Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Born Wicked

By Jessica Spotswood

Recommended by Anna Reads

Born Wicked tells the compelling story of three sisters who are gifted witches in a society where being a witch is punishable. The relationship between the three sisters is the best part of the book and provides the richest and complex parts of the story. Without this being the center of the book it would not have held together for me.

The writing was good but the story a little predictable. There was a lot of talk about the oppressive society instead of descriptions of the oppression or illustrations of the injustice. This left the world a bit flat, leaving the reader to trust the characters interpretation of the society instead of having any tangible relationship with it in which to judge for oneself.

The magic, its origin and mystery surrounding it were interesting and were introduced well. This was an interesting seed that will hopefully be followed through in the rest of the series. Still, there could have been a little more detail around the magic itself, how the girls each discovered the magic or more illustrations of their time with their mother (their only magic mentor).

Although the book left me wanting more in a number of areas I will read the next book in the series hoping the author brews a richer story, develops the context a bit more and hoping to see how the Cahill sisters do as the future unfolds.

Book 45

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Fear

Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe


By Peter Godwin


"Frances uses a phrase I've started to hear: 'smart genocide,' a grotesque science that Mugabe is apparently honing. There's no need to directly kill hundreds of thousands, if you can select and kill the right few thousand. Is this really a 'refining' of genocide? As Stanislaw Lec, a Polish-Jewish poet, once wondered, 'Is it progress if a cannibal uses a knife and fork?'" Page 109


"Bed after bed, in ward after ward, on floor after floor, is filled with Mugabe's victims. A hospital full of those he has injured, tortured and burned out of their homes." Page 137


"And as these shattered people recount their full experiences in a complete narrative, many for the first time, they sometimes break down. It is as if, until now, these brave men and women have concentrated on staying alive, by taking each minute, each hour and day, at a time, and only now, as they join it all together for a stranger, into a complete narrative, do they see the enormity of the whole thing, of what they have been through. And their stoicism can sometimes suddenly dissolve, surprising even themselves, as they get a view of the trajectory of their own suffering. But it seems cathartic too." Page 138


"This is how little his own kith and kin now mean to Mugabe. He holds them in such low regard that he will decimate them, even as he chunters querulously on, lecturing the world about historical wrongs, raging like an aggrieved adolescent, casting blame everywhere except where it most belongs, with himself." Page 149


"As well as the torture itself, a case is being made by a Boston-based advocacy group, AIDS-Free WOrld, that the mass rape in Zimbabwe also rises to the level of a crime against humanity. The extent of these gang rapes takes longer to emerge - the stigma so great, the victims so deeply ashamed, and in danger of being rejected by their husbands." Page 198


"'Who should be punished for Gukurahundi? 


. . . .'If ever we should all die, it will be forgotten now. We were left - but many were killed. I am still so angry about it today.'" Page 290


"Chenjerai's bravery is beyond doubt. But what is this other quality, the one that allows him to sit here with these venal people, his persecutors. Is it forgiveness? Reconciliation? I think not. At least, not yet.


Is it fatalism, a quality that Westerners see in Africans? Westerners often mistake African endurance, and the lack of self-pity, for fatalism. No, I think the other quality in Chenjerai Mangezo is patience, a dogged tenacity. He hasn't given up on getting justice." Page 354


Book 44

Monday, June 4, 2012

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore


YA referred to me by a friend of a friend who also reads YA.


This book tells an imaginative story about finding oneself and discovering true friendship. I appreciated the sense of self-discovery that takes place during the story. Katsa believes herself to be one way but as she digs deeper she realizes these confines she has placed on herself are other peoples construction of who she is. I love this theme and how it is played out, it is a very important and relevant one to YA.


"'Hmmmm." He worked his mouth back and forth. 'You're afraid of your own anger.'
She stopped then and looked at him, because that seemed right to her. She was afraid of her own anger.'" Page 123


"A monster that refused, sometimes, to behave like a monster. When a monster stopped having like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?" Page 137


"'True. But you're better than I am, Katsa. And it doesn't humiliate me." He fed a branch to the fire. 'It humbles me. But it doesn't humiliate me.'" Page 181


"Could she be his lover and still belong to herself?" Page 234


Book 43

The Night Circus

By Erin Morgenstern


Lovely, dreamy story. Well imagined and well told. More than a book, it is an experience. Part mystery, part romance, part wonder.


This first book by Erin Morgenstern was an utter surprise and true treat. I want to read everything she will ever write. 


When I was done with the book i wanted to jump back into the place I had been during its pages.


I love the clock, the clock maker and the wishing tree. The twins and Bailey! My book club and I decided we would certainly be reveurs if the Night Circus was real!


"It is these aficionados, these reveurs, who see the details in the bigger picture of the circus. They see the nuance of the costumes, the intricacy of the signs. They buy sugar flowers and do not eat them, wrapping them in paper instead and carefully bringing them home. They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent." Page 204


"This is, in part, why there is less magic in the world today. Magic is secret and secrets are magic, after all, and years upon years of teaching and sharing magic and worse. Writing it down in fancy books that get all dusty with age has lessened it, removed its power bit by bit. It was inevitable, perhaps, but not unavoidable. Everyone makes mistakes." Page 246


"Without the concern for the effect she might be having on the surroundings, she is able to relax into the sensation instead of resisting it. It is exquisite. It is the way she has felt in so many of his tents, the thrill of being surrounded by something wondrous and fantastical, only magnified and focused directly on her. The feel of his skin against hers reverberates across her entire body, though his fingers remain entwined with her." Page 315


"Inside, the train is opulent, gilded, and warm. Most of the passenger cars are lined with thick patterned carpets, upholstered in velvets in burgundies and violets and creams, as though they have been dipped in a sunset, hovering at twilight and holding on to the colors before they fade to midnight and stars." Page 433


Celia to Bailey: "You're in the right place at the right time, and you care enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that's enough." Page 513


"The circus arrives without warning." Page 547


Book 42