Shalimar the Clown by Salman RushdieGrade: A
Visceral, full-bodied writing + an unstoppable plot + sassy characters you probably wouldn't want to run into in real life + well-executed magical realism... it's no wonder the LA Times Book Review drew comparisons to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Quentin Tarantino. Really, really amazing.
Atonement by Ian McEwanGrade: A
I loved this book about as much as Rushdie's, but for opposite reasons (Shalimar the Clown : a juicy Zinfandel :: Atonement : a grassy, crisp Sauvignon Blanc ::*). McEwan's book is all about a controlled unveiling of a carefully architected plot, but it somehow manages to be very passionate throughout, even in its restraint.
Villages by John UpdikeGrade: B+
After reading a novel set in a disputed area of Kashmir and another novel that centered around Victorian England and World War I, what better way to lighten up the month than to bear witness to the tribulations of a adulterous computer programmer in Connecticut? I really did enjoy reading this book, as hollow as it sometimes felt compared to the previous two novels, but it lost big points with me for two reasons: (1) pardon the ageism, but it was disturbing to read extremely graphic sex scenes written by a 75-year-old man, and (2) female characters were consistently simple-minded fools who serve as supports to Updike's simple-minded generalizations about women.
*Sorry for the lame wine analogy. I couldn't resist. Paired with the nerdy analogy structure, I should really be ashamed--but it's funny, right? Please continue being friends with me.
1 comment:
How are you not a professional book reviewer already!? These reviews are so good, every one you give an A to makes me wanna go out and buy the book. And the wine analogy... brilliant! I would've gone with a merlot over a zin, but to each his or her own.
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