Plenty of Short Book Reviews

The Ha-Ha by Dave King: Dave King avoids easy answers and neat resolutions to Howard’s dilemma. Howard knows that eventually Sylvia will come home and Ryan will leave his house. He’s afraid that his life will revert to the way it was before Ryan came, and now that he’s had a taste of something better, he can’t go back to that again. He also doesn’t know if there’s anything he can do about it.

December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith: December 6 is a novel that succeeds on many levels. It’s an education into the mindset and culture of pre-war Japan. It’s an indictment of those beating the drums of war behind their own self-righteousness. Best of all, it’s a great story, and the description of Harry’s predicament is peeled back layer by layer, and by the end we’ve come to understand and sympathize with him completely. There’s a bit of Harry in all of us, trying to do the right thing while taking advantage of the situation at the same time.

The Diviners by Rick Moody: There are those who will probably enjoy this book more than I did. Those who know the people and industries satirized here or are part of that big city madness to make money, be seen at the right events, and profit at your adversary’s mistakes. Perhaps more of those “aha” moments ring true to those intimately involved with them. For me, though, The Diviners was a disappointment on a promising premise that never played out to my satisfaction.

Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje: This is Michael Ondaatje’s gift to the rest of us, his net for holding everything dear to us, even if it eventually leads to heartache and the divisions in our lives. There is nothing predictable in Divisadero and each thread leads to another story that mirrors each other, turning back on itself, so that even its divisions are blurred. This is the poetry of this novel, and the poetry of our lives, that has been expertly captured here.

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh: For the most part, The Hungry Tide is a compelling book about ordinary people bound together in an exotic place that can consume them all. It’s the basest of human emotions, love, jealousy, pride, and trust, that will make the difference. That’s a lesson we all can learn, again, as we follow Piya, Kanai, and Fokir into the heart of tide country.

Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes: Easter Island is a satisfying read that explores the mysteries of the human soul in the most isolated place in the world, the navel of the earth. Both Elsa and Greer find that searching for oneself can be fraught with peril, since no man, or woman, is an island.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips: Despite a few bumps along the way and some mean, pernicious behavior of the gods, Gods Behaving Badly eventually rescues itself from the traps it must avoid. When it tends to get repetitious or too over the top, Marie Phillips guides it back to a scene or setting that highlights human foibles or insights, and the novel is back on the road to being an entertaining read. Once Neil and Alice are confident enough to take over the novel, it glides full of humor to its immortal conclusion. Gods Behaving Badly is an original concept wrapped around a familiar theme, and the combination of the unique setting, absurd and lecherous as it is, with a sweet love story makes it a successful debut novel for Marie Phillips. While you can’t necessarily count on the gods to do the right thing, reading Gods Behaving Badly is a safe bet for any reader.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a wonderful, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable novel. I am glad I came under Susanna Clarke’s enchantment and I’m eager to press this novel into the hands of family and friends and urge them to read this book.

Annette Lybacki hopes that you found this piece helpful and invites you to read her articles on DUI Lawyer 101 for some Hints and Tips on DUI Lawyers.