Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Verdict: A classy novel set during WWII and a real page-turner. Read it right away!

From the website of Annie Barrows: (www.anniebarrows.com)
 January, 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, Dawsey Adams, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name in a book?
     As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of Dawsey and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—a book club born as a spur-of-the- moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts an outstanding cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

This book is as charming as the title is. I really like books and stories set during the World War 2 and that by itself was enough for me to pick up this book. Its divided into two parts - the first part where Juliet is in London corresponding with all the members of the Guernsey Literary club and the second part when she actually lands in Guernsey. The book had me by the neck right when the second part began until the very end. The epistolary format of a novel is new to me where a story is told through a series of letters. When I first looked through the pages in the book, I thought of it as a jumbled, fragmented collection of letters in some random order, but I was completely wrong. This ended up being a real page-turner and left me wanting to know more and more and what is going to happen next at the end of each letter. It was heart-breaking to learn about the German Occupation of the Channel Islands and the atrocities inflicted by the Nazis on the people of the Island during WWII, especially on women. But it is also a hopeful novel on how people can come together during times of hardships and bounce back from painful pasts. The unique name of the club and how it came into existence was very interesting to read and no wonder you are left thinking about how a potato peel pie actually tastes!

The writing is really classy and each character born out of this novel feels so real. I felt like I was literally living in Guernsey and I had developed a real affection for all the characters by the end of the story even though this is the first time I am reading about Guernsey. I felt comforted and satisfied at the happy ending after all reading about all the pain and suffering brought by the war. I love this novel as much as I love all the members of the Guernsey Literary club, Amelia, Dawsey, Eben and Ibola - to mention a few. The epistolary format gives it a completely personal touch and the writing paints quite a picture about the island, the people and the potato peel pie society that you almost dont want to come back to real life after the story ends. The telegrams in big block letters scattered in many places across the novel perfectly conveyed the urgency of the messages and I really enjoyed those bits. Oh and when the book ends, you cant help but think about the lost art of letter writing and how much you are left longing for it in this completely-digital age.

Where the sidewalk ends

Book: Where the sidewalk ends
Author and Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Genre: Poetry

An adorable collection of poems and drawings that is funny, thought-provoking, silly, cute, naughty and so much more. Shel Silverstein is a master when it comes to writing poetry for kids and this one is sure to win the heart of any kid. This is a perfect book for kids that let their imagination run wild, and Shel's illustrations add so much meaning to the words. The pictures themselves are so funny and cute! You'll get to meet an acrobat, a boy turning into a TV, a girl who eats a whale, holidays, a snowman, a boy trying to sell his little sister and a crocodile who goes to a dentist - all with a subtle message at the end of every poem.

  
(Drawing for Jimmy jet and his TV set)

It is a collection of poems even the adults will enjoy and has something for all of us to learn and laugh about. When I started reading the whole poetry genre, I wasn't quite sure I'd like it. But when I read the first few poems in this book, I was taken back to my childhood days and the carefree life of a kid! The poems bring back a lot of memories and the naughty pranks that we have all gone through. I wish I read this book when I was a child. My 3-year old daughter enjoyed quite a few of the poems and all the drawings cracked her up totally. Some of her favorite poems include "Jimmy jet and his TV set", "Warning", "Ourchestra", "Snowman" and "Hug-o-War". There are all kinds of poems, some of them are very reassuring, some are just plain silly and some send a message across in a very nice way. To put it short, this is a perfect package for every age, sure to lift you up even on the gloomiest of days! I loved reading every single poem and can't wait to read it with my daughter when she grows up. If you have kids, take this opportunity to get them this book and read-along, rest assured the reading session will turn into a total gigglefest. There is no limit to a child's imagination and Shel's drawings and poems takes them to the perfect place where the sidewalk ends and the street begins. This is one to buy for sure and savor for sure! Don't miss it!

Book Review: Meet me at the cupcake cafe

Author: Jenny Colgan
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A light, fun and lovely read!

After reading a couple of dark and serious novels about immigrants, I was looking to pick-up something that was really light-weight and fun. I came across this book on a couple of book review blogs and given my huge addiction to all things-cupcakes, I just had to pick this up and I'm glad I did.

From goodreads:
 "Come and meet Issy Randall, proud owner of The Cupcake Cafe. Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery, she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. When she's made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment. Armed with recipes from Grampa, and with her best friends and local bank manager fighting her corner, The Cupcake Cafe opens its doors. But Issy has absolutely no idea what she's let herself in for. It will take all her courage - and confectionery - to avert disaster"

This is a wonderful story about a woman finding the courage to follow her dreams, keeping faith and pursuing her passion in life while developing wonderful friendships and finding true happiness and love along the way! The central character Issy Randall grows up with her grandfather, who is a baker. After getting laid off from her job at a real-estate agency and being ditched by her boss-boyfriend on the same day, she decides to use the redundancy money from her lost-job and the time off to pursue her dream - running her own bakery. This is a huge step for Issy and the rest of the story is about how she uses her skills and talent to transform her life and in the process finds a network of supporters and friends who all come forward to help her become successful in her venture. The recipes found in this book sound absolutely delicious and mouth-watering. Each chapter starts with a recipe for a cake/pastry and beware - by the time you finish reading the book, you will be left craving for some thin-as-air fluffy cupcakes with lip-smackingly yummy buttercream icing. 

All of the supporting characters in the book were really endearing and lovable. Jenny makes it a point explain much detail about each of them that in the end, you want all of them to succeed in their lives. All of the characters leave a special mark and touch your heart and bring a smile to your face when you think about each one of them. Be it Helena, Issy's best friend, or Pearl who helps Issy in starting her cupcake cafe, or Caroline who was deserted by her husband. The strength with which all of the women stuck together in running the business during times of crisis and support each other was very heart-warming. I really enjoyed the romance and the spark between Issy and Austin, the cute banker guy. Al though the story is very predictable, nevertheless, it doesn't stop you from turning the pages to know what is Issy's next move. Even the death of Grampa Joe was really well-handled by Jenny and not as emotional as I thought it would be. As I turned to the last page, I really wanted to step inside the cupcake cafe and have a nice long chat with all of the women in the book over a nice cup of coffee and some of Issy's adorable cupcakes. 

This is a really feel-good book and if you are a chick-lit fan, I strongly recommend this. Its a delightful read best enjoyed munching on some yummy treats!

Phenomenal Woman

I haven't read very many poetry books so far, all my exposure to poetry is through my father who loves poetry - both Tamil and English. He can recite a poem with so much ease like its the back of his hand. His words of encouragement and support during my tough times were always lines from his favorite poems and poets - Bharathiyar kavidhaigal, Kannadasan, Robert Frost. Who can forget those famous lines:

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep"

which instantly perks anyone up. But apart from that, I haven't really focused much on reading poetry until now. February and March are poetry-reading months in the reading challenge I'm signed up for and all I can say is, I never realized how beautiful poetry is. I started the poetry reading with this wonderful book by Maya Angelou - Phenomenal Woman.

Phenomenal Woman - Four poems celebrating women
Author: Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman:

---------------------------

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,   

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.   

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.   

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,   

And the flash of my teeth,   

The swing in my waist,   

And the joy in my feet.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered   

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,   

They say they still can’t see.   

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,   

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.   

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.   

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,   

The bend of my hair,   

the palm of my hand,   

The need for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

This is a wonderful poem by Maya Angelou that celebrates womanhood and the inner-beauty of

every woman out there in this world. This poem was first published in 1978, so its quite

contemporary in that sense. This is a very powerful poem that is written in defense of a woman 

(especially African-American woman) who is neglected by the society based on race/color.
Maya Angelou has also derived from her own personal painful past experiences and
despite the abuse, torture and neglect she experienced, it shows how a woman still rises with
self-esteem and inner strength. This poem instantly strikes a chord with any woman who has
faced any sort of discrimination and neglect in the past. It is very inspiring and is a
shout-out that beauty is not just physical, but a lot of other things within a person and
no matter what happens, keeping your head up high is the most important thing.
After reading this, I listened to Maya Angelou recite this poem herself with a calm,
clear and a strong voice. I could feel the frustration and anger in her voice against the
society who try to shake a woman's self-confidence and strength. At the end of each part
of the poem when she says "Phenomenal woman, That's me" I felt elated.
This is my first of Maya Angelou's poems and I am a big fan of her already!
Phenomenal Woman is a collection of four poems and I enjoyed reading each and
every one of them. My favorites are "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I rise".
A great set of poems with an inspirational message!

Book Review: The Good daughter - A memoir of my mother's hidden life

Author: Jasmin Darznik
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: A wonderful memoir filled with strength and endurance and rich details about Iran. Read it!

I received this book from my Secret Santa during the holiday book exchange. I read it through the holiday season last year and the holiday mood definitely did cheer me up when some incidents detailed in the book were unbearable. When I read the title, the first thoughts that came to my mind was it was going to be a book detailing the relationship between Jasmin and her mother, their connection and their life experiences and such. I read the first few pages and realized I was totally wrong :)

The book opens with Jasmin discovering a photograph of her mother, Lili as a child-bride only that she doesn't recognize the man standing next to her in the photograph. When she confronts Lili about this, Lili doesn't want to speak about it. Later, Lili sends Jasmin a series of tapes in which she herself narrates her family and life in Iran. The first tape talks about Lili's grandmother and then moves on to her mother, Kobra and gradually goes on to detailing Lili's life in Iran. Married at 13 to an abusive husband and bearing a child at 14, the details from Lili's past are very painful and disturbing.
But Lili is a pretty srong and amazing who divorces her monster of a husband (but had to give up her child in this process) and goes to Germany for education and becomes a midwife, where she meets her husband-to-be. The book spans across three generations, and we can see the traditions gradually shifting from one generation to the next. Throughout the book, we get to see the endurance and strength of the women and their attempts to keep the family intact and its very moving. Towards the end of the book is when we learn about Sara, the good daughter who Lili had to give up who still lives in Iran. The good daughter reads so much like a intriguing fictional story, while its not. I had to remind myself many times that this was a true story. When I finished the book, I really wanted to meet Lili - the strong and ambitious woman with a lot of resilience.

This book is a must read - there is so much I didnt know about Iran until I read this. When I think about Iran, the first thing that comes to my mind is war and revolution, but Jasmin takes us through so many rich details about Iran - the women, food, culture, marriage customs and clothing that you finally get to see Iran in a totally different angle through her narration. One thing I would have loved to see and hear were pictures and the audio cassette tapes that Lili had sent to Jasmin. I would have also liked to read more about why exactly Sara is considered the good daughter while, Jasmin was not.

In short, A very moving memoir!

Book Review: The Buddha in the Attic

Author: Julie Otsuka
Genre:  Literary fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: A small jewel of a book. Dont' miss it!

I had never heard about this book nor read any reviews of it until one of my friends posted the following link to our reading group:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/30/obama-does-some-small-business-saturday-shopping/?hpt=hp_t2
We all looked through the list and this book sounded really interesting! Needless to say, I picked it up right away. Its a really short read, 125 pages in total.

Buddha in the attic is about the plight of Japanese mail-order picture brides who sail in hundreds to San Fransisco holding photographs of men who they believe are their new husbands and who they have never met, some of the brides as young as 14 years.

A photograph of Japanese picture brides,.
Photo Courtesy, CA State Parks Collection

When they arrive, they are shocked to see a crowd of men who are bald, old and don't look one bit as in the photograph. Only then the women realize all the photographs they were holding were 20 years old. These men are not bankers, teachers or silk merchants either as represented in their letters, rather they are farmers, fruit-pickers, gardeners or laundry men struggling to make a living.
The book walks us through the plight of the Japanese women through various stages in their lives with these men. Starting with chapter 2, "The first night" where they recount the harrowing experience of the physical consummation, the pain, the suffering, Julie takes us through various stages in their immigrant life divided into eight chapters, from getting jobs to having a child to establishing their own J-colonies in America before they are relocated back to Japan right after the pearl harbor attack. There are even some moments of joy well captured when they move from working on farms to being farm owners and their children going to school. Then comes the world war II, when they are forced to leave the country, abandon whatever they have built so far, with children in universities, their noodle shops, their laundries and sell them to white neighbors. The book ends with the white neighbors thinking a lot about their disappearance and not able to come to terms with it but then it slowly fades, memories erased and a whole colony of ethnic group has been forced out of the country.

All through this review, I've been mentioning the collective term "they". Yes, that is how the book talks about the women indeed. There is no single protagonist or lead character like in a tranditional story. The main character is "we", plural, instead of taking up a single family or Japanese woman.
Julie's style of writing is a worthy-mention here. A few pieces from the book:

On the boat, we often wondered: Would we like them? Would we love them? Would we recognize them from their pictures when we first saw them on the dock?

On the boat we carried our husbands' pictures in tiny oval lockets that hung on long chains from our necks. We carried them in silk purses and old tea tins and red lacquer boxes and in the thick brown envelopes from America in which they had originally been sent. We carried them in the sleeves of our kimonos, which we touched often, just to make sure they were still there.

Almost the entire book follows this style of narration making it almost close to poetry. The rhythmic prose feels like a conversation. The structure of the book is very different from the traditional story and that makes it a very interesting read! Definitely read it for the language and the breath-taking details of the lives of Japanese immigrant women!

Book Review: Americanah

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5 
Verdict: Read it right away!

I picked up this book after reading and hearing rave reviews about it, and it didn't disappoint me one bit. I LOVED it. This is my first of Adichie's books and I was hooked right from page 1 and she had me reeled in till the very end. Americanah is about love, race, color, hair and so much more!

The novel begins with Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman, who decides to return to Lagos after living in the United States for thirteen years. The story then goes back to Ifemelu's teenage days in Nigeria where she and a boy named Obinze meet and fall in love. They both are bright, motivated and equally frustrated with the chaos and corruption surrounding the Nigerian government. Ifemelu goes to the United States and as fate would have it, Obinze is denied a visa to the United States post 9/11.
Meanwhile in America, Ifemelu tries to come to terms with surviving in America through humiliating jobs that she cuts off all communication with Obinze. After lots of struggle, her life takes an upward turn. She starts a blog about being black and race in America, which becomes very popular, she earns readers, gets paid to speak about it and along the course of it, begins dating a Yale professor. Obinze goes to England on a tourist visa, does menial jobs to get along and he even tries to marry a English woman to get a legal status right when he is discovered and deported back to Nigeria. After returning to Nigeria he reinvents himself as years pass by, his world changes. He marries another woman, Kosi and has a 2 year old daughter. Adichie has perfectly captured the immigrant experience of both Ifemelu and Obinze, right from their early days in United States and London, although, Obinze's stint at London was way too short.

I felt that Adichie's biggest strength throughout this book was the depth she brought to the character of Ifemelu. She has given so much life to Ifemelu's character that it all seemed too real. Be it the time during the initial days of Ifemelu in the United States when she learns what it is to be black in America, the shame when she is asked to do a humiliating job for the sports coach to earn her living, the desperate attempts of trying to straighten her hair for a job interview, and how she falls into depression during the early stages - I could empathize completely with Ifemelu and her feelings.
At the onset, Ifemelu seemed too innocent, a happy-go-lucky girl who is happy with her life and the romance between Obinze and her is heart-warming. But, as I turned pages, it hit me hard on the complex personality Ifemelu is. An intelligent woman, very self-centered and brutally honest most of the times! With relationships with multiple men, I couldn't really get a feel for why Ifemelu broke them in the first place. I felt that the bulk of the book was dedicated to Ifemelu, her thoughts, her actions, her immigrant experience thereby overshadowing every other character in the book. I would have loved to know more about Obinze and his mother.  Throughout the book, I couldn't help feel if Ifemelu's character was just a shadow of Adichie herself, and if this infact was Adichie's story!

Obinze is one of the very few male characters in the book who has at least some part of the story dedicated to and we know why. Through his immigration experience in the United Kingdom and reasons why he was denied a US visa, Adichie is able to hit the nerve on how hard the situation is for black and brown men intending to go to the USA or UK. Throughout the book I felt that Obinze was far gentler than Ifemelu, but he was never into Kosi (his wife) at all right from day-1 of their marriage. He still longed for Ifemelu even though she cut off all contacts with Obinze for a very long time. I felt like I always had a special respect for Obinze, very matured and a man with integrity.

The part I really really loved was the last one when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, transformed into a complete "Americanah"! The transition was I felt, extremely well portrayed. Of course, I was itching to find out if she and Obinze will meet and get back together. The changes in the two of them when they finally meet brings a smile. Although I was a little frustrated at how Obinze could immediately leave his family behind and come to Ifemelu, and how quickly Ifemelu gets angry on him on not leaving them earlier (Ifemelu really being the one who cut Obinze off for years together) well, I guess that's the power of love. The love story was really satisfying and its still very fresh in my mind!

Americanah is one of the BEST books I've read so far!

The customary first..

After I became a mother to an adorable now-three year old, and with a full-time day job, I was scrambling to get the daily chores done, leave alone reading :) Recently, I happen to join a group of mommy-friends who all had a common theme of interest, reading :) From then on, its been bliss! My "me" time is mostly my reading time and I just love it.  I almost forgot how comforting and satisfying reading is and I'm happy to be back at it. We are all doing a lot of reading-challenges and its been going really well. I've never really written about the books I read nor keep track of it (apart from goodreads). In 2014, I'd really like to jot down the books I read, my thoughts about it, what I liked and didnt like about it. I find that writing about a book makes you think more and reflect, gives much more clarity on your feelings rather than all of it sitting there in your subconscious mind.
So, as I go along, I'll try to write about all the books I read, my recommendation on if its a must read or not. All the views in this blog are solely my thoughts and reviews.