SWEEPING UP GLASS by Carolyn Wall (Random House, 2009)
This debut novel is set in Kentucky at the turn of the 20th century and is narrated by Olivia, who, like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, is raised by a single and serious father. Olivia’s life is fraught with strife as she endures a mean-spirited and crazy mother and a no-good runaway daughter who leaves her son for Olivia to raise and love. Wall is a strong story-teller, loading her story with Southern Lore replete with Jim Crow Laws, river baptisms, fried chicken and the ever-menacing KKK and their notorious lynching. While characters are effectively revealed and mysteries unfold, in the end, this is a light fluff of a read with overly dramatic turns of plot (7.5/10).
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
RollnSmoke Reviews: THE ORIENTALIST by Tom Reiss
THE ORIENTALIST by Tom Reiss (Random House, 2006)
This young, enterprising author, Tom Reiss, sets out to solve the mystery behind the author of Azerbaijan’s greatest literary achievement called Ali and Nino. What unfolds is the fascinating life of Lev Nussimbum, born to a Jewish oil tycoon in Baku in 1912. Caught between the Russian and German Revolutions during the first half of the twentieth century, father and son flee Azerbaijan to Persia to Istanbul to Paris to Berlin to New York to Vienna. Lev becomes a world-famous “Orientalist” writer with a fascinating “protean identity” where he becomes Muslim and changes his name as a means of survival. While the long stretches of historical context – particularly about anti-Semitism and Zionism -- can be dense, much information can be gleaned from the life of this fascinating historical character (7.5/10).
This young, enterprising author, Tom Reiss, sets out to solve the mystery behind the author of Azerbaijan’s greatest literary achievement called Ali and Nino. What unfolds is the fascinating life of Lev Nussimbum, born to a Jewish oil tycoon in Baku in 1912. Caught between the Russian and German Revolutions during the first half of the twentieth century, father and son flee Azerbaijan to Persia to Istanbul to Paris to Berlin to New York to Vienna. Lev becomes a world-famous “Orientalist” writer with a fascinating “protean identity” where he becomes Muslim and changes his name as a means of survival. While the long stretches of historical context – particularly about anti-Semitism and Zionism -- can be dense, much information can be gleaned from the life of this fascinating historical character (7.5/10).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
RollnSmoke Reviews: BOSSYPANTS by Tina Fey
BOSSYPANTS by Tina Fey (Little Stanger, 2011)
While not much of a TV-watcher, I heard a favorable review of Tina Fey’s new memoir-like book on NPR and bought it. There’s no doubt that this lady is smart, talented, ambitious and funny. In addition to learning that she wrote “Mean Girls,” we learn about her rise from the ranks of Chicago’s Second City Improvisational Comedy Troupe, to her being a lead comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and appearing regularly on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, to her creating and producing the NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” to her memorable comedic impersonations of Sarah Palin. We also learn about the origins of her significant facial scar and are offered tidbits about her being a working mother. While amusing, in the end the piece lacks real insight and ends up an unremarkable read (7/10).
While not much of a TV-watcher, I heard a favorable review of Tina Fey’s new memoir-like book on NPR and bought it. There’s no doubt that this lady is smart, talented, ambitious and funny. In addition to learning that she wrote “Mean Girls,” we learn about her rise from the ranks of Chicago’s Second City Improvisational Comedy Troupe, to her being a lead comedy writer for Saturday Night Live and appearing regularly on the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, to her creating and producing the NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” to her memorable comedic impersonations of Sarah Palin. We also learn about the origins of her significant facial scar and are offered tidbits about her being a working mother. While amusing, in the end the piece lacks real insight and ends up an unremarkable read (7/10).
Sunday, May 1, 2011
RollnSmoke Reviews: THE UNCOUPLING by Meg Wolitzer
THE UNCOUPLING by Meg Wolitzer (Riverhead Books, 2011)
The plot of Meg Wolitzer’s eighth book hinges on a difficult-to-accept spell that seizes the female characters in the novel and makes them frigid. All the characters in the book converge at a suburban New Jersey high school – teachers, students, lovers, all – and the centerpiece that forwards the plot is the school community’s putting on the ancient Greek play Lysistrada, wherein the female cast members stage a sex strike in an effort to protest male warring. While there’s plenty of strong writing combined with Wolitzer’s trademark wit throughout the piece, ultimately the said chilling “spell” fails as a compelling, workable premise, especially at the goofy, melodramatic end (6.5/10).
The plot of Meg Wolitzer’s eighth book hinges on a difficult-to-accept spell that seizes the female characters in the novel and makes them frigid. All the characters in the book converge at a suburban New Jersey high school – teachers, students, lovers, all – and the centerpiece that forwards the plot is the school community’s putting on the ancient Greek play Lysistrada, wherein the female cast members stage a sex strike in an effort to protest male warring. While there’s plenty of strong writing combined with Wolitzer’s trademark wit throughout the piece, ultimately the said chilling “spell” fails as a compelling, workable premise, especially at the goofy, melodramatic end (6.5/10).