Book Five: The Casual Vacancy: Or Why JK Rowling Should Not Write Books That Aren't About Boy Wizards

"It was strange how your brain could know what your heart refused to accept." 

Rating: Kendall Marshall

Let me start by saying that it absolutely pains me to write this review. I adore JK Rowling, I love the Harry Potter series, and I think she's an amazingly talented writer. But, this novel was godawful. It was one of the top five worst novels I've ever read. I'm not sure if it seemed so bad because the Harry Potter series is so unforgettable, and I was expecting a masterpiece novel, or if it was just a bad book. Either way, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

First of all, the book is LONG. And not long like, Harry and his friends are saving the day and I hope this never ends, long. It was 503 pages of slit your wrists depression, I'd rather watch the Weather Channel and have my fingernails forcibly removed from my body, long. I hated how long this book was, I hated slowly the plot moved, I hated myself for hating JK, it was not an enjoyable experience. 

The books is made up of multiple story lines that follow different members of a small town after the death of one of the town councilmen, through the following days and weeks, and up to the election to fill his spot on the council. I thought every single one of the characters could have used an anti-depressant, and I find it hard to believe that this many people could be so fantastically unhappy with their lives in such a small town. They were all depressed to the max, which made reading it even harder. 

There were many times that I wanted to quit reading this novel, but I refused to give up because it was so expensive, and also because I believed at some point that JK would remember who she was, rescue the plot, and deliver another modern classic. Sadly, none of those things happened. I walked away from this book feeling as though I had thrown my money out the window, and wishing I'd stopped 50 pages in like I originally wanted to do. 

I think the most positive thing I can say about this book is that I only 90% hated it by the time I was done reading it. 10% of me felt like it was almost a worthwhile venture. I would recommend that you borrow this one from a friend who, like me, got pulled in by the author's name and bought the book before checking out the reviews, or either borrow it from your local library. Either way, don't buy it, because it's definitely not a book you'll ever want to read more than once.

So, JK, please don't release another book unless it features a boy wizard. I have some really great ideas about a prequel series about the Marauders if you need some inspiration, but don't try to fool us into thinking that you're going to be the next Ian McEwan. You write really awesome books about a fictional, magical universe, and that should be enough for you. 

Guess who's back? Back again. Meagan's back. Tell a friend!

I know you guys have to have thought that I had fallen off the face of the earth. I had some family things going on, and between those and starting a new semester, I just didn't have the time to devote to this blog, but I'm back now and "Who reads for fun?" is going to be back and better than ever.

I'm going to try to catch up on the books I read while I was away from here, but I'll also be blogging the new books that I'm reading as I finish them. I'm trying to have my first post up today, but I wanted to throw a line out there to let you all know that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!

Book Four: The Tiger's Wife

“In my earliest memory, my grandfather is bald as a stone and he takes me to see the tigers.”

Rating: Tyler Hansbrough 

This is a hard book to rate, because although I thought it dragged at points, and although I was close to giving up on this book and not finishing it, I loved the ending. Obreht won me over by the end, and I'll walk away from this novel with mixed feelings, I think. It had all the pieces to be an amazing novel, a compelling story, a death, intensity, and character's who are unforgettable, but for some reason, it never connected for me. Natalia's story is cleverly woven in with the story of her grandfather's childhood and his interactions with the "deathless man" as an adult.

I'll have to say, it is masterfully written. The book seems much longer than the 340ish pages that it actually is, and although at points I didn't know if it was worth finishing, I'm glad that I stuck with the story. The interactions with the "deathless man" were my favorite parts of this novel, and I think that they're what really drew me into this story and made it impossible for me to leave. I know that these interactions weren't meant to be the part of the story on which you focused, the part that drew you in, but I loved him. Even as an adult, something about the magical idea of a man continually finding Natalia's grandfather at different junctures in his life, always at a time when he (the deathless man) should be dying, or at points where Natalia's grandfather himself is hugging the line between life and death was so appealing to me. That this man claims to have survived through a drowning, and multiple shootings (and as far as we can tell, he has), to tell the tale and to teach Natalia's grandfather a lesson about faith and about life. I was fascinated by the deathless man's character, and I could have read an entire book filled with his story.  

I wasn't nearly as taken with the episodes recounted from Natalia's grandfather's youth with the Tiger's Wife. The way that her story wove in to the episodes of the deathless man were masterful, and I truly felt for that woman, but it just didn't spark for me.

I think what I'll remember most when looking back on this novel is the deep achy sadness that settled in my chest when I was finished. I feel like I need to sit down with a friend, have a cup of tea (this book put me a bit off of coffee) and have a long talk about it. 

I don't think I'll ever read this all the way through again. It was an interesting story, but it was too long and too hard of a read for me to want to relive the entire experience. It's a rewarding read however, and it really sticks in your imagination. 

Book Three: The Sugar Queen

“She accepted it from then on. Books liked her. Books wanted to look after her.”

Rating: Bobby Frasor 

I told you guys in my last review that I'm a sucker for a sappy chick lit, which is why I read The Sugar Queen immediately after finishing The Girl Who Chased the Moon. I was hoping that it would be just as great as the first novel, but I was left disappointed by this one. I understand that some people really like magical realism, and I do, to a certain extent, but this book was just a little too much for me. I had a hard time buying in to everything that happens, and I think that's why it left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

 I didn't record any of my thoughts when I originally finished this (which was about a month ago) so I know this review is going to read a little vague. I think the ultimate problem was I disliked the main character, Josey Cirrini. She's so weak and so meek when the novel begins, and although the novel is about her stepping out of her shell and breaking free from that weakness, the idea of a grown woman being so cowed by her elderly mother that she has to eat sweets in secret in her closet was off putting to me. I felt sorry for her, and I wanted her to have a happy ending, but I just couldn't get behind her character. 

I also had problems with the friend that Josey finds as the novel progresses. Josey slowly befriends Chloe Finley, a woman close to her age, who runs a sandwich shop and has just ended a relationship with her boyfriend who cheated on her. Chloe is followed by books. They show up wherever she is and they are books that are relevant to things she needs. For example after breaking up with her boyfriend, a book titled Finding Forgiveness begins to follow her around her shop and apartment. Although I was wicked jealous of the fact that all of these books show up for Chloe to read, I thought that they send kind of the wrong message. Finding Forgiveness and other similarly titled books begin to follow Chloe immediately after breaking up with her boyfriend. This would be cute, but since he cheated on her I feel that she deserves to be angry and she deserves to think about leaving him permanently, but I think the books seem to push the message that cheating is acceptable and she should get over it and get back with Jake. It does take them the length of the novel to reconcile, but the message from the books consistently bothered me.

I liked this novel, it was a fun read for the summer, but I won't pick it up again, and I'll be left with the thought that it could have been so much better.

Book Two: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

“It took me a long time to realize this: We get to choose what defines us.”

Rating: Tyler Zeller 

 

I need to get something off my chest. I'm a complete sucker for  lighthearted chick lit. I know, I know, it's as embarrassing for me to admit as it is for you guys to read it. I usually only indulge in this type of sappy, mindless read during the summer, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon was a perfect self-indulgent choice. The book is set in a fictional North Carolina town, where most of the residents are a little extraordinary. But, Allen's writing style reminds me of real life North Carolina, and she manages to capture the essence of the South beautifully in her novels.

Allen writes about love in a way that makes you believe that one day your prince will come. There's not a whole lot of plot to this novel, but there's enough mystery to keep you reading, and enough sap and cheese to keep me coming back for more. 

I've been asleep at the wheel.

I've been asleep at the wheel on this blog, but here's my game plan. I'm going to try to catch up on the reviews I've read since my last post while working in posts about what I'm reading/finishing now. I'm hoping that I can catch up in the next few weeks, and then I'll just be able to move forward with my new bookish adventures.

-Meg

Book One: The Handmaid's Tale

“Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some.” 

Rating:  Tyler Hansbrough 

I decided to start my summer of Atwood with the only Atwood book I've ever read, The Handmaid's Tale. If any book was ever to be branded as having Tyler Hansbrough's "Psycho T" intensity, I think it's this book. Atwood builds an unbelievably creepy yet realistic world where the society is based literally from the book of Genesis. It's a book that makes your skin crawl, to see how what was once America had been demolished into this rigid society where Catholics, abortionists, and homosexuals are put to death as traitors to the regime.

That being said, I had forgotten that not a lot actually happens in this novel. Yes, Atwood is an amazing writer, and yes, the world she builds in dementedly beautiful, but there's not a lot of plot. The plot mainly consists of subterfuge and scheming, which is interesting, and necessary in order to let the reader see the level of corruption and dissent in this supposedly "Biblical" society, but it gets a bit tedious after a while. I wanted something big to happen in this novel, and instead it's just tiny events that lead up to an ending where nothing happens. The ending is left up to your interpretation, and the "epilogue" that's added is set in the future and talks about what's written in the manuscript, but still doesn't answer any of the questions that Atwood leaves you with.

I might have a limited imagination, but I like books that have a concrete ending. I don't like to conjecture and wonder about what could have happened. I like for everything to be wrapped up in a tight square little package by the time the book ends, and Atwood doesn't do that here. I'm not sure if that will prove to be typical of her books, but at least in The Handmaid's Tale I needed some more closure. It felt unfair to leave an open ending in a book where nothing happens. I needed some sort of resolution instead of being left feeling that I had been hoodwinked into reading 300 pages of build-up only to be dumped with nothing to show for it. 

I'm not sure if this will be one I'll pick up again. Twice might have been my limit.