GREY by E.L. James

July 24, 2015
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Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian

The announcement of this new book, a mere 18 days prior to publication, took the publishing world by storm, and that includes bookstores and libraries. I had gotten an email early in the morning so I was aware, but when I got to work a co-worker told me she had been asked for the “Christian Fifty Shades” and thought there was, somehow, a religious version of the book out there! A quick internet search revealed the new book, but that sure was a fun way to learn about it.

I read the Fifty Shades trilogy back in 2012 (and reviewed here) and these were my final thoughts…and they still hold true for Grey. The appeal of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (and now just a series, I guess) lies with the characters and their great love affair. We can’t help but root for the insecure girl who lands the gorgeous rich guy, and the damaged man she brings out of the dark.

Ana and Christian save each other, inspire each other so that their sum together is greater than their parts. Their torrid love affair, the “mommy porn” aspect is candy to some, inflaming imaginations and libidos, while others will fly past those pages. Nonetheless, Ana and her 50 Shades bring to mind other great loves in literature like Romeo and Juliet, and Scarlett and Rhett, with apologies to Shakespeare and Mitchell. Most romance readers are looking for that, and those that don’t usually read romance are perhaps surprised at how they are swept away with Ana and Christian, enough to overlook the abysmal writing, the lip biting, the smirking. I know I was.

All that said, I got the feeling that James wrote Grey by pulling up the manuscript of the original, and changing the “she thought” to “he thought” and adding in a bit more of Christian’s background. But the writing seemed much better to me, not nearly so repetitive and deplete of those awful series of superlatives and multiple mentions of Ana’s “inner goddess.” So I’m thinking Random House got to put a strong editor on this since it hadn’t been previously self-published.

I liked seeing Christian’s point of view. The character development was better, the story was better if somehow still the same, and I am glad I read it. It probably helped that there were three years between books. Whatever her faults, E.L. James created a hot romance with lots of sizzling kinky sex, and that was all still there. It isn’t nearly as shocking, unless you haven’t read the other books, I guess. If you’re a fan of the series, enjoy. If you haven’t read them, this is a good place to start. And don’t get me started on the movie! (Love to hear your comments about any of this.)

7/15 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch

GREY: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E.L. James. Vintage (June 18, 2015).  ISBN 978-1101946343. 576p.

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THE NIGHT, THE DAY by Andrew Kane

April 8, 2015
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This is the third novel from author Andrew Kane, and it is another Jewish themed book. This time it is what I think of as a contemporary Holocaust story, which seems to be something of a trend with Kristin Hannah’s terrific The Nightingale, Susan Wigg’s The Beekeepers Ball, Once We Were Brothers by Ron Balson, Moving Day by Jonathan Stone and others.

Jacques Benoît is a wealthy hotel tycoon so when he attempts suicide, his wife just can’t understand it. The hospital refers him to Dr. Marty Rosen, a renowned psychologist, for continued therapy. Rosen does not find his new patient entirely forthcoming or even truthful, but continues to work with him.

Rosen has a lot going on in his own life. He has been widowed for a couple of years, and is picked up in his favorite bar by a stunning woman with a British accent. He falls hard for her, but when he visits her home he is struck with an uneasy feeling. As a psychologist, he tends to listen to his gut feelings but he can’t quite put his finger on what is wrong.

Some of the other subplots deal with the Vichy government in France during WWII, and the modern day Mossad, but the crux of the story is slowly revealed as Kane weaves a complex and interesting tale with a rather shocking ending.

4/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

The Night, the Day by Andrew Kane. Berwick Court Publishing (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0990951520. 338p.

 

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JOSHUA: A Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane

March 16, 2015

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This is one of those books that I picked up because my library patrons kept raving about it and the reserve list is quite long. It also had the added attraction of being set in Brooklyn, my birthplace and my son’s current home. When there is that much interest in a book, I like to take a look at it, and I’m very glad I did.

At its heart, it is a coming of age story but it is also a history of the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, starting in the late 1950s but with some additional historic information going back to the 1800s.

There are three main characters, four if you count Crown Heights and I certainly do. Joshua Eubanks is a young black boy whose mother is a maid for the Sims, a wealthy Jewish family on Long Island. Mr. Sims owns some apartments in Brooklyn, where he moves his maid/mistress and their son, but Joshua doesn’t know about his father. He does hear a lot about Paul Sims, his half-brother, and while they don’t know about their relationship they do know about one another.

Joshua befriends the only other black child in the building, Jerome, and as they approach adolescence, he falls in love with Jerome’s sister, Celeste. Unbeknownst to Joshua, she is having serious problems at home that have long reaching repercussions.

As Paul Sims approaches his bar mitzvah age, he is tutored by Rabbi Weissman, a Hasidic rabbi in Crown Heights. Paul falls in love with the rabbi’s daughter Rachel, but it is not meant to be. Paul’s family left their religious life behind when they Americanized their name, and are appalled that he is pursuing a more orthodox lifestyle.

Rachel makes up the last of the triumvirate. The rabbi’s daughter wants to become a doctor, but that is just not done in the Hasidic community. Women are expected to marry and produce lots of children, and not much more than that. She befriends Joshua, and their relationship has considerable influence on both their lives.

Crown Heights is the last main character, and also comes of age in this story. The community changes from Italian and Irish to African American but the Hasidim are the constant throughout, despite bigotry going in every direction and eventual race riots.

This a completely engrossing story, with well defined characters that the reader can’t help but care about. The tumultuous times add a lot of drama and action, making this a fast paced story as well. What I really liked is that the author showed both the good and the bad in all these racial and religious groups. There was no black and white, only the more realistic shades of gray.

There is a lot for book groups to discuss here, and I would highly recommend it for book discussion. I really enjoyed it, and will be thanking my patrons for recommending it.

1/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

JOSHUA: A Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane. Berwick Court Publishing (February 26, 2015). ISBN 978-0990951544. 480p.

 

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SAVING GRACE by Jane Green

January 24, 2015

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I’ve been reading Jane Green since Jemima J., and have really loved how her books have evolved over the years. Saving Grace is another step forward for this terrific author.

Grace and Ted Chapman have been married for twenty years, living an idyllic life in New York’s Hudson Valley. He is a hugely successful literary author, and she is part of his support system; his beautiful, gracious wife, hostess of lavish dinner parties, and board member of a local charity where she teaches women to cook.

But unbeknownst to outsiders looking in at this power couple, Ted has some anger issues, and Grace lives her life walking on eggshells. Ted has an assistant who really keeps it all together, so when she needs to retire, they need a replacement and fast.

Enter Beth, the perfect assistant. She moves in and takes over and Ted is happy; Grace is uneasy but can’t quite put her finger on the problem. Then odd things start to happen, and Grace finds her life spiraling out of control. Beth is playing devious, diabolical games with this family and as the story unfurls, one shocking disaster after another, there doesn’t seem to be a way out for any of them.

Until Grace takes off for home – England. There she slowly recovers from all the damage and learns how to put her life back together. But even with that success, there are still more shocking revelations ahead.

This book was completely unputdownable. The characters are well developed, real, and memorable. The suspense builds throughout, never letting up, until the dramatic ending. Green focuses on problems of mental illness and the prescription drug epidemic in this country, in a way that inspires thoughtful discussion. A great read for book groups for sure.

1/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SAVING GRACE by Jane Green. St. Martin’s Press (December 30, 2014). ISBN 978-1250047335. 320p.

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THE BOSTON GIRL by Anita Diamant

January 15, 2015

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Anita Diamant, author of the much beloved The Red Tent (and several other books) hasn’t had a new book in a few years so this was highly anticipated. I am happy to say it was worth the wait.

Touching on her usual themes of Judaism, feminism and history, The Boston Girl is also heartwarming and engaging – I couldn’t put it down.

Diamant utilizes a common plot device; the heroine, Addie Baum, is 85 years old and telling her life story to her granddaughter (with much more detail than my grandmother ever remembered.) This is a poignant family story about the immigrant experience in Boston, Massachusetts. The characters are well drawn, especially Addie and her immediate family, but the secondary characters are more shadowy. Since the story is told in the first person, we can only know what Addie knows.

Addie lived through a severe flu epidemic, the Great Depression, women’s rights and lots more, all brought to life through the lens of the Baum family. I won’t be forgetting this family any time soon.

1/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE BOSTON GIRL by Anita Diamant. Scribner (December 9, 2014). ISBN 978-1439199350. 336p.

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THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub

July 27, 2014

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Franny and Jim Post planned their two week family vacation to Mallorca to celebrate their 35th anniversary and their daughter Sylvia’s graduation from high school. Shortly before they leave, Jim loses his job after having an affair with a 23 year old intern, but they decide cancelling the trip wouldn’t be fair to Sylvia.

Since they are renting a house from a friend, they invite their son Bobby and his girlfriend, the cougar Carmen, and Franny’s best friend Charles and his husband, Lawrence.

Spending two weeks in such close proximity is bound to bring up all sorts of issues and secrets, and it does. Franny doesn’t like Carmen, actually none of them do, even Bobby doesn’t seemed thrilled. To add a bit of romance to the mix, the Post’s hire a Spanish tutor for Sylvia, who turns out to be a real hottie.

Will Franny and Jim find their way back to a marriage or work towards a divorce? Will Sylvia lose her virginity? Will Bobby and Carmen stay together? Will Charles and Lawrence adopt a baby? Lots going on amidst a beautiful setting make a fast, entertaining read with fairly obvious conclusions. Did not live up to the hype for me.

8/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub. Avon (April 29, 2014). ISBN 978-0062118196. 384p.

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THE ICE CREAM QUEEN OF ORCHARD STREET by Susan Jane Gilman

July 4, 2014

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The Treynovsky family escaped the pogroms in Russia and emmigrated to the lower east side of New York, where Malka grew up to become Lillian Dunkle, the eponymous ice cream queen in Susan Jane Gilman’s charming first novel. Her journey from poverty stricken immigrant to enormously successful ice cream magnate is the quintessential American story.

The streets of New York are not always the safest place for children, teeming with vendors and their push carts. Malka is out one day when the Italian ices man’s horse accidentally crushes her leg in a truly Dickensian moment. Malka’s father takes off, her mother can’t handle it and ends up in a sanitarium. Mr. Dinello feels guilty for crippling the child and takes her in, so this Jewish immigrant girl is raised by an Italian immigrant family. The Italian ices cart grows into an ice cream factory and Malka learns the business until both Mr. and Mrs. Dinello pass away. Their sons form a partnership and a new company, and leave her out in the cold.

Revenge drives Malka, who eventually changes her name to the more American sounding Lillian. She meets Albert Dunkle, a movie star handsome Jewish immigrant with a bad stutter. She tries to help him and they fall in love and marry. Together they start up Dunkle’s Ice Cream. Albert invents a machine that makes soft serve ice cream (think Carvel here, I certainly did) and they become hugely successful. But vindictiveness against the Dinello family fuels Lillian’s fire, and she won’t be happy until they are out of business. Lillian is an unscrupulous businesswoman, and eventually her chickens come home to roost.

This is a family story about the immigrant experience in America, told with a lot of humor and pathos. The characters come alive on these pages and while you may not always like Lillian Dunkle, you can’t help but cheer her on.

7/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE ICE CREAM QUEEN OF ORCHARD STREET by Susan Jane Gilman. Grand Central Publishing (June 10, 2014). ISBN 978-0446578936. 512p.

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ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

June 30, 2014

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This is the story of a blind French girl and a mathematically inclined German boy in World War II occupied France, and it is one of the most beautifully written and memorable novels that I’ve read in a long time.

I heard about it through Library Reads, it was one of the top ten picks for May. I have found some terrific books through this list of librarian favorites, and I urge you to check it out.

Marie Laure goes blind when she’s six years old. She lives with her father in Paris near the museum where he is a locksmith. He builds her a minature village to scale of their neighborhood and teaches her to navigate on her own. But when the Germans invade Paris, they flee to Saint-Malo to stay with Marie Laure’s uncle, who is a severe agoraphobic. He has a multi-story home on the sea that he shares with a housekeeper/caretaker.

Meanwhile Werner is a 14 year old boy living with his sister in an orphanage in Germany. He is selected to test for engineering school, where he excels. But school under the Third Reich is difficult for Werner. His best friend is a gentle soul and he knows nothing good can come of that in the land of Hitler Youth. Werner is eventually sent out to hunt down illegal transmitters, and that is how he spends the last few years of  his childhood, and the war.

Marie Laure is growing up, and grows very close to both the housekeeper and her uncle. When her father goes missing, they care for her. Eventually Saint-Malo becomes a closed city, and life is very difficult for those still living there. Food, even water, are scarce and freedom becomes a thing of the past.

Werner’s and Marie Laure’s stories ebb and flow, moving back and forth in time and place until inevitably they meet. The war is their backdrop, but the book, surprisingly, is about the kindness people can show one another, even in extraodinarily difficult times.

Reading groups will love this as universal themes of love, war, deception, loyalty, impairments and more will offer great fodder for discussion. Most of the chapters are extremely short, and even though it is a highly descriptive novel, the story moves and is quite gripping, I couldn’t put it down.

All the Light We Cannot See is one of my favorite books so far this year.

6/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr. Scribner; First Edition edition (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1476746586. 544p.

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TALK by Michael Smerconish

June 26, 2014

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Narrated by James Edward Thomas

I must admit to having a bit of a crush on Smerconish, so when I heard he wrote a novel I wanted it. I might have been happier had he read it, or not – usually authors are terrible readers, but despite the narrator (who did an excellent job,) I still had Smerconish’s voice in my head.

I thought the name was pronounced “Smer CONE ish,” like my name should be pronounced “A LEE see” (but rarely is) but turns out it’s “Smer KAHN ish.” I like learning stuff, and this was only the beginning.

If you are not familiar with Smerconish, he is a long time talk radio host based out of Philadelphia airing on Syrius XM’S Potus channel and more recently, host of his own TV show on CNN. I found him during his four years of guest hosting for Chris Matthews on MSNBC, but he’s not a left leaning liberal. He’s much more middle of the road, so CNN seems like a good fit.

Talk centers around a right wing talk radio host, Stan Powers, based out of Tampa but with an eye on the national stage. While Stan doesn’t necessarily espouse all the drivel he spiels, he likes his paycheck and is willing to do what it takes to get on top of the ultra competitive media pile.

Set slightly in the future, the liberal president (after Obama) has decided not to run for re-election, causing both parties to move into high gear for the primaries. The frontrunning Democrat is the governor of Florida, so Stan is in a good place for national attention.

The machinations of talk radio, political TV, and the politicians themselves was just fascinating. Stan is a great character, flawed but very likeable, and he’s surrounded by a cast of interesting people from his agent to his mentor to the first lady of Florida, with whom he had a brief college fling. The characters all ring true, which may be unfortunate, but nonetheless help make the story all the more compelling.

This is the first “adult” audiobook that I’ve listened to that held my attention throughout. Smerconish is a smart cookie, writing about what he knows, and anyone who listens to talk radio or watches FOX or MSNBC will be hooked on Talk – I was.

6/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

TALK by Michael Smerconish. Audible Audio Edition. Audible Studios (May 6, 2014). ASIN B00JRABMY2. Listening Length: 8 hours and 31 minutes.

Hardcover: Cider Mill Press (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-1604334906. 272p.

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THE MARRYING OF CHANI KAUFMAN by Eve Harris

June 25, 2014

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I found this book on the long list for the Mann Booker prize in 2013 and it was published here in the U.S. by Grove Press in April.

I always find books about the Orthodox Jewish community fascinating, it’s a whole different culture from anything I’ve personally experienced. This story is set in London, which adds another layer to the story.

Chani Kaufman is getting married. She’s 19, she’s had three dates with Baruch, who is looking for a wife before he goes off to Jerusalem to rabbinical school. Baruch comes from a very wealthy family, but Chani does not. Her father is a good man, a rabbi himself, but of a small congregation.

Baruch’s mother is none too pleased with her son’s choice. She wants him to find a rich girl to subsidize his studies, and to keep things on an even playing field. But Baruch sticks to his guns and Chani thwarts her future mother-in-law’s plans to end the relationship.

The book is about these families, and also about the Rebbetzin that Chani is studying with. She is a deeply unhappy character, and the book moves between these various characters and  their families, as well as moving back and forth in time, but it is always interesting and easy to follow. Definitely for fans of Naomi Ragen’s books or The Innocents by Francesca Segal.

6/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE MARRYING OF CHANI KAUFMAN by Eve Harris. Grove Press, Black Cat (April 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0802122735. 384p.

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