The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I do not know how I got to be 53 never having read "The Great American Novel", but indeed I waited too long! I enjoyed the telling of the story. I listened on audio (as I do most books during my commute to and from work), and I felt that I was sitting in the parlor of an acquaintance, listening as he told me a story of a man he once knew and a time that is past.
The story itself was not the remarkable part, it was the telling, the recalling of events, places, weather expressions, emotions and the view of this third person.. The story is told from the point of view of a person involved in the drama ~ yet somehow removed in a way that he is simply a keen observer to all that goes on.


View all my reviews.

Posted by sunybank at 12:06 PM

This summer:
The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
One For The Money - Janet Evanovich
Two For the Dough - Janet Evanovich
Three to Get Deadly - Janet Evanovich
Currently:
Life of Pi - Yann Martel and 1984 - George Orwell-
Both of these are on my Daughter's school reading list so I thought I'd stay in touch.
Favorite so far on THIS list??
My Sister's Keeper! It was my first Jodi Picoult, and it will certainly not be my last!

Posted by sunybank at 04:51 AM

Stop on over at Overdue Books and join the "From the Stacks" winter reading challenge.

You have the books ... yeah .... right there on your stack at the bedside ... you've been meaning to read them so ....
My stack???

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (OK, so this is a re-read)
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
One Thousand White Women - Jim Fergus
The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (this is one to finish)
The Lost Continent - Bill Bryson
... oh, is that SIX? Well, some of it I'll do on audio while driving to and from work, so I can go quickly.
What's your list?

Posted by sunybank at 01:23 PM

Have you read The Thirteenth Tale?

If not, you should ~ no really, you need to read this book!
Not in a social, political or historical type of "need to" ... You just will love the story. It's a story-teller's story and a wonderful read.
What's that? You HAVE read it?
Then stop over at Overdue Books and give us your opinion!!

Posted by sunybank at 02:26 PM

You may recall my post about reading / listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with my daughter.

WE FINISHED! Sunday afternoon ... together ... savoring every last page. I am addicted to the suspense she puts into the ending of some of these books! This one was as exciting as the ending of "Chamber of Secrets".
Needless to say, we are now in hot persuit of the Half-Blood Prince!
Anyone want to sell a used audio copy!

Posted by sunybank at 12:10 PM | TrackBack

Alrighy, I have finished "Good Harbor" – Anita Diamante
and as such I am changing the book on the side bar to:

The Time Travellers Wife - my current read.
Want to know what I thought of Good Harbor ...
Check out the button for "overdue books" on the left right, and there you can find my review (and other reviews of other books by other friends) - or ... you can just read the extended entry.

Good Harbor – Anita Diamante

Anita Diamante wrote The Red Tent. That in itself is the reason I purchased this book, without so much as reading the back cover (and perhaps because it was on the bargain table).

I have now been further educated on the truth that one good book – a second success does not ensure.

Not to say I didn’t like the book, and I will furnish a synopsis for you here, but the two books were dissimilar to say the least.
The characters were somewhat underdeveloped, and there were really only two characters to develop ~ as compared to The Red Tent, where I came to know and understand Lea, Rachel and all the “Aunties” quite well.
The story was nice (if that’s the kind of book you want to read), but no different than the story of most middle-aged women you know.

Catherine is viewing her life from the inside of a breast-cancer victim. It seems that life itself has betrayed her, first with the death of her 3-year-old son (25 years ago – that she has yet to “deal with”), then the loss of her sister to breast cancer (leaving her without a best friend and confidant), and now with her own cancer issues.
She meets Joyce, who is struggling with her personal issues of career focus change, teenage daughter (who is becoming more and more independent from mom) and distant husband (over-committed to his own job) and the two almost instantly become friends.

Both women crave the relationship, and they share the intimacy of long-time friends (although they have known each other for perhaps six months). Catherine (long-time resident of the New England seaside community) and Joyce (newcomer with a weekend and summer home in the community) develop a routine of meeting at Good Harbor for walks on the beach and girl-talk. Walking with them, we the readers explore the issues of chemotherapy, empty-nest syndrome, loss of a child, return to or withdrawal from religious roots (both women are Jewish), extramarital affairs, and accepting the onset of the mature years.

This is a good book, even great if you want a summer read, or if you are a romance novel fan searching for something with a little more merit.

In retrospect, what I found most interesting was the fact that Joyce’s character is a writer, a serious, sought-after writer of articles and books related to social issues and politics. In this story, she has written a “romance novel” just for “fun” and to “make some money”. In publishing it, she has used a pen name, and seems to be quite embarrassed whenever someone discovers that she is indeed the writer of a dime-store romance. When she meets Catherine (a career librarian), she is sure she will never divulge this secret.

Is it somewhat autobiographical? Is the writer of The Red Tent, using Joyce to explain away her “picnic” of writing “Good Harbor”, a novel far less serious and much more shallow … yet still a bit of fun?

Bottom line … if you have a girlfriend, ever had a real confidant, or crave that kind of friendship … you will enjoy reading Catherine and Joyce’s story, as you sit in your beach chair, and they walk at Good Harbor.

Posted by sunybank at 07:33 AM | TrackBack