Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Jun 08

13

Bang Crunch By Neil Smith

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on June 13, 2008
Posted in Books Read 2008 • Canada • Fiction • Neil Smith  | 10 Comments

The Art of Short Story




This is Neil Smith’s debut book of 9 short stories. It’s somewhat uneven, like most books of short fiction. Some of the stories were gems and a couple duds.

I especially enjoyed “The B9ers”, the story of a support group for people who had benign tumors. Yes, you read write, the non-lethal variety of tumor. This story was both humorous and touching.

Another story I enjoyed was the title story, “Bang Crunch”. It’s the touching story about a girl born with Fred Hoyle syndrome. First she ages rapidly and then goes backward, back to an embryo again.

There were only 2 stories that I didn’t care for at all. “Green Fluorescent Protein” and “Extremities”. They were just too “out there” for me.

Neil Smith is a strong writer. He writes with sensitivity and wicked humour. Though I didn’t like all the stories in this collection, I highly recommend it. The stories I enjoyed were well worth the time!

3.5/5

Note: If you have also reviewed this book, please feel free to post you link in the comments. I will then add it to the end of my review.

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

Jun 08

13

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on June 13, 2008
Posted in Anne Michaels • Books Read 2008 • Canada • Historical Fiction  | 4 Comments

Just a Little Too Poetic for This Reader’s Taste

The book opens with Jakob Beer as a seven-year-old child hiding in the bog in order to escape the Nazis. His family did not escape and were killed. Jakob was found by Athos Roussos, who smuggled him out of Poland and brought young Jakob to live with him in Greece. After the war, they immigrated to Canada. Jakob later becomes a poet and translator. The story is told by Ben, who discovered Jakob’s diaries, a man whose parents are Holocaust survivors.

This is primarily a story about memory, love, and loss. Anne Michaels is an accomplished poet, which is really demonstrated in this, her first novel. Every sentence is carefully crafted poetry. Her descriptions have great depth and make the reader see the great beauty and great horror.
This book is not a fast read. I found myself having to stop and ponder a lot. This was both negative and positive for me. I am not a huge fan of poetry, so in that sense this book was too lyrical for me. However, by being forced to stop and ponder I found some wonderful pearls.
I saw the movie version, which is what prompted me to read this book. The movie was a gem and I loved it. Sometimes it takes an overly lyrical novel to make a great film. It is very rare that I like the film version better than a book, but this is one of those cases.
I’m glad I read the book. I got to explore the characters more deeply. Now I want to see the movie again.

3.5/5

Note: If you have also reviewed this book, please feel free to post you link in the comments. I will then add it to the end of my review.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Jun 08

8

A Perfect Night to Go to China By David Gilmour

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on June 8, 2008
Posted in Books Read 2008 • Canada • David Gilmour • Fiction  | 6 Comments

Heartbreaking but Unbelievable

The book opens with Roman tucking his 6-year-old son in for the night. He then decides to leave the house, with his son in it, to go to a bar down the street for a quick drink. He’s gone about 15 minutes. When he returns, his son is missing.

Throughout the book we follow Roman on a remorseful journey. A journey of regret, sorrow, relationship problems, searching, and all those things that normally go with loss.
I really wanted to like this book and I did, I just didn’t love it. David Gilmour really has a way with words, and this really shines through. His mature prose was sometimes poetic, sparkled with some dark humour.
The major problem I had with this book was that every time Roman would dream, they would be in sequence. It’s like he planned it that way and he could do this at will. We don’t dream that way. I sometimes wish we did, because I have had dreams that I wish would continue the next time that I fell asleep. LOL!
I think with Gilmour’s talent, he could have done much more with this book. That said, this is the first David Gilmour book I have read, but I will definitely try another.
3/5
Note: If you have also reviewed this book, please feel free to post you link in the comments. I will then add it to the end of my review.
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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