[I read this several weeks ago, and I feel even less inclined to recommend it after the mulling period.]
"Meh" is really all I have to say. I really WANTED to like this book; and, for that matter, did - to some extent. The strongest thing about it is the way Lahiri describes some of the emotions of an Indian born and raised in America. If I weren't an ABCD, myself, though, I don't know that even that would really be very meaningful to me.
Overall, the story was mildly interesting, but not thrilling or particularly deep. In fact, she tried far too much to be deep, sounding trite with some frequency. Some parts were downright cheesy (Near the end, so a slight spoiler: "Without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist. Yet the thought of this eventual demise provides no sense of victory, no solace. It provides no solace at all."
The writing wasn't anything about which to rave - in fact, it was overdone or underdone most of the time (there was a weird dichotomy between wanting to sound colloquial and thus using dangling participles, etc., but then using overly elaborate verbiage in other parts). The charaters weren't particularly loveable or identifiable. They also did not stay true to themselves, or to what they were written to be. The story...the story was interesting, but frustrating. It didn't seem to have a point. I was rather annoyed in a lot of places. There was a lot of unnecessary sexual escapades that while weren't graphic, seemed to just be thrown in as attention-grabbing devices.
And the whole name thing...oh, the name thing. Was. just. ridiculous. It didn't make any sense to me and seemed to be blown way out of proportion. It just seemed to be some random common strain around which to develop a book that really had no other purpose. The second half of the book strayed completely, anyway. Oh, and the second half - it was worse than the first. It meandered all over the place and was so ridiculously predictable. I was totally bored by it.
All that said, it was interesting. I kept reading. I wanted to find out what happened despite the fact that I already knew. I guess that counts for something.
Overall, a marginally-better-than-average book.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
On Books and Brooklyn
In response to Julie's question on a previous post and as Goodreads clearly does not leave ample gushing room, here's my take on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In a word, phenomenal. Fabulous. Spectacularly achingly beautiful. This was one of those books that I see myself reading over and over through the years, and giving to my daughters and cherishing and smiling every time I see its spine on my bookshelf.
I try to be restrained in giving out 5 stars on Goodreads; this often leads to comments in the reviews that go something along the lines of, "Well, if there were half points, this would really be a 3.5. Or maybe a 3.72, but that might be pushing it, because I know that those 2/100ths of a point will definitely tip your decision in favor of reading the book instead of going to eat French fries. Or at least make you do both at the same time." It's a good book, is all I'm saying.
But this one, this one, is a must-read. Not just if you're a girl or have been to Brooklyn or even if you've ever imagined your life better. This is just so lovely that I can't imagine that anyone who reads it wouldn't be touched in some way. So many books (including, sadly, the one I'm currently reading) cross the line between poignancy and triteness; they go a little too far. [Clearly I am an authority on this, and my ability to blather on and on until my effusion floods your view is a testament to this fact.] ATGiB, though, says just enough. The writing, like a main character, is pragmatic, matter-of-fact, with spurts of abiding emotion. The outbursts are all the more moving for their infrequency, but after it all, they move on, as we do. Every word is carefully crafted to be meaningful but not too much so that it is taken out of context. The themes are oh so very real and moving.
The story is engaging, despite the fact that there's no real "climax," no frenzy to find out what happens, no denoument. For all that, I could not put this book down. And now I'm just being a lush, but, dare I say, this book is a new favorite.
I try to be restrained in giving out 5 stars on Goodreads; this often leads to comments in the reviews that go something along the lines of, "Well, if there were half points, this would really be a 3.5. Or maybe a 3.72, but that might be pushing it, because I know that those 2/100ths of a point will definitely tip your decision in favor of reading the book instead of going to eat French fries. Or at least make you do both at the same time." It's a good book, is all I'm saying.
But this one, this one, is a must-read. Not just if you're a girl or have been to Brooklyn or even if you've ever imagined your life better. This is just so lovely that I can't imagine that anyone who reads it wouldn't be touched in some way. So many books (including, sadly, the one I'm currently reading) cross the line between poignancy and triteness; they go a little too far. [Clearly I am an authority on this, and my ability to blather on and on until my effusion floods your view is a testament to this fact.] ATGiB, though, says just enough. The writing, like a main character, is pragmatic, matter-of-fact, with spurts of abiding emotion. The outbursts are all the more moving for their infrequency, but after it all, they move on, as we do. Every word is carefully crafted to be meaningful but not too much so that it is taken out of context. The themes are oh so very real and moving.
The story is engaging, despite the fact that there's no real "climax," no frenzy to find out what happens, no denoument. For all that, I could not put this book down. And now I'm just being a lush, but, dare I say, this book is a new favorite.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I liked my Monday off, but Tuesdays are better.
Namely, because of this email (in response to a note I sent that mentioned how I'm working on a spare desktop):
"I'm glad that the spare computer is working. What does that do to your workflow though? Are you off in a room by yourself? That thought somehow makes me miss you even more because I'm not quite sure how to envision you at work.
Love,
Daniel"
"I'm glad that the spare computer is working. What does that do to your workflow though? Are you off in a room by yourself? That thought somehow makes me miss you even more because I'm not quite sure how to envision you at work.
Love,
Daniel"
Monday
7:00 am - I awake and peek out the window. Seeing a bit of snow (but not enough to keep me tied to my home), I lament the fact that I didn't bring my work computer home over the weekend.
7:40 am - I leave and walk out into the frosty morning. Dan, who has thoughtfully accompanied me, joins me in de-snow/icing our car.
7:53 am - I pull out of our parking lot onto the slippery but manageable roads.
8:25 am - I make it to the art museum (approximately a 4-mile drive).
8:45 am - Still driving.
9:00 am - Still driving. I'm halfway there.
9:10 am - I get to one uncleared road and pull over because I'm skidding that snowy skid all over the place. I make an executive decision not to risk the one-way tunnel I typically use. I call my manager as I pause at a Starbucks to see how conditions progress.
9:55 am - I finish my peppermint Signature hot chocolate as well as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I rejoice in its beauty but feel my shoulders droop a I realize it has finished.
10:20 am - I make it to the office, having taken a different route.
10:23 am - I turn on my computer.
10:30 am - My computer continues to try to turn on.
10:33 am - Blue screen of death.
10:35 am - I call the help desk.
10:36 am - I hear a recorded message telling me that the help desk is currently down.
10:37 am - I ask Sarah, the office guru, about what to do. She knows nothing about the BSoD, but hands me a spare laptop.
10:38 am - I return to my desk (still bearing the stamp of the BSoD) and plug in the spare. It refuses to turn on.
10:39 am - I return to Sarah. She walks back to my desk with me, telling me that she was having trouble with getting it to turn on last week. Hi BSoD!
10:40 am - The computer turns on! I log in.
10:41 am - The computer dies.
10:42 am - I call my manager laughing. It takes 2.5 hours to get to work, my computer dies, the help desk is down, and the spare computer dies.
10:55 am - I give up and go to the gym with Dan. We swim in the gloriously empty pool. I head to the library and then home to cuddle up with my new book.
7:40 am - I leave and walk out into the frosty morning. Dan, who has thoughtfully accompanied me, joins me in de-snow/icing our car.
7:53 am - I pull out of our parking lot onto the slippery but manageable roads.
8:25 am - I make it to the art museum (approximately a 4-mile drive).
8:45 am - Still driving.
9:00 am - Still driving. I'm halfway there.
9:10 am - I get to one uncleared road and pull over because I'm skidding that snowy skid all over the place. I make an executive decision not to risk the one-way tunnel I typically use. I call my manager as I pause at a Starbucks to see how conditions progress.
9:55 am - I finish my peppermint Signature hot chocolate as well as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I rejoice in its beauty but feel my shoulders droop a I realize it has finished.
10:20 am - I make it to the office, having taken a different route.
10:23 am - I turn on my computer.
10:30 am - My computer continues to try to turn on.
10:33 am - Blue screen of death.
10:35 am - I call the help desk.
10:36 am - I hear a recorded message telling me that the help desk is currently down.
10:37 am - I ask Sarah, the office guru, about what to do. She knows nothing about the BSoD, but hands me a spare laptop.
10:38 am - I return to my desk (still bearing the stamp of the BSoD) and plug in the spare. It refuses to turn on.
10:39 am - I return to Sarah. She walks back to my desk with me, telling me that she was having trouble with getting it to turn on last week. Hi BSoD!
10:40 am - The computer turns on! I log in.
10:41 am - The computer dies.
10:42 am - I call my manager laughing. It takes 2.5 hours to get to work, my computer dies, the help desk is down, and the spare computer dies.
10:55 am - I give up and go to the gym with Dan. We swim in the gloriously empty pool. I head to the library and then home to cuddle up with my new book.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Almost as cool as last V-day
So I admit it, I'm a grinch - I've never believed in Santa Claus (the subject for a later post) and I don't like Valentine's Day. But this year, we went down to Houston to witness the wedding of our friends Manny & Lorie and oh it was so wonderful.
A) We got to see them get hitched! They were so happy and so relaxed, which I loved. Always the sign of a good relationship, I think.
B) We got to hang out with our fabulous friend Cynthia and her equally cool boyfriend Carlo. We ate and walked around and chatted and, importantly, listened to the Valentine's Day CD Making Contest contenders. I'm embarrassed to admit that this has been a bi-annual tradition for six. years. now. Yeesh.
C) It was warm! Joy of joys!
D) We got to dance the night away at their reception. I never danced in high school until I met Dan. He was just so uninhibited and just worried about having fun rather than how he looked or, um, running into other dancers, that I just couldn't help myself. I've loved dancing ever since, and he makes me feel comfortable enough to do it in public.
E) We saw a really fabulous Byzantine fresco museum and a lovely lovely sculpture garden. Where we read a book in the aforementioned warmth of the sun.
F) We had the adrenaline-pumping experience of almost missing our flight. Abnormally, we were at the airport a full 2 hours in advance because Houston is super spread out and we couldn't find a restaurant other than McDonald's within walking distance. So we figured we might as well go to the airport and eat there. So we get there and because of the (again aforementioned) warmth (do you see a theme emerging?), we sat outside on the grass for a while and read a book (theme numero dos). We go inside with a full hour and a half to spare and leisurely eat our dinner. Except, um, it was a bit too leisurely. Dan eventually glances down at his phone clock at 6:47. Yeah, our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:55. We frantically gather up our half-eaten food and start towards our gate, at which point we hear our names announced over the intercom. I race ahead (Dan is kindly carrying, oh, uh, ALL our luggage) to keep them from closing the doors on us and, thank heavens, we make it. But by this point, every single non-middle seat is taken and we have no chance at sitting next to each other. :( :( But about half an hour into the flight, Dan glances across the row at me and motions that his very very kind seatmate with whom he's been chatting has offered to trade up his lovely window for my middle seat across the aisle. Not gonna lie, a teensy tear of surprise and joy may or may not have escaped.
G) We met these cuties at the Houston Arboretum Discovery Center.
(PS - I even TRIED to upload pictures this time. But my computer is having nothing of it.)
(PPS - See here for last year's festivities. Because we all know it's cooler to celebrate 100 days until your wedding than Valentine's Day. Dang it, I just realized that this was supposed to be an annual thing.)
A) We got to see them get hitched! They were so happy and so relaxed, which I loved. Always the sign of a good relationship, I think.
B) We got to hang out with our fabulous friend Cynthia and her equally cool boyfriend Carlo. We ate and walked around and chatted and, importantly, listened to the Valentine's Day CD Making Contest contenders. I'm embarrassed to admit that this has been a bi-annual tradition for six. years. now. Yeesh.
C) It was warm! Joy of joys!
D) We got to dance the night away at their reception. I never danced in high school until I met Dan. He was just so uninhibited and just worried about having fun rather than how he looked or, um, running into other dancers, that I just couldn't help myself. I've loved dancing ever since, and he makes me feel comfortable enough to do it in public.
E) We saw a really fabulous Byzantine fresco museum and a lovely lovely sculpture garden. Where we read a book in the aforementioned warmth of the sun.
F) We had the adrenaline-pumping experience of almost missing our flight. Abnormally, we were at the airport a full 2 hours in advance because Houston is super spread out and we couldn't find a restaurant other than McDonald's within walking distance. So we figured we might as well go to the airport and eat there. So we get there and because of the (again aforementioned) warmth (do you see a theme emerging?), we sat outside on the grass for a while and read a book (theme numero dos). We go inside with a full hour and a half to spare and leisurely eat our dinner. Except, um, it was a bit too leisurely. Dan eventually glances down at his phone clock at 6:47. Yeah, our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:55. We frantically gather up our half-eaten food and start towards our gate, at which point we hear our names announced over the intercom. I race ahead (Dan is kindly carrying, oh, uh, ALL our luggage) to keep them from closing the doors on us and, thank heavens, we make it. But by this point, every single non-middle seat is taken and we have no chance at sitting next to each other. :( :( But about half an hour into the flight, Dan glances across the row at me and motions that his very very kind seatmate with whom he's been chatting has offered to trade up his lovely window for my middle seat across the aisle. Not gonna lie, a teensy tear of surprise and joy may or may not have escaped.
G) We met these cuties at the Houston Arboretum Discovery Center.
(PS - I even TRIED to upload pictures this time. But my computer is having nothing of it.)
(PPS - See here for last year's festivities. Because we all know it's cooler to celebrate 100 days until your wedding than Valentine's Day. Dang it, I just realized that this was supposed to be an annual thing.)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Maybe this is TMI
The scene: Ladies' room at my work.
The time: 3pm-ish, aka a high time of ladies' room usage (does anyone else notice how there are certain hours that just seem busier than others?)
I walk into the restroom, minding my own business, and walk down to the far stall (the big one) because it's roomier. Maybe that's weird, but who doesn't want a bigger bathroom? Anyway, I turn into the stall (the door to which is WIDE open), and stop abruptly, as there is a woman standing in there talking on her cell phone. I was so startled that I just stopped, and then I paused, expecting her to walk out or something. But she just stood there and continued to talk on the phone while I stood there.
So after a few seconds of her using the stall for her chatting, I go to another stall. The woman stands in the stall for another minute or so, after which she begins pacing between the stall and the sink area, all the while talking about some very sick relative or friend or something, all while I and other people continue to walk in and out of the restroom.
Am I the only one who finds this terribly, terribly strange??
The time: 3pm-ish, aka a high time of ladies' room usage (does anyone else notice how there are certain hours that just seem busier than others?)
I walk into the restroom, minding my own business, and walk down to the far stall (the big one) because it's roomier. Maybe that's weird, but who doesn't want a bigger bathroom? Anyway, I turn into the stall (the door to which is WIDE open), and stop abruptly, as there is a woman standing in there talking on her cell phone. I was so startled that I just stopped, and then I paused, expecting her to walk out or something. But she just stood there and continued to talk on the phone while I stood there.
So after a few seconds of her using the stall for her chatting, I go to another stall. The woman stands in the stall for another minute or so, after which she begins pacing between the stall and the sink area, all the while talking about some very sick relative or friend or something, all while I and other people continue to walk in and out of the restroom.
Am I the only one who finds this terribly, terribly strange??
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
On the Stars and Stripes
Let's just start out by saying that Jennifer Hudson is awesome. She's beautiful, has enough 'tude to keep things interesting, and, obvi, this gal has some pipes. She has a voice that I like - it's big without being aggressive, and she has a phenomenal amount of control. That's one of the things I love most in a singer.
That said, I just didn't love her rendition of the national anthem on Sunday. To me, this is about something so sacred, so moving, that I just don't want someone to belt it. I most admire those who have every capacity to belt, but don't. I love when individuals sing it and it leaves you thinking, "Wow, I love those words and the heroes of this early country. I love that it was, in fact, the enemy's fire that allowed this symbol of success and freedom to be seen through the night," instead of, "Yeah!!!! That singer is awesome!!!" I'd even allow that showing off has its place; this, however, is not it. Mind you, being reverent does not always mean being quiet, but to me, it does mean being thoughtful and not getting in the way of the song itself. On that note, it drives me crazy when everyone starts clapping before the end of it!
Regardless, I did still tear up round about the last line. I thought I'd make it the whole way through for once. Um, apparently not.
PS - Was anyone else as sad for the Cardinals as I was? :(
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