Library Corner

This is the story of a Chinese mother caught between her own, (self-defined as Chinese) and the American culture, specifically in parenting children. The story itself I found to be mediocre in that nothing ‘actually happens’. Maybe this is why it is quite charming. A book which any parent will be able to identify with on some level. I particularly liked the humor that comes from the rage Amy Chau feels when confronted with what she sees as defiance and rebellion in her children, and specifically her youngest daughter Lulu. The obsession with being the best and instilling this into children as ‘the Chinese way’ kept me amused and interested. As an Asian Brit. Myself, I could relate to some of this pressure that Amy insisted was essential to bringing up obedient, successful children. However, I still had moments of horror and disbelief: “If the next times not perfect, I’m going to take all your stuffed toys and burn them!”- a tad much for a five year old playing the piano I thought. In the absence of a ‘conclusion’ in terms of Western vs. Eastern parenting styles, it became clear to me that difference need not always be unequal-An enjoyable read.

As a Criminologist myself, I have subconsciously kept away from thriller and crime books.  Being in a book club however has meant that I have had to read books that I would otherwise side-line.  So it was with reluctance that I read Child 44.  I also studied and later taught world history so this book brought together many of my interests.  It is a book about a serial killer in Stalin’s Soviet Union, a time and a place where the mere idea of crimes existing was taboo and unaccepted, being deemed existing only in Capitalist systems.  The plot weaves from one character to the next and I did warm to the disgraced MGB policeman who tries desperately to get to the truth.  His marriage is a failure, based on his wife’s fear of him and in the end, he is very much an ‘ordinary man’ caught up in a political ideology that was the basis of the Soviet Union at that time.  There is enough suspense in the plot to keep the pages turning although for me, the gruesome murders of young children was disturbing, even though this is a book based on a true serial killer.  In the end, the book took me right back to one of the first essay’s I had to write for my undergraduate course, and one which I have endlessly debated over the years in my different classes since: ‘what makes someone a serial killer?’

We chose this book as a ‘light read’ for a change and I particularly loved the title.  What I also really liked about this book was that if you are familiar with Dawn French, you can see her ‘saying’ everything that she says in the book-it is very real in that respect and very down-to-earth. I found the whole history of becoming a star a little boring although I can see how others would enjoy it-that’s just a matter of personal interest.  I did learn some new things about her marriage which I must’ve missed from the (tabloid) press.  My disappointment came from it not being as funny as I had hoped, coming from such a successful comedienne, but as a memoir, I guess life isn’t as funny as fictional comedy can be. It did however, entertain and I decided that it was a good book for that reason.

This book for our October read was long and drawn out, with no specific goal.  It was simply the life of one woman who after deciding to divorce her husband (we are never actually given details of this relationship/divorce) decides to go on a journey to ‘find herself’ and ends up travelling to Italy, India and Indonesia.  In our discussion, the majority of us seemed to come away with a ‘so what’ feeling and one friend aptly summed up the author as self indulgent.  I found her journey to Italy perhaps the most entertaining-she travels to Italy for the simple reason that she has a desire to learn Italian.  In the land of love, she has vowed to avoid relationships, romance, love.  So her story there is of great food, great people and a great atmosphere that is relaxed and easy going.  I found her to be humourous and energetic in Italy.  However, when she travels to India and later to Indonesia, her spiritual thirst I found irritating.  That could be because it came across as an awakening for her, which to me seemed unreal and even pretentious.  Others found her liberating and inspiring for daring to take on such an adventure.  I felt she was attention seeking and so I became bored half way through her Indian experience.  For me it was a long journey to the end (of the book).

This is a story of a man with addiction problems.  It traces his history from the beginning of his first alcoholic drinking (which started at sipping drinks at parties at the age of 6 or so) to the point of near-death by addiction and then recovery.

James Frey received much criticism for presenting the book as his true journey when in fact he had altered some of the details of what actaully he went through and what actaully happened.  He does begin by explaining this challenge and does well to defend himself.

The story is well written and descriptive, sometimes even too descriptive that I had moments where I skipped paragraphs to avoid being sick myself.  One thing James Frey does very well is provide a deep insight into what addicts actually go through, the things they experience, the feelings that overwhelm them and the suffering that goes with having an addiction.  I thought the characters were quite typical of those you find in Total Institutions; some survivors such as Frey himself and Leonard and some victims such as Lilly.

It was a book I enjoyed reading and one that provided enough scope for discussion in our book club.

My overall impression of this book was that it was well written, the language being distinct with an array of interesting words such as ‘Stowes’ and ‘Barmester’ which led to a lively discussion at our book club session. It is based on a true story set in 1666, and one that I found to be historically powerful (given that I am a history teacher that is only to be expected I guess). It is the story of the Plague. One main theme of the book revolves around God/religion vs. nature and science, with questions around herbal remedies offering a cure for this terrible illness vs. repenting to God for sins in order to be cured. There are many different characters in the story, most notably perhaps the Rector Mompellion who is a strong, charismatic man who tries to help those in suffering and is generally the ‘saviour’ of the town. The most vivid scene for me in this book was the disturbing death of the children of the narrator, Anna, who die from the Plague. Any death is terrible, but the death of these young children, deeply touched my heart. The story also discusses the Bradford family who are the aristocrats of the town and who, upon hearing about the illness that is quickly spreading, leave the town with great urgency, much to the disappointment of the Rector. While this was portrayed as somewhat cowardly, I felt that they had the means to run, and so they did. Surely this is human nature? Would we all not run from the Plague, if we could? In the real story, the Rector in fact does send away his own children when the Plague spreads. The voluntary sacrifice by the village in deciding to stay during the plague, rather than try to run away, was pretty unique, demonstrating once again the power of religion. In London, Samuel Pepys writes in his journal of the terrible treatment meted out to plague victims “we are becoming as cruel as dogs one to another”. At the time, houses of plague victims were sealed and guarded, locking in the well with the ill, with none to bring food, water, comfort of any kind. Pepy’s writes that you could hear the cries of the afflicted coming from houses which were marked with large red crosses and the words ‘God have mercy’. Another interesting historical link in the book, is to the Witchcraze of the time, when women were often (and of course mistakenly) branded as witches and drowned or lynched as a consequence. Here, the trial and brutal murders of Gowdie women are all to descriptively included, reminding us of a time that is better left in the past. I did enjoy reading this first book for our book club and would recommend it to others.