Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Feb 12

21

Loose End by Ivan E. Coyote

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on February 21, 2012
Posted in Books Read in 2012 • Short Story Read in 2012  | 8 Comments

As I said last week, I am spotlighting Ivan E. Coyote for the entire month of February, for short story Monday.


I just finished reading her collection of shorts titled Loose End.  All the stories in Loose End are about 2-3 pages long.  I am really impressed by this collection.  Ms. Coyote is a master storyteller.  Usually when I read a collection there are some stories I love, like, or hate.  This is not the case with Loose End, I loved every one!

There is one common theme through the collection, that of homosexuality and identity.  Ivan has been through her fair share of gay bashing but even so, she embraces who she is with style, grace, and dignity.  Her writing is fresh and crisp and easy to relate to.  I may not be gay but I have been through of my share of bigotry as a Jew, at least as a child.  I also have a cousin who is gay and he use to have a hard time of it.


 I really don’t get it at all.  It’s not like heterosexual people have to go into the bedrooms and watch or experience “gay sex.”  I think it’s crazy that it is 2012 and there are still people who are discriminated against.  Are you listening U.S. Republicans?  It’s crazy!  Perhaps if you could be more comfortable with yourselves, you could stop focusing and even blaming others for your problems.  Yes, I’m advocating that you get a real life and leave others out of it.

Well written, provocative, sad, and funny, Loose End has it all!


5/5

Did you review Loose End?  Please leave a link in the comments.

Stories in Loose End that I reviewed:

Saturday and Cowboy Hats


Fish Stories by Ivan Coyote

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Feb 12

10

Review & Giveaway: THE LEGACY OF EDEN by Nelle Davy

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on February 10, 2012
Posted in Books Read in 2012 • My Past Giveaways  | 17 Comments

Meredith gets a letter that brings back a flood of bad memories.  Her cousin Cal Jr. has died and has bankrupt the family farm, Aurelia.  She doesn’t want to go back there to relive painful memories yet she feels the need to go through her deceased parents belongings before everything is sold.  She calls her sister, who barely speaks to her and she makes it clear that Meredith is on her own.

The story is told by Meredith from present day with a lot of flash backs, much before Meredith was even born.  It all started when her grandfather was called back to the family farm to his father’s deathbed.  He inherits  the farm, even though his brother is the one who took it over when their father couldn’t run it any longer. 

Cal has an affair with an already married Lavinia.  She settled for her husband because he was a doctor, so had some status in town.  However she is bored silly with the older, conservative man.  She soon divorces and marries Cal.  When she moves to Aurelia, she makes grand plans to make it the richest farm in the Iowa town.  Cal goes along with her plans every step of the way but as the family grows they have more and more secrets.  Lavinia is a master manipulator and gets her husband, younger sons and grandsons to do her bidding.

Aurelia turns out to be a beautiful place after Lavinia gets done with it, but for the family that inhabits it, there is a bitter history.  The Legacy of Eden is an epic family saga.  Through the eyes of Meredith we learn the family secrets of betrayal and abuse. 

Nelle Davy swooped me into the story and never let go.  This book will haunt me for many years to come.  In fact I read it a few months ago and cannot get it out of my mind.  Her writing is fresh and vivid.  My only complaint, and it is fairly minor is that when it came to a girl in town, Lavinia’s manipulations were a unbelievable to me.   That said, I felt like I was part of the family living through the tragedies and abuse.  I read at night and I spent two sleepless nights reading this novel.  It is hard to sleep when your heart is pounding so hard!

4/5

Also reviewed by:
Books and Needlepoint
Colloquium

Please come back to So Many Precious Books on February 19th for an excerpt as my part in the Scavenger Hunt.  To see the entire scavenger hunt schedule click here.

Thanks to Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for this book and for offering a copy for me to giveaway to one of my lucky readers.
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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Jan 12

31

Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christie Watson

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on January 31, 2012
Posted in Books Read in 2012  | 8 Comments

I read a few glowing reviews of this book and after I saw the description, I knew I had to read it for myself.  Luckily, the eBook was still available on Net Galley  to request for review.  Sorry to Net Galley and Other Press for the lateness of this review.


12 year old Blessing and her brother Ezikiel knew they had it good, living with their father and mother, Mama, who both had jobs.  They lived in a nice home in Lagos, Nigeria and attended a well regarded private school. 

All that came crumbling down when Mama  found their father with another woman.  He left the family and wouldn’t send any money their way.  Mama was fired from her job at the hotel because only married women were allowed to work there.  Mama saw no alternative other than moving back to her parents house, in the village of Niger Delta.

Ezikiel said, “Warri is not safe. And those villages outside are even worse! Swamp villages! I googled Warri at the Internet café. Oil bunkering, hostage taking, illness, guns, and poverty. What about my asthma? They burn poisonous chemicals straight into the air! It’s not a safe place to live.”


Mama said that she grew up there and that it was safe.  When they arrived, they were greeted warmly by their Grandma and Grandfather, named Alhaji.  They were better off than many families in the region but that wasn’t say much.  Blessing and Ezikiel were in for a shock.  There was no was no running water nor electricity.  As irony, there was an electric fan in one of the bedrooms.  The outhouse just had a floor with a hole cut out of it and boy did it smell.

Alhaji had an engineering degree but there were no jobs for locals anymore.  They were all given to white men, shipped in to work.  Eventually Mama got a job at one of the restaurants in the oil company’s compound, she made a bit of money to help the family. 

There was barely enough for Ezikiel to go to school but not Blessing.  Grandma took Blessing under her wing and started training her to become a midwife.  Blessing loved babies, so it was a good fit but the hours were unpredictable and they often only got paid with fish rather than money.  The job was also dangerous because they had to leave their compound and go to other villages.  In fact Blessing barely escaped being raped by a local policeman because he wanted a bigger bribe from Granma.     

Later, Ezikiel was shot by one of the local rebel boy’s group but recovered in the hospital.  However, the hospital would not release him until the family could pay for his treatment.  He missed so much school that he didn’t pass his exams and was expelled.  It was heart breaking because he had been so determined to become a doctor.  However, after that he completely changed and refused to go back to school even if Grandfather could have arranged it.

This is an inspiring and heartbreaking story of the struggles of an Nigerian family.  It was much more powerful than the description of it implied.  It was political, with the western oil company taking away all of the jobs, which was the reason for all the different violent rebel groups in the region.  They not only kidnapped white workers for ransom but raped and killed many innocent village people.

This novel is so well written and is a must read for anyone who loves family sagas or wants to get a sense of what it is like to be born Nigerian.

4/5

Also reviewed by:

She is Too Fond of Books

Did you review this book?  Please leave your link in the comments.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

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