Book News:
Run by Anne Patchett (2007). This is an interesting tale about a white Catholic family in Boston that adopts several black children. The surprise twist is that the birth mother has secretly followed the lives of her children as they've grown up with their family (I won't give any more away!). Patchett explores questions of where people belong and what they feel compelled to do with their lives, and she does it in that poignant yet realistic way that made her Bel Canto so lovely to read.
JPEG by Doug Coupland (2006). Coupland is a prolific novelist who wrote the famous Generation X, but this book doesn't appear to be available stateside. It is quite a hilarious read about young, brilliant computer nerds and is a good change of pace from the typical novel.
Dinge bei Licht by Tobias Hülswitt (2008). Martha and Alexander have been a couple for a long time when Martha has an accident and falls into a coma. Alexander, who has been having an affair, realizes what he is about to lose, and tells the story of Martha's life and their relationship. Although I found parts of this somewhat tedious, the writing was also very compelling.
Halbschatten by Uwe Timm (2008). Timm tells the story of Marga von Etzdorf, a female German aviator who actually lived and died young of suicide. He uses an odd device of telling Marga's story, and other events in Germany's stormy past, through the voices of several famous people who are buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin, where the aviator is also buried. This technique can be rather distracting at times, but Timm is such an amazing story teller, that I couldn't put the book down.
Captain James Cook: A Biography by Richard Hough (1994). Greg loved this book, and I liked it too, but not as much as he did. I enjoy a good biography, but I found this one a little lacking in imagination at times. Still, it is very worthwhile to read it if you want to learn more about Captain Cook, who explored so much of the world, including New Zealand and our own Pacific Northwest.
