Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

genre: Russian fiction

Having read some Chekov a while ago, I noticed so many different references to Pushkin and Eugene Onegin that I finally purchased a copy of the novel-in-verse so I could have some sense of this Russian classic.

Eugene.  At the beginning of our story, he's a party-going night owl, living a life of ease in the city.  He finds nothing to excite him, so with disinterest and cynicism, he retreats to the country.  Shortly after his arrival he finds himself the love-interest of the intriguing  Tatyana.  Will Eugene reciprocate Tatyana's affections or will there be a typically Russian spurning?  You guess :)

What I liked about this translation is that
1. The verse is rhyming, as it is in the original Russian.  I cannot imagine how much work it takes to create a rhyming and yet contextually accurate translation of another language, but it's beautifully done. 
2. The translator did a great job of portraying the humor of our narrator - he's telling us Eugene and Tatyana's story from the perspective of an active bystander and he sees through what everyone is thinking and feeling. 

There are some pretty significant themes in this book - miscommunication is an interesting piece because all of our main characters either purposefully act stupid to cause trouble or knowingly misunderstand without ever trying to fix it.  Of course, disaster results.  Tatyana's a pillar, though, of speaking how she feels and being true to herself and everyone else.  

Onegin is a selfish little pill, if I just lay it on the line.  But, Pushkin doesn't reward callousness and egotism with happiness and fulfilled dreams.  I always appreciate that.

I loved, also, how much reading, books, and writing are a critical part of the novel.  Everyone either reads or writes when they are discontent or when they are happy.  The idea that the written word is a place of peace and comfort, a restorative, is certainly something I can relate to.

I was glad that I read most of this on a Kindle because there are lots of foreign phrases and outdated words that I didn't know.  Despite that, it really is a lovely piece of work.  When a rhyme seems trite, the narrator actually calls himself out on it.  There are some very heartfelt moments that are artfully described and our narrator's metaphors only add to the emotion.

Yes, it's Russian, with all the drama and strange names that entails.  No, it's not a beachy-type read, but I think that it's certainly a work that will provide a solid foundation when reading more modern Russian classics.

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Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

genre: non-fiction

Have you heard of Dr. Paul Farmer?  I know that until my sister recommended this book to me, I hadn't.  I also didn't really know much about Haiti except what I'd seen on the news after the earthquake.  If you want to learn about Paul Farmer, learning about the plight of Haiti is just part of the journey, because this doctor has taken upon himself the effort to secure medical care in this country where just finding one meal a day is a chore.  Paul's creed is that one life is just not worth more than another life - that a person in the hills of Haiti with tuberculosis deserves care and treatment just as much as a senator or CEO.

Our author, Tracy Kidder, travels with Paul for years, it seems, trying to figure him out.  He follows him to Haiti, Peru, Russia, and France as Dr. Paul fights not only for patients in Haiti but also for ways to staunch the treatable epidemics that plague the poor around the world.  What is astonishing is not only Farmer's absolute dedication to this cause, but also the concrete and meaningful successes he has along the way.  The man absolutely influences global health policies. But he also takes the time to climb the mountains of Haiti to check on the family of one small boy.  He thinks big and small at the same time - wanting the world to change but willing to stop all of that to make a change in the life of one single person.

Kidder as an author is a participant in the story - sometimes cynical, forcing Paul to justify his choices.  I was a bit annoyed by that sometimes but I always appreciated that Paul just will not give up on people who cannot advocate for themselves.  It is a noble and admirable thing that makes you take stock of how amazingly comfortable your life is.  Despite the political stuff sometimes boring me a bit, I came away in awe of what one man with a vision can do.

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Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Ever since a tragedy of unknown proportions made life "Topside" impossible, Duece's people have lived underground.  It's a hard and dangerous life but, for Duece, her dream of being a huntress and protecting the enclave has made it a purposeful one.

When she is finally branded a huntress and receives her partner, a little of the shine is worn off.  She's paired with Fade, the one hunter who doesn't seem to appreciate what an honor it is to spend his danys in the tunnels, hunting for food and fighting off the vicious "freaks" who'd love to feast on the residents of the enclave.  Just as she is getting to know Fade, they are sent on a task that makes Deuce really start to wonder about everything she's ever been told.  Could Fade know more than she does?

Somehow I failed to write down my gut reaction of this book right after I read it ( I was in the car and only wrote down my plot summary?  Maybe I was distracted by naughtiness in the backseat :).  It certainly kept me engaged and I liked the plot enough, but it sometimes did feel like things were almost TOO hard and then things came TOO easily and it is REALLY violent.  I mean, being a huntress means being willing to full out slaughter whatever comes your way and so it gets gory.  Probably if you liked the Hunger Games, you'll find this one a fast-paced read.

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Blood Red Road by Moira Young

genre: young adult

Saba and Lugh. Twins and firm companions.  In their dry and desolate word, Lugh is the only thing that keeps Saba sane.  And then he's ruthlessly taken.  Despite never having left home, Saba knows that there is nothing to do but bring him back.

And luckily, Saba's a fighter.  A scrambler, with a great fighting sense and a love for her brother that burns bright enough to help her endure.  If only there was as straight and easy road to finding Lugh but of course, there's not.  Saba falls deep into the cruel underbelly of a future Earth, where it's every man for himself and knowing who to trust becomes the difference between life and death.

This was great fun - like a wild west dystopian story, a fantastic romantic storyline (that did take a bit long to enter the plot) and enough plot twists and strange creatures to almost make me want to call it science fiction.  One thing, that took some getting used to and that I never actually liked, was the dialect.  Wild-west twang all written out.  The entire book.  I wasn't a fan.  I saw the ending coming from 2/3 of the way through the book but I really did appreciate the story enough to want to watch how we got there.  Saba's a great character - her romantic interest is fantastic.  Their  humorously antagonistic relationship was one of the highlights of the book, for sure.

Clearly, there will be a sequel.  I'll be watching for it.

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Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

genre: middle grade fiction

A lonely boy.
A brave girl.
A lightening strike.
A small wooden box.
A old book.
A dream of wolves.

I'm not even going to tell you how all these things tie together because the joy in this book, as in Selznick's previous book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is the figuring out how the story lines are going to tie together.  I read Wonderstruck in a sitting and a half, in awe and suspense.  It's such a pleasure to pick up a book like this, where our main character is discovering his own history with the few clues he can find.  I also love the format - where the text turns into full-page illustrations that tell the story until the text picks back up again. 

It's not perfect.  I think my friend Book Nut is right, that this format wasn't actually necessary for this type of story, but I think it wouldn't have been as GOOD of a story if it was told in a different way.  My expectations were a little high because I had so enjoyed Hugo Cabret and truthfully,  I liked the mystery in Hugo Cabret a little better since it felt so almost otherwordly and this story felt more grounded, but that didn't stop me from loving it. 

If you like museums or friendship or trying to figure out a mystery, I very much encourage you to pick this one up.  And find a comfy spot where you can enjoy this treasure.

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Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

genre: adult fiction

Cannery Row is a street in Monterey, California.  It's lined with sardine canneries, a grocery store, some vacant lots and a brothel with a bar.  The ocean and its tides are part of the backdrop, as is a marine labratory - the lab is an important part of our setting because it is the home and workplace of Doc.  Doc is one of the three central characters in Cannery Row and in case you can't tell, there's not really a plot to this book.  Cannery Row is a look at a place and its people, what happens is not so much the point as how the people react to what happens and why they do what they do.

Doc is an exceptional fellow - shrewd and yet forgiving, clearly very intelligent and capable, he stands apart from the perpetually unemployed Mack and his boys by the mere fact that Doc always is working.  Also always working is the Chinese grocer who, as the keeper of the only convenient shop, has a bit of a thumb hold over the town.  In short glimpses, like looking through a magnifying glass or one of Doc's microscopes, we periodically look closely at each of these characters and all their frailties and strengths are there to be dissected.

What I like about reading Steinbeck is that he doesn't write about mainstream characters.  He writes about these fringe people, those who make unfortunate choices ninety percent of the time and yet, as Steinbeck shows us, usually their hearts are actually in the right place.  I found the small instances of forgiveness in this book so lovely and while it is not really a pretty story, I feel like it deserves four stars because of how carefully Steinbeck chooses his works and how deliberate he is about what he chooses to tell us about his characters.  There is nothing superfluous - if all we need to know about a character can be told in one two-page chapter, that's all we get.  We may not see that character again but yet that person has added to the ambiance and tone of Cannery Row and its regulars.

If you've read and enjoyed any other Steinbeck, please give this one a try.  Read it for Doc and Mack and those others who sift through what Cannery Row can offer them and somehow make a satisfying life.

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Queen of Hearts: Coming of Age in a Hospital Bed by Martha Brooks

genre: young adult

Marie-Claire, living on the prarie in Canada at the beginning of World War II, doesn't expect live to be easy.  She works hard at her chores around the farm, she knows boys are going off to war.  Even at 15, she is aware that life will exact a price from you.  She never could've imagined, though, how high that price would be.  When she contracts tuberculosis, Marie-Claire has move into a sanatorium for TB patients.  Her life shudders to a crawl as she painfully works through the disease as well as her own anger and frustration at this card that life has dealt to her. 

I REALLY liked this book.  I liked Marie-Claire - she felt painfully real and I shared her misery and her glimpses of happiness.  The setting itself was so unique, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that such sanatoriums existed - where before antibiotics were available to treat TB, people would spend YEARS of their life in seclusion, trying to overcome this horrible disease.  I actually even cried tears at one point in this story, it's that carefully and beautifully written.  The love story felt believable and realistic.  I'm giving it five stars mostly because it took me by the hand into a place I've never been and gave me a realistic and interesting journey.


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On the Volcano by James Nelson

genre: young adult

For her entire life, Katie has lived on the mountain with her father.  It's not just any mountain - it's a dormant volcano, surrounded by a giant crater - and Katie and her father are the only people that live there.  This secluded life has led to not only Katie's inseparable relationship with her dad, but also to Katie's complete lack of social interaction with people her age.  When, at age 16, she finally makes her first (yes, first) trip off the mountain into town, a chain of events begins that will end their blissful isolation on the mountain and bring both happiness and sorrow to this little family.

Oh dear.  How to describe it.  I'd say maybe my best comparison would be to one of those Hallmark or Lifetime movies.  They're fine if you're up late and there is nothing else to watch, you don't expect great acting, you don't find yourself particularly moved by either the good or the bad but you just keep watching.  Maybe some things annoy you because they feel out of place (really? NO ONE ever found their cabin?), but soon you care enough to know how it ends even though you don't really believe it.

Like that.

There were too many plot holes for me,  too many ways I had to really stretch to believe - and honestly, I couldn't really tell if it was historical fiction or some blend of recreated history, there were so few historical details.  Clearly, this one wasn't for me.  I couldn't believe the love story (really, falling in love with the FIRST YOUNG ADULT MALE you ever see in your life?) and there were just too many random horrible things for me to suspend my disbelief.

And yet, I did appreciate it enough to read it in one night.  Go figure.  Maybe I was just in a Lifetime-movie sort of mood.


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Legend by Marie Lu

genre: young adult dystopian

Imagine Les Miserables set in a future L.A., and switch it up so that Javert is a wicked smart rich-girl named June and Valjean is handsome street rat/criminal named Day.  Unless you're one of the elite, you wouldn't want to live in this Los Angeles, where strange plagues strike with ferocity and the regime of the Republic expects only full subservience.  When violence hits close to home for June, she is suddenly and firmly obsessed with finding Day and bringing him to justice.

What do you think, will they fall in love??  Just kidding!  Of course they do!  I did like how this story played out - there were a lot of plot points that felt a bit obvious for those who read a lot of dystopia but it flowed well and was intriguing enough to keep me interested.   June is a great female character - strong and capable but with a kind heart, I liked watching her grow.  One unfortunate thing is that, for me, some of the male characters felt a little too...female.  In the sense that they were more emotional and sentimental than the majority of the males in my experience and it made it a little harder for me to suspend my disbelief about the story.  Not that I don't like a guy with a soft side, but June's brother, especially, didn't seem to fit into the character I would've imagined.  So, that problem just might be my own.

Despite the things that bothered me, it still gets four stars for keeping me totally interested and even making me put my hand over my mouth in shock once.  Good times.

If you liked The Hunger Games etc., this is certainly one to try.

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The Man Who Never Was: World War II's Boldest Counterintelligence Operation by Ewen Montagu

genre: non-fiction/military history

In the summer of 1943, the Allies were planning to invade Sicily.  The job of the British counterintelligence division was to convince Germany that they weren't.  The idea of "Operation Mincemeat" was born out of a long-shot idea that slowly turned into a plausible and ultimately successful con of the highest levels of the German miliary.

Operation Mincemeat?  Great name, huh?  The bare bones of the idea: get a dead man  and plant some papers on him that hopefully the Germans will end up having access to and be convinced of some "secret strategic plans," thus moving the German army AWAY from Sicily to somewhere else.

Brilliant.  And a huge long shot.  This true story, written by the man in the thick of the preparations and execution of this effort, is a fascinating one.  It involves so many different people and is such a delicious web of deceit.  As a non-military person, it's completely readable (very little skimming needed) and it's such a thin volume that I read it in a few short sittings.  I have so much more respect now for those behind the scenes, creatively saving as many lives as possible and directly influencing the outcome of a hideous war.  I also appreciated how much respect Monatgu and his fellow agents had for "the man who never was," I really enjoyed learning about how they created his persona.

A very interesting read.

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Chime by Franny Billingsley

genre: young adult

Briony is guilty and she knows it.  Guilty of so many wicked things that she knows being hung is the only thing left for her.  Never mind the fact that beyond all those wicked things she did is this one horrible truth: she's a witch.  And witches get hung.  There is nothing else for them.

This turn-of-the-century riverside fantasy-reality that Briony lives in is a place rife with dangers - Old Ones whose power can create any sort of trouble, swamp creatures ready to lure unprotected humans into their depths.  She is able to survive her guilt-life under a mask of sarcasm, false obedience and self-hatred but it isn't a happy life.  Without her sister Rose to care for,  whose addled thoughts and behaviors require constant vigilance,  there really wouldn't be anything worth living for.

At least not until Eldric arrives.

Eldric of the laughter and wild imaginings, Eldric who hums with energy and life and is as guilt-free as a man-boy could be.  Eldric who slowly allows Briony to begin unearthing her past from under her self-loathing and, without even trying, helps her open her eyes beyond her own self enough to see how much more mysterious her witch-life really has been.

I loved it.  Loved it loved it loved it.  The writing is astonishing.  Blissful.  I lapped it up, Briony's snarky and yet painful internal monologue and Eldric's charm and way with words.  The words!  Who know there could be so many made-up words to describe the stench and slop of a swamp?    As much as I loved everything about this story - the mystery, the fantasy, Rose's garbled sentences and how instead of wanting something she "preferred" it, I think I loved Eldric the most.  By half way through the book I had a major crush on that pretend person and even though I knew how it would end, I didn't even care because I was so pleased with the ride to get there.

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