Friday Book Report: The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

Stuart Neville’s debut novel, Ghosts of Belfast is a dark and gritty story about the inner workings of the conflict in Ireland and the innocents who suffered because of it.  It was published in 2009 by Soho Press, Incorporated.

Gerald Fegan, a former IRA hit-man is being haunted night and day by twelve ghosts.  All Fegan wants is peace, and the only way to be rid of his ghostly followers is to kill the men who gave him the orders to kill these twelve innocent people.  As Fegan starts to work down the list, he meets a woman that could offer him some redemption.  Marie McKenna is an outsider in Northern Ireland, and many of the most powerful men in the area want her out of the picture.  Fegan must battle his own demons as well as keep Marie safe from the men that used to employ him.

This is a dark and violent book.  It’s got that edge to it that can make you wince while reading.  I was intrigued by the storyline; a haunted man trying to find absolution for his past crimes, but overall I just couldn’t connect with this story.  I think it was because it was just so dang bleak and it offered such little hope throughout the entire book.  Adding Marie did help some, but overall this book was full of shadows with not much light peeking through. 

This book also deals with the political conflict that has tortured Northern Ireland for decades.  I am not familiar with the whole socio-political workings that have embattled that part of the world, and so a lot of that was lost on me.  I think Neville tried to explain it for a novice like myself, but sometimes I think his Irish roots took over and he left out things that may be common knowledge to him, but not to the general reader.  There’s lots to do with gangsters and politicians and corrupt government officials, and as a whole just about everyone in this book is not a very nice person.  I found it really hard to care about anyone in this book, and so when the final battle at the end came, I wasn’t worried about our protagonists because it didn’t matter to me what happened to anyone.

I give this book a C grade.  While I don’t mind reading dark tales from time to time, I want them to have some glimmer of hope somewhere to balance out all the gloom and doom.  There were too many characters, and most were such terrible beings they were hard to read about.  I found myself torn between wanting to put this book down and take a break from the gloominess and just reading it straight through to get it over with.  To go with all the sad and miserableness in this book, there was way too much swearing for my sensitive eyes.  I understand these are all gangsters and awful, horrible men, but I thought the swearing was excessive and often times just put in because the author couldn’t think of something better to write.  This was not my type of book.  I think it will appeal to a lot of other readers, but it just wasn’t my style.  I try to read a lot of different genres and different authors to have a broader knowledge of the written word; but this time I should’ve stuck to what I like and passed on this book.  Like I said, this will appeal to a lot of readers; but if you’re like me and enjoy books that have a good balance of light and dark, I’d stay away from these ghosts.

Women's College World Series

I am a huge fan of College Softball.  Aside from football, softball is most definitely my favorite sport to watch, and it's even more fun to watch live.  Since Kansas State has not softball team, I am at liberty to cheer for any school I like, and I've been a big fan of Alabama Softball for about six years now, so every time the Crimson Tide are at the World Series I try to catch a few games live.  Luckily, the Women's College World Series is held every year in Oklahoma City, which means I can make the short drive a few times a year to watch some of the best teams in the country play the sport.  I usually go by myself (which I am a-ok with) but this year I thought Josh was old enough and would enjoy a day at the ballpark so I took him with me.  These are a few of the pictures of our day at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in OKC.

We arrived a little late for the games on Sunday, but we caught the last half of Arizona State vs. Oklahoma while we waited for Alabama to take on California.  Josh enjoyed eating all the ballpark concessions, such as hot dogs, soda, and some frozen lemonade.  I think all the food was his favorite part of the games!

The next game was the one I really wanted to watch:  California vs. Alabama.  If Alabama won they were going on to the Championship series versus Oklahoma, so we were cheering loud and yelling, "Roll Tide!" throughout the game.  By this time I think Josh was getting a little worn out from the sun and fun, but he's a trooper and managed to stick it out through all seven innings!

The Alabama Crimson Tide

Kayla Braud batting.

Kaila Hunt batting

Alabama celebrating after the win!

We even made it on ESPN!

 All in all I think we both had a really fun day.  I went back on Tuesday night to watch game 2 of the Championship series between Alabama and Oklahoma, and that was really fun especially since Bama won.  The whole trip was even better since Alabama won the National Championship, it was really cool to see those girls that I've watched and rooted for this whole year hoist up that trophy.  Now that softball is over for the year, I'm anxious for next season to get here!  I think Josh and I will try to make it a yearly thing and drive up for at least one game if we can.  I'm fully content watching the games by myself, but I know that sharing these experiences with my son make them that much better.  Well, this was our trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series!  I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as Josh and I enjoyed going!

Friday Book Report: Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan is a heartwarming story about the ability to triumph over tragedy, and that despite our fears; we can still affect those closest to us.  This book was self-published in 2011 and so far I have only seen it available in eBook format.

Mary McAllister spends nearly sixty years secluded in her white marble mansion overlooking the small town of Mill River, Vermont.  Suffering from social anxiety disorder after a horrible incident when she was just sixteen, Mary fears strangers and panics at the thought of venturing out into the world beyond her marble walls.   Her only connection to the outside world are the mail, television and radio and the friendship of an elderly priest that has known Mary since he performed her wedding Mass so many years ago.

Most of the residents of Mill River have never seen Mary, and find that the house and its owner an eccentric addition to the small town.  The marble house is a mystery to the town, but most view it as just another structure that adds to the personality of the quaint little New England village.  Many are curious about the inhabitant of the old marble structure but it isn’t until Mary’s death that the villagers of Mill River will finally understand what Father Michael O’Brien has known all along:  that although Mary was reclusive, she always knew and loved those of the sleepy town that she called her own.

This is a heartwarming story.  There isn’t much in the way of a plot, but it has feel-good written all through it.  It isn’t surprising this was self-published, because this book has no interest in tackling some of the more serious or thought provoking issues that other novels do.  But it’s an endearing tale, and if you have an eBook, it’s worth the price (I’ve found it for only .99 cents at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble) of downloading to read.

The story flashes back from the past, telling Mary’s heartbreaking story, to present in a remarkably coherent way.  A lot of flash back novels can feel disjointed, but Chan works from the past to the present wonderfully to tell the story she wants to.  The writing won’t overwork your brain, and in parts the dialogue between characters can get a little cheesy and feel forced, but overall Chan gets her point across.  There is very few unnecessary descriptions, which I found a great relief since I am not a fan of the overly descriptive writing about non-essential portions of books, and for the most part Chan is blunt and to the point in her writing. 

The story won’t overwhelm you, and it’s very predictable, but I don’t think Chan was focusing on trying to keep the secrets from being revealed until the end.  Instead, Chan concentrates on telling the story and illustrating how one woman can affect so many without them even knowing her.  It’s a story about overcoming tragedy and doing what you can to help your fellow neighbor as best you can.  Chan hints at some religious themes:  How can God let something bad happen to someone that is good?  When bad things do happen, do we turn away from God, or do we trust in Him and lean on our faith even more?  And while Chan mentions these themes, the book isn’t overpowered by them and in fact Chan leaves the interpretation of those ideas up to the reader, which was very nicely done on her part.  Instead of preaching, Chan puts the idea in the readers head and allows the reader to decide on their own.

There are a lot of characters in this book, but Chan does a good job of developing them all nicely and very few felt like they didn’t need to be in this book.  From the new hunky police officer to the dimwitted yet lovable Daisy, Chan describes them all very well and clarifies their role and their progression throughout the book.  I grew up in a small town, and Chan describes the inner-workings of the small town thoroughly and quite accurately.

This is an uplifting story, it won’t make you think too much, but it’s got just the right amount of emotion that will make you feel good after reading.  I give this book a B-, if only because it seems at times too overly sappy and the dialogue between characters could have been better written.  But it’s a nice story, despite all the heartache Mary goes through, she never forgets where she came from, and she never forgets those wonderful neighbors that have been a part of her life unbeknownst to them.  If you like the uplifting and positive type of stories, I’d recommend picking up this eBook, especially if it’s still only one dollar.  It may not have made me think about any serious issues, but it did make me feel good at the end, and that’s all I usually want out of a book.

Friday Book Report: Zombie's Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer

Written by Rusty Fischer and published in 2011 by Medallion Press, Incorporated; Zombie’s Don’t Cry is a science fiction teen novel.  In the small town of Barracuda Bay, Florida; Maddy Swift is your typical seventeen year old girl.  She has a best friend, but is otherwise relatively “invisible” to the rest of the high school crowd.  Until one fateful night turn her life upside down.

There’s a new boy in school, Stamp Crosby comes from Wisconsin and sits next to Maddy in Art class.  She’s already smitten with the boy, and when they bump into each other numerous times he gathers up his nerve to ask her to a party one night.  She sneaks out of the house to walk to the party but is unexpectedly struck by lightning.  When Maddy wakes up face down in a puddle, its hours later and she suddenly realizes her heart isn’t beating anymore.  She races home and does a few tests courtesy of the website, youmightbeazombieif.blogspot.com and realizes she’s dead; or rather, undead.  Now her self-absorbed best friend Hazel and the cute new boy that’s taken an interest in her aren’t the only things on her undead mind anymore.  While waiting for her order of lamb brains at the local all-night grocery store, she meets fellow students Dane and Chloe who soon realizes that Maddy is now undead just like them.  They become her guide into the new “life” of zombie and help her become acclimated to the zombie world and how to fit in with the Normals (living humans) and that there are indeed bad zombies called “Zerkers.”  It’s now up to Maddy, Dane and Chloe to protect the Normals from the Zerkers and prepare for battle at a Fall Formal that they won’t forget—as long as they “live” through it.

This book was one of those “Free Friday” selections from Barnes and Noble, otherwise I doubt I would’ve ever read it on my own.  It is definitely written more for teenagers, but I found I enjoyed it as well.  The first half of the book was great, it’s funny and humorous and the book doesn’t take itself too seriously.  I thought I’d be leery of Fischer telling the tale through the eyes of a seventeen year-old girl, but he actually does a really nice job with the tone, dialogue and language that a teenage girl would have.  His prose is witty and endearing and there were several instances where I found myself laughing through the first half of the book.  Maddy is your average teenage girl, and Fischer does an excellent job bringing Maddy and her new zombie status to life. 

But then comes the second-half of the book, and the tone completely changes.  It goes from silly and snarky and does a complete turn-around to try and make the book serious.  I understand that there has to be a big showdown between Zombie and Zerker, but the whole book awkwardly shifts from making light of zombies and becomes very solemn without the humor that made the book so charming to begin with.  I didn’t care for the shift of the mood of the book, but Fischer still does a good job with his new twist on the zombie mythology.  It’s different from the normal zombie genre and refreshing to a point.  Some of his secondary characters are underdeveloped (cute boy Stamp, for one) but his portrayal of Maddy is authentic and loveable. 

I’d give this teenage science fiction book a B-, I’d rate it higher but I didn’t care for the gear shift halfway through the book.  It’s laugh-out-loud funny in spots, and the new zombie twist is intriguing.  The ending is left open for sequels, and I’ll be interested to see where Fischer takes his zombies in later books.    There’s mild language and some zombie killing (of course), but nothing too hardcore and is suitable for teenagers aged 13 and up.   Fans of the zombie genre might get a kick out of this book, since this a new take on zombie’s and how they come to be - or, they'll hate that Fischer decided to create his own zombie mythology without paying homage to past zombie mediums.  I found myself in the former group, and thought a new take on the popular zombie genre refreshing and intriguing.

Friday Book Report: Front Porch Prophet by Raymond Atkins

Written by Raymond Atkins, The Front Porch Prophet is Southern storytelling at its best.  It was published in 2008 by Medallion Press.

Welcome to Sequoyah, Georgia where A.J. Longstreet was born and raised and is still carving out a living.  Sequoyah is your typical small, southern town; from the elderly neighbor that cannot drive to the trigger happy constable that shoots first and asks questions later.  The residents of Sequoyah aren’t just residents, they are a part of this town, and their roots are buried deep in the red Georgia clay.  Everyone has a story here, and A.J takes a trip down memory lane while battling with the ideas of mortality and the meaning of life.  His memories of the past and the people he’s known for years help him make one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to face. 

Eugene Purdue and A.J. have been friends since childhood.  They’ve shared and done many a memorable thing together and sometimes have even gotten into situations better left forgotten.  After a falling out due to Eugene’s lack of responsibility and anger management, he reenters A.J.’s life with terminal pancreatic cancer and one big favor to ask of A.J.  He want’s A.J. to kill him when the time comes.  This is one favor that A.J. isn’t sure he can accept, and after a lot of reminiscing and soul-searching, A.J. has to decide if he can be the one to undertake this difficult task.

I really enjoyed this book.  Atkins brings the small town of Sequoyah to life with beautifully described characters, scenery and everything in-between that gives a small town its charm.  His storytelling is compelling, and while reading I felt like he was telling me the story instead of reading it.  I swear I kept hearing the narrator from “The Dukes of Hazzard” in my head every time Atkins took us to A.J and Eugene’s past.  There’s a lot of reminiscing in this book, and while most times I think it would detract from the overall plot, in this book it gave the characters a backstory that allowed for more depth and color.  It’s one humorous vignette after another, and although it can get a bit confusing going back and forth from past to present and keeping the timelines straight, I thought all the nostalgia this book displayed just added that touch of southern charm that makes this book as endearing as it is.

Sometimes the small town characters can seem a bit outlandish, but for the most part I think Atkins did a great job telling their story.  You could really envision Brickhead, the simple-man looking for love and the quirky Callahan family that named their offspring after their favorite authors.  I really loved A.J. and his wife Maggie (born Margaret Mitchell Callahan) and I wish Maggie was more involved in this story.  While Eugene may have been A.J.’s past, Atkins makes it very clear that Maggie is his present and future.  She is his rock, and despite everything else changing, Maggie is always there.  There are lots of secrets A.J. has tried to keep, but I loved that he always told Maggie everything, even the painful and heartbreaking ones.  A.J. doesn’t keep things from his wife, and I found that solidarity between them so admirable.  Personally, I was more interested in Maggie and A.J.’s story, but I think that has to do with me being a woman.  Men would find the random acts of stupidity Eugene and A.J. get into as young adults humorous and maybe even a little reminiscent of times long since forgotten.

I highly recommend this book.  It’s about life and death and everything in-between, but it’s not depressing, in fact it’s very funny and very well told.  It’s also about real relationships and all those people and the tiny decisions we make each day that make us who we are.  If you’ve ever lived in a small town (like me) this book will captivate you and you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” when life seemed less complicated.  I give this book an A- grade; it’s got stellar writing and a great story to go with it.  The characters are vivid and charming and the storytelling is some of the best I’ve read in a long time.  It’s humorous and uplifting despite the fact that death is eminent.  It’s does have some harsh country-boy language and I wouldn’t recommend for younger readers, but if you’re looking for a great Southern story about life, death and the decisions in-between I would suggest you pick up The Front Porch Prophet.  You won’t be disappointed, I certainly wasn’t.

Friday Book Report: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Sara Gruen’s novel, Water For Elephants takes the reader back in time when travelling circus’ arrived on trains, and any and everything went on to make the show a success.  It was published in 2006 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Jacob Jankowski was just days away from taking his final exams and graduating Cornell with a veterinary degree when he learns that his parents have died in a car accident.  Grief stricken, Jacob returns home to identify their body and settle their estate; the problem is there is no estate to settle.  The Jankowski’s were late on their mortage payments and therefore the bank has taken over.  Jacob is left with nothing.  He returns to school to finish his exams, but instead he walks out of the classroom and wanders through the night before finally jumping on a train intent to roll away from this life and start over.  It isn’t until the next day he realizes he’s jumped on the train of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  A travelling circus.  With his almost degree as a veterinarian, he finds work with the show caring for the menagerie of animals.  Jacob also finds Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star and his life is never the same again.

With all the fuss involving this book, I was very hopeful when reading.  Sadly, I came away disappointed.  This book had so much potential and it just fell short, in my opinion.  I was intrigued with the story and the inner workings of a third-rate travelling circus, but I couldn’t connect with the characters.  Oh, there’s definitely a lot of action and it does get you to turn the pages, but once the pages are turned all you’re left with is just a book loaded with filler and no real depth.  It felt like all those action and suspense sequences took away from what should have been the real story, and it distracted me from trying to focus on Jacob and Marlena.  It’s a book filled with animal cruelty, human cruelty, murder, lust, explicit sexual encounters, and one circus catastrophe after another, and I thought all of that combined were just added for shock value and most of the times weren’t necessary to the overall plot of the book.  There’s no story or character development.  It’s incident after horrible incident and after a while I as a reader become numb and emotionless to all that was going on.

This is supposed to be a story about Jacob and Marlena and how they’re able to come together after all those obstacles aforementioned, and yet we don’t get any real dialogue between them so it’s hard to understand just how their relationship progresses from friendship to love.  Instead it’s brief conversations and simple explanations as to why they suddenly become attracted to one another.  Another beef I had is that August, Marlena’s husband, is so dastardly and cruel you don’t want to like him at all.  Yet, the author decides to give him a medical condition as an excuse for his behavior towards animals and humans alike.  Just make him bad, there’s no reason to justify his actions with illness.  You want him to be the villain so make him a villain, don’t make him into someone you kinda feel like you need feel sorry for.

This book flashes back from past to present, with a cranky old Jacob reliving his time with the Benzini Brothers while stuck in an assisted living home.  That would have been fine except I wish he was telling this story to someone, instead of reminiscing on his own.  There is a reason that ninety-something Jacob is in this book, and it becomes prevalent at the end, I just wish it was more of a “storytelling” prose instead of the clumsy first person narrative we get. 

The one bright spot in this book for me was Rosie, the charming pachyderm that wiggles into your heart after just one meeting.  I thought of all the characters, she was the most deftly explained and had the most emotion and development.  The scenes describing her performance with Marlena were the best part of the book for me.  There wasn’t much else I really liked about this book, but I did enjoy any scene that Rosie was in.  She was enchanting and if not for her, this book would’ve been one big bust for me.

After reading the book, I decided I’d watch the movie starring Reese Witherspoon.  I think I like the movie version better, even though I didn’t really love the movie either.  At least the characters of Jacob and Marlena talked to each other and had some real scenes together.  The animal cruelty and explict scenes were edited down to a PG-13 rating and it didn't feel like it was in your face the entire time (which is how I felt reading the book) and really only took up brief sections of the movie. 

I know a lot of people really loved this book, but it was not for me.  I never connected to any of the characters, the multiple shocking and horrible events thrust in throughout the book annoyed me, and I was frustrated that Jacob and Marlena’s story was never fully developed. I really wanted to like this book, and I really tried to like it, but for me, this book only gets about a C grade.  There’s a lot of harsh language, horrible animal cruelty, violence and explicitly graphic sexual encounters…this is not a book for teens.   Perhaps I’m just too picky, but Water For Elephants was a chore to get through and more often than not, I found myself hoping that this show would not go on.

Friday Book Report: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper is widely considered one of America’s first great novelists.  His story, Last of the Mohicans, part of The Leatherstocking Tales is quite possibly his most famous and most read.  Originally published in 1826, Last of the Mohicans has been a classic ever since.

Set in 1857 during the French and Indian wars, a young British officer is tasked with the safe delivery of Commander Munro’s daughters to Fort William Henry.  Munro is stationed at Fort William Henry and wants his daughter’s with him.  The British officer, Duncan Heyward employs an Indian by the name of Magua to guide them through the wilderness of New England.  Soon after they set off, we learn that Magua is not the trusting guide he seemed to be and he is using the Munro daughters as revenge against their father for a past wrong-doing. 

We meet Hawkeye, a white-man travelling with Mohican companions, Chingachgook and his son Uncas, and together with the young Heyward, they weave through the wilderness to protect the Munro sister’s from the clutches of the vengeful Magua.  This is a story about love and hate, survival and death, treachery and deliverance.  It’s an engrossing tale, not for the faint of heart, but definitely one worth reading to really appreciate just how American literature came to be. 

I really don’t know what to make of this book.  At times I really loved it, and then there are other times when I hated it.  Cooper, being a 19^th century writer ventures the route of extreme literal description and prose to tell his story which at times made me lose focus on what was actually going on.  There are times when his descriptions are beautifully done, but for the most part the verbal assault was too much for me to take.  The language is old, and I kept that in mind while reading, but there were several times when I just had to stop reading after a chapter to let what I just read sink in and really digest what was going on.  Cooper’s writing style and the dialogue he applies to this tale definitely took some getting used to.

I found I really enjoyed the character of Cora Munro, and wished very much that she was in this book more.  She was strong and brave and confident for a typical 19^th century heroine.  She wasn’t afraid of what happened to her, so long as her sister was safe.  An attitude like that in those days speaks of tremendous courage.  My only beef is that at times Cooper displays Cora’s strength of character, but later on condescends himself by describing her has gentle and tender.  I didn’t get that at all…ah well; the male brain of the 19^th century can’t make a woman look too strong-willed without some character defects…right?

I will say this book is non-stop from chapter to chapter.  Once you get into the meat of the story, the action hardly ever stops and Cooper sends the reader on quite a bloody journey.  There are a lot of battle scenes, and some really graphic descriptions (especially of the massacre at Fort William Henry – which actually happened) and definitely not to be read by anyone that isn’t a fan of bloody and horrific battles.   Some of those scenes were hard for me to get through, and I don’t know if all of the graphic descriptions were really necessary to the overall plot of the story, they definitely did make me perk up and pay attention to the gruesome accounts Cooper was telling. 

After I read the book, I decided I needed to watch the movie to compare and contrast the two mediums.  I found I liked the movie adaptation much more than I enjoyed the book.  While the movie veers off absolutely from the book, it appealed much more to my 21^st century mind.  Michael Mann (the director) took the plot of the book and made it his own, with a totally flip-flopped ending that I found much more pleasing.  Usually when a movie deviates from the original story I don’t like it, and most books are much better than their film counterparts, but this is one exception (to me at least).  If you’ve seen the movie but not the book (or vice versa) be prepared that the two are sort of the same, but essentially a different story with the same characters involved. 

This is considered a “classic” for a reason.  It depicts (in Cooper’s opinion) early America before the revolution and the relationship between Native American’s and the Europeans taking over the land.  There’s a little bit of history to be learned as some of the events actually did take place, such as the massacre at Fort William Henry and the scalping of Jane McCrea (her story comes much later, but is mentioned in Cooper’s footnotes) and I found I was actually looking up some of these historical events to learn more about them.  So, I guess the book taught me a little bit, which counts for something.  It’s hard to say I didn’t love a “classic”, but I didn’t love this book.  The relationships between all the main characters just weren’t developed enough for my taste.  The story is good (until the end, in my opinion) and the non-stop adventure and action is appealing, but the overuse of haughty language and confusing dialogue was too much for me to ignore.  I give this book a C+ grade, and recommend reading only to those die-hard literature fans that want to broaden their knowledge of early American novelists.  If you’re looking for pure entertainment, just watch the movie with Daniel Day Lewis.