My Backdoor

The Women Who Wouldn’t- a book review

by Gene Wilder

My friend Liz gave me a few books from her own library tied in a lovely ribbon as a graduation gift last week. One of them was this little gem. And yes it is by that Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka Gene Wilder.

This was a short, 167 pages, sweet little book. I read it in one day and was charmed from page one. Jeremy Webb, professional violinist, has a break down on stage and gives a drink to a tuba. It lands him the German health resort of Dr. Gross. While there Jeremy, notorious flirt, finds a gift he didn’t know he wanted or needed in the person of sweet Clara, another guest at the resort. Also there is playwright Anton Chekhov who befriends our Mr. Webb.

There was a lot of heart in this short tale. While not exactly believable in its miracle I can imagine why he wrote it that way, and it felt right. There is also some humor. Clara talks about her husband and sex saying he would only put his willy in her private part and pump until he was done and then go smoke a cigar, and he never let her touch it, his willy. While this sounds silly, and it is, it too felt right. 

Thank you Liz.

On a scale of 1 to 5 <3’s

4.25 <3’s

Book List 2013

My Goodreads Page

A Thousand Splendid Suns- a book review

I truly love when fictional characters are placed in real events and their story is told with the real event as a backdrop. When done right you get a gripping story and a bit of a history lesson. This book is an example of one done beautifully. 

Set in Afghanistan starting in the late 60’s going through 2003 A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story of love in its purest form. Starting with Mariam and joining later with Laila these are two of the most amazing women I have met in the pages of a novel. They both face loss, brutality and war with a grace most lovely to read and heartbreaking to imagine. 

I am not a fan of spoiling people so I wont tell you the outcome or even how they come to be together. I will tell you that they love each other so fully that there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other. Their story is one that deserves to be told and is easy to forget isn’t about two actual women. It could be because Hosseini writes so beautifully. It could be because as you are reading about Mariam and Laila and learning a bit about what it was like in Afghanistan for women during this time you can imagine things like what they go through happening to actual women. Or it could be both, because you can imagine it, it has been told in news reports and non-fiction books and Hosseini does write beautifully. 

I am going to use my graduation giftcard and buy more of his work!!! Watch for the reviews.

On a scale of 1 to 5 <3’s

5 <3’s

Book List 2013

My Goodreads Page

Broken Harbor- a book review

Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French

The 4th book in the Dublin Murder Squad books is a tightly wound journey into the mind of a detective and the mind of the murderer.

The case is a family brutally attacked in their home leaving husband/father Pat dead, children Emma and Jack also dead and mother Jenny barely clinging to life.

Was having lost his job too much for Pat causing him to cross some line and think his family would be better off dead? Was it a stranger? Was it someone else?

As Mick Kennedy and his new partner Richie Curran investigate they each think they know who did it. And while they are investigating the case Mick’s past begins to be revealed and plays a part in how he handles this case.

I’ve enjoyed Tana French’s writing in all four of her books. I love how in some of the dialogue it is written so it reads that you hear it in your head in an Irish accent. This one was slightly off to me because of the heavy use if “I said” but the story telling and writing was like a coil that slowly begins to tighten until the end when the truth comes out and the tension becomes very thick.

Over all I liked this book and will continue to read what ever she comes out with.

On a scale of 1 to 5 <3’s

 4 <3’s

Book List 2013

My Goodreads Page

Truthful

I feel like at any moment Dolores Umbridge is going to knock on my door, do her annoying little cough at me and demand my award be given back.

My grades

Children’s Lit- A

Human Bio- A

Critical Thinking Capstone- A

and the class I didn’t even need but took anyway:

Journalism- A-

The award was for my 4.0 :(

Yes I know this is silly to care about, and I am really proud of my grades.