Hubby Book Reviews -- 2000 1999-2000
Here's a table with some of the books we enjoyed in the year 2000. There are several that I would highly recommend -- anything with a rating greater than 4 below. Although I wrote most of the reviews, Dick has included some opinions as well.
There are also a bunch of books that I did not finish (DNF). A while back, struggling through Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, I complained to my hairdresser about how depressing the book was. He pointed out that we are fortunate to live in a free country where one can just stop reading a book if one wants. And it's true! Well, till then I'd hardly ever not finished a book I'd started, but this thought somehow gave me permission. Cold Mountain was next on my reading list, and sure enough it too was a DNF. Now there are lots of DNF's on my list. I still give a book at least 100 pages, usually more, but in the end I figure that fiction, which is mostly what I read, is intended as enjoyment. So, enjoy!!!
The ratings are on a 1 to 5 scale, five being The Best! For Year 2001 Reviews, click here.
| Book Title, Author | Subject / Review | Rating |
| Chocolat
by Joanne Harris |
Talk about a great title! This is my favorite book of the year, and no, it's not a cookbook. This enchanting tale chronicles change in a small French town. Newcomer, Vianne Rocher (a witch? a gypsy?) brings with her the whimsical world of chocolate and is propelled against the narrow world of The Church as portrayed by Father Reynard. As the weeks of Lent pass, the winds change, and so does the town. Dick also loved this book and rates it a 5. The movie was OK, but not as good. | 5 |
| My
Other Life
by Paul Theroux |
This is my first, and definitely will not be my last, Theroux novel. This man can write, and he's amazingly creative and imaginative. This fake autobiography assumes Theroux has lived a different, "other life". He's still an author, still wrote his famous books such as The Mosquito Coast, but who knows what else in this story is real. Clearly he's lived in some of the places in the book and done some of the things he describes. Each section of the book is distinctive and fascinating. | 4.8 |
| The
Vintner's Luck
by Elizabeth Knox |
Set in 19th century France, with each chapter heading relating to wine making, this is the magical story of Sobran Jodeau's life and his continuing relationships with his surroundings and his "real" and personal angel. Dick thought this one was a 3. | 4.7 |
| Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by J K Rowling |
This is a book for children and adults who are happy to enter into the fantasies of childhood. It's all the rage, the world over. The Sorcerer's Stone is book 1 of 4 that have been published, with 3 more to come. Yet, I didn't think it was a particularly good read ( a DNF), though Dick lapped it up. Instead of reading this book, listen to it on tape (available cheap at Costco.) Jim Dale narrates, making the magical story come alive while keeping all the characters straight and voices separate. A great listen and lots of fun. | 4.5 |
| The
Great Train Robbery
by Michael Crichton |
This fascinating historical novel is based on England's Great Train Robbery of 1852. It's full of interesting insights into Victorian life, yet makes for great reading as it unfolds the fascinating background of how the robbery was engineered, with numerous twists and turns. |
4.4 |
| Ride
with Me,
Mariah
Montana
by Ivan Doig |
Ivan Doig is one of my current favorite authors. This novel /travelogue is built around Montana's Centennial celebration and some newspaper folks who's assignment is to capture the essence of Montana. Doig clearly loves Montana and it's varied scenery, mountains and flatland. And he's a master at making his characters come to life. For those who have already met the pioneering McCaskill's is his earlier books, this book harkens back to those earlier stories as well. | 4.2 |
| An
American Year
by Charles Kuralt |
This travelogue tells of Charles Kuralt's year traveling America. He spends a month in twelve of his favorite places, visiting each in its perfect season. A bit like us. It's full of stories about the people he knows and their connections to the places. Definitely an order of magnitude better than my travelogues. | 4.1 |
| Hannah's Gift
by Thomas Edison |
This is an engrossing tale of an LA sheriff out on a manhunt in the southwest. He dies, or should have died, but there he is being nursed to health by a very special woman. He learns that she hears voices, voices sent by God. As she travels around the mountains and plains, picking up needy youngsters, their paths continue to cross. And he wonders: Who is she? And what makes her so strong? | 4.1 |
| When
Nietzsche Wept
by Irvin D. Yalom |
Partly factual, this book chronicles a series of make-believe meetings between Dr. Joseph Buerer, a friend of Freud's, and Fredrich Nietzche. It mingles Nietzsche's complex thoughts and philosophy with some budding theories of psychoanalysis. As treatments unfold, Nietzsche invents ways to treat despair, espouses his beliefs, and in the end becomes "all too human". Quite a thought provoker. |
4.1 |
| The
Drowning People
by Richard Mason |
An emotion-filled novel of love, secrets, and betrayals. This exceptional first novel by a Oxford English major begins with us learning that the narrator has just killed his wife. The story unfolds slowly as we eventually learn the reason. The plot and great writing kept me enthralled. | 4.1 |
| The
Reader
by Bernard Schlink |
The story, set in postwar Germany is about 15 year old Michael Berg who falls in love with Hanna, a woman twice his age. Many years later he watches and remembers as she is tried for a devastating war crime. This book reminds one that Germany is still struggling to come to grips with its past. | 4 |
| A
Widow for a Year
by John Irving |
An entertaining and sometimes hilarious novel. There is a marvelous scene with Ted Cole, Mrs. Vaughn, the gardener and the pornographic sketches. It's what Irving can do at his best. Unfortunately it contains too much philosophy about writing and writers, and an all too predictable ending let one down. | 4 |
| Microsoft FrontPage 2000 -- No Experience Necessary | This software manual or guide to using Microsoft's web building software was simple enough and readable enough that, with just a little help from Dick, I managed to build this website with it. | 4 |
| Hanna's
Daughter's
by Marrianne Fredrichsson |
Set in Norway, this story of 3+ generations of woman makes an interesting albeit occasionally confusing tale. Through the lives and journals of Hanna, Anna and Johanna, the story of family hardships, women's courage and strength unfold. | 3.8 |
| The
Bone People
by Keri Hulme |
New Zealand's Maori author, Hulme, writes about the strange relationships between a mid-thirty spinster, an alcoholic and abusive father, and an impish, mischievous, stubborn and loving boy. Interesting use of language, with some Maori phrases helping set the tone and background. Dick would rank this one higher. | 3.5 |
| The
Art of Happiness
By His Holiness the Dali Lama and Harold Cutler |
Harold Cutler (HC) interviews and follows the Dali Lama around, trying to summarize his teachings. The bottom line is: the purpose of life is to seek happiness, which can be achieved by training the mind. I would have like this book much better if HC had kept himself out of it. | 3.5 |
| The
Professor and the Madman
by Simon Winchester |
This non-fiction book tells the story of the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary and two of the men who contributed most, Professor James Murray and Dr. W. C. Minor, an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane. If you like the dictionary, you'll enjoy this one. | 3.5 |
| Women
of Silk
by Gail Tsukiyama |
A first novel by an El Cerrito, CA native, it chronicles the lives of girls/women in China over 20 years ending at the time of the Japanese conquests in 1938. The women of silk live in pseudo-slavery; working long hours turning cocoons into silk yarn, most of their earnings going to support their families. A slow moving story of rural China, the girls' friendships and struggles, and their Sisterhood. | 3.5 |
| Midwives
by Chris Bhjalian |
Decisions made by midwife, Sybil Danforth, are questioned in this story of her trial for manslaughter of a woman who died in childbirth. Often told from the perspective of her 14 year old daughter, it provides some glimpses into the world of midwifery. | 3.5 |
| The
Pilot's Wife
by Anita Shreeve |
This is the story of a woman, who's pilot husband dies in a suspicious plane crash. Accusations and the husband's secret life unfold as wife, daughter and mother-in-law deal with the aftermath. Well written, but I liked her earlier book The Weight of Water, much better. | 3.5 |
| Invasion
of Privacy
by Perri O'Shaughnessy |
This Nina Reilly mystery pits her family, her professional integrity as a lawyer, and her life against a variety of protagonists. It's set in familiar country with Lake Tahoe, Monterey and environs as the backdrop. I was in the mood for this sort of book and found it gripping enough. | 3.5 |
| Snow
Crash
by Neal Stephenson |
This science fiction book lies in an alternate reality where the computer-generated metaverse and avatars (computer persona) are as real as the book's fictional and far out here and now. Our heroes, Y.T. and Hiro Protagonist, try to save the world as they encounter the Raven and the Reverend. I thought the book was OK, but Dick really liked it and gives it a 5 for its humorously twisted view of where our society might be headed. | 3.1 |
| The
Republic of Love
by Carole Shields |
A novel about love, wanting it, not having it, getting it, etc. It's well written and reminded me of the ups and downs of love. | 3 |
| The
Power of One
by Bryce Courtney |
A New Zealand "Best Books of the Century" list put this one at the top. I'd never ready anything by this popular author, so why not? This is the story of P.K. (Pisskopf) a young white South African, as he matures from a smart, feisty 5 year old into a 20 year old, who decides to go off and become a mine worker. I found the book to be uneven, lots of really wonderful scenes especially early on and some awfully boring patches. The story meanders near the end and then, after about 800 pages, decides to leave us hanging! That was enough. No plans to buy the next installment and get treated the same way. | 3 |
| Cause
of Death
by Patricia Cornwall |
I've enjoyed listening to the Kay Scarpetta mysteries on tape, but reading them seems to be another thing. In this one, Kay, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, is called out on New Year's Eve to examine the body of reporter Ted Eddings, which was dragged from the icy and murky waters of the Naval ship yard. What was he doing down there in this off-limits place? Unraveling this mystery is a bit soap opera-like and slow moving. | 2 |
| Feeding
the Ghosts
by Fred D'Aguiar |
This could have been a great book; the subject had all the makings. The captain of the slave ship, Zong, believes that under the circumstances the only way to make a profit for the investors is to throw part of his "stock" overboard and recover the insurance. He declares the "stock" sick, and 132 live slaves are thrown overboard, given to the sea. The slave girl, Mintah miraculously makes it back on board and becomes a symbol of hope. The eventual trial of the Zong's captain appears to be based on court records. Unfortunately, the repetition and the author's attempts at poeticism miss the mark and detract from the work. | 2 |
| Mila
18
by Leon Uris |
Leon Uris used to be one of my favorite authors; I was very taken with Exodus and some of his other books years ago. But this one just didn't do it for me. I read about half way through and gave it up. | DNF |
| The
Tin Drum
by Gunter Grass |
Seeing this book in a used book stand at a Library in Scotland, I thought I'd reread a book I liked years ago. But things change, and this time I couldn't finish it. I managed to follow Oskar through his youth, through his growing up years and even past his circus years -- 400 of the 580 pages. But then I'd had enough, another DNF. |
DNF |
| Bridget
Jones' Diary
by Helen Fielding |
British writer Fielding seems to have found quite a following in this trite and rather boring diary book. And there are equally popular sequels. Now there's a mildly entertaining movie. To each his own. | DNF |
| The
Tortilla Curtain
by T Coraghessan Boyle |
A sorry tale about the have's and the have not's -- all written from a black and white perspective, no grey. The good guys are too good and the bad guys too bad for me. Dick, totally out of character, liked this one. Go figure! | DNF |
| Vanity
Fair
by William Thackery |
This serialized novel, one of the original soap operas, is about the moneyed gentry and those wishing to become a part of it. But after reading Vanity Fair about halfway through (about 300 pages) it became clear that Thackery was getting paid by the word and needed a good editor to crisp things up. |
DNF |
| The
Seventh Scroll
by Wilbur Smith |
Having never read a Wilbur Smith and finding them on second-hand book stands everywhere, I decided to take the plunge. This tale of a stolen ancient scroll that leads to a secret tomb of a pharaoh in the Nile was too predictable and slow moving for me. Obviously others really like this author. For example, Dickbob says, check it out if you want a good mindless page turner. Oh well |
DNF |