Audiobook Review-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Audiobook Review-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Click on Elaine's Reading Review Link at Right

Book Review- The Piano Teacher

Here's an experiment-I'm always talking with friends about books I've read, so I've added a link to a separate blog (http://www.scratchpaperbooks.blogspot.com/) for reviews of books, stories, or other interesting material I've read.  I hope you will leave your own comments about the books, and suggest other interesting reading for the rest of us.

The Piano Teacher  by Janice Y.K. Lee

     I read this debut novel straight through in a couple of days, trying to finish it before the author’s lecture at the DMA yesterday afternoon. The novel tells the story of Will Truesdale and the two women who are in love with him; one in 1941 as the Japanese invade Hong Kong and the other 11 years later as the city rebuilds. Though there are a few gaps in the plot which require the reader to fill in the blanks, it is a well-written historical novel with interesting characters and unique cultural insights about a time and place which hasn’t previously gotten much print attention.

     The author is a young Korean-American woman living in Hong Kong with her husband and four kids (including twins born two days after she sent the final manuscript to her publisher!) I was truly inspired by her account of the writing process and was impressed by her poise in dealing with questions from the audience, including one from a nitwit who basically gave away the primary plot twist of the book! Not everyone in the auditorium had read (or finished) the book at that point, and an audible gasp went up from the crowd when the proverbial beans were spilled. Instead of calling the woman a clueless moron, which is what I probably would have done in the same situation, Ms. Lee just said “Well, for those of you who haven’t read the book yet—just forget you heard that” and moved on to a more discreet questioner.

     Ms. Lee signed books after the lecture and graciously thanked each person for being there. I was watching, and imagining how it might feel to sit at a book-signing table myself someday.

     I’d recommend this book as a good weekend or book-club read, although probably more women than men will enjoy it (sorry, guys.)