quality writing, intriguing story, timeless fiction

On Christmas day, I was about 50 pages into my latest Jodi Picoult pick and was loving every page. I'm pretty sure it was called Keeping Faith, and from what I read, I would definitely recommend it. In fact, I think I might have to go buy another copy. Thankfully, it was one of the $7.50 copies and not one of the $15.00 copies. (Those who regularly buy Jodi Picoult books can sympathize with my frustration in the cost department.) Anyway, Keeping Faith was about this little girl named Faith who is struggling with her parents' divorce and conjures up an imaginary friend. Her mother worries about Faith's mental state, having done some time in a mental institution herself. The imaginary friend's resemblance to God snags the attention of Faith's psychiatrist who presents the case at a convention. News of the story reaches the media and, in turn, a famous teleatheist. This teleatheist is traveling the country in an RV trying to disprove religious miracles. At the time I lost the book, he had set his sights on Faith's story. I'll have to pick up another copy, for sure.

Anyway, later on Christmas day, while visiting with my grandparents, my grandma made another of her fantastic book recommendations. She loaned me her copy of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. All she told me was that it was about a circus during the time of prohibition. I was intrigued.

In the following week, sitting poolside at another Opti regatta, I began reading. The first day was tough. I really couldn't seem to get into the story from the beginning. Because I was excited to jump right into 1920's circus fun, the initial scene taking place in a nursing home was a real downer. I would later come to appreciate these periodical visits back to Jacob Jankowski's present-day reality.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks, both intentional and accidental, in the mind of now ancient Jacob Jankowski. In his younger days, Jacob studied to be a veterinarian at Cornell, but ran away from tragedy and his senior year final exams to join the circus.

On a whim, Jacob decides to jump a train and comes face to face with a group of dirty old men with every intention of throwing him off.

As Jacob works his way up the ranks in the circus business from grunt to the show's vet, he meets an array of characters. Gruen does a fantastic job creating these colorful personas. Jacob's bunkmate, a larer than life dwarf, is possibly Gruen's finest character.

Jacob meets Marlena while tending to Silver Star, her prized show horse who is fatally ill. The only thing that stands in Jacob's way of winning her over is Marlena's psychotic husband, August. Clearly the villain in this Hero story, August's character is written with such skill that I hated him nearly as much as the characters in the story did.

Jacob's flashbacks are thrilling, colorful and dark throughout the book, but my favorite part, by far, is the final chapter. This epilogue is wonderful, probably because it seems so unexpected, but makes perfect sense. I wish I could describe it better. You'll just have to read it to find out!

Books that made me cry...

Although I have yet to find a book that's so terrible it brings me to tears, I have found the extreme opposite, several times over. Usually the 'so good I balled my eyes out' books are super mawkish and all, but sometimes ya need one of those, no?
Well, here are my picks. And please share your own; I'm coming off of an uber depressing destitute Africa phase and I need a break.

• The Notebook: ..and basically any of Nicholas Sparks' older stuff, like Walk to Remember.. but The Notebook takes the cake in this category. Don't rely on the Rachel McAdams/ Ryan Gosling movie version to decide whether to read the novel behind it all. If the movie brought tears to yor eyes, just wait until you read this adorable love story. Noah and Allie are summer sweethearts and fall madly in love in just a few months' time. But Allie's parents, who just don't understand, pull Allie away, back to her civilized, college-bound life at home. Years later, we learn the meaning of true love as Noah and Allie reconnect. Now get the tissues ready because the waterworks are coming in the last few pages..
• Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas: This is a tear-jerker for different reasons, but it's a spectacular piece of fiction just the same. Just the fact that it's an uncharacteristic leap for James Patterson to be writing the story of a mother's love affair with her newborn baby boy is reason enough to pick up this story ASAP! Cute career woman Katie sits in her bathtub, nursing a broken heart. She contemplates her abruptly ended relationship with Matt, their unborn baby, and the diary he left at her door. This, of course, is Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Confounded as to why Matt would give her the diary of an old flame who mothered another child of his, Katie struggles to read on. Katie finds herself engrossed in the story of Suzanne and her account of Nicky's life. You'll find yourself sobbing alongwith Katie as she nears the end of the diary..

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseni is incredible. It was so refreshing to finally read something about the actual people of Afghanistan and not just its warlords. This is the story of Amir and the son of his family's servant, Hassan.
In addition to the breathtaking descriptions of Kabul, Hosseni tells a tale of unconditional friendship and the dangers of taking it for granted.
Amir's father is a wealthy businessman who befriended his father's servant as a child. As an adult, he brought that servant to live with and work for his family. Both men became fathers themselves within months of each other and raised their sons as brothers.
However, when he begins school, he is affected greatly by the taunts of other boys about his low-class brother from another mother. Giving into their influences, Amir betrays Hassans constant friendship, deeply scarring the relationship before he and his father flee Afghanistan during the Russian invasion.
Hosseini gives a chilling account of the plight of so many Afghan people migrating for their lives. He carries Amir and his father toward the safety of America and continues to tell their tale.
After many many years, Amir decides to return to his native Afghanistan and meets a handful of emotional difficulties.
This book is absolutely worth your time. Thouroughly researched and written with practically musical diction, it won't be easy to put down halfway through. In fact, I remember my math grade suffering considerably for the week or so it took me to get from cover to cover.

The Amateur Reviewer

Hey there.

To put it simply, I love books. Books are my friends. It's true. But no worries, I'll introduce you. In this blog, I'll be giving everyone out there my own amateur reviews of the books I read. And don't hesitate to introduce your own book-friends; that's what makes it fun. All I ask is that you take it semi-seriously.

Happy Reading!