My summer reading

Okay, so it's not Obama's reading list, but here are reviews of the books I've read this summer:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Finally read this Pulitzer Prize-winning work of a colleague. The book is only okay, and I probably won't remember much of it in a few months. The writing is competent, but is sometimes too self-conscious and postmodern (because I listened to the audiobook at first, I didn't realize there were footnotes). Interesting insights into the Dominican Republic, but I don't know how much is true.

Dates: 15 June - 16 July 2009
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Call it a matter of taste, but I much prefer the writing style of Ishiguro to that of Diaz. The main character, Stevens, struck me as the perfect "woman", in a chauvinistic sense. His view of professionalism is to be completely loyal, to anticipate the need of his employer, and to never let his own needs get in the way of service. He also tries to believe that in serving a powerful man, he has made his own contribution to the world. But Stevens is definitely not a woman (in more ways than the obvious): although he tries to empathize with his employer, he is completely blind to the needs of others such as Miss Kenton.

I'm not sure that Stevens completely wasted his life by serving Lord Darlington, but he would have been better off if he had performed this self-examination earlier, and more frequently. It's not enough to be sit back and simply enjoy the "remains of the day".

Dates: 17-28 July 2009
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Very good book. Soothing, yet thought-provoking: I might actually read this book multiple times. I like the concept of heaven as a place where pivotal people in your life explain why things happened the way they did. Of course, the book makes me think of who I would want to meet in heaven, and what place I would choose as my heaven. Although the book is sometimes too melodramatic, I really appreciate how its brevity avoids belaboring its main point: we *all* have a purpose in life.

Dates: 30 July - 3 Aug 2009
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Bleak House by Charles Dickens

This is the second book I've finished during our Maine trip; how odd to associate Maine with Dickens! I had avoided this book because of its uninviting title (would never work these days), but it is considered to be one of Dickens' best books. I'm not sure I would agree, but unlike most modern novels, Dickens' books deserve to be over 500 pages long: the writing is lively and well-crafted, the characters are memorable (though the list of characters at the beginning really helped me keep track of them), and the multiple plots come together without seeming forced.

Dates: 4-21 Aug 2009
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Seems like I'm on a British kick. This mystery was a good follow-up to the Dickens tome, and a perfect beach read. The book reminds me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, except the mystery is solved by an 11-year old female chemist. Although I was able to work out the mystery, Flavia's obsession with chemistry and her battles with her sisters were fun to read. Two scenes stand out in particular: Flavia's concoction to cure her cold (chicken broth from a cube, and baking soda), and the importance of letter writing (a dying art!) at the very end.

Dates: 25-28 August 2009
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars