I have been trying to decide which book I like better: The Rosie Project (TRP) or The Rosie Effect (TRE). I love them both. I think TRP is probably funnier throughout, but TRE certainly has laugh-out-loud parts too. What I like about TRE is that it delves into the more serious side of living with Aspergers - or living with someone with Aspergers.
I really love Don! He tries so hard at everything he does, especially socializing with friends (his men's group) and being a good husband to Rosie. Don wants his marriage to work so much that he even resorts to lying (or hiding the truth in some cases) despite his innate sense to speak honestly at all cost. In fact, being so incredibly honest got him in plenty of trouble (being arrested as a pedophile; the airplane terrorism fiasco). These were funny episodes, but it made me sad that no matter how hard Don tried, Rosie kept slipping away from him.
I was frustrated with Rosie. I totally get how difficult it would be to be married to someone like Don. He really didn't feel anything for their baby. How sad for both of them. BUT, instead of talking it out with Don - and being really specific about her expectations of him regarding the pregnancy - Rosie just gave up on him. She sprung the pregnancy on him - and then got upset when he could react the way she wanted him to. It just wasn't fair to Don. Even when Don tried to correct his mistake of missing the sonogram, she just kept pushing him away. I am happy that she finally took some responsibility for her part in their disintegrating marriage.
Just like in TRP, Gene drove me crazy! I really found his remarks about women distasteful! And how insecure do you have to be to lie in order to make yourself seem worse?? I just don't get it. Don really wanted Gene and Claudia to get back together, but their relationship was so dysfunctional that I had no problem with them both moving on from each other. I found myself warming up to him a bit by the end of the book of course, because he was influential in navigating Don & Rosie back to each other.
Dave also drove me a little crazy by his lack of interest in his and Sonia's baby. I thought it was so great of Don to sort out Dave's business! What an awesome friend! And I did like Don's unique men's group: a professor of genetics, a psychiatrist, a refrigerator expert and an aging rock star. How eclectic!
My favorite "Don quote" from the book: "I had been granted an unexpected bonus that was destined to be temporary because of who I was. Paradoxically, happiness had tested me. But I had concluded that being myself, with all my intrinsic flaws, was more important than having the thing I wanted most." I love this!! So, in conclusion, TRP was definitely charming and funny, but TRE was all that plus more. I cannot wait to catch up with Don, Rosie and Hudson in the next chapter of the Tillman chronicles. :)
Wendy's Rating: *****
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
This is a non-fiction book about Kim Philby, the British spy for the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I read it for one of my most engaging book clubs (where everyone always reads the book and actually spends a hour talking about it!) Surprisingly, I was nearly the only person who liked it! Despite how much I disliked Kim Philby, I was very interested in reading about the spy business. In Britain, they have the M15 (like the FBI) and the M16 (like the CIA). I enjoyed reading about the recruiting of spies and double agents, the rivalries between M15 and M16 and the boys-club mentality of the agents - where even the most top secret information was shared among them. Most of all, I was intrigued by how Kim Philby, loved by all, could betray his country and send hundreds of people to their deaths without an ounce of remorse. He never strayed from his worship of communism and his idealistic view of the Soviet Union. He was like Ted Bundy - a good looking charmer who fools everyone while doing evil deeds in almost plain sight.
I did get frustrated while reading this book however. First of all, while I admire loyalty among friends, I got irritated at both Nicholas Elliott and James Angleton and their blind faith. These were all highly intelligent men - and the spy business is full of double agents and some triple agents. There was some pretty damaging evidence being stacked up against Kim Philby that should have at least had them thinking twice about things. But no, they were friends (naive friends!) who literally had to have his betrayal flung in their faces before they believed it. It kind of reminds me of Bill Cosby's wife. But I digress. It took a really long time for Kim to be caught and I was impatient with that! It was incredible how "lucky" he was, escaping exposure time and time again. I found it interesting - and believable - that they allowed him to defect to the Soviet Union after he was caught, instead of charging him with treason and sending him to prison, as they had done with George Blake - another Soviet spy within M16. It would have just been too "messy" for Britain to deal with him. I could not believe that they allowed his wife and children to come and go from the Soviet Union to visit him though!! What's up with that? Neither Britain or the Soviet Union appeared to have a problem with it. Very weird.
My book club cohorts who did not like the book stated that it was too detailed and there were too many people to keep track of. They said it was impossible to keep everyone straight and to remember where they all fit into the system of the British spy network. Agreed. There were a lot of people involved. The majority of readers will not be able to remember who everyone is, but I don't think you have to. Follow the key characters and you will be fine. I really do detest Kim Philby, but I still liked the book!
Wendy's Rating: ***1/2 (Apparently it's not a book for everyone!)
I did get frustrated while reading this book however. First of all, while I admire loyalty among friends, I got irritated at both Nicholas Elliott and James Angleton and their blind faith. These were all highly intelligent men - and the spy business is full of double agents and some triple agents. There was some pretty damaging evidence being stacked up against Kim Philby that should have at least had them thinking twice about things. But no, they were friends (naive friends!) who literally had to have his betrayal flung in their faces before they believed it. It kind of reminds me of Bill Cosby's wife. But I digress. It took a really long time for Kim to be caught and I was impatient with that! It was incredible how "lucky" he was, escaping exposure time and time again. I found it interesting - and believable - that they allowed him to defect to the Soviet Union after he was caught, instead of charging him with treason and sending him to prison, as they had done with George Blake - another Soviet spy within M16. It would have just been too "messy" for Britain to deal with him. I could not believe that they allowed his wife and children to come and go from the Soviet Union to visit him though!! What's up with that? Neither Britain or the Soviet Union appeared to have a problem with it. Very weird.
My book club cohorts who did not like the book stated that it was too detailed and there were too many people to keep track of. They said it was impossible to keep everyone straight and to remember where they all fit into the system of the British spy network. Agreed. There were a lot of people involved. The majority of readers will not be able to remember who everyone is, but I don't think you have to. Follow the key characters and you will be fine. I really do detest Kim Philby, but I still liked the book!
Wendy's Rating: ***1/2 (Apparently it's not a book for everyone!)
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
This book was recommended to me because I was going to Haiti on a mission trip and I was told that even though this novel is fiction, it is also historical in nature, and basically, a really good book. I would certainly agree with that assessment!
The story begins in Saint-Domingue - later know as Haiti - in 1770. One of the main characters is a Frenchman, Toulouse Valmorain, who comes to the island to check on his father and the family plantation. His father is ill and ends up dying, leaving Valmorain to run the plantation, much to his dismay. Valmorain's life becomes entwined with a slave girl, Zarite (Tete), whose mother was African and father was white, when Tete is purchased by Valmorain when Valmorain decides to marry and bring his young wife to Saint-Domingue.
Since the reader learns a lot about Tete's life, loves and her relationship with Valmorain though chapters written by her, I found it interesting that you don't understand how much Tete hates Valmorain until the end of the book. In the beginning, Valmorain is only 20 years old and he seems to dislike the mistreatment of the slaves working his plantation. He doesn't do anything to stop his overseer, Cambray, from violently abusing the slaves however. Still, he doesn't seem like a bad guy in comparison to those around him. He seems to "protect" Tete from others who might do her harm. By the end of the novel though, we hear from Tete how much she despises him and how he started raping her at the age of 11!! It's like the author leads you along thinking that Valmorain is an ok guy, considering the times, but then WHAM, by the end of the novel you are thinking about what a horrible person he is. Still not sure what to make of that.
The novel addresses the political unrest in Saint-Domingue, the uprising of the slaves and the successful revolt of the slaves. Since the rebels goal was to kill all the white people in Haiti during the uprising, Valmorain and Tete flee to New Orleans, thanks to the warning from Tete's lover - and love of her life, Gambo. Tete stays with Valmorain because of his son, Maurice, (with his now deceased wife) and their daughter, Rosette, who she will not be separated from for any reason.
There were so many awesome characters in this book that provided support for Tete through all of her pains and sorrows: Violette, Loula, Maurice, Dr. Parmentier, Tante Rose, Gambo, Pere Antoine and of course, Zacharie. Fortunately, the good people outweighed the horrible people, like Cambray and Hortense. Still, a lot of sadness in Tete's life.
This is an excellent read. It's a powerful story about Haiti, and slavery in general, long before Abraham Lincoln was president.
Wendy's Rating: *****
The story begins in Saint-Domingue - later know as Haiti - in 1770. One of the main characters is a Frenchman, Toulouse Valmorain, who comes to the island to check on his father and the family plantation. His father is ill and ends up dying, leaving Valmorain to run the plantation, much to his dismay. Valmorain's life becomes entwined with a slave girl, Zarite (Tete), whose mother was African and father was white, when Tete is purchased by Valmorain when Valmorain decides to marry and bring his young wife to Saint-Domingue.
Since the reader learns a lot about Tete's life, loves and her relationship with Valmorain though chapters written by her, I found it interesting that you don't understand how much Tete hates Valmorain until the end of the book. In the beginning, Valmorain is only 20 years old and he seems to dislike the mistreatment of the slaves working his plantation. He doesn't do anything to stop his overseer, Cambray, from violently abusing the slaves however. Still, he doesn't seem like a bad guy in comparison to those around him. He seems to "protect" Tete from others who might do her harm. By the end of the novel though, we hear from Tete how much she despises him and how he started raping her at the age of 11!! It's like the author leads you along thinking that Valmorain is an ok guy, considering the times, but then WHAM, by the end of the novel you are thinking about what a horrible person he is. Still not sure what to make of that.
The novel addresses the political unrest in Saint-Domingue, the uprising of the slaves and the successful revolt of the slaves. Since the rebels goal was to kill all the white people in Haiti during the uprising, Valmorain and Tete flee to New Orleans, thanks to the warning from Tete's lover - and love of her life, Gambo. Tete stays with Valmorain because of his son, Maurice, (with his now deceased wife) and their daughter, Rosette, who she will not be separated from for any reason.
There were so many awesome characters in this book that provided support for Tete through all of her pains and sorrows: Violette, Loula, Maurice, Dr. Parmentier, Tante Rose, Gambo, Pere Antoine and of course, Zacharie. Fortunately, the good people outweighed the horrible people, like Cambray and Hortense. Still, a lot of sadness in Tete's life.
This is an excellent read. It's a powerful story about Haiti, and slavery in general, long before Abraham Lincoln was president.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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