Thousand
Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata
[Only for the mature literary minded] I had to read this book twice. Like
much Japanese literature, it is obscurely laconic. The main character,
Yukiko is a young man caught in the web of the women who control his life.
First there is Chikako, the woman with an ugly birthmark on her breast, who
was once his father’s mistress. She tries to arrange a marriage for Yukiko
and the Inamura girl, but at the meeting, he sees Mrs. Ota, his father’s
lifelong mistress, and her daughter, whom he finds rather attractive. He
ends up having a fleeing affair with his father’s ex-mistress, who dies of a
guilt attack. The story gets more and more complicated. The end leaves you
suspended in mid-air, so you don’t really know what to make of the novel.
What seems to stay with you after you put down the book is the mood, or
atmosphere, of the lonely characters and vivid images of the tea bowls and
cups, which are described in greater detail than the characters themselves.
Reviewed by Randa Azkoul Soubaih
Who
Am I Without Him? By Sharon Flake
Regarding
the Fountain Written by Kate Klise
Toes
by Tor Seidler
The
Reader by Bernard Schlink
The
Incredible Incas by Terry Deary
Dragon
Rider by Cornelia Funke
Cousins
by Virginia Hamilton
The
Mystery of the Tally-Ho Cottage - By Enid Blyton - Another mystery for the
Five Find-outers, the amazing 12th issue of the full series, and written for
all boys and girls, the story talks about the strange, weird happenings at
the Tally-Ho Cottage and is wonderfully told and is another brainstorming
puzzle for the Five Find-outers.
The
Folk of the Faraway Tree - by Enid Blyton - This book is the sequel to
“The Enchanted Wood” and “The Magic Faraway Tree”. Joe, Beth and Frannie’s
mother had gotten a letter from her friend that says she has been told by
her doctor to go on a long holiday, but cannot leave behind her rather
spoilt daughter, Connie. Their mother agrees and invite’s Connie to stay
while her mother is away, but snooty Coonie refuses to believe the tales of
the Faraway Tree – until Joe, Beth, and Frannie take her to the Land of
Secrets, the brilliant land of Treats and the scary land of Tempers. So what
happens next on our friends next adventures?
The
Hobbit - by J.R.R. Tolkien - Once again, Tolkien grabs readers’ attention
with another great epic. This still includes great characters such as
Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, written with amazement and passion to write.
Filled with hobbits, dwarfs, dragons and many amazing creatures. A
“to-die-for” epic.
The
King of Slippery Falls is a delightful audio book written by Sid Hite and
read by Patrick Lawlor. Neither the author nor the narrator is familiar to
me, but I was pleasantly surprised by this entertaining story. Short (only
three CDs), yet it manages to bring alive the various characters, Louis,
Martha, Maple Beethenhovenlisterah, and others in a narrative that carries
the protagonist, Louis, through his identity crisis when he finds out on his
sixteenth birthday that he is adopted. Told with warmth and humor, the story
is brilliantly dramatized with voices and accents particular to each
character. Highly recommended for Middle School students and anyone else
young enough in spirit to enjoy! (But then again, I am a sucker for YA
novels.)
The
teenage girls, Tibby, Bee, Lina, and Carmen, have a friendship that goes
back to their infancy. They share the traveling pants and a lot more as
well. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
(written by Ann Brashares and narrated by Angela Goethals in six CDs) is a
delightful novel that will keep girls entertained for hours. The reading of
the book is done with just enough expression to make us feel we are
listening to a phone conversation or reading someone’s diary. The audio
novel is currently available in the LMC.The book versions of all three
novels in the series will be available in the RBM and the LMC starting this
fall; currently only have the first one is available in the RBM library in
Sage Hall.
Hitched
is your typical romantic mystery drama. It could come right out of
Cosmopolitan. The author, Carol Higgins Clark, herself narrates the
story over four audio CDs. Some of the characters sound rather artificial,
but all in all the narration is adequately expressive. As for the story
line itself, not much can be said. Although the novel lacks literary value,
its entertainment value is equivalent to TV soap operas. Some people find
them rather relaxing. Others get quite involved in the intricacies of their
complicated plots. Not quite my cup of tea, but if it gets students
listening to English media without the paraphernalia of multi media
interaction and frills, then why not? Audience targeted: definitely not
for the guys!
The
author of A Great and Terrible Beauty is Libba Brey, quite honestly
someone I had never heard of until I checked out this audio novel from the
LMC. I could not help wondering if she is an actress because she does an
astounding job changing her voice and her accent for each character. Her
ethnic accents range from Indian to Central European to American to various
English accents to Scottish to Russian. If you like gothic novels, then
this one is right up your alley. Four girls sent off to Spence to become
marriageable young ladies get involved in the world beyond, where Jemma is
able to see her long-lost mother. Quite to her amazement, she realizes she
has inherited the power of the realms, and the perennial question, of
course, is Is she going to use her powers at whatever cost? What are the
consequences of dabbling with the occult? Listen and find out.
Especially if you are a teenage girl!