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Content by MD
Commentateur n° : 466
Votes Utiles:
33
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Reviews Written by
MD (Toronto, ON)
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Reviewer Rank:
466 |
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On Chesil Beach
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de Ian McEwan
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 14.56 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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Very indifferent, Aug 28 2009
My feelings about this book are of great indifference. I neither loved it nor hated it. There are aspects that just didn't do it for me - it is a dark story, and seemed to drag out quite a bit considering the length (only 166 pages), and the time period (most of the events take place over the course of only a few hours).
But there are also aspects I enjoyed - it is a romantic story about coming of age, falling in love, and of a first sexual experience. It is beautifully told, and reads like a classic. McEwan manages to really develop the characters, despite such a short story, and I felt that I well understood the predicament that each was in.
It didn't "wow" me, but I enjoyed it all the same.
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The Girls From Ames
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de Jeffrey Zaslow
Édition : Hardcover |
| Price: CDN$ 20.48 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
You will want to lend it to all of your girlfriends!, Aug 19 2009
I really thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found it to be an easy read.
It is so neat to read this account of a real-life group of 11 woman and their lifelong friendship. I constantly found myself comparing their relationships with each other to my own relationships, and often tried to determine which of my own friends is most like each of the Ames girls, with their very different personalities. Theirs is an incredible friendship, and it made me want to reach out to my own friends and let them know how important they are to me. Female readers will be able to relate to both the good times and the bad, and will at times be even envious of the bonds that helped these women through each.
Although structurally, the book is a bit choppy, it doesn't really impede the story at all. It doesn't feel much different from sitting and listening to a group of friends recount memories, discuss their friendship, and tell stories about the past and present. At first I found myself having trouble keeping it all straight and remembering who was who, but I quickly overcame that and really enjoyed the entire story.
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The Slap
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de Christos Tsiolkas
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 15.74 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A no-holds-barred tale of modern family life, Aug 10 2009
The Slap is a very modern tale of families, relationships, careers, lifestyles, and coming of age. Told from 8 different perspectives, including high school students, a single unmarried woman, married women and men, and an elderly grandfather, we see the struggles that each face in their own life and in their interactions with each other. At times, the dialogue, sexual conduct, drug use and alcoholism are shocking, but yet also utterly believable and even relatable. I found myself comparing my own feelings to those of the characters - sometimes completely opposed, and other times completely understanding.
As another reviewer points out, despite being set in Australia, this story could just as easily take place in Canada or the US. An easy read, interesting, fun, and suitable for both men and women.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing! And surprisingly believable!, Aug 7 2009
I absolutely loved this book.
I was dubious at first, as they premise sounded far too science-fiction-ish to me. But it is an incredibly romantic story, and Niffenegger somehow manages to render the premise entirely believable and realistic. I felt that I really got to know the characters, and grew very attached to them. There is no emotion that I didn't feel reading this book: happiness, excitement, nervousness, sadness, anger. It is one of those books that when you get to the end, you wish that you hadn't, as you already miss the characters, and want them to stay with you forever.
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The Book Of Negroes
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de Lawrence Hill
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 12.48 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting, educational, and entertaining, Aug 6 2009
I received this book as a gift, and am so glad that I did. The Book of Negroes is not necessarily a story I would typically pick up, but I found it to be an incredible story, a real page-turner, and very easy to read. Despite being fiction, it is obvious that the author has done his research, and I came away knowing a lot more about the slave trade and the events of that era that I previously did not know.
Although Aminata faced unspeakable hardships, at times it felt that things worked out a little too perfectly, and that her treatment by others was better than the average, making for an almost *too* perfect story. Nonetheless, it kept me gripped, and I was able to read it in no time!
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An interesting read, Jul 21 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and envisioning what it would be like to learn as an adult that you had a twin you'd never known for all your growing up years. This story has the added benefit of being told from each of the twins' perspectives, as their reactions to this news are sometimes contradictory to each other. They both go through a roller coaster of emotions: excited and nervous, welcoming and distant, relieved and resentful.
I had hoped for a bit more focus on what it was like to grow up with their adopted families, and a comparison of their lives apart. Instead, the central focus is the girls' need to understand the adoption agency's motives for separating them, and their search for their birth mother. Nonetheless, a very interesting story.
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Three Cups Of Tea
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de Greg Mortenson
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 8.25 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
An incredible story, but difficult to enjoy, Jul 20 2009
I really wanted to love this story. After reading the first few pages a year ago, I put it down and didn't pick it back up until this summer - but this time I decided to persevere until the end. Greg Mortenson is an amazing man, doing so much for the greater good of the world. He is selfless, brave, and determined, and his story is an amazing one.
Unfortunately though, the writer of his story gets so bogged down in wordiness that it renders it hard to follow. While I welcomed the opportunity to learn about an area I currently don't know enough about, I found myself straining to understand everything, and losing out on the pleasure of the story. For those more familiar with the geography and politics of the area, it may be a more enjoyable read.
Nonetheless, the Central Asia Institute is an organization that deserves the attention and I would encourage others to read this story if for no other reason than to understand CAI's innovative strategy for creating peace, and bringing education to all.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Another great book for my Augusten Burroughs collection!, Jul 7 2009
I am a huge fan of all Burroughs' other works, but having heard mixed reviews about A Wolf At the Table, I was a bit reluctant to pick it up. But thankfully a friend gave it to me as a gift, because I loved it! It is another memoir, filling in many of the gaps about Burroughs' early life that he hasn't mentioned in his other stories. This one is more comparable to Running With Scissors in style, and is more on the serious side than the funnier/lighter Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects. While Burroughs' father has little presence in the other stories, A Wolf At the Table brings to light his strange role in Burroughs' life and odd upbringing. Burroughs' other stories display humour towards his childhood and adult life, and a real laugh-it-off attitude; but this story had me really feeling sympathy for what he went through, and realizing the depth and seriousness of the situation.
While some parts did seem a little extreme/exaggerated, I think that just represents how much of an effect his father's behaviour had on him.
Kudos to Augusten Burroughs for turning his strange childhood into a great story that will entertain and amaze many!
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Still Alice
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de Lisa Genova
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 12.25 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Gripping and enlightening, Jun 17 2009
What a great story. A very easy read; couldn't put it down! I have never really put much thought into Alzheimers before, but boy, was this story enlightening. Alice is a lovable, relatable character, with a successful career, a busy but devoted husband, and children each at their own stages of life. When Alzheimers takes over and changes her dynamics with each, it is heartbreaking.
I found myself very sad for Alice and all her family members throughout the novel, and can only imagine what true Alzheimers patients and their families go through. You will leave this book wanting to go and spend time with your loved ones and to cherish every moment, knowing that with a disease like this you can lose it all too easily.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
So Interesting, Jun 14 2009
Such an interesting read! Full of neat facts, and covering topics that you would never even find yourself thinking about as areas where luck/opportunity/pure chance affect how successful you become. For instance, who knew that culture played such a big role in which airlines crash more often? I found myself continually telling my boyfriend about my latest learnings, to the point that he was saying "read your book so you can tell me more interesting facts!".
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