Book Club Blog

I decided to read everything all over again...

SYNOPSIS: Set on the island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete, The Island tells the story of Alexis Fieldling, a woman on the cusp of a life-changing decision.
Alexis knows little or nothing about her family's past and has always resented her mother's for refusing to discuss it, she knows only that her mother, Sofia grew up in a Plaka, small Cretan village, before moving to London. Making her first visit to Crete to see the village where her mother was born, Alexis discovers that the village of Plaka faces the small, deserted island of Spinalonga, which, she is shocked and surprised to learn was Greece's leper colony for much of the 20th century. It is here that Alexis meets Fotini an old friend of her mother, someone who, for the first time is prepared to tell her the whole tragic story of her family. What Fotini tells her is shocking and tragic, it is the story which Sofia has spent her life concealing: the story of Eleni, her great-grandmother, and of a family torn apart by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island and with the horror and pity of the leper colony which was once there, and learns too that the secrets of the past have the power to change the future...

BUKI'S THOUGHTS: I totally loved this book. I had seen it in book stores over and over again but never bought it. Last week, I heard a lady recommend it to a friend, saying it was "beautiful". I picked it up...

The first few pages were ok, then the story started (Alexis' mother finally sends her to Fotini with a letter to tell her all about what she'd been hiding) and it was everything - Really sad and shocking but there are some characters in the book that you just have to admire for their strength and courage(Georgiou - Alexis' great grandfather, whose wife Eleni is sent to Spinalonga, Maria - Alexis' Great Aunt who is just a beautiful person).

This book tells the history of how people who had leprosy were banished to an island to spend the rest of their days but the island is not all that bad... As more educated Greeks(from Athens) arrived on this island, they used their influence to make the island a better place to live.

I enjoyed this book and I know I will read it again...

I have to admit that the end was kinda abrupt, I wish she had written a little more but I would recommend this book to anyone.

I want to go to Greece! :-)

It seems like some of the books I have picked up these past few months have educated me about different cultures, religion, countries...

Kite Runner, Half of a Yellow Sun, This and some others.

This is the final installment in the Harry Potter Series. I am aware quite a number of people haven't read this yet so I promise - NO SPOILERS.

A few years back, my cousin had the fourth Harry Potter Book (Goblet of Fire) lying around at home and I decided to read it because I was bored out of my mind!

I didn't expect anything exciting but once I started reading it, I just couldn't put it down - I finished it the same day. Shortly after, I went out to buy the first 3 books and I loved them ALL! I read the fourth book again and then anxiously awaited the 5th book(The Order of the Phoenix) - I must admit this book was a disappointment, it felt like a long long long drag and then a much loved (to Harry) character died and I must admit, I didn't feel anything... the book was just dry! That waste of space movie - Pirates of the Carribean II was the same, a waste of hours of my life jut to build up to the next book... I must admit the movie version of the 5th book was much better than the book but once again it wasn't completely true to the book... I digress.

Even though I didn't like the 5th book, I was on the queue at the Tesco near home to buy the 6th boook (Half Blood Prince) and it was much much better than that nonsense 5th book! It still wasn't as good as the 4th one(which is my favourite).

I just finished the 7th book and I must admit, the first 200/250 pages were not impressive but suddenly, out of nowhere... things picked up and I stayed up last night reading it.... I think the JK of the first 4 books came back in this book. I enjoyed it. She killed off some characters as expected but it was only 2 characters' deaths in this book that moved me...

The Harry Potter series was VERY GOOD! The first 4 were fantastic, the 5th - waste of space, 6th - Good, 7th - Very Good!

If you are lucky enough not to have read any of the books yet, I am jealous of you because you have a lot to look forward to.

Trust me - I am going to start with the books all over again, from The Philosopher's Stone all the way to the Deathly Hallows... in a couple of months.


Synopsis: The story of a teenage girl who, after being brutally raped and murdered, watches from heaven as her family and friends go on with their lives, while she herself comes to terms with her own death. The novel received a large amount of critical praise and became an instant bestseller.

I have mixed feelings about this book... sometimes I really loved, other times it felt like it was just okay. It's a really moving story about a girl who is murdered by a neighbour. From heaven, she gets to watch her friends and family and how they deal with her disappearance and death. She has a younger sister and little brother and she sees how her death affects her family. Her parent's relationship, her friends relationships, her father trying to find out who killed her... but she can't communicate with anyone... oops, I'll be back to write more, gotta run.

I am going through books at an alarming rate right now...

I most recently read:

Synopsis: For the second time in her marriage, Mariah White catches her husband with another woman, and Faith, their seven-year-old daughter, witnesses every painful minute. In the aftermath of a sudden divorce, Mariah struggles with depression and Faith seeks solace in a new friend - a friend who may or may not be imaginary. Faith talks to her "Guard" constantly and begins to recite passages from the Bible - a book she's never read. Fearful for her daughter's sanity, Mariah sends her to several psychiatrists. Yet when Faith develops stigmata and begins to perform miraculous healings, Mariah wonders if her daughter - a girl with no religious background - might indeed be seeing God. As word spreads and controversy heightens, Mariah and Faith are besieged by believers and disbelievers alike; they are caught in a media circus that threatens what little stability they have left. What are you willing to believe? Is Faith a prophet or a troubled little girl? Is Mariah a good mother facing an impossible crisis ... or a charlatan using her daughter to reclaim the attention her unfaithful husband withheld? As the story builds to a climactic battle for custody, Mariah must discover that spirit is not necessarily something that comes from religion but from inside oneself.

I am a Jodi Picoult fan and I have enjoyed almost all her books. I found this at a charity shop and I bought it OFCOURSE. I really enjoyed it... I think they left some things unfinished(e.g. Ian's(Maria's love interest) autistic twin brother) at the end and the last page of the book... hmmmm..
Buki's Rating: 7/10

Synopsis: The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn's mother, took the child's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide — and, for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within — to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life.

This was a good book! I like Jodi Picoult but I noticed something in these last 2 books of hers I read. She doesn't tie up all loose ends. It's like we are left to assume what happened. She mentioned ghosts and the girl seeing her sister's ghost... please what did that have to do with anything... She didn't need to add that, I know she was trying to explain the realtionship between the girl and the father of the baby but... I don't know.
Ghosts aside... Very good book!
Buki's Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis: Like all would-be Hollywood screenwriters, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. But for the past eleven years, he's tasted nothing but failure. Then, out of nowhere, luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television. Suddenly, he's the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a hit series. A new player in Tinsel Town, David reinvents himself at great speed — notably and especially by walking out on his wife and daughter for a young producer who worships only at the altar of ambition. But David's upward mobility takes a decidedly strange turn when a billionaire film buff named Philip Fleck barges into his life, proposing a very curious collaboration. David takes the bait, and finds he has inadvertently entered a Faustian Pact, one that results in an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.

I have read one or two of his books and I really liked 'The Pursuit of Happiness'(nothing to do with the Will Smith movie). This book started really slow... I didn't enjoy the first 100 or so pages but things picked up eventually and it finally became fast-paced, as expected. The end was bittersweet... you just can't have it all.
Buki's Rating: 6/10

Synopsis: Since Sandy Shortt's childhood schoolmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding becomes her goal – whether it's the odd sock that vanished in the washing machine, the car keys she misplaced in her rush to get to work or the graver issue of finding the people who vanish from their lives. Sandy dedicates her life to finding these missing people, offering devastated families a flicker of hope.
Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate people. It's been a year since his brother Donal vanished into thin air and the sleepless nights and frantic days aren't getting any easier. Thinking Sandy Shortt could well be the answer to his prayers, he embarks on a quest to find her ...

I read 'P.S. I love you' and 'Where Rainbows End' - I really really liked them. Then I read 'If You Could See Me Now' which I really didn't enjoy so I was not too sure about this book but I was desperate(cos I had just finished the book I was reading and I needed a book for my tube and train journeys for that day). The book was just OK. If you can get it from your local library, do. But I won't advise you to spend your hard earned money on it... True.
Buki's Rating: 5.5/10

Waiting in line
The Lovely Bones by Alice Serbold
A Special Relationship by Douglas Kennedy
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis: Audrey Niffenegger's innovative debut, The Time Traveler's Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals — steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

My review: I really really liked this book. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down.

It starts with the first time Henry meets Clare... she's known him since she was 6 but the 28 year old Henry has never met her! How confusing is that? They meet up and she talks to him about her childhood and how long she's known him for... even though he does not know her! She knows the older Henry.

Clare is 6 - Henry appears to her for the first time. He is in his 30s and he knows her name! What happened is - Henry is married to Clare in the future so he's known her for a long time and this is his first time meeting a young Clare. But the Clar married to him in the future met him when she was 6 until the first time 28 year old Henry meets a 20 year old Clare.
I'm not making much sense, am I?

Henry is a Chrono-Displaced Person and he disappears suddenly and finds himself in the past or the future. His mother is dead but he has gone back to the past and seen her when she was alive, he has met himself(both older and younger) so many times, so he has memories from his childhood of meething his older self. When he disappears(time travels), he leave all his clothes behind and arrives at his destination naked. He has no control over his time travelling, it's not like he closes his eyes and says where he wants to go... it just happens unexpectedly. I think I might say too much about this book.

Henry knows his future... he meets his daughter when she's 10 but in his present life, his wife is about to give birth to her. Clare, his wife has to live with this... knowing that he can disappear, without much warning, and not return for hours, she worries about him, scared that he might have appeared somewhere where he is killed. I have so many questions to ask... but I don't want to cos if you haven't read the book, it might spoilt it for you.

I know it sounds so confusing but this is a beautuful book... please read it if you can.

I just found out there's a movie coming out in 2008!!! Eric Bana(Hulk and Munich) and Rachel McAdams(Red Eye, Mean Girls) as Henry and Clare. I will watch it... definitely. I loved this book.

Anyone read it yet? Your thoughts? I must admit my review has not done this book justice... it is a well written book. The author thought about a lot before she decided to write this book. I wondered what would happen next, I smiled, I laughed, I was worried, I was sad, I was happy... I loved it.

Two years ago, Eva Khatchadourian's son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York. Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters.

Vickii:
I first heard about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie through a friend of mine who sent an e-mail to a few people encouraging them to buy her book. I heard about her again when her second book 'Half of a Yellow Sun' was released and it was then that I heard about the critical acclaim she had received for her first book; Purple Hibiscus. I have to say I'm not generally a big fan of Nigerian authors, or at least contemporary Nigerian authors and since I first voiced that opinion, I've made a conscious effort to read a couple of Nigerian authors recommended to me in an attempt to hopefully change that opinion. However, it has only served to confirm that opinion. But I have to say I am glad that my book club picked 'Purple Hibiscus' as our read of the month a while ago or I might never have given it a chance.

Azuka:
I had read an excerpt from Purple Hibiscus in 2003, shortly after it came out. What I read was simple, sounding like something straight out of a book of children’s stories. A few years later, Purple Hibiscus was all the rage and I wondered what people saw in such a book.

Last month, when Vickii and I decided to do a book review together, I couldn’t help thinking, 'what have I gotten myself into?' when the Nigerian book she suggested we work on was Purple Hibiscus. I kept putting off ordering the book until the guilt mounted and I had no other choice. To my chagrin, I found I liked it! From the third chapter where things began to speed up until I turned the last page, I simply couldn’t put it down!

Purple Hibiscus is a novel whose story is told from the perspective of Kambili — a 15-year-old girl who begins to discover herself as well as the wider world. It explores themes as diverse as domestic violence, religion and media censorship in Nigeria, all with the naïveté one would expect from someone Kambili’s age. It’s amazing how well Adichie pulls it off.

It is particularly interesting that despite the simplicity of the language, the psychological makeup of the characters is complex, and their interaction with each other is especially interesting. Kambili is the easily impressionable one — with little outside interaction, she worships and adores her father completely until she meets the confrontation loving Amaka, her cousin who baits her until she begins to speak up and question things around her. The ‘love story’ between her and the priest was also well executed. Even though you might have expected something illicit to develop out of their relationship, nothing did and this was typical of the unpredictability of the book.

‘Papa’, Kambili and Jaja’s father is an intriguing character. Driven by some force - Is he a religious extremist or is his religion just an excuse he uses to justify his behaviour? - , he repeatedly harms those who love him while maintaining a good-guy image to outsiders. We got the feeling he was more concerned with his image and being in control of everything —including and especially his family. When Jaja stands up to him, he reveals himself for just what he is — a coward.

Amaka was highly entertaining as the stubborn girl willing to challenge norms without backing down, and responsible in part for Kambili’s opening up.

Some authors are critically acclaimed more because their stories are perceived as exotic and less for its actual literary value, but this is definitely not the case with 'Purple Hibiscus'. We enjoyed reading this even as people who have lived in Nigeria and heard similar stories. Adichie's characters are very real and have many different facets to them, and they are constantly challenging the reader's assumptions and opinions throughout the book. Is Kambili and Jaja's mother a coward or a victim? Is Jaja a hero or just plain stupid?

The realistic feel the story had to it was perhaps, its most compelling feature and combined with the plausible story line, the complexity of the characters and the themes explored, Purple Hibiscus is one book we wouldn’t mind reading again, tragedy and all.

SYNOPSIS
Jessamy “Jess” Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can’t shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming.
Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess’s alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mother’s family—including her formidable grandfather.
Jess’s adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually, TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn’t know who TillyTilly is at all.
Helen Oyeyemi draws on Nigerian mythology to present a strikingly original variation on a classic literary theme: the existence of "doubles," both real and spiritual, who play havoc with our perceptions and our lives. Lyrical, haunting, and compelling, The Icarus Girl is a story of twins and ghosts, of a little girl growing up between cultures and colors. It heralds the arrival of a remarkable new talent.

MY REVIEW
The book started off slow... I didn't know what to expect from it AT ALL.
I just didn't expect it to scare me so much. It's been long since I have really thought about "Ogbanjes" and "Abikus"... this book scared me.
It is not the best book out there but it's scary, I don't want to read it again. The synopsis says a lot about the book already - Me, I was uncomfortably scared o...
I guess some people might enjoy it... I just wanted to get it over and done with QUICKLY.

I'm stuck in a no book rut!

I have no book to read! Please can you recommend really really interesting books?

Pretty Please!

Brief Review: Finding Fish By Antwone Fisher

I watched the movie, 'Antwone Fisher' a few years ago and it is not exactly like the book. I liked the movie but I think I prefer the book.

This is Antwone Fisher's true story... he was born in an institution where his Mum was being held and from them on, he was a 'Ward of the State'. His first 2 years were relatively ok because his foster Mother liked him... then it went downhill from there.

He stayed with a family for 15(or more) years of his life and he went through a lot - abuse(sexual by a woman), abuse(physically by his foster parents, more from his foster mother), abuse(mentally by his foster mother). He could have ended up in jail but he didn't... he once witnessed a friend get shot, he was homeless for a short while... I don't want to say too much about the book BUT I REALLY LIKED IT - Please read it if you can...

Yellow-Yellow by Kaine Agary

I am about to start reading this book, it's in my handbag and I'll start with it at lunchtime :-)

SYNOPSIS: Zilayefa, a young girl of Greek and Nigerian parentage, leaves her rustic existence and the protective grip of her mother in the village, in search of a better life in the city. With a recommendation from her church pastor, she is taken in and catered for by Sisi, an elderly woman, and her young friend, Lolo.

Zilayefa is thrust into the bustling city of Port Harcourt, unprepared for the pitfalls awaiting a young girl so unsure of herself and in desperate need of direction. In Port Harcourt, Zilayefa is confronted by prejudices against her racial identity. She struggles with accepting the void left by not knowing her father and tries to fill that void with the attention of an older lover.

Through the experiences of her budding sexuality, Zilayefa grows to a higeher level of knowledge and understanding and must define for herself what her life should be.

When I'm done with the book, I'll leave a review... I might leave a mid-read(LOL!) review too.

NA WA O!!!!!

Where are the updates from my fellow Book Club Blog members??? WHERE?

Anyway, I read Wole Soyinka's 'Ake' and I really liked it... it was so funny! There were some sad parts BUT he told the whole story from a child's perspective so you could tell he was confused by death.

For a grown man to have written a book, so so well from a child's perspective... BEAUTIFUL!

READ this book if you can get a hold of it!

Currently Reading: Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher, did any of you watch the Denzel Washington directed 'Antwone Fisher'? The movie was based on this book. I am halfway through it and I must admit the first few pages were not great but now I'm on page 193, I read the book anytime I can get a free minute or two.

Has anyone read it? What's you think of it?

Synopsis(as seen on the back cover of the book)
Burning Grass is an enthralling tale of Northern Nigeria where, when the grass is burnt on the plains, the Fulani cattlemen move southwards towards the banks of the Niger. Mai Sunsaye, the hero of the story, is afflicted with the sokugo, the wandering sickness, and his experiences and those of his herdsmen make a fascinating tale

My Thoughts on the book
Does anyone (Nigerian ofcourse) remember 'Tales By Moonlight'? I think it was aired on Sundays and I, personally, loved ALL the stories narrated, and acted out.

When I started reading this book, it reminded me of something BUT I couldn't remember what!!! I couldn't follow the story because of the way it was written... THEN IT HIT ME!!! I had to imagine this being acted out in a 'Tales By Moonlight' way! Honestly, this changed the book for me completely!!! The bad English (spoken by the characters) felt natural, the disjointedness(is there such a word? LOL!) of the scenes- some characters were mentioned suddenly without being introduced, EVERYTHING!!!

I think what I am going to do is read this again in a couple of months... because I should have started the book all over again when I had this 'Tales By Moonlight' revelation instead of continuing... does this make sense to anyone?

Anyway, to summarise - This was a good story, readers should bear in mind that conversations are not held in perfect english... be open minded. Have this in mind, and you'll actually find the book interesting! I will definitely read it again and I am sure I will find it even more interesting the second time round!

Happy New Year!!!

I went to Lagos and searched for books to buy, I currently have these in my possession:

Iska by Cyprian Ekwensi
Burning Grass by Cyprian Ekwensi
No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe
Ake by Wole Soyinka
Yellow-Yellow by Kaine Agary

I am expecting to recieve Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe in the post in the next few days. I had to buy it on Amazon 'cos I couldn't find it anywhere(where I had the time to check) in Lagos...

What book am I going to read first? I am spoilt for choice :-)