Book Reviews

One of our main activities/forms of entertainment on our trip was reading, and we wanted to provide a brief overview of the books we read, some of which were amazing and we highly recommend. Star rating system provided, with 5* being amazing and 1* being horrible. Most of the time we agreed on what to rate it, a few times there are separate ratings!

“Song for Nero” by Thomas Holt. An adventure story about two thieves/outlaws on the lam all over the Roman empire, one of whom is the former emperor Nero, who is supposed to be dead. WR=3*, J=2*.

“The Greenlanders” by Jane Smiley. An amazingly vivid and interesting historical novel about the Norse settlements in Greenland. WR&J=5*.

“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand. Another amazing novel, this one uses the story of an architect who doesn’t compromise his vision at any cost, to present Ayn Rand’s philosophy of individualism vs. collectivism. WR&J=5*.

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas. Classic story of betrayal, prison break, and revenge. Was much easier reading than we had anticipated, in spite of its size and age. WR=3*, J=4*.

“The Kite Runner” by Khalid Husseini. Novel of an Afghani immigrant to America’s childhood in Kabul, secrets and guilt about his past, finding redemption in the present on a trip to Pakistan/Afghanistan. WR&J=5*.

“River God” by Wilbur Smith. Story set in ancient Egypt about a head eunuch who effectively runs the empire with his behind-the-scenes influence on the pharaoh and the court. WR=3* (only WR read this one).

“Gold Mine” by Wilbur Smith. Fast-paced and entertaining action/adventure/romance story set in the Gauteng (South Africa) gold mines in the 1970’s. WR&J=3*.

“Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi. Non-fiction memoirs of an Iranian-born, American-educated professor of English literature in Tehran. She tells about her life, teaching at the university, and finally forming an underground book club for women once she has resigned from the university. Set against the backdrop of Iran’s overthrowing the Shah, the government becoming controlled by an Islamic regime, and the Iran-Iraq war. Interesting book, but her writing style is extremely academic, dry, and repetitive. WR=2*, J=3*.

“Ama” by Manu Herbstein. Extremely good story about the Atlantic slave trade, set in West Africa, the slave forts on the coast of Ghana, and in Brazil. Written by a South African who lives in Ghana, Julie had toured the forts in Ghana it refers to (Elmina and Cape Coast) which made it even more vivid. WR&J=4*.

“The Third Twin” by Ken Follett. Typical fast-paced Follett action/adventure/romance book, this one about a genetic experiment gone wrong. J=2* (only Julie read this book).

“Fall on Your Knees” by Ann-Marie McDonald. Oprah Book Club pick, set on an island off Nova Scotia, about a protestant Irish man who marries a very young Lebanese catholic girl, who is then disowned by her family, covers multiple generations of their very strange family life. J=3* (only Julie read this book).

“The Tin Drum” by Gunter Grass. Story of a midget drummer in pre and post WWII Poland and Germany. Not an easy read by any means, but an amazing book, well worth getting through it! (Laureen, Julie’s friend and bona fide intellectual on the subject, adds, “I would have mentioned something about symbolizing the country's crisis of identity and re-formation of memory”.) WR&J=4*.

“Legacy of Silence” by Belva Plain. Very light, easy read about a German family who emigrate to America during WWII, settle in, then have to deal with past family secrets. The story is quite good, but she’s not that great of a writer. WR&J=3*.

“A Good Turn” by Kate Atkinson. Crime/detective/romance story set in Edinburgh during the festival. Extremely entertaining read, J. especially loved the author’s dry, witty sense of humor. WR=3*, J=4*.

“Lady Chatterly’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence. A modern English classic, was banned at first for being “obscene”, story of a lady and a gamekeeper. WR&J=3*.

“Man Alleen” by Louis L’Amour. A classic Louis L’Amour, translated into Afrikaans (apparently made the story lose quite a bit), about a guy defending his farm from people trying to take it away. WR=2* (only WR read this one)

“Night Fall” by Nelson Demille. “Fact-based fiction” novel about the crash of TWA flight 800 off of Long Island in July, 1996, and surrounding conspiracy theories. This was an extremely entertaining, well-written book. Neither of us could lay it down. WR&J=5*.