Any book that has ballet in it is a winner for me, and Russian Winter had a lot. Nina is a Soviet girl who tested successfully into the Bolshoi training school with her best friend Vera in Soviet Russia. Nina grows up to be a successful ballet dancer, using ballet as a distraction and total focus which keeps her mind away from politics and the increasing number of arrests by the government in which people simply disappear.
Flash forward to present day Boston, in which an aged Nina donates several pieces of expensive jewelry to an auction house to raise money for the Boston Ballet. In doing so, memories of Nina's time as a Bolshoi ballerina, her husband, her eventual defection, all flood back to her. Surprisingly, a matching piece of jewelry is donated by a Russian professor who was given the necklace by a family member.
In a period of betrayals, Nina doubts things she sees and experiences she has, which eventually makes her turn her back on everyone she knows and thinks she trusts. As an old woman, Nina reflects back on these feelings and finally learns the truth about her loved ones.
There's not much about this book that I didn't like. The characters were well-developed, Nina was likable, the ballet descriptions were accurate and exciting, the story flowed at a great pace. Soviet Russia is always interesting, even in a morbid, terrifying way. My one complaint was the ending was a bit vague. Well thought out, but perhaps not well executed. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
my oh my, its been awhile
A part of me loathes grad school as it takes away all (or almost all) of my reading for pleasure time. Regardless, I've finished up some reading recently and hope to knock out a couple more books before going back for another quarter next week.
Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. This is one of the books on my 100 book list that I'm slowly plowing through. It follows the lives of two sisters, Constance and Sophia, through the 19th century, from their lives starting as teens in England to their deaths in the same town in which they were born. Constance remained in the same town, Bursely, her whole life, marrying, raising her son, then becoming a widow, all in one town. Sophia, conversely, married young in a scandal that severed ties with her immediate family for a lengthy time. After moving to Paris with her new husband, she realizes he's a bit a loser, squanders their money, and then finally leaves her. Playing off the assumption that she's a recent widower, Sophia establishes a hotel which, eventually, becomes somewhat well known and makes Sophia a wealthy women. After a small stroke slows her down, she moves back to England and reunites with the sister, Constance, she hasn't seen or spoken to in years and years.
Water Witch by Juliet Dark. Juliet Dark is a pen name for Carol Goodman, who's books I've loved since I was given Lake of Dead Languages a decade ago. She ventured away from her usual, best-selling style and moved into a more fantasy type of writing. Water Witch is the second book of the trilogy, in which the heroine, a professor of fairy tales, finds herself living in a world inhabited by witches and other fantastical creatures. Callie's forte is the sex lives of demon lovers, the subject of her dissertation and the title of her popular class. It's not as titillating as one would think, but still an interesting read. I don't know if I would have picked it up had I not known it was written by Carol Goodman. Ironically, the third book seems the most interesting of the series, which I might order from amazon, and give it a try. Some common elements from her other books remain: boarding school, single, somewhat lonely heroine, setting of New England or upstate NY.
The Inferno by Dan Brown. I seldom read books reviews, but I saw a review for this on a plane and continued reading against my better judgement. I don't remember anything else about the review except that the author complained the book read like a tour book in many places. I couldn't shake that feelings while reading it. Regardless, having been to Venice, Florence, and Istanbul, the descriptions intrigued me, made me remember places that have faded from memory, and made me want to plan trips to go back for all the sights I missed. Robert Langdon wakes up with a nasty head injury in a Florence hospital, and has no recollections of getting to Europe, much less Florence. The entire book takes place in a very short period of time. Following clues from Dante's Inferno, Langdon and his new doctor friend traipse around Italy trying to discover why Langdon was injured, who is chasing him, and why Langdon is linked to an incredibly intelligent billionaire who recently committed suicide. It lacks the panache of many of his other books, but The Inferno is a fast read with some interesting plot twists.
Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. This is one of the books on my 100 book list that I'm slowly plowing through. It follows the lives of two sisters, Constance and Sophia, through the 19th century, from their lives starting as teens in England to their deaths in the same town in which they were born. Constance remained in the same town, Bursely, her whole life, marrying, raising her son, then becoming a widow, all in one town. Sophia, conversely, married young in a scandal that severed ties with her immediate family for a lengthy time. After moving to Paris with her new husband, she realizes he's a bit a loser, squanders their money, and then finally leaves her. Playing off the assumption that she's a recent widower, Sophia establishes a hotel which, eventually, becomes somewhat well known and makes Sophia a wealthy women. After a small stroke slows her down, she moves back to England and reunites with the sister, Constance, she hasn't seen or spoken to in years and years.
Water Witch by Juliet Dark. Juliet Dark is a pen name for Carol Goodman, who's books I've loved since I was given Lake of Dead Languages a decade ago. She ventured away from her usual, best-selling style and moved into a more fantasy type of writing. Water Witch is the second book of the trilogy, in which the heroine, a professor of fairy tales, finds herself living in a world inhabited by witches and other fantastical creatures. Callie's forte is the sex lives of demon lovers, the subject of her dissertation and the title of her popular class. It's not as titillating as one would think, but still an interesting read. I don't know if I would have picked it up had I not known it was written by Carol Goodman. Ironically, the third book seems the most interesting of the series, which I might order from amazon, and give it a try. Some common elements from her other books remain: boarding school, single, somewhat lonely heroine, setting of New England or upstate NY.
The Inferno by Dan Brown. I seldom read books reviews, but I saw a review for this on a plane and continued reading against my better judgement. I don't remember anything else about the review except that the author complained the book read like a tour book in many places. I couldn't shake that feelings while reading it. Regardless, having been to Venice, Florence, and Istanbul, the descriptions intrigued me, made me remember places that have faded from memory, and made me want to plan trips to go back for all the sights I missed. Robert Langdon wakes up with a nasty head injury in a Florence hospital, and has no recollections of getting to Europe, much less Florence. The entire book takes place in a very short period of time. Following clues from Dante's Inferno, Langdon and his new doctor friend traipse around Italy trying to discover why Langdon was injured, who is chasing him, and why Langdon is linked to an incredibly intelligent billionaire who recently committed suicide. It lacks the panache of many of his other books, but The Inferno is a fast read with some interesting plot twists.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
I haven't disappeared, it just seems that way! I started graduate school last fall and it has almost eliminated my entire time to read for pleasure! Seriously cramping my style, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I did dive into a book two nights ago as a way to unwind from a day of non-stop studying. My brain was too fried to continue, so I picked up Songs for the missing. What I miss most about reading is falling into a book and loosing all sense of reality. It's better than drugs. It happened with this book.
Kim was a regular teenager in a boring Ohio town who recently graduated high school. I remember those days well. On her way to work at a Conoco, Kim disappeared. The story is less about Kim and what happened to her, and more about her family and how they coped. I liked this family so much. The writing is awesome. I kept trying to force the book to turn in a direction I wanted it to go; towards more of a murder mystery story. It's really a family drama under the guise of a kidnapped teenager, which is so much better. I surrendered by own desires for the book and let it take me where it wanted to go.
The star of the book isn't Kim at all, its her younger sister Lindsey who spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. As Kim slowly recedes from her life, Lindsey finds a new identity and a new strength in herself. She struggles with being the sister of the 'famous missing girl,' but handles it well. She makes a promise with herself that she will be perfect until they find Kim, and ends up excelling her whole way through high school.
Kim's parents hit a (predictable) rough patch after Kim is gone, but in the end their craziness prove one thing: they will both do anything for their daughter, regardless of time or cost. Aside from the tragedy this is a golden family.
After I finished the book, I stayed up late, laying in my bed in the dark and wondering about Kim and Lindsey. Stewart O'Nan really nailed the emotional plot line.
I did dive into a book two nights ago as a way to unwind from a day of non-stop studying. My brain was too fried to continue, so I picked up Songs for the missing. What I miss most about reading is falling into a book and loosing all sense of reality. It's better than drugs. It happened with this book.
Kim was a regular teenager in a boring Ohio town who recently graduated high school. I remember those days well. On her way to work at a Conoco, Kim disappeared. The story is less about Kim and what happened to her, and more about her family and how they coped. I liked this family so much. The writing is awesome. I kept trying to force the book to turn in a direction I wanted it to go; towards more of a murder mystery story. It's really a family drama under the guise of a kidnapped teenager, which is so much better. I surrendered by own desires for the book and let it take me where it wanted to go.
The star of the book isn't Kim at all, its her younger sister Lindsey who spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. As Kim slowly recedes from her life, Lindsey finds a new identity and a new strength in herself. She struggles with being the sister of the 'famous missing girl,' but handles it well. She makes a promise with herself that she will be perfect until they find Kim, and ends up excelling her whole way through high school.
Kim's parents hit a (predictable) rough patch after Kim is gone, but in the end their craziness prove one thing: they will both do anything for their daughter, regardless of time or cost. Aside from the tragedy this is a golden family.
After I finished the book, I stayed up late, laying in my bed in the dark and wondering about Kim and Lindsey. Stewart O'Nan really nailed the emotional plot line.
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