have at first expected.  The author is here shocking, if not provoking, in the lack of moral compass his characters depict, through their lies and deceits.  The solutions they envision to settle the “terrible awful” here lack even the basic legal ethic:

·         solving violence with violence,

·         taking the matter into their own hands

·         or even setting the matter aside completely.

Moreover, the author portrays here through the behavior of his characters, just how normal these potential solutions are to them as they truly consider each and every one of them.

As you go through an array of emotions that span from disbelief and lack of understanding to anger and rage at the injustice that is openly displayed, it becomes impossible to put the book down for good and leave the story unfinished.  In fact, you feel quite compelled to return to its pages in order to discover what the final outcome will be or how the whole matter will unravel.

Because even though this novel is frightening, shocking, provoking and even disturbing in its depiction of the immorality some people may show towards the legal and ethic system in place, we can’t keep away from asking ourselves just how far we would be willing to go to protect the people that are dearest to us.

Whether you will read this book and experience pleasure or disgust is entirely up to you.  The only sure thing is that it is bound to leave a lasting feeling on anyone who reads it.

As always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.  Until next time J

Ladybug

Small town folks, big and dense book-The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Published on: September 27 2012

By: Little, Brown and Company

Number of pages: 503

Reading attempt: 1

Reading time: 14 days

Rating: « ½

Advice: Borrow it but brace yourselves with patience because the wait will be long

The context

When I found out last summer that Rowling was publishing her first adult book, I must admit that I didn't exactly know what to think.  Having had so much success with the “HP” series, why would she want to change audience, or genre?

Feeling ambivalent, I decided to wait and see what other people would think of it.  Bad idea ... Turns out the reviews were pretty mixed: either they loved it or hated it.  This was only adding to my confusion and my dilemma: should I or should I not read it.  One thing was certain; I wasn't going to buy it.  So, once more I put myself on the waiting list of my local library and 4 months later, I had the book in hand and started reading.

The story

The story plot here is simple: a man, Barry Fairbrother, suddenly dies and leaves is Parish Counsellor Seat vacant, ergo the casual vacancy.  Based on those premises, the people of the small town of Pagford will have to fill that vacancy while their lives go on more or less as they always have.  

Though, nothing is more wrong, for Rowling's novel is all about lies and deceits, intrigues and disasters.  As she pulls back the surface story, she exposes the lives of all the main citizens of Pagford in all theirs flaws and little secrets.  Secrets that might have been better left alone...

The book review

Even though I kept in mind that this was Rowling’s first adult novel and that she was entitled, just like any other first time author, to make mistakes, I must admit that I didn't particularly enjoy reading it.  Moreover, I kept putting it down and finding myself excuses to do anything but read it.  In this particular case, reading didn't feel like fun anymore, it felt more like work, which I already do plenty of.

The one good thing I have to say about this book is that this is mainly the story of the people of Pagford.  This is where the strength of the J.K. Rowling as we have come to know her in the “HP” series, is.  Her characters, although numerous, all bring their contribution to the story and help it move forward as they evolve and follow their paths, whether for better or worse.  They are all of them distinct in their own way.  I particularly liked her teens, which as we know seems to be her forte.  Although her adults are also well built, at the end of the day you feel naturally drawn to these teens and their lives, especially in my case to the central teen character, Krystal Wheedon who leaves a lasting impression event after you’re done reading the book.  She might not look like it at first, but as you read on you find out just of vulnerable and sensitive she is and you find yourself hoping that she might just get what she has always been looking for: a real family and a home where she feels safe at last.

Now what I didn't really like is the fact that the story, although mainly about the characters, remains difficult to follow and the pacing might have a lot to do with it.  The pacing here is that of our normal lives where some days are over packed with activities or action and others where nothing really important happens.  It is okay in real life, but in a book, it makes the reading tedious and I got easily bored.  Should the book have been shorter, it might have worked, but here the length creates a dragging effect and some scenes were definitely too long and even, at times, unnecessary.

Moreover, Rowling tries to recreate here the likes of our society in its every detail, but to a smaller scale, making the book heavier and denser that it should be.  She tries to treat every subject:

·         drug use

·         parental abuse

·         living in poverty

·         the ill-being of teenagers and their “Firsts” : job, love, loss, ...

·         the narrow-mindedness of some small town folks

·         the need for better social services and how some people truly depend on them

·         ...

In my opinion, she only ends up, at times, by scratching the surface.  Though, I have to applaud her for using crude language and exposing at times, something raw and dark.  She does not shy away from what we all know to be the truth.

All in all, I believe the author might have tried to put too much in one book and that a more thorough editing process might have solved the problem by making the book shorter and lighter.  Let’s all hope that this will be the case in her next book.

As always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.  Until next time J

Ladybug

La loterie, à ses risques et périls - La liste de mes envies de Grégoire Delacourt

Publié le : 18 avril 2012

Par : J.C. Lattès

Nombre de pages : 186

Tentative de lecture : 1

Temps de lecture : 3h

Côte : «««

Conseil : on l’emprunte

Le contexte

Il existe plusieurs moyens d’acheter des livres de nos jours : en magasin, en ligne, par correspondance, par catalogue et même en pharmacie et en tabagie.  Pour ma part, je préfère bouquiner et acheter en magasin ou en ligne. Néanmoins, étant abonnée à un site d’achat par catalogue, je me dois d’y faire un achat par saison.

L’hiver dernier lorsque j’ai reçu mon catalogue, je suis tombée par hasard en le feuilletant sur le livre de Grégoire Delacourt et ça m’a tout de suite mis la puce à l’oreille.  Cependant, étant procrastineuse de nature dans certains domaines (dont les achats par catalogue) j’ai attendu jusqu’à la date finale avant de faire mon achat.  Ne trouvant rien de plus intéressant, c’est donc cette petite plaquette qui m’est parvenue par la poste quelques jours plus tard.

L’histoire

L’auteur raconte ici l’histoire de Jocelyne (Jo), qui plus jeune rêvait d’une grande carrière de styliste dans le domaine de la mode et bien sûr du prince charmant.  Maintenant âgée de 47 ans, Jo est propriétaire d’une mercière dans une petite ville de province en France où elle habite avec son mari des 21 dernières années, Jocelyn.  Elle est également l’auteure d’un blog sur la dentelle qui jouit d’un certain succès.

Un jour, pour faire plaisir à deux jumelles de sa connaissance, elle s’achète un billet de loto.  Elle le fait davantage pour leur plaire que parce qu’elle y croit réellement.  Mais quelle n’est pas sa surprise d’apprendre que c’est elle, et non les jumelles maniaques de loto, qui remporte cette fois la cagnotte.  Maintenant millionnaire, elle possède désormais assez d’argent pour assouvir tous ses désirs. Néanmoins, elle hésite devant l’opportunité, se méfie de cette argent tombé du ciel et décide premièrement, d’attendre avant d’encaisser le dit montant, mais aussi de n’en souffler mot à personne.

La critique

L’auteur a créé ici un petit bijou, alliant un rythme relativement lent, mais sans passage à vide, à l’exploration de la question suivante :

Participer à la loterie comporte-il davantage de risques que de bénéfices?

Il explore le sujet à travers le cheminement de Jocelyne qui résonne de part son réalisme et sa sensibilité.  À l’intérieur de cette femme aux abords simple, se trouve un esprit analytique, mais aussi une âme remplie de la sagesse des années.  Nous n’avons qu’à songer à la teneur de chacune de ses listes et à l’ordre logique dans lequel elle les dresse :

·         La liste des besoins d’abord

·         Celle des envies ensuite

·         Puis celle des folies

·         Pour terminer avec sa « dernière liste » qui s’avère être un amalgame des diverses éléments composant les dites listes.

L’auteur a également su capter toute la complexité des émotions et des sentiments au féminin, d’autant plus que le roman est écrit au « Je ».  Ainsi, on sent que Jocelyne est une femme qui aime sincèrement et complètement son Jo même s’il est loin d’être parfait.

On la sent également très désemparée et vulnérable lorsqu’elle nous parle de la perte d’une de ses filles, Nadège, en bas âge et comment cela a failli mettre fin à son mariage il y a de cela bien des années.  C’est aussi presque palpable lorsqu’elle visite ou nous parle de son père qui, ayant fait un AVC, vit emprisonné dans des boucles de 6 minutes de présent.

Enfin, on la sent encore et toujours ambivalente face à toute cette richesse qui lorsqu’elle la révélera au grand jour risque fort bien de changer à jamais sa vie tel qu’elle la connait, mais aussi de modifier la perception que les gens ont d’elle.  La situation tournera-elle à son avantage ou son désavantage?

De quoi nous questionner nous-mêmes s’il n’y aurait pas plus à perdre qu’à gagner à jouer au loto?

Mon seul petit bémol est ici purement monétaire; je trouve que c’est un peu cher payé  (25$) pour la taille du volume (moins de 200 pages). Cela dit que vous l’achetiez ou l’empruntiez, il en ressort que l’on passe tout de même un bon moment dans ces pages.

En terminant, continuez à lire amateurs de livres et lecteurs de tous âges.  À une prochaine fois

Coccinelle

Introducing Miss Flavia – Book series by Alan Bradley

Published in between: February 10 2009 and January 29 2013

By: Doubleday Canada

Average number of pages per book: 370

Reading attempt: 1 for each book

Average reading time per book: 4-5 days

Average rating: «««« ½

Advice: Try it you’ll like it

The context

Have you ever experienced a complete lack of interest or trepidation while reading a certain novel and wish you were reading something else?  Well, as a compulsive reader, I have to admit that this is no foreign concept to me.

As a matter of fact, had I not felt complete indifference towards the book I was attempting to read last November, I may have never stumble upon these gems. 

What attracted me at first was the bright cover jacket; then it was the strange titles.  But it’s finally the synopsis of “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” that made up my mind. 

After all, who would not be intrigued by the idea of an eleven-year-old girl, who fancies chemistry and more specifically poison, and whose world changes the day she comes face to face with a dying man in her cucumber patch?

The story and characters

In his series of novels, Alan Bradley depicts the life of an aristocratic family on the verge of bankruptcy living in rural England in the 1950’s.  Now as you may imagine, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The story is set in Bishop’s Lacey a small village in rural England in proximity to Buckshaw Manor, where our main character, Flavia Sabina de Luce, lives.

Now Flavia is not exactly what you would call your typical eleven-year-old.  She is actually a happy medium between

·         Sherlock Holmes (for her analytical mind and her passion for chemistry)

·         Nancy Drew (for her strong penchant for solving crime even when, according to the police, she’s not welcomed)

·         Pippi Longstocking (for naming her bike “Gladys” and always tearing up her clothes to the great damn of her father) and

·         Wednesday from the Addams Family (for her Machiavellian ideas to get back at her two despicable sisters, Feely and Daffy, through poison).

Among the other characters of the household are:

·         Flavia’s father, Colonel Haviland de Luce, grief-stricken by the death of his wife, Harriet de Luce, over 10 years ago and whose sole source of comfort is his extended collection of postage stamps.

·         Flavia’s oldest sister, Ophelia de Luce (aka Feely); a narcissist who enjoys playing the piano, torturing Flavia through physical and mental ways aided by Daffy, and who, most of all, likes stringing along her numerous beaus.

·         Flavia’s other sister, Daphne de Luce (aka Daffy); the bookworm who doesn’t miss any occasion to show off her extended knowledge to Flavia ... just as long as there is something in it for her.

·         Mrs. Mullet (aka Mrs. M), the cook and house lady, whose cooking should always be ingested alongside antacids and who loves gossiping above all else.  In a way, she is the Mrs. Hudson to the Flavia de Luce’s novels.

·         Dogger, the manor’s handyman, who since he was tortured during WWII hasn’t been exactly the same and is prone to “fits”. But mostly he is the equivalent of Sherlock Holmes’s Doctor Watson to Flavia, as he always seems to be prepared should she need help and even at times one step ahead of her.

·         Inspector Hewitt, the lead investigator on every crime Flavia investigates informally.  More brilliant than Holmes’s Inspector Lestrade, he always lets out a sigh of exasperation when Flavia’s undesired involvement into his inquiries comes to light.  And yet, he seems to rather enjoy her company and her insights.

As for the mystery part, through the 5 novels, Flavia will face

1)      the murder of one her father’s old schoolmate,

2)      the accidental “hanging” of a puppeteer during one of his shows,

3)      the assault of a fortune-teller and the murder of a common thief,

4)      the brutal assassination of a famous movie star and

5)      the death of the church organist, the opening of a patron saint’s tomb and the legend of a once famous jewel.

The common review

The secret of Alan Bradley’s success is that just like a good wine, he gets better and better over time at getting us completely committed to his story: the mysteries he builds keep getting deeper, more refine and more complex.  But his main achievement lies not entirely within the plot itself, but more in how he treats his characters and the way they deal with everyday live and its anxieties.

Flavia’s character is especially well constructed.  Her fears and cries regarding the statement that she is “not her mother’s daughter” as her sisters keep saying to torture her, feel incredibly real.  You can also feel her malice as she concocts poisons, picks locks, and crosses fields on her faithful “Gladys” You can almost grasp it as she spies on her family member’s every move in order to exonerate or charge them with murder.

I also rather enjoyed Dogger’s character as you can feel his distress while he attempts to control the occurrence of his “fits”. The quiet reserve he shows towards Flavia’s endeavors and her false excuses/justifications and pretenses is quite touching and is probably part of the reason why she lets him in on her thoughts and theories.  He is to her an ally as he tries to remain unbiased, does not seem to approve or disapprove of her enterprises and show no judgment either good or bad regarding her unofficial involvement.  He remains simply present should our heroine need a hand or a quiet listener.

Moreover, as the series has progressed, Bradley always takes things a step further every time, giving the lives of the de Luces household more depth.  As a result, Colonel de Luce, although typically British in his demeanor, allows himself some small displays of affection towards Falvia in her times of need; Feely finally has one’s heart set on one of her suitors and Inspector Hewitt, who even though he still shows signs of exasperation at Flavia’s unwanted participation, tends to resign himself to it... just as he tends to resign himself to the fact that Flavia always seems to stumble upon the corpse firsthand, compromising all his crime scenes.

In the end, every one of his books can stand alone on his own.  But when you read them chronologically, you are under the impression that the characters and their stories are perpetually moving forward in time, growing a little with each page of each book; and this notwithstanding the fact that each book ends with the solving of its crime and the unraveling of its intrigue.

Well not every book per say should you consider the last sentence of the fifth book...  Intrigued are you.  Although I am not a fan of the “spoiler alert”, I do believe I can point out without unveiling any details, that the next installment is already highly anticipated J

As always, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there. As for myself, I will return to The Casual Vacancy.  So, until next time...

Ladybug

Inception in book form -Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Published on: August 17 2004

By: Knopf Canada

Number of pages: 509

Reading attempt: 1

Reading time: 12 days

Rating: ««

THE CONTEXT

The idea of reading David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” first came to me after seeing the movie trailer back in October.  Now as a personal rule, I tend to always read a book before seeing its movie adaptation.  So after reading the obscure synopsis on the Indigo bookstore website, I decided to download the book preview from the Kobo bookstore, only to find out that it didn't even include a single page of the story. Disappointed, I made my way to the bookstore to have a sneak peak at this novel.  Not being genuinely impressed by the little I read, I put myself on the waiting list at my local public library, where it took 4 months before I could finally put my hands on this book.

THE STORY

Resuming the story plot is no easy task. Ask anyone who has read it.  Basically, it is a collection of six stories that are set in different places; different times, different genres and that each feature a different main character.  The first 5 stories are divided in halves with the 6^th story being the only undivided one.  As you read on, you move forward in time until you reach the bending point (aka the 6^th story) and start moving backward in time, in order to read the second half of every story, finishing each in turn. 

To try and put it more clearly, imagine throwing a boomerang traveling through time and space while taking pictures illustrating people’s lives at a precise moment in time and that coming back through the same times and spaces, this same boomerang takes another set of pictures on the same people.  Now, I will not attempt here to describe every story as it would give too much away to those who wish to read it.

THE REVIEW

Although I truly admire and applaud the author for his effort and creativity, I must admit that I have mixed feelings about his novel.

I can’t say that I truly dislike it, as some of the character and stories did hit a certain cord for me.  For example, I particularly enjoyed the stories entitled “Half-lives: the first Luisa Rey mystery” and “The ghastly ordeal of Timothy Cavendish” They were written in styles I usually am attracted and seemed to me to be best build up.  I also liked their colorful and resourceful characters and the fast-pace of their story plot.

As for the other stories, something just didn't hit the mark for me; either it being the genre, the style, the story plot and even sometimes the main character.  To say that I experienced difficulty reading “Sloosha’s crossin’ an’ ev’rythin’ after” (to name just one) would be an understatement.  The sole fact that it is written in a style where words are mainly contracted and tend to miss several letters or syllables, made me hate the story from the very start and rendered its reading tedious.

Moreover, the link between the stories was loose and made me wish at times that there was none.  Even now, I find it difficult to understand its importance and significance:

·         Is it the fact that the whole book seems to be a critic of some sort on slavery and the disparity between social classes?

·         Or does the book somehow critic humanity’s perpetual desire to achieve absolute power through different means and how it affects the rest of society?

Even the relationship between the title of the book and its contents makes very little sense to me.

I do believe that I might have liked to book more should the stories have been completely separated from one another. I think they would have worked better taken individually instead of as a whole, which is just confusing.

As to whether or not, this will be my first and last incursion into the works of David Mitchell is still open for discussion.  Because, as I do not usually judge a book by its cover or first page, I tend not to judge an author’s work based on one book.  So this may only be the beginning...

Until then, keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.

Ladybug

A double tribute - The End of your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

As I was going over my first post and my blog design yesterday, it struck me that some things were actually missing. Things such as:

a)      How can this be considered a book criticism and recommendation blog if there are not rating system? So I added one þ.

b)      How are you supposed to know if it takes me more than one attempt to go through a book or how much time I spend reading it, if you are not aware of it?  I also added a section for that as well þ.

c)       And last but not least, as I read both in English and French, I should probably point out that should I read a book in French and decide to criticize it, I might find it easier to write my opinion in French than English. Don’t you agree?

This being said, let get now to the main subject of this post, aka the “The End of your Life Book Club”.  Now as I have said before, this is the non-fiction that finally got me started.

It is not a question of whether or not the idea of writing a book blog had already made its way into my head.  For as long as I can remember books have always been a part of my life.  I remember my mom buying me Walt Disney stories and my dad reading them to me at bedtime.  I even remember the first book I ever bought with my savings (A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett).

No, the question was more “How to start”:

Ø  What book or series of book or even author comes first?

Ø  Do I go for my favorite story or character?

Ø  Do I want to start with a bang by giving my opinion about the new bestseller everyone is talking about or with a prized book?

And finally, it struck me: I would go with what I love and since I love books and literature and the written world, why not go with the work of someone who shared his own love for the printed page?  So here it is, my very first critic,

Published on: October 2 2012

By:Knopf Canada

Number of page: 352

Reading attempt: 1

Reading time: 4-5 days

Rating: «««« ½

Advice : Buy it and lend it

To put you in context, this book is, as the title of this post is “A double tribute”: not only does the author, who has worked in the publishing business and journalism, render a tribute to the written world; he also celebrates life and the love he has for his mother.

It is a memoir of the relationship between a son and his mother and their shared passion for books.  The story spans over 2 years and opens with the return of the author’s mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe, from a humanitarian mission in Pakistan and Afghanistan where a foundation she’s involved with helps establish libraries in those countries.

She returns with a sickness that is first believed to be a rare form of hepatitis.  As it turns out, it is much worst then first suspected.  Months later, the verdict falls: CANCER.  But not just any kind: PANCREATIC CANCER.  Now for those of you who are not familiar with this type of cancer, here are a few pointers:

•        It is the fourth common cause of cancer-related death in the USA, the eighth worldwide.
•     It has a really poor prognosis: 25% to 1 year, 6% to 5 years. When the disease is locally advanced or metastatic (which represents 80% of the cases), the survival is about 10 to 6 months respectively.
•       The cause for this poor prognosis is partly because the cancer usually causes no symptoms early on, leading to locally advanced or metastatic disease at time of diagnosis.

For Mary Anne Schwalbe, the original prognosis was 6 months and yet she managed with the help of her family and doctors, to almost quadruple her survival time.  So as pages go by, we follow the story of Mary as her life comes to a close: chemo, surgery, doctor’s appointments, her involvement in the humanitarian organization she cares about, her children /grandchildren /husband and even her own birthday parties, wedding anniversaries without forgetting the “Book Club” her son and her start while she is in chemo.

On their reading list are classics such as Jane Austen and Will Shakespeare, mysteries from Stieg Larson or Alexander McCall Smith, science fiction like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, prized books from Geraldine Brooks, poetry, biographies and also spiritual books.  Now, this is not a genre I usually flirt with, but as I was reading this book, the way the mother and son duo speak of beliefs, faith and courage sort of makes me want to give it a try more often. Just like I gave some of the books they read (see the Appendix section) a try and was neither deceived, nor disappointed.

So although the title makes us believe that this is mainly a book about books, I perceived it as more of an homage to the woman of exception that was Mary Anne Schwalbe; a woman who faced every step of her life with courage, determination and even optimism in some ways.  The books are here symbols of comfort, knowledge and guiding light, as they teach us and sometimes show us who we are and reveal sides of us we never suspected existed.

And although, the book is tinged with melancholy and sadness (because we know from the very beginning what is to become of Mary Anne), Will Schwalbe does not fall into the holistic or the new age. Neither does he go for the overly dark and depressive aspect of what living with cancer imply.  He treats the subject brilliantly by putting forward his mother’s resilient, yet pragmatic, nature, by depicting her as she truly was: an inspiration and an example for many to follow should we face adversity.

I will finish by quoting this: “Reading is not the opposite of doing; it is the opposite of dying”. So keep reading all of you bookworms and book lovers out there.  As for myself, I will make my way slowly but surely through The Casual Vacancy.  Until next time...

Ladybug